Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

A brazier was lit in the courtyard, crackling and popping.

The numbers come and go, busy but not chaotic.

Zheng Song wasn't in a hurry to leave. He planned to stay for two or three days to check on the shop's daily operations.

He's a pretty good guy. Although he doesn't smile much, he knows what to do and when to do it. For example, tonight he paid out of his own pocket to have someone buy some food and drinks from the market and invited the shop's main managers to dinner. Actually, there weren't many people. Besides the shopkeeper Wang Sheng, there was also Wu Youcai, the warehouse manager, Zhang Neng, the martial arts master, and Sun Chuan, the broker from the Qingqi shop.

Shao Shuyi glanced at Sun Chuan, intentionally or unintentionally, because he was not an employee of the store, but a well-known "broker" in the industry with great influence.

Zheng Song's attention was mainly focused on him. He had only been sitting down for a short time when he began to urge him to drink, and his previously tense face finally broke into a smile as he said, "I've heard that you, sir, run a mansion and inn and have amassed a fortune that fills several ships. I truly admire you."

"Young Master Zheng must be laughing at me." Sun Chuan, who was as fat as a short gourd, shook his head and said, "Outsiders may not know where these ships of wealth came from, but surely you, Young Master Zheng, know? Of the five ships, three are dowry."

"Women from western Zhejiang are good at managing their livelihoods, making them a good match," Zheng Song said.

Sun Chuan, whether from drinking too much or something else, shook his head again and said, "Sir, you are mistaken. This woman has a son, and I may not be able to touch much of the wealth she brought. Moreover, she has appointed her own stewards, who are not under her command, and they often come and go astray, which is quite unseemly. This was the case when her late husband was alive, and after more than ten years, it has not only not changed, but has become even worse. She often goes out to banquets as a woman. My late husband could not resist, and neither can I."

At this point, the man sighed deeply: "Husbands and wives are subservient to each other, without any right to rule, but they are bound by the three obediences. What a pity! Nowadays, even though women in Zhejiang have husbands, it is as if they do not have husbands, and even though they have children, it is as if they do not have children. If this continues, it will be a great misfortune for families."

"That's too much, that's too much." Zheng Song poured Sun Chuan a cup of wine and said, "Master, you're quite capable; you can certainly tame a woman."

Shao Shuyi listened with great interest.

Isn't the Zheng family from Quzhou in western Zhejiang? Sun Chuan seems to be from Zhenjiang, as mentioned earlier.

From what he said, Sun Chuan married a widow with a son. It's unclear whether this was his first or second marriage, but it's likely the latter. Moreover, it seems the customs of women in western Zhejiang are quite different; they are completely unaffected by the legendary Southern Song Dynasty etiquette, and openly appear in public while their husbands are alive.

Not only did he make public appearances, but he even appointed his own managers to run the business.

Besides running her business, she also enjoys life, occasionally going on trips and attending banquets—mostly "girls' get-togethers" without her husband.

Interesting, really interesting! Shao Shuyi even felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"Sir, you are unaware of this," the shopkeeper Wang Sheng said with a smile. "A few days ago, the nephew of the foreign merchant Aihaminding came and went directly to the master's house, staying for several days. Their relationship is clearly not ordinary. If we want to sell the celadon wares in the shop, we will have to rely on Master Sun."

Zheng Song nodded, seemingly agreeing with Wang Sheng's words.

Brokers are not simple people. Most of them are called "broker merchants" and often have a certain amount of capital or even shops, and they are engaged in trade themselves.

In addition, they act as guarantors for other merchants, broker transactions, and collect commissions.

The government often registered them, so they were often called "official brokers" and even became tax collectors for the Maritime Trade Office, acting as agents for the government to collect taxes. Their status was extraordinary. Those who were not registered by the government were private brokers, whose status and influence were much smaller. Sun Chuan was a famous official broker in the blueware trade.

"Of course, of course." Sun Chuan drank a cup of rice wine, squinted at Wang Sheng, and smiled.

Shao Shuyi sat upright, sometimes making a listening expression, sometimes awkwardly laughing along.

He was a newcomer and not yet qualified to speak in this setting; being seated at the end of the table was already a stroke of luck. However, he didn't care about such things. Instead, he used the opportunity of sitting with others to quietly listen for information that was useful to him, and then pondered the people present.

Of course, while he was pondering others, others were also pondering him. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the shopkeeper, Wang Sheng, had glanced at him intentionally or unintentionally a few times, and Wu Youcai, the warehouse manager, and Zhang Neng, the martial arts instructor, had done the same thing.

Shao Shuyi's heart tightened instantly.

The owner's agent, Zheng Song, is here. Why aren't you trying to figure him out or curry favor with him? Why are you secretly watching me?

Even if we disregard Zheng Song, you should at least pay more attention to Sun Chuan. He's the cash cow of the Qingqi Shop, a human trading company. You've dealt with him quite a bit, haven't you? Even from a purely personal perspective, you should take advantage of the alcohol to talk to him more and build a relationship.

There's a problem. Recalling Zheng Fan's two inexplicable remarks about him not wanting to die, Shao Shuyi felt a chill run down his spine.

After drinking for an unknown amount of time, just as Shao Shuyi was starting to feel dizzy, Sun Chuan turned his gaze to him and smiled, "Is this your shop's newly hired accountant?"

Zheng Song put down his wine cup, his eyes calm and collected, showing no signs of drunkenness. He introduced himself as "a seafarer from Zhangjing, known as a child prodigy for his exceptional mathematical skills, so we recruited him to be our accountant."

"Youcai can finally relax a bit," Sun Chuan said, looking at Zhiku Wu Youcai with a half-smile.

"What you say is absolutely right, sir." Wu Youcai shook his head and smiled bitterly. "My skills are not very good; I only have a rudimentary understanding of books and arithmetic. I've long been overwhelmed by all the affairs of the shop. It's perfect that young Master Shao is here to help."

Shao Shuyi's heart skipped a beat.

It turns out that Wu Youcai, in addition to being the head of the treasury, also held the position of accountant. This was the first time I had heard of such a thing. Actually, it was quite normal. Whether Zheng Song was sparing with his words or looked down on him, he had never mentioned this to him. As for whether Wu Youcai had ever worked as a full-time accountant before, he hadn't even mentioned it.

This store looks rather unprofessional.

The warehouse manager is also the accountant and cashier, and he's from the same hometown as the store manager. It's no wonder problems are bound to arise if this continues.

However, on the other hand, Wang Sheng, Wu Youcai, and even Zhang Neng are all from Quzhou, and Zheng Song, Zheng Guozhen, and Zheng Yonghe are also from Quzhou, aren't they? Appointing fellow townsmen has its advantages and disadvantages; it all depends on how you manage them. Now it seems that the Zheng family isn't entirely at ease with these fellow townsmen?

"Young Master Shao is only fifteen years old, yet he's already working as an accountant. It's truly astonishing. When I was fifteen, I was still just hanging around in the village." Martial arts master Zhang Neng finally spoke his first words of the day.

As he spoke, his gaze was fixed intently on Shao Shuyi, seemingly filled with envy, yet also with a hint of wariness.

Shao Shuyi smiled at him, raised his wine glass in a toast, and made a very practiced gesture.

Zhang Neng's eyes flickered, and he picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Shao Shuyi also drank it all in one gulp, and his face became even more rosy.

Sun Chuan watched all this with a smile, as if he were watching something amusing.

Zheng Song took in everyone's actions but said nothing, only urging them to drink.

For a time, both host and guests enjoyed themselves immensely, and the atmosphere was extremely harmonious.

******

As midnight approached, the simple banquet finally came to an end.

Stone appeared beside Shao Shuyi like a wandering ghost and whispered, "Accountant, please come with me."

Shao Shuyi nodded and followed behind him without any hesitation.

The two soon arrived at the innermost room in the west wing of the backyard.

Stone entered the room, lit a candle, bowed, and said, "This will be the accountant's residence from now on. There are two rooms in total; the inner room is for living, and the outer room is for storing account books and other items. The manager has instructed that since the accountant is new here and has drunk a lot, he can make himself at home for the next few days and does not need to start work immediately. The dining hall is in the front yard; you can eat with the manager and the warehouse manager every day, or have meals delivered here. If there is anything lacking, just let me know, and the manager will take care of it accordingly."

Shao Shuyi listened silently, then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Shi Tou returned the greeting and said in a low voice, "If there are no further instructions, I will take my leave."

"Wait a minute," Shao Shuyi added, "Who lived here before?"

"Wu Zhiku moved out yesterday and has already cleaned up." After Shi Tou finished speaking, he looked at Shao Shuyi.

"You may go as you see fit," Shao Shuyi said.

Stone responded and turned to disappear into the night.

Shao Shuyi looked around his new residence.

It's clear that this was originally a room, but it was quite spacious, so wooden boards were used to divide it into an inner room and an outer room, one for work and the other for rest.

It's actually quite good; at least it's better than his original courtyard.

There are beds, mats, bedding, various furniture, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones. You can also eat "special meals" with the shopkeeper and others. Who dares to say that this treatment is not good?

The only concern is that this antique shop is not simple; there are undercurrents hidden beneath the calm surface, and one could easily suffer losses if one is not careful.

Shao Shuyi wasn't stupid. Using his work experience from his later life, he quickly realized that there must be a hidden vested interest group inside this shop. After all, he, Shao, had done plenty of things like issuing false invoices, recklessly claiming expenses, and taking kickbacks from customers. Even though hundreds of years had passed, human nature hadn't changed.

Thinking of this, he secretly reminded himself to be more vigilant, to observe the situation and figure out what had happened. He simply didn't believe that Zheng would hire him as an accountant for no reason; there must be something fishy about it.

Just then, footsteps approached. Shao Shuyi looked up and saw Zheng Song and Wu Youcai, so he stepped forward and bowed.

Zheng Song didn't speak, but only glanced at the furnishings in the room before finally fixing his gaze on a wooden box.

He slowly walked over and lifted the lid.

Shao Shuyi looked over and found that it seemed to be a toolbox, containing an abacus, a brush, a brush holder, a seal, various inkstones, scissors, a knife, a hammer, letter paper, envelopes and other odds and ends.

Zheng Song turned around and looked at Wu Youcai.

Wu Youcai immediately stepped forward.

"Forget about tomorrow. Starting the day after tomorrow, you will take him under your wing for ten days, until at least early May, when all matters will be handed over to the new accountant. Is that possible?" Zheng Song pointed at Shao Shuyi and asked.

"Rest assured, sir, I will do my utmost and hold nothing back." Wu Youcai said halfway through his sentence, then added with a smile, "To be honest, I was originally the head of the treasury and also served as an accountant. I was already exhausted. Having someone share the burden is a relief."

Zheng Song ignored his smile and said only to Shao Shuyi, "Study hard, and don't forget how you got this job. If you make a mistake, consider the consequences yourself."

"I understand," Shao Shuyi immediately replied.

Zheng Song nodded, said no more, and turned to leave.