Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 237 The Feast (Part 1)

A large ship slowly docked at the Tianfei Palace pier.

When the manager and employees of the Xia Zheng silk shop saw Shao Shuyi suddenly appear, they were all stunned for a moment.

"What are you staring at like an idiot for?" Shao Shuyi coughed slightly awkwardly and said, "There are five thousand bolts of cotton cloth on the ship. Find someone to unload them yourself. There's another ship coming in a couple of days, another five thousand bolts. Don't forget."

Everyone responded with an "oh," and immediately began to use their individual skills to contact other people.

This is not a difficult task. With Manager Shao away for the past few months, they have been handling most of the affairs, big and small, at the inn. They have the manpower for all aspects, and they can come whenever they are called.

Shao Shuyi sat in the shop all day, checking the accounts. He only pointed out a few obvious, minor problems that were easy to spot and then let them go, too lazy to investigate. He gave a warning about the major problems, and said he would deal with the ones he didn't see later.

As evening fell, Wu Heizi arrived with seven or eight men after hearing the news. When they saw Tie Niu and the other eight men beside Shao Shuyi, they were taken aback.

He wasn't familiar with the five men, including Fu Yong, but now they were brazenly following Shao Ge'er around as his bodyguards, which made Wu Heizi feel a pang of jealousy.

"Brother Shao." Wu Heizi bowed and then greeted Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan returned the greeting.

"It's rare to see Yu She these days," Wu Heizi said with a smile.

"I'll take some time to go home," Yu Yuan said with a shy smile.

"Oh, I see. It's time to go home and visit, it's time to go home," Wu Heizi said.

He always felt that there was a sad barrier between him and his wife.

"Let's go eat. We've invited Manager Mo and his nephew tonight." After everyone had greeted him, Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said.

The crowd responded with a resounding roar.

Shao Shuyi had two horse-drawn carriages "sponsored" by Wang Zongsan in Jiangyin, and bought a new one in Taicang, but he had no means of transportation in Liujiagang, so he could only walk.

As Tie Niu wandered through the streets and alleys, he felt uneasy and would occasionally look up at the buildings on both sides.

His family's wealth and prosperity now depend on the person in front of him, so he can't be careless. In the future, we should still advise him to come to such places less often, and at least get a sturdy carriage.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong along the way, and we arrived at the restaurant we had booked without incident.

Mo Bei and Feng Shao stood at the door, smiling broadly.

After exchanging greetings, Mo Bei was about to invite Shao Shuyi inside when Liang Tai nodded to him, then led the two into the restaurant, glanced around to confirm that everything was in order, and then stepped aside to indicate that they could go in.

Shao Shuyi chuckled, took Mo Bei's hand, and led him inside to a private room on the second floor.

"Mr. Mo, it's been a long time," Shao Shuyi said.

After speaking, he invited Yu Yuan, Liang Tai, Wu Heizi, Mo Bei, and Feng Shao to take their seats.

Tie Niu stood behind Shao Shuyi, glancing out the window every now and then.

The remaining dozen or so people found two more tables to sit at, and two of them stood outside the door to prevent being eavesdropped on.

Seeing this, the waiter felt a little scared. After pouring a cup of tea for each of the six people at the table, he hurriedly left.

Mo Bei and his nephew seemed used to this kind of scene and didn't take it to heart.

Manager Mo pondered for a moment, then said, "It has indeed been a long time. There have been many things going on lately, and things are really bad in Wuhu—sigh."

Shao Shuyi glanced at him and laughed, "How much wealth did you lose?"

"There will always be at least eight hundred ingots."

"Mrs. Shen's?"

"The lady's goods have already been unloaded and handed over. When the accident happened, the ship's hold was mostly filled with Xuancheng blankets, raw silk, and brocade. It was on its return journey, with most of the goods coming from the old house in Suzhou."

"Rongfu Gong's goods?"

"Rongfu Gong has a lot of goods, but the most are still Wan Si Gong's goods, with the Madam only accounting for 10%."

"Isn't Wang Lin suitable?"

Mo Bei thought for a moment and said, "Wang Lin is very famous in Suzhou. He is a master of martial arts and once fought three people alone without being at a disadvantage. But this time, it is said that he performed poorly. Not only did he suffer minor injuries, but many of his disciples and boatmen were also killed or injured, and one of his boats was also stolen."

Shao Shuyi responded with an "oh".

"Actually, Wang Lin shouldn't have done that." Mo Bei sighed and said, "In the end, it's said that the fight got better and better. He fought bravely, even getting wounded, and killed two fierce Chaohu bandits in succession, which saved the second boat from being stolen."

Shao Shuyi understood after a moment's thought.

Wang Lin must have some skill, and his martial arts might indeed be quite good, but initially he was extremely unaccustomed to this desperate fighting style, even getting injured himself. In the end, perhaps he adapted, or perhaps he became desperate, he disregarded everything and fought to the death, finally forcing the bandits to retreat; otherwise, the entire army might have been wiped out.

"This waterway was safest when Shao She was here," Mo Bei said. "Wang Lin's reputation is undeserved. He's lost face completely this time, and his martial arts school will have to close down."

"We've had our share of deaths," Shao Shuyi said. "This road is indeed not easy to travel, and we can't wipe out all the bandits."

Upon hearing this, Mo Bei shook his head and sighed, saying, "After the old family home in Suzhou found out, everything quieted down immediately, and no one was scrambling to get into the waterborne freight business anymore. It's just one thing..."

"Please speak freely, Mr. Mo," Shao Shuyi said.

As they were talking, the door to the private room opened, and the two people who had been outside brought in the food and drinks one by one.

Shao Shuyi stood up, placed a plate of crucian carp in front of Mo Bei, and said with a smile, "Master Mo, please try this first."

"It's my turn to toast you first." Mo Bei stood up and filled the two bowls with wine.

"Mr. Mo, we are such good friends, there's no need for such formalities. Let's just treat this as a casual meeting and have a meal together," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.

"Fine, I was just being dramatic," Mo Bei said with a wry smile as he sat down.

I was indeed attached to appearances today, because I needed someone's help.

Shao Shuyi took the wine pot and filled the cups for Yu Yuan, Liang Tai, Wu Heizi, and Feng Shao before sitting down.

Mo Bei hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Shao She, I wonder if you are still willing to..."

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "So you want me to travel between Wuhu and even Jiangxi to transport goods?"

"Exactly." Mo Bei was slightly embarrassed by Shao Shuyi's bluntness.

"It's not impossible," Shao Shuyi said, "but I also have a difficult matter to deal with recently—"

"

Upon hearing this, Mo Bei was secretly delighted. He was not afraid of the other party making demands; he was afraid that the other party would not make any demands at all.

"Please speak, Mr. Shao," he said.

"But I wonder if the Shen family has any connections on Jiqing Road? Do they know any influential figures in government?" Shao Shuyi asked.

Mo Bei nodded almost without hesitation and said, "Of course I do."

Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement.

This was not unexpected for him; if the Shen family's network of connections were limited to Suzhou, they could not have become the wealthiest family in Jiangnan. However, while they knew each other, the depth of their friendship was another matter entirely.

"Are there any close friends?" Shao Shuyi asked.

Mo Bei thought for a moment and said, "Zhizhong Wang Jingjiu is from Shaoxing and has some old acquaintances with Rongfu. However, I haven't been in Suzhou for the past two years, so I don't know if we still keep in touch."

Magistrate Wang Hao was from Wu County. He came from a poor family in his early years and was once helped by Wan Sangong.

Li Mian, a clerk in the Records Office, was from Songjiang. Once, when he returned to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors, he passed through Suzhou. Wan San Gong treated him to a warm welcome and gave him many travel gifts when he left. They started to have dealings with each other after that. He had a younger brother who ran a fruit and sugar shop in Suzhou. The initial capital was given to him by Rong Fu Gong.

As for the others, there were some business dealings with the Textile and Dyeing Bureau, the Miscellaneous Goods Bureau, and the Beneficial Pharmacy, but the relationships weren't very deep. There were also dealings with tax collectors, ambassadors, and deputy ambassadors, and the relationships were quite good.

As Shao Shuyi listened, he nodded, thinking to himself that it was no wonder the Shen family's business was so large; they knew so many officials on just Jiqing Road alone. They were indeed impressive.

However, the Shen family were, after all, merchants, and their social standing was limited. Even though they were the "richest family" in Jiangnan, they were still not as prestigious as the established scholar-official families. It was hard to say what these officials' attitudes were towards them.

Shao Shuyi boldly judged that only the relationship between Wang Jingjiu, the magistrate, and Wang Hao, the judge, was relatively stable and could provide direct assistance to the Shen family.

After Mo Bei finished his introduction, seeing that Shao Shuyi didn't speak immediately, he asked, "Does Shao She intend to expand his business to Jiqing Road? That won't be easy."

Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "It is indeed not easy, but I want to give it a try. However, there is a stumbling block now, and I need Rongfu Gong's help. If Madam Shen can speak directly to me, then there is no need to trouble Rongfu Gong."

"Shao She, why don't you tell me? If it's a small matter, perhaps Rongfu Gong or his wife won't even need to get involved; I can make the arrangements myself," Mo Bei said.

"I'm afraid it will still require Rongfu Gong to intervene," Shao Shuyi said. "Never mind, I'll explain in detail later. Let's eat first."

After saying that, he invited everyone to drink and eat, to fill their stomachs first.

Mo Bei suppressed his doubts and began to eat and drink with a smile on his face.

Feng Shao observed silently from the side, wondering if Shao Shuyi wanted the officials of Jiqing Road to help him deal with the salt smugglers.

Others might not know, but Feng Shao, who had been to Tongzhou once, knew all too well. The death of Yu Xixun Inspector Badu two years ago was most likely caused by Shao Shuyi, but he had only told this secret to his uncle and had never mentioned it to a third party.

His appetite is really growing; he even wants to sell smuggled salt on Jiqing Road.

Thinking about this, Feng Shao began to recall which private salt dealers were on Jiqing Road.

While eating, Wu Heizi secretly glanced at Shao Shuyi.

For some reason, he felt very guilty and was even a little afraid to look at Shao Shuyi.

Yu Yuan carefully observed the table, and when he saw whose wine glass was empty, he would get up to pour wine. At the same time, he silently pondered everyone's words and actions, verifying them with his own guesses, and tasting the gains and losses.

Brother Shao was planning to deal with Zhu Chen; this was something he had known for a long time.

In retrospect, it seems that the older brother did not rush in and kill indiscriminately, but instead went to great lengths to win over others and try to unite them to defeat Zhu Chen.

This is called "a lion hunting a rabbit," which uses all its strength, and there are many things worth learning from it.

The group then stopped talking about business and began chatting about interesting stories from Liujiagang, which gradually livened up the atmosphere at the table.

The feast continued until the beginning of Hai hour (9-11 PM) before finally ending.

Shao Shuyi pulled Mo Bei aside and whispered something in his ear.

>