Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

In mid-June, the porcelain shop suddenly became very busy. The expenses on the books also increased day by day, from ten strings of cash to twenty strings of cash to even one ingot of silver. There were countless places to spend money, from purchasing to hiring people, everything required money.

Shao Shuyi left the account readily, since the decision wasn't his; he only needed to ensure the paperwork was complete and compliant, and nothing else mattered. Besides, he could also enjoy the benefits of buying fish and meat; after all, it wasn't anyone else who could eat three bowls of rice and a large basin of vegetables at every meal.

In his spare time, he trained his body to increase his strength. Physical strength is an integral part of power; even without martial arts skills, in a chaotic brawl, being physically strong has its advantages, doesn't it?

Zhang Neng became increasingly gloomy. After dinner on the 16th, he pulled Wu Youcai aside and said, "I saw the Gao family widow come looking for you today. Why didn't you stay for a meal before you left?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Wu Youcai was startled. After looking around, he hissed.

"Your petty affairs have been going on for years, everyone knows about them, right?" Zhang Neng sneered, "But it's normal. With a shrew at home, after a while, you're bound to want to have some fun outside."

Wu Youcai's face instantly turned ugly, and even his beard trembled slightly.

"You came all this way just for this?" he said through gritted teeth.

"I'm doing this for your own good," Zhang Neng said, taking a step closer.

Wu Youcai was taken aback.

"Out of money, huh?" Zhang Neng whispered in Wu Youcai's ear.

Wu Youcai's face was stiff, and he remained silent.

"Do you think I don't know how much you earn each month?" Zhang Neng continued, "You have to support your family and your mistress, is that enough?"

Wu Youcai's face turned pale, and he subconsciously took two steps back, as if he didn't want to hear these words.

"You can't deceive someone's heart." Zhang Neng pressed closer, saying, "In the past, you could still find ways to make money. At the beginning of April, you sold a pair of porcelain, tsk tsk, Dingzhou red porcelain, a treasure presented to Consort Zhang by the former Song Dynasty's Prince Hongchen. Although it was a Zhejiang kiln imitation, it still fetched a good price. But then again, that money has been used up for almost two months now, it's almost gone, isn't it? In these two months, even if you wanted to sell some celadon, it wouldn't be easy, would it? That bastard Shao Shuyi is so meticulous in his inventory, even if it's just broken, he'll take the fragments for appraisal, showing no mercy whatsoever. Tell me, how are you going to make money if this continues? Without money, how are you going to support your family? That widow in Spice Lane gave birth to your son, didn't she? You just have the heart to abandon her?"

Wu Youcai fell into a long silence.

Zhang Neng's face showed a smug look. Everyone has a weakness, and where there's a weakness, there's something to exploit. Wu Youcai was indeed timid, but he needed money for many things, and the pressure of reality was forcing him to make a choice sooner or later.

"What do you want?" Wu Youcai asked in a hoarse voice after a long silence.

"Get rid of that scoundrel Shao Shuyi—" Zhang Neng raised an eyebrow and said.

"No!" Wu Youcai's face turned pale as he hurriedly dissuaded him, "We both have families and businesses; we absolutely cannot act recklessly. The old master isn't managing things much anymore, and Sanshe is full of ambition, eager to make his mark. Shao Shuyi has been here for less than two months and then got into trouble—isn't this just handing us an excuse? If they investigate, neither of us will escape unscathed, and even the manager won't be able to get away with it. No, absolutely not!"

Zhang Neng glanced at him disdainfully and said, "Is that all the courage you have?"

Wu Youcai was not convinced. He glanced at Zhang Neng's increasingly protruding belly and said, "Don't just talk about me. With your appearance, you're probably not much better off."

Zhang Neng was a little embarrassed. After a pause, he finally revealed the truth: "Some things don't necessarily have to be done by yourself, nor do they need to be done in the shop. I've thought of a way. Think about it, and if it works, we'll do it, what do you say?"

Wu Youcai hesitated for a long time before finally nodding slightly and saying, "Tell me about it."

Zhang Neng breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he and Wu Youcai are actually the same kind of people. Perhaps he was once full of vigor in his youth, but now that he's reached this age, the world has worn down his edges, and he no longer has that ambition.

Wu Youcai was willing to stand with him, which greatly reduced his psychological pressure.

So he cleared his throat, leaned close to Wu Youcai's ear, and whispered, "Do you know where Shao Shuyi lives? What's the situation at home? I've heard there are bandits on Taihu Lake..."

******

On the evening of the 20th, Shao Shuyi returned to the Qingqi Shop from his hometown.

That day, he practiced archery all day on the open ground by the river behind his house.

Wang Huadu ended his job as a dockworker and came with Yu Yuan, also spending the whole day listening in. But Cheng Ji was very principled, saying that since they hadn't paid, they could listen, but they couldn't touch the bows and arrows, which angered Wang Huadu so much that he cursed loudly.

Throughout the day, Shao Shuyi shot at least thirty arrows, feeling he had gained a lot, but was also exhausted.

A qualified archer requires a high level of physical strength. If you can draw a large or powerful bow, you must be tall, broad-shouldered, and strong, making you a formidable opponent in close combat as well, provided you invest money and time in training.

Cheng Ji was skilled in close combat, although he served as an archer in battle formations. He mentioned that crossbowmen in the Tang Dynasty often carried the Mo Dao (陌刀) as a melee weapon, and it was difficult to say which was the primary weapon and which was the secondary weapon. They even had horses for rapid mobility on the battlefield, which was quite extravagant.

Archers also carry broadswords, spears, long axes, and wooden clubs, making them versatile in both melee and ranged combat. This is what a true soldier is like, perhaps a little too much, turning them into arrogant and fierce warriors.

But Cheng Ji was very envious of them, thinking that soldiers nowadays were not as well off as those in ancient times, and their skills were not as versatile as those soldiers back then. He thought he might as well just kill himself.

Shao Shuyi also longed for it. But he knew that becoming an elite warrior required time and resources, and he was still far from that level, needing more time to grow. Besides, he didn't necessarily need to become a fierce and invincible general; things were different now than in classical times, there was no need for that.

After returning to the ware shop, he resumed his daily routine of sitting in the office until the 26th, when Wang Huadu suddenly came to visit him.

"Little Tiger, you're eating really well. It's worth all that hard work." After swallowing two meat pies, Wang Huadu sighed with satisfaction and started drinking his vegetable porridge, muttering to himself as he went.

Shao Shuyi patted his head, walked to the bedside and sat down, and began to look through the account books.

Wang Huadu was slightly taken aback, then lowered his head and continued drinking his porridge.

He didn't know when it started, but he got used to Shao Shuyi patting his shoulder and head, and seemed to think it was a matter of course, and regarded Shao Shuyi as his companion and subordinate, even though they weren't very familiar with each other just two months ago.

But he was too lazy to think about such complicated questions. After quickly finishing his porridge, he pushed the bowl and chopsticks aside, got up and went to the door to take a look before turning back and saying mysteriously, "Little Tiger, someone in Zhangjing East Second Capital is asking about you."

"Oh? Really?" Shao Shuyi was taken aback.

"Really." Wang Huadu nodded vigorously and said, "It seems to be from Liujiagang. They have a non-local accent and are staying next door to you. They said they want to do business on the thirty-mile-long embankment and are currently choosing a location."

Shao Shuyi stood up and pondered carefully.

"This is quite ordinary. Why do you say you're inquiring about me?" After a moment, he came to Wang Huadu's side and asked.

"Three or four out of ten questions will focus on your family, asking how many people live there, what your family's financial situation is, what kind of business you do, and so on. It sounds suspicious," Wang Huadu said.

"What kind of person is asking me this?"

"There were two people, one old and one young. The old one looked like a farmer, and the young one looked like a student; in any case, they didn't look like merchants."

How do you know they're asking about me?

"I was just strolling around east of your house, and someone asked me directly."

Even though it was a matter of life and death, Shao Shuyi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

That's why it's said that in ancient times, inquiring about someone could easily lead to leaks. Two conspicuous outsiders like you, unfamiliar with the area, asking around aimlessly, it's perfectly normal for someone to tip you off.

The question now is—who is inquiring about him?

From a perspective of interests, the answer is not hard to come up with: it's nothing more than Wang Sheng, Wu Youcai, Zhang Neng, and their group, because there is only a conflict of interest with them.

What a bunch of scoundrels! Shao Shuyi's smile faded, and he began to think seriously.

Actually, I didn't touch Wang Sheng's core interests, did I? Why would I want to fight to the death?

He's old, he's made enough money, and he has a large family to support. He can't just run away from the family. If we really break ties with the Zheng family, it won't be difficult to deal with him. It just depends on whether Madam Zheng is willing to lose face and dare to be ruthless towards the old man who has followed her family for decades.

Or perhaps I underestimated Wang Sheng? Did I fail to understand his true character?

After thinking for a long time, Shao Shuyi stopped and looked at Wang Huadu, saying, "Go back and find out the identities of those two people."

"How do we find out?" Wang Huadu asked.

"A subtle approach will suffice."

"Should we—" Wang Huadu licked his lips and whispered, "tie them up and torture them tonight?"

"There's no need for that," Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said, "Let's gather intelligence secretly first."

Wang Huadu was not entirely willing, but he still nodded in agreement.