Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

For the next few days, Shao Shuyi kept a very low profile in the blueware shop.

Perhaps it was Wang Huadu's words that had an effect, as he seemed to sense something different. Wang Sheng disappeared again, but Wu Youcai and Zhang Neng remained. Their seemingly ordinary actions took on a different meaning in Shao Shuyi's eyes.

On the last day of June, he returned to his home in Zhangjing as usual.

Half of the four bushels of coarse rice was given to Wang Huadu, one bushel and five liters was given to Cheng Ji as tuition, and the remaining five liters of rice were used for the group's food and drink—actually, it wasn't enough, so Shao Shuyi took out five strings of cash to buy some more.

He earns a lot now, but he's basically spent it all; he's a typical spendthrift. He doesn't care. Money is only money when it's spent; what you can't spend is just waste paper.

In this crumbling world, honing your skills and making friends are the real work, much better than being a miser.

Take the last incident for example. Wang Huadu took the initiative to kidnap the two people who were asking about him at night. He was very proactive and not afraid of taking responsibility at all. It's a worthwhile friend to have.

Of course, Shao Shuyi did not agree to that. Firstly, he was afraid of arresting the wrong person, and secondly, he worried that Wang Huadu alone could not handle the old man and the young man, which would eventually lead to trouble that would be difficult to control.

Upon returning home today, before even starting his martial arts practice, Wang Huadu pulled him aside again and brought up the matter once more.

"Those two are gone," Wang Huadu said. "We should have tied them up in the first place."

Upon hearing this, Shao Shuyi thought to himself that Wang Huadu was truly lawless, resorting to torture and interrogation at the drop of a hat. He was quite ruthless, which was completely different from his seemingly carefree and nonchalant attitude.

"With your skills, do you think you can handle them? There are two of them." Shao Shuyi looked at him suspiciously and said, "Tell me what happened first, in detail."

Wang Huadu responded.

After some questioning, Shao Shuyi learned that the old man and the young man had been wandering around the village for several days, gathering some information before leaving three days prior. Their purpose was basically the same as before: to inquire about Shao Shuyi's family situation.

Wang Huadu also went next door to inquire, and the information he received was largely the same, except that he asked Shao Shuyi if he had any outstanding debts.

After listening, Shao Shuyi frowned and said, "Do you perhaps intend to report me to the authorities as a fugitive and have the government send people to arrest me?"

"That should be the case without a doubt, but it's not necessarily that simple," Wang Huadu said.

Shao Shuyi nodded slightly.

"Are we still practicing?" Shao and Wang whispered to each other. Cheng Ji, who had just finished calibrating his bow, was a little dissatisfied and asked loudly.

"Coming, coming," Shao Shuyi responded, thinking to himself that Cheng Ji was a man of principle. He took the money and taught seriously, and wouldn't allow you to slack off. He was upright, but unfortunately, he was on a ship destined to sink.

The sound of bowstrings crackling quickly filled the open space, and a new round of training began.

******

At noon, Yu Yuan arrived and had lunch with everyone.

He was quite generous; he somehow got—or rather, stole—half a cured chicken and let Shao Shuyi and the others stew it haphazardly with wild vegetables, eating it with their mouths full of oil.

After lunch, Wang Huadu, under some pretext, pulled Yu Yuan to the waterway near the Shao family's courtyard.

"I've heard that your elder brother is an official in the prefecture?" Wang Huadu asked.

"It's not the prefecture, it's the canal transport office interpreter," Yu Yuan replied.

Wang Huadu was taken aback and said, "It's not the prefecture, then this is going to be difficult."

"What do you want to do?" Yu Yuan asked, puzzled.

"Are you brave or not?" Wang Huadu asked.

"You..." Yu Yuan was stunned and subconsciously took a half step back.

Wang Huadu was somewhat disappointed. He glanced at him disdainfully and said, "Forget it. You're just a scholar; you really shouldn't get involved in dirty work."

Provoked by this, Yu Yuan blushed slightly and said, "Tell me what it is first. I won't do anything that is immoral or immoral."

Wang Huadu's eyes showed a hint of approval, and he then whispered his thoughts.

Yu Yuan was startled upon hearing this and looked at Wang Huadu in surprise.

Wang Huadu looked down on him again and said sarcastically, "What, does Yu She think I'm not a good person because I'm always fighting and killing? You want to break off our friendship? That's right, we're not the same kind of people to begin with."

Yu Yuan's face turned even redder, and he was somewhat angry. He said, "What are you saying? I just feel that this matter cannot be handled rashly; we must plan carefully before acting."

Wang Huadu stared at him for a couple of seconds, then suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said, "Good! I've been waiting for you to say that."

He looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "I don't need you to kidnap anyone, nor do I need you to do it yourself. You just need to ask your brother to investigate those two people and see if they are constables from the prefecture or clerks sent by the village head. Although the clerk of the canal administration doesn't handle criminal cases, he can still catch a whistle from official documents and warrants. It's not that simple for the prefecture to arrest boatmen; it's impossible without going through the canal administration."

Yu Yuan was taken aback, then understood, his brows furrowing: "You're afraid... afraid they'll arrest Xiao Hu?"

"Nonsense!" Wang Hua spat. "Xiao Hu offended someone at the inn, and the next thing you know, someone came to his door asking about his household registration and debts. Don't you see? They're trying to use the government's connections to send him to jail! Once he's in jail, no matter how accurate the account books are, nobody will believe them."

Yu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

He didn't particularly like reading Confucian classics, but he did read quite a lot of miscellaneous books. He knew that "reporting a fugitive" only required a petition from the neighbor, and the constables could arrest the person without even a trial.

"Five strings of cash." Wang Huadu pulled a crumpled stack of banknotes from his pocket and stuffed it into Yu Yuan's hand. "If your brother is willing to investigate, this money is his. If not, I'll find another way—but time is running out. I need a response by the evening of the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Yu Yuan clutched the stack of banknotes, his palms slightly sweaty. He knew that what Brother Shao needed most right now wasn't money, but time.

"Alright!" Yu Yuan took a deep breath, stuffed the banknotes into his sleeve, and walked away with a determined look on his face.

Wang Huadu watched his retreating figure and muttered under his breath, "Scholars are ultimately unreliable, but they're better than nothing."

He looked up at the sky; the dark clouds were pressing down low, as if it were about to rain.

This awful weather is perfect for doing something shady. He silently returned to the house, picked up the anchor axe Cheng Ji had brought, and began practicing with it in a rather serious manner.

Of all the instruments, he loved this one the most.

On the battlefield, he could strike one enemy without uttering a sound—it was brilliant.

******

Shao Shuyi left in the evening. Before leaving, he left a copy of "A Brief Account of the Income and Expenditure of the Qingqi Shop in the Past Six Months" at home, instructing Wang Huadu to keep it safe. He wrote it in his spare time and it was extremely important.

Cheng Ji did not return to the camp, but went to his home near the military camp to spend the night with his wife, children, and elderly parents. Although he was self-disciplined and followed the rules, the world was like this, and the morals were declining. It was impossible for him not to be influenced. Over time, he did this kind of desertion to go home quite often, and even felt that it was a matter of course.

On the third day of the seventh lunar month, three days after payday, Liujiagang was slightly muggy.

At noon, Shao Shuyi went outside to take a look and found that it was no cooler outside than inside. The air was humid and hot, as if the world was enveloped in a steamer, making it unbearably uncomfortable.

After standing there for only a short while, he felt a layer of fine white sweat all over his body, so he went back behind the counter.

This morning, only five or six pieces of porcelain were sold, bringing in four strings and five hundred cash. With no accounts to keep, Shao Shuyi sat down in a chair, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, while recalling the key points of archery and reviewing the gains and losses in his movements and rhythm.

Cheng Ji said he had good talent, but he started training a little late.

Children from military families typically start learning to draw a small bow at six or seven years old. As they grow older, they train their strength and learn to draw a powerful bow, accumulating experience little by little. They also go hunting from time to time to hone their skills in a near-combat setting, correcting any shortcomings until they reach mastery.

Shao Shuyi only started learning archery at the age of fifteen, which was indeed a bit late. Cheng Ji said that if he hadn't been quite talented, he would never have been able to reach the level of a top-notch archer in his lifetime.

Shao Shuyi didn't care much about this.

Most of the soldiers in the various rebel armies at the end of the Yuan Dynasty were peasants. Had they ever been exposed to archery before? Very few. They might not even have the physical condition to draw a strong bow, because they were malnourished as children and their bodies were not well developed. But this didn't really matter. In large-scale field battles, the "firepower coverage" was implemented. Elite archers were certainly invaluable, but they could still fight even without them.

Besides, I'm just trying to protect myself, not some kind of fierce warrior, so why should I care about so many things?

Thinking of this, he gradually calmed down, nodding his head and looking like he was about to fall asleep, until Cao Tong came over and said softly, "Accountant, someone is looking for you."

Shao Shuyi regained consciousness and looked up to see Wang Huadu.

He thanked Cao Tong, waved to Wang Huadu, and got up to go to the backyard.

Cao Tong stood there, watching the two figures leave. After hesitating for a moment, he walked in another direction.

"You went out so early this morning?" Shao Shuyi brought over two meat patties that had gone cold and said, "Eat first."

"They left in the middle of the night," Wang Huadu said. "Otherwise, how could they have arrived so quickly?"

"You're really good at running." Shao Shuyi was speechless. "What's wrong with taking a boat? It's not like you're short of money."

"I started out as a postman," Wang Huadu laughed. "If you can't run away, how can you be a postman? You can't even deliver a message properly."

After saying this, he grabbed two meat pies and wolfed them down.

"Knowing you were coming today, the tea was all prepared." Shao Shuyi poured a bowl of tea that had already gone cold, pushed it in front of Wang Huadu, and said, "This tea was brewed by Commander Fan."

"What? Commander Fan's tea?" Wang Huadu swallowed a bite of the cake and asked in surprise.

"Just loose tea," Shao Shuyi said as he sat down opposite him.

He meant that the best quality tea from Fan Dian Shuai was made into tea cakes, which people usually used for brewing with various seasonings. The remaining medium and lower quality tea was made into loose tea, which, after processing, could be brewed with boiling water, very close to modern tea-drinking habits—the Yuan people brewed tea with boiling water, which was a major revolution in tea-drinking history, but it is not popular yet, and this method is not "high-class" enough.

"Little Tiger, just for the sake of your hearty meals, meat, fish, and tea, we're going to fight them to the bitter end," Wang Huadu said while stuffing his face.

Shao Shuyi was pouring himself tea when he heard this and paused. However, he didn't ask any questions, but patiently waited for Wang Huadu to finish his meal.

Wang Huadu, however, lacked such patience and continued, "That day after lunch, I specifically looked for Yu She..."

Shao Shuyi listened silently until Wang Huadu finished speaking, at which point his expression changed.