Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Purchasing grain was as fierce as fighting a war.

Some were knocked off their feet, some were trampled and cried out in pain, some were pushed to the back and cursed, and some had their money stolen in the chaos...

The chaotic situation alarmed the officials of Kunshan Prefecture who were in charge of selling grain. They retreated deep into the granary while ordering their soldiers to quell the unrest.

Fortunately, the people weren't really trying to hoard grain; the situation hadn't deteriorated to that point yet. They simply wanted to buy the government-sold grain from the public granaries at low prices. After a period of chaos, the situation finally stabilized, and long queues of people came to buy grain, slowly inching forward.

"Damn notes?" A minor official on loan from Kunshan Prefecture waved the banknotes in his hand, tossed them aside, and said, "Go to the west wing and exchange them with someone."

In the west wing, there were more than ten people, some sitting and some standing. In the center sat a portly man, chatting and laughing with an official. Without a doubt, he was a professional in this trade.

Worn-out banknotes are unsellable by ordinary people, but he can. You can exchange them with him, but you'll have to pay a small price.

Shao Shuyi glanced at the west wing and seemed to spot Zheng Song.

No, not "seems," that was Zheng Song. He was talking to the portly rich man, his gaze casually sweeping outside, and he even made eye contact with Shao Shuyi. It was unclear whether Shao recognized him or not.

The line continued forward, and soon another person stepped forward.

"Counterfeit money?" The clerk carefully examined the banknotes in his hand, his expression suddenly changing. He roared, "How dare you! It seems I'll have to arrest you today!"

"I'm innocent, Chief!" An old man hurriedly knelt down, sobbing.

The clerk remained unmoved and sneered, "Even if you're counterfeiting, at least use some goods from Jiangxi. What is this? The characters are all wrong, it's laughably fake, and you still want to use it to cheat people?"

"This is what I earned from selling vegetables yesterday, how could it be fake?" the old man stammered, as if struck by a heavy blow.

"Stop explaining! Guards—"

"Never mind." A soft cough sounded from not far away.

Upon hearing this, the clerk's expression immediately changed. He turned around, bowed, and replied, "Yes."

After bowing, he kicked the old man again and said, "Get lost! Don't block the people behind you from buying grain."

As he spoke, he had already stuffed the counterfeit money into his pocket, making no attempt to hide it from anyone.

Two warehouse workers came over, pulled the old man aside, and then returned to their original positions, one distributing grain and the other recording it.

The clerk turned and glanced at it, then whispered a curse at one of them, "Look at what you've written! Is that even writing? You recognize it, but I don't! Neither do the gentlemen!"

Kuzi, who was taking notes, felt a little awkward.

He really doesn't know how to write very well, and he doesn't recognize many characters, but can you blame him for that?

Local warehouses of all kinds have warehouse officials and warehouse workers. Like village heads, chiefs, corner heads, and neighborhood heads, they are all commoners conscripted from various corvée laborers. They are neither officials nor clerks, so it is not normal that they are not well-educated.

The position of village head, which involves collecting taxes, is filled by wealthy local households. However, the positions of warehouse officials and warehouse managers only need to manage warehouses, so they are usually filled by ordinary people. Even if those who are filled are "uneducated" and "often make mistakes in checking income and expenditure," and even if local officials often "request salaries for clerks" and "do not apply to the people," the Yuan Dynasty still does not allow it.

Replacing the treasury officials and storekeepers with minor clerks would cost money, wouldn't it? Why not just select officials directly from the common people, and then replace them every six months or a year? That would save a lot of money.

So, you really can't blame Kuzi for this. He was originally a farmer, and the fact that he can barely recognize a few words is already a sign of his ambition. What more can be said?

Shao Shuyi observed silently in the group, seemingly lost in thought.

I don't know if the warehouseman provides meals. If he does, then he's an excellent servant.

In fact, there was a government-run shipbuilding workshop in Liujiagang, which also had a warehouse where meals were provided, but no wages were paid. The workers were also recruited by the government.

Let's analyze this rationally. The warehouseman provides two meals a day, even if it's just one dry and one liquid, it's enough for him to survive. The downside is that he doesn't get a penny of wages, which means he's working for free. If he's a janitor, he might work for six months or a year, and when it's time to pay taxes, he won't be able to pay, and he'll be doomed.

This has both advantages and disadvantages!

Shao Shuyi had already considered this as a backup plan. If all else failed, he could go there to get a decent meal, which was better than starving to death. The only problem was that there might be competition for the warehouse, and they might not hire him.

Lost in thought, the group moved forward a bit more, until they were one person in front of Shao Shuyi.

He took out a Zhiyuan banknote and more than ten Zhongtong banknotes, and said tremblingly, "Buy...buy rice."

The clerk picked up the banknotes, looked at them, and threw them into a wooden box beside him, saying, "Fifteen strings of cash, eight hundred and sixty coins."

Ku Zi jotted it down in a crooked hand, then looked up at the clerk.

The minor official frowned and pondered for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "Seven measures and six..."

Shao Shuyi's heart pounded.

For a fleeting moment, many thoughts flashed through his mind, but they all converged into one: he needed to escape his predicament as quickly as possible, or he would face utter ruin.

"Seven bushels and nine dou..." The clerk stretched out his fingers, as if calculating.

"Seven pecks, nine liters, and three he." Shao Shuyi blurted out in a moment of impulsiveness.

The clerk was taken aback, perhaps because his train of thought had been interrupted, and glared fiercely at Shao Shuyi.

The official in the green robe not far away raised his eyelids and looked at Shao Shuyi with some surprise.

Shao Shuyi dared not look at him for long, only stealing a glance at the man. He saw that the man had a high nose and deep-set eyes, unlike the people of the Central Plains. If he was not mistaken, he must be a Semu person. The Yuan court especially liked to use Semu people as officials in finance, law, or maritime trade.

"Indeed, it is seven pecks, nine pints, and three he." The clerk finally understood and turned to give the order.

Another warehouse worker carried various containers, weighed the grains, and then poured them into the buyer's sack.

The man thanked him profusely and left with a beaming smile.

One shi of rice costs twenty guan, which is more than ten guan cheaper than the market price. Buying it is a sure win. The Changping Yi Warehouse can hold a million shi of grain and is said to store 300,000 shi of grain. It is hard to say how much it actually holds. In any case, whenever there is a poor harvest and rice needs to be sold to suppress prices, they will only sell a few thousand shi at most, and will never sell more than 10,000 shi. It is first come, first served.

"Five strings of cash in Zhongtong paper money, and two and a half dou of rice." After the man in front left, Shao Shuyi stepped forward and handed over the five banknotes.

After taking it, the clerk pretended to look at it, secretly glancing at the foreign official out of the corner of his eye. After a moment, he sighed slightly and waved to the storekeeper beside him, saying, "Two and a half dou of coarse rice, give it to him."

Ku Zi naturally didn't hesitate and quickly handed over the grain.

Shao Shuyi wanted to linger a while, but the people behind him had already pushed their way through, so he had no choice but to turn around and leave.

The Semu official didn't say anything from beginning to end, which disappointed him somewhat.

The adventure was unsuccessful.

However, he quickly came to terms with it, thinking, "If I gain it, I'm lucky; if I lose it, it's fate. It would be abnormal if things were done so easily."

There will be opportunities in the future!

The art of war lies in maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses. One must leverage one's strengths, seize precious opportunities, and achieve a decisive victory.

After leaving the granary, he gazed at the long embankment in the distance.

Shops lined the dike, and the faint sound of singing drifted over: "...I am Li Keyong. I inherited the title of Military Governor of Youzhou, but because I beat Duan Wenchu ​​while drunk, I was demoted to the Shatuo region, where I have been for ten years..."

The embankment was teeming with tourists, and scholars and literati, their long sleeves fluttering in the wind, stood as if reciting poetry: "The likes of Yi Fu, now rest in their tortoise-shaped pedestals on the mounds of death. They can only wave their jade dusters, never removing their hats and helmets..."

Outside the dike, masts stood like a forest, and boats of all sizes came and went, transporting cargo to various places. From the decks, songs could be heard: "The dark-faced young man rows three oars, carrying officials to the big boat. At midday, he turns the rudder first, and at the same time raises his hands to worship the gods."

What a vibrant and lively scene!

Shao Shuyi listened in a daze, then chuckled to himself. What did this have to do with him? Was Li Keyong that powerful? And who was Yifu?

Hurry home and fill your stomach, then think about how to change your situation.

******

When he returned home carrying grain, he saw Kong Tie sitting inside, greeting him.

Shao Shuyi nodded, first putting the coarse rice he had bought into the grain bin in the west room, then picked up a reed cushion, sat down at the door, and said, "Baijianu, why are you back again?"

"Let me ask again. The Ye family's boat is short two boats. If you're willing to go, you can board today. You'll be paid one ingot of paper per month. It'll be the same as when you worked for the Zheng family. You won't have to pay extra for meals," Kong Tie said directly, without wasting any words.

He spoke in a deep, muffled voice, which sounded somewhat dull, but it carried weight and was very sincere.

Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment.

He had worked on ships before, but only in the vicinity of the Yangtze River estuary, where he was employed by his father to transport goods over short distances. Logically, he should have been somewhat adapted to sailing and even seafaring, and should not have suffered severe seasickness in the rough seas.

Moreover, the income is really quite good.

Li Zhuang worked at the boat factory and was paid according to the standard for a family of four, but his monthly income was only nine dou of rice, half a jin of salt, and ten guan of cash.

The monthly salary of a county magistrate in a local area was only seventeen strings of cash. Many years ago, due to soaring prices, the imperial court stipulated that officials would receive an extra dou of rice for every string of cash they earned. In other words, the actual monthly income of a county magistrate was seventeen strings of cash and one shi and seven dou of rice. It seemed good, but they were officials, and they had many expenses, including entertaining guests. It was simply not enough, forcing them to resort to embezzlement and bribery.

Earning fifty strings of cash in just one month at sea is really quite good.

However, Shao Shuyi still refused, saying, "I'm not going."

Kong Tie gave him a deep look and said, "Then forget it. But—"

"But what?" Shao Shuyi asked.

"I just heard some news: Master Chen has run away."

"Which Master Chen?" Shao Shuyi didn't react for a moment.

"Chief Chen Wang."

Shao Shuyi was taken aback and asked, "Really?"

"Someone saw him pack his belongings, take a few bags of grain, hire an oxcart, and head south with his whole family. When people asked him about it on the way, Chen Wang looked miserable and said that his whole family was fleeing for their lives and that he was saying goodbye," Kong Tie said.

Shao Shuyi remained silent.

I just came in this morning to ask if I had received five strings of cash, and then I ran away this afternoon. Is it really necessary to be so fast?

Moreover, this escape was quite outrageous. In broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he swaggered around, even stopping to greet and exchange a few words with acquaintances, showing no sign of panic whatsoever.

Heading south, they would most likely be heading to Suzhou to join relatives or friends.

Chen Wang is learned. If he goes to Suzhou and has someone to help him settle down, it won't be difficult for him to find a job and support his family.

But—he's gone, what will I do?

"Little Tiger, come with me. There'll be someone to look after you on the ship." Kong Tie couldn't help but persuade him again, "Once we're on the ship, even if those corrupt officials wanted to arrest someone, they wouldn't be able to. By the time we return to Liujiagang, it will be several months later, and perhaps the storm will have passed. At the very least, you'll have a tael of silver to pay off your debts."

Shao Shuyi neither confirmed nor denied the statement.

Having read many books about the Age of Exploration, he was fully aware of the dangers of seafaring in those days. As the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall, and he still retained some of the pride of a modern man, subconsciously feeling that he could always find an opportunity.

He looked at Kong Tie and asked, "Do you know which officials of different ethnicities are in the prefecture or state?"