Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 148 Dengzhou Three-Year Account

Summer of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign.

In the study of the Dengzhou Prefectural Magistrate's Office, the west window was slightly ajar. The sea breeze gently billowed the window paper, then let it fall back down, repeating this cycle as if it were breathing.

Hu Jingshui sat opposite him, with six account books of varying thicknesses on the table. The covers were bound with dark paper and tied at the corners with thin string, and they were neatly stacked together. He had a habit when it came to bookkeeping: he never wrote a word on the cover of any of the books, keeping the pages clean with all the annotations pressed inside. If anyone picked up one and opened it, the first two pages would be blank.

When Lu Yan first encountered this habit, he asked Hu Jingshui why. Hu Jingshui replied that the most dangerous thing about account books is not that someone flips through them, but that someone can tell what kind of account it is just by looking at the cover.

Lu Yan remembered these words for a long time.

"Which one should we start with?" Hu Jing asked, looking up from the top book.

"Maritime trade".

Hu Jingshui took the book off the top, flipped to a page in the middle, flattened it, and pushed it in front of Lu Yan's desk.

"In October of the third year of the Tianqi reign, my master went to Dengzhou to take up his post. In the same month, the first batch of seafood was shipped out of the port, taking the Liaodong route. The destination was Pi Island, and the purpose was to supply Dongjiang Town." Hu Jingshui spoke slowly, as if checking what he had memorized. He spoke but did not look at the account book. "That trip netted two hundred and eighty taels. After deducting the cost of the ship, labor, and expenses for bribing various places, he received two hundred and thirty taels."

Lu Yan didn't reply; he was listening.

"In the first month of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign; after the Li family's incident; the port was reorganized, and the obstacles on the maritime trade side were greatly reduced." Hu Jingshui paused, "From the first month to the fourth month, I made three trips, two to Liaodong and one to Korea. In total, I netted about 4,600 taels."

6

The room fell silent for a moment.

The window paper was blown up by the wind again.

Hu Jingshui turned to the next page of the ledger and continued, "From May to now, two trips, one on the Liaodong line and one on the Japan line."

The shipment to Japan that day was of silk, a whole boatload of goods, and the profit almost increased tenfold. This trip netted him eleven thousand taels of silver.

6

"Subtract losses?"

"It's been reduced. The cargo that was lost on that sea voyage was also counted."

Lu Yan put the number in his mind for a moment and said, "Continue."

6

Hu Jingshui closed the first book and took out the second one, which was the account of Changshan Island. He opened it and, without mentioning the profits, began to talk about the expenses: "The expansion of the island, from the beginning of the first month until now, has cost a total of about 23,000 taels. The widening of the dock and the construction of new warehouses accounted for the majority, about 14,000 taels; the barracks were expanded twice and a new well was dug, costing about 7,000 taels; the equipment and raw materials for Zhao Tie's workshop were accounted for separately, amounting to another 2,400 taels, which is not included in this account."

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"What's the monthly production rate at the branch factory now?"

"The production of flintlock muskets is stable at between thirty and forty per month," Hu Jingshui said. "Zhao Tie said the other day that the ratio of the powder pellets has been readjusted, and the misfire rate has been reduced again. Now the firing success rate is 78%, which is almost 10% higher than last year. As for artillery, the monthly production is two pieces."

"6

Lu Yan didn't speak. He placed his hand on the table, tapped it lightly with his fingers, and then stopped.

Hu Jingshui knew that this action wasn't something he was thinking about; he was reviewing what he had just heard. He waited patiently without urging him.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Lu Yan said, "There are only a few left."

Hu Jingshui opened the last four books one by one, spread them out on the table, and went on to explain the profits of the businesses in Jinan, the share of several goods pledged in Dengzhou, and the discounted prices of two shops that he had taken advantage of after the Li family's downfall. Finally, he closed the last book in his hand and gave a total: "After deducting all expenses, costs for bribing superiors and subordinates, and the shortfall for the construction of Changshan Island, as of this summer, we have a net surplus of approximately 170,000 taels."

The silence in the study was even more profound than before.

On a summer afternoon, the sound of cicadas came from outside the courtyard wall, chirping tirelessly. Occasionally, a sea breeze would come by, suppressing the sound of the cicadas, and then letting it resume.

Lu Yan didn't say anything immediately.

Hu Jingshui sat with his hands folded on his knees and his back straight. This was a habit he had developed over many years of managing accounts. No matter who he was facing, he always sat in this posture when reporting accounts, indicating that he had finished stating the numbers and that the rest was up to others.

After a long silence, Lu Yan spoke, saying only one sentence: "It's enough. But not enough."

Hu Jingshui had no doubt about the meaning of those words. He had followed Lu Yan for several years and knew that "good enough" was just a passing grade for Lu Yan, not a satisfactory one. "Not enough" was the real issue.

"The boss refers to," he said carefully, "and there are still too few boats?"

“We’re missing ships,” Lu Yan said, “and firearms are missing, but what we’re missing the most is people.” He pushed the account books on the table aside one by one, making room for himself. “How many people are on the island now?”

'

"The personal guards and navy numbered about five hundred men, of whom about four hundred were capable of fighting."

"6

"Four hundred people." Lu Yan repeated the number, his tone calm, but Hu Jingshui could tell that it wasn't a satisfied calm. "In Liaodong, Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Town alone has nearly ten thousand people on Pi Island, not counting those stationed in various places."

"Is the owner planning to expand?"

"We want to expand," Lu Yan said, "but we can't expand too fast." He paused, "If we expand too fast, the food and supplies won't keep up. If the food and supplies don't keep up, people's morale will drop. If people's morale drops, it's better not to expand."

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Hu Jingshui nodded, silently memorizing the two sentences, and then asked, "So, what does the master intend to do with these 170,000 taels?"

"Let's leave most of it for now," Lu Yan said. "Use 50,000 to further expand the warehouses and docks on Changshan Island—not expand, but reinforce them. They need to be able to withstand the wind and waves, and also be able to store the goods. As for the rest, we'll wait."

G

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for an opportunity," Lu Yan said, then paused and added, "urgently."

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Hu Jingshui understood the meaning between the two words in the sentence, so she didn't ask any further questions. She reorganized the account books, stacked them one by one, tied them up, and prepared to take them away.

Lu Yan sat still, looking at the stack of account books, his eyes fixed on them, but he was clearly not looking at the accounts.

"Master," Hu Jingshui stood up, holding the account books, and stopped in place, "there's something I've been wanting to ask."

"explain."

"Throughout these past three years, everything has gone relatively smoothly, but the master has never let his guard down," Hu Jingshui said, her tone devoid of complaint but genuine confusion. "Seventeen hundred thousand taels of silver could have provided enough for a peaceful life, yet the master still feels it's not enough. Where exactly is this 'insufficiency'?"

Lu Yan raised his head and glanced at him.

"Have you ever seen a year of severe drought? When is there enough water in the fields?" Lu Yan said.

Hu Jingshui was stunned for a moment.

"Water from the fields is stored in irrigation ditches when it rains, and released from the ditches on sunny days," Lu Yan said. "But when the dry season comes, even the largest ditches won't be enough." He took his hand off the table. "It's the same for us. The more we store, the longer we'll live when the dry season comes."

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Hu Jingshui stood for a moment, then whispered, "Does the master mean the dry season is coming?"

"It's only a matter of time," Lu Yan said, "I just don't know which direction it will come from."

66

The cicadas outside the window started chirping again, this time even louder than before.

Hu Jingshui walked to the door, put her hand on the door frame, and turned around to say, "I understand. Take the account books back, and do the rest as the master says."

5

"Okay, go ahead."

The door closed, and footsteps faded into the distance along the corridor.

Lu Yan was left alone in the study.

He sat in the chair, not doing anything else immediately, but just looking at the empty desk in front of him, mentally going over those numbers again.

With 170,000 taels of silver and 500 people, the monthly production of flintlock muskets is 30 to 40.

enough.

But not enough.