bullyxtreme Chapter 241 A Trivial Matter
Chapter 241 A Trivial Matter
Chapter 241 A Trivial Matter
By the fifteenth of the eleventh lunar month, Shao Shuyi had been working at the silk shop for quite some time.
The results are as follows—
I asked a soldier from the Dadu Garrison to apply some plaster to the wall, and it looks much better now.
I asked a soldier from the capital to clean the dry latrine, and now I can relieve myself for a long time.
We asked the sergeants from Dadu to pickle twenty vats of salted vegetables, so our monthly salted vegetable allowance for next year is secured.
We invited soldiers from the capital to perform some tricks to enrich the employees' lives.
He's truly an all-around expert; aside from being bad at fighting, he's a master at everything else.
There are about 10,000 bolts of Jiangyin cotton cloth stored in the warehouse. Some are sold retail, and some are supplied to familiar large customers. The remaining unsold cloth will be delivered to sea merchants next year during the monsoon season.
Zheng Yonghe's words were effective, and Shengye Trading Company's business visibly improved.
By mid-November, the books contained over 722 ingots of cash, along with 90,000 catties of salt, 470 shi of grain, and other assets.
Huangtian Trading Company focused on trading along the Xicheng Canal. Including the money earned from cotton cloth transactions, its account balance stopped declining and rebounded, reaching 75 spindles and 13...
Guan Yu. Let's keep up the good work before the New Year and strive to break through 100 ingots, so we can give our brothers some dividends and let them see some return on their investment.
The lives of business people are simple and unpretentious.
On the 20th of the eleventh lunar month, Zheng Fan finally managed to arrange a meeting with the very busy Shen Rong. The two agreed to meet at Shen's residence in Liujiagang.
That morning, after washing up, Shao Shuyi put on new clothes and carefully groomed himself in front of the bronze mirror. He was so serious that even the usually taciturn Tie Niu couldn't bear to watch and hesitated several times before reminding him that he should go out.
Seeing his expression, Shao Shuyi laughed and stuffed the bronze mirror into the drawer, saying, "Tie Niu, you don't understand. People always need some fun, right? Otherwise, spending all day doing accounts or fighting would be boring to death."
Tie Niu grunted in agreement, still not understanding.
In his view, life is just about eating, sleeping, beating children, or killing others. Why bother with so many other things?
However, Brother Shao is a capable person. He thinks that things that are fun must be fun, it's just that he can't do them himself.
"Never mind, I'm leaving." Shao Shuyi untied the ring-bladed knife from his belt and threw it on the bed. He then switched to a sheathed dagger and hid it inside his clothes.
The courtyard was full of people who were having breakfast. When they saw Shao Shuyi come out, they all got up.
Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said, "Eat first, it won't make a difference."
After saying that, he glanced at his second sister who was pickling vegetables, asked Tie Niu to bring a bundle, and handed it to her personally, saying with a smile, "I've been away for several months and missed your good news, so here's a belated gift for you."
"Brother Shao, this—" Second Sister instinctively wanted to take it, but then felt a little embarrassed, and her hands were dirty, so she was at a loss.
Shao Shuyi laughed heartily, placed the bundle on a chair beside him, and said, "You've been working here for a long time, we're all family, take what you need, what's there to be embarrassed about?"
The bundle contained two ingots of cash, four bolts of silk, and two bolts of colored satin, which was quite generous as a wedding gift, befitting Brother Shao's status and position.
The second sister's new husband was Nie Shi, a guard at the Shen residence. The two families spoke similar languages and shared similar customs, and their hometowns were not far apart. Each of them had a child. Since they had taken a liking to each other, it wouldn't be bad for them to live together as a couple.
After everyone had finished eating, Shao Shuyi, surrounded by the crowd, walked westward, stepping on the frost-covered ground.
******
On the 20th of the eleventh lunar month, the wind along the river was as hard as a knife.
As Shao Shuyi followed the servant through the archway of the Winter Garden, his pace unconsciously slowed down because he could faintly hear voices coming from inside.
"The Shen family rose to prominence through commerce; it's truly inconceivable that they would abandon the path of trade at this time." This was Shen Rong's voice. "I gave them a thorough dressing-down. What a joke! How will people view our Shen family now?"
"What you say is very true, brother." The gentle and calm voice belonged to Madam Shen. "In fact, even farming peacefully is difficult nowadays. Besides, how much of what the land produces can we use ourselves? Grain, fruits and vegetables, silk, hemp, and cotton all have to be sold in the end."
As the servant entered to report, Shen Rong and Madam Shen's voices quickly ceased.
A moment later, the guard Nie Xu came over, glanced at Shao Shuyi, and nodded, saying, "Shao, please come with me."
""
Shao Shuyi quickly arrived at a hall. After a quick glance, he noticed that in addition to the Shen siblings, Mo Bei, and Zheng Fan, there was a man in his thirties with a tired or even sickly look on his face.
"Little Tiger has finally arrived." Zheng Fan immediately stood up and said, "You already know Rongfu Gong, Madam Shen, and Manager Mo, so I won't say much. This is Master Wang Lin, who is very famous in Suzhou. He has set up a martial arts school outside the East Gate, teaching people martial arts. He has no less than a hundred students and is now employed by the Shen family."
"You've passed." Wang Lin stood up, bowed, and said, "There are only about ten people who have truly learned it."
2
Shao Shuyi returned the greeting.
Master Wang Lin suffered a setback in Wuhu, his reputation plummeted, and it's said that his martial arts club has even closed down.
Unexpectedly, after Master Wang "lost his job," he actually came to work for the Shen family. It seems that his injuries have not fully healed yet.
"I had nothing to do today, but I wanted to see what kind of person Shao She, who frequents Wuhu, really is." Wang Lin's words carried a hint of resentment.
Shao Shuyi chuckled and didn't respond to the question.
Master Wang is actually quite skilled; he has real talent. When an "academic" martial artist suddenly encounters an unreasonable and desperate thug, he is able to slowly turn the tide after falling into a disadvantageous position. This shows that he is not a fraud. Although many people in Suzhou now believe that Wang Lin is "all talk and no action" and "a fraudster."
"Master Wang, why are you so bothered by this?" Mo Bei stroked his beard and laughed, "Shao She is young and strong, and he has a group of brave and daring brothers under his command. Of course he can make it to Wuhu."
Wang Lin fell silent upon hearing this.
Shao Shuyi ignored him and bowed to the Shen siblings.
"Little Tiger, it's been almost two years since we last met, hasn't it?" Shen Rong returned the greeting with a smile.
"Rongfu Gong's demeanor is even more impressive than before," Shao Shuyi said.
"That means I've gotten fatter than before," Shen Rong joked.
Zheng Fan and Mo Bei chuckled twice, and Master Wang, who hadn't intended to laugh, twitched his lips in the end, which was considered a sign that he had laughed.
Wearing a pure white fox fur coat, Madam Shen stood quietly to the side. After the laughter subsided, she glanced at Shao Shuyi and said, "Shao She, it's been a long time."
His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, perfectly controlled, and it carried a hint of familiarity, with a subtle touch of politeness.
"I hope you are well, Madam." Shao Shuyi said, "I have been so busy that it has been several months since we last met."
After exchanging pleasantries, Shen Rong invited everyone to sit down and then served tea.
"This is Lu'an tea." Shen Rong glanced around and said with a smile, "Perhaps it's because I'm getting old, but I don't like sweet tea anymore. I just find the bitterness of Lu'an tea strong enough. It's a pity that the road to Luzhou is not safe, so Lu'an tea can't be transported out, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find on the market."
Shao Shuyi accepted the tea brought by the maid. After lifting the lid of the teacup, a slightly bitter tea aroma mingled with the steam and rose up.
He took a small sip; the tea was slightly bitter at first, but had a lingering sweet aftertaste—it was indeed quite good.
However, while tea is indeed excellent, there are substitutes available on the market. Shen Rong's intention in saying this was quite clear.
Sure enough, after everyone had tasted the tea, Shen Rong sighed and said, "Since we've gathered here today, I won't bother with formalities. The world is in turmoil, and it's getting worse every day. Even if we wanted to do business peacefully, it would be impossible."
People say the Shen family is the wealthiest in Jiangnan, but this wealth was accumulated little by little. Both banks of the Yangtze River are rich in resources and have abundant wealth. Even in the chaotic Huainan and Huaixi regions, the cities along the river are more stable and prosperous.
To be honest, my family runs businesses in these riverside towns and cities, and we make quite a bit of money. Especially after the world fell into chaos, the wealthy locals were even more willing to exchange their previously reluctant gold, silver, copper coins, and jewelry for grain, tea, and medicinal herbs in the market, reaping substantial profits. These transactions—
'
Shen Rong glanced at Shao Shuyi, Wang Lin, and Nie Shi, who was standing at the door, and continued, "Of course we will continue to do it, but it can't be like before."
Shao Shuyi listened silently, his eyes fixed straight ahead—this was no pretense.
He thought to himself, "The Shen family is really something, managing to extract good stuff from the landlords and wealthy people in Huainan and Huaixi."
Judging from his tone, he seemed reluctant to accept paper money and instead wanted people to hand over "hard currency" such as gold, silver, copper coins, and jewelry in exchange for grain, tea, medicine, or other goods.
This business must be very profitable, otherwise they wouldn't risk going to Huainan and Huaixi to do business, even if it's just in towns along the river or major rivers.
At the same time, he felt a bit emotional. He had taken great risks to smuggle salt and received a lot of paper money in return, while the Shen family did legitimate business and received hard currency, with at least a significant portion of the payment settled in gold, silver, or copper. There was indeed a difference in their levels.
Lost in thought, Shen Rong's voice rang out again. He said, "Opening a shop and selling goods is not difficult; others will handle that. The difficulty lies in transportation. If goods cannot be transported in or out, everything will be in vain."
At this point, Shen Rong looked at Shao Shuyi and said, "Little Tiger, I know a thing or two about your skills. Would you be willing to transport goods between Wuhu and other places for me?"
All eyes turned to her, except for Madam Shen, who seemed to be thinking about something with her head down.
Shao Shuyi looked at Shen Rong, his gaze frank and his tone calm: "Does Rongfu know about 'chicken rib'?"
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