Shao Shuyi had originally planned to stay at the boatyard for three days, never expecting that he would be forced to leave on the seventeenth.
The reason was that the space where he was staying needed to be used for storage. The Zheng family had already spoken with the authorities on his behalf, so the government would not be coming to collect his tax arrears for the time being. As a result, he could spend these two days back at home, provided he reported to the boatyard early on the morning of the nineteenth.
To be honest, he was still somewhat frightened. Consequently, as he neared the edge of the village, he hid and watched for a good while. Only after confirming that neither the soldiers nor the bailiffs were anywhere to be seen did he breathe a sigh of relief, quickening his pace to return home.
Just as he had expected, anything of even slight value had been carted off: the tools he used to repair boats, the small amount of salt he had stashed in the stove cavity, the blanket he slept under at night…
Looking at the house, which looked as though thieves had stripped it bare, Shao Shuyi sighed. He gathered up a few intact earthenware pots and a rice steamer, along with a kitchen knife he was accustomed to hiding in a crevice in the wall, intending to cook himself a meal.
Of course, before that, he needed to buy some grain. Part of it was for his own meals, and part of it was to give to the vegetable farmer who had helped him that night. Although he had already tossed the man a bag of rice back then, one matter did not cancel out the other.
As the sun sank behind the western hills, Shao Shuyi returned home to find Kong Tie along with two men who had accompanied him.
The first was named Yu Yuan, the youngest son of Mr. Yu. Shao Shuyi had a faint recollection of having seen him a few times. At present, he was idle at home, ostensibly in mourning for his father. In truth, common folk could not afford to be so punctilious—it was impossible for them to observe three full years of filial mourning—and he was simply out of work for now.
The second was named Wang Huadu, a man from Zhangjing. He belonged to a postal courier household and was entirely on his own. It was said that he had only recently fled, as the postal relay station where he had served had collapsed as well.
To Shao Shuyi's surprise, Wang Huadu was actually carrying a massive cured sheep carcass. A sheep carcass of this sort had its head, limbs, and innards removed before being cured with salt and spices, typically meant for stewing.
Seeing Shao Shuyi's astonished look, Wang Huadu said in a boisterous tone, “Whenever the government offices of the Jiangnan branch secretariat, surveillance commissions, routes, or prefectures dispatch an envoy, they issue a horse warrant. Those envoys won't touch pork, fish, wild geese, domestic geese, or ducks—it must be mutton. Buying sheep every single day cost our jamchi an immense sum, and after several batches of people were rotated in, they all ran off. Last year, the authorities conscripted wealthy households to serve as relay officials. A man did the job for over half a year and nearly went bankrupt, and now even he couldn't keep it going. On the day the station disbanded, I took advantage of the chaos to make off with this cured sheep carcass.”
Shao Shuyi could not help but chuckle, and Kong Tie and the others also shook their heads with amusement.
The four of them then entered the front courtyard together. One drew water, another picked over the vegetables, and another washed the rice. Shao Shuyi and Kong Tie set to work preparing the sheep carcass, chatting as they worked.
“What kind of post did you get?” Kong Tie asked quietly when an opportunity arose.
Shao Shuyi said evenly, “The Zheng family is short-handed. They might make me an accountant or steward. As for the matter of my arrears, it's no longer an issue.”
Hearing that Shao Shuyi had gained the Zheng family's protection, a smile appeared on Kong Tie's face, and he shared some news he had gathered: “Master Zheng's health is poor. He's suffered several bouts of serious illness and might resign his post to retire.”
Zheng Yonghe, the Deputy Myriad Household Commander of the Transport Office, was a native of Quzhou and had three sons. His eldest son had died young, around ten years of age; his second son had once gone out to sea and perished when his vessel capsized in the Wanli Changtan shallows; and now only his youngest son, Zheng Guozhen, remained alive.
Once Zheng Yonghe stepped down, he would most likely return to his ancestral home in Quzhou to recuperate. But Zheng Guozhen would not leave. Not only would he stay, but he would also seize the time to make intensive arrangements in the Taicang and Liujiagang areas to prepare for the future. The former was the rumor Kong Tie had heard; the latter was his own conjecture.
Shao Shuyi agreed with this assessment. Yet he did not believe that the Zheng family would lose their influence just because Zheng Yonghe retired.
What a joke. The ties among the families in the Transport Office ran deep. Zheng Yonghe had served as Deputy Myriad Household Commander for years and had accumulated untold favors and leverage. Relying on his venerable standing alone, shielding his descendants would be no trouble at all.
Even so, distant prestige was no match for direct authority. Once he stepped aside, the Zheng family's influence in Taicang would certainly not be as potent as before, leaving them in a posture of mere preservation and gradual decline.
In short, the Zheng family would not collapse immediately; their growth had simply reached its ceiling.
“Baijianu, where did you hear this news?” Shao Shuyi asked, wanting to confirm it once more.
“These past few days, I've been staying aboard the Ye family's boats. Everyone there belongs to the Chongming Battalion of Kunshan, and we know each other inside out. It's no secret that Master Zheng is bedridden with illness; plenty of people are talking about it,” Kong Tie replied. “The Ye family is working quietly behind the scenes as well, dead set on taking the vacated post of Deputy Myriad Household Commander, unless the imperial court dispatches someone else from outside.”
Shao Shuyi nodded, then asked, “How is morale among the fleet? There are only two days left before they put to sea, right?”
Kong Tie had also heard about the authorities aggressively pursuing tax arrears, and he said, “The boat households for the spring transport run largely escaped trouble, but it's hard to say for the summer run. As for their morale? Just like always. Which year doesn't have this sort of nonsense? Unless sea boat households stop paying their household levies altogether, but that's practically impossible.”
“True enough,” Shao Shuyi sighed.
Such was the lot of commoners at the bottom of society. They sold their sons and daughters to pay taxes and perform corvée for the court. As long as they could scrape by, they would endure in silence—right up until the day they could bear it no longer.
“Curse your soul! You're going to that shrine hall again…” An old woman's wailing and lamenting suddenly drifted over from a neighboring courtyard.
“Mind your own business!” An old man snorted, flinging his arm as he walked off toward Yiliao Hall.
“The White Lotus Sect?” Kong Tie was a local, so he naturally understood what was meant by a shrine hall, prompting his question.
“Aye, the White Lotus Sect. Keep away from it,” Shao Shuyi said as he sliced firmly into the meat.
Kong Tie straightened up, gazed toward the opposite yard in silence for a moment, and then nodded. “Men of the sea—who among us would believe in such things?”
Shao Shuyi gave a low grunt of agreement. He believed that. Even in the twenty-first century of his former life, his home village north of the Yangtze had still possessed a place named Tianfei Temple, which showed how widely faith in Mazu had spread, having become the primary spiritual anchor for the coastal population.
The White Lotus Sect could find no footing here. They could only pursue avenues among the upper classes, fleecing wealthy households to fund the construction of shrine halls. But compared to the ubiquitous temples of the Heavenly Consort, they lagged far behind.
“Believe in what? The White Lotus Sect?” Wang Huadu and Yu Yuan walked over, carrying the washed greens and rinsed rice.
“Gounu, have you ever been into a shrine hall before?” Kong Tie seemed to recall something, grabbing Wang Huadu and asking.
“Never.” Setting down the greens, Wang Huadu shook his head repeatedly. “I did visit an Erke'un temple once, but that was just out of curiosity.”
Kong Tie stared at him for a moment before looking away.
“Go tend the fire, Baijianu,” Shao Shuyi said with a laugh, giving him a gentle shove.
Without a word, Kong Tie walked straight to the rice steamer and set about kindling the flame.
The four men sat in the kitchen, taking in the fragrant aroma while conversing casually.
“Baijianu, will you be going to Dadu this time?” Yu Yuan asked curiously from where he huddled at the back.
Perhaps because he came from a scholarly family, Yu Yuan had a fair complexion and few calluses on his hands, having clearly suffered little hardship growing up. He was also the only one among the four besides Shao Shuyi who could read and write.
By rights, he did not belong to the same circle as sea boat households and postal courier households. But in truth, with the way things were in the Great Yuan dynasty, scenes of scholars being stripped of all dignity were commonplace; families fleeing after failing to pay their taxes were hardly few and far between. The world saw only those refined men of letters who gathered frequently for excursions and poetry, but such people were wealthy gentry and coastal magnates rather than mere scholars, belonging to an entirely different class from impoverished literati.
After Mr. Yu passed away, his family could only get by on a meager patch of poor land. As the master's youngest child, Yu Yuan possessed only a superficial grasp of learning and had already blended into the company of bottom-tier sea boat households, postal courier households, artisan households, and military households.
Hearing his question, Wang Huadu clapped him boisterously on the shoulder. “I doubt he'll make it to Dadu. He'll go ashore at Zhigu.”
Kong Tie slowly nodded and said, “Some will go to Dadu to deliver gifts, but not me. Plenty of cured chickens are stocked in the storehouse.”
Shao Shuyi laughed upon hearing that.
For some reason, southerners of this era were fond of offering cured poultry as gifts. In particular, southerners seeking official posts in Dadu distributed cured chickens so lavishly that the nobles of Dadu had turned “cured chicken” into a derogatory epithet for them.
“Even if you don't make it to Dadu, seeing Zhigu is good enough. You can tell us about the local customs when you get back,” Shao Shuyi said with a smile.
Kong Tie nodded first, then looked into Shao Shuyi's eyes and asked, “Xiaohu, are you curious about the North?”
Shao Shuyi did not conceal his thoughts, replying frankly, “Naturally, I'm quite interested.”
“Then why not put to sea with me?” Kong Tie still harbored lingering thoughts on the matter and pressed him. “What are your plans for the future? Working as a hired hand for the Zheng family your whole life?”
“If only that were possible,” Shao Shuyi said with a soft sigh. “Once the world falls into chaos, even that won't be an option.”
Besides, he still had a hurdle right before him: heaven only knew what this upcoming task truly entailed. It might well carry great risks, though there was no need to voice that in front of everyone.
At his words, Kong Tie's expression shifted slightly.
Yu Yuan looked thoroughly bewildered.
Wang Huadu, however, jumped in alarm and exclaimed, “The realm is going to fall into chaos? Xiaohu, don't scare me.”
“Why would I frighten you?” Shao Shuyi said helplessly.
Wang Huadu gave a loud laugh. “Actually, it doesn't matter if it falls into chaos. I'm all on my own with nothing to lose—a wretched life, taking things one day at a time. But if the day comes when I can't survive, I'll take a gamble. Maybe I'll end up as an official!”
Kong Tie cast Wang Huadu an approving glance, then glanced over at Yu Yuan, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
Shao Shuyi took in everyone's expressions before saying after a moment, “Who can truly know what the future holds? But preparing for the rain beforehand is never wrong, lest we be caught off guard when the time comes.”
Kong Tie looked at Shao Shuyi, then quickly averted his gaze.
“What does 'preparing for the rain' mean?” Wang Huadu asked blankly.
“It means making preparations in advance,” Yu Yuan explained in a low voice.
Wang Huadu gave him another hearty smack on the shoulder, making Yu Yuan grimace in pain.
“Brother Yu is right—it means making preparations in advance,” Shao Shuyi said. “In times like these, I fear things will only grow more chaotic. As the common saying goes, one man's wit is short, but many men's wisdom is deep. Divided, we are weak; united, we are strong. If we have strength to spare in the days ahead, we should look out for and support one another. Only then can we secure a sliver of a chance to survive in a chaotic world.”
“Well said!” Wang Huadu slapped his thigh, declaring loudly, “Even when brawling with folk in the countryside, one more man means one more measure of victory!”
Kong Tie looked at Shao Shuyi again, nodding slightly.
Yu Yuan gave a soft assent, his face showing a mix of dread, worry, and even a faint thrill of excitement.
“Let's eat first,” Shao Shuyi said, standing up. “We can talk over the details another day. In this world, we can only take things one step at a time. Who could ever guarantee that everything turns out flawless?”
Chapter 11