Celadon

On the nineteenth day of the fourth month, according to their prior agreement, Shao Shuyi arrived at the boatyard and boarded the vessel with the Zheng family members, setting off together for Liujiagang. Before departing, Shao Shuyi gave Li Zhuang five guan in paper notes as a token of gratitude; when it came to worldly wisdom and interpersonal courtesy, he handled things with consummate skill. The joyful feast two nights earlier had lasted until well past midnight before dispersing. The impoverished companions had sucked every drop of marrow from the bones, polishing off every bite of food, soup, and rice—this had also been the best and fullest meal Shao Shuyi had eaten in the nearly two months since his transmigration. Early the next morning, Kong Tie was the first to take his leave. Because the Wenzhou coastal strongman Cai Luantou had slipped away with a band of men, the Transport Office and the branch secretariat had been forced to requisition vessels from other regions, delaying the spring grain transport until now. Even so, the time had almost come; at the latest, the first convoy of ships would set sail in two days, laden with grain bound for Zhigu. Yu Yuan was the second to depart. He was like one of those well-behaved, high-achieving students from the modern world who had somehow fallen in with a crowd of delinquent dropouts, calling each other brothers. If his elder brother caught wind of this, a severe beating would be unavoidable—Yu Yuan’s eldest brother, Yu Chu, served as an interpreter in the Transport Office, one of the forty-seven salaried functionaries on the government rolls. That scoundrel Wang Huadu remained behind in the Shao family cottage. Shao Shuyi left the remaining grain and beans as well as the vegetable plots in his care, letting him do as he pleased. Wang Huadu had not said much, merely clasping his hands in thanks. He would probably hide out in the Shao cottage for a while longer until the heat blew over; word had it he intended to head to Shanghai County later to seek refuge with relatives, though whether that was true remained to be seen. By midmorning, when the sun had risen three poles high, the vessel carrying the Zheng family contingent finally weighed anchor and set sail. The three-masted ship, drawing deep draft, sailed down the Lou River, heading straight toward Liujiagang. Only now did Shao Shuyi see the lower reaches of the Lou River in their full panorama for the first time. This major seaward waterway, also known as the Liu River, was one of the three principal discharge channels of Lake Tai—namely the East River, the Song River, and the Lou River. The East River, which once emptied into the sea near Jinshanwei, had already silted up and fallen into disuse back in the Tang dynasty. The Song River (Wusong River) had steadily lengthened as the coastline expanded seaward, causing its riverbed gradient to flatten and its current to slacken. Consequently, since the late Southern Song dynasty, the Lou River had gradually become the primary outflow channel of Lake Tai, known for being 'swift and free of silt' and 'naturally deep without dredging.' Moreover, swept clean by river currents, ocean tides, and pounding waves, Liujiagang at the mouth of the Lou River was already a fine harbor renowned far and wide. Broad and deep, it harbored more than a thousand official and private vessels year-round; the Lou River and the port formed an exquisite pair. After drifting downriver for half a day, the Zheng family's vessel had reached the lower reaches of the Lou River. Standing on the foredeck and gazing out across the broad expanse of water, Shao Shuyi felt a swell of emotion. The closer to the Yangtze, the wider the Lou River became. The stretch before his eyes looked to be over two li wide, and according to seasoned boatmen, the depth approached two zhang—more than six meters—truly an astonishing sight. Here, buildings along both banks grew conspicuously dense. Piers large and small, warehouses, storefronts, taverns, brothels, and even naval encampments stood row upon row, everywhere in sight. Many wealthy merchants and powerful figures from across the empire and overseas had settled here for one simple reason: convenience in doing business. 'I wonder just how much wealth flows through this Liujiagang,' Shao Shuyi marveled inwardly. In his eyes, Liujiagang already counted as an independent town, no different from Taicang—where the seat of Kunshan Zhou, the Transport Office, and the Maritime Trade Supervisorate were located—and perhaps even more prosperous. The commercial bustle along the several dozen li between Liujiagang and Taicang was just as vibrant. Even among the local populace, few seemed to cultivate grain. Everywhere the eye could see, orchards, vegetable plots, mulberry groves, livestock pens, and even horticultural nurseries abounded, occupying nearly half of the fields, while plots purely devoted to grain were far fewer. 'Suburban residents near commercial cities are probably more inclined to grow cash crops; they make far more that way than growing grain,' Shao Shuyi mused in silence. Some things truly hadn't changed much from ancient times to the present. Footsteps sounded behind him, and Zheng Song walked onto the foredeck. Shao Shuyi turned and bowed with a respectful smile. Zheng Song gave a slight nod, his expression unchanged, staring straight ahead at the river. The bow sliced through the water, cruising swiftly forward. More and more ships were moored along both flanks of the channel; they seemed on the verge of entering the core area of Liujiagang. 'Our family owns several commercial establishments within the port. You are going to a shop that sells celadon, where you will serve as an accountant,' Zheng Song spoke after a long silence. 'The work is not heavy—just writing and bookkeeping—though in your spare time you will also help organize and take inventory in the warehouses. You may lodge at the shop and share your three meals a day with the senior staff. At the start of each month, you may draw four dou of polished nonglutinous rice, three liang of granulated salt, one jar of pickled vegetables, and twenty guan in Zhongtong paper notes. During the four seasons and eight major festivals, you will receive whatever gifts the others get. In short, we will not treat you like an outsider.' Having said this, Zheng Song turned his head, inspecting Shao Shuyi with falcon-sharp eyes. Shao Shuyi forced a smile and bowed once more. 'There is no need for that,' Zheng Song said with a wave of his hand. 'Just do your work diligently and harbor no divided loyalty. The Zheng family will never mistreat those who render service, nor will we spare those who bite the hand that feeds them. Bear that in mind.' 'Understood,' Shao Shuyi responded respectfully. Zheng Song fell silent; he had said all there was to say. The sailing master poked his head out from the cabin, hesitating as if wanting to speak. 'What is it?' Zheng Song glanced at him and asked. 'The old locust trees are about a li ahead,' the master said. 'Drop anchor,' Zheng Song said with a nod. The master acknowledged the command and began instructing the boatmen to prepare for mooring. Shao Shuyi looked ahead and indeed spotted several towering locust trees standing on the riverbank. Beside the trees, a wooden jetty extended out into the river. This made things far more convenient, as large vessels could berth directly alongside the pier without needing small boats to ferry back and forth—in many parts of Liujiagang, that wasn't possible; large ships had to anchor in deep water, relying on sampans to shuttle between vessel and shore, which was quite cumbersome. Zheng Song quietly stepped away, seemingly to confer with several trusted confidants on other matters. Shao Shuyi stood on deck for a moment, inclined to lend a hand, but not knowing where to begin, he simply shook his head and observed the shoreline closely. As the ship drew nearer to the old locust trees, pavilions, tall towers, and brick-and-stone-walled compounds came faintly into view on shore. People were growing more numerous as well. Shading their eyes with their hands, they peered intently at the vessels on the river; upon spotting the large Zheng family banner fluttering high on the mast, they immediately began waving their arms. Donkey carts, mule carts, and even ox carts were brought over one by one, lining up along the bank in preparation for unloading cargo. Around them, seven or eight men in blue-green clothing stood spread out at a distance, keeping watch. They might not be professional martial artists—most were likely just hired hands doubling as muscle—yet holding weapons, they looked intimidating enough to deter petty thieves and prowlers. The sailing master’s raspy duck-like voice rang out from the cabin's upper deck. Chanting work songs, the sailors furled the sails and turned the helm in one seamless motion; the massive inland transport vessel moved like a tamed beast, edging slowly and precisely toward the jetty. Once close, a coil of mooring rope was tossed from the vessel; the men ashore caught it cleanly, hitched it to a wooden piling, and hauled steadily, bringing the ship to a flawless berth on the eastern side of the jetty. Stone anchors splashed into the water, kicking up muddy spray. Several gangplanks were run out, bridging deck and pier. 'Let's go,' the sailing master called out to Shao Shuyi, having appeared on the foredeck without him noticing. Shao Shuyi looked back toward the cabin. Seeing that Zheng Song had already emerged, he hesitated no longer and stepped across the gangplank onto the jetty. He had finally arrived in Liujiagang. *** Dusk gradually settled in. Inside the courtyard of blue bricks and black tiles, porcelain of every kind was piled across the ground. After reporting to Zheng Song, Shopkeeper Wang Sheng came out to the courtyard in person to oversee the clerks and hired hands sorting the porcelain into categories and storing them away. Upon seeing over a thousand celadon chrysanthemum-petal plates, tubular-handled vases, fish-eared censers, and tripod censers, Wang Sheng’s eyelids could not help but twitch. And this was only a portion of it; more remained on board, and even more cargo would be unloaded tomorrow. 'Put these in Room Yi,' Wang Sheng instructed. 'Careful now, don't break anything—it’s all silver and cash.' A tall, strapping hand acknowledged the order, carrying off a stack of plates. The others carefully sorted through the various celadon pieces with equal caution. Shao Shuyi picked up two celadon single-handled looped cups and fell in behind the strapping hand, intending to help. 'Accountant, hold on. Those belong in Room Jia,' Wang Sheng said, squinting as he looked over. Shao Shuyi was surprised. Perhaps in good spirits, Wang Sheng explained, 'You are newly arrived, so it is only natural you cannot tell your celadon apart; stay long enough and you will know. What you are holding comes from the Longquan kiln and is of the highest value. Back in the Song dynasty, there were two brothers, Zhang Shengyi and Zhang Sheng'er, both from Chuzhou, each running his own kiln. The pottery fired by Shengyi was lighter in color, hence named Ge kiln—the Elder Brother kiln. The celadon fired by Sheng'er was pure as fine jade and prized by all under heaven; that is the Guan kiln, also called the Sheng'er kiln or Di kiln—the Younger Brother kiln. Today it is mostly referred to as Longquan ware, and foreign merchants adore it.' 'So that's how it is,' Shao Shuyi nodded. 'I am enlightened.' 'Shitou!' Wang Sheng called out suddenly. 'Coming!' A hired hand who was busy working set down a piece of celadon and walked over with light steps. Wang Sheng had him step closer, gave him a few low-voiced instructions, and finally said, 'Take the accountant around to familiarize him with the storehouses.' 'Understood,' Shitou answered, then walked to Shao Shuyi’s side and bowed. 'Accountant, please follow me.' Shao Shuyi wasted no words, carrying the celadon as he followed behind. One after the other, the two walked through a courtyard section, turned down a covered walkway, and finally came to a stop before several brick buildings. The door to the innermost room was already open, revealing rows of crates and shelves within. 'Accountant, you may just set the celadon on the ground; I will store it away,' Shitou said. Shao Shuyi didn't fuss, gently setting the celadon pieces on the floor. Shitou picked them up one by one, placing them into their corresponding spots in the room. Shao Shuyi stepped inside after him, looking all around. The room held roughly a thousand pieces of porcelain: cups, dishes, vases, censers, and lamps—everything imaginable, a dazzling display. And this was only one room of the so-called Class-A warehouse; from what he had seen moments ago, several adjacent rooms bore a large 'Jia' painted boldly on their outer walls, meaning there had to be several thousand celadon pieces here, large and small. Beyond Warehouse Jia, there was at least Warehouse Yi, presumably storing goods of a slightly lower grade. As for whether there were Warehouses Bing and Ding, no one had told him yet, so he would need to learn more. What massive business the Zheng family runs! Shao Shuyi marveled. Soon, however, he remembered that he had come here to serve as an accountant. Should he take a fresh inventory of the celadon in the warehouses? Thinking of this, he asked, 'Shitou, are there ledgers for all these items?' Just about to step out the door, Shitou froze, an expression of tension washing over his face.