Strict Standards!

There just were not quite as many people coming to conduct business at the Maritime Trade Office today. Passing behind the covered corridor, he happened to overhear two merchants conversing: "Why have the yin hui come out again? Yesterday, while crossing West Gorge Bay, I saw several yin hui swimming in the sea. They were huge, almost the size of small whales!" "Ah, is your ship all right?" "The moment we fled, the yin hui gave chase, lingering right in front of our bow for a long time. Everyone on board was scared out of their wits. They kept poking their heads above water as if observing something, and swam away only after half an incense stick had burned." The man was still shaken. "Didn't they say these waters were safe now?" "When did anyone ever say that?" "Isn't the new master of the Yangshan Archipelago able to keep the yin hui in check?" "People blow things out of proportion. Who knows how much of that is true?" His companion realized something. "Wait, that's not right. Yin hui never used to go to West Gorge Bay before. That's outside the Yangshan Archipelago." "Ever since the recent upheaval in the islands and that tide of yin hui corpses, they've been darting all over the place," the merchant sighed. "Nowadays, it wouldn't be surprising wherever they crop up." Superintendent Wu listened idly to a few sentences without paying it any mind. Just then, Assistant Commissioner Zhao walked in from outside. Superintendent Wu waved, beckoning him into a side compartment, and asked: "Are last month's accounts ready? In three more days, we must remit the sealed silver to the national treasury." "All taken care of, rest assured, sir." Assistant Commissioner Zhao looked left and right, speaking only after seeing that the two merchants had walked far away. "The Yangshan Archipelago hasn't sent anything for inspection these past few days. I hear they've harvested most of their palm oil and have even concocted quite a few new wares." Seeing that Superintendent Wu did not say anything, he asked again, "What do you think, sir?" Superintendent Wu rolled his eyes. "The new master of the Yangshan Archipelago is new to this trade, after all. A novice lacks experience, and quality is hard to control. The Maritime Trade Office must enforce strict standards and repeated inspections on his goods to urge them to meet specifications as soon as possible." "Yes, yes." Assistant Commissioner Zhao instantly grasped the two key words: "strict" and "repeated." Speaking of which, Superintendent Wu's own palm groves seemed to have yielded a bumper harvest as well, and shipments had been going out these days. Every year at this season, foreign merchants would arrive at Blade Harbor to purchase palm oil. If they dragged this out for another twenty-odd days, the merchants would conclude their negotiations and orders, then head home by their separate routes. Zhao understood Superintendent Wu's requirement: the Yangshan Archipelago's permits for selling goods and opening shops would certainly not be issued within these two or three weeks. Later on, when the Yangshan Archipelago wanted to sell oil, it would not be nearly so easy. Once the local harvest season ended, the major merchants who bought bulk commodities would depart the harbor and hasten to other regions to divide and resell the goods they carried. After they left, Blade Harbor and the gorge would only have small peddlers and commoners making sporadic purchases. Put simply, it was the difference between wholesale and retail—neither the volume nor the price was on the same level. The Yangshan Archipelago's primary commodity was palm oil, produced in vast quantities, which required large-scale bulk buyers. If they missed the delivery season, massive amounts of goods would pile up unsold in warehouses, and the tiny volume moving through the retail market would be a drop in the bucket. A backlog of inventory would lead to stagnant circulation and cash-flow bottlenecks— Money could only continue generating money if it circulated rapidly through trade. For a novice island master with limited financial resources like He Lingchuan, once his goods failed to sell, he could easily enter a financial downward spiral. Assistant Commissioner Zhao immediately declared his stance: "This subordinate will also strictly enforce standards hereafter and help them improve their quality, so as not to betray the trust the many foreign merchants place in Blade Harbor." Superintendent Wu sighed with emotion. "Ensuring good quality and establishing a good reputation—only that will benefit the long-term development of the Yangshan Archipelago and Blade Harbor!" Zhao lowered his voice and added, "My lord, I hear this Island Master He has some real ability. Even the pirates who roamed the archipelago for years were subjugated by him." This matter had been creating an uproar half a month ago. The officials in Blade Harbor had verified the truth of the report, and every one of them found it astonishing. Having rejected the Yangshan Archipelago's applications three times, Zhao was somewhat uneasy in his heart. The other party was not quite the same as an ordinary merchant, after all. Did this trouble really have to be left to him to handle? "What real ability could those pirates in the Yangshan Archipelago have?" Superintendent Wu scoffed. "It's just that the yin fiend energy is dense there, making it impossible to earn a normal living. The pirates are like weeds—cut them down several times, and they sprout right back. In the end, no one bothered to waste time on them." "And didn't Island Master He seem to have dispersed that yin fiend energy as well?" "Seeing is believing. Deep within the archipelago, grey mist still lingers to this day. Do you really think he could disperse it?" Superintendent Wu sneered. "Some people seek fame before seeking profit. Once their reputation is grand, why worry that wealth won't come rolling in?" "Yet I hear several islands have already been completely cleared..." Zhao noticed his superior's expression and immediately changed his tune. "This 'Island Master He' has been in Blade Harbor for several months, yet he has never once paid a visit to you, my lord. How arrogant!" "It's said he entertained many dignitaries and wealthy merchants, yet he only sent a subordinate manager named Ding to pay respects to me." Superintendent Wu smiled without warmth. "Young people. Heh." Without his nod, the Yangshan Archipelago would not be able to sell a single bottle of oil or a single scrap of paper in Blade Harbor! The two returned to the front hall to attend to business. Just as they sat down, a figure rushed in from outside, fair-faced and dressed in brocade robes, his expression frantic, nearly stumbling over the threshold. Though it was nearly late autumn, he was drenched in sweat. He cried out toward Superintendent Wu, "Honored Teacher, disaster has struck!" This was Superintendent Wu's apprentice, who ran a private academy of his own. Ordinarily a model teacher with refined bearing, when had he ever lost his composure like this? Superintendent Wu frowned. "Has the sky fallen? Sit down and speak slowly." "The Baoji has sunk." Superintendent Wu shot to his feet, shouting in reprimand, "What nonsense are you spouting?!" "She was supposed to enter port yesterday morning, but failed to return. This morning, the crew of the Baoji returned by sampan from the sea, saying the ship was attacked by yin hui. Their counterattack failed, and they had no choice but to evacuate. Afterward... afterward, they watched with their own eyes as the ship sank." The Baoji was Superintendent Wu's vessel, merely registered under this disciple's name. Measuring ten zhang in length, she was not the largest ship in his possession, but she was the newest, launched just last year. The keel of the Baoji was a rare piece of white hemlock gifted to Superintendent Wu by someone else. Built with it, the Baoji was exceptionally swift, and Wu often took her to sea himself. Hearing now that this ship had actually sunk, Superintendent Wu was thoroughly shaken: "How could this be?! Why did the yin hui attack my ship? Did she sail into the waters of the Yangshan Archipelago?" "No, no, she was attacked while passing West Gorge Bay!" At the words "West Gorge Bay," Superintendent Wu swallowed hard. Beside him, Assistant Commissioner Zhao could not help but pipe up: "West Gorge Bay! Just now, those two merchants also said that yin hui were sizing up their ship in West Gorge Bay and shadowed them for a long time, but didn't attack them." Now Superintendent Wu found his voice grating. "I heard them." "Could the yin hui have been looking for your ship?" Superintendent Wu kept a grim face and said nothing. Monsters like yin hui—since when would they swim out from the depths of the Yangshan Archipelago specifically to attack a particular ship?