xymnovel Chapter 135 Ship and Man
Chapter 135 Ship and Man
On the Double Ninth Festival, after receiving his holiday gifts at the antique shop, Shao Shuyi casually tossed them aside in the small courtyard by the river. Then, looking at Jiang Sanbao, who had returned from Ma Tuosha, he said, "Don't rush, let me think of a way."
Jiang Sanbao was almost in tears, saying, "My father is over fifty years old, has worked hard all year round, is plagued by illness, and knows nothing about sailing. It's really difficult for him to go out to sea. What if something happens to him?"
After saying this, she broke down in tears.
Shao Shuyi sighed. This damned imperial court is truly absurd; whenever it's short of money, it just goes around harvesting scraps, regardless of whether it's appropriate or not. Jiang Bayue barely qualifies as wealthy; his house in the Shanghai countryside and ten acres of vegetable fields are probably his family's main assets. They have at most ten or twenty ingots of cash, which is barely enough to buy or repair a boat, let alone hire sailors, or purchase the medicine, water, and weapons needed for navigation.
One trip would put their family in debt, two trips would require selling their mulberry groves, a third trip would require selling their vegetable fields, and finally their house, all within three to five years.
You have to understand, these were the wealthiest households with the weakest desire to rebel, yet they were forced into becoming potential rebels.
"Don't worry, don't worry." Shao Shuyi patted Jiang Sanbao on the shoulder and said, "Let me see if I can find a way. There's always a way out, right? Maybe there is."
"But the Spring Festival travel rush is just a few months away," Jiang Sanbao said hesitantly, his expression softening slightly.
"Your family has just registered as citizens and hasn't even bought a boat yet. We won't let your family go out to sea for the first time. The earliest we can do it is next summer. There's still time," Shao Shuyi said. "You should rest in Liujiagang for the next few days and calm down."
Jiang Sanbao shook his head and said, "I'll go back to Matuosha right now and guard the salted fish for Brother Shao."
Shao Shuyi smiled and asked, "How's the injury?"
"It was just a minor injury, it's nothing serious now," Jiang Sanbao said, moving his left arm.
Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement, then asked, "What about Matuosha? Is anyone spying on them?"
"No," Jiang Sanbao said. "Before we came back, we were honing our skills there. In our spare time, we would salt fish and then air-dry it. By the time the Taijia ship arrived, the five of us had already salted 1,500 catties. The dog servant said that a catty of fish only costs one guan, so we shouldn't use too much salt. Therefore, we have only used a little over 1,300 catties so far, which is about one catty of salt per catty of fish."
The fish they bought originally already contained a little salt, but not much; about an ounce per pound was enough. When Wang Huadu and the others re-salted it, they added nine ounces, so it was no longer salted fish. When you got it, you could see that the surface of the fish was covered with a dense layer of salt, completely encasing it.
The Taijia ship made another trip to Ma Tuo Sha, transporting several hundred catties of river fish that it had collected, along with one hundred shi of newly purchased grain, and Wu Shangyuan and two seafarers, to replace Wang Huadu and Jiang Sanbao.
The number of people remaining at Matuosha has now reached six, with Li Fu in full charge. Shao Shuyi paid each of them thirty guan a month, including food and lodging, while Li Fu received an extra ten guan. This was his first time trying to hire full-time staff, and the cost was not low, which pained him quite a bit. Therefore, after finishing things at Liujiagang, he had to set off immediately to Shanghai to buy smuggled salt and transport it to Matuosha for pickling.
Madam Liu had already inquired more than once. Unfortunately, he was truly overwhelmed with work. To gain official favor, he had to abandon his main business of smuggling salt and dedicate himself to the Zheng family. His ability to maneuver and find new opportunities to make money was already quite remarkable. "Go home and rest for a couple of days," Shao Shuyi said, finally looking at Jiang Sanbao. "After this month is over, come with me to Shanghai." Hearing that he could return to Shanghai, Jiang Sanbao was no longer in a hurry and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I'll listen to Brother Shao."
On September 12, Shao Shuyi came to the dock once again.
The bronze artifacts had actually been shipped to Ali's ship long ago, totaling more than 54,000 pieces. The two sides haggled for three whole days, but still couldn't reach an agreement.
This matter had already been taken over entirely by Zheng Sheng and Zheng Guozhang, leaving nothing for Shao to do. He was happy to relax and went straight back to the agate shop, where he rested and paid the wages to the seafarers who had completed their work.
During this time, he even took some time to return to Taicang and meet with Wang Dajiang, finally finalizing the purchase of three boats with ninety ingots of Zhongtong paper money. But once the boats were secured, people were still needed.
The shallow-water boat needed twenty people, and each of the two Yellow River cargo boats needed eight or nine, making a total of over thirty. There would be one shipment to Jiangxi in the winter month, carrying cotton cloth, copperware, dried seafood, and medicinal herbs. This would be the last shipment to Jiangxi for the Shen family before the New Year, and they would be needed soon. Therefore, when distributing wages, Shao Shuyi slipped two cakes into each of their hands for the journey, saying, "Come all in the winter month. Make one last trip before the New Year and have a prosperous year."
"Brother Shao, I'll definitely come." Someone, after receiving the pancake, said gratefully, "You always call me when there's work; wouldn't it be heartless of me not to come?" This remark drew a burst of laughter from the crowd in line. But it was true; they call you when there's no work, but then refuse to come when there is. Is that how you behave? Besides, Brother Shao's work is also physical labor, the food is good, and the pay is even higher than at the docks. Anyone who doesn't come would be a fool.
"Brother Shao, I've earned quite a bit from you this year, and I've paid off all my debts."
"Brother Shao, it's so hard to find work this year, we're counting on you."
"Brother Shao..."
Everyone who receives the money has to say a few words, as if they can't express their gratitude otherwise.
Ordinary seafarers are still quite simple and honest. Shao Shuyi was deeply moved and gave each of them a few words of encouragement, personally handing out money and cakes to them. He kept busy like this until evening, when most of the people in the courtyard had left, when Zheng Sheng and Zheng Guozhang returned. Shao Shuyi stepped forward to greet them.
After the two exchanged brief greetings, Zheng Sheng looked at the messy yard that was being cleaned up and asked, "Has everyone left?"
"I'm leaving," Shao Shuyi said. "How's Ali doing?"
Zheng Sheng and Zheng Guozhang exchanged a glance, and finally Zheng Sheng said, "More than 29,900 ingots."
His tone was somewhat complex as he said this, a mixture of excitement at being able to sell it for so much money and the Zheng family making a fortune, and regret at not being able to sell it for an even higher price.
"Ali found a middleman, Qianhui, and drove the price down too much." Zheng Guozhang objectively analyzed the transaction and said, "Ali also deliberately came late, arriving at the beginning of September. By then, there are not many foreign merchants and seafarers left in Liujiagang. If the deal falls through, he may not be able to find other buyers in time." Shao Shuyi understood.
First and foremost, both parties certainly hope that the deal will go through; this is fundamental.
Secondly, based on this, they used various means. For example, Ali deliberately arrived late and went to the famous official broker Qian Hui in the Qingqi Trading Company to drive down the price, while the two Zhengs threatened to return the deposit and sell the goods to others.
Finally, both parties compromised on their initial asking prices and reached a deal. As for who conceded more or less, that depends on their respective abilities.
"We also have to pay the brokerage fee and commercial tax," Zheng Sheng added sullenly.
Shao Shuyi almost burst out laughing upon hearing this; these two seem to have rather weak negotiating skills.
Actually, it's not too bad. Of the 54,000 pieces of ordinary porcelain, it would be good if it sold for 14,000 to 15,000 ingots to a seasoned veteran like Ali. Moreover, it might not even fetch this price next year if the Zheng family doesn't find new buyers besides Ali.
"Has Ali placed an order for next year's goods?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"It's done." Zheng Sheng didn't want to say more, not even mentioning how many items he had ordered.
Shao Shuyi could roughly guess that the figure wouldn't be much higher than this year's. After all, they also need to consider the final sales volume after the goods are shipped back, and they need to recoup their funds, all of which take time.
Zheng Sheng and Zheng Guozhang left after finishing their meal at the ceramics shop.
As darkness fell, Shao Shuyi sat in the courtyard, looking up at the starry sky.
If nothing unexpected happens, he won't be able to stay here for much longer.
He definitely won't be involved in the porcelain business next year. This can be seen from the fact that Zheng Sheng and Zheng Guozhang took over halfway through. Sanshe is going to abandon them after they've served their purpose. The porcelain shop will most likely have a new manager, since it has gradually become the most profitable "branch" of the Zheng family.
Perhaps out of consideration for his reputation, Sanshe didn't want to make things too ugly and allowed Shao to continue to enjoy himself in the shop for a few more months. However, the task of placing orders for batch firing of porcelain for various kilns after the New Year will definitely be taken over by the Zheng family. Not only in Quzhou and Chuzhou, but also in Jingdezhen, the Zheng, Fang, or Gu families will surely take over.
Being shunned like this naturally displeased him. However, Shao Shuyi wouldn't act impulsively, because he was still a registered seafarer in the Chongming Office of Kunshan under the jurisdiction of the Caofu government, and his brothers were in similar situations, still needing Zheng's protection.
If we can maintain this superficially harmonious cooperative relationship, that would be fine. The only problem is that some members of the Zheng clan might not understand and treat him like a high-ranking servant, which would cause some trouble—but it's not a big deal.
After figuring things out, Shao Shuyi returned to his study, lit an oil lamp, and looked at the newly compiled list of ships for purchase by Yu Yuan. His mood finally improved. Wang Dajiang's three ships had been finalized and would be ready to be transported to the grain transport office this month.
There's another shallow boat for sale in Gutang, Taicang. The owner actually has some savings and isn't completely broke, so he did offer a low price, but not that low: fifty ingots.
There is another sea bream boat for sale in Banjing. The boat owner seems to be in a difficult situation and is only asking for 25 ingots, with room for negotiation. His only requirement is that the boat be sold through the government and that it not remain under his name.
Shao Shuyi couldn't buy too many ships. First, there was the issue of funding, and second, he had to consider whether he had enough business. After all, he couldn't just buy ships and not use them, or they would become a liability.
For now, two canal boats and two Yellow River cargo boats are enough to keep things running on the Yangtze River. When things get busy, we can send two more "Drilling Wind and Sea Loach" boats over, which is more than enough to handle the situation.
Two large-tonnage shallow-water boats are perfectly suited to the hydrological conditions of the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Huainan, where there are many hidden sands. They are not easy to run aground and are just right for important tasks.