xymnovel Chapter 159 Account Book
Chapter 159 Account Book
After dark, Yang Jin quietly arrived at Lijia Village in Nanzha.
Suddenly, the barking of dogs became a cacophony, making his heart pound with fear.
Fortunately, he was a frequent visitor. After barking for a while, the dog seemed to recognize him, its eyes gradually cleared, and it quieted down.
Yang Jin sighed, then had one of his servants kneel on the ground. He stepped on the servant's shoulders and shakily climbed over the wall to look into the courtyard.
A maid was already waiting in the courtyard. After recognizing the person by the moonlight, she stood on tiptoe and waved the envelope in her hand.
Yang Jin lay on the wall, looking left and right, not daring to jump down directly. So he turned around, stuck out his buttocks, and stepped on the protruding part of the wall, slowly lowering himself down.
After a great deal of effort, I finally landed in the courtyard, but accidentally twisted my ankle.
Fortunately, he didn't feel any pain because he was in the throes of passion during the sexual assault.
"Young Master." The maid bowed and handed over the letter.
Yang Jin nodded, and as he received the letter, he gently scratched the maid's palm.
The maid blushed, gave him a resentful look, and said, "Someone came looking for Madam recently."
"Who?" Yang Jin asked.
"Wang Chan, the Seventh Protector".
"Why is he here?" Yang Jin's expression changed.
"He's come to ask for the account books and the register," the maid replied.
"What did Madam say?"
"Madam did not appear. The third uncle of the Lu family said he had not seen Madam and did not know where she was."
Yang Jin felt somewhat relieved, then asked again, "Can Wang Chan believe it?"
"I don't know." The maid shook her head and said, "Wang Chan left after Third Uncle finished speaking."
Yang Jin remained silent for a moment, then the corners of his mouth gradually turned up.
With Brother Zhu dead, the remaining people became restless, and all sorts of things happened.
Some people were filled with grief and indignation, saying they wanted to avenge Brother Zhu.
Some remained silent, focusing solely on contacting their underlings.
There were even arguments at the elder brother's funeral, with people demanding to know where the wife and young master's account books were—yes, Zhu Ding did have a wife and children, who lived in the Shipai mansion. This last group probably suffered the most tragic fate, because Yang Jin heard from a trusted clerk in the government office that the authorities were already gathering evidence against Zhu Ding and, together with the interpreters and soldiers of the Han Army's Wanhu Office, were about to surround the Zhu residence in Shipai within the next day or two.
He had dealt with corrupt officials the most, and his knowledge was far deeper than that of those who only knew how to fight and kill. Didn't he know what kind of people the government was? Zhu Ding had accumulated a lot of wealth over the years of salt trading, but now it was all going to be swept away by officials of all levels below the prefect.
Wait until after the New Year to see, the plaque on the Zhu family mansion will have been replaced.
Yang Jin didn't dare show up at the funeral at all, and instead hid at a distant relative's house, contemplating the situation.
That night, after Shao Shuyi left, Yang Jin brought the two of them back again and learned some things from the servants.
To be honest, he was a little hesitant.
He does want to pledge allegiance to one side, but he's worried about being discarded after using them, making it a difficult decision.
Those connected to Zhu Ding were definitely out of the question, such as the remaining Taibao and Wang Zongsan. That narrowed down his options to only Zhao Yangui and the unknown salt merchant from out of town, because only they could offer him protection.
Considering that Zhao Yangui couldn't even beat Zhu Ding, and that he might not really need the account books and rosters in his possession—needing them is one thing, but the extent to which he needs them is another.
Based on this, it seems more appropriate to sell oneself to salt merchants from other places who have no roots in Jiangyin, because one can get a higher price.
The only question now is whether or not we dare to make contact with them.
"Young master, young master," the maid called softly.
"Oh, I was just spacing out," Yang Jin chuckled. "What is it?"
Women, once they've slept with you, tend to take your affection for granted, regardless of how they treated you before.
He got his hands on this maid very early, two years before he got Madam Qing. At that time, her body hadn't fully developed yet, but now she already has the charm of a young married woman.
"Madam is pregnant with your child, and her belly can't be hidden for long. You must think of something quickly." The maid said, "Although Third Uncle took Madam in, the family has been separated for many years. He can't keep her in forever. You must repay Madam's debts... and I must think of something."
Yang Jin sighed and said, "I'm trying to think of a solution."
"Aren't we going to look for that person?" the maid asked again. "They sent people yesterday."
"What?" Yang Jin exclaimed in surprise, then said angrily, "Why didn't you say something so important earlier?"
The maid lowered her head, looking somewhat aggrieved.
Yang Jin's expression changed, and he gently pulled the maid into his arms, saying, "Xiang'er, I was wrong just now, I spoke too loudly. But I was just anxious, anxious about our future."
Xiang'er, having been coaxed by him, was completely disoriented. She then whispered, "Someone came from over there and said that if you go to Liu's Grain Shop in Xiapu and buy three dou, seven sheng, and four he of soybeans, someone will take you to see their brother. Afterwards, you will be richly rewarded and a village will be allocated to you for salt trading. No one else will cross the line."
Yang Jin's heart skipped a beat.
To be fair, these out-of-town salt merchants were quite attentive to me. And they seemed to know a lot about me!
If they could find the Lu family, wouldn't it be easy for them to force me to reveal my hiding place? Unless I change my name and move to a new place. But that would mean giving up everything in Jiangyin, which I'm really unwilling to do.
After thinking it over, he stamped his foot and said, "Fine, fine! I'll go!"
After saying that, he grabbed the maid and said, "Xiang'er, go and tell Madam that when I marry her, you will be included too."
After saying that, he pinched the maid's pert buttocks, sniffed them, and turned to leave.
Uh, that's awkward. This wall is a bit too high; I can't climb it.
The maid blushed and pointed to the corner, saying, "There's a ladder over there."
Yang Jin gave an "oh," took three steps at a time, and rushed into the flower bushes. He climbed the ladder to the top of the wall, and with the help of his servants, he carefully climbed down. By the time he landed on the ground, he was already panting and sweating profusely.
Two days later, the master and servant arrived in Xiapu.
There's only one street here, leading directly to the pier. It used to be quite crowded, and it was a melting pot of all sorts of people.
It's been rather quiet lately. You can hardly see anyone during the day, and the shop assistants are listless, chatting idly against the wall wrapped in tattered cotton clothes.
Yang Jin rode a donkey and pretended to be on his way, strolling around the streets. He passed by Liu's Grain Shop twice but did not go in.
Around noon, he sat down at the tea stall diagonally opposite the grain shop to buy some food, eating while observing.
After struggling for more than half an hour, he finally made up his mind, got up, crossed the street, and entered the grain shop.
A man who had been dozing behind the counter heard the noise, rubbed his eyes, stood up, and asked, "What would you like to buy, sir?"
"Do you have Hui-style beans?" Yang Jin asked, looking into the other person's eyes.
"Yes, how much do you want?" The waiter looked at his empty hands and asked calmly.
Yang Jin had intended to say "three pecks, seven pints, and four he," but then hesitated and asked in circles, "Where are the beans from?"
"These were brought back from Zhigu by the grain transport fleet," the waiter said. "How many do you want?"
"Old soybeans or new soybeans?"
"Newly arrived in October," the shopkeeper replied patiently. "The Imperial Guards are cultivating land in Dadu Road, and someone went to collect them; these are all this year's new beans. How much do you want?" "Three dou and seven shi... I'll just buy three dou. Never mind, I didn't bring a bag, I won't buy any." Yang Jin was about to turn around when he found his arms being grabbed. The curtain on the side of the counter was lifted, and a burly young man stepped out, looking intently at him, and asked, "You've been wandering the streets for quite a while this morning, perhaps looking for me?"
Yang Jin felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. He gave a dry laugh and said, "We are indeed looking for someone. What's your name, sir?"
"What's your name?" Shao Shuyi beckoned, signaling Bian Yuanheng and Tie Niu to escort the man to the backyard.
"Yang Jin".
"Real name?" Shao Shuyi asked as he sat down at a table in the courtyard.
Those who live a life of crime don't necessarily use their real names, including Zhu Ding, who died before.
However, this person was rather funny. After Shao Shuyi found out that Zhu Dingzhen's real name was "Zhu Dingyi", he was stunned for a long time, and then burst into laughter.
Zhu Dingyi was afraid of being caught smuggling salt, so he used the alias "Zhu Ding". His other two former names were "Zhu Ying" and "Zhu Yingyi", which always gave people a sense of dark humor.
"Yang Jin is my real name," Yang Jin replied tremblingly as he was forced to sit down in a chair.
Tie Niu returned to Shao Shuyi's side, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, staring at Yang Jin with eyes as big as copper bells.
"Brother Wu, let him go," Shao Shuyi said, waving his hand.
Bian Yuanheng took two steps back, still standing behind Yang Jin.
Yang Jinqian swallowed hard and said, "Brother, I was just..."
"No need for further words." Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "You may not know this, but I may have many flaws, but I have one thing in common: I keep my word. What I said in Caijing still stands. Moreover, I'll give you two choices. One is to take the money and run away, taking your Qing-furen with you, to another place, to live in anonymity and start anew; the other is to stay in Jiangyin and work for me. I can allocate a piece of land specifically for you to supply fish and salt, which you can sell yourself. No one will compete with you. How about it?"
Yang Jin lowered his head and remained silent.
Shao Shuyi waited patiently.
After a moment, Yang Jin raised his head and asked, "It's fine if you want the roster, but what about the account book?"
"What?" Shao Shuyi's heart skipped a beat.
Instead of answering, Yang Jin asked, "How many men do you have?"
"How many people do you think could send Zhu Ding and the Five Bodyguards to their deaths?"
Yang Jin sighed and said, "There are some crucial details in the account book that ordinary people shouldn't touch. Besides, it's not just an account book; it also records some secret dealings with officials. Some of them have already been transferred, while others are still here. If you don't have the ability, I advise you not to touch this. Once you make everyone in the Jiangyin officialdom feel insecure and they band together against you, Chen Xianwu will be your fate."
"You don't need to worry about that, I know what I'm doing," Shao Shuyi said. "You just need to hand over the account books and rosters."
Yang Jin had no choice but to say, "Okay. But I still advise you to be careful. Even if you haven't done anything, just the fact that someone with ulterior motives knows you've seen it isn't a good thing."
Shao Shuyi chuckled and said, "Isn't there another account book over at Shipai? If it hadn't been seized by the government, it would probably have ended up in the countryside and been seen by someone."
Yang Jin shook his head and said, "That's just an account book, but it doesn't record anything afterward. Who would be foolish enough to leave such things out in the open at home? It's too much trouble." "That's perfect then," Shao Shuyi said in an unquestionable tone, "I'll just ask you one question now: will you hand it over or not?" Yang Jin struggled for a moment, then said, "I will."
"Lead the way," Shao Shuyi said, standing up.