xymnovel Chapter 358 Recruiting
Chapter 358 Recruiting
Chapter 358 Recruiting
When Shao Shuyi returned to the old granary, the sun was already setting.
The docks seemed to be less crowded. In previous years at this time, the boat owners in Taicang and Liujiagang would have been busy repairing their ships and recruiting sailors, preparing to take advantage of the southeast winds to transport grain northwards. But now, the number of people and ships is decreasing year by year. It seems that even if no one comes to cause trouble, the boat owners will eventually face widespread unemployment and eventually disappear.
Without market demand—even demand created by government-mandated quotas—the number of workers will decrease, leading to a contraction in related timber processing, shipbuilding, and repair industries. This, in turn, slows down upstream ship design and iterative improvements, and hinders the dissemination of relevant nautical knowledge.
In short, the entire industry will slowly die out, let alone iterative improvements, since it is people who carry knowledge and skills.
Lost in thought, Shao Shuyi entered the gate.
After he entered, Bian Yuanheng and Jiang Sanbao immediately led their soldiers to retreat and followed him into the courtyard.
Several people were still standing at the door, but they were now Zhang Jia, employees of Shengye Trading Company.
"Shao She is back!" someone shouted. Several men who were sitting and chatting in the courtyard looked up and stood up when they saw Shao Shuyi.
"Shao She, it's been a long time."
"Shao She, when is there work?"
"Shao She, do you need a boat? I want to go to Suzhou to stay with relatives."
Shao Shuyi smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying nothing more. He led Tie Niu and several guards along the newly paved stone path toward the small building. Two large dogs were tied up downstairs. When they saw Shao Shuyi, they wanted to bark their teeth, but then, realizing that everyone in the courtyard was trying to curry favor with him, they wisely refrained from barking.
Song You, who remained there, had already had the house cleaned upstairs and downstairs, and had placed several long benches and a square table in the main room. On the table were a pot of tea and several porcelain bowls.
"Have all the people been sent out?" After sitting down, Shao Shuyi poured himself a bowl of tea and drank half of it in one gulp.
"They've been dispatched. The boat managers scattered throughout the villages should all be able to come tomorrow. There are also some old boat owners who have lost their boats but are still alive. I sent more than twenty people to invite them separately according to the roster, and some of them can come tonight," Song You replied.
Shao Shuyi was very satisfied.
Song You is a man of few words, has a strong sense of boundaries, doesn't like to mingle with others, and is quite aloof.
"Has the local government made any moves?" Shao Shuyi asked again.
"Yes," Song You replied.
"There really is?"
"It's true." Song You nodded with certainty and said, "There are more and more officials patrolling here now. But they don't hide. Instead, they sit openly in teahouses and taverns, stay for half a day, and then leave, as if they're just going through the motions."
Shao Shuyi nodded.
This is the survival wisdom of low-level officials. They tell you, "I have to work for the government, but I also know who's in charge and don't want to offend you, so I just deal with it like this."
Furthermore, this also shows that at least the attitude of the Kunshan Prefecture government has changed.
If they didn't want to offend him before, now at least some of them are getting restless. It's unclear whether the prefect Liu Yexian and judge Xue Qiandaru Huachibuhua were involved.
Fortunately, he had brought two teams ashore this time, and there were two more teams on the boat, which was enough to deal with the hostility of Kunshan Prefecture if they dared to make a move.
Shao Shuyi then talked about personnel changes in various departments of Taicang until it was completely dark and oil lamps were lit in the main room of the old charitable granary.
By this time, people who lived nearby had started to arrive one after another.
Some of them were dressed in short linen clothes, some in worn-out silk shirts, and some even wore aprons, as if they had just come off a boat. After meeting, they greeted each other with rough voices and heavy Taicang accents, which Shao Shuyi found quite endearing.
"Wang San, is your boat repaired?"
"What's the point of fixing it? We don't have the money to buy materials, so it's just sitting there rotting."
"I heard that Zhang San Gong's fleet has sold another ship?"
"One? Two! He only settled old accounts and raised enough watermen just before this grain shipment."
Shao Shuyi stood at the top of the stairs, looking at these familiar faces.
Among these people, some had served as his ship manager, some had transported goods for him, and some were simply fellow townsmen from Zhangjing with whom he had a good relationship. This group of people together formed the foundation of Shao's influence in Taicang.
A moment later, he came down the stairs, greeted everyone warmly, and sat down after a long while.
After scanning the room, he said, "I've invited you all here today for no other reason than to ask if you still want to work on ships?"
Everyone looked at each other.
A middle-aged man stood up. His surname was Zhou, and his name was Zhou Dachuan. He was an old seafarer who used to own three boats, but now he had none left and was heavily in debt.
"Shaoshe, is there work to be done?" The man asked with delight, "Every time the Zang brothers come back, they treat us to drinks. To be honest, I regret it and want to move to Matuosa with them."
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At this point, he sighed heavily and said, "They say people are cheap when they leave their hometown, but there's really no way to make a living here in Taicang. My family used to be quite well-off; everyone in the surrounding area called my father 'Master Yuan.' But what about now? We've sold our courtyard and inn in the city, paid off three boats to creditors, and even when a family member falls ill, we have no choice but to accept it because we simply can't afford it. I've finally realized that if I stay in Taicang any longer, my family will be ruined sooner or later."
"Exactly, exactly," someone chimed in. "Last year, my boat only made three trips, and I didn't even break even. It was just transporting grain. Was it really necessary to detain me from the twelfth lunar month until March or April? The government just casually said one thing, and I was without a livelihood for months. How can this continue!"
After these two finished speaking, several others echoed their sentiments.
Shao Shuyi patiently waited for them to finish speaking before slowly saying, "I'm in Jiangyin, and I currently have more than fifty boats."
Apart from a few people who exclaimed in surprise, most people did not show any surprise, because they had either been employed by Sheng Ye Trading Company as ship managers or had transported short-distance goods for Sheng Ye Trading Company, so they knew a little bit about it.
"But I'm short-handed," Shao Shuyi continued. "There are many boats but few people, and many boats are unmanned. I came back today to ask you all to bring your families and move to Matuosha. There will be people to operate the boats, transport the goods, and pay wages monthly without delay. Those who want to work on the rivers will find work on the rivers; those who want to work near the coast will find work near the coast. If you really don't want to work on the boats, Matuosha has land where you can cultivate the land and do business. As long as you are willing to work, you will definitely not starve, and it will be better than staying in Taicang."
The main room fell silent for a moment.
This was not a simple decision. Many of them had been to Matuosha to some extent, knew what kind of place it was, and going there, aside from anything else, meant becoming a fugitive, which was illegal according to the law.
Don't underestimate this kind of crime. Some people just don't want to take the blame. They just want to be law-abiding citizens. Unless they have no other choice, they would rather borrow money every year and eventually go bankrupt than become a criminal.
Many historical records document the practice of selling children to pay taxes, and these stories are not fabrications. Even back then, soldiers sold their wives and children to raise money for equipment and rations to fight for the Yuan Dynasty and quell rebellions, rather than fleeing with their entire families.
Therefore, Shao Shuyi did not expect everyone to be willing to follow him.
He wanted to recruit people who were already at their wits' end, unable to hold on any longer, and had no choice but to flee.
Thanks to the Yuan Dynasty, the number of such people has been increasing every year.
Sure enough, someone stepped forward very quickly.
Zhou Dachuan was the first to speak up: "Shao She, I'll go with you. Even if I can't be the general manager, I'll be willing to be a foreman, a ship's anchor, or a junior officer. I'll do it all."
The man who had just echoed Zhou Dachuan asked, "Shao She, what will happen to the house after we move? What about our families? My family of seven can't possibly sleep on the dock, can we?"
Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "I'll arrange the housing. Ma Tuo Sha has just built several dozen mud-brick houses. Although they are simple, they are enough for people to live in. As for your families, there are jobs on the boat and on the shore. Your wives who can weave cloth have a weaving and dyeing department in Ma Tuo Sha; those who can sew clothes have a sewing department; and those who can't do anything can help dry fish and pickle vegetables, which will also earn them money."
After speaking, he glanced around at everyone and said, "In these past few years, have I ever mistreated any of you? Have I ever broken my word?"
The main room fell silent again.
Some people lowered their heads, some exchanged glances, and some placed their hands on their knees, rubbing them back and forth.
Without further hesitation, Zhou Dachuan cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Shao Shuyi and said, "Shao She, I'll go with you."
"I'll go too." A young man in his early twenties, with tanned skin, stood up from the corner and said, "My father died young, leaving behind a boat, which sank last year and almost drowned me. I have no way to make a living in Taicang. If Shao She is willing to take me, I'll go."
"I'll go."
"I'll go too."
One voice after another rang out, initially sporadic, but later forming a continuous stream.
Shao Shuyi raised his hands and pressed them down.
"Don't rush. Those who are willing to go, go back tonight and discuss it with your family. Tomorrow morning, bring your family and valuables and board the ship here." He said, "Actually, there's one more thing I forgot to mention earlier. In addition to transporting goods, you may also need to practice naval warfare and even combat techniques. At that time, it will be governed by military law and will be very strictly managed. Think it through carefully, or it will be too late to regret it now."
These words only slightly deterred a few people; the vast majority were still willing to go to Ma Tuo Sha—originally, half of the people were willing to go, but now only 40% remain.
Actually, that's fine.
These people were originally engaged in legitimate business for Shengye Trading Company, and most of them were law-abiding citizens. They would stay in Zhangjing tomorrow.
After the group of people from Banjing and Gutang villages came, there should be even more willing to join. In fact, some people had proposed to join before, but Shao Shuyi couldn't afford to support so many people, so he only selected a small number of core members to join Shengye Trading Company. Now he can't care about the financial pressure anymore, so he's opening up recruitment and will take as many as he can get.
"When we get back, ask the sailors who went out to sea with you before. I'll welcome anyone who's willing to go to Ma Tuo Sha," Shao Shuyi said.
He spent seven or eight days in Taicang and Liujiagang, until June 25, recruiting more than 100 ships and nearly 900 seafarers.
More and more government officials began spying near the old granary, as if the authorities had sensed something unusual.
On the 25th, the last group of people boarded the sea bream brought by Huangtian Trading Company and slowly sailed away from the old Yicang Wharf, heading towards Matuosha.
Shao Shuyi left that night, leaving behind mostly only the hired doorman.
Shengye Trading Company's business in Taicang has been brought to a standstill, and no one can say for sure when it will resume.
On that same day, Shao Shuyi received a message forwarded by Qi Le, a clerk from the Kunshan Prefecture government: the main force of the coastal garrison had gathered in Taizhou, and Kunshan Prefecture had prepared 10,000 shi of grain and 8,000 ingots of paper money to meet military needs.
This means they're about to engage in a major battle with Fang Guozhen, and it will be a large-scale naval showdown.