xymnovel Chapter 54 Divergence
Chapter 54 Divergence
"Whose ship is this?" Before he knew it, fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky, but Wang Huadu was still full of enthusiasm. After looking at his own ship, he was also interested in looking at other ships.
Qian Baishi, the master craftsman of the shipyard, was directing his workers to pull a slender canal boat into the dock when he heard this and said, "It's Zhou She's boat."
Wang Huadu reacted strongly upon hearing the name "Zhou She," but he knew his place. After taking a deep breath, he asked, "Which Zhou She?"
"Zhou Ziliang, Zhou She, don't you know him?" Qian Baishi said, "When I was an apprentice at Zheng's boat shop, he came to buy a boat. His family is very wealthy; I heard that more than two hundred fishermen depend on him."
"Never heard of him," Wang Huadu said. "What would he be doing here repairing the ship?"
"Hey, be careful!" Qian Baishi saw a small disturbance ahead and rushed over, shouting loudly.
Wang Huadu glanced at it, then turned back to look at the other two canal boats.
A moment later, Qian Baishi returned and asked, "What did you just say?"
"Why is Zhou She repairing the ship?" Wang Huadu asked.
"Of course we have to travel by boat," Qian Baishi said, somewhat puzzled.
"Can this canal boat go out to sea?" Wang Huadu asked again.
Qian Baishi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, no. But if you consider the mouth of the Yangtze River as the sea, then it's possible."
"So, this ship can navigate major rivers and also sail at the mouth of the Yangtze River?"
"Shanghai County is where the Yangtze River flows into the sea. The waves there are not large, and there are many sandbars underwater, making it easy for seagoing ships to run aground. Actually, your family's boat is the most suitable. Canal boats can also sail close to the shore without much problem, but they cannot go into the deep water."
Wang Huadu nodded.
After a moment of silence, he asked seemingly casually, "Zhou She seems to be going to Shanghai. Is he going to transport salt?"
Qian Baishi looked at Wang Huadu in surprise and said, "You even know there are salt fields in Shanghai?"
Wang Huadu chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that if he hadn't met Brother Shao, he would have already gone to Shanghai to seek refuge with his relatives. How could he not know?
"I know," Wang Huadu nodded, "My uncle lives in Shanghai."
Qian Baishi said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions.
"Why haven't we seen the owner of this house?" Wang Huadu asked, pointing to the canal boat.
"I came yesterday, but I haven't seen him today." Qian Baishi was still a little dissatisfied when he talked about this.
When Wang Wu heard that the Fei family's shipyard had transferred its ship repair business to them, he made a huge scene, demanding that the Fei family return one ingot of paper money to him. How could the Fei family tolerate such behavior? They simply kicked him out.
Wang Wu is shameless. He couldn't do anything about the boat shop owned by Fu Wanhu (Fei Xiong), so he went to the Qian family's boat shop and forced them to lower their prices.
Seven ingots of paper money was already a very low price; any further reduction would leave no profit. Qian Baishi retorted directly, but he was also furious. How could there be such a shameless person in the world?
"How many people are needed to operate such a boat?" Wang Huadu asked, his gaze falling on the canal boat.
"If it's a 300-ton canal boat, there will be a maximum of 18 people, usually 12. For a 200-ton canal boat like this, 7 or 8 people are enough, or even less," Qian Baishi said.
"It's so long—" Wang Huadu gestured, surprised, "and it can only seat seven or eight people?"
"Do you even understand? This isn't a war." Qian Baishi said irritably, "When you're sailing and doing business, you want to fill every inch of your boat with goods. What's the point of having so many people? These three canal boats are big and long, obviously designed for piling up cargo. Even if they work themselves to the bone, they can only carry six or seven hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), which is less than a single ocean-going vessel. That one can carry more than eight hundred shi of grain, and with some modifications, it can carry nearly a thousand shi."
"Oh, I see." Wang Huadu laughed and stopped asking questions.
******
As dusk fell, Wang Huadu arrived at the Qingqi Shop.
Yu Yuan, Liang Tai, and Song You sat by the counter chatting, the room eerily quiet.
Upon seeing Wang Huadu arrive, Song You rose to take his leave and went back to his room to rest.
"Dog slave, what brings you here?" Yu Yuan asked.
"Slap!" Wang Huadu slapped him across the neck, displeased, and said, "How dare you call me a dog slave?"
Yu Yuan smiled awkwardly, lowered his head, and remained silent.
Wang Huadu left the inn again, looked around outside the gate, and then went behind the counter, whispering, "I just went to check out the Qian family's boat shop..."
Yu Yuan was somewhat surprised after hearing this.
Liang Tai sat there, his gaze fixed on a corner of the counter, as if there was some incredible beauty there.
"Speak up!" Wang Huadu said impatiently. "In my opinion, Zhou Ziliang is most likely involved in the smuggling of salt, secretly going to Shanghai to buy goods."
"What...what do you want to do?" Yu Yuan asked weakly.
"Hehe." Wang Huadu chuckled and said, "I've had my eye on that Zhou She for a long time. If I get the chance, I'll take care of him."
"Isn't that...too dangerous?" Yu Yuan disagreed and said.
Wang Huadu was furious. He patted Yu Yuan's shoulder forcefully and said, "What's so scary about Zhou Ziliang's men? They're just fishermen and servants. You've been scared enough, but I'm not afraid."
Yu Yuan remained silent.
"What do you think of Buddha's Tooth?" Wang Huadu glanced at him and asked.
Liang Tai remained silent for a long time. Just as Wang Huadu was getting impatient, he said, "We don't have enough people."
Wang Huadu's anger turned to joy, and he asked, "Can you shoot arrows? How do you compare to Cheng Ji?"
"Yes, but not as good as him," Liang Tai replied.
"As long as you can shoot arrows, that's enough." Wang Huadu was overjoyed. "I've already figured it out. Our boat is tall, while the canal boats are short. When the time comes, you can shoot arrows from above and I guarantee you'll stun them."
"What kind of ship is it?"
Wang Huadu thought for a moment, then gestured and asked, "Have you ever eaten ribbonfish?"
"From the sea?" Liang Tai looked up and asked, "There are many of them over in Ganpu. They say this fish is 'slender like a ribbon'."
"Yes, yes, that's the kind of fish." Wang Huadu laughed. "The Zhou family's boat is like that. It's slightly shorter than the Drilling Sea Loach, but only half as wide. I reckon it's not as stable on the water as our boat, so it's easy to use its high position to attack from below."
"We don't have enough people," Liang Tai repeated.
Wang Huadu rubbed his hands helplessly and said, "You're so stubborn! Aren't there plenty of daredevil thugs these days? I could call a few myself, but I haven't been in contact with them for a long time because I was afraid Brother Shao wouldn't like it. Bai Jianu should also know a few daredevil thugs. With some friends and acquaintances, that would be more than enough."
"Too many people will have too many opinions," Liang Tai said softly.
When Yu Yuan saw that the two of them were actually seriously discussing "murder and robbery," his heart sank, and a look of fear appeared on his face.
To be honest, he quite likes his current life. Isn't it good to live quietly like this?
"This won't work, that won't work, what are you going to do?" Wang Huadu was getting angry at Liang Tai's words and said angrily.
"The ship hasn't been repaired yet," Liang Tai continued, seemingly unaware that he was already angry.
"Wait for Brother Shao to come back," Wang Huadu said irritably.
"Is it too late?"
"Then shall I make a trip to Suzhou and go to Qiaosikong Lane to find Brother Shao?"
"It's not impossible."
"You blockhead!" Wang Huadu was so angry that he almost didn't want to speak.
"I...I..." Yu Yuan hesitated, unable to speak.
"Speak your mind," Wang Huadu said angrily as he sat down.
"Brother Shao might not be willing to do such a wicked thing," Yu Yuan said. "Besides, we don't even know where they are."
Upon hearing this, Liang Tai nodded emphatically.
Seeing the two of them singing in unison, Wang Huadu was so angry that his nose almost crooked. He simply sat there and stopped talking, sulking to himself.
The shop gradually quieted down.
After an unknown amount of time, a gong sounded outside. A moment later, the sound of hurried footsteps began.
Just as Wang, Yu, and Liang were somewhat surprised and suspicious, a green-robed official appeared at the gate, surrounded by more than a dozen constables.
"I am Zhu Jin, judge of the Maritime Trade Office. Is the manager here?" the green-robed official shouted.
"May I ask what brings you here, Judge?" Yu Yuan stood up and bowed in surprise.
Zhu Jin did not answer, but only glanced at Wang Huadu and Liang Tai.
The two men rose and bowed expressionlessly.
Zhu Jin snorted coldly and said, "Someone reported that the shop's accountant, Shao Shuyi, was secretly giving contraband to foreigners for their voyages. I was ordered to arrest him. Where is he?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Yuan was greatly alarmed and asked, "What contraband?"
Zhu Jin sneered and said, "Gold, silver, and weapons."
"Could it be that the judge has made a mistake?" Wang Huadu asked.
"Who do you think you are? Are you perhaps his accomplice?" Zhu Jin glanced at him sideways. "If you're not involved, get out of my way."
Wang Huadu was both anxious and angry, and almost cursed, but Liang Tai grabbed his clothes.
"Men, search!" Zhu Jin shouted, flicking his sleeves.
More than ten officers from the Maritime Trade Office received the order and swarmed in.