The river flows slowly and the reed flowers rustle in the wind.
Ren Wei got on the ship, feeling both hopeful and uneasy at the moment. Pei Ziyun wrote to him when he boarded the ship this time, saying that he was being asked to be his counselor for one hundred taels of silver per year.
Ren Wei thought for a few days and agreed, so he boarded the ship.
"Brother Ren, how are you doing these days?" Pei Ziyun asked. Ren Wei, now wearing a green shirt, smiled and said, "Thank you for your help that day, your life is not bad."
After saying that, he looked at the boat again. There were no guests on the boat, and he was a little surprised: "Brother Pei, why are there not many guests on the boat?"
Pei Ziyun smiled and waved his hand: "This boat is privately owned by me. I will use it when I go to Beijing this time. I transferred it here to take over for my brother."
Ren Wei was startled after hearing this: "How dare you do this?"
Pei Ziyun smiled: "Forget it for others, but you and I are friends, so what does that mean? Let's sail!"
Pei Ziyun gave an order, and the boatman pulled up the anchor and set sail. He then led Ren Wei to look at the ship: "Look, this is a three-story ship."
"The first floor is built on the deck, with a dining room and kitchen, and a tea room opposite."
Ren Wei looked up and saw a one-foot-wide staircase leading straight up, with finely carved railings, several open windows, and a red painted floor that could accommodate eight banquet tables. There was also a wine rack in one corner to store wine.
A curtain separated the tea room. When I looked over, I saw a chessboard in the center, a complete set of tea sets on the surrounding coffee tables, soft chairs and a bookcase, and an incense burner in the corner.
Ren Wei was delighted when he saw it: "This is a good place to study."
"Let's take a look below."
Entering through the entrance of the inner cabin, there are six rooms inside. You can open one of them randomly and have a bed in it, complete with tables and cabinets.
"This is a VIP room, you and I can choose whatever you want."
"The cabin houses the sailors."
"I won't look at the bottom compartment, but I can put some goods there."
"The new boat I bought this time is eight feet long and three feet wide. It cost me seven thousand taels in total." Pei Ziyun explained one by one.
As they passed by, Ren Wei looked at it carefully. The boat was well made and the wood was hard.
Finally, the two of them returned to the deck and looked back. Pei Ziyun pointed to a ship following behind and said, "This is our cargo ship. I have loaded it with a lot of goods to sell in the capital."
Listening to this, Ren Wei said: "Brother Pei is really from a wealthy family, which is really enviable."
Pei Ziyun laughed: "These are all my hard work. My father died young and my mother had to struggle to raise me. I have worked hard many times to get where I am today."
Ren Wei was surprised and couldn't believe it.
"Brother Pei, have you really worked hard to create these industries? I thought you were from a wealthy family." Ren Wei said with admiration.
"Haha!" Pei Ziyun laughed, very proud.
"Brother Pei, with such courtesy, I must have something to say." Ren Wei suppressed his smile and said.
Pei Ziyun also said seriously: "I do have something to ask Brother Ren, and I also want to ask the teahouse to speak."
"please!"
The two of them entered the tea room. There were many rare books on the bookcase, and one was half-read on the table.
"Serve tea" Pei Ziyun ordered.
"Yes, young master." Bai Ya, who was waiting for him, bowed.
Ren Wei then sat down. Bai Ya held the teacup and placed it in front of Ren Wei and Pei Ziyun. Ren Wei opened the lid of the cup and fanned it gently, feeling a scent of fragrance hitting his face.
"Drink tea." Pei Ziyun said.
"Good tea!" Ren Wei took a sip, was silent for a moment, and asked, "Brother Pei, do you want me to be your staff or subordinate?"
Pei Ziyun nodded: "This is natural. For a person like Brother Ren, who wouldn't want to hire a staff?"
"Brother Pei is so flattering, I want to take a step forward in the imperial examination." Ren Wei thought for a while and said, he joined King Lu because King Lu could grant officials, but joining Pei Ziyun did not bring such benefits.
Even the real person who was canonized by the imperial court, the Headmaster of Songyun Sect, was not considered to have a future.
Pei Ziyun did not speak immediately. It was November, and the wind was slightly chilly. The boat was sailing, the river was flowing with autumn water, and the embankment was full of fields.
Pei Ziyun just smiled and said, "How can I be so virtuous and capable as to be able to serve you?"
"I won't hide it either. My visit to Beijing this time is related to the Crown Prince. There must be many things involved. Brother Ren is a great talent. I would be very grateful to him for helping me as his counselor."
Ren Wei was a little hesitant after hearing this. Pei Ziyun smiled again: "Brother Ren is so talented that he will have to win the imperial examination in the future to achieve positive results. I am not talented, but I still have some experience. I am willing to communicate with Brother Ren."
Ren Wei thought about these tasks and realized that this was actually the status of a guest guest. He sighed: "In this case, I can't refuse - I have met the young master."
After sharing the title of guest of honor and sitting down again, the atmosphere was different.
Pei Ziyun took out a brochure and said: "Actually, I handed over all the public funds for these victory prizes when I fought against Japanese pirates last time. However, there are 200 households and 1,000 acres of land in Jijin Island. In fact, I get it."
"There are also those Japanese pirate ships that are no longer suitable for use and have been sold."
"It was replaced by this new ship and three old merchant ships, followed by one. I went to Beijing to do business, and she also took the opportunity to explore the way."
Ren Wei didn't care, no matter how talented he was, he couldn't surpass the times. He didn't care about this mere overseas Jijin Island, and just smiled: "Three merchant ships, maybe three thousand taels of revenue a year? "
"Three thousand taels?" Pei Ziyun sneered: "Inland Hainan Airlines is about the same. If it's foreign trade and connected to the capital, one ship will have three thousand taels a year!"
Ren Wei was shocked by this number and said after a long time: "Don't worry, I will definitely go and help you handle all these things."
Pei Ziyun smiled. It was not a lie to bring two ships to Beijing this time to open up trade, but what was more important was the gold hidden there.
This gold cache was excavated five or six years ago, which shows that there are not no clues now - also, the gold was buried in the previous dynasty, no matter how tight the matter is, after so many links, there will always be rumors.
Although I won't offer it to the prince, that would be courting death, but I can dig it out myself.
There is also an implicit thought: "Now we have almost found the sustenance objects in the memory of the original owner. The gold hidden in this former dynasty, although most of it is gold bars, there are also many treasures collected by the royal family."
"Maybe there is something for the Taoist to place his trust in."
"After this merchant ship unloads its cargo, we can take the opportunity to take it all back. Now I don't believe anyone—only Liujin Island and the mountain people."
There was nothing to say at the moment. After a few days, the ship arrived at the seaport. Da Xu inherited the system of the previous dynasty. Water transportation was mainly sea transportation, supplemented by river and land transportation.
In fact, they just travel along the coast. They both study and occasionally play chess. For Ren Wei, this life is quite luxurious. They have all the quilts, pillows, and bedclothes, they drink fine wines, and they read very systematic books. Neat and with questions, Pei Ziyun immediately pointed it out after asking for a moment, which made Ren Wei suddenly enlightened.
Sometimes when Ren Wei was tired of studying, he would stand on the bow of the boat and see the continuous sea and birds skimming over the water. A month in this life seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
December
On the deck of the ship, Ren Wei followed Pei Ziyun. There was some snow and rain in the sky. Both of them were holding an umbrella. Some wind blew by, and the sea smelled fishy.
"Young Master, it's amazing. If I had had this knowledge back then, I probably wouldn't have missed the mark so many times." Ren Wei said with some loneliness: "Now I'm enlightened, but I'm getting old too. I'm forty-one this year." , I’m afraid that even if I go to the examination room, I may not be able to win.”
"If we fail again this time, will we have to wait until 47-8?"
"I'll just be a guest at the Young Master's house."
"Brother Ren's talents cannot be restrained by studying. Now that he has figured out the key, he will be proud of himself in the examination room - look, we have arrived at the dock, and now we have arrived in the capital." Pei Ziyun said.
"Yes, this boat saves you a lot of hard work." Ren Wei smiled bitterly and didn't say much about the examination room, just sighed.
When we got to the pier, it was already dark, with sleet and snow falling from the sky. Lanterns were lit everywhere, boats were moored everywhere in the water, and there was a constant flow of people.
The soldiers were patrolling in raincoats. When you got closer, you could see that these soldiers were wearing thick cotton-padded jackets. Pei Ziyun took Ren Wei and others ashore, abandoned the boat and got into the car. They arrived at a place along the way. Along the way, they felt the biting cold wind and the dusk. Zhonghe Pier is different. The bustling capital is somewhat deserted under the snow.
The bullock cart stopped in front of a house, which was now locked. Chef Bai hurriedly opened the door and started cleaning.
There is a big tree in the courtyard, followed by a Taoist.
"I bought this house back then, but it had to be cleaned. I left Bai Sanchu and Bai Ya to clean it - Cheng An, you protect Mr. Ren!" Pei Ziyun said.
"Yes, Master." The Taoist following him responded.
"I still have something to take care of immediately, Brother Ren. The next shipment of goods depends on you." Pei Ziyun said with a smile.
There was no discrimination against merchants in this era, and Ren Wei didn't take it seriously. He sent Pei Ziyun out and took a deep breath: "Please come with me to clean up. We will move in tonight."
"Cheng'an, I'd like you to buy some quilts, oil lamps, and candles. Then I'm going to buy ingredients and prepare dinner. You can take the car there."
Not mentioning Ren Wei, Pei Ziyun returned to the dock in a car. When he arrived on the new ship, He Qingqing greeted him. At this time, there were only He Qingqing, the mountain people who followed him, and a few sailors on the ship.
These mountain people were different from usual. They were all dressed in black, with murderous intent on their bodies, and long knives on their waists, showing an astonishing aura.
"The Lumen army pays homage to the young master." The mountain people bowed down together.
Pei Ziyun glanced over and sighed secretly in his heart. These were the seeds of the high priest back then. Although they were destroyed, a trace of them remained.
After training, these people have recovered their health and martial prowess, and are finally ready for use.
If they were in the Han area, these people would be assimilated no matter what, but after getting to Liujin Island, there was a change and vitality.
Only in this way can I rest assured and wave my hand: "Set sail to Shigu Island."
"Yes, sir." He Qingqing told the boatman: "Set the sails and start the boat."
The sail was set, and in addition to the sailors, twenty mountain people, all tough, patrolled the deck silently, with rhythmic footsteps, their faces mostly expressionless, and they held long knives in their hands, which shone coldly in the firelight.
(End of chapter)