Chapter 150: The Headhunters Have Arrived
Yang Qifan waved his hand, and several teams of soldiers trotted forward, dividing the kneeling black-clad figures into several groups. They were then escorted to a corner of the wharf and made to kneel in neat rows, awaiting the punishment of the Young Lord carrying a rod of thorns to beg for forgiveness at dawn.
The archer soldiers returned to their posts. Yang Qifan followed Gu Yan, frowning, “Is that it, just carrying a rod of thorns to beg for forgiveness? Look at that oil, it’s too vicious. If this matter is truly investigated, at least a dozen heads could be taken.”
“They can’t be executed now. I need to use them. Not only can they not be executed, but they must also be protected,” Gu Yan narrowed his eyes, looking into the distant darkness.
“Big Brother says the Maritime Tax Bureau is the cornerstone of the nation, and the Jiangnan Maritime Tax Bureau is even more crucial.” Yang Qifan swallowed the rest of his words.
“Your Big Brother does not approve of me interfering with the Jiangnan Maritime Tax Bureau,” Gu Yan finished his sentence knowingly.
“Mm. He thinks that if we are to interfere, it will take at least three to five years, or even eight to ten years, to prepare. We not only need to investigate thoroughly but also to plan for a fallback and replacement. He mentioned that you just arrived in Jiangnan and so on,” Yang Qifan’s voice was extremely low.
Gu Yan was silent for a moment, then softly hummed in acknowledgment.
This cleanup of the Maritime Tax Bureau was something he had been preparing for many years. What he intended to clean up was not just the Jiangnan Maritime Tax Bureau.
“You are indeed different from before,” Yang Qifan tilted his head to observe Gu Yan.
“Is it more gossip from your great aunt?” Gu Yan slanted a look at Yang Qifan.
“It’s all praise for you, pages and pages of praise, all sorts of praise,” Yang Qifan said with a smile. “I’ve arranged everything on my end. Where are you going now? When are you going to Pingjiang City? I’m free all day today and tomorrow.”
Gu Yan stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at Yang Qifan.
“Your little confidante, didn’t you say… heh.” Yang Qifan rubbed his fingers together, chuckling a few times.
“Her surname is Li, she’s the fourth child. You can call her Miss Li, or Fourth Mistress. What confidante, what little confidante!” Gu Yan snorted.
“Then when will you be free? Heh heh.” Seeing that Gu Yan wasn’t glaring, Yang Qifan grew bolder. “We should do it soon. Once the Crown Prince arrives, we won’t have any free time, right? We have to hurry!”
“She might not be free. Let’s wait until everyone is free. Have you personally surveyed the terrain and conditions along the Linhai Town route, the gangs and guilds? Is everything clear? What did your Big Brother instruct you before you came?” Gu Yan tapped Yang Qifan’s chest with his finger.
“Big Brother told me to follow your orders in everything, and the imperial decree also stated as much,” Yang Qifan said with a dry laugh.
“Then from now on, take your men and go one hundred and fifty li north and one hundred and fifty li south. Ride horses, take boats back, and survey carefully. Go,” Gu Yan immediately ordered.
“Yes! Sigh, you.” Yang Qifan watched Gu Yan turn and leave, sighing. “Fine, fine. Surveying it is. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”
………………………………
Sister-in-law Lu sent word, and Li Xiaonan and Li Jinzhu, along with A Wu and Wang Yuting, rushed to Guo Lane.
Outside the tea house where Li Xiaonan had first spoken to Sister-in-law Lu, Sister-in-law Lu kept craning her neck to look outside. Upon seeing A Wu on horseback, Sister-in-law Lu hurried out of the tea house.
“What happened? Why the rush?” Li Jinzhu asked with concern as she got down from the cart first.
“Something big has happened!” Sister-in-law Lu exclaimed in exasperation.
“Don’t worry, as long as you’re alright, nothing is a big deal,” Li Xiaonan pushed Sister-in-law Lu into the tea house. “Sister-in-law, have you eaten? Have them make a bowl of silver thread noodles and brew a pot of tea,” Li Xiaonan gestured to Wang Yuting.
“What the young owner says is true.” Sister-in-law Lu felt a warmth in her heart, her eyes nearly welling up with tears.
“A Nan is right, as long as the person is alright, it’s not a big deal. Sit down first, don’t rush,” Li Jinzhu also said with a smile.
A shop assistant brought the tea. A Wu took a cup, dragged a chair over, and sat a little further away.
“Something big has happened, sigh, it’s all my fault!” Sister-in-law Lu slapped herself on the face.
“Sister-in-law, don’t do that. No matter what, you can’t mistreat yourself,” Li Xiaonan reached out to stop Sister-in-law Lu’s hand.
“I’m not, sigh, let’s talk business. After you left for the village last time, it was about two hours later when the cart you hired stopped in front of my house. A woman got out, wearing a silk skirt and a gold hairpin, looking very wealthy. That woman was incredibly eloquent!
“She said her surname was also Li and that she was your relative. She came to ask if I had any difficulties. I’m a foolish person, I believed everything she said and told her everything she asked! Sigh!”
Sister-in-law Lu was filled with remorse.
“What happened afterward?” Li Jinzhu frowned slightly.
She couldn’t think of any relatives like that in their Li family.
“Yesterday, early in the morning, a shopkeeper came to the village. He said his surname was Yu, Shopkeeper Yu.”
Li Xiaonan heard the surname Yu and gave a soft “Oh.” She knew who that woman was.
“The man named Yu went to each household and offered twenty copper coins per bolt of cloth to buy fine cloth from them. I said this wouldn’t do, as the looms were provided by the owner. Mr. Yu then said that the loom money would be transferred to him, and that the contract we signed clearly stated that once the loom money was paid off, we could sell the fine cloth however we wished.
“He produced a pile of silver coins on the spot, shining silver coins!”
“How many households took his money?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“Except for my household, everyone else took it,” Sister-in-law Lu lowered her head.
Li Jinzhu pursed her lips tightly. A Wu’s eyes widened as he listened. Wang Yuting quickly patted A Wu on the back, signaling him to remain silent.
“The loom money taken by each household was supposed to be repaid to us. What about this money? Did they return it to us themselves, or did they entrust you to pass it on?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“It’s all with each household, how could they give it to me? That’s shining silver coins!” Sister-in-law Lu said with a wry smile.
Li Xiaonan’s eyes slowly circled, and she asked again, “Did they all sign contracts? What did the contracts say?”
“They signed. I don’t know what they said. It was all signed by the men of each household. I didn’t see a single one,” Sister-in-law Lu replied.
“So the men are holding onto the money too?” Li Xiaonan immediately asked.
“Of course,” Sister-in-law Lu glanced at Li Xiaonan.
The question was obvious; of course, the men held and managed the money and copper coins.
“Let’s hurry and get the loom money back,” Li Jinzhu said in a dejected tone.
“No rush, we can talk about it later.” Li Xiaonan quietly tugged at Li Jinzhu and smiled at Sister-in-law Lu, “This matter was my oversight. The contract was missing a line. We’ll amend the contract when we get back today. What about your household’s loom? What are your plans? We’ll buy the cloth at the original price, not with the increase.”
“I’ll work with you. A person should have integrity, right? For twenty large coins, they’ve lost all their dignity?” Sister-in-law Lu said indignantly.
“Alright, Sister-in-law, rest assured. Since you’re working with us, I will definitely not treat you unfairly. There’s one thing: Sister-in-law, you used to help everyone set up their looms without charging them copper coins. This hard work fee will be subsidized by us.”
“Yes, yes! Then you definitely can’t subsidize it anymore in the future, and I can’t help for free, right!” Sister-in-law Lu’s eyes lit up.
“Mm, I’d like to discuss something with Sister-in-law. Would Sister-in-law be willing to accept a salary from me and help me go to the villages and households Sister-in-law knows? Besides helping with the looms, you can also point out any incorrect or poor weaving and collect the woven fine cloth. For now, the salary will be one tael of silver per month,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
Li Jinzhu’s eyes widened as she heard this. One tael of silver a month!
A Wu also choked, looking at Li Xiaonan, then at Sister-in-law Lu, and suddenly turned to look at Wang Yuting.
She hadn’t received a single copper coin from Wang Yuting!
“O-one tael? Of silver?” Sister-in-law Lu couldn’t believe her ears.
“Mm,” Li Xiaonan nodded.
“Then alright! I’ll listen to the owner!” Sister-in-law Lu’s cheeks flushed with excitement.
