Chapter 220: The Wind Rises (VIII)

Chapter 220: The Wind Rises (VIII)

Hua Rong finished an official errand and picked up some heat-clearing herbs on the way back, but Le Wuya mixed them all with rock sugar and drank them as herbal tea.

Watching Le Wuya savor the medicine with relish, Hua Rong suddenly missed the one person who could keep His Lordship in line: "Sir, how is Brother Ming doing?"

Le Wuya answered without hesitation: "He hasn't written, so I don't know where he's staying. But he should have finished his last exam two days ago."

With that, he glanced at Hua Rong and said calmly, "What, you can't manage me, so you're hoping he'll come back to do it? Dream on."

Hua Rong: "..." What a twisted way of thinking.

But he had been trained by Le Wuya over time—even when his thoughts were seen through, his expression didn't change. He smiled and said, "Hua Rong just misses Brother Ming, seeing that Sixth Master came from the capital."

Le Wuya wasn't buying it: "Don't explain next time. At least you could fake it better."

"..." Hua Rong smiled and changed the subject: "I wonder if Sixth Master knows anything about Brother Ming's whereabouts."

"He does." Le Wuya patted his stomach. "Don't judge by appearances—he's as sharp as they come."

Hua Rong raised an eyebrow curiously: Had he gotten that wrong?

If anyone was sharp, shouldn't it be Seventh Master, his own brother?

Hua Rong asked, "Then why not ask Sixth Master where Brother Ming is staying in the capital? That way you could send him a letter to check on his safety."

"I'm not asking him. If Shou Yue wants to write, he'll write to me himself."

Hua Rong genuinely missed him and muttered, "...One question wouldn't hurt."

Le Wuya said, "Not asking."

Who knew how the poor kid did on his exams.

The results of the imperial exam wouldn't be posted for a full month. For these scholars who had studied their hearts out for ten or even decades, the word "waiting" was itself another form of torment.

Even though Wen Ren himself cared nothing for fame or rank, Le Wuya had openly and behind the scenes placed great hopes on him. With his mother-hen worrying, even if he didn't say it aloud, he would surely be thinking about it constantly.

He didn't need to spell it out—Le Wuya didn't need to write and ask how the exam went, adding to his worries.

Besides...

If Wen Ren truly had something to report, Le Wuya wouldn't need to ask—Xiaoliu would tell him on his own, no questions asked.

But if Le Wuya asked him directly, Xiaoliu would certainly be displeased.

He prized his peace of mind above all, so Le Wuya didn't want his partner to feel uneasy about working with him.

Once this whole ridiculous affair was over, Le Wuya ran the numbers on gains and losses, mulling it over for a long while, yet couldn't figure out who had lost and who had profited.

After all his calculations, he could only come up with three words:

Pretty damn enjoyable.

This kind of enjoyment was entirely different from the rush of winning a battle of wits he'd felt before.

When he won, he was happy alone.

When he lost, he'd find some way to bite back, finding bitter amusement—that was its own kind of fun.

Unless he let them, no one could touch him.

In short, he never took a loss lying down.

But this time, in his back-and-forth with Xiaoliu, they'd both won some and lost some—yet he was happy, and he didn't even mind?

Could a win-win actually exist in this world?

Still, Xiang Zhijie's prescription really did the trick. After taking it, Le Wuya's urge to raise hell died down a lot, replaced by twice the mischief.

He went and saddled Yuan Zijin with a bunch of bizarre training drills—rolling millstones, yanking ox tails, hauling boulders, lifting cauldrons, and running loaded down.

Even Yuan Zijin, strong as an ox, was driven to the point of wanting to take him down with him.

Privately, Yuan Zijin grabbed Hua Rong and went off: "What did you feed him? What the hell's gotten into him?"

Hua Rong, dizzy from all the shaking, thought to himself: the master didn't seem crazy—more like he was over the moon, so full of energy he didn't know what to do with himself, and so he vented it on Yuan Xiao'er.

After all, Yuan Xiao'er had been sent by his own father to be whipped into shape, so picking on him was the most legitimate outlet.

Hua Rong steadied himself and patted Yuan Zijin's arm to calm him down: "Don't worry, the master will have something to keep him busy soon."

Yuan Zijin eyed him suspiciously: "I ain't smart, so don't you dare mess with me."

Hua Rong said softly, "Don't sell yourself short. You really have gotten a lot sharper since you first got here."

Yuan Zijin, soothed by Hua Rong's soft, sweet tone, turned and left satisfied.

But halfway there, it suddenly hit him that that might not have been a compliment.

Yuan Zijin flew into a rage, rolling up his sleeves to go settle the score—but Hua Rong was like a greased pig, slipping off into some corner in the blink of an eye.

Yuan Zijin stomped around the courtyard, fuming:

This master and his servant were two peas in a pod—such bullies!

He was done! After lunch, he was packing his bags and getting out of there!

Half a month later, when Le Wuya dragged him to see the ships, Yuan Zijin had long since cooled off.

He had grown up in the capital, seeing mostly wide, low-sided riverboats or fancy but useless pleasure boats. Even after coming south, he'd seen cargo ships passing by but never paid them much attention.

This time was different—these were their own ships!

While Yuan Zijin circled the ship with a look of novelty, knocking on it and poking around, Le Wuya was busy introducing this so-called Qi family fleet to Qi Hongzhuang.

"After the maritime trade licenses came through last year, I placed an order with the Rongcheng shipyard under the county mistress's name, using her money. You paid eight thousand taels, and with the delivery deadline set in stone, we only got one main treasure ship and four escort boats... Eight thousand taels wouldn't cover brand-new ships, so these were all refits of old ones."

"But I've already hired craftsmen to inspect them—the quality's solid, all modified to my specs, good for both river and open-sea travel. Back when Magistrate Ma sailed the Western Seas, he used ships just like this one. Throw in the Seventh Prince's backing and the Xi family's guarantee, and the shipyard wouldn't dare cut corners."

He pointed to each one, ticking them off like a proud list: "Three fast attack ships to guard the flanks, one multi-oared centipede boat out front scouting—it can double as a light ship at night, so night sailing's no problem. What do you think, County Mistress?"

Qi Hongzhuang spoke plainly: "I don't know much about this stuff. Sounds great, and I'll learn as I go."

Le Wuya liked dealing with people who got straight to the point like her. He said with a grin, "If I hadn't sunk all the ready cash into this, your business wouldn't have struggled so much at the start, couldn't even scrape together the money for raw fabric."

Qi Hongzhuang: "Water under the bridge. I still owe you my thanks."

"No rush on the thanks. You still gotta be my shield, County Mistress." He raised a hand and waved: "Xiao Zhong, get over here."

Zhong Piaoping had just sauntered over when Le Wuya clapped him on the shoulder: "Five ships, you'll be in charge of them all. How about it?"

Zhong Piaoping had been told by Le Wuya earlier that he'd be escorting the merchant convoy, but it was only today that he realized just how much these vessels were worth.

He was deeply shaken, even hesitant.

But having spent time with Le Wuya, he'd picked up a thing or two about how the world works.

For instance, when someone important takes a shine to you, you don't let them down.

And again, when faced with a problem, don't ask questions—figure it out yourself.

He pondered silently for a moment, then read between the lines of Le Wuya's words: "Sir, I'm still on the military rolls, but I know nothing of warfare. So I don't need to worry about battles or cargo—what I really need to handle is people. Right?"

Le Wuya clapped his shoulder again and bragged to Qi Hongzhuang: "See? Kid's young, but he's solid."

Qi Hongzhuang studied him for a few moments and nodded: "Indeed, not bad."

After nearly twenty years as a good-for-nothing rich kid, Zhong Piaoping couldn't quite handle all this "reliable" praise lately.

But his skin was dark enough that even a deep blush didn't show.

Qi Hongzhuang looked up at the fleet, silent for a long while, then said: "Is the danger to Tongzhou's folks finally about to end?"

After giving Qi Hongzhuang a full tour of the ships, Le Wuya had the garrison soldiers dock them in the yard and cover them up for secret modifications.

Hearing her question, he leaned against the wooden beam beside the pier and drawled lazily: "Ever had a rat problem at home, County Magistrate?"

"Rats are a real nuisance, scurrying around all the time. But if you destroy a few of their nests, they'll panic and bunch up. Once they're all bunched up, that's when the trouble starts."

Qi Hongzhuang got it—he'd been scattering them, picking them off one by one, all to round the rats into one spot for a single killing blow.

Her whole fleet was just a rat trap with some tasty bait on it.

Qi Hongzhuang already caught his meaning, but when she turned and saw his eager expression, she softened her tone, laying on the big-sister act, and asked, already knowing the answer: "Then how do we get rid of the rats for good?"

"Simple—get a cat. It scares 'em off and eats 'em." Le Wuya said cheerfully, "I just got a few kittens—cute as little snowballs. Want one, County Magistrate?"

Qi Hongzhuang gave a short laugh.

"What's the County Magistrate laughing at?"

"Just thought of someone I used to know." Qi Hongzhuang gazed toward the horizon, "He brought home a dog and swore up and down it was a cat."

Le Wuya: "..." Okay, that's enough.

...

The cheap grey cloth they'd bought had already been dyed into bolts of "Tonglu Snow," and the ship's weapons were fully stocked. Within days, the Qi family fleet, laden with goods, set sail from Tongzhou dock, sweeping grandly down the river.

Just as Le Wuya had promised and planned, the ships passed through Puluo, rounded Qingkou, entered Yizhou, and continued southward.

Along the way, merchants gathered like clouds, goods turning over as swiftly as wheels.

At every dock, traders flocked aboard, eager to inquire about prices and negotiate deals.

"Tonglu Snow," with its snow-like luster and vivid patterns, priced fairly and honestly, won immediate favor with merchants and sparked a scramble among common folk the moment it appeared.

At Yizhou dock, a wealthy merchant stroked the fabric, exclaiming in admiration: "Even dyeing, light and airy cloth—truly top grade!" He immediately ordered a hundred bolts and introduced several fellow merchants to make purchases as well.

Before the fleet had even left port, most of the cloth had already been sold.

The entire Jiangnan commercial world, while refreshed by the novelty, also received a distinct signal:

Tongzhou's earlier stagnation and poor development were entirely due to the entrenched Japanese pirates and lack of reform.

The new prefect, Wen Ren Ming Ke, had leapt from a mere county magistrate to his current position, wielding a bold hand to purge corrupt officials, eliminate the pirate menace, abolish commercial taxes, hold festivals, open shipping routes...

Now, a small brand like "Tonglu Snow," once confined to a corner, unknown and daring only to peddle its wares in Tonglu, could surge forward, break out of Tongzhou, and sweep across Jiangnan—so why shouldn't every merchant seize this favorable wind and seek their fortune in Tongzhou?