Chapter 916: Inspection

The agreement stipulated that within six days of signing, the Does Does Bailie side would vacate the tenants on the outer islands of the Yangshan Archipelago and hand the islands over to the new owner.

The authorities were already busy with this matter.

In other words, Lu Lu Qingan and He He Lingchuan would have to meet again tomorrow to collect the remaining forty thousand taels of silver.

Would that young man realize he had been defrauded by Does Does Bailie and refuse to pay the balance?

If that were the case, he couldn't blame them for what followed.

However, judging from the reports of those Lu Lu Qingan had sent to tail He He Lingchuan, although that wealthy young master spent his days wandering the streets, eating, drinking, and sightseeing, he didn't seem to have asked anyone about the Yangshan Archipelago.

He didn't ask, and naturally, no one volunteered to tell him.

Lu Lu Qingan didn't know if those subordinates of his had gathered any information and reported it up.

Instead, it was He He Lingchuan's subordinate, Ding Ding Zuodong, who was quite active. He had been purchasing furniture, roof tiles, farm tools, seeds, and the like, and recruiting skilled craftsmen, looking as if he truly intended to make a big splash on the Yangshan Archipelago.

It was almost autumn, so planting other crops was a bit late, but wheat was suitable. Moreover, reclaiming wasteland for farming had to be done quickly; even if nothing was planted, after applying wood ash and letting the soil nourish throughout the winter, the soil fertility would rise, allowing for direct sowing in the coming spring without wasting time.

Lu Lu Qingan had introduced all these channels to He He Lingchuan.

Although he had ruthlessly scammed the wealthy young master on the island sale, acting as a middleman to find reputable, high-quality suppliers was just good business.

This wasn't because Lu Lu Qingan had suddenly developed a conscience, but because the largest local timber merchants were either owned by the Lu family or had the Lu family as shareholders. If they made money, the Lu family would get a cut.

Killing two birds with one stone—what was wrong with that? In the afternoon, while he was reviewing the grain accounts for the Mou Nation, someone suddenly reported: "The pirates of the Yangshan Archipelago suffered heavy losses a few days ago."

Lu Lu Qingan let out an "en," not taking it to heart at first.

Pirates had plagued the Yangshan Archipelago for a long time and were difficult to eradicate. After the Yan Nation took over Blade Harbor, they had launched several encirclement and suppression campaigns, so the number of pirates active in the archipelago now was small and not rampant; both sides couldn't be bothered to deal with them.

Does Does Bailie didn't care about the pirates' lives; it was better if they suffered heavy losses.

Moreover, the Yangshan Archipelago had already changed hands, so the pirates were now the new owner's problem and had nothing to do with Does Does Bailie anymore.

However, recalling this special timing, Lu Lu Qingan immediately noticed: "Ten days ago?"

Ten days ago, the Yangshan Archipelago was still in their hands.

Eight days ago, He He Lingchuan sent someone to request the purchase of the Yangshan Archipelago.

Could it be that they were the ones who dealt the heavy blow to the pirates? "Which faction defeated the pirates?"

"Yinhui."

When this answer was released, Lu Lu Qingan was stunned for two breaths: "What? They dare to go deep into the archipelago?"

Those pirates were old hands; how could they not know the dangers deep in the archipelago? "No, no. The people at the supply station said that for two consecutive nights, the pirates' two strongholds were raided by Yinhui, and nearly two hundred people were killed."

The total number of pirates wasn't even a thousand, right? Lu Lu Qingan was shocked and suspicious: "You mean, the Yinhui have come out to the outer waters of the archipelago?"

It was impossible for pirates to build nests deep in the archipelago. The only explanation was that the Yinhui had swum out of their territory and invaded the outer waters! This was truly a strange event that hadn't happened in thousands of years.

"Yes!" The subordinate continued, "The people at the supply station said today that in fact, there was movement on Black Page Island that night, with things desperately ramming the doors. Those few staff members hurriedly hid in the rear bunker fortifications. These fortifications were meant to defend against pirate riots, but in the end, they saved their lives."

Pirates usually wouldn't attack the supply station, but the latter had to be on guard.

"Did they see clearly that it was indeed Yinhui?"

"Yes, they saw it clearly through the door cracks; each one was huge, at least three zhang long."

Lu Lu Qingan gasped: "The Yangshan Archipelago is no longer safe."

If the Yinhui were out causing trouble, the shipping lanes on the outer Yangshan Archipelago would soon become deserted.

Phew, it was fortunate that they had already sold those islands.

The trouble in those waters from now on had nothing to do with Does Does Bailie.

In the evening, he reported this to his father as usual.

After listening, Lu Zhenshu stroked his chin and said: "How could it be such a coincidence that all these things happened together?"

Yinhui expansion, pirate injuries, island sale.

Within ten days, these things all happened around the Yangshan Archipelago.

"What does Father think?"

"It's hard to say whether that He fellow has anything to do with these things." Lu Zhenshu pondered, "Since the Yinhui have expanded their activity area, it might be a bit dangerous for you to accompany him to the island for inspection tomorrow."

Lu Lu Qingan nodded: "I won't go; I'll send someone else to accompany him. Also—"

He paused: "For the past two days, water-bloated corpses have been drifting to Blade Harbor, piling up on the southwest side of the harbor, stinking to high heaven. The harbor has been cleaned up several times, but they keep drifting over. These corpses are basically half-charred and incomplete, but they are easy to identify—they are all Yinhui. The fishermen at Blade Harbor are complaining that no one dares to eat the fish caught near the harbor. Even the Yan Nation authorities were alarmed and sent people to ask us."

Yinhui dying one after another, the cause unknown? Lu Zhenshu pondered for a long time: "Yinhui dying, and the living ones going ashore to attack human settlements, perhaps it means a major change has occurred on Dragon Spine Island."

"Does that He fellow know the reason?"

"You can probe him tomorrow, but prioritize completing the agreement and getting the remaining money." Lu Zhenshu rubbed his hands, "The Yangshan Archipelago has already been sold and will not be returned. Whatever changes it undergoes, it has nothing to do with us."

Lu Lu Qingan smiled: "That's how I replied to the Yan Nation."

The next morning.

Just at sunrise, the Chief Clerk Yang sent by Lu Lu Qingan arrived at Cloud Peak Villa to invite He He Lingchuan to Blade Harbor.

"Why, why so early..." He He Lingchuan rubbed his eyes and yawned several times, barely finishing the sentence, "... to go to the island?"

He was having a sweet dream with Miss Sun, and hadn't even taken much advantage yet, when he was interrupted by this guy knocking on his door.

Damn it!

"Doesn't Young Master He want to inspect it earlier?"

He did, but seeing these guys so anxious, He He Lingchuan was in no hurry instead.

"Where is Uncle Lu?"

"He went to handle an urgent matter outside the city. Today, I will accompany Young Master He to the island." Chief Clerk Yang smiled, "Uncle Lu will wait for you at Blade Harbor in the afternoon."

He He Lingchuan didn't say anything after hearing this.

During their drinking session last time, Lu Lu Qingan had promised to accompany him to inspect the island, but now he had gone back on his word.

Why? Was it because the waters off Blade Harbor weren't peaceful recently, and Lu Lu Qingan was cherishing his life?

This family was really cautious. He He Lingchuan noted this trait.

It was a clear and sunny day, with golden waves rippling on the sea, and seagulls circling and squawking tirelessly. Does Does Bailie had chartered a pleasure boat here, which was now carrying Chief Clerk Yang, He He Lingchuan, and dozens of others toward Black Page Island.

He He Lingchuan fed a nut to the monkey on his shoulder and asked Chief Clerk Yang: "Did the original tenants of the outer six islands agree to move out?"

"They were all given extra compensation, so why wouldn't they agree?" Chief Clerk Yang smiled, "Originally, they didn't really..."

Didn't really make much money.

These few words almost slipped out, but fortunately, he stopped in time.

He He Lingchuan glanced back at him: "Didn't really...?"

"Didn't really manage these places well. It looked like a slum, which was a disgrace." Chief Clerk Yang shook his head.

As they spoke, something black drifted over on the sea surface.

Everyone looked closely and saw it was a mutilated corpse.

He He Lingchuan pointed at it, looking surprised: "Wow, what the hell is this? It's not human, right?"

"The long tail is curled, it's not human." Qiu Hu also squeezed to the side of the boat to look, commenting seriously, "But it seems to have hands. What kind of monster is this?"

Chief Clerk Yang originally wanted to take the opportunity to probe him according to Lu Lu Qingan's request, but on second thought, whether it was pirates or Yinhui, speaking of them would probably ruin this business deal.

If this Young Master He refused to pay the balance, although the agreement was already signed, they could use force, but that would be a step down.

So he shook his head: "Just a floating corpse. If Young Master He lives by the sea for a long time, you'll know that there's never a shortage of strange things in the sea."

He He Lingchuan scratched his head, looking indifferent, and didn't pursue the matter further.

The boat sailed with the wind in the morning and arrived at Black Page Island before long.

This island looked lush from afar, and only upon closer inspection did one see that the shore and cliffs were all black shale, stacked willfully like thin pages of a book, possessing both the openness of sea rocks and the roughness of tree bark and the texture of tree rings.

There was an arc-shaped bay here, with a wooden trestle bridge extending from the shore into the sea for ships to dock, passengers to land, and goods and water to be unloaded.

Chief Clerk Yang walked onto the land along the wooden trestle bridge and pointed upward: "That is the supply station."

Above the black reef group were patches of low houses, varying in size and shape; some were made of bamboo, some of wood, and some of piled stones, with relatively uniform roofs, basically thatched with palm leaves, large sea grass, and wheat straw.

As Chief Clerk Yang said, the supply station here was quite simple, all built on a whim without any planning.

He He Lingchuan walked over to take a look; the doors were all open, and the inside was a mess, with broken bottles and jars, rotten grass balls, and clothes and stained farm tools that hadn't been taken away.

Was this a supply station? It was more like a scavenger's home.

Seeing strangers enter the house, a few mice scurried out from under the bamboo mat, squeaking as they fled.

There seemed to be a mouse hole in the corner of the room.

Seeing this scene, everyone fell silent.

Chief Clerk Yang cursed his subordinates in his heart for being sloppy, not knowing how to clean up after driving the tenants away. Anyone could see that the business here was poor, and the contractor of the supply station probably hadn't made any money.

"This family wasn't decent when they left, throwing all their junk inside." He coughed, "Young Master He, please don't mind; I'll call someone to clean it up."

He He Lingchuan's face twitched: "Can you just have them tear these houses down directly?"

"Of course." Chief Clerk Yang felt a bit embarrassed, "Of course you can."

He changed the subject and hurriedly introduced it to He He Lingchuan: "The cliff scenery on the east side of Black Page Island is actually extremely beautiful; you can see the boundless sea and the flying waterfalls on the opposite island."

(End of chapter)