Chapter 417: The Petty Clerk Lu Shui

In the evening, a few carts trundled slowly along the dirt road to the Old Parade Ground. On the lead cart, a man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a short beard, a square face, and level brows, leaned askew against a pile of hemp sacks, both hands tucked into his sleeves, head lowered, neck hunched, enduring the northern wind.

Lu Shui was a clerk in the Military Defense Circuit yamen. That morning, after the office chief, Old Master Kong, returned from the Water Forts, he first cursed out the soldiers in open court, then issued an order to his subordinates: deliver two thousand taels of silver's worth of "grain and fodder" to the Old Parade Ground.

Hearing the term "grain and fodder," and combining it with the chief's earlier attitude, the subordinates instantly grasped the meaning. Then, by evening, the prepared "grain and fodder" was sent over by Lu Shui, the clerk.

After swaying along in the cold wind for half a watch, Lu Shui, sitting on the cart shaft, spotted the dilapidated Old Parade Ground from afar.

What made him sit up straight in the cold wind, however, were the several sailing ships moored in the river channel beside it.

Before this, a sailing ship had occasionally appeared on the Hai River, drawing everyone's attention; now people had grown used to them and no longer gathered to gawk. But now, seeing a row of these tall, beautiful soft-sailed ships up close, Lu Shui still couldn't help clicking his tongue in wonder.

As the cart convoy moved forward, the clerk's attention was diverted — he saw some people who should not have been there.

Lu Shui recognized most of these people; they were all stewards of the great merchant houses in the Dazhigu area.

These stewards, dressed in fur and leather, with servants and attendants in tow, were now lined up, waiting respectfully before the Old Parade Ground gate, each holding a name card, all seemingly waiting for an audience.

"Who commands such enormous face?" Lu Shui was stunned at that moment. He knew these stewards and accountants were all public figures, men who dealt daily with great merchants and wealthy traders traveling north and south — the likes of Lu Shui could never even get a word in with them. Now, all these people gathered before the Old Parade Ground gate — the clerk simply could not fathom it.

Muttering to himself in puzzlement, Lu Shui jumped down from the cart the next moment: they had reached the gate.

Seeing the cart convoy, two soldiers in green jackets, holding fire lances with short swords fixed to them, walked over from in front of the Old Parade Ground gate: "What's your business?"

"Delivering grain and fodder."

"Wait."

During the time Lu Shui waited, he watched as those stewards and accountants respectfully handed their name cards to two men of adviser-like bearing in front of the parade ground gate.

"Could it be southerners and southern goods?" Having spent half his life in the commercial city of Tianjin, Lu Shui now began to taste a hint of something: "Perhaps I've missed some news these past couple of days? No, once I'm back I must properly inquire about this Cao!"

Just then, accompanied by several green-jacket soldiers, a middle-aged man in a long robe, with the look of an accountant, walked out from the parade ground's main gate, a team of civilian laborers following behind him.

After the middle-aged man came out and briefly introduced himself to Lu Shui, he gave the order without another word to open the packs for inspection. And so several hemp sacks were unloaded from each of the large carts.

"What is the total amount?" This middle-aged man was surnamed Bai, and he spoke flawless official dialect as he grabbed grain from a hemp sack and began inspecting it.

Though Lu Shui was only a clerk, he was a hereditary clerk in a Ming dynasty yamen, a local boss who managed military grain — low in rank but great in power. So normally, when distributing grain to the soldiers, he was always quite arrogant.

However, the scene he had just witnessed at the camp gate made Lu Shui's attitude inexplicably much better now: "Accountant Bai, the total is three thousand six hundred piculs, half beans and half wheat. Well, only half has been transported today; another trip will be needed tomorrow."

Accountant Bai listened without a word, first finishing his inspection of the handful of black beans in his hand, then picking up and examining the wheat from the sack. After checking through each one in turn, the accountant dusted off his hands, then proceeded to examine the documents and receipts Lu Shui handed over.

After reading the documents, he finally gave a cold laugh and said to Lu Shui: "All old wheat from two years ago, mixed with buckwheat. The bran hasn't been removed, and black beans actually make up half. I suppose the soldiers of Jinwei normally live on black beans?"

At this, Accountant Bai laughed viciously: "Life for you northerners must be hard? Heh heh, in my general's domain, inferior rice and black beans are all fed to the livestock!"

Lu Shui couldn't help but curl his lip inwardly: finicky southern barbarians.

Today's beans and wheat were not only old grain, but the wheat hadn't been hulled, and quite a lot of black beans had been sent too — there was a hint of insult in it. Yet as for why this was done, Lu Shui thought the southern soldiers ought to have some damn clue — your boss and my boss have quarreled to that extent, and you still expect to eat white flour?

In the end, however, Lu Shui did not take the blame, but instead, with a mild attitude, passed the buck: "The total amount of this grain and wheat is not small, fully sufficient for two thousand taels of silver; it's just that the grain types are mixed and old. As for the reason, men of our low rank can only follow orders — presumably Cao Jiangjun knows the reasons behind it?"

"Hmph, naturally I'm clear." Accountant Bai gave another cold laugh. "Fine. Two thousand taels of silver for horse feed — we'll call it even. But if the total amount is short by even a fraction, don't blame my general for enforcing military law!"

"Wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare — full and sufficient count!" Lu Shui's heart tightened at this: by all reason, normally no matter which army's troops you issued grain and fodder to, by custom there were always deductions of thirty or twenty percent. Yet today, this batch of grain and fodder, regardless of quality, was sufficient in total amount according to market price.

What did this mean? Lu Shui thought to himself: even Lord Kong didn't dare go too far?

The next moment, having flashed through everything he had seen and heard today in his mind like lightning, Lu Shui had a sudden inspiration and made the most important gesture of his entire life.

He cupped his hands and put on a somewhat dissatisfied expression: "Ah, to be frank with you, Brother Bai, my superior has truly gone a bit too far in this matter. They're all soldiers about to go into battle, and they don't even have a decent meal — ah!"

"Oh?" Hearing Lu Shui speak thus, Accountant Bai raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

Lu Shui then smiled and extended two fingers: "I have on hand two thousand catties of top-grade fine flour, all new wheat from this year. If Cao Jiangjun is interested, I am willing to offer it at ninety percent of the market price."

Accountant Bai, hearing this, clasped his hands behind his back and sized Lu Shui up with keen interest, then asked with a faint, ambiguous smile: "Also military supplies from the government stores, I presume?"

"Heh heh, Brother Bai is a man who understands." After a dry laugh, Lu Shui added: "I must ask Brother Bai not to spread this around. My official rank is low, and I can only call upon two thousand catties."

"I will report this matter to my superior." Accountant Bai's attitude had softened considerably by now. "Mm, I appreciate Friend Lu's goodwill. We should get better acquainted in the future."

"Absolutely, absolutely!"

And so Lu Shui left the Old Parade Ground, having traded the authority he had accumulated over the years for some intangible goodwill — whether it was a gain or a loss, he did not know.

But this question was soon clarified. After Lu Shui returned home that evening and told his already-retired father about the day's events, father and son went out together and began seeking people out.

The Lu family were old natives of the garrison city, and when they truly set out to inquire about something, answers came quickly. Besides, the matter was already spreading — after all, so many great commercial firms were making moves, and those with an eye for things were all asking around.

And so that very night, the Lu father and son clarified one thing: all those "hot goods" that had passed through Tianjin in recent years were the handiwork of this Cao Jiangjun.

"Hahahaha." Having grasped the truth, Lu Shui slapped his thigh and laughed at home: "So it's the God of Wealth who has arrived in person — no wonder, no wonder!"

Lu's father, already past fifty, clapped his hands beside him: "Lord Kong has run into an iron plate. You mustn't be foolish — do a good job currying favor with this assignment tomorrow. Who knows, our old Lu family might just have a stroke of fortune!"

"Understood, understood!"

The next morning, Lu Shui, brimming with energy, organized his subordinate laborers and began loading the carts. On this trip, he not only loaded the full amount of beans and wheat that had fallen short the day before, but also packed up the two thousand catties of top-grade flour that he had painstakingly swapped out bit by bit using moldy rice and rotten wheat, and transported it all to the Old Parade Ground.

Unexpectedly, when he reached the banks of the Ziya River, he discovered that early birds were everywhere.

Along the long riverbank, cargo ships lined up bow to stern in an unbroken chain, all piled high with grain and miscellaneous supplies. By the river, there were not only grain ships but also those transporting live pigs and sheep, those carrying cabbages and pickled goods... a dazzling array, everything one could need.

Lu Shui spent his days mucking about in grain piles, and with a single glance he could identify which commercial firm's cargo flags flew at the prow of each ship; even just a look at a hemp sack and he could guess what kind of goods were inside.

So as he made his way along now, his eyelids kept twitching: judging by their flags, these ships were almost all private vessels belonging to those great merchant houses that had come to deliver name cards the day before. On them were not only polished rice transported from the south, but also the expensive White Grain from Taicang; in addition, there was fine northern flour, the same grade of goods as what he had loaded on his own cart.

"Alas, Lord Kong still wishes to make an issue of the grain and fodder..." Lu Shui sighed as he hurried toward the Old Parade Ground.

As he neared the gate, the scene of people queuing from the day before had reappeared, except now those waiting their turn were the great merchants themselves.

Every one of these wealthy merchants and great traders was a prominent figure in Dazhigu. At this moment, these grand masters all sat steadily in their own carriages, holding hand warmers, with "insulated pots" and teacups shipped from the south placed beside them, patiently waiting to enter the Old Parade Ground.

Seeing this scene, Lu Shui no longer had any doubts and readily delivered all the grain and fodder he had brought into the Old Parade Ground.

Then, once he entered the Old Parade Ground, he discovered that the formerly dilapidated parade ground was already a hive of intense activity.

Many craftsmen were leading apprentices and laborers in repairing the parade ground's enclosing wall; piles of green bricks and cement had been stacked on the ground at some unknown time.

Still other craftsmen were digging foundations, clearly intending to construct new buildings. And outside the parade ground wall, on the muddy flats to the west, teams of civilian laborers were using carts to bring in earth and stone to fill the ground, evidently planning to raise this patch of useless low-lying land.

"Truly, money can make the devil turn the millstone!" Lu Shui sighed as he completed the handover of goods with Accountant Bai.

To his surprise, Accountant Bai not only did not take advantage of him in the aftermath, but also paid him the full amount of silver for the flour according to the normal market price.

That was not all. After Lu Shui received the silver, he was actually led to a dilapidated building in the parade ground and made to stand in a queue.

This left Lu Shui overwhelmed by the unexpected favor — before and behind him in line were all wealthy merchants.

After a while, Lu Shui was let into the room by Green-Jacket Soldiers carrying Fire Lances.

Then he saw two tall, fair-skinned middle-aged men who looked like merchants, sitting side by side behind a desk.