Chapter 42: It's Good to Have Money

Three days later, the side courtyard was a riot of noise. Over twenty sailors were eating and drinking wildly in the yard. After drifting at sea for twenty days and then being locked on the ship for three more, once released they were like starving tigers out of the cage. The red-seal ship sat quietly at the dock. Lu Lvzi and two others still stood guard aboard. At that moment, the private harbor held only their two ships and Li Guozhu's three. The Fujian junk's cargo had already been entirely moved into Li Guozhu's ships over the past two days.

Where there is a private harbor, gambling dens and brothels are never lacking. Li Family's private harbor had two or three such establishments. Li Guozhu brought over a dozen prostitutes — Chinese, Japanese, and Korean — to keep the sailors company as they drank in the courtyard. The sailors, pent up for so long, grabbed whichever woman they caught and groped her all over. These prostitutes, well accustomed to sailors, shrieked with exaggerated loudness.

Chen Xin carried a wine bowl and toasted each man in turn, draining his bowl at every encounter. His former post had often required hosting duties; he was used to high-proof liquor and had a high tolerance, so the era's weak distilled spirits (under 20% alcohol) and rice wine meant nothing to him. He paid special attention to Han Bin, pulling him aside to down bowl after bowl. Song Wenxian merely sipped with a smiling face, tasting only lightly. The sea voyage had kept everyone's nerves taut, and after the bloody battle, every man was venting through drink. They drank until every face was flushed. Hei Pao, Ba Zi, Han Bin, and the others were all staggering about. Some sailors simply carried women straight into the rooms and, without even closing the door, began their business. Lewd sounds filled the air everywhere.

The man Li Guozhu had sent arrived at just that moment and shouted, "Proprietor Li's ship is about to depart. Send men quickly to offload the cargo from that ship!" No one in the entire courtyard paid him the slightest attention. Han Bin did hear, but unfortunately he had drunk far too much. He stood, took two steps, and lurched to one side. He raised a hand, pointed vaguely at the man Li Guozhu had sent, then collapsed headfirst onto the ground.

Song Wenxian stood and said to Li Guozhu's man, "Brother, as you can see, everyone here is drunk. Why the sudden order to offload?"

"Mr. Song, it is Proprietor Li's instruction. One ship is leaving immediately and can take the cargo along."

Song Wenxian wore a helpless expression. He looked over the crowd and said to Chen Xin, "Finance Clerk Chen, are you still able to tally?"

"I can."

"Then find two more who are not yet drunk. We will go aboard together. Brother, a few of us will go to check the cargo, but for the offloading labor we will have to trouble your men."

The man Li Guozhu sent agreed. Chen Xin grabbed Ba Zi, who was the drunkest, and had Li Guozhu's attendant support one of Han Bin's crew. Together they reached the dock. As soon as they arrived, Chen Xin let go of Ba Zi, who sprawled on the ground, drool streaming. The man from Han Bin's group was in even worse shape, slumped against a large boulder, vomit covering his entire body. Lu Lvzi had already gotten the two men on the ship half-drunk as well; his own limbs were weak, his gaze unfocused.

Song Wenxian said to the attendant, "Alright, brother, let us speed things up so your ship can depart sooner."

Li Guozhu's attendant hurried off to summon men, and the offloading began. Chen Xin set up a table on the deck and started recording. The men carried sack after sack of pepper from the red-seal ship, presented them to Chen Xin for tallying, then loaded them onto a ship moored alongside. Song Wenxian found a stool and sat on the shore, watching with a smile.

The moving took two full shichen. When the tallying was finally done, Chen Xin rubbed his aching lower back, stood, and reported to Li Guozhu, who had just arrived.

"Young Master Li, aboard the Fujian junk: sixty piculs of white raw silk, twenty piculs of yellow raw silk, seventeen thousand bolts of white silk, one thousand two hundred bolts of gauze, seven thousand bolts of silk crepe, five thousand bolts of red silk, three hundred jin of velvet, and one thousand five hundred pieces of porcelain. Valued with your subordinate at one hundred thousand eight hundred and ninety taels of silver."

Li Guozhu glanced at his attendant, who nodded. Li Guozhu then signaled Chen Xin to continue.

"Today from the Japanese ship: one thousand three hundred piculs of pepper, one thousand six hundred bolts of Jiaozhi cotton cloth, three hundred bolts of dawn-hued cloth, two hundred piculs of foreign silk, plus aloeswood, frankincense, and ambergris spices. Valued at ninety-nine thousand one hundred taels of silver."

After verifying the figures once more with his attendant, Li Guozhu dismissed the man. He took the account book himself and began working an abacus. After completing his calculations, he said in a low voice to Chen Xin and Song Wenxian, "Gentlemen, as we agreed the day before: the Fujian junk's cargo at full value — one hundred thousand eight hundred and ninety taels. The Japanese ship's cargo at ninety percent — I will round it to a whole number, ninety thousand taels. The shark fin, sea cucumber, dried abalone, and Japanese swords you selected these two days are worth twenty-eight thousand taels. In total, I will pay one hundred sixty-two thousand eight hundred and ninety taels. The accounting on your side you may handle as you see fit."

Song Wenxian and Chen Xin agreed readily. Li Guozhu then asked, "Onto which ship shall the silver be loaded?"

The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Load both."

Load after load of silver was carried from the warehouse and stowed onto the two ships. The Japanese dried seafood and swords were all placed aboard the red-seal ship. The silver belonging to the two lords of Dengzhou was loaded onto the Fujian junk. The silver from the sale of Proprietor Zhao's goods and the Japanese ship's cargo was all placed aboard the Japanese ship. The two men's plan was to assign only five or six men to the Japanese ship — all men relatively close to Chen Xin and Song Wenxian — thus reducing the chance of anyone else discovering the extra thirty thousand taels of silver. On the return voyage, it would sail together with the Fujian junk, ensuring safety. Upon reaching Dengzhou, the Fujian junk would go no further. Han Bin and the others would be sent back to Dengzhou, while the red-seal ship would sail directly to Tianjin. Song Wenxian would also accompany the ship to Tianjin to divide the spoils.

Chen Xin had already told Song Wenxian of his intention to engage in maritime trade. This battered red-seal ship, with some repairs, could still be used. However, docking at Tianjin would require Song Wenxian to use his connections with that lord in Tianjin to smooth the way.

After tallying the silver, the two dared not leave, keeping watch beside the ships. Chen Xin went into the hold and brought out one of Li Guozhu's silver ingots. The fineness was decent, but it was not pure silver, mixed with small amounts of other metals. Song Wenxian observed his expression and laughed. "This Japanese chogin silver is of fairly good fineness, better than most silver circulating in our Great Ming markets. In years past, the 'fukinankin' silver was even finer. A pity these Japanese pirates no longer permit its use."

Chen Xin, somewhat surprised, said, "So there is even finer silver. I wonder what other good things this Japanese country has?"

"Actually, their copper is also quite good. Japan has abundant copper. Transport it back, cast it into copper cash, and you can reap several times the profit. A pity these lords have no interest in that. Every trip they demand payment in ready silver, missing a great source of wealth. Other items are lead and sulfur. Japanese lead is insufficiently refined and retains some silver. Take it back and refine it further, and you can obtain some more silver. But it is always an extra step, and you still need to sell off the lead. The lords also disdain such trouble."

Chen Xin listened with great interest. On this trip, he naturally dared not buy copper to bring back, since the capital itself could not yet see the light of day. But next time he could. The profit margin on Li Guozhu's route was roughly one hundred percent, but the return cargo of Japanese dried seafood yielded low profits. Japanese swords could bring three times the profit, but sales volume was limited — after all, a Japanese sword was not a kitchen cleaver. Yet if he transported copper back and had it minted into cash, he could again reap several times the profit. The only problem was the lack of distribution channels for copper cash. The money shops that exchanged currency were all run by imperial relatives, officials, and gentry, and the recoup cycle was long. He supposed those lords had the same concerns.

"Mr. Song, perhaps you could keep an eye on this matter for me. If I undertake this in the future, I could bring some back on the return voyage. You could also share in the profits, could you not?"

Song Wenxian chuckled and agreed. Chen Xin took out several sheets of paper and laid them on the table, calculating the balance. The reward silver given to the sailors a few days prior: for forty-eight men, the ship-capture reward was four thousand eight hundred taels. Six men whose families could not be found would not be paid for now, leaving four thousand two hundred taels. The kill reward was three thousand one hundred taels. The total was seven thousand three hundred taels. The red-seal ship had eleven thousand taels in ready silver aboard, leaving a remainder of three thousand seven hundred taels.

The payment for the Fujian junk's cargo could not be divided. What could be divided was the ninety thousand taels from the Japanese ship. Of that, thirty thousand taels belonged to Chen Xin and Song Wenxian — fifteen thousand taels each — all placed at the very bottom of the lowest hold, buried under layer upon layer of Japanese dried seafood. Until the cargo was fully offloaded, no one would be able to find it. The remaining sixty thousand taels on the books was placed in the second-level hold, since it was to be divided in the next couple of days anyway. But how to divide these sixty thousand taels would have to wait until Song Wenxian convened an expanded meeting for everyone to discuss. This money had been earned by everyone risking their lives. If the Big Proprietor were here, he would naturally decide. Now, naturally, they could only listen to the group. Song Wenxian's preliminary opinion was to set aside a portion for Proprietor Zhao's family and divide the rest.

Chen Xin himself had two hundred taels in head bounty, another hundred in ship-capture reward, plus the privately divided fifteen thousand taels — a very fine income indeed. With a little more from the division of these sixty thousand taels, he would be a genuine, no-doubt-about-it man of modest wealth. Song Wenxian, relying on his official connections, had merely moved his mouth and his brain and had obtained a similar sum.

Chen Xin toyed with the chogin silver in his hand and thought of Liu Minyou and the others in Tianjin. If he brought back so much money, how happy Wang Daixi, Hai Gouzi, and the rest would be. A faint smile unconsciously touched the corner of his lips. He sighed inwardly: "It's good to have money."

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"It's good to have money." Liu Minyou held a few taels of broken silver and spoke with satisfaction.

Dai Zhenggang's face was also full of smiles. The dozen or so taels of silver Deng Keshan had shared with them days earlier had solved their urgent needs. The shop had opened for business the very next day. Wang Daixi took the flyers printed by the bookshop and distributed them all along Erdaojie to people coming to buy caps and hats. In three days, they had sold eight dresses — three of silk, five of cotton. After closing today and tallying up, they had taken in over seven taels of silver, of which over two taels was profit. For the two of them, this was already a decent income. In the old days, Dai Zhenggang hauling boats for a month wouldn't earn a single tael. Deng Keshan was still working the brothel business; it was unclear whether the deal had been settled.

"Kill!"

A fierce shout erupted from the courtyard. Liu Minyou's heart jumped at the sound, and he felt a flash of irritation. Ever since the three retainers had shown their mettle that day, their daily training had been as if they were injected with chicken blood. Every thrusting drill was accompanied by such howls. Zhou Laifu had already come over once to protest. But the three were completely unaffected. Now, afternoon training only began after the shop closed. Dai Zhenggang had halved the training volume; the sessions were not long, because they still had literacy class in the evening. Liu Minyou had become an elementary school language teacher cum mathematics teacher. He had selected several hundred common characters, compared them one by one with their traditional forms, and taught them at night.

Dai Zhenggang wore a smile. Being with these friends young and old, every day seemed filled with vitality. Especially in Hai Gouzi and the others, he could see a hope that children back in his home village lacked. At night, he also joined in learning to write. At this stage, for him, the writing brush was far heavier than the steel rod.

After another shout of "Kill!", Dai Zhenggang could no longer hold back. He ran to the courtyard to join the practice. He had already begun studying three-man and four-man thrusting tactics. Chen Xin only knew two-man tactics and so had not taught them. Dai Zhenggang seemed to have a natural talent for this, groping his way forward based on the characteristics of the two-man drill, and had already begun to get a clue.

Liu Minyou, resigned, went to the courtyard to watch the few of them vent their excess energy. Wang Daixi lit the fire and sat on a small stool before the stove, cooking rice. She was now a practiced hand; soon, smoke rose from the simple kitchen.

Dai Zhenggang was leading Zhang Erhui against Hai Gouzi and Zhang Dahui — a two-on-two drill they had only started today. The four had wrapped the ends of their poles in thick cotton cloth and were sparring. Their sparring had no excessive back-and-forth. They charged in with all-or-nothing thrusts, absolutely no awareness of passive defense. The thrusting motions, practiced daily, were already extremely proficient. After the battle that day, their ferocity was even greater. But Dai Zhenggang, after all, possessed formidable physical skill. Even with the smaller Zhang Erhui on his side, he had not yet lost a bout after several rounds.

Another round began. Ten paces apart, Hai Gouzi and Zhang Dahui conferred in low voices for a moment, then turned their heads and shouted in unison, "Kill!" Hai Gouzi then began chanting a low cadence.

"One, two, advance."

Zhang Dahui stepped forward in rhythm. The two moved as one, closing in like a single entity. This time, Dai Zhenggang and Zhang Erhui fumbled their own cadence call and were forced to halt and defend on the spot, immediately losing the initiative. The synchronized movement of Hai Gouzi and his partner made even Dai Zhenggang feel a pressure bearing down on him.

"Your mother," Dai Zhenggang cursed under his breath. These two brats could actually make him feel pressure.

Hai Gouzi and Zhang Dahui took three slow steps, closing the distance to seven paces.

"One, two, fast."

Their stride lengthened. Dai Zhenggang narrowed his eyes. It was hard to gauge distance against opponents approaching head-on, and these two were also changing speed. Both sides wielded poles of equal length. Victory came from delivering the thrust at the optimal distance. In a head-on spear duel, timing was critical. The opponent's sudden acceleration had already rattled Zhang Erhui.

Four paces. "Charge!" Hai Gouzi roared. Both men drove off their feet simultaneously, their speed surging. Zhang Erhui could hold back no longer. Without waiting for Dai Zhenggang, he thrust his long pole out violently — but misjudged the distance. By the time his force was spent, Hai Gouzi had only just reached the tip of his pole.

Zhang Erhui hurriedly tried to retract and thrust again. In that brief instant, Hai Gouzi and Zhang Dahui, with perfect coordination, ignored Zhang Erhui and lunged straight for Dai Zhenggang. Dai Zhenggang now faced two alone. One on the left, one on the right. Hai Gouzi bellowed "Kill!" and the two long poles were about to thrust forth.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The main gate resounded with violent knocking. Everyone stopped. Dai Zhenggang hurriedly said, "I'll get the door. I'll go."

He walked to the gate, secretly wiping cold sweat from his brow. Hai Gouzi and his partner were not particularly strong, but having practiced only these two moves day in and day out, their thrusting speed was already astonishing, and their coordination was extremely high. If both thrust at him simultaneously, he would be hard-pressed to block. This knocking came at the perfect moment; otherwise, his undefeated record might have been shattered.

Can't practice together with the apprentices anymore, he said to himself inwardly. Then he reached the gate and opened it. Deng Keshan's thin face appeared at the doorway.

"Brother Liu, Brother Dai, little brothers, Sister Daixi — everyone's here! Oh, and the food's almost ready. What perfect timing. Brother Dai's practicing his skills, I see. When you have time, teach your little brother a bit. Now, about that brothel business..."