Chapter 954: Departure

Pu Min's face was taut with anxiety, his eyes filled with dread. "It was the National Preceptor who found me. He said that you, my elder brother, had thrown in with the late Emperor and agreed to do the imperial household's bidding — but then you... The new Emperor is very displeased, so he had the National Preceptor bring me out, let me come back, come back..."

Pu Min said softly, "Come back to keep an eye on you."

Pu Si was stunned for a moment; the coldness on his face melted away at once. He stepped forward two paces, gripped his hand, and said with tears in his eyes, "Good brother, it was your elder brother's misunderstanding of you."

Pu Si pulled Pu Min along toward the side courtyard, saying in a gentle voice, "In battle, father and son fight as one; in taking the tiger, blood brothers are the team. Our Pu family's affairs must still be settled by those who bear the Pu name. If the imperial household wants to reap where they have not sown, that is fine — but if they want us to earn one share's worth of money and hand over three, that puts us in a bind."

"How could those officials understand the merchant's hardships?" Pu Si sighed. "They sent you back to fight me, thinking they could squeeze out more money? But it's fine, too — taking this chance to come back under a special pardon at least lands the benefits in something real, and you can be reunited with your aunt and Sister Yue."

Pu Min said at once, "In my heart I am of course on your side, elder brother — it's only that an imperial command cannot be defied. From now on, the two of us brothers can pretend on the surface to be at odds, but in our hearts we remain as one..."

Pu Si gave him an approving glance. "I myself hold the very same thought."

Pan Yun could not have cared less how the two brothers talked it over. As for the Pu clan, she asked nothing about the process — she only looked at the result.

She had gotten two broken-down boats, so she immediately summoned Wang Cong to pay up; once he paid, she had the boats towed away and sent to the fishing village.

At the same time, the timber she had ordered from the Zhu Family Timber Shop in Kaifeng had also arrived at the fishing village.

Wang Cong spent a full hour walking the entire fishing village. When he returned to the shed, Pan Yun was with the craftsmen, looking over the drawings she had given them.

He caught an opening, drew Pan Yun outside the shed, and said in a low voice, "Little Martial Uncle, will this really work? In such a crude place, can they really patch up these boats?"

Pan Yun said, "Don't underestimate them. I asked — their ancestor was a proper master craftsman by training. It was because his father built a secret chamber for a corrupt official, and that chamber hid a great quantity of ill-gotten wealth, that he got dragged into it and the whole family had to flee. The old craftsman was already in his thirties when they escaped, and his skill was even higher than his father's. He used to work in a shipyard."

Pan Yun felt they were up to the task.

Wang Cong was still worried.

Pan Yun said, "If you're worried, then stay here and keep an eye on things — give them some guidance too."

Wang Cong pointed at his own nose. "Me?"

"Yes, you — and don't tell me you don't know how to build boats." Pan Yun pulled three books from her sleeve and slapped them straight against his chest. "No need to thank me. With your ability, reading them through and mastering them inside and out would only take ten days' work. Wang Cong, don't forget what your background is — your skill in artifact-forging is no less than Miao's and Tao Yanbai's skill in alchemy."

Artifact-forging and pill-refining are the same — once you grasp the principle, you grasp them all.

Wang Cong was skilled in artifact-forging. Even though he had never set foot in shipbuilding, once he understood the problems involved, he could build.

But — did he have the time?

Pan Yun said, "Sharpening the knife does not delay the woodcutter's work. Right now the great winds at Quanzhou have only just passed, and it so happens that Song Dalin and Wang Xiaojing and the rest have gone back to their hometown to visit family — they won't be back for a month or two. So why not set aside the work in your hands for once and devote yourself to shipbuilding?"

Wang Cong lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, then said, "Fine, I'll stay."

Pan Yun was satisfied, and pulled him along to meet the craftsmen.

Hearing Pan Yun say that she wanted to leave Wang Cong behind to supervise their shipbuilding, the fishermen were all rather displeased. The old craftsman said, "Does the Daoist priest not trust us?"

Pan Yun pointed at Wang Cong. "He is no man who knows nothing. On the matter of crafting artifacts, if any of you don't understand something, you may ask him."

The old craftsman gave a cold laugh and looked at Wang Cong. "The most basic thing — do you understand mortise-and-tenon joinery?"

Wang Cong glanced at him, silently picked up a knife and a length of wood from the side, and began whittling in front of them. One hour later, using the pieces he had carved, he assembled a model of a ship before their eyes — without spending a single nail, all mortise-and-tenon.