Great Tang Idyll - Volume 4 Chapter 47

Zhang Xiaobao pulls out several account books and compares them with Wang Juan’s.

Wang Juan takes them and still doesn’t find any issues. She says, pointing at the water carriers’ wages, “It isn’t as hot today, so they drink less water.”

“How can that be? They eat so much salt and work so hard—wouldn’t they be thirsty? Isn’t it Qi Dong, the county deputy of Huaqing County, overseeing that side? In one operation, he could embezzle about two strings of cash. Two strings aren’t a lot, but I can’t let him get away with it. If he succeeds once, who knows what will happen next? Others seeing this might get ideas too. I don’t have time to waste on them. There’s still so much to do. To falsify accounts right under my nose—what are they thinking? I’ll kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. Last time, because of his disaster relief work, I gave him a chance. Yet he can’t control himself again.”

What Zhang Xiaobao hates the most is his subordinates playing tricks. For the sake of two strings of silver, they do a good job of accounting, and even someone like Wang Juan, a top investigator, can’t spot it.

Wang Juan can’t understand why Zhang Xiaobao is so confident. “How can he embezzle that much money?”

“Because of the workload, the progress in the account is about the same. According to our estimate, the volume of soil and rocks excavated is roughly the same. But it rains today, so the ground is easier to dig, and the area near the bay is even easier. You’ve seen that it’s sand, not stone. How do we pay for the manpower? Just like you said, firewood is cheap, so we can use it to make salt. We pay the wages, and he makes the salt himself. To make up for it, he’s making pickles. How many people can calculate accounts this clearly? If you send him to Sanshui County, the people there will directly calculate how much salt he embezzled.”

Zhang Xiaobao continues explaining to Wang Juan, somewhat admiring Qi Dong’s cleverness—such talent wasted on stealing just two strings of silver.

“Then why doesn’t he increase the amount of water? Wouldn’t that make the salt production easier?” Wang Juan asks again.

“He calculates the amount of boiled water consumed by others. If I’m not mistaken, the water boys earn more than those in other places, and boiled salt is hotter. He even takes out a hundred or so coins from his own pocket to compensate them. Then the money for boiling water and the workers will be charged separately and assigned to another person.”

“Why not give some money to the person who makes the account? The account is kept by the clerk of Huaqing County. I think he’ll agree to give him half a string of money, about five hundred coins. This way, Qi Dong will earn about one and a half strings of money in a day. This person is extraordinary. He calculates according to the weather and is willing to spend money. If you don’t believe me, just ask a kid working there.”

Zhang Xiaobao hesitates. What a talented person! He’s willing to make so many plans for such a small amount of money. If given a bigger stage, he’d surely be able to soar.

But if he doesn’t stop this behavior, others will follow suit. He can’t afford to waste too much energy on such a small matter, can he?

Wang Juan thinks for a moment, gives Zhang Xiaobao a thumbs-up, and says, “Comrade Zhang Xiaobao, you really live up to your reputation. So many people have tried to catch you, but they can’t. It’s not luck. Just one look at the account, and you can see so many calculations. I really want to tell Qi Dong that it’s not that you weren’t good enough; it’s just that you met the wrong person in your life. Just like Song Jinggong back then—he calculated everything, deceived so many people, and eventually came to the small bridge. I don’t know if he hesitated when he crossed it, but I know he walked slowly, and in the end, the world had one less liar. Everyone has such a bridge in their hearts. Naihe Bridge is a thin line between heaven and hell, but how many people can turn back at that moment, stay, and not drink the bowl of Mengpo soup? I admire Mi Fan and Mi Weitong more. At the critical moment, they know how to compromise.”

After listening for a while, Zhang Xiaobao finally understands and says to Wang Juan, “You want me to spare Qi Dong? I can. But there are many ways to deal with him. For example, my father comes here to take office—who willingly volunteers to come? This is a place of exile. The same could apply to Qi Dong. If he’s so capable, I’m not afraid of him causing trouble. I’ll exile him to the capital. Forget being county deputy; he’ll be a lowly scribe in Sanshui County. Let him do as he pleases there.”

“Okay, it’s settled. We need to scare him first.” Wang Juan is reluctant to let go of such a talented person. Few people here can avoid her scrutiny. Though she doesn’t have the patience to check step by step, she still does it, while Zhang Xiaobao only needs a quick glance.

Others don’t know that two kids in the state capital are discussing someone’s life and death. The sun still rises and sets, just like the tide ebbing and flowing. Those who need to eat, eat; those who need clothes, wear clothes.

Cao Herui can be considered a drop of water in the vast ocean of people. While trying to figure things out, he probably doesn’t realize that many people wouldn’t care at all if they faced the same situation as him. He can’t imagine that someone has already calculated his every move.

When Cao Herui hears about the situation at the seaside, he becomes furious—not at the laborers, but at Liu Shaoqing. He thinks, I entrusted people to you, and you should have treated them well. Your own servants don’t work, and now you force others’ people to do it without even feeding them? Who is helping whom? Who drafted the contract?

Does he think that helping someone means you still have to beg them? If Liu Shaoqing were as powerful as Zhang Zhong, it would be understandable to come to him for help. But Liu Shaoqing is just a judge like me. Helping you is a favor, not an obligation.

Before, the four families equally benefited and shared profits, but now? No one says they will share debts. Those with more servants naturally pay more.

Given that, why should Cao Herui’s people be treated worse, working harder while being mistreated and starved? The truly anxious ones are supervising without food—this makes no sense.

The more he thinks about it, the angrier Cao Herui becomes. He shouts outside, “Someone, prepare the carriage. I’m going to visit Judge Liu. Bring the gift box.”

The servant hastily agrees and runs out to prepare. He knows his master is angry. The four families are closely connected, with doors across the courtyards connecting them. The master even orders the carriage and mentions the official title, wanting to bring a gift box. This clearly means he intends to follow the official formality.

While thinking about it, the servants don’t dare delay. They prepare everything, come to greet him, and Cao Herui goes out to take the carriage. After a brief detour, he arrives at Liu’s mansion in less than fifteen minutes. The purpose of the detour is to signal that he is paying a formal visit, so the other party can prepare accordingly.

Liu Shaoqing is prepared. The door is wide open, indicating it isn’t closed. The two people who have just arrived are also doing the same thing. Jiang Huanshi and Fan Jianxi are wondering how they should cooperate. Sending people here to do hard labor and not even feeding them isn’t cooperation—it’s bullying. Bullying the people beneath them is bullying the master.

Liu Shaoqing has already figured out what happened and has beaten the servant who made the decision on his own half to death. But this doesn’t solve the problem. People will think he did it on purpose to show off to others. It’s just a self-torture act that has been used for years.

Liu Shaoqing knows what the third person means, so he personally goes to the door to greet him. As soon as Cao Herui steps out of the carriage, Liu hurries up, smiling, “Brother Cao, you must be here because my servants failed at their work. Please come in quickly. Brother Jiang and Brother Fan are here too. My servant offended all three families at once. I won’t mention how I punished him. I know I made a mistake, and I hope Brother Cao can forgive me. Surely you know, even protecting your three households is already difficult enough for me—why would I intentionally harm anyone? If I wanted to die, I’d just hang myself, no need for such trouble.”

In reality, Cao Herui didn’t come here specifically to cause trouble. His main purpose is to use this situation as an excuse to have his servants work with the Zhang family and earn more money, allowing him to pay off the debt sooner.

Hearing Liu Shaoqing’s words, he laughs and says, “Brother Liu, I’m not here to ask for punishment. My servants were bullied and couldn’t eat, but these are small matters, really small matters. I came here to discuss the shrimp paste project with you. I think you’re aware of today’s situation, so I’ll be straightforward. Here’s the document from the Zhang family. As long as I send thirty people to work there, their final wages will be exchanged for shrimp that can be used to make shrimp paste. I think it won’t take long for you to have enough shrimp. Usually, it takes a month to make shrimp paste, which isn’t enough time. But the Zhang family didn’t say they’d compensate if they couldn’t meet the deadline. You wrote on the receipt that you’ll collect it in a month, so you can come up with any excuse. Even if there’s no reason, you don’t have to worry. The shelf life of shrimp paste depends on the temperature. If it’s warmer, it lasts less time. You can have someone light a fire around the jar to keep it warm. That way, it’ll be done faster. When the weather’s good, twenty days will be enough. What do you think, Brother Liu?”

Liu Shaoqing does know what happened today, but doesn’t expect it to turn out this way. After hearing the news, he is happy and says, “Brother Cao, my apologies. I’ll beat him to death and give you a proper explanation.”

“Are you going to beat him to death? Fine by me. But when you make money, don’t forget about the debt we still owe,” Cao Herui points out the important matter.

“Don’t worry, Brother Cao. When we sell the shrimp paste, you’ll get 60%, and I’ll get 40%,” Liu Shaoqing says happily, establishing the profit-sharing agreement.