Great Tang Idyll - Volume 4 Chapter 49

The newly built ship sails smoothly. Compared to Xin’er, who is always eager for fun, the old man is more interested in the local specialties. The disaster-stricken area in Luzhou, along with the surrounding states, is now well-known to anyone willing to inquire.

According to the estimated timeline, this is only the second shipment of these goods. The old man knows what had been shipped back the first time—another local specialty, secretly left behind by some local officials. However, this time is clearly different from the last. There are not only specialties from Luzhou but also from the surrounding states.

If it were anyone else, the old man might think these items are a coincidence, just sent over by chance, but there is hardly ever anything random in the Zhang family. This suggests that the people in those states must be living well. The old man understands Zhang Zhong’s character; his family would never ignore others after benefiting.

From this perspective, it won’t be long before reports of merit from the five surrounding states are submitted. The more merit there is, the more capable people will think Zhang Zhong is. Who doesn’t know the situation over there? Even if he publicly praises the people of the five states, in reality, he values Zhang Zhong more.

“Grandpa, there are paintings too. There are words under them. I’ll read them to you. On June 17, it rained heavily, and the surrounding area flooded. More than sixty houses were washed away. We gathered rafts to form land and drifted with the waves. On June 19, there were floating corpses. We were very anxious and sent the No. 0 seedling protection team upstream to search. There was a baby lying on its back in the water. It was rushed to the side of the raft and was thought to be a floating corpse. Xiaobao jumped into the water, lifted the baby up, blew air on its chest to press on the lung meridian. Then a crying sound was heard. Those who saw it shouted with joy. The baby opened his little hands and babbled. On June 22, people from the prefecture upstream came with wood to rescue them. Later, more people arrived, and the mountain people came in, calling for help from time to time. Unfortunately, there were too few people in Team Zero to expand the search area. We don’t know how many people were washed up in the sea. On June 24, the rain still hadn’t stopped…”

Xin’er reads one page at a time, but she can’t continue. Tears well up in her eyes. The words she reads convey sadness, helplessness, sorrow, joy, and expectation, all of which make her emotions shift accordingly. Though she is young, she understands that life is precious.

The old man takes the book with the pictures, looks at the special painting method and the clear scenes in the painting, and says to his granddaughter, “Xin’er, this is true wisdom and courage. Your Uncle Zhang rescued people without relying on trees. Although some people died, many more survived because of him. Without that wooden raft formation rising and falling with the waves, many more wronged souls would have perished.”

Xin’er is still sad, but she nods and asks, “Grandpa, why didn’t Uncle Zhang divide the raft into smaller sections? That way, there would be more space to block the enemy. Why didn’t he make more rafts?”

“Silly girl, the wind and waves at the seaside are so strong that even if the rafts were tied together, they would still rise and fall. Look at this picture—there’s a big rock pressing down on the raft. The waves are so strong that the raft can sometimes be lifted a foot high. If the ropes weren’t tied tightly or loosely, the people on the raft would have fallen into the water long ago. He also wanted to arrange things earlier, but he didn’t have the time. He had just arrived and didn’t have enough time to do it. If he had had half a year, nothing would have happened there. Look at this painting—it says that two rivers are to be dug, and it looks like they’ve been dug now.”

The old man understands more than his granddaughter. From the paintings, one can see what has been happening. Not only are there rafts, but large ships have also helped break the wind and waves. One can imagine how dire the situation is. The Zhang family has done everything they can in response to this flood.

Xin’er understands now and snatches the picture book back to continue reading. After finishing the last page, she asks again, “Grandpa, what would have happened if Uncle Zhang and his family weren’t there?”

“If they hadn’t been there, nothing would have happened here. But over there, many would have died. Even after the disaster, some people would still die, and more would flee. Your Uncle Zhang’s family is not ordinary. Though there is only one state, it supports the five surrounding states. Without him, those six states would have been finished. There are few people here to begin with, and without the Zhang family’s support, there would be even fewer. This is the true way to serve the country and the people. Don’t worry, when we get there, you will see a Luzhou different from the one on the map.”

The old man looks at the river ahead and speaks to Xin’er with emotion, believing in the Zhang family’s ability to handle matters. A lot of money has been transported here. Others might think of it as a dilapidated place, but if it were the Zhang family, they would have the ability to make money even from such a situation.

Xin’er doesn’t care about anything else. As long as no one dies and she can see Sister Liu’er, Wang Juan, and Zhang Xiaobao when they get there, she’ll be satisfied. She shakes the illustrated booklet in her hand.

“Grandpa, this thing is really fun. It comes with pictures.”

“This isn’t just for fun, it’s very useful. If something similar happens in other places, you can follow it. It tells you how to rescue people from the water, how to bandage wounds, and how not to drink raw water or eat too much garlic. Just think about it—if the Yellow River floods, could you do the same?”

The old man sees more knowledge in things like this.

“Yes.” Xin’er nods in agreement.

“According to the book, you can’t keep it. You have to leave it for the people here and send it to the emperor.” The old man stretches out his hand.

Xin’er reluctantly hands over the beautiful books. Watching her grandfather instruct someone to send them away, she sighs, “The beautiful pictures are gone. I’ll see them with my own eyes when we get there.”

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan don’t know the old man is coming. The two have been checking the accounts lately and find that Qi Dong is constantly finding ways to be greedy. It’s only one extra string of coins, which is a huge fortune for ordinary people, but a drop in the bucket for Zhang Xiaobao.

“He’s embezzled ten strings of cash. Isn’t it time to sell it? Otherwise, others will start embezzling when they see nothing is wrong.” Wang Juan has learned a trick this time. She has been checking the accounts carefully and sees that Qi Dong has been abusing his position for personal gain. She advises Zhang Xiaobao to take action.

Zhang Xiaobao has been enjoying a relaxing time lately, playing games with Liu Shaoqing and the others.

Two of the four are directly targeted, and the other two are affected. Those who are affected don’t suffer major losses, but they do offend someone and lose a few days’ worth of income.

Since Zhang Xiaobao raised the price of shrimp paste, from more than one guan per jar to eight guan per jar, Cao Herui had originally agreed with Liu Shaoqing to exchange shrimp for wages, with a 40-60 split. However, due to the price increase, he changes his mind.

Normally, thirty people could catch more than thirty jars of shrimp in a day. But Zhang Xiaobao doesn’t want them to do anything. He makes new clothes for them and provides wine with every meal. How can they want to work after drinking?

After reluctantly following the team for a stroll, the thirty people can only exchange their wages for five jars of shrimp, but they don’t mind. As long as they eat and drink well every day, they’re fine even if they don’t get paid.

As a result, Cao Herui’s hopes are dashed. He had thought that five jars of shrimp would make nearly two jars of shrimp paste, and if sold for eight strings of cash per jar, it would bring in sixteen strings of cash daily. With the price seeming to rise, once the shrimp paste is made, the price might increase even further.

After realizing this, Cao Herui no longer wants to send shrimp to Liu Shaoqing. Instead, he sends money, claiming that the thirty servants in his house haven’t received any wages and need the money to buy shrimp and a boat.

He can’t say this himself, so he asks the housekeeper to go on his behalf. The housekeeper reports that after hearing this, Liu Shaoqing’s face darkens, but he still thanks the housekeeper and accepts the money.

Knowing the shrimp paste could be sold at a high price, Cao Herui sends out other servants to catch shrimp at sea and make shrimp paste, planning to sell it once it’s ready.

Fan Jianxi and Jiang Huanshi also realize that sending people over will result in less profit, so they find excuses to call their servants back and join them in catching shrimp at sea.

Liu Shaoqing is speechless. For the sake of profit, they want to distance themselves from the three who worked with him in the past. He can’t blame others; after all, his family hasn’t been feeding them. He figures the shrimp can be counted in the evening, with a jar of fresh shrimp.

Even if he tells the truth, no one will believe him. The servants at his house have been whipped once a day lately. They aren’t killed, but it’s clear that they’re being told to obey orders or face punishment.

While he’s punishing the servants, he sends them all out to catch shrimp. By then, they’ve caught 26 jars, but still far from the 200 needed. If he can’t pay, he’ll have to pay double—600 strings of cash.

Liu Shaoqing has his own plan. He intends for his family to make seventy or eighty jars, then sell them. That will be enough to cover the losses.

As for the three greedy people, let them go and make money on their own. When good things happen in the future, don’t call them. Not helping someone in need is no different from kicking them when they’re down.

Liu Shaoqing comforts himself with the thought that the three are also in debt, so it makes sense to act this way.

He can think so, but others won’t, especially the servants. When they’re out catching shrimp at the beach, they see the other two families catching shrimp much faster than before.

Only the two families are doing fine, but today, Zhang Xiaobao gives Cao Herui’s servants a paid holiday. They have nothing to do, so they come over to join in.