Mo Sang – CH 273

Chapter 273. One Chapter Plus Half a Chapter

In the evening, Dong Chao returned and quietly reported to Li Sangrou:

Fourth Madam Wu née Wei secretly sent someone over and spent a hundred-thirty taels of silver to buy Yu Cui and her son. They had already been sent to Jianle City for resettlement.

Li Sangrou listened with lowered eyes, saying nothing.

………………………………

The auspicious day for the grand completion ceremony of Tengwang Pavilion was ten days later. In between, there would be another round of essay evaluation, and then another ten rounds of evaluation. Li Sangrou had nothing to do during this time, so she took Da Chang, Old Meng, and about ten others to the Guangshun Shipyard in Yangjiaping.

Both shipyards in Hongzhou, Guangshun and Heshun, were managed by Yang Gan, who was stationed at the Guangshun Shipyard.

Sailing downstream from Yuzhang City, it only took a day to reach Yangjiaping.

Li Sangrou started by looking at the old ships waiting for repairs moored next to their boat, walking and examining them as she went.

The shipyard was large, and just as Hei Ma and his companions had heard, it was well-organized and thriving.

Li Sangrou walked and looked around, heading straight into a small courtyard at the very back of the shipyard.

Under a camphor tree inside the courtyard gate, an elderly man in his sixties was sitting on a stool, twisting a hemp rope with one foot propped up.

Seeing Li Sangrou enter, the old man’s eyes widened. He groaned and cried out, but with the rope stuck in his foot, he could not stand up. He could only wave his hands frantically, shouting, “Whose daughter is this? So ill-mannered! Get out! You girl, get out! You cannot come in here! This is not a place for women! Get out!

You, a woman, what are you doing in the shipyard? Get out, get out, get out! What bad luck!”

Seeing Li Sangrou standing still despite his yelling at her, the old man became even more anxious. He yanked and pulled, tearing a rope in the process, finally managing to stand up. He stretched out his arms, trying to shoo Li Sangrou out.

“Whose daughter are you? What did your parents teach you? Huh? Did they not teach you? Women are not allowed in the shipyard! It is bad luck! Do you not know that’s bad luck! This is not a place for women like you! Get out! Get out! Get out!

What bad luck! Get out, get out!”

“I am looking for Manager Yang.” Li Sangrou stood still, smiling at the old man.

“Looking for Manager Yang will not work either! Go outside the shipyard! No one will do! If a woman comes into this shipyard, the ship will capsize, you know that! Huh! You know that’s bad luck! Get out!” The old man’s voice choked with anger as Li Sangrou refused to leave.

“I am the new owner of this shipyard. I am here to see Manager Yang.” Li Sangrou’s smile remained unchanged.

“Hey! This little brat is really talking nonsense! You really dare to say that! Get out of here!” The old man waved his hands, shooing her away like a chicken. “Go away, go away! Get out of here!

Whose daughter is this? What kind of parents raised her? Go away!”

The courtyard was small, and the people in the main house had already heard the commotion. A thin, fifty-year-old man poked his head out and called out, “Let her in.”

“Hey! Whose daughter is this? She’s so ignorant! How can a woman enter a shipyard? What bad luck!” The old man reluctantly stepped aside, frowning as he watched Li Sangrou smile and walk past him, his face contorted with disdain.

Li Sangrou smiled and curtsied, walking past him into the main room.

The three main rooms were fairly bright. In the east room, a table stood in the center, behind which sat a middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties or forties, slightly plump and quite dignified.

In the central and west rooms, there were six or seven tables, occupied by six or seven accountants.

The gaunt old man who had called out stood by the door, his hands clasped in front of him, coldly eyeing Li Sangrou.

“Which one of you is Manager Yang?” Li Sangrou stepped across the threshold, looked around, and then, smiling, asked the middle-aged man.

“That’s me,” Yang Gan said in a deep voice, not standing up, but scrutinizing Li Sangrou from head to toe.

“Show him the contract.” Li Sangrou stepped aside, gesturing to Hei Ma.

Hei Ma pulled out a contract bearing the name Zhang San from his pocket, quickly opened it, walked over, and held it up to Yang Gan. After a moment, he withdrew his hand, then held up another contract.

“I know, I’ve already received word from home,” Yang Gan replied calmly, standing up while leaning on the table. “The accounts are all in this room, and the stuff is at the shipyard outside. Old Shan, let’s go.”

“Wait,” Li Sangrou said with a smile. “The accounts have not been checked yet, and the stuff has not been inventoried. How can you just leave? Please stay a little longer while I sort out the accounts.”

“Then you can check them. We will go back and wait.” Yang Gan, hands behind his back, strolled out with an air of nonchalance.

The gaunt old man, hands in his pockets, walked past Li Sangrou and followed him out.

Li Sangrou watched the two leave, one after the other, then chuckled and turned to look at the six accountants sitting upright in the room.

“So, are you planning to follow Manager Yang or stay and continue working?” Li Sangrou asked with a smile, scrutinizing each of the six men.

“If the master does not mind,” the accountant sitting at the front table said cautiously, standing up.

“Not at all.” Li Sangrou pulled out Yang Gan’s chair and sat down in front of the row of accountant tables, smiling. “Tell us first, what are your names, how old are you, how many years have you worked here, and what accounts are you in charge of?”

“Yes, my surname is Wang, Wang Shouji. I am fifty-one this year. I started as an apprentice in the Guangshun Company’s accounting office when I was eleven, and I’ve been here ever since. I am currently in charge of the general ledger at Guangshun,” the first accountant bowed and said.

“I am Zhang Yuxian, forty-seven years old this year. I’ve worked at Guangshun for twenty-five years, always managing the purchasing accounts,” the second accountant stood up and answered.

…

The six accountants, the youngest being thirty-five, had worked at Guangshun for ten years.

“Tell me about the accounts. You manage the general ledger; you go first,” Li Sangrou said, looking at Wang Shouji.

“Yes, the accounts are currently in a deficit of 1.2 million taels, all accumulated over the years,” Wang Shouji bowed and said.

“Where did the deficit come from? Was it from the surplus of previous years or from external debts?” Li Sangrou crossed her legs and asked with a smile.

“There has never been a surplus; every year there’s a deficit,” Wang Shouji said with a bitter smile. “It’s all borrowed from outside, and there are also debts owed to timber companies and other places for materials. This is the general ledger; the detailed accounts are in that room over there.” Wang Shouji took a ledger and presented it to Li Sangrou with both hands.

Li Sangrou glanced at the ledger, did not take it, and smiled at Wang Shouji, saying, “Leave it for now.”

Then she turned to another accountant, Zhou Xi. “You are in charge of ship materials. Over the years, especially the last ten years, how many ships have been built in total? How much material was used? How much were the wages? How much did each ship sell for? Was it a profit or a loss? Give me a detailed breakdown.”

“It’s all here.” Zhou Xi, the accountant Li Sangrou had called upon, took a few steps forward and handed it to Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou took the ledger, looked at Zhou Xi, and smiled. “I remember you just said you’ve been working here for seventeen years, always in charge of this kind of accounting, right?”

“Yes,” Zhou Xi replied respectfully.

“Then the figures in this ledger, which ship was ordered by which company, what size the ship was, and how much silver it cost—there certainly will not be any mistakes, right?” Li Sangrou continued to ask.

“Yes, for the past ten years or so, the shipyard has almost exclusively built military vessels for General Yang’s side. They say the payment for the vessels goes directly to Madam Meng’s side. These vessels are all expenses, no income. The losses over the years are all due to these vessels.

Besides military duties, we’ve built very few civilian vessels; they are all listed in this book.”

“Very few civilian vessels, hmm. Good, that means there cannot be any mistakes, right?”

“Listen carefully. If any civilian vessel in this book is missing, I will cut off one of your fingers; if two are missing, I will cut off two. For every mistake, like writing a large ship as a small ship, I will carve a one-inch-long gash on your face and drip ink on it,” Li Sangrou said slowly and deliberately with a smile.

Zhou Xi stared at Li Sangrou, unable to react.

Li Sangrou stood up, handed the booklet to Da Chang, and turned to leave.

Da Chang, Hei Ma, and the others followed Li Sangrou out of the shipyard. Hei Ma could not help but ask, “Boss, something seems off, does it not?”

“Hmm. This Yang Gan is really clever,” Li Sangrou chuckled, then turned to Meng Yanqing and instructed, “Write a notice saying that Guangshun Shipyard congratulates the unification of the world, and any ship built by the shipyard within the last ten years, as long as it can provide proof that it was built by Guangshun Shipyard, will receive one free refurbishment per year until it rots and becomes unusable.

Just have them deliver the receipts to the various Shunfeng delivery stations.”

Meng Yanqing agreed. A small boat headed straight for Jiangzhou City, and that same day, some notices were printed. He hired people from the brokerage firm to distribute the notices at various docks in Jiangzhou City and on boats sailing on the lakes and rivers.

That night, he had the printing presses work all night, printing even more notices. These were then sent west to Jiangling City, north to Xiangyang, and south all the way to Yangzhou via Shunfeng routes.

The next day, Shunfeng delivery stations in Jiangzhou City, Yuzhang City, and other small counties and towns in Hongzhou received many receipts, which were delivered to Yangjiaping that evening.

Li Sangrou looked at the booklet, reviewing each receipt. The first one was not in the booklet.

Li Sangrou asked Da Chang to bring paper and pen, and she carefully noted them down, one by one.

Of the stack of forty or so receipts, more than thirty were not in the booklet.

“Alright, call them all over tomorrow.” Li Sangrou put down the two stacks of receipts, clapped her hands, and smiled.

………………………………

The next day, around the hour of Chen¹, the shipyard’s foremen, laborers, and accountants all arrived at the shipyard to begin work. Li Sangrou, accompanied by Da Chang, Meng Yanqing, and about ten others, entered the shipyard.

Hei Ma brought out a chair from the small courtyard and placed it under the shade of a tree outside. Li Sangrou sat down, and Xiao Lu, Meng Yanqing, and the others gathered all the managers and supervisors, who stood in a line before her.

Yang Gan and the head accountant, Master Shan, were also invited over and stood aside, away from the others.

Once everyone was present, Li Sangrou gestured to Hei Ma, “Take the receipts to Zhou Xi and let him see if they were issued by Guangshun Shipyard.”

Hei Ma stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Xi’s hand, and slammed the two stacks of receipts together into Zhou Xi’s hand. “Take a good look!”

Zhou Xi’s face was pale.

Ever since hearing about the widely distributed notice yesterday, he had been on edge, and last night, he had not slept a wink due to worry.

“Take a look and see if it is true.” Li Sangrou smiled, looking at Zhou Xi, who stood there pale-faced, clutching a handful of receipts, neither moving nor looking.

“The Boss is asking you a question!” Hei Ma slapped Zhou Xi on the shoulder.

“I do not handle receipts; I do not know,” Zhou Xi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he forced a reply.

“Then who is in charge of receipts? Step forward,” Li Sangrou asked with a smile.

“I…I…” A short, stout middle-aged man in brocade robes stepped forward, his voice trembling.

Li Sangrou squinted at him, then looked at the seven or eight stewards standing around him. After a moment, she snorted coldly and gestured to Hei Ma. “Show them to him.”

Hei Ma snatched the two stacks of receipts from Zhou Xi’s hands, carried them to the short, stout steward, and slapped them into his hand.

The short, stout manager took the two stacks of receipts, flipping through them repeatedly. After looking at them two or three times, he looked up and subconsciously glanced at Master Shan and Yang Gan.

“Were these shipped from Guangshun Shipyard?” Li Sangrou asked the short, stout manager with a smile.

“Looks like it, it seems so, but it is hard to say. Shipyard receipts are very easy to forge. If…” The short, stout manager’s forehead was covered in sweat.

“Give him a pen and ink,” Li Sangrou gestured to Datou, then looked at the short, stout manager and said, “You look at them one by one and write them down one by one: which one is real and which one is forged.

After you’ve written it down, Old Meng will take it. Take him with you, and we will file a complaint with Jiangzhou Prefecture today.

Fortunately, these ships are near Jiangzhou. It will be easy to arrest them and interrogate them. It will be very easy to find out the truth, will it not?” Li Sangrou smiled at Meng Yanqing.

Meng Yanqing immediately bowed and agreed.

“Read carefully and write it down properly.

If it is confirmed to be forgery, what crime is it? What’s the sentence?” Li Sangrou asked Meng Yanqing.

“Most likely fifty or a hundred strokes of the cane.” Meng Yanqing did not know either, so he had to answer with a forced smile.

Anyway, caning was a common punishment; for slightly more serious crimes, in addition to exile and shackles, a stroke of the cane was almost always included. It was said that caning was the safest bet.

“How many strokes can kill someone?” Li Sangrou continued.

“If you get permission, two or three strokes will kill them. If you do not get permission and just strike randomly, even if you are being lenient, fifty strokes will take half your life,” Meng Yanqing answered immediately.

He knew this well.

“If it is indeed forgery and the cane is struck on someone else, and you’ve made a mistake and wronged someone, for each incorrect stroke, you will get fifty strokes. Read carefully before you write.” Li Sangrou looked at the short, stout manager, who hesitated to put pen to paper, and smiled.

The short, stout manager trembled slightly, then looked up at Yang Gan and Master Shan again.

Yang Gan and Master Shan stood there, seemingly oblivious to everything around them.

The short, stout manager wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, picked up the pen, and halfway through writing, looked at Yang Gan and Master Shan again.

Li Sangrou tilted her head slightly, watching the short, stout manager, sweating profusely, glancing repeatedly at Yang Gan and Master Shan.

The short, stout manager hesitated for over a quarter of an hour, glancing at Yang Gan and Master Shan countless times, his forehead soaked with cold sweat, before finally gritting his teeth and picking up the pen. He raised it halfway but then could not bring himself to put it down. After a moment, he abruptly lowered his hand and handed over the two stacks of receipts.

“Are they all true?” “Li Sangrou asked with a smile.

“I cannot tell if it is fake.” The short, stout manager glanced at Yang Gan and Master Shan again.

“Whether it is real or not, just answer yes or no.” Li Sangrou’s smile vanished, and she asked coldly.

The short, stout manager looked at Yang Gan and Master Shan again, and after a moment, his shoulders slumped, and he said with trembling lips, “Yes.”

“Give it to him.” Li Sangrou pointed at Zhou Xi.

Hei Ma slapped the two stacks of receipts into Zhou Xi’s hands again.

“This is the booklet you gave me. I checked it for you. The thinner stack with only a few pages is in the booklet, but the thicker stack is not.”

“I told you that day, if a boat is missing, I will cut off a finger of yours,” Li Sangrou paused, looking at Zhou Xi and asking, “Who else is in your family? Are your parents still alive?”

“My father has passed away; my mother is still alive.” Zhou Xi did not know why Li Sangrou suddenly asked this, but compared to the booklets and receipts in her hand, this question was much more pleasant.

“Are you married? How many children? Boys and girls? How old are they?” Li Sangrou continued.

“Yes, three children. The eldest is a daughter, ten years old this year. The second and third are both sons, one seven years old and the other three years old.” Zhou Xi’s voice was not trembling as much.

“Hmm, count them yourself and see how many boats are missing and how many fingers should be cut off,” Li Sangrou’s tone suddenly changed.

Zhou Xi clutched the two stacks of receipts, head bowed, silent.

“Why did you omit so many boats from the list? Who told you to fabricate this account?” Li Sangrou asked, looking at Zhou Xi.

Zhou Xi kept his head down, silent. “Mazha, count the receipts for him. How many are there in total?”

“Thirty-one receipts. Even if you cut them all off, there are still a lot short,” Mazha counted quickly.

Li Sangrou pointed to Meng Yanqing with her fingers.

Meng Yanqing and the other two stepped forward, held Zhou Xi down, and Hei Ma hurriedly handed over a stool. The two men held Zhou Xi down, pressing his palms onto the stool, then skillfully separated his five fingers.

Meng Yanqing drew a dagger and, with a swift stroke, severed Zhou Xi’s little finger.

Zhou Xi stared at his flying little finger, still unable to react. How could someone just cut off a finger like that?!

Only when excruciating pain shot through him did Zhou Xi realize with horror that his finger had flown away. His screams were filled with intense fear.

“Who told you to fabricate this account?” Li Sangrou asked again, taking advantage of Zhou Xi’s screams.

Zhou Xi twisted his head, glaring at Li Sangrou, shaking it violently.

“Tch.” With a single sneer from Li Sangrou, Meng Yanqing swiftly chopped off another finger.

Zhou Xi trembled violently in pain, screaming repeatedly. Blood from his severed finger stained the stool.

“Let him go,” Li Sangrou ordered.

Two Yunmeng guards released Zhou Xi, who immediately collapsed to the ground, clutching his bleeding hand, writhing and trembling in agony, crying out in pain.

“Who told you to fabricate this false account?” Li Sangrou asked again.

Zhou Xi looked up at Li Sangrou and, after a moment, forcefully shook his head away.

“At home, you have your mother, your young wife, and your seven-year-old son.

If you bleed to death, your mother and wife will surely protect your vast fortune. With one daughter and two sons, having you as a father makes little difference.

Using your life to give your wife and two sons a vast fortune is a very worthwhile trade,” Li Sangrou said, looking at Zhou Xi, each word distinct.

Zhou Xi’s hands trembled as he grabbed the front of his clothes, desperately trying to wrap his bleeding hand. The clothes were wrapped, but the blood continued to seep through the brocade.

Li Sangrou, seeing Zhou Xi’s desperate attempt to stop the bleeding but unsure how, stood up and squatted beside him. “Have you ever seen a pig slaughtered? Human blood is similar to pig blood. Pig blood can fill a basin, and human blood is about the same.”

“How much blood have you lost now? Several bowls of blood already. If this blood continues to flow for another fifteen minutes, it will be almost gone.

People are like pigs. When the blood runs out, the pig dies. People are the same; they die.

Tell me, after you die, will your wife be able to cope? Will she remarry?

Your wife is quite capable, is she not? Without a man, can she manage? Can she protect the vast fortune you risked your life for?

Your sons, one seven years old and the other three—do you think they will grow up? Children without a father, someone will bully them or even kill them, right? Leaving your vast fortune ownerless?”

“Please, please, get me a physician, please,” Zhou Xi said weakly.

“Who told you to fabricate this account?” Li Sangrou asked coldly.

“I will count to three. If you answer, I will stop the bleeding and let you live.

One, two…” Li Sangrou slowly counted to two.

Zhou Xi gritted his teeth and said, “It was Master Wang who led everyone; everyone did it together.”

“Bandage his wound and go fetch a physician.” Li Sangrou stood up and looked at Wang Shouji.

Wang Shouji was pale, his lips tightly pursed, standing ramrod straight.

Li Sangrou stared at him for a while, then looked past him at Zhang Yuxian. Zhang Yuxian trembled slightly and subconsciously took half a step back.

Li Sangrou turned to the short, stout manager from before and asked with a smile, “And you? How much silver did you get?”

The short, stout manager’s Adam’s apple bobbed suddenly. He habitually glanced at Yang Gan and Master Shan.

“How much silver did Manager Yang and Master Shan give you?” Li Sangrou followed his gaze and pointed at Yang Gan and Master Shan.

“No! No! No, no! I did not!” The short, stout manager panicked at Li Sangrou’s pointing finger.

Li Sangrou looked at him for a moment, then shifted her gaze to another accountant, Zhang Yuxian.

Zhang Yuxian turned pale with fright and retreated again.

Li Sangrou looked at them for a moment, then looked at the group of managers standing before her. She smiled and said, “I will give you one chance. Write down how much silver Yang Gan and that guy surnamed Shan gave you. If the amount is correct, I will allow you to keep half.

If you do not write it down, or if you write something wrong,” Li Sangrou paused, pointing to Zhou Xi, who was slumped on the ground.

“The accountants who distributed the silver to you, whether you can withstand my blade, whether you grit your teeth and die rather than speak, or whether you will tell me everything under one blow—you’ve already seen it.

Write it down, or do not write it down; think it over carefully.”

As soon as Li Sangrou finished speaking, Xiao Lu, Mazha, Datou, and Chuantiao dispersed, one handing out paper and pens to each person and another a small dish of ink.

At the same time as Xiao Lu and the others acted, Meng Yanqing and his group wove into the crowd, dispersing the somewhat densely packed group and placing an Old Yunmeng Guard at intervals to separate the people.

“Write down your name and a number; that’s all. This is just half an incense stick until it is used up,” Li Sangrou looked at the crowd and said.

Hei Ma had already lit half an incense stick and stuck it in the center of the ground.

Among the crowd, some received paper, pen, and ink, squatted down after standing still, placed the ink dish on the ground, dipped their ink, and began to write; some hesitated, constantly looking back and forth; some kept glancing at Yang Gan and Master Shan, so anxious they seemed to want to stretch long arms from their eyes; others pursed their lips tightly, clutching the paper and pen in their palms, glaring at Li Sangrou with angry expressions.

When the half-incense stick burned out, Xiao Lu, Mazha, and the others collected a stack of twenty or thirty pieces of paper and handed them to Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou held up the pieces of paper in her hand and smiled. “Those who have finished writing are fine. Go back to work. From now on, things will only be better than before.”

Two-thirds of the crowd had left, leaving those remaining looking somewhat lonely.

“What about you? Anyone want to write?” Li Sangrou turned to the accountants and asked with a smile.

Of the six accountants, aside from Zhou Xi, who was slumped on the ground, half-conscious, some looked at Wang Shouji, while others looked at Yang Gan and Master Shan.

Yang Gan and Master Shan stood with their hands behind their backs the entire time, saying nothing and not looking at anyone who looked at them.

“This silver, including the silver that your Manager Yang and Master Shan have already transported back to their hometown, I will definitely recover it, principal and interest. Manager Yang’s real wife and children are all in Hangzhou, right? When the city fell, there was chaos and war.” Li Sangrou clicked her tongue softly.

“Master Shan’s wife and children are also in Hangzhou, right? Your two families are neighbors. That’s good.

As for you, four families are in Jiangzhou City, and two are in Yuzhang City, so we will leave that aside. The five of you who have repented and intend to mend your ways, stand here and present your accounts clearly.

Those who are still stubborn will join them in making up for all the outstanding debts, including the half left by those others. That will also be taken from your accounts.

Ten is the limit. Hei Ma, count.”

“Yes! One! Two!” Hei Ma stepped forward, holding up his fingers one by one, counting loudly.

“I am with Xiao Zhou. What I know, he knows. I cannot hide it from him.” An old accountant, huddled in the back, head bowed, said something to someone, then stepped forward and stood next to Zhou Xi.

The middle-aged accountant next to the old accountant remained silent, head bowed.

They were uncle and nephew, always working together.

Zhang Yuxian stared intently at Wang Shouji, then suddenly lunged forward at the exit across from Hei Ma.

“Clear that room and lock them in there,” Li Sangrou said, standing up. “Old Meng, go to Jiangzhou City and report to the authorities, requesting them to come and investigate the case.”