Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 314: The Young Master’s Dilemma
Old Salted Fish stared at Zhu Er as if he was looking at a fool - going out to sea to make a lot of money? Could it be that this young man had been hit on the head by a stone and became stupid? Although maritime trade does make money, whether it is Jiangnan, Fujian or even the major ports in the north, who among the wealthy families with seagoing ships would send their truly core children?
Only those children of side branches who are excluded at home would have to risk their lives to go out to sea, hoping to fight their way out in the waves... No, it's a way to make money! Could this nobleman in front of him who is obviously lazy and carefree be so stupid as to think that money at sea is so easy to make?
But at the same time, he also suspected that the other party was pretending to be a fool to fool him, and actually treated him as a fool.
But when he thought about the stories in countless operas and novels, he vaguely felt that there was an image that seemed to overlap with Zhu Er at this moment. His eyes suddenly bulged out and he stood up suddenly.
"Second Young Master said that you ran away from home? Haha, you can run away from home and bring so many followers with you? That's unlikely! If I were to guess, you are probably the real eldest prince, and the one in the Cangzhou Palace is a fake!"
Old Salty Fish's movement was so big that the bow of the boat shook a little because of his sudden standing up. As a result, Zhu Er in the cabin was scared to death and had to desperately cling to the edge of the boat to avoid falling into the water due to losing balance. After the shock passed, he glared at Old Salty Fish and cursed angrily.
"You old fool, have you watched too many dramas? I have nothing to do with that vicious bastard! The eldest prince and the second prince are simply competing to see who is worse. There are so many messes in the capital, whoever is involved will be unlucky! In the past, he was protected by the queen like a hen protecting her chicks, but now such a big thing has happened, the eldest prince must be skinned alive!"
The dignified prince was called a piece of trash by the young man who called himself the Second Young Master of Qi. Old Salted Fish naturally would not take it lightly. He felt that the man in front of him was of extraordinary status and might be the key to solving the situation in Cangzhou. But he was not the eldest prince, so he could not expect the kind of drama in which the treacherous ministers took the blame and the royal family was glorious and upright. Therefore, he had to smile and bow to Zhu Er.
"Second Young Master, please forgive me. I am just too concerned. If you were the eldest prince, and the person in the Cangzhou Palace was a fake, you would be able to step out in an instant to suppress the situation, punish those bullies who act recklessly in the name of the royal family, and give justice to the common people... At that time, even if you chop off the head of my nephew Xian Yunhe, I will never frown!"
Nonsense, chop off your nephew's head, not yours!
Zhu Er was furious in his heart, but what he didn't care about was Lao Xianyu's vulgar civilian consciousness - a dignified prince was hiding and not showing up, letting a fake person cheat and harm the people? What a hell of an idea! If there really was such a guy hiding in the dark, then this guy must be the real mastermind!
Thinking of this, he gained some confidence in his wisdom, and immediately laughed and said, "Old Salted Fish, don't worry about that. Your nephew is your nephew, and you are you. The law of killing nine generations of a clan has been completely abolished since the time of Taizu. Even if he rebelled, it has nothing to do with you, his maternal uncle. Those guys who chased us before won't be able to jump for long!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand with great ambition and said, "When the capital gets the news and sends someone over, we can wipe out those damned guys in no time!"
Zhu Er, the speaker, did not think there was anything wrong with his words, but for Lao Xianyu, there were many problems with his words. However, the old man, who had spent most of his life drifting on the sea and was extremely slippery, did not show it at all. Instead, he smiled and nodded repeatedly: "If everyone was as righteous as the second master, Cangzhou would not have suffered such a disaster."
He then looked at Zhu Er with an earnest expression, and said with a sigh, " What bad luck has Cangzhou suffered to have encountered such a calamity! Even if this disaster is over, in the eyes of the court, the people of Cangzhou have become accomplices of the traitors. When the time comes, they will inevitably be exploited by the authorities for taxes and labor service. Poor people... wuwuwuwu..."
The old man cried as soon as he said he would cry, without any hesitation, just like a real acting master. However, his acting skills might be able to fool ordinary young men, but for Zhu Er, who can also be a real acting master when he is smart, that level is still not enough.
Therefore, Zhu Er shouted angrily: "Alright, alright, stop it! I am just a second-generation rich man, how can I care about such a big deal!" But at this point, he coughed again and said, "Of course, I have been hunted down to this extent, it is impossible for me to not have any reward! As long as you contact my guards, I can think of a way for you!"
Old Salty Fish was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. Then he went into the cabin and soon he was washing and cooking dinner at the bow. Zhu Er, who hadn't eaten well in the past few days, smelled the fragrance and was very greedy. But just when he couldn't help swallowing his saliva, he suddenly remembered the purpose of his trip.
"By the way, Old Salty Fish, don't you always sell some weird things in your shop? For example, the sweet and sour tomato sauce. I ate it last time. Why don't you make some dishes for me to try, such as tomato fish..."
He had pretended to meet Lao Xianyu by chance before and although he went to his shop later, in order to avoid arousing suspicion, he only pretended to be interested in those things but did not delve too deeply into them.
As he spoke, he peered into the pot, perfectly avoiding Old Salty Fish's scrutinizing gaze.
"Right now, we are on the boat, and we only have dried fish, dried shrimp, crabs, and two cans of spring water. These are what I prepared for going fishing. Where is the ketchup? Besides, those are sealed in porcelain jars and sold to nobles who like rare things. I eat them myself... Are you crazy? Every mouthful costs money!"
At this point, Lao Xianyu saw Zhu Er snorting in disapproval. Thinking of the guy's ignorance of the world in the past few days, his panic and embarrassment when escaping, and his background that he had just inadvertently revealed, he softened his tone.
"That ketchup isn't sour or sweet at all. You've tasted it yourself. It's just one word: sour! In order to make a nobleman like you eat it, I have to add a lot of sugar or honey! If you like it, I'll give you ten or eight cans later. If you can tell those pregnant ladies in Beijing about it, I'll be able to sell more, right..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Er immediately slapped his thigh with great energy: "You said it! Don't fool me! Wait... if these are from overseas, wouldn't it be too easy to get eight or ten jars? You old man, you are not lying to me, are you? Those ships would like to load more rare treasures from overseas, who would load a bunch of these messy foods?"
"So how can a young master from a wealthy family like you know this kind of tricks?"
Old Salted Fish stirred the fragrant soup in the pot while adding various condiments that Zhu Er could not understand. He did not care that the people's salivating expressions gradually became a little subtle. He just kept talking to himself: "In this sea trade, the things shipped out from our Ming Dynasty are numerous and heavy. For example, silk, cloth, porcelain, and tea can fill a ship to the brim."
"As for what we'll carry when we return? Gems, spices, gold and silver. These things take up much less space than the cargo we carried when we left. So, for ballast, we have to find ways to add heavy things on the ship. For example, wood, for example, rare stones that we don't have here... Anyway, as long as there are heavy things, it's fine. What's the point of bringing these foods along?"
Zhu Er's mouth curled up, revealing a somewhat smug smile on his face: "I don't know what you are talking about, but I have eaten that ketchup, and it is not like those pickled sauerkraut and pickled radish, it is obviously another kind of sourness. My teacher said that if it is not fermented, well, if it is not pickled and not dried, it is difficult to preserve it for such a long time."
"Besides, your ketchup doesn't contain much sugar, so it won't last long. A ship would have been drifting on the sea for a month or two. If it was really something brought from overseas and stored in your store for so long, it would have gone bad long ago! So, I think you are just being greedy, passing off something you grow as a precious commodity brought back from overseas!"
At the end, Zhu Er was very proud and felt that the sea breeze on his face was also praising him. However, when he saw Lao Xianyu raising his head, he felt that something was wrong.
Because this old man who used to be a sage but is now in such a state of disgrace has a terrifying light flashing in his eyes, just like...
Could it be that what he said was right? The old man is now thinking about how to kill people to silence them!
Zhu Er was timid to begin with, and his face turned pale at this moment. He looked around hurriedly, wondering if it would be better for him to jump into the water to escape. However, after the old salted fish stared at him for a long time with its hawk-like eyes, its eyes returned to their usual turbidity and dimness.
"Second Young Master, you are really bold... Haha, if I really planted a large area of these strange things, would I still need to open such a small shop in Cangzhou? Even if I go to the capital to find a wealthy family and offer myself to be a gardener, who knows, they might also like these strange things. After all, I heard that many powerful people in the capital like to show off."
He shrugged and said, "As for the preservation of this ketchup, we actually have to thank Emperor Taizu. If he hadn't made the method of making strong liquor public at that time, this ketchup wouldn't have been able to be preserved for so long. In fact, it's very simple. Put the prepared sauce into a clean porcelain jar, put it in a steamer, and then pour strong liquor into it while it's hot. The stronger the better."
After a pause, he continued, "After heating, take out the porcelain jar and seal it with wax. It can be kept for several months. Although it must be eaten immediately once opened, the unopened ketchup can be kept for a long time. You know, it is easy to get sick on a ship at sea. There is a lack of medical care and medicine, and people can easily die. It was also Emperor Taizu who made it public, and that was because they did not eat fresh vegetables and fruits."
"So, this ketchup is a great thing for sea merchants. Of course, the same goes for orange jam, plum jam, and the like. You probably don't know that the most common thing on sea ships over the years is a variety of sauces!"
Being able to express those previous doubts in a serious manner was already the limit of Zhu Er's ability. Therefore, after hearing all these words from Lao Xianyu, although he was skeptical due to his lack of common sense, he could not come up with any reason to doubt them.
And when the other party directly served a bowl of soup to him, although it was so hot that he almost spilled it, he was really hungry. He blew on it in small sips, and after drinking two mouthfuls, he couldn't help but beaming with joy, and felt as if he had come alive again.
"It's cold tonight. After you drink the soup to warm yourself up, take off your clothes and dry them. Otherwise, you will catch a cold." Lao Xianyu said without raising his head. Seeing that Zhu Er didn't say anything, he couldn't help but look up in surprise. Seeing that the man was looking at the tarpaulin that he had wrapped himself in with a troubled look on his face, he remembered that he was also a nobleman, and he couldn't help but cough.
"You can just stay naked for one night. Don't mind the smell of salted fish. You won't be able to survive if you are so picky in this critical moment. Between salted fish and getting sick, what you should choose is not for me to say."
Well, on the question of salted fish and illness… I choose salted fish, just like at home, between survival and respectability, I choose survival! As long as I can live a good life, what is respectability? Can I eat it?
After eating and drinking, Zhu Er took off all his clothes in a tragic manner, and spent the night naked in the cabin with a strong smell of salted fish, wrapped in the tarpaulin that seemed to have been wrapped in salted fish. As for when he fell asleep, he himself didn't know. When he woke up early in the morning, he was dazed for a while because he was used to the smell of salted fish. Then he came to his senses and realized where he was at the moment.
However, when the dried clothes were delivered by Old Salted Fish, Mr. Zhu II became anxious. How could he wear these wrinkled and dry clothes? After being persuaded by Old Salted Fish, he put them on. He looked at his clothes, scratched his hair that was dry and tangled because of being soaked in sea water, and his astringent scalp. He felt like he was playing out a real-life version of the story of a young master in trouble.
If he could return to Beijing safely, he would hire someone to put the eldest prince in a sack and give him a good lesson, even if he had to try every possible means and spend all his money!
Although he was angry, Zhu Er didn't want to stay on the boat for a few more days. He had no choice but to follow Lao Xianyu reluctantly, got ashore from a remote place, and then walked to Cangzhou City on foot, with his feet all raw.
He had kicked off his shoes in the water because they were too much of a hindrance when he jumped into the water to escape. Now he only had a pair of tattered cloth shoes, but they were better than the straw sandals of an old salted fish. And this once decent outfit had faded and shrunk severely after being soaked in sea water, so that it had completely lost its original appearance, and also made his outfit completely different from the sea arrest warrant hanging on the city wall.
The most important thing is that the disguise on Zhu Er’s face has long disappeared.
He now bears no resemblance to the smug young man with a mustache on the list.
As for Old Salted Fish… If the old man on the wanted list was at least a down-and-out old scholar, then Old Salted Fish, now dressed in shorts, looked like an ordinary fisherman. The sunburn on his arms was real. The soldiers who were checking them didn’t even bother to look at the two of them. They just waved their hands impatiently and said, “Remember, you are allowed to enter Cangzhou City but not leave these few days!”
