Yinshan Record

Chapter 411 Bai Zhi's Thoughts and the Divine Power of a Single Strike (Part 2)

Su Che was outside the south gate watching the porridge being distributed inside the porridge kitchen.

Several large pots were set up there, constantly emitting steam. Rice, beans, salt, and salted meat were mixed together, and finely diced vegetable leaves were shaken off and thrown into the pots. A large ladle, more than three feet long, was used to stir it in directly.

Xuan Gui was holding an account book and flipping through it. Beside him were members of the Su family, and next to them was a small table with writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Standing opposite him was a short, stocky boss, his face flushed red from the heat and his lips greasy.

"A load of firewood costs me forty copper coins. I said, Old Ma, why don't you just rob me?"

Xuan Gui said with great dissatisfaction, his eyes secretly glancing at Su Che on the other side.

With the boss here, Hyun-gyu, who is used to being a nice guy, naturally had to put on a serious face.

“Oh dear, young master, look around here, where can we find any firewood? I collected all of this from the village with great difficulty. You know the state of things these days, Cizhou is in chaos and war. Besides those bandits, there are also thugs taking advantage of the chaos. To add some fuel to your pot of good deeds and to ensure that the people have a hot bowl of porridge, I haven’t been able to eat a hot meal three times a day.”

The short boss spoke like a machine gun, coaxing Xuan Gui until he was dizzy and confused, while Su Che, listening from the side, found it all quite amusing.

Xuan Gui grew up reading, and his mind may be full of sages' wisdom, but speaking is all about reaction and requires training. No matter how full of wisdom you are, it won't work against the boss's rapid-fire questions.

I won't discuss those things with you.

Xuan Gui hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Thirty coins is thirty coins."

"Is there no justice or law in this world? I brave wind and rain to collect firewood, and I have to arrange for people to transport it. Along the way, there are bandits and corrupt officials. I have to spend money on everyone I meet. I've gone through so much trouble to deliver it to your doorstep. Am I just trying to make some money? Isn't it all for your virtuous and benevolent deeds, to bring honor to our Su family? Wait, you said thirty coins?"

The shop owner seemed to have just come to his senses: "Alright, deal's done. I'll come to your residence to settle the account tomorrow?"

"Going today is fine too."

How could Xuan Gui not know that he had been tricked into going in by this boss?

Your mother agreed to thirty coins for a load of firewood so readily; you probably only made ten coins.

Xuan Gui spread a piece of paper on the table next to him and wrote on it: "I am now accepting forty loads of wet firewood from Mr. Wu Youde for thirty cash. This is the receipt."

Then he wrote a crooked and illegible "圭" character below it.

This is called a signature, which is a variation of a picture. The point is to make it understandable but not forged, and it is a kind of personal seal.

As a commoner, Xuan Gui could not simply carve seals, but since many documents passed through his hands, he feared that someone might forge them, so he used this method.

The boss took the note and was immediately very dissatisfied.

"Sir, this is top-quality dry firewood, how can it be considered wet firewood? Wet firewood can't be burned..."

"Whether it's dry or wet, it doesn't affect how you calculate the price?"

Xuan Gui waved his hand, signaling the shopkeeper to leave: "Either you take this receipt or you take your firewood."

"Take it away? Where am I supposed to sell it? Everyone in Cizhou City is eating here. Who am I supposed to sell this firewood to?" The shopkeeper was quite indignant, but he just muttered to himself and still politely took the receipt, then walked into the city.

After he walked away, Su Che walked behind Xuan Gui and looked at his account books.

"Well done! Keep up the good work, and I'll recommend you for a future official position."

"Young master, I'm just doing my duty."

Hyun-kyu felt embarrassed just now, and his voice became a little soft.

"What percentage of profit do you think he'll make on this deal?"

Su Che hadn't come to look at the ledgers in the first place; he just glanced through them briefly, closed them, and tossed them aside. "Thirty percent?"

After deliberating for a long time, Xuan Gui finally came up with a number.

"The firewood was all collected from the mountain. He only paid for the labor and transportation. I think he could earn about twenty coins per load of firewood."

Su Che thought about the smile the boss couldn't suppress as he left and found it quite amusing.

"what……"

Xuan Gui's face turned ashen; he felt that his family had tried to show off, but ended up losing face first.

"What's wrong with that wet firewood?"

Su Che then asked.

"Oh, I told Steward Su and the others that the receipts that come out of my place are divided into two categories. One category is written in a proper way, such as how much dry firewood, how much salt, how much cured meat, which means that these suppliers are honest with me. When they settle accounts, I can pay them 90%. If it is written as something like wet firewood, slag salt, rotten meat, it means that those people are not honest, and I ask them to bargain hard."

Su Che couldn't help but smile after listening to Xuan Gui finish speaking.

Although this scholar has his shortcomings, he is still diligent in some areas.

"Aren't you afraid they'll turn on us and tear us apart?"

Su Che asked with a smile.

“What am I afraid of? What kind of business do we run? If they dare to cause trouble, we’ll have the imperial guards tie them all up and treat them as spies.”

"This method is crude, but it works. But aren't you afraid they won't come back?"

"Don't worry, didn't he say that Cizhou is in chaos right now? If he doesn't do business with us, where else can he do business? Will he take all his belongings to be robbed by bandits?"

Su Che did not speak.

"Demon bandits" has now replaced "civil uprisings" and "rebellious armies" and has gradually become the common name used by the people of Cizhou to refer to the forces led by the Great River Alliance.

After all, many refugees who came here said that they saw many monsters in the chaos of war.

This is indeed true. Su Che believes that all the monsters that were not killed in Xuanshan back then, whether they were demon kings or lowly soldiers, basically all joined the ranks of that "True Lord of Peace".

The dynamics of this battle have gradually shifted.

However, Su Che was more curious about what was going on in Jiankang. It was one thing for the emperor to feign illness, but what were the thoughts of the powerful families like Wang and Xie?

Su Che had read through the documents and records in the Imperial Censorate. He knew that many fields and properties in Cizhou belonged to powerful families. During the previous disaster, in addition to his own large-scale acquisition of fields, many fields in various counties of Cizhou also fell into the hands of powerful clans.

Are they really so indecisive that they can sit still and tolerate these losses?

Su Che felt that the intrigue and treacherous nature of the court was truly difficult to discern.

"This must be Su Lixing, right?"

Xue Baizhi had somehow ended up standing next to the porridge kitchen. Watching the people coming to collect their porridge, she thought that this young Su Lixing might not be as bad as others said.

She had heard Xiong Shou say that the Cizhou government's treasury was already nearly empty, and the current situation of distributing porridge was all thanks to Su Che using his own money.

Su Che's willingness to sacrifice his family's wealth to alleviate the crisis at this time distinguishes him from many other high-ranking officials and nobles whom Xue Baizhi has met.

(End of this chapter)