Xie Yan also said he was going to cook and told Lu Yang to stay behind and chat with Li Feng.
Lu Yang pushed him back. “You’re already familiar with him—just talk casually.”
Xie Yan didn’t really have much to talk about with Li Feng. As the conversation went on, it gradually turned to scholarly matters.
He had already braced himself for a head-on debate, but instead Li Feng seriously came to him for advice. It was about issues related to dockside power structures.
Xie Yan had left Li Feng a set of notes—his own organized account of the docks’ development history. Li Feng had obtained them last year and read through them slowly, first making sure he recognized all the characters, then carefully savoring the content. After finishing, he mulled it over again and again.
Last time he had come in a hurry and left before selling all his goods. This time, with some leisure at last, he could ask for guidance. The docks had changed, and it was only right to ask more questions.
Xie Yan asked him, “Did you find someone to act as guarantor for this trip into the city?”
Li Feng shook his head. “We rented a shop at the docks. Once we showed the deed, they let us through. Merchants who pay annual rent at the docks get preferential treatment. The rent is expensive, though. Seizing one boatload of goods barely covers that profit—it’s not really worth it.”
Xie Yan felt the shop rental was worthwhile, and he explained to Li Feng the several possible scenarios they had inferred.
The Hong family had internal strife; it was very likely a case of the thief crying ‘thief.’
Li Feng could just continue doing business as usual. The Hong family didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about others right now.
“They make their living off the docks—they can’t keep ruining their reputation,” Xie Yan said.
Along the canal, there were many docks. Every prefecture and county along the banks had docks set up.
Some were bustling, with traveling merchants coming and going. Others were desolate, the dock markets never even getting off the ground, serving only as resting and mooring spots. Some people even treated these small docks as warehouses, renting dockside storage cheaply for use.
Prosperous docks were fewer, but not nonexistent. For the sake of securing their livelihoods, merchants would switch locations even if it was troublesome.
Li Feng discussed things with him in detail—government offices, naval troops, and various laws he wanted to understand.
By coincidence, when Xie Yan debated at school, his classmates had played different roles and simulated defensive deployments, so he spoke fluently on those topics. When it came to law, he had plenty of examples to cite.
The imperial examinations included a section called “judgment,” a type of question based on legal statutes. He had a great deal of knowledge stored away.
But docks were an exception. They lay within the prefectural city’s jurisdiction and along the canal, so both the prefect and the naval forces had authority. When both sides tried to intervene, they inevitably dragged in the patrons backing the local strongmen.
Catching thieves at the docks required flexibility. What the law stipulated was one thing; what happened after multiple parties pulled at each other was another.
Xie Yan mainly told Li Feng about examples involving “scapegoats.”
Usually, a large business deal would be introduced to the “goat.” Unable to refuse the enthusiastic offer and pressured by force, the person would have no choice but to accept.
Once accepted, the deal would become impossible to complete. Either the price of the goods would skyrocket, or the goods would suddenly vanish on the canal, requiring another purchase. That way, one could lose money to avert disaster.
If someone had switched the goods, and there had never been any “real goods” to begin with, then guilt would be established and accountability demanded.
In wealthy places, there were many powerful figures—this was a chain trap. It all depended on whether one wanted to lose money or lose one’s life.
Li Feng listened with a frown and carefully noted everything down.
Shun-ge didn’t understand any of this and said, “I’m going to help out in the kitchen!”
He went off to the kitchen, while Xie Yan and Li Feng continued talking in detail.
In the kitchen, Lu Yang was slicing meat and beating eggs, having already decided on the dishes.
Li Feng hadn’t given advance notice of his visit, so there wasn’t much food at home. They steamed some eggs, made chive-and-egg stir-fry, bamboo shoots with pork, mushrooms with pork, and then braised a pot of eggplant. They also made a meatball soup, tossing in a couple handfuls of baby bok choy. Barely counted as five dishes and one soup.
When they had gone to Li Village, the Li family had hosted them generously. Now that Li Feng had come over, the variety of dishes was less, but the ingredients were used liberally. Lu Yang cut a lot of meat. You could even say the dish names backward—pork with bamboo shoots, pork with mushrooms.
The meatball soup had over twenty meatballs in it, filling the soup basin to the brim. Scoop out one bowl and you’d ladle up plenty; once you did, the meatballs pressed down at the bottom would float back up again. It was enough to fill anyone up.
That was all. Their household didn’t run a shop; all food had to be bought outside. Being able to prepare this many dishes was only because Lu Yang was bringing food to Xie Yan. Normally, they wouldn’t buy so much. If it sat for a while, it would all wilt.
There were still some wild greens at home. Lu Yang checked the amount—tomorrow morning, they could make dumplings with wild greens and fresh pork.
By the time everything was ready, night had fallen.
The family ate in the main hall. Zhao Peilan and Shun-ge brought out the dishes. Lu Yang carried over a basin of water and told Xie Yan and Li Feng to wash their hands.
They had just come back from outside and hadn’t washed yet.
After washing their hands, they began eating.
They didn’t talk about official matters at the table, only about family affairs.
It had just been Qingming Festival. Li Feng had gone to the estate to take a look. Someone had burned paper offerings and incense at Xie Yan’s father’s grave. The estate had already put up livestock sheds and a mill. The tenant farmers said that once spring warmed up, they weren’t in a hurry to repair the houses; they wanted to build proper shelters for the animals first, and they were also thinking about milling flour and beans, so the mill was built ahead of time.
By the time Li Feng set out, the houses were nearly finished as well. Wheat had just been planted in the fields, and vegetables had already grown a crop. The two elders had gone to the estate several times to check on things and had helped catch some chicks. If they weren’t afraid of annoying people, the two of them could have gone every day to teach others how to raise chickens.
As for the village, everything was fine. A new threshing ground had been opened, every household was enthusiastic, and there hadn’t been any problems so far.
Everything at home was good—the children were well, and Lu Liu was well too.
Lu Yang said, “I’ve already looked over some houses. There’s one next door just like mine, except the east wing isn’t connected. It has three bedrooms. We’ll go take a look tomorrow morning. If it’s suitable, I’ll talk to the broker. That place can be rented at any time. It’s very expensive—sixteen taels of silver a year.”
Li Feng asked, “How much is the house you rent in the county per year?”
Lu Yang replied, “Twelve taels a year. The house we rent in the county can be shared by four households, and the price is calculated by room count. The main house has two rooms, four taels each. The side rooms also have two rooms, three taels each. If we paid for one fewer room, the broker could send another tenant to our household. The county town is small, with few houses, especially near the private academy. After picking and choosing again, this is the only one worth keeping—clean, no trouble, big enough. Other than being expensive, it’s good in every way.”
By that calculation, renting a large house in the prefectural city for sixteen taels a year wasn’t too bad.
Lu Yang added, “I’ve also got my eye on a mud-brick house. Most of the nearby homes are mud-brick, nothing eye-catching, but it’s spacious enough. The current tenants haven’t moved out yet. The broker let slip that the head of that household is a licentiate scholar who’s going to the provincial capital this year to take the exams. Whether he passes or not, he won’t be coming back to the prefectural city. He already said he’d return the lease early—by mid-May, the house will be vacant. That one’s cheaper; it can be rented for twelve taels a year.”
He left himself room to choose. With two families living side by side, it wouldn’t do for the difference to be too great. If his own family lived in a large house, he would also need to find a large house for his younger brother. Then he’d keep a more affordable option in reserve and let Li Feng choose.
Li Feng said he wanted to see them before deciding.
After dinner that day, they fed the dog and the horse, washed up, and each returned to their rooms to rest.
Shun-ge was still homesick. After washing up, he lingered in front of the door. Li Feng chatted with him for a while, asking what he had been doing in the prefectural city.
Shun-ge chattered on about many things. He had gone to the prefectural academy several times, gone out shopping more than ten times—mostly to buy vegetables, and also to look at houses and browse bookshops.
Lu Yang had even taken him to the riverside for an outing. Many people were flying kites, and many were composing poetry and matching couplets. He was also studying and practicing calligraphy; his coursework was heavier than at home.
There were also bits of business know-how and experience in dealing with people. He had written them all down.
He felt he hadn’t really done much, since his career hadn’t even started yet. But once he started talking, it poured out endlessly—he couldn’t even count it all on two hands.
Li Feng listened and nodded repeatedly. Lu Yang had handled things properly; there was nothing for him to criticize. He only told Shun-ge to learn his skills well, not to be impatient, and to be observant in daily life.
“Being observant doesn’t mean running around doing housework nonstop. If you work without resting, they’ll feel awkward watching you toil alone and will come help—you all end up tired. I’ve told you this several times; you need to listen. Look at what the household truly lacks, what people truly want. Don’t just rush to use your hands—learn to use your head.”
Shun-ge listened, remembered, and said, “Everyone treats me very well. With you not around, if I don’t do any work, I just feel uneasy.”
Li Feng told him to speak plainly. “Lu Yang is a generous person—he won’t hold it against you.”
Shun-ge was an honest child with no ill intentions, not the type to take advantage of kindness. Since that was the case, it was better for everyone to be straightforward, and life would be easier for all.
