Chapter 2668: The Capital (Part 24)

As for what the Teacher's supernatural power actually was, Zhou Lezhi would only learn later. But at that time, these rumors simply added another layer of mystery to Mr. Zhou's already enigmatic reputation.

He had been at Mr. Zhou's side for several months now, and both Mr. Zhou and Wang Yehao had come to trust him considerably. Gradually, the two stopped sending him away during their conversations and kept him close by instead. Wang Liang called this "confidant" treatment.

Given his status as Mr. Zhou's "disciple," such treatment was not excessive—by traditional standards, the teacher-disciple relationship was comparable to that of father and son. Yet Zhou Lezhi could clearly sense that the Teacher did not completely trust him. There remained a subtle wariness, directed not only toward him but also toward Master Wang and the other members of the Wang household.

A certain desolate loneliness clung to the Teacher. This puzzled Zhou Lezhi, for by any measure, the man's life was enviable and his future bright. With Master Wang's current influence, even securing a minor official position for Zhou Lezhi would likely pose no difficulty.

Perhaps people of high attainment were all somewhat eccentric.

Eccentric or mysterious, Zhou Lezhi still held a rather favorable impression of his Teacher. First, the man treated him genuinely well—he was diligent in teaching, answering every question thoroughly. When he noticed that Zhou Lezhi didn't quite grasp something, he would add extra tutoring sessions, insisting on breaking down the knowledge until it was perfectly clear. Second, he lacked the common habit among superiors of trampling upon those beneath them. Mr. Zhou was courteous to everyone, never made unreasonable demands, and never used his status to oppress or mistreat servants and disciples. For this alone, Zhou Lezhi considered him a rare gentleman.

Initially, he had felt somewhat guilty about his role as an "undercover agent." But after discovering that Mr. Zhou was open and aboveboard, with no shameful secrets beyond some "widower's illness" [lust], he came to feel that being an undercover agent was effectively no different from not being one. His conscience gradually eased.

The days in Shaoxing were not few, and Mr. Zhou did not stay idle. He traveled about, visiting mountains and rivers. Whenever he witnessed the withering of people's livelihoods and the suffering of commoners, a look of unbearable pity would cross his face. Yet he never spoke of it. During this period, he also strolled through the markets, observing the operations of shops and the work of various craftsmen with keen curiosity. Upon returning, he would compose notes in his peculiar "vernacular" style.

Because Mr. Zhou's handwriting was truly atrocious, his notes were routinely copied by Zhou Lezhi in neat small regular script. Otherwise, even the Teacher himself could not bear to look at them.

The content of these notes was remarkably diverse: urban conditions, rural phenomena, commercial practices, craftsmanship techniques, the daily lives of commoners, price trends, local customs—everything was included. Zhou Lezhi could not fathom what purpose the Teacher had in mind.

Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked Mr. Zhou directly. The Teacher answered simply, "I'm thinking about how to make money."

Zhou Lezhi did not understand what making money had to do with all this, so he held his tongue. Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhou turned the question back on him: "What money do you think is easiest to earn in this world?"

"Being an official!"

"That doesn't count." Mr. Zhou shook his head with a helpless expression. "Officials getting money—that's not doing business; it's stealing the marrow and blood of commoners. By that logic, couldn't bandits also make great money? I mean legitimate business, not illegal dealings."

"Then it goes without saying—Teacher's Divine Medicine!" Zhou Lezhi particularly admired the Teacher's medicine that "worked with a single dose." Other physicians, no matter how renowned, all spoke of "illness departing like spinning silk," prescribing bowls of medicinal broth for a month or two, often ending with both money and patient lost. Only Mr. Zhou's medicine produced instant results.

Mr. Zhou allowed himself a somewhat guilty smile. "Although the medicine is effective, falling ill is always troublesome. Besides, opening a pharmacy shouldn't hope for booming business. What else?"

"Overseas trade," Zhou Lezhi said. "In our Guangdong, people going overseas for trade are most numerous. With a modest capital of twenty or thirty taels, whether sailing to the Eastern Ocean or the Western Ocean, as long as one returns safely, a single outward voyage brings profit, and the return trip brings another. Making double profit on a round trip is extremely common. With good luck, three to five times the profit is possible. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Bad luck. Capsizing or encountering pirates. Coming back alive is already the best fortune. So many people set out and never return."

"The risk is too great; let's set that aside for now. What else?"

"More still?" Zhou Lezhi thought, Is the Teacher testing me? Come to think of it, Mr. Zhou often lectured on "economics" in their regular lessons. He pondered for a moment before answering, "Then there is opening a bank or pawnshop. Taking deposits at low interest and lending at high interest, sitting back and collecting the difference. Money simply rolling in..."

"Hehe, you're quite right. Finance is indeed the fastest way to accumulate wealth." Mr. Zhou could not help clapping and laughing. "But this line of work requires substantial capital and a powerful backer to support it."

"If the Teacher wishes to pursue this business, isn't Master Wang a ready-made powerful backer?"

The Teacher smiled but did not answer, instead continuing, "What if we cannot do banking either?"

"Then... then be a rice merchant!"

"Rice merchant?"

"Yes. In this world, as long as one is human, one must eat to survive. Being a rice merchant—isn't that a sure profit without loss?"

Mr. Zhou laughed heartily. "Well said. Indeed, being a rice merchant is not a bad choice. However, rice merchants are merely middlemen transporting goods, seeking profit through capital. They don't grow the rice themselves. If natural or man-made disasters strike and there is no rice to trade, they can only stand there helplessly."

"What does the Teacher think is the best way to make money?" Zhou Lezhi's curiosity had been thoroughly piqued.

"If it were me, I would open a factory to manufacture objects that everyone needs and that are very cheap."

"Why doesn't the Teacher make the Divine Medicine?"

For an instant, Mr. Zhou's eyes flickered, and he spoke somewhat hastily, "Divine Medicine... that doesn't count. After all, it's Divine Medicine; there are too many prerequisites... Just the raw materials alone... en, en, impossible to gather..."

Then he immediately changed the subject: "Actually, there are many things that everyone uses and that are quite cheap. For example, soap—yes, you call it Yizi; and matches, far easier to use than flint and steel..."

That day, the Teacher spoke enthusiastically about numerous useful inventions. Zhou Lezhi had never heard of any of them. Hearing the Teacher describe them so wonderfully, his curiosity grew until he could not help but say, "Teacher, since these things are so excellent, why not have Master Wang put up the money to establish a factory? Both you and Master Wang could profit."

"Ai, ai, ai, you think I don't want to. But making these things sounds simple while being actually quite difficult. A thousand threads and ten thousand tangles—nowhere to begin..."

That evening, Zhou Lezhi reported this entire conversation to Wang Liang. Unexpectedly, the very next day, Master Wang summoned him. He repeated everything again. Wang Yehao stroked his beard for quite some time before asking, "Does he truly have plans to engage in business and make money?"

"It seemed like a joke, yet also seemed not to be," Zhou Lezhi answered cautiously.

"If he truly has such intentions, simply go along with him."

Zhou Lezhi thought, This Master Wang is also quite enthusiastic about making money.

Wang Yehao remained in Shaoxing for a considerable number of days. He managed household affairs and paid visits to local officials and gentry. Incidentally, he also helped the Teacher register his household—only then did Zhou Lezhi learn that the Teacher had been an undocumented person all along.

With matters concluded, Master Wang set off to return to the capital. In addition to considerably more luggage, the party now included a depressed-looking scholar of about forty years. This person's status was rather peculiar—he was actually a prisoner.

Since when did official masters transport prisoners as a side task? Zhou Lezhi found this quite strange but felt it was not his place to ask further questions. He simply set off with the group.

The party traveled by boat and sedan chair all the way to Hangzhou, where they finally boarded their vessel at the Rice Market Wharf, located four li outside the Wulin Gate on the city's north side. Wang Yehao's grand-uncle, Wang Chengxun, had served as Grand Governor of Canal Transport for over twenty years and was the last Grain Transport Commander-in-Chief of the Ming Dynasty. On this occasion, the party was transporting the "Contribution" for the Nine Thousand Years [Wei Zhongxian], and furthermore, Wang Yehao was a relative of their former superior whose grace of promotion they wished to repay. Thus the Grain Transport Troops in Hangzhou were particularly attentive, specially arranging four large official boats: one for Wang Yehao and his close followers, one carrying attendants and guards, two carrying various wealth and goods, plus two small boats following as backup vessels.

Once aboard the official boat on the Grand Canal, the journey became quite pleasant. The Teacher combined observations from their travels to comment and explain, and by the end of this trip, Zhou Lezhi felt his horizons had expanded tremendously. The Teacher had taught him numerous methods of thinking and observation. Many people and situations that had puzzled him in the past, when reconsidered now through this new lens, gave him the feeling of clouds parting to reveal the sun—sudden enlightenment.

The Teacher said that learning was not merely mastering knowledge, but more importantly, learning to think on the foundation of that knowledge.

Now Zhou Lezhi understood what he meant.

One evening, their boat rested at Guazhou Ferry. Master Wang suddenly appeared at Mr. Zhou's cabin, his face wreathed in smiles, holding the latest Capital Gazette retrieved from the post station.

"That Construction Slave [Manchu] has indeed laid siege at Jinzhou. The Teacher's calculation was wonderful—truly the work of a divine man."

"Haha, actually there's no need to rush this time. Wait until summer when the heat becomes unbearable, and they will withdraw." Mr. Zhou looked quite proud of himself.

Through his studies in recent months, Zhou Lezhi had gained a basic understanding of the situation under heaven and knew the two were discussing the war in Liaodong. But their words were cryptic and disjointed, impossible to fully decipher. He only knew it must concern major military and state affairs, so he simply stood respectfully to the side, attending to his duties.

"That is good." Let alone withdrawing troops—even if the Teacher now claimed the Manchus would fight directly to the capital city, Wang Yehao would not dare disbelieve. "Teacher, traveling all this way, have the two maids been suitable?"

"They'll do. It's just not very convenient on the boat."

Zhou Lezhi laughed silently to himself. Although a private cabin had been specially allocated for the Teacher, the space was truly cramped—rather inconvenient for "intimate relations." The Teacher seemed somewhat frustrated [fire rising].

"In a few days, we shall arrive at Yangzhou Prefecture. Since ancient times, Yangzhou's romantic pleasures have been unrivaled in the world. I wonder if the Teacher has any interest?" Wang Yehao felt that literati had their refined rhetoric and plain folk had their direct slang. There was absolutely no need to beat around the bush when chatting with Mr. Zhou; straightforwardness served far better.

"Yes! The Master is truly a kindred spirit!" The Teacher was quite cooperative.

"Hehe, how rare that the Teacher has such elegant tastes. This official has also long heard of the famous Yangzhou Thin Horses. When we arrive, I will certainly tour with the Teacher."

But the Teacher posed a question that left Wang Yehao unsure how to respond: "Master, are there Fat Horses?"

(End of Chapter)