frightfiction #562 - Situation in Nanjing
#562 - Situation in Nanjing
However, whether traveling by water or by land, it didn't matter to Zhang Chen. Anyway, with his escape techniques, neither route made a difference.
Madam Zhang's eyes swept over the three little ones. After a moment of thought, she said, "Let's go by water! Land travel is too bumpy. Besides, we're going to the Jiangnan water country, so we should familiarize ourselves with the water first. Everyone can also take the opportunity to learn how to swim."
Zhang Chen nodded in agreement. What Madam Zhang said made sense. Since they were going to Jiangnan, how could they not familiarize themselves with the water?
"Can I learn to swim?" Zhang Tuowei's eyes were bright, as if glittering stars were twinkling within.
"Of course," Zhang Chen said, touching Zhang Tuowei's little head. "Since we're traveling by water, we must learn how to swim. If we encounter opponents in Jiangnan in the future, we can at least jump into the water and escape if we can't beat them."
The easiest way to travel by water was to hitch a ride with a merchant caravan. It wasn't impossible for Zhang Chen to build his own boat and sail south, but it would be too troublesome and would delay his cultivation.
Moreover, they would inevitably encounter government inspections of travel permits along the way. If he could find a merchant caravan to travel with, it would be a good choice for Zhang Chen.
After passing the Qinling Mountains, waterways connected in all directions. Zhang Chen sent his Blood God Child to search for a large pier nearby. The Blood God Child flew around in the air for a while and eventually found a pier three hundred miles away.
Zhang Chen directed Zhang Tuowei to drive the carriage towards the pier. When they arrived, they saw a sea of people and countless large ships docked there.
Zhang Chen's eyes scanned the pier as he pondered where to start. At that moment, a young man of about fifteen years old, dressed in coarse linen clothes, walked over. "This young master, are you looking for a boat ride?"
Zhang Chen looked at the young man. The coarse linen clothes he wore were full of patches, but they were washed clean and neatly arranged.
Zhang Chen looked at the young man with a puzzled expression. "You are...?"
"I specialize in running errands for people at this pier, relying on the patronage of passing guests to earn a living," the young man said respectfully to Zhang Chen, glancing at Zhang Chen's horse.
Although Zhang Chen's clothing was ordinary, the horse was not. It was not something ordinary people could own.
"I want to go to Jinling. Is there a boat going to Jinling?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Yes!" the young man replied decisively.
"Can I board without a travel permit?" Zhang Chen asked.
The travel permit he had before the Qinling Mountains was no longer suitable for use, as it was a fake and couldn't withstand scrutiny. The family's accent was the biggest giveaway.
The young man looked Zhang Chen up and down, then looked at the carriage behind him. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "It will cost extra!"
Zhang Chen nodded in satisfaction. As expected of a local, he had considerable influence.
"How much?" Zhang Chen asked.
The young man asked, "How many people?"
"Five people, plus this carriage," Zhang Chen said.
The young man calculated for a moment, then held up one finger.
"Ten taels?" Zhang Chen asked tentatively.
"One hundred taels!" the young man said. "I want one tael of silver as a reward, fifty taels for the boat tickets, forty taels for obtaining a fake travel permit, and nine taels for food expenses."
One hundred taels of silver?
Zhang Chen gasped. If he hadn't lost his money, one hundred taels of silver wouldn't have been anything, but since the sandstorm that day, his money was gone, and one hundred taels of silver was a huge sum for him.
"From here to Jinling is seven thousand li. There are five of you in total, and that includes your food expenses. Fifty taels of silver is definitely not too much! As for the forty taels for the travel permit, it's definitely worth it. Even if you take it to the government for inspection, it's a real travel permit. And the remaining nine taels are for your food expenses. I've solved so many problems for you, is one hundred taels of silver too much?" the young man explained to Zhang Chen.
Of course not!
So Zhang Chen turned to look at the carriage. "Mother, how much money do we have left?"
Madam Zhang rummaged around in the carriage for a while, then handed out a money bag. "Only one hundred and five taels left!"
These one hundred and five taels were painstakingly saved by Zhang Chen.
"How long will it take?" Zhang Chen asked the young man in front of him while counting the silver.
"Three hours! You just need to wait here for three hours," the young man held up three fingers.
Zhang Chen reluctantly counted out one hundred taels of silver and handed it to the young man. "Go do it!"
The young man was surprised to see Zhang Chen hand over one hundred taels of silver directly. "Aren't you afraid I'll take the money and run away?"
"I wish you would run away," Zhang Chen said calmly.
His money wasn't so easy to take. A drop of crimson blood had unknowingly fallen on the young man's clothes. As long as the young man took the money and ran away, he could make a profit without any investment.
Zhang Chen was currently proving his Dao, so he naturally wouldn't do anything treacherous, but if the other party ran into his hands, he wouldn't mind acting on behalf of Heaven.
The young man took a deep look at Zhang Chen, then counted out forty taels of silver and handed the remaining silver back. "I only need forty taels to get the travel permit. You can give me the remaining silver when I get it done."
After the young man finished speaking, he took the silver, asked for the names of a few people, and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the crowd waiting quietly.
Zhang Chen didn't have to wait long. Two hours later, the young man, covered in sweat, returned with five travel permits. "The travel permits have been obtained, and I've also inquired about the boat. You just need to pay the fee, and you can go to Jinling."
Zhang Chen took the travel permits from the young man, and his pupils shrank. These five travel permits were different from the fake travel permits he had obtained in the Qinling Mountains before. These were real travel permits.
Because Zhang Chen sensed the Great Victory Dynasty's dragon energy on them!
"These are real travel permits?" Zhang Chen asked in surprise.
"Sir, you have good eyes, but these travel permits are both real and fake!" the young man said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Zhang Chen asked.
"If no one digs into it, then this travel permit is real. If someone digs into it, then it's fake! The local government will never admit that your travel permit is real," the young man said.
Zhang Chen nodded after hearing this. After confirming that the travel permits were correct, he put them away and had the young man lead the way.
"The merchant caravan I found for you this time is a large merchant caravan from Jinling: the Jinling Shen Family Caravan. The Shen Family Caravan is a large caravan, so the price is slightly higher. If you don't want to travel under your real identities, ordinary small caravans won't do. Small caravans will inevitably be subjected to various inspections along the way. Only large caravans can travel unimpeded and avoid many checks," the young man said.
Hearing the young man's words, Zhang Chen couldn't help but be stunned. "The Jinling Shen Family? Is it the Jinling Shen Family I'm thinking of?"
"Of course! There is only one Shen Family in Jinling. Only the Jinling Shen Family has the reputation to be called the 'Jinling Shen Family,'" the young man said with a smile.
"It's also lucky for you. This time, a young master from the Jinling Shen Family came here to visit relatives and happened to have a batch of goods to escort. That young master wanted to make a quick buck, so he arranged a passenger ship. To be honest, charging you fifty taels of silver per person is definitely a fair price," the young man continued to explain to Zhang Chen.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen felt a strange sense of emotion. He was about to go to Jinling to find relatives, but he didn't expect to meet someone from the Jinling Shen Family here.
Then, the young man led Zhang Chen and his group to the pier, arrived in front of a medium-sized ship, went up to a steward-like person and spoke for a while, then led Zhang Chen to pay the money. After arranging everything, he took the commission fee and left.
The steward of the Shen Family's fleet was an old man in his fifties. He looked Zhang Chen and his group up and down and said, "Our conditions are limited. You'll be sleeping on a communal bunk bed. The men will be squeezed together, and the women will be squeezed together. There's a cafeteria for meals. Ordinary rice is provided in unlimited quantities, but if you want to eat well, you'll have to pay extra. As for your horse, we can only feed it ordinary fodder to ensure it doesn't starve to death. As for whether it loses weight, we can't guarantee that."
"Thank you for your trouble," Zhang Chen said to the steward.
Then, the steward assigned rooms. Zhang Chen and Zhang Fei were assigned to a communal bunk bed with more than thirty people. There were already seven or eight men in the room, chatting inside.
Zhang Chen looked at the communal bunk bed, which was clean and tidy, so he and Zhang Fei settled down.
When Zhang Chen had time, he surveyed the entire ship. There were three floors above and one below, which could probably accommodate more than three thousand people. Charging fifty taels of silver per person, the Shen Family could definitely make a fortune.
Three days later, the pier was bustling with noise. Zhang Chen sat in the cabin and looked out, seeing ten carriages coming from afar. The carriages came all the way to the large ship in the center, and then the crew built a pontoon bridge and drove the carriages onto the pontoon bridge.
"Could that be a VIP from the Shen Family?" A scholar-like person next to Zhang Chen asked curiously.
Hearing this, a local scholar next to him said, "Not so! That's Jiang Nan, the daughter of the local Salt Commissioner! She's going to Jinling this time to visit relatives."
"That Salt Commissioner is named Jiang. What relationship does he have with the Jinling Shen Family?" someone nearby asked curiously.
"You don't know this, do you? The Salt Commissioner, Jiang Zehai, married a daughter of the Shen Family many years ago. Jiang Nan is the direct granddaughter of the Shen Family's Old Madam," the local scholar said. "But I heard people say that the Cao Gang's tentacles have already reached this area. The Salt Commissioner, Jiang Zehai, has been assassinated several times. If it weren't for the protection of experts by his side, he would have already lost his life. Even so, Jiang Zehai's wife was beheaded by an assassin. This time, that young master from the Shen Family is here to deal with this matter."
Hearing this, someone nearby exclaimed, "The Shen Family controls seventy percent of the nation's canal transportation. If they can't use thunderous methods to deter this matter, they will inevitably lose control of the canal transportation in the north. I wonder if that young master has any powerful methods to use?"