Chapter Twenty-One: Careful Arrangements

  Sincerely hope to get your support, thank you!

  The old man's origin, Su Tiancheng had always been suspicious of, the old man didn't say, he absolutely wouldn't ask. The old man's behavior, had always been very mysterious, as if knowing his affairs, including killing the soldier himself, the old man once asked and said "A great man stands in the world, should be against evil like an enemy, upholding justice, having something to do and something not to do" words, moreover, when he encountered danger at the horse market, the old man stepped forward, the previous actions seemed to be testing himself.

  The tenant of the Su family got seeds, grains and coarse salt. At this time, the old man appeared again. This is absolutely not a coincidence. There must be a reason inside.

  "The old man said that the junior indeed has considered..."

  Su Tiancheng did not hide anything, and said all his thoughts out loud. Anyway, these things would happen even if he didn't say them, and the old man would find out sooner or later if he had a mind to.

  Su Tiancheng spoke throughout the process, and the old man did not utter a word, listening very carefully.

  "You're quite bold! There are two things that this old beggar doesn't understand very well, and I'd like to ask the young master to enlighten me."

  "Elderly sir, if you have any questions, feel free to ask; I will answer without reservation."

  "Haha, it's not that simple. This first question, Master Su never left his house and was always reading in the mansion. He became a scholar at 17, which is no easy feat. How did he know about sweet potatoes and yams? According to old beggar, sweet potatoes hadn't even been promoted in the north yet. And as for yams, their yield has always been poor. Why did Master Su give up planting spring wheat and switch to yams instead? If the tenant farmers' harvests are meager, I wonder how Master Su will handle it."

  "This is the second problem, transporting over 500 dan of sweet potato seeds from Fuzhou, Fujian, it's not a small scale, I don't know if you have any good methods for transporting sweet potato seeds."

  Su Tiancheng was secretly surprised, the old man was indeed not simple.

  "Although I often read books at home, I also care about external affairs. My father is a businessman and often talks about business matters. I pay attention to these things and have learned about sweet potatoes and yams. I thought of trying to plant them. If it's successful, it would be beneficial for our family's tenants. As for the yield, I haven't thought that far ahead. For now, as long as this winter wheat can be planted well, next year's problems won't be too big."

  "As for the matter of sweet potato transportation, I have been thinking about it these days, but unfortunately, I couldn't think of a good solution, so all we can do is try our best and leave the rest to fate."

  "Haha, young master speaks straightforwardly indeed. This old beggar has seen many things and always feels a bit strange when talking to you. You're only 17 years old, not yet married, but your words and actions are mature and steady, which doesn't match your age at all. As the illegitimate son of the Su family, you've experienced some hardships, so it's possible that you have gained some unique insights."

  Su Tiancheng looked at the old man and stopped talking. Some things were inexplicable.

  "As for transportation, the old beggar actually has a few friends who can help out. However, the pay cannot be too little. I don't know if you need it, young master."

  "The junior is worried, but the elder is a timely help in time of need. The junior is extremely grateful and will do everything according to the elder's wishes."

  "Hmm, going to Fujian and back will take some time. Although there are only 500 stones of sweet potato seeds, the old beggar's intention is to give a fee of 100 taels of silver."

  The old man finished speaking and looked at Su Tiancheng, his eyes gleaming with spirit. The transportation fee of 100 taels of silver was not a small amount, enough for an ordinary farming household to maintain their livelihood for many years.

  According to the old man's arrangement, the transportation fee of 100 taels of silver is just a bit rushed for time. The younger generation thinks that the earlier they set off, the better.

  "Heh heh, young master trusts old beggar so much, old beggar also values credibility. This 100 taels of silver for transportation fee, ordinary people would not be willing to take out, but young master is generous. Old beggar says it here today, if there's any loss during the transportation of sweet potato seeds, three times the transportation fee will be compensated."

  Seeing Su Tiancheng preparing to continue speaking, the old man waved his hand.

  "Gentlemen don't need to say much, business is about credibility. However, I also have a few words, and I hope you can listen."

  Seeing Su Tiancheng's sincere attitude, the old man spoke up.

  "The old beggar knew that the Su family was a merchant family in Pingyang Prefecture, and your respected father did business with great skill. The Su family is also one of the wealthy families in Pingyang Prefecture. Your respected father moving to Taiyuan Prefecture City is the best proof. Young master considering the suffering of tenants and planning commercial matters cannot be said to have any problems, but young master is a scholar from Pingyang Prefecture after all, and reversing the order of things is not proper."

  Su Tiancheng felt a bit helpless. Doing business was a legitimate and upright thing, but the Ming dynasty had too many taboos. Scholars were absolutely not allowed to do business, as it would become a stain on their life. The responsibility of scholars was to focus solely on reading the classics, with no attention paid to external matters, unless they didn't want to be considered scholars anymore.

  The old man's words were actually a reminder to Su Tiancheng, don't become a merchant, this is good intentions.

  "I understand now, I didn't mean that I want to do business, but I must participate in next year's imperial examination."

  "The young master can think this way. The old beggar is happy."

  Su Pingyang came in and said that the wine banquet was ready.

  Su Tiancheng still accompanied the old man, respectfully entering the main hall where the banquet was set up.

  The old man didn't stand on ceremony and sat at the top seat. Su Tiancheng accompanied him at the lower seat, personally holding the jug to pour wine for the old man.

  "Master Su, regarding the transportation issue you just mentioned, Lao Qi Gai has calculated that if we depart on November 10th, we can arrive in Fuzhou, Fujian Province by early December. I have a token here, and anyone from the Su Mansion who goes to Fuzhou with this token can contact us directly at the address I provided. As for purchasing sweet potato seeds, my friends can also help with that."

  "Thank you, sir! I'd like to offer you a cup of wine as a sign of respect."

  "I don't dare, I don't dare, Master Su, the old beggar can't keep up with you, your drinking is quite impressive. In Xiangling County Town, you actually got the old beggar drunk, not simple, not simple, after all, you're a young man."

  Su Tiancheng had a smile on his face, not saying a word, jokingly, before crossing over, he didn't know how many drinking gatherings he had attended, this drinking matter was simply child's play, and at that time, all the drinks were high-proof liquor, now the white wine, when drunk, felt soft and fluffy, without much meaning.

  The old man was quite pleased and after finishing his meal, he stood up and bid farewell, despite Su Tiancheng's attempts to persuade him to stay.

  After the old man left, Su Tiancheng took out the token and examined it carefully. It was a seemingly ordinary token that felt somewhat heavy and cold to the touch. On its surface were engraved some animal-shaped patterns, on both sides, but there were no words. The four edges of the square token were polished very well, not rough at all. Judging from its weight, it should be made of copper.

  The old man instructed before he left that this token must not be lost. After arriving in Fuzhou, hand over the token according to the address and explain things clearly, then someone will take care of everything. Also, the token cannot be seen by others, when handing it over to the person going to Fuzhou, put it in a wooden box, stick a seal on top, and do not open it.

  Su Tiancheng knew that this token was not simple.

  When the Ming Dynasty was founded, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Ministry of Works to manufacture two types of tokens: the "Baojin Token" and the "Military Command Token". The Baojin Tokens were made of precious gold and only two were produced, one kept by the Grand Secretariat and the other by the Capital Garrison. They were used when deploying troops. The Military Command Tokens came in gold and silver varieties and were issued to military officers serving outside the capital to carry with them as proof of authority. On the token was written in Zhu Yuanzhang's own handwriting: "Heaven protects the people, I personally command, truly relying on the ministers, bestowing upon you the golden token, forever passed down to posterity."

  Tomorrow is a typical manifestation of centralized politics, the status of officials in the capital is revered, the emperor's prestige is supreme, and making such tokens is an important manifestation of strengthening military centralization.

  Later, when Zhu Di became emperor, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also made token cards to identify themselves and show their authority.

  The old man gave this token, what identity it represents, Su Tiancheng temporarily does not know, this is definitely not a treasure golden token or a horseback token, there are no inscriptions on it.

  Is it the token used by the Brocade Guard?

  Su Tiancheng felt a bit nervous at this point, the history books recorded that the Brocade Guards had informants all over the country, and they knew everything big or small. Moreover, the Brocade Guards were notorious for their evil deeds, and it seemed like there wasn't a single good person among them.

  Could it be that the old man is from the Brocade Guard?