Chapter 42: Returning Home

  Old Wang knelt on the deck, tears streaming down his face: "Master, we're home." After finishing speaking, he sobbed and cried. Chen Xin turned around and left the bow of the ship, walking all the way to the helm, looking out towards the front. In the distance, the outline of Tianjin City was faintly visible, and the person closest to him in this era was there. It had been almost two months since he left, and he had already transformed from an accountant into a promising young master, with connections established in both Japan and the Ming dynasty. Although his share was still small, at least he no longer had to worry about making a living.

  "Chuanzong, after I get off the boat, I'll go with them to the pawnshop first and return Zhao Dongjia's ashes and silver. You can stay on the boat and guard it after you dock, but you can hire a horse cart first, just don't leave the boat too far."

  "Yes, Brother Chen, rest assured, I'll stake my life on it." Lu Zizi knew that with the 15,000 taels of silver from Chen Xin, their group would never have to worry about food and clothing again. Now that they were already at the door, there was absolutely no way anything could go wrong.

  Chen Xin finished instructing Lu Ma Zi, and then Song Wen Xian came over to look for him again.

  "Chen brothers, let's first go to the pawnshop with Hei Pao and his men. Don't worry about unloading the cargo from the ship for now. We'll wait for an opportunity to shake them off and then come back to retrieve the silver. By the way, is Zhu Guobin still stubbornly following you?"

  "He didn't say anything all along, just followed quietly, but still be careful, think of a way to get him away for a while later."

  "Everyone has gone home, who will move the silver?"

  "There are people of mine on the shore. I live in Jingdongfang, Erdao Street, not far from Dongyuan Pawnshop. Take some time to notify them and let them come to move it, so they can rest assured."

  "I'll put mine there first, Wang Yong can help."

  "Uh-huh, if Mr. Song can't make it at that time, just come another time, go to Jingdongfang and ask the new Liu family."

  "Alright, those who travel a hundred miles are halfway at ninety, be careful with everything." Chen Xin nodded and the two stopped talking.

  Half an hour later, Zhu Yin's boat docked at the departure pier. Chen Xin and Song Wenxian followed Old Wang and others to disembark, hired a horse-drawn carriage to load Zhao Dongjia's silver, and entered the city through the eastern town of Zhenhai Gate. Now that the Later Jin had retreated, the city defense was relaxed, and no one checked when entering the city.

  "Brother Chen, you're back."

  Chen Xin looked up and surprisingly it was Zhou Shifah, he was wearing a new thick coat, with an excited face standing beside him.

  Chen Xin exclaimed in surprise: "Brother Zhou, when did you come back?"

  "I just got back a few days ago, and my mother said that I would go help out on the second day of the new moon, thank you so much."

  "Brother Zhou, no need to be polite."

  "Brother Chen, where have you been traveling for business recently?"

  "I went to Dengzhou for a trip. I just bought some goods back, by the way, Brother Zhou, have you been on duty all day today?"

  "Yes, I just finished my shift this morning."

  "I still have some goods left for a while, if it's late, I'll have to trouble Brother Zhou to help out."

  "Never mind, don't mention other things. This city gate matter, I'll take care of it for you."

  Chen Xin watched as Old Wang and the others walked far away, he himself couldn't stay any longer, hastily bid farewell to Zhou Shifa, and followed them in pursuit. After walking for a while, the familiar scene of Dongmen Street made Chen Xin unable to hold back, the people in front, including Old Wang, had already turned north into a street, he no longer followed them, continuing to rush westward. He planned to run faster, first arrive at Jingdong Alley to make an appearance, and arrange for someone to meet them outside the city. Quickly arriving at the entrance of Jingdong Alley, as soon as he entered the street, he started sprinting, everyone on the street turned their heads in surprise.

  The houses on both sides quickly retreated behind him, and Chen Xin ran panting to the second street. The familiar little courtyard was so lovely that he pushed open the gate with one hand.

  "Oh no, who's there? You scared me..."

  Wang Dai Xi was sweeping the broken pieces on the ground, pouring them into a bamboo frame by the courtyard gate. She was startled and thought it was Deng Ke Shan and others again, ready to complain for a moment, but saw that familiar face. For a moment, she didn't react.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Ah, Brother Chen is back! Brother Chen is back!" Wang Daiji excitedly jumped up, threw down the broom and shouted towards the courtyard, then came over to grab Chen Xin's sleeve. Liu Minyou, Dairen Zheng and others rushed to the door, while several followers rushed forward, warmly embracing him.

  The puppy had a silly smile on his face, he didn't know what to say, and his hands kept tightly grasping Chen Xin's clothes. Zhang Er Hui shouted loudly "Brother Chen!" Chen Xin patted each of their heads one by one.

  Liu Min couldn't help but smile when he saw Chen Xin, his old friend who had been tanned to almost the same skin tone as those sailors, and had also lost some weight on his face. But it was good that he was back, this era of going out to sea wasn't a joke, these days everyone's heart was worried. Business was getting better and better, but in life, what Liu Min worried about were him and Lu Chui Zi. Suddenly, he found that only one person was there, and asked: "Where is Lu Chuan Zong? Didn't he come back with you?"

  Chen Xin sent a few followers away, pulled over the refugees and Dai Zheng, and whispered: "I'm going to the pawnshop soon, we can't stay here for too long. You go to the Wei River immediately, there's a cargo ship with a blue flag and a Dongzhou sea defense official flag on it. Lu Lu is on the boat. When you arrive, find him first, I have some goods to move."

  Liu Min said: "You're carrying goods yourself? But we have to rush a batch of goods today, if everyone leaves, what about these goods?"

  Chen Xin took a glance at the courtyard, and only then did he realize it had become a garment workshop. He was slightly surprised, but this wasn't the time to ask questions. He simply said to Liu Min: "We'll talk about other things tonight, don't worry about anything else for now, just listen to me, go to the dock, my goods are very important, let's go."

  Chen Xin rushed out again and ran all the way to Dongyuan's pawnshop. He happened to bump into Old Wang and his group at the entrance, while Song Wenxian was anxiously looking back and forth. Seeing Chen Xin running over from this side, he immediately scolded him. Chen Xin whispered to him, "The person who will take delivery has been found. You'll think of a reason later, and we'll go get the silver then."

  Song Wenxian heard that he was going to find someone, and he didn't complain anymore. At this moment, it was like the fat meat had already been picked up with chopsticks. He couldn't help but lick his lips unconsciously. However, no matter how anxious he was, he had to send Zhao Dong's family first. Hei Pao and Ba Zi were mid-level cadres, and they couldn't lose people's hearts.

  Two men followed Old Wang and others, entering from the side door of the alley of the pawn shop. The door was opened by Zhang Po, who looked at Old Wang with a crying face holding a jar, her expression changed, standing at the door in a flurry, and after a moment, she retreated backwards, calling out as she ran to the third room.

  Chen Xin and Song Wenxian followed at the end, everyone entered the second courtyard, heard that in the third courtyard soon transmitted a burst of crying, faintly heard Zhang Po loudly calling for the maid, it seemed that Mrs. Zhao had fainted, Lao Wang and others knelt on the ground in despair, only Song Wenxian maintained his dignity and stood there.

  After a while, the crying gradually subsided, and Zhang Po and several others supported Mrs. Zhao out. As soon as they came out of the triple gate, Mrs. Zhao saw the jar in Old Wang's arms and let out a mournful cry before fainting again. Chen Xin quickly ran into the main hall to fetch a chair, and Zhang Po and the others lifted Mrs. Zhao onto it. They pinched her philtrum and fanned her for quite some time before Mrs. Zhao slowly came to, slumped in the chair, staring blankly ahead with her eyes dull and her lips trembling slightly.

  "Madam, the master left on June 5th. Old Wang was unable to protect the young master that day. It was because someone suddenly came out of the cabin, and I really didn't see it. Otherwise, even if I had to risk my own life, I would have protected the young master. Please, madam and miss, punish me." Old Wang knocked his forehead against the floor with a loud thud.

  The scar also buried his head, making a low humming noise. Just then, there was a sound of footsteps outside the main hall, and Miss Zhao, who had been absent for a long time, appeared at the door, wearing a beautiful cheongsam, with her hairpin askew, apparently having just gotten up. Her face pale, she came to Mrs. Zhao's side.

  "Mother, mother." Miss Zhao called out several times, also sobbing uncontrollably, and the servant girls were crying in a heap.

  Chen Xin persuaded Mrs. Zhao on the side: "If you are sad, it's better to cry out loud, don't hold back and hurt your body."

  Miss Zhao hugged Mrs. Zhao's leg and said: "Mother, listen to what Chen the accountant has to say, you talk to me."

  Mrs. Zhao was like a fool, her eyes staring straight ahead, without any reaction.

  Song Wenxian was originally just going through the motions, and seeing that Mrs. Zhao had no reaction, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. He himself couldn't get out the few polite words, and couldn't find an excuse to leave. Seeing Chen Xin was also at a loss, he suddenly had an idea, went over to Old Wang, took the urn containing Zhao Dong's ashes, and came to Mrs. Zhao's side.

  "Madam, we failed to protect him properly. We entrust you with the handling of this matter. When Mr. Zhao's hearse heads west, he entrusted us to bring back his ashes. Although it was a long and arduous journey, we have finally brought them back. Please accept them, Madam, so that the funeral arrangements can be made."

  Song Wenxian held the urn in front of Mrs. Zhao, and Mrs. Zhao's eyes slowly fell on the urn, finally bursting into tears with a sigh of relief. Everyone else relaxed, as it was good that she cried, otherwise she would have been holding it in and something bad might have happened. Mrs. Zhao hugged the urn tightly to her chest, leaning against Miss Zhao, crying so hard that her nose ran, and Zhang Po quickly handed over a handkerchief.

  Song Wenxian finally found the opportunity to speak: "Things have come to this, madam please restrain your grief. At present, the most urgent matter is the funeral. Madam and young lady have suddenly encountered a great change, it's not suitable for you to labor again. This matter will be handled by me and Chen Zuofang, with the assistance of Hei Pao brothers."

  Mrs. Zhao wiped away her tears and sobbed: "Mr. Song, you handle it as you see fit. I had told him not to go to sea, that the silver was hard-earned, but he didn't believe me. He even said that when he returned, we would settle Xiang'er's marriage and soon get to see our grandson. Now the 47th day has passed, what's there to say... Wuuu..." Mrs. Zhao couldn't continue speaking after a few sentences.

  Song Wenxian looked at Miss Zhao, who was also crying, but obviously more stable than Mrs. Zhao, and then turned to Miss Zhao and said: "If the young lady agrees, I will go with Chen Kuaiji now to take care of it. There are also some goods on the boat that belong to other masters and need to be handled urgently."

  Miss Zhao still had a few crystal tears on her face, she looked at Chen Xin and said: "Chen accountant is busy with external matters, can you come here to help me? As a small woman, I don't understand many things."

  "That was originally what I should have done, miss. Even if you didn't say it, I would still come."

  Miss Zhao wiped away her tears, and her demeanor had already regained some calmness. She nodded and said: "In that case, Mr. Song and Accountant Chen can take care of the urgent matters first. With Uncle Wang and the others here, it's enough. You've also been traveling outside for two months, so don't overwork yourselves. Today, just rest at home. Anyway, the 47th day has passed, so there's no rush for another one or two days."

  Chen Xin and Song Wenxian were both a little surprised at Miss Zhao's recovery speed, but the two of them really had something to do, so after paying their respects to Miss Zhao and her mother-in-law, they excused themselves. As Chen Xin walked out the side door, Miss Zhao suddenly called out from behind him: "Chen Accountant, please come a bit earlier tomorrow."

  Song Wenxian listened and glanced at Chen Xin several times, Chen Xin nodded in agreement on the side.

  The two of them walked out of the alley and neither was in the mood to talk, they hurriedly rushed to Zhenhai Gate Street, hired a donkey cart and quickly arrived at the dock.

  Chen Xinyuan saw Liu Minyou and a few others by the dock from afar. As soon as he got off the car, he pulled over Liu Minyou and asked: "Minyou, is the cargo truck rental okay?"

  Liu Min looked at him with a head full of sweat and smiled easily: "Look at you in such a hurry, Lu Lu said it was just some copper ingots, what's the rush? The car has been rented long ago. If Lu Lu didn't want to wait for you, we would have moved away already."

  Chen Xin didn't explain, went up to the deck and said to Zhu Guobin: "Brother Guobin, what do you think? Lü Fang and Ning Ge are both injured, they can't stay on the boat for long. I've hired a donkey cart, would you please take care of them with Zhang Erhui's younger brother and send them to my place first, then we'll find a doctor to take a look."

  Zhu Guobin is a straightforward person, and he agreed immediately after hearing it: "Alright, Brother Chen you arrange it."

  Qin Lv Fang Zhen shouted: "Brother Chen, don't mind us, I can still help move things."

  "Alright, look at that big guy over there, he can take on ten oxen by himself. You're all injured, so just recover first and help Brother Chen later. For now, listen to me."

  After sending away Zhu Guobin and the others, they were all accomplices. Chen Xin waved his hand, Lu Lüzǐ opened the bottom cabin, and Wang Yong together moved the goods on top to the second floor. They didn't move them off the boat; Liu Minyou and the others just piled the goods in the cabins on the second floor. Slowly, the silver bags underneath were revealed. Lu Lüzǐ put bags over them one by one and passed them up. Dai Zhenggang easily picked them up and placed them on the two horse-drawn carts they had hired from the shore. Chen Xin and Song Wenxian had a total of more than 36,000 taels of silver, over 1,300 kilograms. However, it wasn't too heavy for the two cargo carts either. After packing all the bags of silver, Chen Xin also put that shotgun into a bag and placed it on the cart.

  Chen Xin let Liu Minyou sit in the carriage, Wang Yong and Dai Zhenggang were behind to push the cart, repeatedly reminding Liu Minyou to take good care of it, and also asked Dai Zhenggang to guard the door of the warehouse where the goods were stored. Although the two felt strange, they still answered with their mouths full, then the car driver cracked his whip and the carriage slowly headed towards Zhenhai Gate.

  The remaining people took out more than 10,000 taels of silver from the third floor and loaded it onto a horse-drawn carriage.

  Song Wenxian's own money had already been moved out, and he felt much more relaxed. He said to Chen Xin, "Brother Chen, I can now tell you that the official in Tianjin is Vice General Qian Zhongxuan."

  Chen Xin said indifferently: "Why don't you go find the Governor of Tianjin?"

  Song Wenxian smiled: "The current Tianjin governor is nothing, the actual power is only a grain inspector, and it can't be compared with Dengzhou governor. What's the point of finding him? Brother Chen, do you want to go together?"

  "I won't go today, I'd rather go back and feel more at ease. In two days, Mr. Song, where will you be staying tonight?"

  Song Wen laughed and said: "This one, Brother Chen doesn't need to worry about it. Dancing with knives and guns is not my specialty, but relying on red sleeves and green clothes is still possible."

  Chen Xinyao shook his head, this scholar was indeed interesting. He also boasted: "Then I'll let this young brother escort you, his staff skills are very good, and he can handle two or three people with ease." Song Wenxian looked at the lean Haigouz and had some doubts, but in broad daylight, others might not know that there was silver on the carriage. As long as they reached the town gate and found Master Qian's house guard, they would be safe. He bid farewell to Chen Xinyao and headed towards Zhenhai Gate.

  Only Chen Xin and Lu Chuanzong were left on the dock, Lu Chuanzong saw that Hai Gouzi had also followed him, and said to Chen Xin: "Brother Chen, let's start moving the goods now, if we hurry up, we can still catch dinner."

  Chen Xinwei smiled and waved his hand: "This stuff isn't silver, no need to bother yourself with it. Go find a porter to move it, and rent a few more horse carts while you're at it. Take everything to the warehouse in one trip. Tell them to hurry up, I have a lot of things to attend to."

  "Right, I'm not a porter or a coolie anymore. I paid to have Luo come and move it, so you can just die trying, damn it."