Chief Hu Knows How to Make Money
Lin Shan, standing beside him, also stood up. "Jingchuan, did you bring your armor and weapons? Have you forgotten what happened last time we were ambushed on our way back? It's better to be safe than sorry when we leave the city."
Shen Jingchuan shook his head. "I didn't bring it with me, I'll have to go back to my place to get it."
Lin Shan nodded. "That's how it should be."
The three immediately mounted their horses and headed towards Shen Jingchuan's residence. Upon arriving at the gate, the Lin brothers, Lin Shan and Lin Yue, dismounted and waited outside, while Shen Jingchuan himself led Big Black into the stable.
Hearing the commotion Liu Hu quickly came forward. "Young Master, you're back."
"Okay," Shen Jingchuan nodded and instructed, "Go to the backyard and tell them I'm going out of town this afternoon and will be back later."
"Yes," Liu Hu replied, turning and heading towards the backyard through the side door of the stable.
As Liu Hu's figure disappeared behind the door, Shen Jingchuan had an idea. He immediately took out a full set of armor from his spatial storage, first helped Big Black put it on, and then put the armor plates on himself.
He had only dressed halfway when Liu Hu returned from the backyard. Seeing this, he quickly stepped forward to help him tighten the belt and hung the spear and sword on the side of the saddle.
After getting ready, Shen Jingchuan mounted his horse, gave Liu Hu a few instructions to watch the house, and then led Big Black out of the stable gate to meet up with Lin Shan and Lin Yue. The three of them, on horseback, headed straight for the city gate.
The journey of over forty li was covered in an hour by the three men and three horses. Shen Jingchuan estimated that if he had ridden Big Black by himself at full speed, it wouldn't have taken this long at all.
Even from a distance, you could see a bustling scene on the hillside by the roadside, with hundreds of people busy digging, moving stones, and carrying timber. The stalls were huge, and the scene was a lively and bustling one.
A simple tea shed had been set up under several large trees by the roadside, and three or five passing merchants were sitting under it, taking a break to drink tea and have a bite to eat.
As they drew closer, some of the workers spotted him. Big Black was easily recognizable; it was jet black and much taller than ordinary horses, making it unique in the area. Someone in the crowd shouted, "Young Master Shen is here!" and the news spread like wildfire.
Hearing the commotion, Hu Tieniu, who was standing by the tea stall, quickly straightened up and shaded his eyes with his hand to look in this direction. His injuries had mostly healed, and he could walk normally now. Upon confirming that it was Shen Jingchuan, he immediately hurried over to greet him.
Shen Jingchuan dismounted as he approached, Hu Tieniu exclaimed, "My benefactor, you've arrived!"
"Don't call me benefactor anymore," Shen Jingchuan waved his hand. "Just call me Young Master Shen, like everyone else."
Hu Tieniu scratched the back of his head, chuckled, and replied with a simple "Hehe."
"I came to check on the progress." Shen Jingchuan glanced up at the mountain.
"Look!" Hu Tieniu pointed to the foundation halfway up the mountain, "The inn is already under construction. I've hired a few skilled workers from the city to lead the project, and the rest are all from our community of refugees—carpenters, stonemasons, blacksmiths, all sorts of craftsmen, they can all lend a hand."
He then pointed to the side:
"They've also built a small brick kiln over there. We'll fire our own bricks, saving us money and effort. Another group of people went up the mountain to cut timber; they'll use materials nearby, it'll be quick."
As he spoke, he turned and pointed to the tea stall. "This stall was just set up too."
Hu Tieniu added:
"I also sent people to both sides of the main road to greet passing merchants and travelers in advance, telling them that we would no longer rob people here and would ensure safety on the road. They were welcome to rest and have a meal if they needed. At first, they were still skeptical, but in the last two days, some people have started to dare to come over."
The three tied the horses to a tree trunk nearby. Shen Jingchuan didn't go to check the construction site first, but instead headed towards the Wild Goose Tomb.
When we arrived at the site, we saw that the original small earthen grave had been completely renovated. It was a size larger than before, and it was neatly built up layer by layer with bluestone blocks. The gaps were all smoothed with mortar, and it was clear that the stonemason had done a great job.
A tall blue stone stele, almost as tall as a person, stands in front of the grave. Two large characters are neatly engraved on the stele: "Wild Goose Tomb". Next to it are a few smaller characters: "Respectfully erected by Shen Jingchuan of Yuxi Prefecture".
Shen Jingchuan turned his gaze and saw two stonemasons working on a blue stone tablet that was taller than a person not far from the side of the Wild Goose Tomb. The chisels were clanging and clattering incessantly.
He stepped over and saw that the title "Groping for Fish - Wild Goose Mound Lyric" was already engraved on the top of the stele, and the main text below had just begun, with neat and powerful handwriting.
He turned to look at Hu Tieniu, somewhat surprised. "How did you know about this poem I wrote?"
Hu Tieniu scratched the back of his head, chuckled, and sounded a little bewildered:
"It's quite a coincidence. A couple of days ago, two scholars came from the direction of Chang'an, asking around in search of the Wild Goose Tomb. I brought them here, and the two of them straightened their clothes before the tomb, bowed respectfully several times, and even took out the wine they carried with them and poured it in front of the tomb, saying that they were grateful for the goose's loyalty and affection."
"When they heard that we were renovating the Wild Goose Tomb, they immediately took out their money."
He held up five fingers, his eyes shining:
"A full fifty taels of silver! He immediately took out a brush and ink and wrote quite a few words."
They told us to find a good stonemason to carve the poem completely onto the stone tablet.
I'm just a roughneck like me, I don't know anything about poetry or lyrics. I just heard them talking about how this lyric was written by you, Young Master Shen, and how you are a genius whose fame has spread throughout the literary world of Chang'an.
Upon hearing that it was written by you, young master, how could I possibly neglect it? I immediately found the best stonemason in town to carve it."
He took a half-step forward, lowered his voice, and a hint of smugness on his face:
"I even had the stonemason leave most of the base of the stele blank. I was thinking, since this inscription is famous, many scholars will surely come to pay their respects in the future. If they want to leave their names or inscribe something, we can help them carve it. We can't work for free, can we? We can at least get some money for our hard work. What do you think of this idea..."
He paused mid-sentence, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly, chuckling sheepishly as he waited for Shen Jingchuan's decision.
Shen Jingchuan was a little confused after listening to him ramble on, thinking to himself, "Is this still the Hu Tieniu I know? He looks so simple and honest, but he's actually quite shrewd."
He patted Hu Tieniu on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. "Not bad, it seems that Chief Hu is not only good at robbing, but also has a knack for business."
Hu Tieniu scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
Shen Jingchuan strolled to the construction site and saw about 120 or 130 people gathered around the foundation pit. The men were digging with picks, the women were carrying baskets of mud, and even the older children were carrying stones. Everyone was busy and sweating profusely. Because of the large amount of work, the pit was only dug a shallow layer.
He glanced around, then turned to Hu Tieniu following behind him. "I remember you have quite a few men under you, right? How come there are so few of you? Men, women, and children have all come together. Even including those cutting down trees, there shouldn't be so few people."
Upon hearing this, Hu Tieniu immediately lowered his head, his fingers fiddling with the brass buckle on his belt. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.