Lin Ze wanted to quickly transport the tons of matsutake back without attracting attention.
He had already come up with a solution.
He would have a warehouse of his own, where he could store the matsutake out of the villagers' sight. Then he could simply open the Gates to Heavens inside the warehouse and move the goods quickly, telling everyone that he had called some fellow disciples to help carry them away.
But building a warehouse would take time, and the trade with Green Curtain Mountain was only three days away.
In the eyes of the world, Lin Ze was the disciple of a reclusive master who lived deep in Cloud Mist Mountain.
Even with the nimble stride of a martial artist, it would take him a full day to make a round trip between the mountain gate and Clear River Township.
At one trip a day, with the donkey cart carrying five or six hundred jin each time and Lin Ze hauling another two hundred himself, he could transport at most a little over a ton of matsutake in three days.
So what troubled Lin Ze now was how to move the matsutake away quickly.
"Perhaps I can adapt this plan as a temporary measure. First, I'll have the villagers bring the matsutake to some secluded spot on Cloud Mist Mountain. Then, under the pretext that my fellow disciples are helping, I can transport it all away in a single night."
"Even if that excuse has plenty of holes in it, such as the fact that my fellow disciples never show themselves in public..."
"As long as nobody directly sees me open the Gates to Heavens and travel between worlds, it won't be too serious a problem. And I can explain away those suspicious points by saying that the brothers in my sect must maintain a pure heart while practicing martial arts, and can't interact with the secular world until they've mastered their skills, left the mountain, and begun their travels."
As he thought it over, Lin Ze settled on a plan.
He began laying the groundwork. "The roads through Cloud Mist Mountain are rough. With so much matsutake being bought, transport really is inconvenient. I plan to build a warehouse near Eagle Beak Mountain. When the time comes, I'll trouble you, Elder, to arrange for people to deliver the matsutake we collect to the warehouse for storage."
"I'll pay an additional transport fee. Eagle Beak Mountain is neither too close nor too far from my mountain gate, so it won't be too much trouble for your people to enter the mountain."
"Then I can call on disciples from my sect to carry it away. They usually practice light-footedness by climbing mountains, crossing streams, chopping firewood, and carrying loads anyway, so they can help me take the matsutake back."
Lin Ze's words served two purposes.
First, they told An Ye that his sect had plenty of disciples.
It was already July, with only a little over half a month left in the golden season for picking matsutake. Even if all the villagers near Clear River Township were mobilized to gather it, Lin Ze could take all they brought in and dry the matsutake into slices to enjoy throughout the year.
That way, they wouldn't need to worry that if there was too much matsutake, he would stop buying it.
The second purpose was to lay the groundwork for transporting all that matsutake away quickly.
Martial artists were strong and sturdy, light as swallows on their feet. Even carrying several hundred jin, they could stride briskly through the mountains.
With Lin Ze's explanation in place, the villagers wouldn't wonder why he could move the goods so quickly.
An Ye hadn't given it much thought to begin with.
As he saw it, Lin Ze was buying worthless wild mushrooms at the price of rice, which was a blessing for villagers like them.
And the An Family would earn a share by helping him buy those mushrooms.
Whether Lin Ze was buying matsutake to eat or to use as firewood was none of their concern.
After benefiting from his generosity, would it not be a betrayal of their conscience to suspect he had ulterior motives?
"Eagle Beak Mountain is about ten li from Two Rivers Village. I remember there's a natural cave there that can keep out the wind and rain. If you build the warehouse there, Zi Yi, it'll certainly make transporting goods much easier for you," An Ye said with a smile.
"Then I'll trouble you, Elder, to find some workers for me. They can come into the mountain with me now to survey the site and build the warehouse."
"I'll pay for the construction at the going rate."
Lin Ze spoke directly.
An Ye nodded. "I'll go get some people right away."
With that, he turned and left.
As Lin Ze loaded three large sacks—six hundred jin of matsutake—onto the donkey cart, An Ye soon returned with a group of people.
There were fourteen young men, all villagers from Two Rivers Village.
"Why aren't you out gathering matsutake?" Lin Ze asked curiously.
Cloud Mist Mountain Range was rich in produce. A day of gathering matsutake could easily yield several dozen jin, and with good luck, even several hundred.
Although it shrank considerably when dried, a day's work could still bring in thirty or forty coins, sometimes even over a hundred.
Building his warehouse clearly wouldn't pay as well. At most, they would earn seventy or eighty copper coins a day, and the work would be much more tiring than gathering matsutake.
"There's only so much matsutake to be had, and it's not as easy to find as it was a few days ago. We can leave the gathering to the women at home."
"Helping Young Master Lin is more important. We'll get your warehouse built as quickly as we can."
The villager at the head of the group spoke with a smile.
His words were a little flattering, but he also explained the reason quite plainly.
After gathering matsutake day after day, the villagers had already picked most of what was near Cloud Mist Mountain Range. They had to go farther afield now, spending more time and effort.
Building the warehouse didn't pay much, but steady work like this was hard to come by.
"Then let's go," Lin Ze said.
"Young Master Lin, we can help carry some of the matsutake for you," the villagers from Two Rivers Village offered.
Then, without waiting, each man hoisted a sack of around a hundred jin of matsutake and followed Lin Ze's donkey cart into the mountains.
"All right. I'll give each of you an extra five coins for transporting it," Lin Ze said with a nod.
The fourteen villagers from Two Rivers Village had just been about to set off when they stopped and hefted another sack of roughly a hundred jin of matsutake onto their shoulders.
They had originally meant to lend a hand for free, but now that Lin Ze was offering extra money, carrying only one sack felt a little awkward.
"They really are honest folk."
A smile touched Lin Ze's lips when he saw this, but he said nothing more.
After stopping and starting along the way, Lin Ze soon drove the group into Cloud Mist Mountain Range and reached the area near Eagle Beak Mountain.
The small mountain wasn't particularly tall, and there was a modest cave partway up its slope.
"Build a warehouse against this spot, using stone and wood. It needs to be dry and enclosed, able to keep out wild beasts, wind, and rain."
"As for the building materials, use whatever you can find here. I'll pay you seventy copper coins a day. If you can finish within half a month, I'll pay you extra."
Lin Ze pointed to the cave on Eagle Beak Mountain and explained what he wanted.
On the way, Lin Ze had already told the villagers from Two Rivers Village what he needed. Now he was simply confirming the building site.
"Don't worry, Young Master Lin. We'll do a good job for you," the villagers from Two Rivers Village promised.
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