Going With The Flow

Starting from Jincheng Prefecture and heading east, the land along the Yellow River is mostly barren, with stretches of desert and vast wilderness. Only by hugging the river and drawing water for irrigation does the landscape take on a semblance of life.

Chen Wu is not a seasoned raftsman and lacks knowledge of the Yellow River's hydrology, so he can only let the current carry him downstream, relying on his Concentrated Spirit Realm to probe the depths and avoid hidden reefs.

Every day, he steers the raft until nightfall, when he finds a spot to pull ashore. Thanks to the raft's lightweight design, Chen Wu can carry it on his back by himself, which proves quite convenient.

After several days of travel, he has encountered no real danger, and has now entered the territory of Yinchuan Prefecture.

Drifting along the river, Chen Wu spots a county town in the distance and finds himself tempted.

For the past few days on the raft, he has survived on dry rations and cold wine; the rations are manageable, but his supply of wine is running low.

The reason Chen Wu uses wine instead of water is not because he is a lover of spirits like Wu Chengyi, but because wine preserves better than fresh water and is less likely to make him ill.

Now is the perfect time to restock his wine and treat himself to a proper meal as a reward.

With this in mind, he steers the raft to the bank, disguises his appearance, and shoulders the raft to head toward the county town.

Passersby on the road find nothing strange about this, as using skin rafts to transport goods downstream and carrying the empty raft back upstream is a common sight in the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Chen Wu carries his raft, pays a copper coin for the city entrance fee, and finds a tavern. He sets the raft down, takes out his leather waterskin, and hands it to the proprietor.

"Fill this up for me! Nothing too strong. And cut me half a jin of pig's head meat, plus a bowl of soup."

The shopkeeper accepts the silver piece, recognizing a big spender, and rushes to serve him.

He quickly brings out the pig's head meat and hot soup, and seeing Chen Wu take out his own dry rations, he begins to pitch his wares.

"In this humble shop, our Stir-fried Hubo is a specialty. If you've grown tired of dry rations, sir, you might want to give it a try."

"What is Stir-fried Hubo?" Chen Wu asks, curious at the name.

"It's flatbread cut into thin strips, braised and stir-fried with vermicelli and mutton."

So, it's just stir-fried flatbread!

"Our shop's unique touch is the addition of secret chili powder and house-brewed aged vinegar—it's sour, spicy, and delicious."

"Then bring me a bowl."

Seeing the shopkeeper's enthusiasm, Chen Wu decides to give it a try.

The shopkeeper nods and leaves, returning shortly with a bowl of Stir-fried Hubo.

Chen Wu takes a closer look and realizes it is quite different from the stir-fried flatbread he remembers; it isn't dry at all, but coated in red oil and brimming with savory juices.

Having spent years watching videos from various food bloggers, Chen Wu is a self-proclaimed critic of the highest order. He immediately realizes this dish is braised in broth rather than flash-fried over high heat.

The pungent, sour aroma whets his appetite, and he wastes no time digging in with his chopsticks.

The taste is indeed excellent, and Chen Wu finishes the bowl in one go before remembering the pig's head meat sitting untouched on the side.

Just as Chen Wu reaches out to finish the meat, a man wearing a fur coat and a fur hat at a nearby table walks over and strikes up a conversation.

"Brother, is that raft outside yours?"

Chen Wu looks up. The man is not very tall, though his attire is quite decent, and his accent sounds a bit like Qiao Weisheng's.

"Are you from Jin Province?"

"That I am! I am the shopkeeper of Guangfalong in the prefecture capital; my firm is right by the Drum Tower."

"You want to use my raft?"

"I would like to ask you to help me transport a batch of goods."

"What kind of goods?"

"A batch of medicinal herbs, to be delivered to Jiuyuan Prefecture."

That is quite a coincidence, as Chen Wu's destination is also Jiuyuan Prefecture.

He intends to follow the Great Bend of the Yellow River to Jiuyuan Prefecture, then abandon the raft and head south on land toward Yan'an Prefecture.

The headquarters of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower is located there!

That was the hometown of the Great Shun's founding emperor, Li Zicheng. After the Great Shun was established, he elevated it to a prefecture, much like Fengyang was the Middle Capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"Why ask me?"

Chen Wu finds it strange. Usually, long-distance cargo transport requires large rafts; his own raft is small, consisting of only nine inflated skins, and by rights, few would take notice of it.

The man lets out a bitter laugh at this: "To be honest, I truly cannot find anyone else. The local raftsmen are all unwilling to take my order."

"I see you are from out of town, brother, so perhaps you might dare to take this job."

"Dare?"

Just as the man is about to explain further, the shopkeeper, who is busy nearby, interjects: "Sir, don't get involved in this. Shopkeeper Qin's business is far too much trouble; everyone in Yinchuan Prefecture is doing their best to avoid it."

The man surnamed Qin smiles even more bitterly: "Brother, I won't hide it from you; it's common knowledge anyway."

"Do you know of Qiao Weisheng?"

He knows him—he knows him all too well.

"I've heard of him. He's from your Jin Province too, isn't he? Extremely wealthy."

"News came a few days ago that Qiao Weisheng died in Jincheng Prefecture. Do you know about this?"

"I don't." Chen Wu shook his head with extreme resolve.

"Sigh—his death has brought me nothing but misery!" Shopkeeper Qin said, "Qiao Weisheng's Zhong'an Bank is one of the top financial institutions in the world, and it has long been listed on the Songjiang Exchange."

"Because Qiao Weisheng was so skilled at management, the shares of Zhong'an Bank were incredibly hot. I had to pull strings just to buy a few."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Chen Wu was puzzled.

"The point is that with Qiao Weisheng dying a violent death, the stock price is bound to plummet."

The more Shopkeeper Qin spoke, the more his heart ached, but the more Chen Wu listened, the more confused he became: "Stocks, they go up and down, that's normal. It's not like Zhong'an Bank will close just because Qiao Weisheng died. If it drops, it drops; there's always a chance it will rise back up. As long as you don't sell, you haven't lost anything!"

"Oh, heavens—this is all my fault." Shopkeeper Qin suddenly beat his chest and stamped his feet, "Previously, when the stock price of Zhong'an Bank was high, I used the shares I held as collateral to borrow a large sum of money as capital, intending to make a big move."

"Now that it's clear the stock price will inevitably crash, those creditors have all come knocking, demanding that I redeem my shares."

Oh, Chen Wu understood now. This was a case of the stock price falling below the liquidation threshold, and the creditors were demanding a forced redemption.

"But all my money was spent buying this batch of medicinal herbs; I have no way to pay them back. After much pleading, I finally got the creditors to grant me an extension, allowing me to go to Yunzhong Prefecture to sell the herbs and pay off the debt."

"That shouldn't be a problem!" Chen Wu even felt these creditors were being quite reasonable, "It's nothing more than selling the herbs, taking a small loss on the principal, and redeeming the shares. That's business—you win some, you lose some. It's normal."

"If only it were that simple!" The shop owner interjected at this moment.

"Boss, hearing you say that, you seem to know the situation quite well!"

"Hey, the person bullying Shopkeeper Qin is known to everyone here in Yinchuan Prefecture." The shop owner said, "He is the third son of the Yinchuan Prefecture Governor, known as Little Sha Star. He has trained in martial arts, but he refuses to be restrained; he passed the military examinations but refused to join the army."

"He spends his days following his Governor father, acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's might. He claims to be doing business for the family, but in reality, he engages in nothing but extortion and plunder. The Governor dotes on this youngest son and doesn't bother to discipline him."

"That's him! He has his eyes on my Guangfalong business and wants to strike while I'm short on cash." Shopkeeper Qin said, his words filled with hatred and rage, "He issued an order to all the rafters in the surrounding area, forbidding them from hauling my cargo. He just wants to wait for me to go bankrupt so he can seize my Guangfalong."

"Although those creditors were willing to grant me a few days, they have taken my family hostage. If I truly cannot come up with the money, my wife and children..." As he spoke, Shopkeeper Qin was so anxious that tears fell.

"I am treating a dead horse as if it were still alive. Brother, you now know the cause and effect. If you dare to take this job, money is no object. I will additionally build a large raft for you to haul the cargo; once we reach Jiuyuan Prefecture, I will sell the goods, and the raft will be yours."

"Are you willing to take this job?"