“Miss, do you have any people in mind as sailors?” Zheng Xi asked after walking silently for a while.
“No,” answered Ling Qingyu crisply. She turned and smiled at Zheng Xi. “So tomorrow, let’s go look for people on the streets.”
“Look on the streets?” Zheng Xi was dumbstruck. Even though there might be sailors walking on the streets in Quan Province, was Miss planning on kidnapping them?
“When I went to the shipyard the past few times, I saw a lot of people looking for work at Yongding Bridge.”
“Yongding Bridge? The place where people find short-term laborers? They aren’t sailors.”
“I already said that all we need are people with strength and can follow orders. We will pay them. Isn’t that the same as working short-term?”
—
The next morning, Ling Qingyu and Zheng Xi went to Yongding Bridge.
The Quan Province’s summer was extremely hot. There was a crowd gathered at the head of the bridge with their shirts on their shoulders. Some were simply shirtless. There were a few people who were locals without any assets and relied on short-term labor to live. But most were refugees from the north. The area around Henan had experienced droughts for three years; not a single grain came from the harvest. A large number of people left. Unfortunately, Fujian didn’t have enough land to settle so many and the majority became refugees.
When Ling Qingyu visited the shipyard, she saw Wu Da hiring many of these northerners as carpenters. The pay was low, but they worked hard. She had thoughts about hiring them since then.
“Boss, do you need short-term labor? Choose me. I have great strength! Only twenty coins a day is fine.”
“Boss, choose me. See, I am much buffer than he is. You won’t be making a mistake.”
“Boss, I am a craftsman. Do you need a mason?”
Seeing employers come, the previously relaxed crowd suddenly surrounded them. They promoted themselves with the utmost effort. If they could find jobs, they would ensure their families would be able to eat for the day.
“No rush, no rush.” Zheng Xi brushed off all the hands on his body. They were not even women. To be crowded by so many men and dragged one way then another was really not to his interest. Realizing that he couldn’t block all of them, he yelled, “Everyone stop! My boss wants a lot of people this time. Twenty strong laborers. One hundred coins a day. You will be coming on our ship to be a sailor!”
The noise suddenly became silent. Afterwards, the crowd of people whispered amongst themselves.
“It’s to sail. That’s risking one’s life. If anything happens, we won’t be coming back.”
“I still have a family at home. If I die then it’s all over.”
“But it’s 100 coins per day. Where would we find such a good deal?”
“With our swimming abilities, wouldn’t we die if we got on this ship?”
Ling Qingyu listened to these conversations in the crowd. However, not a single person volunteered. She waved Zheng Xi to her and whispered a few words into his ear.
Zheng Xi nodded, straightened his clothes, then walked onto a large stone in the center. “The boss said that this trip will take more than three months. If anyone wants to sign the contract, then he will be paid twenty liang silvers of prepayment. If performance is good, then the pay may increase after getting back. If you miss this chance, there won’t be another. We only want twenty people. You must be healthy and have great strength.”
The whispers in this crowd became even louder. Ling Qingyu was in no rush. She found a tree nearby and sat on a rock below it.
Yongding Bridge had a bridge hole. One could not see people in it from the outside, but those inside can monitor everything.
A few large men sat inside the bridge hole. The one in charge leaned against the stone wall, chewing a piece of straw and staring at Zheng Xi. His gaze then turned to the relaxed girl dressed as a man. She sat there as if watching a beautiful landscape or a great drama. The girl was dressed in a green coat. Her hair was bound in a bun on her head with a wood hairpin. She had a pie-like face with freckles and pimples. Her body wasn’t charming, but tall and strong. If it weren’t for the two slightly raised masses below her summer dress, it would have been hard to determine if she were a boy or a girl.
“The ship that Old Dan and others went to fix belongs to a woman right?” Gu Yu spit out his straw and asked Zhang Dahu on the side.
“Yes. I heard she is the only daughter of the maritime merchant named Lin, who died at sea. After establishing a female household, she changed her name to Ling. Old Dan came back last night and said the leader of the journey, Master Ding, was ambushed. Legs broken. Most of the sailors were afraid and canceled their contracts. They don’t know whether this ship will still be able to sail. Good thing the boss was kind and paid everyone by the day. Quite good pay too. Old Dan and them actually saved some money,” said Zhang Dahu.
“I heard Old Dan say that the ship is really good?”
“Yeah. Old Dan has been showing off. Said even though he never built a ship before, this ship used really good materials and had amazing carpentry. It is top quality. It’s big and won’t be afraid of waves. Even a large wave wouldn’t be able to capsize it; so not knowing how to swim is fine. If Master Ding didn’t have sailors before, Old Dan would have gone sailing with them. Eh? Boss, are you thinking of joining?”
Gu Yu stood up, lowered his head and walked out of the bridge. He smacked the dust off his body and thought that it would be best if he put on his rags before approaching Ling Qingyu.
“Head Ling?”
Ling Qingyu first paused, then realized the call was for herself and turned her head. She saw a pair of muddy legs. His pant legs were pulled up above his knees. His muddy feet were covered by a pair of old straw shoes. Lifting her head, then lifting some more; she felt as if her neck was twisting too much before finally seeing a face. Since Gu Yu was lowering his head, the sun shone from the top of him. His face was in the shadows. Even like this, Ling Qingyu felt blinded by this face with perfect and hardened features that was full of masculinity.
Ling Qingyu subconsciously stood up. But after standing up, she found that she was still looking up with a sore neck. This man. He must be at least 190cm?!
Gu Yu watched Ling Qingyu raise her head like a bird in a cockfight and laughed, “What’s wrong Head Ling?”
Ling Qingyu coughed and thought: Ling Qingyu, you’re not a little girl. You’re already a woman nearing her forties. What kind of man have you not seen before? It’s true even if he were naked! Thinking of undressing, she glanced at the huge man in front of her with a barely covered body. His figure was great. Not a single hint of fat could be seen on his body. His bronzed skin covered bulging muscles that beautifully contoured his figure. Ling Qingyu remembered the famous Roman statue, Discobolus.
“Sit.” Ling Qingyu steadied her focus and sat back down on the rock. She patted on another rock nearby, signaling for him to sit.
Gu Yu didn’t sit on the rock, but directly on the ground.
Mmm. Ling Qingyu praised him in her heart. She showed satisfaction toward finally being able to see him directly and laughed, “I wonder how many people this brother can bring on the ship?”
“My brothers total nine. Three are at the shipyard helping you fix your ship. However, if we are to sail, we hope to make six silvers a month and be given the twenty silvers of prepayment before we sail,” said Gu Yu. He put another piece of straw in his mouth. This Ling girl looked young, but pretty smart. Dealing with smart people was easier. After Ling Qingyu finished evaluating him, she looked at his scattered friends one at a time. That gaze managed to identify every single one. Her smile deepened some more.
Ling Qingyu rubbed her chin. This man and the few close by were all big and buff. They must be pretty strong. The only thing was that the color on their faces didn’t look too good. She guessed it must have been due to malnutrition. Even though their clothes barely covered their bodies, they still carried an air of strength. These people were not commoners. She planned to sail the next day. If these people decided to create trouble, she would have no way of controlling them. But given the current situation, these people would make the best sailors. They had strength and also looked trained.
“Okay. Big brother, if you agree, I will employ you to be a group leader. Other than the labor fees, when the ship gets back, you will also get a share of profits.” Ling Qingyu took out three hundred silvers worth of bills from her pouch and gave them to Gu Yu. “Other than the pre-payments, this one hundred silver bill is my loan to you. You can use it to buy some products to sell in foreign lands.”
Gu YU was shocked. He received the silver bills and smiled, “Head Ling isn’t afraid of me taking the money and running?”
“You are not that type of person.” Ling Qingyu looked at him directly then shrugged. “If you run away, then it is my fault for misjudging you. I’ll just have to accept it.”
“Hahaha,” laughed Gu Yu. “This little girl is quite good. Okay. I, Gu Yu, will sign this contract with you.”
Zheng Xi had a pre-written contract book. But after hearing Gu Yu’s price, he subconsciously looked at Ling Qingyu with eyes full of complaints. However, other than Gu Yu’s group, no one approached them. These people were definitely big. One of them could count for two normal people. He could only reluctantly give them the stated payment on the contract. After Gu Yu’s people pressed their fingerprints, these people officially became their employees.
“Head Ling,” said Gu Yu as he wiped the finger paint off his hands and returned one of the hundred silver bills to Ling Qingyu. “Gu Yu is a rough person. I don’t know which goods can earn me money. Why don’t Head Ling help me take care of this.”
