On the sparkling sea, more than a dozen large ships docked in a calm bay, in the cold land of the north, it is rare to encounter a sunny day, there is no trace of clouds in the sky, and it is even more rare that there is no wind, which also makes the sea very calm, and the people on the boat can hardly feel the ups and downs of the ship.

Steward Xu walked out of his room on crutches, dragged a chair with his right hand and slowly came to the deck, and then put the chair away, then sat down and half-lay on the chair to bask in the sun, and at the same time rolled up his trouser legs, so that his broken leg could bask in the sun with a faint pain, which could relieve the pain.

Steward Xu was also born in the army, and he served in the sailors, and even had already done the head, and could independently command a warship, but unfortunately a few years ago when he escorted the merchant ship to the South Seas, he docked at a native port, but he didn't expect that the small native country that ruled this port was greedy and wanted to detain the goods of the fleet, so the sailor general who was responsible for the safety of this time immediately ordered an attack on this small country, and finally although he destroyed this small country, the sailor also paid some price for it, Steward Xu's leg was shot by the poisoned arrow of the natives in that war, and as a result, the entire calf was rotten, and in the end, it was the doctor who accompanied the army who decisively cut off his calf, which saved his life.

With half a leg missing, Steward Xu naturally can't stay in the army anymore, originally with his merits and qualifications, it is not difficult to return to his hometown to be a petty official like the head of the yamen, but at this time, the fleet of the Yue Wangfu suddenly came to the army to recruit people, and even if he is physically disabled, it is nothing, and the treatment is much stronger than in the official mansion, so after thinking about it for a long time, Steward Xu immediately decided to apply, and as a result, with his rich sailing experience, as well as his familiarity with various places in the South Seas. He easily entered the fleet of the Yue Wangfu, and soon became the steward of the fleet, and now manages more than a dozen large ships, more than when he was in the navy.

The sun was warm in the sky, and there was not much to do in the fleet, which made Steward Xu extremely relaxed. I was about to fall asleep in a daze, but at this moment, I suddenly heard a heavy footstep behind me, and then a flattering voice sounded: "Steward Xu, you are so leisurely, do you want to have some fruit to taste?" ”

Hearing this familiar voice, Steward Xu guessed the identity of the person who came, and opened his eyes a little helplessly, only to find that the sunlight in front of him had been blocked by a fat figure. I saw that the person in front of me was not tall. But he was extremely fat, with a round body and a round head, very similar to the snowman built in winter, a big oily face was now full of smiles, and in his right hand he held a tray with a plate of delicious oranges, and although there were many cans on the boat, most of them were canned meat. Canned fruit is also hard to come by.

"Shopkeeper Tu, it's rare to have such good weather. Why don't you sit down together and bask in the sun? When Steward Xu saw the other party's appearance, he had actually guessed the other party's intention, and he was afraid that even if he drove him away, he would not leave, so it was better to let him sit down and have a good talk, and the people who were sent out should also come back.

"Hey, hey. Then disturb Steward Xu! The fat shopkeeper was not polite, he stretched out his hand and immediately a guy brought a chair, and the fat body of the shopkeeper sat down at once, and pressed the chair to a "wow", as if he couldn't bear his weight.

Seeing the obese appearance of this butcher. Maybe ordinary people will feel a little funny, but Shopkeeper Xu didn't mean to underestimate him in the slightest, because he knew that the fat butcher shopkeeper in front of him was not simple, and almost everyone knew the mixed name of "Fat Butcher" in the Nanyang area.

Fat refers to his figure, Tu is his surname, and the butcher is a summary of his style of doing things, this guy is nominally a businessman, in fact, he is indeed a businessman, but this Tu shopkeeper is a businessman very thoroughly, he does whatever business makes money, and does whatever he wants, and does whatever he does, for example, a few years ago, it was said that gold was produced in Nanyang, and everyone else was looking for gold mines, but this Tu shopkeeper organized a group of outlaws to loot the indigenous tribes around the gold mines, Because these indigenous tribes have lived around the gold mine for many years, even if they don't deliberately mine, the tribe will collect a lot of gold, and the oil and water are very rich, and this guy acts cruelly, and almost all the tribes that have been looted by him have no mouth, so he has fallen into the title of a butcher.

There are a lot of things like the above, and there are not a few people who rob and kill, and trafficking in human beings, of course, he does these things in the Nanyang area, and he doesn't dare to do it in the Great Song Dynasty. However, although the fat butcher acted unscrupulously, he was also very smart and knew where the bottom line of the matter was, such as his sacking of the Turen tribe, this is because the protection object of the law of the Great Song Dynasty did not include the Turen in the first place, so no matter how much he killed, it was not a crime for the Great Song Dynasty, at most some people said that he was cruel behind his back.

Zhao Yan's high-priced purchase of ginseng naturally can't be hidden from a big businessman like Tu Shopkeeper, with his money-eyed character, he naturally won't let go of such a good business, originally with his identity, there is really no need to go to the bitter cold north in person, but Tu Shopkeeper's heart is very big, his business in the south has been almost popular, and it is unlikely to grow rapidly, so he wants to expand his business to the north, this time he came to the Jurchens to buy ginseng just to explore the way, plus this time he came with Zhao Yan's fleet, There must be no problem in terms of safety, so the shopkeeper Tu came in person.

I saw that after the shopkeeper Tu sat down, he carefully sent the fruit in his hand to Steward Xu, and saw that the other party picked up a toothpick and ate a piece of orange, so he said with a smile: "Steward Xu, you see that we have also been here for a few days, when can we go ashore and trade with the Jurchens?" ”

The fleet led by Steward Xu had arrived at the shore eight days ago, but at that time, Steward Xu forbade any businessmen to get off the ship in the name of the Jurchens' barbaric temperament and they knew nothing about the situation on the shore, but first sent a lot of spies to inquire about the situation on the shore, but this wait was eight days, and the other merchants on the ship couldn't wait, especially this butcher was even more anxious, and had come to inquire several times.

"Shopkeeper Tu, you may not have dealt with the Jurchens before, they are not those natives in Nanyang, but a group of beasts living in the mountains and forests, if you are not careful, you may end up with both personal wealth, our Yue Wangfu is the organizer of this business, and naturally we are also responsible for your safety, so before you are sure of the safety on the shore, you had better not get off the boat and walk around at will." I saw that Steward Xu said with a smile.

"Steward Xu, we are all old friends, can you tell me the truth?" Shopkeeper Tu was still a little unwilling, because it was not the first time that Steward Xu's words had been said, and there was no useful information, which made Shopkeeper Tu even more anxious, for fear of running away in vain.

You're an old friend! Steward Xu secretly scolded in his heart, he had only had a few business dealings with the shopkeeper Tu before, and for his character, Steward Xu has always been respectful, if it weren't for the other party's cheekiness to pester him several times, he would not be willing to say a word to him.

Of course, Steward Xu would definitely not say anything, but said with a smile again: "Shopkeeper Tu, what I said just now is indeed the truth, but I estimate that those who were sent out to inquire about the news will also come back soon, as long as they come back, they will definitely bring a lot of news about the shore, and then the fleet will provide these news to you free of charge, which will also make it more convenient for you to do business with the Jurchens!" ”

"The fleet would like to share the information they heard with us?" Shopkeeper Tu was also surprised when he heard this, as a businessman, he knew the value of intelligence better than anyone else, and sometimes a piece of information that no one else knew might be exchanged for a large amount of wealth, so he was naturally very surprised by the fleet's generous behavior.

"That's natural, otherwise we wouldn't stop you and don't let you get off the boat, in fact, it's all for the sake of your safety, since we sent you over, we naturally have to pull you back safely, this is our commitment to Yue Wangfu." Steward Xu said very solemnly at this time.

The shopkeeper Tu waited for so many days, and finally heard a good news, and thanked Steward Xu very excitedly, and then flattered him to send the fruit to Steward Xu, don't look at him as a butcher, but in front of Steward Xu, he is nothing, so every time he sees Steward Xu, he has to try his best to stutter.

After chatting for a while, Shopkeeper Tu seemed to see that Steward Xu didn't like him very much, so he got up to say goodbye, but just when he stood up and turned around to leave, he suddenly stopped and spoke again: "Steward Xu, if the fleet is understaffed recently, if you have anything to do, Tu will definitely not refuse!" ”

"Hehe, then thank you to Shopkeeper Tu!" Steward Xu heard this, but his face remained unchanged, and then he saw the shopkeeper Tu salute again before turning around and leaving.

Looking at the back of the shopkeeper, Steward Xu smiled faintly, it seems that the matter of a team sent out by the fleet a few days ago still can't be hidden from the old fox like the shopkeeper, he just pointed out that the fleet is understaffed, just to tell him this.

Another peaceful day passed, and nothing noteworthy happened to the fleet docked in the bay, but early the next morning, a lot of people suddenly appeared on the shore opposite the fleet, which also attracted the attention of many people in the fleet, and when Steward Xu saw the people on the shore, his face finally showed a relaxed look. (To be continued......)