Lin Jingzhong opened each of the five silver bags beside Lin Xianshu's case and looked inside, wishing he could spread all 20,000 taels of official silver on the ground to count them one by one. The amount sounded frightening, but in reality, it was just 400 standard official ingots, each about the size of Zhou Pu's fist, yet Lin Jingzhong couldn't help but drool at the sight. For days, Lin Jingzhong had been thinking about silver, worrying to the point that two strands of his hair turned white, and suddenly a pile of glittering silver was stacked in front of him, dazzling his eyes.

  "Ah, where did this silver come from?" It wasn't until after a good while that Lin Jingzhong remembered to ask about the origin of the silver.

  "Today's chaotic battle at dawn was not without reason..." Lin Xuan finally told Lin Jingzhong about the Qu family's affairs, previously afraid that he would not be able to keep his cool. After all, the river mouth side belonged to the jurisdiction of Quyang Town Patrol Office, and Lin Jingzhong had to deal with the Qu family, especially Qu Yang Patrol Officer Qu Wuming, on behalf of Ji Yun Society. Now that Yu Dao Island has cooperative defense rights over the river mouth area, although there was no clear administrative affiliation, Lin Xuan could completely set aside the Quyang Town Patrol Office and have matters coordinated with Youling County.

  "Ah!" Lin Jingzhong stared blankly at the silver in his hand. These days, few people outside the east city were still discussing the brutal case of the 36 dead migrants who were attacked, but the case of Qu Wu's only son's disappearance was making a big stir. Apart from Qu Wu being the son of a famous playboy in Jiangning, the reward offered by the Qu family through the Jiangning Prefecture and Miling County was also a stimulating thing - a reward of 5 million coins, equivalent to over 4,000 taels of silver, could buy 500 mu of good land in Jiangning.

  Lin Jingzhong swallowed hard and asked: "Has it been investigated who is behind the scenes instructing the Qu family?"

  "No," Lin Xuan shook his head and said, "During this time, the Qu family has been searching for Qu Wuyang's only son with all their might, and there is no sign of close contact with other forces. If you must say that there is a relationship behind the scenes, Chen Xiyan, the former Minister of the Ministry of Revenue who retired from the central government to teach at the Xixi Academy, is Qu Wuyang's wife's brother, but Chen Xiyan should not have had the motivation to do such a cruel thing. If you want to investigate further, before the prison was cleared, female prisoners on the island who were slightly attractive would be forced to sell themselves in the brothels of Quyang Town, and both brothels in Quyang Town were industries under the name of the Qu family. After the prison was cleared, there will no longer be female prisoners selling themselves in the brothels of Quyang Town, but the Provincial Governor's Office did not pursue the crimes of the Qu family, and even people like Ge Zusin and Zhou Shide used money to wash away their sins and leave Jiangning Prefecture. If you say that this is a motive for preventing the Ji Yun Society from taking root in the river mouth, it can be said with some force that it is a motive... but no matter what, the blood feud of thirty-six people will not end like this..." The last sentence was spoken by Lin Xuan with an exceptionally cold tone.

  Lin Jingzhong and others sighed endlessly.

  As the saying goes, "When one's own relatives are gone, others will sing", more than a month has passed since the tragic case of the migrant workers, and among the recruited migrant workers, fear and sadness have gradually dissipated. In Lin Jingcun's mind, the tragic case naturally became a lesson, and soon he began to think about how to spend the 20,000 taels of silver.

  After a moment, everyone shifted the topic to the main issue. Lin Xuan said: "When Ji Yun She took out the business license in Yu Ling County, the principal amount was 20,000 taels of silver. Moreover, after the construction started on this side, the expenses have been huge all along. In the past two months alone, the expenditure has reached 5,000 to 6,000 taels of silver. Only a few people who are familiar with Ji Yun She's accounts know about it, and Lin Meng is one of them. However, these people are still reliable for Ji Yun She, even if they notice some problems, they won't spread the word around. This amount of silver can be directly put into storage without worrying about arousing the suspicion of the Qu family."

  "Twenty thousand two silver taels is equivalent to 2,450,000 copper coins. For ordinary people, it's an unimaginable huge fortune, but this amount of money is actually very limited," said Cao Zi'ang. "Taking into account the cost of a three-masted ship that can withstand near-shore winds and waves, one ship costs around 4,500 to 5,000 silver taels. Twenty thousand silver taels can only buy four or five such ships."

  "Yes," Lin sighed, "If there isn't a strong figure in the imperial court to take control and turn things around, this world will only continue to descend into chaos. I'd rather prepare for the worst by adding more large ships to our fleet. Besides, with the current situation, the transportation routes from southeast to north are still affected by the war in Dongming and haven't started recovering yet. Many shipyards near Jiangning Prefecture have new ships that were previously ordered but cancelled, so now is a good time to purchase them at a low price. Even if the world returns to peace, buying more ships won't be a bad investment. Apart from the three-masted ship we already have, I think our company should add another large commercial vessel for normal trade. Also, starting from yesterday, the officials of Jiangning Prefecture and Jiangdong County have officially recognized the river mouth defense rights of the Jiang Island Prison guards, so I have an excuse to purchase two fast armed ships for the prison island. What's giving me a headache is still the personnel configuration problem... luckily, Da Yu and Xiao Yu are here, or else I'd be worried sick..."

  "Tan Ye has been polite, we brothers can only do our best..." Ge Cunxin said.

  Lin Jingzhong did know that the name of Tan Zong, the sea fox, was notorious in the east of Changshan Island. He just wondered in his heart: Why did the Ge brothers take Tan Zong as Lin Xie's real name and called him "Tan Ye" when discussing private matters?

  Cao Zi'ang heard that the problem of the cooperation rights of the prison guards in the river mouth area had been solved, and his expression was excited. He asked: "Are the prison guards going to be expanded?"

  "Hmm, first fill the vacancies, three teams of Wu soldiers are enough to deal with the small bandits in Chao Tian Tang. In the next two days, we will go to the Governor's Office and the Procuratorate to select refugees from the north shore to fill the military households..." Lin Fu said.

  With the assistance of Zhou Pu and Zhao Hu, Lin Xie personally took control of these three teams of prison island guards, which was not a problem. The key was still the personnel allocation on this side of the river mouth.

  Lin Xie and Cao Zi'ang discussed it, first to ensure the personnel configuration of the ship that transported materials to Changshan Island. Without a full grasp, outsiders cannot be used lightly. The thirty subordinates brought by Ge Cunxin and Ge Cunxiong this time were mainly configured on that ship. The two fast armed ships added to the prison island, the main combat force can only be played by the prison guards, but the boatmen still need to be selected from the river mouth migrant workers. Lin Xie asked Ge Cunxin and Ge Cunxiong brothers to recommend two reliable people to serve as the head of the two armed ships' boatmen, not only to undertake the responsibility of training the boatmen, but also to have the ability and courage to organize the boatmen to assist the guards in battle, and even to fight directly with the enemy.

  The merchant ship added by Jiyun Society, whether it is a sailor or a martial arts guard, can be recruited from the river mouth to train migrants. However, the cargo of the merchant ship is counted in millions, and the leader of the merchant ship cannot help but take it seriously. After discussing it for a long time, they decided that Xiao Jiaoye Ge Cunxiong would personally take charge of this ship. Since no one else was available, Chen Enze was asked to follow Ge Cunxiong around.

  Now, the budget for Ji Yun She is only 4,000 taels of silver allocated to Ge Cunxiong. From selecting and purchasing merchant ships, supervising their renovation, configuring personnel, training, to launching them, everything will be Ge Cunxiong's responsibility. Although there are many new ships in stock at Longjiang Shipyard, Lin Xuan still requires that the ship be renovated and reinforced according to the standards for coastal navigation or even combat, so that if something unexpected happens, this ship can also rush to Changshan Island.

  "Master Cao, I hope you can stay on the shore," Lin Fu said to Cao Zi'ang after discussing it over, "there are more than 100 households of refugees who have entered the register in Mengling County from this side of the river mouth, and there will be more in the future. We need to organize them into li and jia. I've discussed with Mengling County, and we can choose the head of li and jia from among the refugees. Jing Zhong is still young and lacks experience, and my energy is limited too. So I'd like to ask Master Cao to take on this role as the head of li..."

  Lin Jingzhong was delighted, and with Cao Zikang taking charge of civil affairs, the burden on his shoulders would be reduced by at least half. In fact, in recent days, under Lin Xie's deliberate guidance, Cao Zikang, Ge Cunxiong, and Ge Cunxin had become de facto leaders of the refugees at the river mouth. At this time, Lin Xie openly summoned them to discuss matters, which seemed perfectly normal to others; Zhou Pu and Wu Qi were both in attendance as escorts.

  The guards are still stationed on the island even in peacetime. Although there is a quota of 40 guards for the Ji Yun Society, it's divided between two ships, and only 10 guards can be left at the river mouth, which is already the maximum limit. The only way to go about this is to mobilize the civilian households, and Cao Zi'ang is the most suitable person for this task.

  Cao Zi'ang thought for a moment and said: "Alright, I'll stay on the shore; from now on, the affairs of Changshan Island will all be left to Master Da Yu..."

  Ge Cunxin stroked his disheveled beard, Cao Zikang and Cun Xiong had already divided the men among themselves, leaving him with less than thirty hands to use. Normally sailing would not be a problem, but if they encountered other pirate forces, having fewer than thirty men to guard a thousand-ton ship was a daunting task. He asked: "Can we use some black households on the ship?"

  "Use," Lin Xuan nodded and said, "In this world, it's normal for ships to not follow the rules, using black households and carrying private goods is nothing out of the ordinary. As long as you pay the various forces their fees, that's all that matters." Even if they need to, they can directly take some people from Changshan Island. Lin Xuan now has control over the civilian affairs and defense cooperation on this side of the river mouth. This small move is still doable, even if others find out, it's not a big deal, as long as no major trouble arises. In this world, being too rule-abiding can actually make others suspicious.

  ******

  Everything is in disorder, discussions have come to a standstill, and it's already mid-month.

  Lin invited everyone to have a simple meal in the grass hall and then leave.

  Since many migrant workers came to the river mouth, Cao Zikang and others disguised themselves as migrant workers and naturally had to move into the thatched hut. Lin Fu also asked Lin Jingzhong, Qian Xiaowu and others to move into the thatched hut. Now that the enclosure house is built, Lin Fu also asks Lin Jingzhong and Qian Xiaowu to move in and live together with those migrant workers.

  Qian Xiaowu's wife, Yunniang, was still helping to clean up the house. Lin Xie looked at the late sky and told her to stop and rest first. Thinking that Qian Xiaowu was not inferior to Lin Jingzhong in terms of learning and ability, he could have taken on more tasks, but he had a stubborn temper. Lin Xie also didn't grasp whether he could accept the fact that Ji Yun She was not just a collaboration between officials and merchants, but even a "triad" of mutual collusion between officials, merchants, and bandits.

  Lin Xie walked to the back of the thatched cottage, looking at the simple bamboo fence surrounding the backyard bathed in moonlight, as if standing at the bottom of a clear and calm lake. After a busy day, he had been feeling somewhat dizzy, but seeing this moonlit scene made him feel much more relaxed. Lin Xie couldn't help but sit down on the bamboo mat laid out on the steps, gazing at the moonlit courtyard while pressing his temples with his fingers.

  "Are you very tired?" Liu Yu'er quietly squatted beside Lin Xie's body.

  "Something..." Lin tied turned his head and glanced at Liu Yu'er, then shifted over to let her sit beside him.

  Liu Yu'er, with a guilty conscience, turned her head and glanced inside through the back door. Zhou Pu and the other guards were either practicing their swords in the front yard or scattered around on high alert. There was no one in the house or backyard. She plucked up her courage and said: "Why don't I give you a massage instead?" The person squatted behind Lin Xie, using his fingers to gently press and rub his temples.

  Smelling the faint, dark fragrance emanating from Lin Yue's body, and with her cool, delicate fingers pressing against his sun-kissed skin, Lin Xie felt an unprecedented sense of comfort, stretching out his legs and arms, he leaned into Lin Yue's embrace to indulge in it.

  Liu Yue'er never thought that Lin Xuan would be so shameless and take advantage of the situation, seeing him close his eyes and relax, she couldn't bear to push him away from her embrace. So, enduring the shyness and possible panic of being discovered by others, she began to massage him, softly speaking to him at the same time.

  "What else is there tomorrow?"

  "Things are never done," Lin Xuan said, feeling the softness of Liu Yue'er's fragrance, closing his eyes and resting his mind. "The island still needs to recruit some manpower, and I'll let Yang Shi go to the north shore. The prison books on the side of Zhengyedang have also been engraved, and after a while, when this side of the Zhutang is built, we'll invite Zhao Shuhan to give lectures..."

  "Will anyone come to listen to the lecture?" asked Liu Yue.

  "Who knows," Lin Xie didn't know how many people would be invited at that time, "you can also go and listen then."

  "I'm a married woman, what's the point of listening to these things?" Liu Yu'er refused without much thought.

  Lin Xian smiled and didn't force Liu Yu'er anymore, instead he started rambling about the important things that needed to be done these days: "The Ji Yun Society needs to add two large ships. Although the renovation of the ship's body has been supervised by Jing Zhong and the Ge brothers, I still need to take some time to take a look; another thing is that the dock side has basically taken shape now, and the guards have also gained the right to defend the river mouth together. With this foundation, we can deceive others into investing silver. The Ji Yun Society cannot invest all its silver here, besides, according to Ge Siyu's plan, three streets need to be built here, and the Ji Yun Society doesn't have that much silver to invest... I'll go into the city tomorrow..."

  "…Liu Yu'er smiled lightly,"You don't say anything serious, but instead you mention the word 'cheat', how many people have been cheated by you?"

  "Are they all like that?" Lin Xuan asked with a smile, and then asked Liu Yue'er, "Will you accompany me to the city tomorrow?"

  "What can I accompany you to do in the past?" asked Liu Yu'er, "Besides, it's rare for you to come into the city, aren't you going to see Miss Su?"

  "What's wrong?" Lin Xian asked.

  Liu Yu'er naturally didn't want to meet Su Mei or Xiao Man, as their identities were all inexplicable and running into each other would be even more embarrassing.

  At this time, the sound of drums transmitting signals came from the prison island. Lin Xie frowned and stood up to see someone waving a torch with a regular rhythm on the high wall of Jiang Island Prison. This was a signal for something happening on the island that required his return. Lin Xie wondered: it's almost midnight, all prisoners have been locked in, what could be happening on the island?

  ***************

  P.S: Seeking red envelope!