Quick, female general, I traveled through time to save my father

Chapter 366: The Mother of the Bomen Raises Her Stepson 33

Sirong took a sip of tea slowly and said, "No rush. Xiaopang isn't close to her right now. We still have time."

In the original plot, there was not much explanation about Mrs. Xie's situation, and it was not known whether Mrs. Xie was still alive when the little fat man went out to sea.

“Now we are just kids, making friends for no purpose.

But look at the current situation." Sirong pointed upwards, "I'm afraid that by that time, we'll all be pushed along by the waves, and it's hard to say whether we'll make it to shore or just get washed up on the beach."

Mrs. Xie slapped her thigh and said, "This is what I'm worried about!"

Sirong could understand Mrs. Xie's thoughts very well. The ship was too big to turn around. The safety of the hundreds of people in the Xie family was in the hands of her and her mother, so they dared not take risks easily.

When Xie Xiaopang was very young, his father went to the countryside to collect debts and encountered bandits.

At that time, the clan wanted to take back their family property. If Xie Xiaopang had not been a boy and Mrs. Xie had not been strong, they would not know how miserable they would be now.

Sirong gently stroked the edge of the teacup with her fingertips, and the tea reflected her calm eyes.

"Sister, you're right to worry." She said slowly, "The Xie family may seem prosperous now, but in reality, they are walking on thin ice."

Mrs. Xie clenched her handkerchief tightly, her knuckles turning white: "When his father left, those jackals and tigers almost devoured the Xie family alive! If I hadn't used my last breath to throw the account book in front of the clan leader, now..." Her voice choked and she didn't say any more.

Sirong reached out and covered Mrs. Xie's trembling hand.

"So we can't take any risks this time." Sirong's voice was soft, but every word was as sharp as a nail: "Sister!"

Mrs. Xie looked up at Sirong.

"Let's go! Leave this troubled place first. You're familiar with the southern waterways. Spread false news, saying the investment has failed. First, secretly transfer the assets out, and then head south."

Sirong said as she pulled out a cloth scroll from her sleeve. Inside were nautical charts and shipbuilding plans. The shipbuilding plans Sirong pulled out were much more advanced than those of this era.

And with the construction level of this era, it is completely possible to do it.

"Go out from the southern seaport for a while, first to avoid disaster, and second to open up trade routes."

The imperial court of this world does not ban the sea, but no one is willing to go out to sea to do business.

First of all, to go out to sea for business, you need certain financial support. A large ship that can sail on the sea costs a lot of money.

Secondly, the risks at sea are too great, not only due to wind and waves, but also due to pirates.

There are too many businessmen who are forced to take risks and go to sea to make a living, and never return.

When Mrs. Xie's fingertips touched the nautical chart, her pupils suddenly shrank.

"This ship..." She suddenly unfolded the blueprint. The mast layout was like a seagull with its wings spread. "No oars?"

Sirong dipped her tea in the water and drew an arc on the table. "Using the sail to turn is three times faster than rowing." She then pointed to a structure on the bottom of the boat. "Double keel, even a hurricane can't overturn it."

"The oars are here, but it doesn't require human power to row..." Sirong explained patiently to Mrs. Xie.

The sound of rain outside the window gradually intensified, making her voice even clearer. "Let's leave here first. Building this big ship will take time."

"The sea and the sky are so vast, there is no place where people can't live!" Mrs. Xie suddenly slammed the table and stood up, the candlelight burning two clusters of light in her eyes.

Sirong stayed at Xie's house until late at night, which showed the benefits of being single and divorced.

He asked the servants to go back to the house and inform Shen Tang that he would stay at Xie's house today, and then continue to work with Madam Xie.

She and Mrs. Xie developed a complete plan for their voyage, including what items to take out for trade, such as tea and porcelain, as well as the security personnel on board and how to respond if they encountered pirates.

These things cannot be discussed clearly in one night.

But Mrs. Xie didn't give it to her for nothing. Sirong just needed to point out these things, and she would complete the rest of the details herself.

The candlelight flickered as Sirong and Madam Xie sat opposite each other at the desk. Their tea had gone cold, but the desk was piled high with drawings and account books.

"Bring Songluo and Longjing teas, they're the favorites of the Nanyang nobles. Choose blue and white porcelain and white porcelain, they're light, easy to transport, and not fragile." Sirong ran her fingertips over the list, her voice steady. "As for silk, don't bring too much. Nanyang is hot and humid, so they prefer cotton and linen."

Madam Xie nodded and began sketching on the paper. "The fleet will depart in three batches. The first batch will be disguised as merchant ships, the second batch will carry cargo, and the third batch will provide a backup. If anything unexpected happens, they can be readily available."

Sirong smiled slightly: "Sister is really insightful."

Madam Xie looked up at her, a complex expression flashing in her eyes. "You've even thought of a way to deal with the pirates. It seems like you had a plan in advance."

Sirong paused, then said calmly, "It's just that I read some more miscellaneous books."

Mrs. Xie snorted, clearly unconvinced, but she didn't ask any more questions. She unfolded another map, which detailed the route and supply points. "Starting from Quanzhou, passing through Ryukyu, heading south to Luzon, and then to Siam, this route is the safest."

Sirong nodded: "The wind direction is right, we will arrive within three months."

The night deepened outside the window. The night watchman struck the third watch. Mrs. Xie rubbed her brow and finally put down her pen. "I'll take care of the remaining details."

The next day, after sending Sirong away, Mrs. Xie began to work on the bankruptcy of the Xie family.

Those who can become royal merchants have a lot of properties under their names, so it is not easy for them to go bankrupt in a reasonable way.

Mrs. Xie sat in her study, the account books spread out before her were piled higher than a celadon vase. She picked up her pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote heavily in the "March Expenses" column:

"I bought 3,000 jin of Taihu stone, but the ship sank in a storm, resulting in a loss of 80,000 taels of silver."

Butler Lao Zhou stood aside, his gray beard trembling: "Madam, this... this is too harsh..."

"How can anyone believe you if you're not ruthless?" Mrs. Xie sneered, flipping through the property booklet. "The three hundred acres of mulberry garden east of the city will be transferred to the Chen family tomorrow at a low price."

Old Zhou took a deep breath and said, "That was when the master was alive..."

"I really want people to think I'm desperate." Mrs. Xie suddenly smashed the teacup to the ground, and the porcelain shards flew as she raised her voice: "Prodigal son! We are all prodigal sons!"

After Sirong left, Mrs. Xie and Xie Xiaopang had a heart-to-heart talk.

Don't look at Sirong and Madam Xie, who tease him every now and then, our little fat boy is not that stupid.

When Xiaopang's father passed away, he was still very old. Mrs. Xie set up her own business and took him with her wherever she went.

The little fat boy's business acumen was inherited from his father and his mother's words and deeds.

It’s not that he doesn’t pay attention to the direction of the court, it’s just that he doesn’t relate it to himself.

He could never have imagined that the daughter of a minor official whom he met by chance would be related to the princes.

Xie Xiaopang was originally a businessman and had no father since childhood, so he understood what self-knowledge was.

Therefore, the plan made by the mother and the daughter was to make the little fat boy look like a prodigal son who would lose money on everything he did and still want to prove himself by constantly squandering money.