I'm a pirate at the end of Ming Dynasty

It was getting late, the stars were sparse, and the shadows were turning in the river. Yang Xu covered his aching egg with one hand, while he lit a lamp and boiled oil, doing abacus and writing down the numbers accurately.This is his ability. No matter how big or complicated the numbers are, as long as they pass through his hands, there will never be any mistakes.

The autumn wind blows and people get sleepy easily. Yang Xu yawned and cried non-stop. It was obvious that he hadn't had a good sleep for a long time, but he was already used to it. He took out a box of cigarette powder from his arms and poured it gently. I put a little bit on the tiger's mouth. After thinking about it for a while, I felt a little reluctant to part with it. I twisted a little more and put it back. I sucked the rest into my nose and suddenly felt much clearer.

This was a sample that Zheng Zhipeng went to great lengths to get for him when he was in Ningbo. Apart from anything else, at least it was quite refreshing to use it when he stayed up late. Thinking of a person of Fourth Master's status, such a small thing would be a big deal. For his own sake, Yang Xu worked more diligently in calculating the accounts.

These days, in order to build momentum for Fourth Master, the money is really being spent like water. If it were not for the approval of the Tagawa family, Yang Xuzhen never thought that money could be spent like this. It was also the first time that he had truly seen what it means to have money that can lead to the gods. Tomorrow we have to donate rice for disaster relief in the name of the Zheng family, we have to entertain the leaders of various forces for dinner, and there are... a lot of things waiting, and they must be arranged before going to bed tonight.

There were bursts of snoring outside the house. Yang Xu knew that it must be his sister who climbed on the table and fell asleep again. In the past three days, she had slept for less than five hours in total. Her body could no longer hold on. Yang Xu moved lightly. He stood up and put a piece of clothing on his sister. He heard her mumbling in her dream: "Mr. Zhang likes to eat sea cucumbers. I want to ask shopkeeper Sun to get two boxes of big ones to deliver tomorrow. Boss Wang has an illegitimate son who likes... ...I like it...Xiao Xu, don't forget to make arrangements tomorrow. Gang Leader Qu will send you a pair of jade Ruyi. Mistress Tagawa likes this..."

Yang Xu sighed distressedly, but did not dare to wake him up, otherwise his sister would definitely have to wait until dawn again, and then work with strong mental firepower for a whole day, so he had to pick up a pine cone lightly. After thinking about it, he put a piece of plum slice on it, put it in a pure copper incense burner and lit it on fire. He heard that this thing can help with sleep. Unfortunately, he has been poor all his life and is not very good at using it, and he doesn't know if he is using it correctly.

Yang Xu felt a little headache. He knew it was an illness, but it didn't matter. He was young and would be lively again as soon as he woke up.

Suddenly a pebble hit his window. Yang Xu looked over and saw a child at the bottom of the attic who looked about the same height as him and had a childish baby face, waving at him, signaling him to get down. building.

"Master Sen?"

Yang Xu didn't dare to speak loudly for fear of waking up his sister, but there was no reason why the eldest young master of the Zheng family could not go in if he was invited, so he quickly put on his coat and shoes and went out.

"Master Sen, why are you here?"

Zheng Chenggong looked at him, then walked over to compare his height with Yang Xu, and saw that he was only a little taller than him: "No wonder the fourth uncle and the sixth uncle call you little Yang Xu, you are really very small." .”

Yang Xu smiled sheepishly and said: "I am born short. I can't help it. What's wrong with Master Sen? Why don't you see the guard?"

"Oh...I ran out secretly."

"Stealing? Oh, if the mistress discovers that you are missing, why should she die in a hurry?"

Zheng Chenggong pouted and said rather dissatisfied: "It's okay. It's okay to let my mother worry a little bit. Yang Xu, please answer me honestly. Is there something big going on in our family? Why was my fourth uncle arrested? My dad...has something happened to him?"

Doesn’t Master Sen still know what happened at home?

Zheng Chenggong shook his head and said: "My mother has never let me know about the affairs at home. She and my father want me to be a scholar. I just need to study peacefully every day. They say that the affairs at home are too dirty. Once I get involved, I will do it again." It’s hard to get rid of, and it’s the same this time. I asked my mother many times, but she said it’s nothing, just ask me to study in peace. But I know this time is different from before. I know my mother has started to clean up secretly. The luggage is gone, Kinuiemon and the others are very nervous every day, today I even overheard my mother discussing the sailing with him, it seems... my mother has already made plans to return to Japan."

"Oh... I remembered that your grandpa is a famous figure in the Japanese country. You always have a way out."

"Is the situation already so bad?"

"This... I can't say, it should be quite serious. You don't have to worry about the fourth master. The fourth master is fine. We are doing so many things just to provide for him. Sooner or later, he will come out. It's just the dragon." I don’t know the specific situation at Master Long’s place, but I heard people say that the red-haired Japanese’s artillery and muskets are very good, and their ships are bigger than Master Long’s.”

"But I heard my fourth uncle told me that if my family had a fight with the Dutch, they would definitely win, because the Dutch are rootless trees on the treasure island. Every death means one less one. Moreover, our family has a weak logistical foundation. In Fujian, the prestige is extremely high, and there is support from the court. One dead person can be replaced by one person, and a thousand dead people can be replaced by thousands. On the battlefield, even if they fight ten games and lose nine games, their foundation will not be damaged, while the Dutch only need to lose one. , it will be unsustainable.”

Yang Xu was stunned when he heard this, but he had never thought of such a statement, and said: "Since the fourth master said this, then I think it must be true."

Zheng Chenggong's eyes lit up when he heard this, but he immediately pouted.

"What's wrong, Master Sen?"

"I am obviously from the Zheng family, but I know nothing and understand nothing. I am no better than an outsider like you. My mother always said that there is a house of gold in the book. Not to mention whether it is true or not, with our family's wealth Do you still want a house made of gold?"

"Forehead……"

Yang Xu frowned for a long time and found that he was speechless.

"I'm not even as good as you, an outsider. You see, we are about the same height. You can already help your fourth uncle with such a big thing, but I can't do anything. Really, I always hear people mention you. I I’m quite envious of you.”

"You envy me?"

"Yes, you are capable and can do things. My fourth uncle is right. You can't stop reading. If you don't read, you can't understand. But if you only read and don't do things, it's not as good as not understanding. Otherwise, understanding will also be wrong. , I feel now that I am useless, even though my family has been turned upside down, I still can only study."

Yang Xu lowered his head and thought for a while and said: "Maybe, Master Long and Mistress have suffered too much, and they don't want you to suffer again. I think if I can become a rich man in the future, I don't need to be as rich as your family." But in an enemy country, ordinary money is enough, and I don’t think I will let my son take the same path as mine. I can study in peace and pursue an official career in a down-to-earth manner. Perhaps this is the best way."

Zheng Chenggong suddenly turned his head and said, "Yang Xu, have you read the book?"

"Me? I haven't read much. At most, I can barely recognize a few words. Besides, I can also settle accounts."

"Then, how about I teach you how to read and you teach me how to do business?"

"Ah? Your family sells tens of thousands of taels of silver a day, so you want me to learn how to do business?"

"Fourth uncle said it was useless. I am not down to earth at all, so I don't understand the true warmth and warmth of human beings. He even asked me to learn from you."

Yang Xu looked embarrassed and was thinking about finding a reason to refuse when he saw Zheng Sen stood up and patted him on the shoulder and said, "That's it. From tomorrow on, I will be your corner shop worker." .”