“Young master, we have brought the ship under control, and the waves have subsided.”

A crew member, his face and head covered in water, ran up to Gu Jingheng.

The people inside the house also heard this, and their faces lit up with joy.

The old ladies all chanted in unison, "May our ancestors bless us, may our ancestors bless us."

Gu Jingheng followed the crew member onto the deck. The wind and rain had subsided, and the dark clouds on the horizon were gradually dissipating.

The boat captain walked up to Gu Jingheng and said, "Young master, the boat is now under the control of the brothers. The situation was really bad just now. If it had been any later, the boat would probably have been smashed to pieces by the wind and waves. It's really thanks to your timely decision, young master!"

Just then, a crew member poked his head out from the stairs: "Boss, we've spotted several crew members from this ship down there!"

The boat captain responded and followed the man down to check the situation.

Gu Jingheng stood on the deck, looking at the ship opposite him, which was already some distance away. Lian Yingtong and Xu Meng were standing on the ship's side, looking out. When their eyes finally found Gu Jingheng, they waved to him and felt much more at ease.

The captain returned from the hold, muttering curses under his breath.

"Young master, do you know what happened to the crew of this ship? Apparently, their captain was swept overboard by the waves, and because they lacked experience and couldn't control the ship, they abandoned it and hid in the hold. It's truly..."

What followed was a string of profanities, which Gu Jingheng simply ignored.

Now that both ships are safe, the next step is to find a port where they can dock as soon as possible and send them to a dry dock for repairs.

The boat captain recalled for a moment: "There is a small port less than a day's journey ahead, but neither of these two boats can carry any more people or cargo. We'll have to unload everyone and everything and return empty. Young master, it seems you'll have to travel by land for the rest of your journey."

Whether he travels by land or water, it doesn't matter to Gu Jingheng.

He just wanted to get to Yongning City as soon as possible.

The captain was exchanging information with the crew of the ship ahead of him across the water. The two ships sailed one after the other toward the nearest small port.

As darkness fell completely, the ship finally came to a complete stop.

An old nanny found Gu Jingheng and the boatman.

"Thank you for your help, brave men. My lady sent me to invite you to rest in the cabin and change your soaked clothes. Fortunately, we have some men's clothes on board, though they are not new. Please don't mind. We have brought our own cook, who will bring you ginger tea and food later."

Gu Jingheng and the boatman both bowed and thanked him.

After chatting for a while, Gu Jingheng learned that the ship belonged to the Qiu family of Yongning City and was not used often. It was only used when the masters of the family needed to go on long trips.

Fortunately, despite the strong winds and waves today, the ship had plenty of shelters, all well-sealed with wax and oil paper, so they weren't soaked and are still usable.

"No wonder those crew members were all so inexperienced and seemed completely clueless," the captain muttered to himself.

The old woman was extremely apologetic: "Please forgive our foolishness, brave warriors. Fortunately, we are blessed with good fortune and have met you all!"

When Gu Jingheng heard that they were from Yongning City, he smiled to himself: What a coincidence.

Upon arriving at the cabin that the Qiu family's servants had prepared, servants soon brought over a charcoal brazier, hot water, a change of clothes, and ginger tea.

The charcoal fire blazed brightly, dispelling much of the cold and dampness.

Gu Jingheng took off his soaked clothes, washed them with hot water, and then changed into a new set of clothes.

The soaked clothes were immediately taken away by servants to be washed.

From this, Gu Jingheng realized that this was indeed a wealthy family with many rules and regulations, and everything was done very well.

After changing into dry clothes and drinking a cup of ginger tea, Gu Jingheng felt better.

The boat owner, Madam Qiu, and her family hadn't sent anyone to invite him, presumably because some unforeseen event had occurred. The owners and some of the servants needed to rest and recuperate, so Gu Jingheng wasn't in a hurry. He ate the simple meal brought by the servants and then went to sleep.

The next day.

When I woke up, the sun was shining brightly outside, and the weather was clear.

Birds can be seen flying by in the distance.

It was as if yesterday's storms had never happened.

After Gu Jingheng finished dressing, he heard someone knocking on the door. It turned out to be a servant from the Qiu family bringing breakfast.

"I wonder how the boat owner and his family are doing?"

"Thank you for your concern, sir. Our old lady, the madam, and the young ladies were just frightened and caught a chill, but thankfully they are all fine."

With that, Gu Jingheng was relieved.

After breakfast, the old woman from yesterday came again and bowed apologetically: "In principle, we should have come out to thank you as soon as possible after being rescued by you yesterday, but the old lady is old and has been frightened and chilled, so she is not in good spirits. I am afraid that I may have neglected you. I hope you will not be offended."

"You're too kind, Granny. We should prioritize the health of all the ladies and young ladies."

"The captain said that we will be able to dock in half a day. Our old lady said that when everything is ready, we will prepare generous gifts and thank the brave man in person for his great kindness."

"Madam, you are too kind."

Gu Jingheng and the old woman exchanged a few more polite words.

The ship traveled for less than half a day before finally seeing the outline of the small harbor.

Once the boat came to a stop, Gu Jingheng disembarked first.

"Young Master..."

Xu Meng and Lian Yingtong had already prepared and were waiting on the deck. When they saw Gu Jingheng, they immediately ran and squeezed through the crowd.

At this moment, Gu Jingheng had already changed back into his own clothes.

After thoroughly checking Gu Jingheng's condition and confirming that he was not injured, Lian Ying and the other person were finally relieved.

"It's good that you're not injured, young master. We were so worried about you yesterday."

"Young master, please don't talk us down next time. We've been through battlefields filled with corpses and blood, are you afraid of a little trouble?" Xu Meng said with great dissatisfaction.

After calming the two down, Gu Jingheng said, "It's quite a coincidence that the owner of this ship is from Yongning City and is also heading back to Yongning City."

"So what? We're not short of money for the journey." Xu Meng said, puzzled.

“We’re going to Yongning City to secretly investigate the grain draft. Shouldn’t we avoid contacting too many people?” Lian Yingtong also asked.

“We don’t know how long we’ll be staying in Yongning City this time. We can’t stay away from people forever. It would be convenient to have an identity to cover our tracks,” Gu Jingheng said.

"Then, what identity should we use?" Xu Meng asked. "Should we be businessmen?"

"Being a merchant isn't a good idea. To be a merchant, you need all sorts of documents, and to do business, you need to buy servants, shops, and goods. How can we possibly get all that all at once?"

"No need to go to so much trouble, I already have an idea." Gu Jingheng smiled faintly.

As the three were talking, a voice suddenly broke in.