In the east side hall of the Temple of Poseidon, the master and his two disciples enjoyed delicacies from land and sea, which made Prince Qian next door cry with envy.

"Master, try this cucumber fish." Jin Xuezeng placed a plate of steamed yellow croaker in front of Zhao Hao as if he was presenting a treasure.

"In Chongming, a feast is incomplete without yellow croaker."

"Yes, Master, this big yellow croaker is not only delicious, but also can strengthen the spleen and stomach, replenish qi and essence." Yu Shensi also echoed and laughed, "Master is growing up, you should eat more."

Young Master Zhao picked up a piece of white and tender fish meat and put it into his mouth. Sure enough, the meat was tender and the taste was sweet.

He could not help but nod in approval and asked slowly, "What is the current situation of the Sand Boat Gang?"

"Master, the story of a child without a mother is a long one. Chongming Island is at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and people have made a living by sailing for a long time." It was obvious that Jin Xuezeng had not been wasting the past few months in vain, so he told the story.

"But it really flourished during the Yongle period, when the eunuch Sanbao sailed to the West. After the fleet returned, it could not enter Taicang Liujia Port because it was carrying too much cargo and the draft was too deep, so it had to stop at Chongming Island first." Jin Xuezeng added: "Then they hired a local shipping company to transfer the goods to Nanjing."

Yu Shensi removed the fish bones in front of Zhao Hao and served him a plate of large lobsters in garlic sauce. He smiled softly and said, "This lobster nourishes the yin and stomach, strengthens the kidneys and strengthens the yang. It tastes great..."

Young Master Zhao smiled with satisfaction, like an old father, and while enjoying the food, he listened to Jin Xuezeng's introduction:

"The sand boat business on Chongming Island has become very popular. At its peak, there were more than 10,000 sand boats and 80,000 to 90,000 sailors in Chongming."

Zhao Hao sighed in admiration, not sure whether it was because the lobster was so delicious or he was marveling at the former splendor of Chongming Island.

"But when the voyages to the West stopped, the shipping business plummeted. Shipping companies closed down one after another, and the sailors lost their livelihoods. At this time, Shen Yilu, the ancestor of the Shen family, established the Sand Ship Gang, which united all the shipping companies and unified pricing and management."

"Without vicious competition among ourselves, we were able to negotiate prices with cargo owners more effectively. The sailors were able to make a living again and regarded the Shen family as their savior. The Sand Ship Gang grew bigger and bigger until it unified Chongming Shipping. The position of gang leader was passed down in the Shen family for seven generations."

Zhao Hao asked calmly, "So, the Sand Boat Gang has always been named Shen?"

"It has always been like this, but things changed last year." Yu Shensi said in a deep voice: "Shen Shuo, the new leader of the Sand Boat Gang, died of illness at a young age, and left no offspring. His only brother is only eight years old. How can he take on such a big family business?"

"Yes." Jin Xuezeng couldn't help but laugh: "Don't underestimate it, it's just a gang that travels around the country. It's the same as the inheritance of the throne in ancient times."

Yu Shensi rolled his eyes at Jin Xuezeng, disliking him for interrupting him. Then he continued, "So the two elders and thirteen hall masters of the Sand Boat Gang nominated a man named Guo Donglin to temporarily take over the position of gang leader."

After Zhao Hao finished eating the lobster meat and felt satisfied, he took the hot towel offered by Yu Shensi, wiped his hands and asked calmly, "Where did this Guo come from?"

"Guo Donglin was originally an old student from Songjiang. He had not passed the imperial examination for more than ten years. He could not bear the blow and jumped into the river. He happened to be saved by the old leader of the Sand Boat Gang, who was Madam Shen's father-in-law."

"He then recognized the old gang leader as his adoptive father. He tried to make a living in the Sand Boat Gang. Because he had studied for a few years and had some brains, the old gang leader trusted him and later made him his military advisor."

"Before the old leader passed away, he promoted him to be the deputy leader of the Shachuan Gang and asked him to assist Shen Shuo to make the Shachuan Gang bigger and stronger and to create greater glory." Yu Shensi sighed when he said this. He had a delicate and sensitive heart and was always prone to crying for others' sadness.

"Who would have thought that within two years, Shen Shuo also died. His brother Shen Teng was too young, and the elders of the Sand Boat Gang were worried that it would not be appropriate for someone else to take over. They thought it would be more reassuring for the Shen family to let him, a rootless outsider, take over the position of gang leader."

"It is said that at the succession ceremony, he was forced to swear a poisonous oath, saying that when Shen Teng grew up and was able to take on important responsibilities, he would return the position of leader to the Shen family and would never cling to it." Yu Shensi sneered again and said:

"But seeing how he has been acting arrogantly and causing trouble over the past year, I'm afraid he is Liu Bei borrowing Jingzhou again."

"Isn't that nonsense?" Jin Xuezeng also sneered: "Otherwise, how did the coup d'état come about? If you look through the twenty-one histories, how many Dukes of Zhou can there be?"

"We are talking about the Sand Boat Gang, why are you digressing so much?" Zhao Hao glared at the two disciples who were talking more and more out of line.

But he finally had a general understanding of the current situation of the Sand Ship Gang.

He then asked leisurely, "What about Mrs. Shen? She doesn't look simple."

"She is the most beautiful girl in Chongming County!" When Jin Xuezeng mentioned Shen Chenshi, he immediately became excited. "No young lady in the county can compare to her."

"Hate it, Master is still young, why are you talking about this!" Yu Shensi patted his junior brother, and then reported seriously:

"Disciple has collected all her information, please review it, Master."

As he spoke, he took out a booklet from his sleeve and presented it to him with both hands.

Zhao Hao took it and took a look. He saw the words "Shachuan Gang's Generals' Record" written on the cover. He opened it and found that the intelligence of the gang leader Guo Donglin and more than a dozen leaders were collected clearly.

He was just about to praise the fifth disciple by saying something like "big but careful", but when he turned to the page about Madam Shen, he was speechless.

It was seen that Yu Shensi had actually collected all kinds of information about Mrs. Shen, including her maiden name, maiden family, height, weight, preferences, personality, favorite colors, favorite foods, people she cared about...

On the next page, there is a full-body color picture of Mrs. Shen. She is wearing a white dress and a plain skirt, with her eyebrows slightly furrowed. She looks pitiful yet resolute. It is very lifelike, and it is obvious that a lot of effort has been put into it.

A line of small characters on the upper right reads "Small Portrait of Chen Huaixiu", and a small corner seal is also used on the lower right.

Mr. Zhao took a closer look and saw the words "Jianhua" written on the seal.

"You are ill, you need treatment." Young Master Zhao glanced at the fifth disciple and sighed distressedly. How empty and boring it must be, and how few beautiful women there are...

Yu Shensi lowered his head in shame. Fortunately, he did not tell his master that he had even compiled a list of beauties for the young ladies and wives in Chongming.

~~

In any case, thanks to his disciple's 'paparazzi spirit', Zhao Hao finally confirmed that Chen Huaixiu of the Shen Chen family, as he expected, had a high prestige in the Shachuan Gang.

Not only is she the daughter-in-law of the Shen family and the widow of the previous gang leader, she is also the guardian of Shen Teng, the only descendant of the Shen family.

Moreover, she is kind, generous, fair and prudent. In the hearts of gang members, especially the young ones, she is like the reincarnation of Mazu.

Mr. Zhao couldn't help but give himself a thumbs up. This operation will definitely not be a loss...

ps. To be honest with you, my eyes have not recovered yet, and there are still serious signs these two days. So I have been gritting my teeth and persisting, writing for you with tears in my eyes. I went to the eye hospital to see the doctor this afternoon. It was bacterial conjunctivitis, which is quite serious. I must rest my eyes these days, otherwise it will develop into chronic conjunctivitis and it will be bad. I grit my teeth and promise to update three times, I dare not update more than that, my eyes are red and painful, I really can't stand it.