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墨書 Inktalez
The young man was Jiang Haozhi, the Young Master of the Jiang Family. He had just taken over the family business and was inspecting various pawn shops. Today, he had arrived at Jingyang County and was listening to the Keeper report on the shop's performance when suddenly a young worker came to call the Keeper, having brought in an item that even the experienced Old Appraiser couldn't identify. Curious about this strange object, Jiang Haozhi decided to take a look himself.
Upon seeing the item, Jiang Haozhi felt that his visit was worthwhile; otherwise, he would have missed out on something so remarkable.
"This isn't glass," Jiang Haozhi remarked, his discerning eye matching that of the Old Appraiser. "This is a new material, lighter and more transparent than glass. The shape is a bit unusual, but still quite attractive... Do you know what this material is?"
Wen Zixia and Li Zhoule shook their heads.
Wen Zixia spoke up, "This is a treasure left by our ancestors. As for what material it is, we have no idea."
"Not knowing is actually a good thing!" Jiang Haozhi secretly chuckled. With no one aware of what it was made of, this unique piece would be worth a lot more. "Is it a dead pawn or a living pawn? If it's a dead pawn, I'll give you two hundred taels—don't think it's too little. Although this bottle looks nice, its unknown material might deter many wealthy buyers."
Wen Zixia exchanged glances with Li Zhoule and said, "Dead pawn."
A living pawn could lead to complications later on. Once good items were sold, there was no turning back; it would only bring trouble to their family. It was better to sever ties with the treasure completely. Besides, two hundred taels was quite a sum. Their parents had never managed to save even a hundred taels in their lifetime.
"Alright, Sun Beizhi, give this young man two hundred taels in silver notes."
"Wait!" Wen Zixia interjected. "Could you exchange fifty of those for small silver coins?"
"Of course." Sun Beizhi, the middle-aged Keeper who had opened the door for Jiang Haozhi, smiled as he quickly fetched two silver notes and fifty taels in loose change, wrapping them in cloth before handing them to Wen Zixia.
Wen Zixia made an effort to keep her hands steady as she accepted the cloth bundle, maintaining a calm demeanor as she led Li Zhoule and the others out of the pawn shop.
Jiang Haozhi watched Wen Zixia's retreating figure and said to Sun Beizhi, "This young lady is not simple; I should find an opportunity to build a relationship with her."
"Yes," Sun Beizhi quickly replied. All the members of the Jiang Family knew that the Young Master had exceptional insight.
After leaving the pawnshop, Wen Zixia took a few people to an inn for safety and opened a room, leading them inside. Once the door was closed, three of them jumped up excitedly. "We’re rich! We’re rich! So much money!"
Wen Zixia raised his hand and flicked the foreheads of Wen Ziyu and Wen Zixue. "It's not our money, so why are you so excited?"
Wen Ziyu covered his forehead and grinned foolishly. "I’m just happy for Li Yishu and Zhou Le."
Li Yishu chimed in, "Brother Wen, what’s there to separate us? Isn’t my sister’s money your money too?"
Li Zhoule shot a glare at Li Yishu but nodded in agreement. "Exactly, why do you have to be so formal with me?"
He then opened the cloth bag and took out twenty taels of silver, pushing it toward Wen Zixia. "You take this first; when it runs out, I’ll give you more."
Wen Zixia pushed the silver back. "I can’t accept this."
Li Yishu insisted, "Brother Wen, brother-in-law, this is my sister's dowry; you should just take it!"
Wen Zixia firmly refused. "Even if it's your sister's dowry, I can't take it. I’m a man and the head of the family; I won’t rely on a woman."
Seeing his determination, Li Zhoule didn’t press further and put the silver back into the cloth bag. "Just take it! I’ll buy food directly; you can’t refuse anymore. If you don’t eat, Ziyu and Zi Jue still need to eat!"
Wen Zixia didn’t refuse this time. "Just some coarse grains will do. Once my family has food, I’ll pay you back."
Li Zhoule rolled his eyes but felt even more admiration for Wen Zixia's character.
"Quickly hide the silver and the banknotes; we need to buy food and head back to the village," Wen Zixia reminded Li Zhoule.
Li Zhoule separated the silver and banknotes into three pouches, keeping the banknotes close to his body. He placed the pouch filled with large silver coins at the bottom of the basket, covering it with newly bought fabric and embroidery thread, while tucking away another ten taels of small silver coins at his waist.
"Let's eat something first before buying food. We've walked quite a distance, and everyone is hungry," Li Zhoule suggested.
"Don't you have the cakes you baked?" Wen Zixia was reluctant for Li Zhoule to spend more money.
Li Zhoule replied, "Didn't we just come into a large sum of money? Can't we celebrate a little?"
Mainly, the money had come too easily! This bottle was a gift from a deity, something obtained without effort. If a deity could grant one bottle, who knows if there would be a second or even better things in the future?
Wen Zixia disagreed, saying, "That's too wasteful. It's better to save some money!"
Li Yishu patted his chest and said, "Brother Wen, don't worry. When I grow up and can earn big money, you won't have to worry about not having enough."
Wen Ziyu quickly added, "I will also work hard to earn money. Brother, when I grow up, I'll take care of you and our younger brother."
Wen Zixia flicked him on the forehead, saying, "I don't need you to take care of me."
The group didn't go to a restaurant for a feast but instead stopped at a roadside stall where each person ordered a bowl of dumplings, leaving them all quite satisfied. Li Zhoule gave his Tangyuan cakes to Wen Ziyu to take home, where they could be enjoyed as snacks or part of a meal.
With their stomachs full, they felt more energized for their shopping spree. They first went to the grain store and purchased over two hundred pounds of brown rice for nearly four taels of silver.
"Grain prices are getting higher," Li Zhoule sighed. "At this rate, who will be able to afford food next year?"
Wen Zixia sighed, "I'll accompany you to the county town after a while to buy more grain to store up."
There were a total of twenty households in the village, and with ten pounds of brown rice per family, it would last everyone for a while. They then went to the general store and bought various daily necessities and seasonings. Li Zhoule even bought a bag of sugar to share among the three of them. Next, they headed to the market to buy vegetables and meat. The lord was not generous, and since it was winter, there were no fresh vegetables available at the market. After wandering around, Li Zhoule only managed to buy a basket of eggs. However, there was pork available; with a wave of his hand, Li Zhoule purchased twenty pounds of pork, making the butcher very happy. When Li Zhoule asked for bones and offal, he packed them up without hesitation.
People in ancient times did not know that properly cleaned offal was a delicacy, nor did they realize that boiling bones made for delicious and nutritious soup. Li Zhoule knew this because Elder Brother Li had taught her. The Wen Family Three Brothers had also tasted bone soup and offal before; seeing these unwanted items now made them wonder why they hadn't thought to come to the market for offal earlier. They wouldn't have gone hungry for so long.
When they returned to the village, they did so with great confidence. Most villagers noticed the two bags of grain piled high on the Chicken Cart and were astonished.
"Zhou Le, are those two bags really grain?" Aunt Manchong asked Li Zhoule incredulously.
Li Zhoule nodded, "I pawned my mother's dowry to get some money to buy grain."
The villagers understood and felt envious but had no doubts. After all, the Li Family had once been well-off; although they had fallen on hard times now, it was normal for them to still possess one or two valuable items. Moreover, as a daughter, it was expected that she would pawn her mother's dowry—something meant to secure her future in her husband's family—only in dire circumstances.
"Those grains must weigh over two hundred pounds, right? That should be enough for your two families to eat frugally for half a year," another woman named Man Jin said, her eyes glued to the grain bags, mirroring the reactions of other villagers.
Li Zhoule signaled Wen Zixia with his eyes; it was her turn to speak.
Wen Zixia smiled slightly and said, "Uncles and aunties, this grain is actually a gift from Zhou Le to thank everyone."
"What? What do you mean?" The villagers immediately erupted in chatter.
"Zi Xia, are you saying this grain is for us?" The village chief stepped forward through the crowd.
"Yes, Grandpa Village Chief," Wen Zixia replied respectfully. "Both our families have faced difficulties these past two years, thanks to the support from the villagers. Now that we have some means, we want to give back. Here are two hundred pounds of coarse grain; it's not much—each family can take ten pounds. Please take it home and eat it; you can return it when you have grain again or exchange it for something of equal value."
The village chief and the villagers all laughed upon hearing this. Ten jin of grain! With some wild vegetables mixed in, a family could eat for half a month. One by one, they expressed their gratitude to Li Zhoule and Wen Zixia with cheerful smiles.
Wen Zixia said to the village chief, "Grandpa Village Chief, you take charge of distributing the grain."
The village chief nodded with a smile and directed his two grandsons to carry down two bags of grain from the Chicken Cart and bring them home. The villagers hurriedly ran back to get containers for the grain, fearing that if they were slow, they would receive less.
Li Zhoule and Wen Zixia exchanged glances and smiled.
"Quickly go home; I'll prepare something delicious for you."
Dinner was very sumptuous. Li Zhoule steamed a large pot of brown rice and made Stir-Fried Pork Intestines, along with a generous plate of stir-fried liver and kidneys, leaving everyone satisfied and savoring every bite. After dinner, Wen Zixia helped Li Zhoule rub salt on all the pork and hang it under the eaves, making the three boys watch with envy.
As dusk fell, Wen Zixia took her two younger brothers home. Li Zhoule packed thirty jin of brown rice for them, leaving only one large bone behind; everything else was given to the Wen Family Brothers, along with pig hearts and lungs, ten eggs—enough food for the three brothers to last two or three months.
"That's too much!" Wen Zixia frowned slightly.
"This isn't just for you; it's for Ziyu and Zi Jue as well. Do you really want to see them go hungry?"
Of course not. Wen Zixia silently accepted these items, vowing in her heart to treat Li Zhoule even better in the future.
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