Read Novel Full Chapter 261
Chapter 261: Arrival from Chang’an
The Shen family truly enjoyed a few lively days. Although each household in Daxing Village remained the same, with relationships not changing due to one’s rise or fall, they all sincerely rejoiced for Sang Luo. Especially hearing that Sang Luo was now like a government official, receiving an annual salary from the court—forty taels of silver and forty bushels of grain—was seen as the most practical thing. To Chen and Lu, it was as if the emperor was providing for her for life.
However, some of Shen Lie’s classmates were quite envious. Observing that Sang Luo had received imperial commendations twice in one year and even attained a title, they knew that the Shen brothers’ future prospects would not be lacking. Furthermore, a few scholars in Daxing Village would likely benefit from this in the future.
Scholars in the academy understood the situation better; it wasn’t just about future benefits but immediate ones. They had never taught such things, but Shen Lie understood, as did a few others in Daxing Village, including Wang Yunzheng, who had close ties with the village.
Where did this understanding come from? Certainly not from the pre-examination.
Everyone had a measure in their hearts—Daxing Village’s rise was just a matter of time.
The happiest might be Mrs. Lin, the third wife, who had promised her daughter to Wei Qinghe after hearing the old man’s words.
Sang Luo’s life continued as usual. She visited Concubine Fan to inquire about the granting of titles and thanked her on behalf of Zeng Ziqian. She also received guidance on adjusting ceremonial garments if necessary and then continued with her routine.
If anyone in the family had changed, it was probably Shen Lie. He worked even harder, with his own study room in the house, and no longer had to worry about disturbing Sang Luo and the children while studying late into the night. He would wake up early without fail.
In late December, after several days of snow, the snow finally stopped on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Since the year had been prosperous, he gave each of the seven helpers an exceptionally generous New Year’s gift. Besides chicken, fish, meat, and eggs, he also gave them two large baskets each of specialties from the shop, ensuring they went home happily for the New Year.
On New Year’s Eve, the three Shen brothers were invited to celebrate and stay up together. As Sang Luo counted the time since her transmigration, she realized it was now the sixth year.
This year, Sang Luo was twenty, Shen Lie was twenty-three, and Ayao and Qian Bao were just a few days shy of four months old.
Shen An and Shen Ning were fourteen, Shen Jin was thirteen, and Shen Yin and Shen Tie were eleven and ten, respectively. They had all become uncles and aunts, even though the two younger ones could only smile foolishly and couldn’t call anyone by name yet. This didn’t affect their enjoyment of their new roles.
The New Year’s celebration was filled with festive atmosphere, staying up to chat and eat snacks until dawn, welcoming the first and second days of the lunar New Year at home. On the third day, they began visiting others for New Year’s greetings, and on the sixth, Wei Qinghe married Miss Lin from the Lin family.
In the past year, Daxing Village had added three new brides and four newborns, making it quite lively with new additions.
Unbeknownst to them, at the gate of Shezhou City, three mule carts entered the city one after another. At the gate, they first asked the guards about the Daxing Village specialty store.
In Shezhou City, few were unaware of Daxing Village and Sang Luo. When asked about the specialty store, they were directed accordingly. However, the documents had to be inspected. Upon receiving the first cart’s papers, the guard looked up in surprise: “From Chang’an?”
Stunned, the guard realized that the cart must have been on the road for over forty days.
The cart driver took the documents and drove into the city.
Two more carts arrived, and when asked for directions, the city guards requested to see the papers again. On seeing the word “Chang’an”…
How did the Daxing Village specialty store become so popular in the capital?
Once the carts entered the city, the guards suddenly realized that the directions they had given might not be accurate, as many shops in the city might still be closed on the sixth day of the New Year.
…
When the people from Chang’an arrived at Daxing Village, Xu Wenqing, who lived on the outskirts, saw them and, after inquiring, led them to the Shen family. He also had Xu Wenbo go ahead to inform his master.
“From Chang’an? Three carts? Here to buy fermented bean curd?”
Shen Ning was playing with the two little ones, so Sang Luo and Shen Lie went out to see what was happening.
The three carts carried six people, and the carts had modest insignias from three different families. The drivers were ordinary, but the three who seemed like junior managers wore more refined clothes than Xu Wenqing.
The three managers, who were sharp, saw the archway before entering the village and asked Xu Wenqing along the way. When they finally met Shen Lie, they were puzzled, especially when facing Sang Luo. For a long while, they couldn’t recognize her.
One of them hesitated: “May I ask who this lady is?”
Shen Lie introduced her: “My wife’s surname is Sang. The fermented bean curd you wish to buy is from her store.”
The three managers were stunned: “Mrs. Sang? Full name Sang Luo?”
Seeing their reaction, Xu Wenqing laughed: “There is no other Mrs. Sang in Daxing Village.”
The three managers came to their senses and quickly paid their respects, addressing her as the “village lord.”
The Xu family had a joyful occasion today, so Xu Wenqing and Xu Wenbo didn’t stay long. They left after leading the guests to the Shen household, where Shen Lie and Sang Luo welcomed them into the main hall.
Among the six people, three were managers and three were drivers. The drivers parked the carts while the managers went in. As one of the drivers whispered to another, “Isn’t it said in the capital that the village lord is an elderly woman in her fifties? Why is she such a young and beautiful lady?”
Shen Lie, with his keen hearing, almost stumbled at the threshold upon hearing the word “elderly.”
Sang Luo looked at him in surprise: “What’s wrong?”
Shen Lie glanced at his now blooming and increasingly beautiful wife and shook his head: “It’s nothing.”
In winter, the house was kept warm with hot water, and Shen An had already peeked out to see the guests. As soon as they entered the hall, tea was served.
“You’ve come from Chang’an? The journey must have been long. Did you celebrate the New Year halfway?” Since the business was Sang Luo’s, Shen Lie was just accompanying her, and it was Sang Luo who asked this question.
The three managers nodded in unison, with one saying, “Indeed, it wasn’t close. We set off in mid-December. Some river sections were frozen, so we came part by water and part by land.”
Sang Luo was curious: “How did you learn about my small shop?”
The manager replied, “Don’t be modest, this isn’t a small shop. The things you sell have even reached the palace.”
Indeed.
Through conversation, Sang Luo and Shen Lie learned that the three were junior managers from the capital, affiliated with the royal family and high-ranking officials. On Laba Festival, families exchanged Laba porridge, and the palace also sent Laba porridge as a reward.
This year, about twenty to thirty families had received Laba porridge from the palace. Furthermore, in addition to the porridge, five families received meat jerky, pork floss, and fermented bean curd as rewards.
“The items awarded by the emperor are naturally tasted the same day. After tasting…” The manager looked at Sang Luo with a smile and said, “The products from your shop are indeed excellent, but they aren’t available in the capital. That’s why we came all the way to Shezhou.”
In fact, as soon as they discovered the products were good, the first people they contacted were Old Governor Zeng.
Aside from the palace, where else in Shezhou would have the most local products? Naturally, it was Old Governor Zeng, the grandfather of Zeng Ziqian.
Old Governor Zeng did have them, not only the ones brought back by Zeng Ziqian but also a portion from the five families rewarded by the emperor.
One family sent two jars, just two jars; if there were more, he wouldn’t have any left for himself.
With such a prosperous population, two jars weren’t enough. So, besides one particularly frugal individual, the other three families sent people to Shezhou.
Sang Luo hadn’t anticipated this. She asked the three, “How many do you want to buy?”
The three managers quickly pulled out their lists.
For the four types of tribute products, the quantities requested were in the hundreds, with 200 jars of fermented bean curd alone.
Sang Luo had to remind them, “Aside from the vermicelli and fermented bean curd, the other two types don’t store well. Even if you’re traveling by both water and land, it will take over twenty days. Buying so many might result in spoilage.”
The three managers were confident, “Don’t worry, we will need more if anything.”
They couldn’t all be for personal use; there were also relationships to maintain.
The three managers glanced at the orders from the other two families and asked, “Village lord, you have the stock, right?”
Sang Luo shook her head, “We do have it, but not so many jars of meat jerky and pork floss. We need to prepare them today, and the earliest we can deliver them is by tomorrow noon.”
There was enough fermented bean curd and vermicelli, but the jerky and floss wouldn’t last long. Even if she prepared enough for the entire month of January, she could only provide for one of the three families.
The three managers exchanged glances and stopped arguing. They asked about the prices, paid the deposit, and requested Shen Lie to write a receipt for the deposit. They agreed to pay the balance upon pickup the next day and then left for Shezhou City to find a place to stay.
On the sixth day of the New Year, the shop hadn’t opened yet, but they had received an order for nearly 700 taels and collected a deposit of 300 taels.
That’s right, 300 taels—three solid boxes of silver ingots. In both Da Qi and Da Qian, there were no banking institutions like modern times; copper, silver, and gold were the common currencies, and ordinary people mostly used copper coins throughout their lives.
After the three carts left, Sang Luo and Shen Lie carried the three boxes of silver ingots into the main room and placed them on the table. Shen Ning, seeing the three boxes of silver being carried in, was almost dazzled!
The young girl had been managing the accounts for a long time. As she glanced over the three boxes, she immediately noticed, “300 taels? Are these for the meat jerky?”
The meat jerky and pork floss were the most expensive items in their shop.
Before Sang Luo could respond, Shen An, who had been listening the whole time, said, “672 taels.”
His expression was blank, as if he were spending only 672 wen. He asked Sang Luo, “Sister-in-law, isn’t the emperor the wealthiest person in the world?”
How could this be…
“Different from what you thought?”
Shen An nodded.
Sang Luo smiled, “Most officials nowadays are from aristocratic families. These families have accumulated wealth over centuries; calling them ‘immensely rich’ is not an exaggeration. As for the emperor, he might have been wealthy in the past, but maintaining an empire and supporting the military costs money. If the national treasury is empty, isn’t it the emperor’s private treasury that fills the gap?”
Shen An whispered, “It should be better now, right?”
It wasn’t stated clearly, but it was understood that with the invention of paper, there was at least some income.
Sang Luo didn’t know, but Shen Lie shook his head, “Not much improved.”
Sang Luo looked at him.
Shen Lie said, “Do you know where the funds for the various government departments come from now?”
“Officials’ salaries come from official land, but I don’t know about the funding for the departments.”
“Last year, a new position was added to the provincial offices called ‘Money Capturer Official.’ Nine people were appointed, each receiving a capital of fifty taels from the court. The Money Capturer Officials are responsible for investing this money to generate profit and must return four taels of profit to the court each month.”
Sang Luo’s first reaction was that this was a prototype of a bank, followed by the question.
“How much?”
“Four taels per month.”
High. Interest/loan.
“Can this money be circulated?”
The rich don’t need it, and the poor can’t afford it.
Shen Lie rubbed his nose, “Of course, it can be circulated. Do you know who the Money Capturer Officials are?”
His remark drew the attention of the three people around the table.
“There are sons of officials from the capital and wealthy locals. If a Money Capturer Official performs well and pays the full interest on time for three consecutive years, they can participate in the examination for an official position in the Ministry of Personnel after three years.”
Which means, they step into the system.
Sang Luo thought that the emperor was quite generous to grant her the title of village lord with a salary at this time.
Shen An said, “Being an emperor is not easy.”
This was a matter of the royal family, and since they were discussing it, understanding it was fine. Sang Luo looked at the three boxes of silver and then at her siblings, “Do you think we could open a branch in the capital?”
The money from those high officials in the capital was so tempting; it was hard not to envy the three boxes of silver.
Shen Ning asked a very practical question, “What about the manpower?”