Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Chapter 30: Taking the Initiative to Borrow Money!

"A good piece of Shu brocade is worth about fifty strings of cash!"

Hiss~ Zhang Dalang and Zhang Erya gasped.

"Young master, this is at least a hundred strings of cash!"

"Fuck!"

Xiao Ran was also surprised, as he now had some understanding of the prices of goods in this era.

Previously, three strings of cash were a huge sum for the Zhang sisters, but they never expected that a piece of Shu brocade would be worth one hundred strings of cash.

“I don’t have anything else, so I’ll just use this to offset the tax!” Xiao Ran had more than one piece of Shu brocade.

There are also some over there in the cave.

Zhang Jinhe shook his head, "That won't do, I can't make up for it."

Although Zhang Jinhe really wanted it, he knew that what he had in front of him was too precious.

Zhang Jinhe took out the guarantee letter and village head's application form prepared by Zhang Mingde, saying, "Grandpa has prepared them. Young master, you can take a look."

"Okay!" Xiao Ran took it and looked at it. It contained the guarantee letter and the documents that Zhang Mingde helped apply for household registration.

“These old men will report to the village head.”

"What about taxes?" Sometimes the rules are really flexible.

When Xiao Ran took out the Shu brocade worth one hundred strings of cash, whether or not the taxes owed for those two years had been paid was no longer a concern.

“How about this? I’ll pay for the young master first, and he can give it to me later.” Zhang Jinhe smiled and picked up a sesame cake. “Consider this as interest.”

"Thank you, Jinniang, for your trouble, old man!"

Zhang Jinhe took the initiative to make overtures, and Xiao Ran did not refuse.

If I want to establish myself in Kaolao Village in the future, I definitely need to get along well with Zhang Jinhe.

Zhang Jinhe stood up. "I'll go back first and talk to my grandfather about it. I'll hurry up and submit the documents to the village head."

Xiao Ran returned the letter of guarantee and the village head's application to Zhang Jinhe after he finished reading them.

The group walked out of the house, and Zhang Jinhe looked at Zhang Erya, "Second Aunt, I still need some people to do the work. If you are free, you can come anytime. The price will be the same as for long-term workers."

Zhang Erya was delighted. "Thank you, elder sister. I'll remember that."

"Young master, I'm going back now."

"Take care, Jinniang!"

Watching Zhang Jinhe walk away, Xiao Ran asked curiously, "Second Aunt, how much do you get paid for working at the village head's house?"

"Short-term laborers earn 6 coins a day and can eat two meals of millet rice. Long-term laborers are paid monthly, also two meals a day, and 8 coins a day."

"So low?" Xiao Ran frowned.

"Young master, it's actually not too bad. Many people want to go but can't." Zhang Erya used to only be able to do odd jobs occasionally.

Xiao Ran had noticed several teenagers in Muramasa's household before, and initially thought they were master and servants, but it turned out they were hired workers.

Although the pay wasn't much, many people in the village wanted to go.

It seems that Muramasa was also trying to help families in need.

Suddenly I felt that this village chief was actually quite humane.

Giving money directly can easily breed resentment. Once people get used to it, they'll hold a grudge if you don't give them money. That's just human nature.

In comparison, giving someone a job would be much better; at least this situation wouldn't occur.

They provide two meals a day and can earn some money to supplement their family's income, so everyone is eager to go.

Back inside, Zhang Erya asked, "Young master, shall we take these pastries and Shu brocade back to you?"

Zhang Erya was naturally referring to the other side of the pool.

"No need, you can have the pastries. I can't eat much by myself. Just leave the Shu brocade here for now!"

"Okay!" It feels like being trusted, and it makes me feel good.

Zhang Erya had no intention of keeping it for herself; she was content to simply keep it for Xiao Ran.

"Big Brother, teach me how to weave this." Xiao Ran pointed to the basket, just to pass the time.

"Oh, okay!" Zhang Jinhe returned home and went straight to the main room to find Zhang Mingde. "Grandpa, I'm back!"

"Jinniang, have you received the tax money?"

"no!"

Zhang Mingde put the water glass he had just picked up down again. "Why is that? Have you changed your mind?"

“Grandpa, no, look at this.” Zhang Jinhe handed the sesame cake to Zhang Mingde.

Zhang Mingde took it and sniffed it. "This is a top-quality sesame cake. Where did it come from?"

“This is from my second aunt’s house. It’s much tastier than the one Father brought back for the Lantern Festival. Grandfather, you should try it.”

Zhang Mingde broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. "It really does feel much better, huh? You said you got it from Second Aunt's house?"

"Yes! They brought out quite a lot, including some top-quality Guihua cakes and Touhua glutinous rice cakes!"

Zhang Mingde found it hard to believe that these things were in Zhang Erya's house.

"What's the matter?"

“Grandpa, this young man is truly extraordinary. I’ll pay his taxes for him now, and he can pay me back later.”

Seeing that Zhang Mingde was getting anxious, Zhang Jinhe quickly explained, "Young master actually brought out a double-layered brocade with auspicious beast patterns."

"Jinniang, what are you saying?" Zhang Mingde felt that what she was saying was getting more and more outrageous.

“Grandpa, it does sound unbelievable, but that’s the truth,” Zhang Jinhe explained the situation in detail.

Even Zhang Mingde was unsettled, his brows furrowing even deeper. "He has no household registration and has traveled a long and arduous journey from the Western Regions back home. How could he have Shu brocade?"

"They said it was a gift from someone else."

"That's unlikely. Could it have been stolen?"

Zhang Jinhe shook his head. "Grandpa, if it came from an illegitimate source, would they have taken it out? I noticed that the young man himself didn't know it was Shu brocade. He doesn't seem like someone who would do something sneaky. I think its origin should be legitimate."

Zhang Mingde stroked his beard. "Looks like he's really not simple."

"Second and Third Sisters have finally turned their luck around; their hard times should be over."

Zhang Mingde didn't blame Zhang Jinhe for lending money to Xiao Ran to pay taxes; the man had casually taken out a Shu brocade worth a hundred strings of cash, so this amount of money was really nothing.

When you don't need money, borrowing money is indeed a very easy thing.

"Jinniang, get ready, I'm going out for a bit."

"Grandpa, I can make the trip myself, you don't need to go." Zhang Jinhe didn't want her grandfather to go through all that trouble, he was too old.

"This is of great importance; I must go to the village head myself!"

"Okay!" I happened to see the basket that Zhang Erya had brought earlier.

Zhang Jinhe walked over and picked it up. It was filled with kiwis and persimmons. When he picked it up, he felt that the weight was a bit off.

Zhang Jinhe took out all the persimmons and kiwis and found something else at the bottom of the basket.

A bag of rice.

"Huh?" Zhang Jinhe was shocked by the transparent plastic bag; he had never seen anything like it before.

“Grandpa, look.”

Zhang Mingde squinted, "Where did this rice come from?"

"It was brought by my second aunt before, and it was placed under the basket, so I didn't know about it."

"This is really good quality. This is the first time I've ever seen such high-quality rice."

Zhang Mingde's family doesn't eat rice very often; they eat millet most of the time.

"I thought they were just some fruits and didn't take them seriously."

Zhang Mingde picked up the rice and examined it closely. "It should also have been made by young master Xiao Ran."

This thing couldn't possibly belong to the Zhang sisters.

"Put it away first, and I'll take it to your father."

"Grandpa, you can stay and eat."

(End of this chapter)