Chapter Seven: Wealth Does Not Stay

  There are many exciting things in the world, and nothing is more exciting than getting what you want and becoming rich overnight. And Jiang Xia encountered these two things within just one day.

  After leaving the fourth floor, Jiang Xia directly returned to his own room on the third floor. He spread out the thick stack of treasure bills that Zhang Yong had rewarded him with and counted them. It was only when he counted them that he realized how much there was, a total of seventy-five taels, seventy-five taels!

  Adding the twenty taels of silver he lost to Zhang Yong in a bet, the ten taels awarded by Master Zhao, and the one tael awarded by Master Ma. Plus the five taels he got for helping Mrs. Kang catch He Aoxiang, not counting the miscellaneous small change. All together it added up to a total of 111 taels of silver!

  How much is 111 taels of silver? The monthly salary for a big teapot in the Qunfang Pavilion is one tael of silver, and he needs to work almost ten years to earn 110 taels. Moreover, during these ten years, he cannot spend a single penny.

  Jiang Xia arranged a stack of silver bills neatly and then heavily threw them on the table, saying: "Hmph, I'm going to redeem myself today!"

  "Hmm, this is a bit too arrogant." Jiang Xia picked up the stack of treasure bills again and gently placed them on the table, muttering to himself: "Kang Mama, I've come to redeem myself."

  "It seems like this is still too lacking in momentum." Jiang Xia shook his head, and with a smile, he tucked the silver into his clothes and said: "Forget it, since we're going to leave this ghostly place anyway, let's go out and take a good stroll. We've been stuck here for so long and have never taken a good walk around."

  Jiang Xia walked out of the house and had just reached the corner when she heard a female voice say, "Kang Mama, I've been at Qunfang Pavilion for three years and have earned you a lot of money. Now, I'm only asking to borrow 50 taels of silver from you, why are you being so harsh on me?"

  "Niangnu, it's not that I'm forcing you. I've said before, even if it's 50 taels, let alone 100 taels, as long as you, Niangnu, open your mouth, I'll lend it to you. It's just that if I help you, you have to help me too. Wang Gongzi is the son of Wang Tongpan, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, how can I afford to offend him? He has his heart set on taking your virgin body, and the price has already reached 800 taels of silver. Why are you still not nodding in agreement? If you agree, today you'll still have to come find me to borrow money."

  "Kang Mama." Cui Nian Nu was visibly angry, so her voice rose slightly. "I said it when I sold myself at first, only ten years, selling art but not selling my body."

  "Alright, alright, you don't sell your body, you want to be a decent person. Then my mother wouldn't do such shameful things either. Your maid Xiaochun is already specialized in serving girls and can't continue to serve you. Also, next time Wang Gongzi comes, I won't dare go to entertain him, you deal with it yourself. And that fifty taels of silver you borrowed for your father, sorry, no!"

  Kang's mother was visibly angrier than Choi Yeon-soo, and after saying the last two words "no", she turned around and left.

  After a while, Jiang Xia heard the sound of sobbing. Jiang Xia walked around the corner and saw Cui Nianshu, who was squatting on the ground with her hands covering her face, so she didn't notice Jiang Xia. Jiang Xia smiled and said: "If this person is beautiful, even their voice will sound good to listen to, if the voice is beautiful enough, even crying sounds pleasant."

  Cui Nian Nu looked up at Jiang Xia and stood up, ready to leave.

  Jiang Xia suddenly stopped her: "What's the hurry? Aren't you going to borrow some money? I'll lend it to you."

  Chui Nian Nu stopped in her tracks, sizing up Jiang Xia. With his tattered and worn-out clothes, he didn't look like someone who could produce fifty taels of silver.

  Jiang Xia didn't care about Cui Nian Nu's suspicion, since he had decided to lend her the silver, he didn't want to dawdle. So Jiang Xia took out a thick stack of banknotes from his pocket, counted fifty and handed them over to Cui Nian Nu: "Here, fifty taels."

  Chui Nian was stunned, she didn't know Jiang Xia at all and never thought that Jiang Xia would be willing to lend her such a large sum of money. Jiang Xia smiled and said: "This money is what I saved for my own ransom, so if you have it, remember to return it early. Also, I really appreciate your integrity, no matter what, keep this point well."

  "This young master has always only favored virgins." Jiang Xia added silently in her heart.

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia walked over and handed the treasure note to Cui Nianshu, then turned around and left. Cui Nianshu looked at the treasure note in her hand, but before she could speak, Jiang Xia had already reached the stairs and started going down. Only then did she open her mouth and call out: "Hey, what's your name? How can I find you to return the silver to you?"

  "My name is Jiang Xia, and I also work at the Qunfang Pavilion. I'm the study master here, so if you're ever free, you can always find me."

  "Thank you," said Choi Yeon-soo sincerely.

  Jiang Xia waved his hand and walked away without saying a word.

  After coming down the stairs, Jiang Xia found a corner in the hall to sit down. Since he had nothing better to do, listening to the girls in the hall sing a little tune wasn't bad either. Just as he sat down for a moment, Zhao Yougu suddenly brought over a plate of braised beef, a plate of peanuts and a pot of tea and placed them in front of Jiang Xia.

  Jiang Xia glanced at Zhao Youguo, who said in a low voice: "Mr. Jiang, please use them slowly, these are what I brought from the kitchen, they are very clean, don't worry."

  Jiang Xia smiled and nodded his head, saying "thank you" as he accepted the gifts.

  Mr. Zhao smiled and said, "No need to be polite, Mr. Jiang." Then he picked up the tea tray and walked away.

  Jiang Xia pulled out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder on the table, and just as he was about to take a bite of beef, he suddenly felt the light in front of him dim. He looked up to see Han Yu standing there.

  Han held a roasted chicken wrapped in oil paper and carried a jug of wine. As soon as he sat down, he said: "I bought a roasted chicken to drink with you, brother, but I couldn't find you anywhere, didn't expect you to be hiding here having a good time."

  "It's boring, so let's just listen to a little tune." Jiang Xia said as he flipped over the wine cup on the table, and Han You poured two full cups of wine.

  Jiang Xia raised his wine cup and smiled: "Come on, Big Brother Han, I'll offer you a cup first as a gesture of respect."

  "Brother, you're being polite, what's there to respect or not between us?" As he spoke, Han Yu picked up his wine cup and clinked it against Jiang Xia's.

  The wine culture in the Ming Dynasty was a mature and developing period, with both distilled spirits and fermented wines coexisting. The naturally brewed liquor bought by Han Yu was not the expensive distilled spirits, but the cheap village brew. Village brew is also known as rice wine, with a low alcohol content and a sweet taste when drunk. In Jiang Xia's opinion, this wine was much better than those distilled spirits.

  Jiang Xia downed the wine in his cup, and after putting it down, Han Yu praised him: "Brother, you really have a good capacity for wine and a great temperament." As he spoke, Han Yu poured Jiang Xia another cup of wine. "Come on, let's drink another cup, brother."

  Jiang Xia brought down the wine cup and asked with a smile: "Brother Han, is there something you want to ask me? If there's really something that needs my help, just speak up. As long as I can do it, I won't decline."

  Han Yu's thoughts were seen through, and he looked at Jiang Xia with an awkward smile. In fact, as soon as he came up, he was so enthusiastic about the wine and roast chicken that anyone could guess that he had something to ask for. Han Yu took a deep breath after looking at Jiang Xia and said: "Brother Jiang, it's like this. I...I want to borrow some money from you."

  "Oh? Is that so, how much do you want to borrow?" Jiang Xia said with a nonchalant expression on his face, but in his heart he couldn't help but sigh silently. The day when he could redeem himself had not yet arrived, and just as he had barely managed to scrape together the ransom money, he encountered two people who wanted to borrow silver from him.

  Han swallowed a mouthful of saliva before saying: "Brother, I want to borrow... twenty taels of silver from you."

  Twenty taels of silver is not a small amount, and it's not good for Han Yu to borrow such a large sum from Jiang Xia just as their friendship is starting to take shape. After saying that, Han Yu's face turned red with embarrassment.

  Jiang Xia nodded and took out a stack of treasure notes from his bosom, counted twenty taels and handed them to Han Yu, "Brother Han, is twenty taels enough? If not, I still have some here, I'll just give you some more."

  "That's enough, that's enough!" Han Yu excitedly took over the twenty taels of silver, and he looked at Jiang Xia with emotion, saying: "Brother Jiang, I haven't even said what I wanted to borrow the silver for, but you're already willing to lend it to me?"

  Jiang Xia smiled and said: "I believe that Brother Han would only lend money to Brother Han, since I trust you, then why do I need to ask Brother Han what he borrowed the money for?"

  Han Yu's face was moved: "Brother Jiang, I..."

  Jiang Xia waved his hand and smiled: "Alright, Brother Han, you treat me as a brother, I take you as an older brother, it's only natural for brothers to help each other."

  "Thanks brother, once I gather enough money, I'll return it to you immediately." Han Yu said solemnly.

  Jiang Xia smiled and said, "No need to rush, I haven't had any use for silver recently either."

  Jiang Xia finished speaking and picked up his wine cup, saying: "Come on, Big Brother Han, let's have another drink together."

  "Good." Han Yu raised his cup, and just as he was about to take a sip, Jiang Xia saw a man dressed in silk and satin, accompanied by two servants, walking into the Qunfang Pavilion.

  "Hey, Master Wang! It's been a long time since you've come. The girls in the Green Phoenix Pavilion have been missing you to death. I said this morning when I got up, why were the magpies chirping so happily? Turns out it was because Master Wang was coming. Shall we go upstairs?"

  "You all think I, Young Master, am useless, but what's important is whether Nian Nu has thought of me. Front and back, I've come to your brothel five times already, spending over 300 taels of silver, yet I haven't even touched Nian Nu's hand."

  "I'm telling you, no one is allowed to stop me today. Otherwise, I'll have my father bring his troops and seal off your entire brothel tomorrow! I'll give you 500 taels of silver first, but if I don't get the beautiful Nianslave today, I won't rest!"

  The young master Wang said as he took out a large stack of treasure notes from his bosom and stuffed them into the hands of the tortoise-like old man, after which he directly led the two house servants upstairs.

  Turtle Lord held the five hundred taels of precious silver in his hand, and for a moment he didn't know how to deal with it. He was stunned for two seconds before immediately sending someone to inform Mother Kang.

  Seeing this scene, Jiang Xia frowned and asked Han Yu: "Han big brother, who is that Wang Gongzi?"

  "That Prince Wang is a notorious young villain from Shuntian Prefecture," said Han Yu. "His father is the Vice-Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, a sixth-rank official."

  "I see." Jiang Xia nodded and smiled: "Forget it, let's not discuss this matter, let's drink instead."

  "Good." Han Yu and Jiang Xia had another drink, after which Han Yu sighed: "What a pity! Nian Nu is probably doomed tonight. To say that Nian Nu is not a bad girl, she's clean and proper, knowledgeable and reasonable, and loves to help others. In the early years when her father was not ill, the workers in the store were struggling to make ends meet and would borrow money from her to get by, she never refused. When some people owed her money and didn't pay back, she wouldn't get angry and wouldn't go after them. Sometimes I felt sorry for her."

  Jiang Xia smiled and shook his head: "Sometimes being too beautiful is also a sin, so the saying 'beautiful women are a curse' makes sense."

  Jiang Xia suddenly stood up and said: "Big brother, you sit down first. When one has drunk too much wine, there are three urgent matters to attend to. I'll go to the toilet for a moment and come back soon."

  "Go ahead, go ahead, brother will wait for you to come back and have a few drinks." Han Yu said with a smile, waving his hand.

  Everyone, it's time to rush into the new book chart! Click, collect, and red tickets... I'm begging you on my knees.