Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 39

Volume 02

Wimpy rice seedlings; pain everywhere in sight. Yellowed withered grass; hard to spot cattle and sheep.

Even until now, not a single drop of rain had fallen in the He'nan Division. The severe drought was a foregone conclusion. The only thing that made the people here feel a little better was that there was no need to worry about the locust plague. In addition to the 30,000 poultries that came from afar, the local poultries were also released out.

During the day, they depended on these animals to eat the locusts, and at night, the people used fire to attract the locusts. The extermination that has been progressing for the past few days prevented the locust plague from spreading to other places. The local people also received grains shipped from other places, and they also had the eggs laid by the poultries.

In particular, some people close to the Yellow River boarded small rafts and rushed to the mouth of the sea in the shallow water. At that place, they bought items at very low prices, loaded them onto their rafts and brought them back. They were able to exchange these items for quite a few eggs.

Some diligent people even made several trips back and forth, and they found that their income was not lower than before, but more. This made them feel more grateful to the Zhang Manor. They were especially grateful towards Ying'tao and Xiao'hong. The local people found that the two of them were not only beautiful, but also kind-hearted. They all wanted to erect a longevity tablet and pray to the tablet in the morning and night, in hopes that the two of them could live a long life.

Xiao'hong and Ying'tao got up today to continue to find some remaining locusts to feed the poultries, but suddenly they received the news that the two masters of Zhang and Wang manors were granted official titles and a lot of land.

After Ying'tao heard the good news, she didn't want to stay here anymore. She wanted to go back and celebrate. She was so excited her eyes were red.

"Ying'tao, you have accomplished a major task. You hatched so many poultries. It was all worth it. We've been tired for so many days here, but it's worth it. A seventh-rank official is as significant as the county magistrate."

Xiao'hong grabbed hold of Ying'tao's hand and jumped and hopped around. She finally completed what the Young Master and Young Miss had instructed her to do. She helped the manor earn credit and she collected a lot of things to bring back to the manor. These items were of great use for her Young Master.

Xu Si, Er'niu and the others also ran over at this time with a look of excitement. This was the first time they encountered such an exciting thing. It was especially exciting for Xu Si since this time he organized a lot of people. Even after so many years, there was never a day like today where he was allowed to participate in an event related to the life and death of the manor.

He thought about the days of when he was at the Ge manor and he knelt on the ground with a thump. He shouted out loudly, "The Heavens have eyes. They sent me, Si'gou, to the Young Master and Young Miss. Do you all see this? A day like this has finally come to me. From today on, I will no longer be surnamed Xu. My surname is now Zhang and I'll be called Zhang Si."

The people around looked at him, and not a single person laughed at him. They knew what kind of life Xu Si had lived in the beginning. They were also fortunate to encounter the Young Master and Young Miss, and were given the opportunity to play a role in the life and death of the manor. They succeeded. Not only did they use righteousness to pressure the Imperial Court to give them a reward, they also earned a lot of money.

When they return to the manor, they will definitely be able to see the happy appearance of the Young Master and Young Miss. In the future, life on the manor will be different compared to other ordinary manors.

With Ying'tao's order, more than 30,000 poultries were mustered together, and countless local carriages were rented to gloriously carry these heroes' and the exchanged items back.

"Let's stop reading. Xiao'bao, there's nothing else going on now, right? Can we still go to the outdoor survival training?" Wang Juan put the Doctrine of the Mean1 in her hand to the side and she looked up at the ceiling as she spoke.

"It depends if our legs are healed or not. If it is, then we can go have a look. If not, we have to wait for it to heal. The older children will be there for a longer time, and there are still a lot of days before they can end the training on the grassland." Zhang Xiao'bao also felt a little bit irritated. They spent their entire day resting and they couldn't do anything.

"Oh, then let's wait. Xiao'bao, have you ever heard of a medicine called Yunnan Baiyao2? That thing helps with speeding up the recovery process. How about let's make some?" Although Wang Juan agreed with him, she was still reluctant.

Zhang Xiao'bao shook his head. "That thing is too difficult to make. I heard that there is something called Maderira-vine in it. I wonder if it's the same thing as pseudoginseng? I've never seen it before. Abandon this idea. Go to sleep. The body recovers the most quickly during sleep."

"Okay, let's sleep. Let's stop reading. We can eat after sleeping, and then sleep again after eating. We can snort a few times when we're happy" Wang Juan closed her eyes and muttered.

"Yeah, just like a pig." Zhang Xiao'bao replied and he closed his eyes too.

Night came quickly. Li Cheng, who had been busy for the past two days, rushed to the Tu'qiao Village again. He couldn't resist his drowsiness, so he asked for a room at the Between the Water and Clouds Restaurant and he slept in there until morning. He held in his hand the drawing drawn by another person based on his memory, and he began to wander around the Zhang manor.

It was cool early in the morning. He wandered around everywhere, but he didn't see the mastermind. He stood outside of the school and listened for a while. During this boring time, he noticed that the day was already hot. He had no choice but to walk to the bazaar. Some people have been there all day already, such as the owner of the tea stall. As long as the weather was slightly hot, he would never skip the opportunity to open his stall. Even if there were only a few people coming to the stall to drink tea, he could sit there and enjoy the summer.

"Old mister, there are too few people coming to your stall. Can you even make money staying here all day long?" Li Cheng asked for a bowl of tea and he drank it there. In front of him was a small plate with a handful of white melon seeds on it, and he ate one from time to time. He was thinking of the mastermind and then he asked the old man who was boiling water there.

Li Cheng forced himself to swallow the horrible tea, and then he set the bowl aside. He grabbed the white melon seeds, and ate slowly while silently thinking about the things on his mind.

"Young man, you're not from around here, right? You look unfamiliar. Are you here to buy a bunch of things to sell at other places? I advise you to leave. The things here are not allowed to be bought and sold like that. If you have the money, then go to the place next to the grocery store over there, and look for Er'gou. He will tell you about the prices."

The old man was also bored. He looked at Li Cheng and thought he was a businessman who came here to do business. He was afraid that he would not understand the rules, so he persuaded him.

Li Cheng was thinking about where the mastermind would live and when he would show up. He was taken aback when he heard the old man's words, and he curiously asked, "Why can't I just buy it here? Wouldn't it be cheaper if I buy more? "

"Young man, do you really want to buy things?", the old man asked back.

"Yeah. I have nothing better to do anyways. I want to see what products they have and then sell them to other places. Can't I just buy it directly? Why must I go find that Gou person?" Li Cheng was really puzzled now. It was the first time I heard that money can't buy things.

The old man laughed. He got up and added some boiling water to Li Cheng's bowl and another handful of white melon seeds to the plate in front of Li Cheng. He explained, "The price of the things here is all set by E'gou. In order to prevent buyers and sellers from suffering losses, the price must be set everyday.

I can tell that you want to get a lower price by buying in bulk, but that's pointless. Regardless of how much you buy, the price is the same. If you want the price to be cheaper, you must find Er'gou. Otherwise, no one will dare to lower the price for you."

"Why? Is that Er'gou more powerful than the government? Whatever he says goes? I still don't believe this." Li Cheng, who didn't think so much, heard what the old man said and felt that Er'gou was too arrogant. Why does he get to set the price?

"Even if you don't believe it, you still have to listen. No one here dares to disagree. Whoever disagrees will not be able to do business here anymore in the future. This place belongs to the Wang manor. If they want you to leave, do you dare to not leave? Don't have such a big temper. It's good this way too; no one has come here to con people yet."

The old man had met people like him more than once before, and he said the same thing many times already. There were people with even worse tempers, but they were all driven away in the end. Moreover, he does not want some foreign merchants to mess with the prices. If things were bought at a low price and sold at a high price, then how was this the market of the poor people?

Li Cheng understood now that this place belonged to the Wang manor, so of course they could decide who could come. Those that did not follow the rules could only be driven away. Thinking of this, his eyes suddenly lit up. He felt that there was a way to threaten the Wang manor. He asked the old man, "Old mister, how much tax do you have to pay for the spot here? Who collects it? Could it be that Er'gou?"

The old man looked at Li Cheng and sighed again, "Young man, put your little thoughts away, how can there be any taxes here? I only rented a house to store things and sleep in. There is no tax on normal businesses, so don't think about reporting this to the authorities. It's fine for you to say that now, but when there are more people here later, don't speak. Otherwise, no one will intervene if you get beaten.

"No taxes? Are they just giving others a place for nothing? What are they? Great kind people?" Li Cheng was even more confused. He thought that the old man was lying to him, and he sneered.

"Young man, leave quickly. I don't want your tea money. Don't want to come here again in the future. If you cause them trouble, then you're cutting our lifeline. " The old man's temper also came up. He put away the things in front of Li Cheng, and shooed him away like a fly.

Translator's Notes

1. Doctrine of the Mean

This is one of the Four Books of Confucian philosophy. The word "mean" in the title refers to average'. The text can be served as a guidance to perfecting oneself.

2. Yun'nan Bai'yao

This is a traditional Chinese medicine developed in the Yun'nan Province and is used as an antihemorrhagic medicine.

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