Brother Zhu, when you didn’t come, Uncle ordered the steward, in the name of the elders, to pay 200 taels of silver for him to use first. When the steward reported to me, I asked the steward to ask him what he was doing with so much silver, and he said it was to prepare for the exam. I thought that 200 taels of silver is not a small amount, so I waited for brother Zhu to come back and let brother Zhu decide to spend it.”
“Although the mansion has a lot of expenses lately, preparing for the construction of Zhu Rong merchant bank ah, but the silver in the account is still enough to support.”
While Zhu Pingan was changing his clothes and using the evening meal, Li Shu sat aside and gave Zhu Pingan a shrimp and said in a small voice.
“Of course it’s not supported!How does preparing for an exam require two hundred taels of silver again!Since I can remember, uncle has been preparing for the exams as a front, asking for silver from grandparents and father’s uncles every now and then, and every time he asks for silver, he doesn’t see uncle preparing for the exams, he always goes out with some of his friends to eat, drink, and have a good time!”
“Grandparents have always spoilt eldest uncle, which has allowed eldest uncle to develop today’s bad habits. Grandparents’ bottomless indulgence in habit has allowed Eldest Uncle to make mistakes again and again, but I cannot stand by and watch Eldest Uncle make further mistakes.”
After hearing this, Zhu Pingan refused in the spirit of being responsible for his eldest uncle, his eldest uncle’s temperament he was more than aware of, what preparation for the exams ah, if his eldest uncle got two hundred taels of silver in the front foot, he would be able to live in a flower house in the back foot, there would never be any exceptions.
“Is this good, your eldest uncle came all the way from his hometown, will he blame us for not remembering our kinship ah, and spread bad words about you, what forgetting our roots ah, what developed and not recognising poor relatives ah ……”
Li Shu squinted her eyes, resting her chin, and said softly, like a lazy Persian cat.
“This is responsible for Dabo, even if Dabo doesn’t understand, it won’t hurt to pass back some rumours, my reputation in the old family is much, much better than Dabo’s, the old family trusts me more than Dabo.”
Zhu Pingan gently held Li Shu’s jade hand and said with a smile.
This was really not an exaggeration on Zhu Pingan’s part, in the eyes of the old family, Zhu Pingan’s credibility absolutely crushed that of his eldest uncle, Zhu Shouren.
The image of uncle Zhu Shouren has long been infamous in the village, whether it is the return of a woman with a dustman on a school trip, or gambling outside by the gambling house of the block door to ask for money, uncle has long been the village people educate the children of the negative typical.
Zhu Pingan is not boasting, he is definitely the neighbour’s child in the mouth of the village people when educating their children.
This positive and negative down, so that Zhu Pingan in the village public opinion in an invincible position. The eldest uncle went back to pass on the message, if it is to say good things about oneself, it is just, if it is to say bad things about oneself, the village people will only think that it is the eldest uncle rumours, cynical ……
The night snack is not yet finished, the eldest uncle will call people to call Zhu Pingan, said there is an important matter.
When Zhu Pingan returned to the front yard, the eldest uncle, Hu Wei and Xia Qiang had already changed into the clothes Li Shu had prepared.
Cotton clothes are all good satin, there is also a cloak, the style is also the popular style in Suzhou.
The eldest wear to the mirror to appreciate again and again, back hands slowly pacing in front of the mirror, and human-like up.
When Zhu Pingan entered the door, the eldest uncle was still admiring himself in the mirror.
Seeing Zhu Pingan enter the door, the eldest uncle hastily beckoned, “Xian nephew, come come come, the eldest uncle has an important thing to say to you.”
“Big Uncle, you say.”Zhu Pingan stepped forward and said.
“It’s like this virtuous nephew, uncle my hands are a bit tight lately, after a while it’s time for the imperial examinations again, virtuous nephew you lend me three hundred taels of silver, so I can prepare for the exams with all my heart.”Big uncle said with a normal face, as if asking Zhu Pingan to borrow three hundred taels of silver was as simple and casual as borrowing a pen.
“How much does elder uncle want to borrow?”
Zhu Pingan sniffed, couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth, just now he still wanted the steward to spend two hundred taels of silver from the government account, it was only a meal’s work, it went up to three hundred taels, the loan sharks will have to be willing to bow down to you when they see you.
“Not much, not much, three hundred taels.”Eldest uncle Zhu Shouren said with his hands behind his back and a usual casual face.
“Why?”Zhu Pingan asked breathlessly, three hundred taels, not much? Then how much silver is more?
“Because you have it.”
Eldest uncle Zhu Shouren said back with a face as if he was saying 1+1 equals 2 as if it was a matter of course.
Crap!
Your reasoning and logic is too damn impeccable!
Even though Zhu Pingan had known about his eldest uncle’s behaviour, he was still defeated by his eldest uncle’s chutzpah at this moment.
“Eldest uncle, do you know how much my yearly salary is?”Zhu Pingan asked with a slight smile.
Eldest uncle Zhu Shouren shook his head.
“Eldest uncle, let me tell you. As a fourth rank, my monthly salary for a month is twenty stones, which translates to about six taels of grain silver. Three hundred taels of silver would require me to save for four or five years without eating or drinking. I have been an official for less than a year now, so how can I have three hundred taels of silver.”
Zhu Pingan said breathlessly.
“Hehe, Xian Nephew, you can’t fool me, although on the surface your monthly salary is only twenty stones. However, secretly, the filial piety of the officials below, the offerings of the squires, merchants and businessmen to make connections, and other forests of income, you have to be less than this amount a month. Which use four or five years ah, one or two months is enough.”
Eldest uncle Zhu Shouren laughed after hearing this, stretching out two fingers, saying with a clear understanding of the door.
Zhu Pingan was completely speechless, “Eldest uncle, I don’t know how others are, but I am an official, I only have one income, other than salary, there is no other income.”
“What? You only have a salary? Alas, my virtuous nephew, you are still too young and too incapable of being an official. What did you study hard for in the cold? You’re really a loser, how much silver do you have to charge less. A month to say less one hundred taels, two months is two hundred taels, half a year is six hundred taels, a year is more than one thousand taels ah, no, no, no, at New Year’s, the gift should be three times heavier, a year down at least one thousand five hundred taels of silver. This is the affluence of the world’s top Suzhou, a first-class fat place, this gift at least still have to be heavy a three to five percent, you this is really wasteful virtuous nephew, you missed how much silver ah ……”
Eldest uncle Zhu Shouren said with a heartbroken face, reaching out and pointing at Zhu Pingan, filled with an expression of hatred.
Then before Zhu Pingan spoke, eldest uncle Zhu Shouren took the position that I can do it, “So, ah, I should have come to help you a long time ago. I’m still late. However, don’t worry virtuous nephew, I’m here, everything is different, with me here, by me helping you, I guarantee that you will never worry about silver again.”
Crap!
What do you mean? You want to help me to receive gifts and bribes? Zhu Pingan almost didn’t spit out a mouthful of old blood.
“No need, Uncle. I, Zhu Pingan, am an official, not for wealth, never accept gifts, never take bribes, this is my bottom line, uncle, don’t mention it again. Also please keep in mind, Uncle, do not accept a single penny in my name, or else my little nephew will speak of mercy and the law of the land will be merciless.”Zhu Pingan admonished his eldest uncle with a serious face.
“Cough, cough, cough, I’m just testing Xian Nephew’s integrity, hmmmm, good, Xian Nephew passed my test. If Xian nephew had answered just now, elder uncle I would not have had to give Xian nephew a good lecture.”
Uncle Zhu Shouren coughed, came a hundred and eighty degree turn, face red and gasping said.
