Chapter 10: Chapter 8: Private Money
However, the prerequisite for participating in the Military Examination was that he first had to be freed from his servitude in Qingmu County.
But gaining one’s freedom was rarely an easy task.
First, one needed enough redemption silver to buy back their indenture contract from their master.
Second, one had to take the indenture contract and a letter from their master to the Government Office to process their manumission.
The Government Office would not stand in the way of a good thing like gaining a new taxpayer, so the real difficulty lay in dealing with the master who held the indenture contract.
’After all these years in the Li Mansion, with all the expenses for my upkeep and the horse-taming skills I’ve learned, the market price to buy back my indenture contract would be at least ten taels of silver...’
Wei Tu’s expression soured at the thought.
He had worked his way up from a mere Tenant Farmer to become the Li Mansion’s Horse Groom. His treatment at the mansion had improved drastically; he received wages, ate meat, and had some standing with his masters.
His masters had even arranged his marriage for him...
As long as he didn’t try to buy his freedom, everything was fine.
But buying his freedom...
He would have to pay back everything he had consumed.
His status as a Horse Groom would also raise the value of his indenture contract.
On top of that, skilled workers were as good as gold. When the Government Office conscripted laborers, he could be sent as a Horse Groom to fulfill the duty, saving his masters a large sum in substitute silver.
Under these circumstances, even if he scraped together the ten taels of silver for his redemption, the Li Mansion wouldn’t let him go easily—especially since Master Li was known for being a shrewd, hard man.
He was stingy, a real skinflint who ordered the servants to light only a single wick in the lamps, terrified of wasting his own oil.
’When my father sold me, all he got was five maces of silver and two pecks of wheat.’
Wei Tu sighed to himself.
In just six years, his value had increased a staggering twentyfold. It was hard to believe.
But in a famine year, a life wasn’t worth much. The fact that he’d been able to sell himself just to survive was, at the time, a stroke of luck.
"How much money do you have saved up?" Wei Tu asked that evening when Xinghua returned to their room, inquiring about her private savings.
Although they were married, by custom, the money Xinghua had saved before their marriage was part of her dowry. As her husband, he couldn’t touch a single coin without her consent.
"Why are you asking?" Xinghua’s expression grew wary.
The money she had saved up from her years of work at the Li Mansion was her safety net.
Even though Wei Tu was her husband, she wouldn’t hand over a single coin without a good reason.
"I... I plan on buying my freedom to take the Military Examination, but I’m far short on the money..." Wei Tu didn’t hesitate to tell her his plan.
He and Xinghua were married now; they were the closest of kin, depending on each other to survive.
Using Xinghua’s dowry, he admitted to himself, felt a bit wrong. But... gaining his freedom was about his entire future. The sooner, the better.
This was no time to be sentimental.
’Whatever I owe Xinghua today, I’ll repay a hundred, a thousand times over in the future.’
’A husband and wife share their burdens and their fortunes.’
"Buy your freedom? Brother Wei, have you lost your mind? Are you crazy?" Hearing Wei Tu’s words, Xinghua shot to her feet with a start, a look of sheer panic on her face. She lowered her voice and scolded, "If you leave the Li Mansion, where else can you find such a good position? After this autumn, I was going to test the waters with the First Mistress again. Maybe we can rent some land this year..."
"Once we’re renting land, our lives will get better. We’ll be able to move out of this hall."
Xinghua muttered a few more words, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she dabbed at them with a handkerchief.
’I thought I’d married a steady man, that our life had promise. But now it seems Wei Tu is restless to his very bones.’
’The Military Examination?’
’Is that something a servant can even take?’
’When common folk see someone who has passed the Military Examination, they have to bow and call them ’Military Examination Master’.’
"Watch," Wei Tu said. Seeing Xinghua’s state, he didn’t try to comfort her with words. Instead, he walked out of the hall, hoisted the two-hundred-jin Stone Lock from the corner of the courtyard, and carried it back inside.
He performed a full routine with it right in front of her.
The proof was in the performance.
’He had what it took to sit for the Military Examination!’
"This isn’t fake, is it?" Xinghua dried her tears, walked over to Wei Tu’s side, and tried to lift the Stone Lock.
An expression of disbelief quickly spread across her face. Her eyes shone brighter and clearer than the oil lamp in the room.
The two-hundred-jin Stone Lock was so heavy she couldn’t even budge it, yet her husband was able to swing it about with ease.
And she was no delicate flower, unable to lift a heavy load.
Xinghua drew closer and placed a hand on Wei Tu’s chest. Through his thin summer shirt, she could feel the hard, bulging muscles, and she saw his arms, sturdy and thick as rafters.
"Brother Wei, you really intend to take the Military Examination?" Xinghua was starting to believe him.
’At this moment, her hopes were no longer just for their children to become successful scholars; she was starting to hope her own husband could make a name for himself in this lifetime.’
"As long as I can master archery, passing the Military Examination to become a Martial Scholar shouldn’t be a problem." Though Wei Tu wasn’t entirely certain himself, he made the promise to Xinghua with confidence.
’The Military Examination in Qingfeng Prefecture is still more than a year away. In that time, my Constitution will definitely be even stronger than it is now.’
’Besides, without my servitude status, it’ll be much easier to get things done. Even if I can’t make a fortune with the modern knowledge in my head, earning some extra cash will be more than possible.’
’And now, with my superior strength, I can protect whatever I earn.’
’I won’t have to fear every petty crook who might covet it.’
"My savings... I have three taels and seven maces. This is from all my years of wages, plus the occasional rewards from the mansion..." Xinghua hesitated for a moment, then took her savings out of a redwood box in the corner, placed the money on the bed, and counted it out.
She had entered the Li Mansion two years before Wei Tu and had been a maidservant, so she received more rewards. Later, when she became the cook, she could skim a little, which provided a decent extra income.
Of course, she was too timid to take much, only daring to skim a little from the haggling when she bought vegetables and meat.
The masters mostly knew that servants skimmed. As long as they weren’t excessive, they wouldn’t make an issue of it.
Otherwise, with Mrs. Li Tong’s astuteness, Xinghua wouldn’t have kept her position as cook for so long.
"I only have a little over one tael on me. Adding the money my father gave me, it comes to about three taels."
"We’re still short three taels and three maces to reach ten taels..."
Wei Tu said after calculating their combined funds.
"Three taels and three maces... If I can convince the First Mistress to let us rent three or four mu of land this year, after paying the rent, we could earn five or six maces."
"I’ll try borrowing some from Chunlan and Caixia. With that and our future wages, the shortfall shouldn’t be too great."
"If it comes to it..."
Xinghua gritted her teeth, steeling herself to use her position to skim a much larger sum.
"No, don’t do that," Wei Tu said, seeing her intention and stopping her at once.
Skimming a little from haggling was within the unspoken rules; Mrs. Li Tong would turn a blind eye to that.
But if she got greedy, started substituting inferior goods for quality ones, or using a rigged scale, Mrs. Li Tong would not be so forgiving.
If they beat Xinghua to death, the Government Office wouldn’t investigate too deeply. They’d just issue a fine in silver coins and call the matter closed.
"If you succeed, I’d even sell myself to a brothel..." Seeing the worry on Wei Tu’s face, Xinghua was deeply moved and spoke the words like a solemn vow.
"Bite your tongue."
"You can’t say things like that."
"What kind of man do you take me for?"
Wei Tu frowned, scolding her.
