While grasping the concept of "frost kills all vegetation, all things return to silence," he visualized the evergreen nature of cypress trees through all seasons.
Yang Ge felt that he wouldn’t be able to master this sword technique without going insane in a few years.
...
"Creak."
Before he could finish reciting the mental method silently, the sound of a cart stopping came from outside the door.
He immediately put away the draft paper, wiped his hands, and lifted the thick door curtain to look outside, only to see Shopkeeper Liu and another shop assistant Zhang Erniu return from buying grain.
He bent over to grab a handful of snow to clean the charcoal powder from his hands and gently pushed Shopkeeper Liu aside, "Let me do it, you go inside and rest."
Shopkeeper Liu responded and turned to enter the shop, sighing deeply as he went.
"What’s wrong with the shopkeeper?"
Yang Ge asked, puzzled.
Zhang Erniu followed with a sigh, "We were too late, the price of grain has risen again!"
"Again?"
Yang Ge’s eyelids twitched and he asked hastily, "By how much?"
Zhang Erniu pointed at the sacks on the wheelbarrow with a worried frown, "Millet is sixty wen per dou, barley is one hundred and twenty wen per dou."
"What?"
Yang Ge was shocked and incredulously cleaned out his ears, "What did you say?"
Zhang Erniu repeated, "Millet sixty, barley one hundred and twenty... our month’s wages can only buy one dou of barley now!"
Yang Ge: "Weren’t they saying just yesterday that it was forty-five and ninety-two? Do they f***ing raise the prices by half each time?"
To know, when he went to buy grain in June, millet was only seven wen per dou, and wheat was only thirteen wen per dou, and those prices were for the new harvest that year; old grain was even cheaper!
In just half a year, the prices had almost increased tenfold!
His monthly salary as the shopkeeper of the inn was only two hundred and fifty wen.
Two hundred and fifty wen for two dou of barley a month?
Zhang Erniu was so worried that he curled up into himself, "Even this might not be the worst of it..."
Yang Ge: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Erniu: "All the small grain shops in the grain market have closed down, saying they have no grain left. Only the three big granaries ’Yongtai,’ ’Fengyu,’ and ’Fuhe’ have grain to sell now, and after that, won’t they just charge whatever they want?"
Yang Ge slapped his thigh angrily, "Those damned grain merchants!"
Zhang Erniu: "Right, all of them, without an a** to fart out of!"
Seeing Zhang Erniu’s worried expression, Yang Ge asked, "Don’t you have any grain stored up?"
Zhang Erniu sighed heavily, "Only two or three days’ worth of rice and flour left. I thought the grain prices were too high before, so I bought less, hoping to buy more when the prices were lower. Who could have known... sigh!"
Yang Ge hesitated for two seconds, then sighed and said, "I have a small stockpile myself. One person can’t eat much anyway. I can spare you fifty catties at the price I paid."
Zhang Erniu, overwhelmed with gratitude, bowed continuously, "Young master, you are truly kind-hearted. You’ve saved the lives of the five people in my family. Your great kindness..."
Yang Ge waved his hand, "We’re all from the same place, no need for formalities. Fifty catties isn’t much, be frugal with it. The New Year hasn’t even passed yet, and who knows when the grain prices will come down."
He felt heavy-hearted himself.
He had previously received some news about rising grain prices from the Imperial Guards, knowing that this year’s increase was due to the court secretly stockpiling grain in preparation for war with the Tartars next year.
However, the current increase in grain prices had clearly exceeded normal limits.
The court’s efforts to prepare for war by stockpiling grain surely wouldn’t neglect the survival of the common people, right?
The cheapest millet was now seventy wen per dou. Such an exorbitant price could crush the majority of the commoners...
Zhang Erniu continued to mumble, "I’ll be frugal, I’ll be frugal. From now on, you’re my brother. Whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do without a word of complaint. May my future children be born without a**holes if I do!"
Yang Ge responded absent-mindedly, "Don’t talk nonsense. We’re all workers at the same inn, and we answer to the old shopkeeper!"
After saying this, he picked up a bag of grain with one hand and turned to enter the inn.
...
The sky gradually darkened.
With a heavy heart, Yang Ge walked into Chaimen Street.
A crisp voice brought Yang Ge back to his senses, "Yang Ge, you’re only getting back now?"
Yang Ge focused his eyes and saw a pretty girl wearing a floral cotton jacket, with a red headband smiling and waving at him from the front of his own house.
He forced a smile, "Yes, it’s almost dark. Are you going out?"
The pretty girl replied, "Yeah, my sister wants to eat dumplings, and I’m going to get some vinegar from the market!"
Yang Ge casually responded, "Go ahead, the ground is slippery, be careful on the road."
The pretty girl asked, "Yang Ge, have you had dinner yet? Come over to our place later for some dumplings, alright?"
Yang Ge waved his hands, "No need, no need, I’ve already eaten at the inn."
The pretty girl insisted, "We’re neighbors after all; don’t be so formal with us sisters!"
Yang Ge thanked her, "Thank you, I really have eaten already."
The pretty girl waved goodbye, "Well, okay then, next time I make something tasty, I will call you over!"
Yang Ge mumbled a response and quickly made his way home.
When he got to his own door, he glanced back at the girl at the street corner before he entered his house.
The sisters had moved next door to his home over a month ago, and it was said that their old residence was originally there.
But their behavior always made Yang Ge feel that they didn’t seem like the type of people who should live in this area. Moreover, since they had moved to Chaimen Street, they hadn’t initiated conversation with any neighbor, yet they always greeted him whenever he encountered them...
Yang Ge didn’t flatter himself with undue thoughts, but their special treatment towards him was enough for him to keep his distance.
"Woof woof woof..."
"Miss me, boy?"
After closing the door, Yang Ge embraced the dog that came to greet him and furiously rubbed its head.
Huang breathed heavily, attempting to lick his face with an outstretched tongue.
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
"Ew, what a bad breath, how disgusting!"
Yang Ge let go of the dog with distaste and dashed into the house.
Huang followed him inside, wagging its tail vigorously.
Before they could play for long, Huang pricked up its ears and cautiously looked towards the yard gate.
Yang Ge followed its gaze...
Knock knock, knock knock knock.
A rhythmic knocking on the door sounded.
Yang Ge let go of Huang and hurried to open the yard gate.
Fang Ke entered with a smile all over his face, "Shopkeeper."
Yang Ge let go of the yard gate and walked inside with a smile, "How long have you been waiting?"
Fang Ke stepped into the yard and closed the gate behind him, "Not long, not long, I’ve only been here for a short while..."
"Good timing, I’ve got something to ask you... what are you holding there?"
Yang Ge was about to inquire about the surge in grain prices when he suddenly heard the familiar sound of silver taels clinking.
Fang Ke took the cloth bag from his shoulder and held it in his hands, "Nothing gets past your eyes... This is your salary for this month!"
The two of them walked into the inner room one after the other and shut the door.
Fang Ke placed the cloth bag on the dining table and untied it, revealing several bright silver ingots the size of fists...
With just one glance, Yang Ge suddenly furrowed his brows, "The amount seems off, doesn’t it? Those trivial cases we’ve handled recently can’t have yielded so much profit, can they?"
Fang Ke explained, "But it’s because your reputation stretches far and wide, several merchants wanted to pay their respects!"
Yang Ge glared at him, the last trace of a smile vanishing from his face, "Make it clear, where is the money from!"
Fang Ke dared not smile anymore and stood up straight, answering earnestly, "The Wang Family, the Li Family, the Zhao Family, they are all paying respects to you!"
Yang Ge questioned, "Which Wang Family, which Li Family, which Zhao Family?"
Fang Ke specified, "’Yongtai’ Wang Family, ’Fengyu’ Li Family, ’Fuhe’ Zhao Family."
Yang Ge abruptly widened his eyes.
Do they think I was born yesterday?