Chapter 51 – Fighting the Tea Circle

Hearing the sound of an arrow entering the pot, the arc of Xu Qi’an’s mouth widened uncontrollably, pulling off the black cloth and pointing at the gold ingots and silver ingots on the stall:

“Haha, Old Tao, these are mine.”

The old Taoist glanced at him and calmly collected the gold and silver ingots into the package, then pointed to the topmost bodhi string and the small jade mirror and smiled:

“My lord, choose one of the two.”

….. Xu Qi’an’s consultative tone, “Old Taoist, I don’t want these, I just want silver.”

The old Taoist refused mercilessly, “Rules, are rules.”

After a pause, he added, “These two are rare treasures, not comparable to yellow and white mundane goods, Your Excellency should not be blinded by gold and silver.”

No, I just want these mundane things… Xu Qi’an asked, “Treasures? What’s the purpose.”

“The old Taoist doesn’t know, he only knows that they’re waiting for someone with a destiny.” The old Taoist had a patronizing look.

Xu Qi’an suspected that the old Taoist was lying to him, but had no proof, and was a bit hesitant considering his inexplicable qi.

Treasure or not, who’s to say, silver is more affordable.

At that moment, an armorer came over and said, “This gentleman, my master asks you for a favor.”

Xu Qi’an twisted her head to look at the luxurious carriage not far away, “What does your master want?”

“That string of Bodhi beads.” The armorer’s gaze shifted from the stall and looked at Xu Qi’an, “My master is willing to offer sixty taels of gold.”

It turns out that my Ou Huang should be here …. Xu Qi’an had a warm-hearted smile on his face, “Blessedly, deal.”

He had the armorer shell out a penny of silver for three arrows.

The armorer said, “The master said that you can cast a few more times, and we will pay for all the silver. There is no harm if we fail ….”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw the blindfolded Xu Qi’an tossing arrows with his trusty hand.

Thud, thud, thud…three arrows plunged into the jug with unerring precision.

The awe of passersby came again.

The armorer’s eyes were filled with respect as he looked at Xu Qi’an.

If once was lucky, twice meant that the other party was not an ordinary person, this plain looking young man, dressed as a scholar, was definitely an expert.

Gold sixty taels in hand… Xu Qi’an was in an unbelievably happy mood as he pulled off the black cloth, just in time to see the curtains of the luxurious carriage fall in the distance.

…. He also didn’t know what kind of big shot was sitting in the car… He didn’t dare to look at it more, turned around, and clasped his fists towards the armorer, “I’m glad to be able to do this.”

The armorer clasped his fists respectfully and returned to the carriage, and in a few moments, came over with a bulging bag of money.

Xu Qi’an took the money pouch and took the jade mirror from the old Taoist and watched the carriage leave.

He withdrew his gaze and casually slipped the palm-sized jade mirror into his pocket, then joyfully weighed the bulging money bag.

It’s about three or four pounds and too heavy to tie around your waist.

“No, I have to exchange it for silver tickets, it’s too stupid to carry around such heavy gold ….”

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but look back, only to find that the old Taoist priest had disappeared and the stall was cleaned up.

Xu Qi’an stood on the side of the road in silence for half a day.

….

He ran to the money changer again and exchanged the gold for four silver bills with a face value of one hundred taels; one with a face value of fifty taels; and three with a face value of ten taels.

Gold is not part of the monetary system, so it needs to be converted to its silver equivalent, and then the money changers issue silver checks.

The exchange ratio of gold to silver is 1:8, sixty taels of gold is four hundred and eighty taels of silver.

Four hundred and eighty taels of silver would be more than enough to slap your aunt’s pretty face ….. Why is it that every time you make money, you can’t help but think of using the silver to slap your aunt? The original owner’s grudge against her is too strong, isn’t it?….. In addition, this silver can only buy a small courtyard in the inner city ….. If you want to buy a three-room mansion, you can’t get it without 10,000 taels of silver. …. Xu Qi’an was a bit distressed.

Whether it’s otherworldly or past life, house prices are a desperate thing.

“Four hundred and eighty taels, it should be enough to ransom a lower-grade greenhouse flower girl, just that it’s not cost-effective.

“You see, for four hundred and eighty taels I can take turns to honor a number of flower girls for several months. And to ransom a flower girl, not to mention exhausting my family’s wealth, I also have to be responsible for her food and clothing. If she accidentally conceives a child, it’s another big expense.

And my current salary is only enough to support a proper wife, I simply can’t afford to live the boring life of rich people having wives left and right. Besides, I’m not going to ransom a woman from a green house, and heaven forbid I should use a public car for private purposes.”

…..

At dusk, Xu Qi’an arrived at the capital’s renowned Education Department, which was in a hutong.

At the beginning of the lanterns, all kinds of carriages parked outside the hutongs, the sound of silk and bamboo pipes and strings in the courtyard, came the clear and moving singing voice.

He knew that the beautiful nightlife had begun.

Walking along the four-way road of the hutong, Xu Qi’an’s mind floated back to the essence of the culture he had learned from Sheriff Wang.

A normal green house is a two or three-story building with one or two separate courtyards attached to it, which is considered to be quite a standard.

There are no such tall buildings in the Churchyard, because there is no need for them, and all the yards in this part of the hutong are Churchyard.

State-owned enterprises, that’s how wealthy they are.

There is a threshold for the Church and Workshop, the commoners can not spend money here, it is not a rule, but the bottom spending of the Church and Workshop is five taels of silver.

It’s not about sleeping with girls, it’s about opening table fees.

Five taels of silver was the equivalent of several months of income for an ordinary citizen, and it had to be a solid family.

As a result, there are three main types of guests at the Church Office:

One, the gentry.

These types of guests are the most willing to spend money, as they are usually of low social status and have a fanatical obsession with sleeping with the female relatives of criminal officials.

Two, officials.

For them, the Rectory is a place for tea parties after work, and they like to go to the Rectory whenever they have social engagements.

It is worth mentioning that the officials of the Ministry of Rites can whore for nothing. This is because the Ministry of Education is under the control of the Ministry of Rites.

Three, readers.

These people are more civilized than the gentry and giants, like to recite poems, and are not as difficult to serve as the officials, so they are the most popular with the girls in the Education Department.

There are also three types of girls in the Churchyard:

I. Offender’s female family.

These women are the worst of the worst, forced into prostitution and humiliation.

II. Women taken in war.

Far from it, take the battle of Shanhaiguan twenty years ago, the western countries and the Dafeng are the victorious countries, from the north and the southern border captured uncountable women, filling the various states and provinces in the Department of the Church.

III. Prostitutes recruited by the Church Office.

“It’s true that when you live to be old, you learn to be old, and Sheriff Wang is my teacher as well ….” Xu Qi’an let out a sigh of relief, finally finding the goal of this visit to the Department of Education.

He stopped outside a courtyard with a plaque that read: Shadow Plum Pavilion

The courtyard door is open, two red-colored lanterns hanging, inside the courtyard is a plum tree, the branches are dotted with flower bones containing bags of anger.

A sixteen or seventeen year old concierge boy, guarding the entrance to the courtyard, was looking at Xu Qi’an with a scrutinizing gaze.

He also has another familiar moniker.

“My name is Changle County scholar Yang Ling, I have heard of Miss Floating Fragrance’s great name and have come to pay a visit.” Xu Qi’an mimicked a scholar’s bow and spoke politely to the concierge.

The Shadow Plum Pavilion is the residence of the Flower Leader, Floating Fragrance.

The opening table fee here is ten taels of silver, twice as expensive as a normal courtyard.

There are a total of twelve flower queens in the Department of Education, and they are divided into four classes based on character, rhyme, talent and color.

Miss Floating Fragrance belongs to the first class and is known as the best in poetry and qin.

“Ten taels of silver.” The concierge boy, who was used to seeing big lords, had a cold attitude, and after collecting Xu Qi’an’s silver, he let him enter the courtyard.

Xu Qi’an’s heart rejoiced as the sounds of laughter and silk and bamboo came from the courtyard, playing tea rounds had already begun, but since the concierge boy had let him in, it meant that the courtyard was not a chartered venue, but rather a casual visitor.

There are two modes of coming out to play, one is chartered and the other is casual.

If it was the former, Xu Qi’an was doomed to futility today.