"Son, we've got money now!"
Having closed the courtyard door, Yang Ge was teasing Huang playfully.
"Woof woof..."
Huang was also happily frolicking back and forth in the yard.
"Let's go, Daddy will take you to splurge!"
Yang Ge waved his hand grandly.
As soon as Huang heard they were going out, his little eyes lit up, and he eagerly went to dig out his leash.
Watching his excitement, Yang Ge took the opportunity to fetch a muzzle from the corner and smiled, "Good boy, let's put this on you so those little kids outside won't be scared of you!"
"Clatter."
The leash silently fell from Huang's mouth, and he stopped wagging his tail.
...
Father and son, stepping in sync, walked out into the street in high spirits.
The surrounding neighbors, all familiar with Yang Ge, greeted him, and the bold children, seeing Huang muzzled, giggled and rushed over to grab at Huang's fluffy tail.
Frightened, Huang tucked his tail between his legs and desperately tugged Yang Ge forward, trying to get away from there as quickly as possible.
Yang Ge laughed heartily, pulling on the leash, not allowing Huang to escape from the clutches of those rambunctious kids.
Huang, now in the midst of the kids, had his once sleek and shiny fur all fluffed up, and the expression on his dog face was one of utter despondency.
The residents near Chaimen Street had originally made their living by chopping firewood, leading generally modest lives. Yet, they were simple and honest by nature and maintained a harmonious and united neighborhood.
No one had complained even when Yang Ge was fixing up the small courtyard with constant banging and clanging. Instead, several times when he dragged home heavy wood and stone, the neighbors would see him and come over to help unbidden.
After leaving Chaimen Street, father and son headed straight for the grain market.
And indeed, as Wang Dali had said, down the straight stretch of the grain market, at least a third of the shops were closed.
With fewer grain shops open, the throngs of people buying grain had doubled since usual, if not more!
Looking around, everywhere there were families pushing single-wheeled carts loaded with grain, moving slowly along with the crowded stream of purchasers.
But there were far more people carrying bundles of grain as big as watermelons, walking out with worried faces amidst the flow...
A wave of inexplicable distress cast a shadow over Yang Ge's bright mood of having received his salary.
He unconsciously quickened his pace toward the grain shop he was familiar with.
"Yang Ge, you're here!"
The familiar shop assistant from the grain shop greeted him warmly, inviting him inside.
Yang Ge walked into the grain shop, glanced around, and saw signs reading "Nineteen wen per dou" and "Thirty wen per dou" inserted into the two grain barrels he often bought from.
Nineteen wen per dou for millet.
Thirty wen per dou for barley.
In Wei, the official measurement was one stone per ten dou, one dou equaling twelve and a half jin.
"This has doubled in price, hasn't it?"
Standing beside the two grain barrels, Yang Ge asked in shock.
His shock was genuine; you see, back when he was a shop assistant, his monthly wages were only a hundred and fifty wen.
And this level of pay is definitely not low in Luting County.
This shows just how much the price of grain has soared!
The waiter said with a smile, "Isn't that the truth? But lately, I don't know what's going on with the grain. It's the same price everywhere. Our boss has been running his legs off and still can't buy grain at the old price. Right now, even at this price, he keeps saying we're losing money every day, and there's really nothing we can do..."
Yang Ge hesitated, not joining in the conversation.
Seeing this, the waiter, aware of his guest's mood, cautiously asked, "Or maybe, you could look around some more? Come back later?"
Yang Ge sighed and asked, "Is it the same price everywhere?"
The waiter spoke pleasingly, "Who would I dare to deceive if not you?"
Yang Ge stroked Huang's head, hesitating for a good while before finally making up his mind and asking, "There's no purchase limit, right?"
"Purchase limit?"
After repeating this new term, the waiter immediately understood and confidently replied, "Our store has plenty of grain in stock, you can buy as much as you want!"
Yang Ge nodded, "Alright, I'll take ten bushels of millet and five of barley!"
"How... how much did you say?"
The waiter wondered if he had heard wrongly.
Yang Ge had no choice but to repeat, "Ten bushels of millet, five of barley... You can deliver, right?"
"With such a large quantity, our store can indeed send someone to deliver to your residence..."
The waiter couldn't help but impolitely look Yang Ge up and down. No matter how he looked, he felt that Yang Ge, dressed in a short robe of coarse cloth and rough cotton shoes, was no different from himself. After hesitating a few seconds, he spoke in a troubled whisper, "Yang Ge, we're acquaintances, but I'm just a lowly waiter with little influence, and I really can't offer you credit!"
Yang Ge didn't say much, just took out his purse, and from it, he drew the only silver ingot, clutching it in his sweaty palm before reluctantly handing it over, "Please, trouble yourself to check it!"
Seeing the silver ingot, the waiter's look at Yang Ge changed.
He smiled broadly, bowed, and took the silver ingot from Yang Ge's hands. He weighed it in his hand, then couldn't wait to bite it. After seeing the bite mark, he immediately confirmed, "One hundred percent silver... Official silver?"
Before he could finish his assured statement, he was interrupted by an exclamation.
Yang Ge, puzzled, leaned in and saw clearly on the base of the silver ingot the inscription "Wei's Jianping Third Year, Ministry of Revenue Mint."
'Damn it!'
Yang Ge cursed silently in his heart, yet on the surface, he had to pretend nothing was wrong and asked, "What's the matter, your store doesn't take official silver?"
The waiter once again scrutinized Yang Ge up and down, forced a smile, and returned the silver ingot with both hands, "This humble one has never seen official silver before... I'll trouble you to go to the silver exchange. I will prepare the grain for you immediately, ensuring it doesn't interfere with your important matters!"
"What important matters could I possibly have?"
Yang Ge took back the silver ingot with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "You know what I do. This is the money I got from selling my ancestral home. I hadn't noticed it was official silver before. It seems the person who bought my family home must be an official, huh!"
"Certainly must be, otherwise how would there be official silver?"
The waiter humored him while gesturing with his hand for Yang Ge to hurry out, "It's getting late, you'd better go and come back quickly, I will prepare your grain right away!"
Yang Ge could only mumble noncommittally, leading the dog outside.
The waiter stood on the steps outside the store, smiling broadly as he watched Yang Ge walk away.
Only when Yang Ge's figure disappeared into the crowd did the smile abruptly vanish from his face, and after spitting, he said, "You say you're a waiter from the Yuelai Inn? I'd say you're more like a highwayman who clears mountain passages!"
He composed himself and turned to enthusiastically greet the other customers.
Prepare the grain?
He didn't believe for a second that Yang Ge would come back!