"Brother Zhu, before you came, my uncle ordered the steward in the name of the elder to pay 200 taels of silver to the account for him to use first. The steward told me, and I asked the steward to ask him what he was doing with so much money. He said it was Prepare for the exam. I think 200 taels of silver is not a small amount, so I will wait for Brother Zhu to come back and decide how to spend it."
"Although the family has been spending a lot of money recently, planning to establish Zhurong Trading Company, the money in the account is still enough."
When Zhu Pingan changed clothes and had a late night snack, Li Shu sat aside and gave Zhu Pingan a piece of shrimp and whispered.
"Of course not! Why do you need two hundred taels of silver to prepare for the exam? As long as I can remember, my uncle has been using the pretense of preparing for the exam to ask for money from his grandparents and father and uncle every now and then. Every time he asked for money, he never prepared hard for the exam. , always go out with some friends to eat, drink, snow, moon, wind and flowers!"
"My grandparents always pampered my uncle, which is why he developed the bad habits he has today. My grandparents' bottomless pampering has made my uncle make mistakes again and again, but I can't just watch my uncle make more mistakes."
After Zhu Ping'an heard this, he refused in an attitude of being responsible for his uncle. He knew his uncle's nature very well. What kind of preparation for the exam? If the uncle got two hundred taels of silver, he could live in a flower house. He would never do it. There are exceptions.
"Is this okay? Your uncle came all the way from my hometown. Will he blame us for not caring about our family ties? He spreads bad words about you. Why are you forgetting your roots? Why don't you recognize your poor relatives when you are rich?"
Li Shu squinted her eyes, held her chin, and spoke softly, like a lazy Persian cat.
"This is my responsibility to my uncle. Even if my uncle doesn't understand, it doesn't matter if I pass some rumors back. My reputation in my hometown is much better than my uncle's. My family in my hometown trusts me more than my uncle."
Zhu Ping'an gently held Li Shu's jade hand and said with a smile.
This is really not Zhu Pingan's exaggeration. In the eyes of his family, Zhu Pingan's credibility absolutely crushes his uncle Zhu Shouren.
The image of uncle Zhu Shouren has long been infamous in the village. Whether he brought a promiscuous woman back from a study tour, or was gambling outside and was blocked by gamblers asking for money, the uncle has long been a negative example for the villagers to educate their children.
Zhu Ping'an is not boasting, he is definitely the neighbor's child that the villagers say when educating their children.
Such a combination of positives and negatives made Zhu Ping'an in an invincible position in the village's public opinion circle. When the uncle goes back to spread the word, if he says good things about himself, that's it. If he says bad things about himself, the people in the village will only think that the uncle is spreading rumors to cause trouble, and is jealous of talents.
Before the supper was finished, the uncle sent for Zhu Ping'an, saying that he had something important to do.
Zhu Pingan returned to the front yard. His uncle, Hu Wei, and Xia Qiang had already changed into the clothes prepared by Li Shuren.
The cotton-padded clothes are made of fine silk and satin, and there is also a cloak and cloak. The styles are also popular in Suzhou.
The uncle put it on and admired it in the mirror over and over again. He paced slowly in front of the mirror with his hands behind his back, and he looked human again.
When Zhu Pingan came in, the uncle was still admiring himself in the mirror.
Seeing Zhu Ping'an entering the door, the uncle hurriedly waved and said, "My dear nephew, come on, uncle has something important to tell you."
"Uncle, tell me." Zhu Pingan stepped forward and said.
"That's it, dear nephew. Uncle, I'm a little short of money recently. In a while, it will be time for the imperial examination again. Dear nephew, please lend me three hundred taels of silver so that I can prepare for the exam diligently." The uncle said with a normal face, as if Asking Zhu Ping'an to borrow three hundred taels of silver was as simple and casual as borrowing a pen.
"How much do you want to borrow, uncle?"
Hearing this, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Just now, he had to ask the steward to withdraw two hundred taels of silver from the house's account. Now, after just one meal, it has risen to three hundred taels. You will have to surrender to the loan sharks when they see you. ah.
"No more, no more, three hundred taels." Uncle Zhu Shouren said with his hands behind his back, with a normal and casual expression.
"Why?" Zhu Ping'an asked speechlessly, three hundred taels, isn't that much? ! How much silver is that? !
"Because you do."
Uncle Zhu Shouren replied with a matter-of-fact expression, as if he was saying that 1+1 equals 2.
Damn it!
Your reasons and logic are so impeccable!
Even though Zhu Ping'an had known what his uncle was like, he was still defeated by his shamelessness at this moment.
"Uncle, do you know how much my annual salary is?" Zhu Pingan asked with a slight smile.
Uncle Zhu Shouren shook his head.
"Uncle, let me tell you. I am from the fourth rank, and my monthly salary is twenty stones, which is equivalent to about six taels of silver. Three hundred taels of silver requires me to save for four or five years without eating or drinking. I am now an official In less than a year, how can you get three hundred taels of silver?"
Zhu Ping'an said speechlessly.
"Haha, nephew, you can't deceive me. Although on the surface your monthly salary is only twenty stones. But secretly, the filial piety of the officials below, the offerings from the squires and merchants, and other various incomes, you It takes at least one month to get this amount. It doesn’t take four or five years, one or two months is enough.”
Uncle Zhu Shouren laughed after hearing this, stretched out two fingers, and said in a clear voice.
Zhu Ping'an was completely speechless, "Uncle, I don't know what others are like, but as an official, I only have one income. Apart from salary, I have no other income."
"What? You only have a salary?! Oh, my nephew, you are really too young and you are too incompetent to be an official. Why are you studying so hard?! You are such a prodigal. How much less money do you have to collect? One month is less than one hundred taels, two months is two hundred taels, half a year is six hundred taels, and one year is more than one thousand taels. No, no, during the New Year, the gifts should be three times as heavy. After one year, At least 1,500 taels of silver. This is Suzhou, the most prosperous city in the world, a first-class land of wealth. This gift must be at least 30 to 50% heavier. You are such a wasteful nephew. How much money have you missed? ah."
Uncle Zhu Shouren said with a distressed look on his face, pointing at Zhu Ping'an with an expression full of hatred for iron.
Then before Zhu Ping'an could speak, his uncle Zhu Shouren did his best to express his position and said: "So, I should have come to help you a long time ago. I'm still late. But don't worry, my dear nephew, I'm here. Everything is different. I am here to help you, and I guarantee that you will never have to worry about money again."
Damn it!
what do you mean? ! Are you going to accept gifts and bribes for me? ! Zhu Ping'an almost spit out a mouthful of old blood.
"No, uncle. I, Zhu Ping'an, am an official not for money. I will never accept gifts or bribes. This is my bottom line. Uncle, don't mention it again. Please also remember, don't use my name. , accept a penny, otherwise my nephew will be merciful and the national law is merciless." Zhu Ping'an warned the uncle with a serious face.
"Ahem, ahem, I'm just testing my nephew's integrity. Yes, yes, my nephew has passed my test. If my nephew just accepted it, uncle, I still have to preach to my nephew."
Uncle Zhu Shouren coughed, made a 180-degree turn, and said while his face turned red and he was out of breath.
