"Tan Lang."
"Um?"
"You...do you have anything to say?"
"Is it so obvious?"
"What do you think?"
Mrs. Zhen put down the bowl and looked at Ouyang Rong across the table with a dumbfounded look. One of her chopsticks was held upside down by him.
Speaking of which, she found that Tanlang was a little depressed in the past two days, which seemed to have started since he came back the night before.
For the past two days, he only stared at the plate closest to him while eating. At first, Tanlang came over to tell Mr. Zhen the good news, saying that Mr. Lang liked eating the Silla-style meat rolls she made. But the next day, Mrs. Zhen changed the plate of water tofu and put it in front of Mr. Tanlang, and he said, "I don't like it." "After eating, I didn't even touch the Silla characteristics with my chopsticks...it just made the Silla maid unable to do anything, and my little face was depressed for a long time.
Not only when eating, Tanlang also looked absent-minded when walking around Meiluyuan. Sometimes when Zhen called him, he had to shout three times before he could answer, and his first answer would always be "Ah oh... okay".
Mrs. Zhen is a very traditional beautiful woman. She stays close to her husband and raises her children. She only concentrates on taking care of the housework. She is the same now in Meiluyuan. She is responsible for Ouyang Rong's three meals a day and his washing. I sleep, and in my free time, I don’t have anything to do with socializing with my girlfriends or going shopping, and I never show my face.
When I have nothing to do, I just bask in the sun and eat melon seeds in the yard, and occasionally train the maids. I may sometimes recall the life of dancing with swords and guns in my teenage years, but I am now the mistress of the house, and I can no longer do this in front of the maids. Disgraceful thing.
As for embroidery, housework, etc., she is not needed now. The more interesting thing is to go to Tanlang's private study to clean up in person. The important space in the study is not given to the maid, she is the one to do it, and she can touch it curiously. Looking at his paper, ink, pen and inkstone, calligraphy and painting collections, etc., although Zhen didn't know a few words except for her and Tanlang's names and couldn't understand them, it didn't hinder the woman's little fun.
In addition, the time when Zhen is in the best mood and looks forward to it the most every day is probably when she has dinner with Tan Lang, during which she can listen to him talk about some novel things outside.
However, except for the important matters of marriage, she did not interfere with any of Ouyang Rong's official affairs or personal relationships. She just sat and listened quietly. When she lowered her head to eat, her bright and charming red phoenix eyes looked up at the subtle details on Tan Lang's face. expression.
This can be regarded as one of the few joys every day.
Therefore, Mrs. Zhen is very observant and pays close attention to her beloved nephew. Any abnormality in him cannot be escaped by her red and phoenix eyes. So now they were having dinner around the table. Seeing Ouyang Rong hesitate to speak, she immediately asked a question.
"Tan Lang, just say it if you have something to say. You won't have to kick your aunt out, right?"
Mrs. Zhen snorted and stretched out her hand to correct the chopsticks he held upside down.
Ouyang Rong said a little embarrassedly: "I want to borrow some money from my aunt..."
"borrow?"
"Yes, my nephew will definitely pay it back until his salary is paid."
Zhen Shi smiled half-smilingly: "Isn't all the money here in my family's house yours? You can take it or borrow it. Your monthly salary is also sent by the yamen. I will take care of your income from the lumi and job fields for you." Tanlang forgot?"
Ouyang Rong was stunned and nodded immediately, "Okay, nephew... take some, and my aunt will continue to hold the rest for me to use for household purposes."
"How much does it cost? I can't take it all. I'm also planning to go to the Xishikou Horse Shop in a few days to pick a beautiful maid for you. It will probably cost a lot. Now Xiyu Ji, Bodhisattva Man, and Silla Maid are all It’s very expensive, and those stupid wealthy businessmen are just jacking up the prices.”
"What kind of maid should I buy? My nephew doesn't need her. Auntie, don't waste your money and follow the trend of keeping slaves. Those slaves are also pitiful people."
Mrs. Zhen nodded: "They are poor people, so I should buy a few more so that Tan Lang can love them and give them a warm bed."
"..." It makes sense to ride a horse well, but it's a bit useless.
"Let's talk about this later." Ouyang Rong was speechless, waved his hands to deal with it, and then said seriously: "How about aunt giving me ten guan of money."
Zhen just hesitated and then nodded immediately, "Okay, I'll get it for you after dinner."
At this time, there was still very little silver in circulation. Most of the silver on the market was traded in copper coins and silk. The money was usually equivalent to one thousand cash, and the purchasing power was already very strong.
A prime-age slave in Koumaxing costs about six or seven guan. Of course, the value must have depreciated in the local disaster years, and ten guan could buy nearly two hundred shi of rice before the flood. The house where Ouyang Rong and Zhen currently live is quite expensive. The elegant Meilu Garden only costs 40 to 50 guan.
However, there is no concept of real estate speculation at the moment. Buying a house also depends on household registration and status. Not everyone can buy it if you have money. The strict hierarchy prevents free buying and selling, which is a disguised restriction on housing prices.
As for Ouyang Rong's salary, because Longcheng County has a population of more than 6,000 households, it is a Shangxian County, and he is a Zhengqipin County Magistrate, so his monthly salary is more than two guan.
However, an official's salary not only includes salary, but also includes salary, assigned job fields, and miscellaneous things like year-end bonuses. When converted, the average monthly salary is only about four dollars.
Generally speaking, the salaries of officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty were okay, but if they lived in Luoyang or Chang'an, they were not enough.
Ouyang Rong dipped his fingers in water and wrote on the table, then lowered his head and did some mental calculations.
Zhen thought for a while and asked, "Why does Tan Lang need so much money?"
The young county magistrate said without raising his head: "Go to Yuanming Tower."
Mrs. Zhen was stunned, and the waiter next to her also had a strange look in her eyes. They had lived in Longcheng County for a while, and they knew that Yuanming House was not only the largest restaurant in the local area, but also a targeted poverty alleviation company. A place for lovely girls.
Well, it is actually a brothel. However, in the Zhou Dynasty, brothels are still relatively formal places. There are many people who perform arts but not sell their bodies. The main business is looking for flowers and women. It is mainly an elegant place for literati, wealthy gentry and wealthy businessmen to socialize. In the cultural It's quite popular in the world.
But... the gentleman Tanlang is going to a brothel?
Zhen and Banxi recalled Tanlang's strange hobby that was accidentally "exposed" that day.
The beautiful woman said solemnly: "Tanlang, it's better not to go there. Auntie will give you some more money and go to the West Market tomorrow to buy a docile and beautiful maid. You can choose whatever you like. The more expensive it is, the more expensive it is. There are some things... Auntie understands, don’t hold it in anymore.”
"???" Ouyang Rong.
…
The morning of the second day.
Longcheng County Government.
A young county magistrate with a bulging pocket straightened his back, walked into the county magistrate's office in the west hall with his hands behind his back, and knocked on the table towards Diao County Magistrate, who was dozing off at work early in the morning.
"Ah...why is Mingtang here? Sin, sin, sin, I'm a little sleepy because of my age." Diao Xiancheng quickly stood up to greet him.
"It's okay, just a small matter. Let's go after saying this." After a pause, Ouyang Rong nodded again: "But Mr. Diao is really getting stronger with age. He came here early in the morning to catch up on his sleep."
"..." Diao Xiancheng said helplessly: "Mingtang, please stop joking with me. I am a poor wife. I only have five sets of regular clothes for all seasons... By the way, please tell me what Mingtang wants to explain."
Ouyang Rong said calmly: "The day after tomorrow, at Yuanming Tower, Mr. Diao will call for me all the gentry, wealthy businessmen, and famous scholars in this county that you know. It's best if you don't miss any of them."
Diao Xian Cheng was stunned for only a short while, and then said happily: "Okay, okay, I will go and arrange it now, let them serve the wine quickly, and prepare a feast for Mingtang to receive the wind and cleanse the dust. Haha, Mingtang, they have admired you for a long time, I have long wanted to meet my parents, and I have asked my parents to do so for a long time. Seeing that it was inconvenient, I declined a lot..."
Ouyang Rong, who was about to go out, suddenly interrupted:
"You're mistaken. It's not them who invited me, but me who invited them to drink. Go ahead and call them all. They are all citizens of this county. I can't favor one over the other. I have to... take good care of them."
Diao County Cheng, who only wears five sets of regular clothes throughout the four seasons, paused.
…
