Mo Songyan was determined not to sign this IOU, but Shopkeeper Mo smiled on the side and said, “What? As my, Mo Wangchen’s eldest son, you don’t even have this much courage? You don’t believe that you can pay back the five hundred taels of silver? Your father started making a living when I was a teenager…”
“Don’t think about the past, can it be the same? Did my grandparents call you over here to have you owe five hundred taels of silver, or were you kicked out of the house? Both are descendants of the Mo family. Why is my fate so difficult? Father, you should really reflect on yourself.”
Mo Songyan was furious. If it weren’t for the fact that this serious and handsome Shopkeeper Mo couldn’t control his lower body, how could the original owner’s life be so miserable? As a result, this person has no reflection or regret at all and is still complacently thinking about the past?!
Think of back then?
The original owner’s mother shouldn’t have met you back then!
Shopkeeper Mo became furious and slammed the table, shaking his right hand as he pointed at him and shouted, “You rebellious son! How can you talk to your father like this?! I haven’t seen you for a few days, and you seem to be much more eloquent. If you have the guts to talk to me, why don’t you have the courage to write an IOU? You are stumped by just five hundred taels of silver. I think your little mother was right to kick you out. You don’t even have the courage. It would be a waste if I gave you the family property!”
“Just five hundred taels?” Mo Songyan’s anger was also aroused, and he stood up to confront Shopkeeper Mo.
After setting up the stall and telling stories, he chatted a lot with the audience, from the emperors of the dynasty to the farmers in the countryside.
The name of this dynasty was Sheng. The emperor was a wise ruler. The land was fertile under his rule, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the average standard of living was above the subsistence level.
In other words, this was an era where you would never starve to death as long as you were diligent.
But even so, the average farmer can only earn one or two taels of silver per month, and it will take more than forty years to save up to five hundred taels of silver without eating or drinking.
But in his cheap father’s mouth, it was “a mere five hundred taels.”
It really is that the well-fed will never know how the starving suffer…
Mo Songyan, who had experienced hardships, deeply despised the words and actions of ‘why don’t they eat meat1何不食肉糜 lit. Why don’t they eat meat? It was said by Emperor Hui of Jin 晉惠帝|晋惠帝[Jìn Huì dì] when told that his people didn’t have enough rice to eat.?’ An idea suddenly came to his mind—an idea that would make Mo Wangchen lose face.
“Since it’s just five hundred taels, I’m not afraid to sign, but I have a more interesting game. Are you interested?”
Xiao Changyu sat on the side and tugged at his sleeve, his phoenix eyes full of advice, and even shook his head solemnly.
Mo Songyan smiled modestly, raised his other hand, and stretched it out, trying to cover the pale and thin hand. But just when his hand was halfway out, he suddenly seemed to remember something and pulled his hand back. He clenched his fist on his side and released it, then clenched it again and released it.
He looked into Xiao Changyu’s eyes, his almond-shaped eyes sparkling, and said gently, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Xiao Changyu looked at him, but he was not at all at ease.
He’s here? What can he do?
What can a young master who can’t even use a flint do?
He has a big physique and strength, and he has done a lot of work in and out of the temple. But if he really wants to make money by working hard, can he bear it?
But seeing Mo Songyan’s confident demeanor, he inexplicably dispelled the idea of continuing to stop him.
Forget it, let’s see his proposal first. If they really can’t repay the money in the end, he… will just use his savings to pay it back…
However, there is interest too.
He, Xiao Changyu, did not borrow money for nothing.
Seeing that he no longer stopped him, Mo Songyan turned to face Shopkeeper Mo with a look of interest.
Shopkeeper Mo saw all the little actions of the two people. He never expected that Mo Songyan, who usually had a violent temper, actually had a shy side. It made him dream back to his youth in an instant…
“What’s the matter, Father? Are you interested?” Seeing that he had been silent, Mo Songyan interrupted his recollections.
“Say, what game?” Shopkeeper Mo sat down, opened the tea cup, and prepared to drink tea.
Mo Songyan also sat down and said calmly, “I will sign the IOU, but let’s sign an agreement. If I can’t pay the money back within one year, the house will be returned to the original owner, and the five hundred taels of silver will be doubled to one thousand taels. That means not only will I not have a house in a year, but I will also owe them one thousand taels of silver…”
“What nonsense are you talking about again!?” Shopkeeper Mo had just taken a sip of tea when he heard this and raised his head in anger.
“Listen to me first.” Mo Songyan continued, ignoring his anger. “But if I pay back the money within a year, you, as a businessman who has been in the market for many years, my dear father, is it not excessive for you to give your eldest son some reward?”
Shopkeeper Mo: “Go on.”
“I will pay back the money within one year. As a reward, you must give me 5,000 taels of silver, not a copper coin less. I believe that five thousand taels of silver is just a drop in the bucket for you, right, Father?”
“Oh, by the way, this agreement is made in triplicate and must be reviewed and filed by the government before it becomes effective. After it becomes effective, you, I, and the government will each have one copy. I suggest you leave your share with Brother Xiao for safekeeping to prevent Little Mother from seeing it and causing trouble again, thus affecting the peace of your family.”
In the end, Manager Mo did not drink the tea. He put down the teacup and looked at Mo Songyan.
This child seems to have changed, but he didn’t. He seems not to have changed, but he also changed. He always feels like there’s something different, but he can’t say exactly where it is. But now he has discovered where the change was—Mo Songyan’s eloquence has improved.
He used to be fearless, but he suffered a lot because of his words. Now he is very different.
“Your speaking skills have reached perfection now ah. Five out of three sentences are used to insult others in a sarcastic way.”
Mo Songyan replied, “Oh, what you said is too exaggerated. Even Li Bai would have to admit defeat. Let’s not talk about anything else. Will you sign this agreement? Be frank with me, if you don’t sign, we will find other ways.”
“Sign, this agreement must be signed. I want to see if you have any ability to repay 500 taels within a year. I originally wanted to give you three years, but since you asked to pay it back within a year and you have invested a lot of money too, I, your father, am not a coward!”
So Mo Songyan wrote an IOU, signed an agreement, and went to the government to file the agreement. By the time he finished the whole process, it was already dark.
When they finished their work, they stood in the empty house and looked up at the sky.
In just two days, he went through too much, from being killed in a car accident to having his soul travel through ancient times, from being kicked out of his home to owning a small courtyard, from being penniless to being in a lot of debt…
Until now, he still has a sense of vanity, as if all this is just a dream. As long as he wakes up, he will still be the cross-talk performer of the 21st century. Wherever he went, fans greeted him eagerly, including his loving sister and bad-tempered nephew…
“These past few days have been really exciting, so many things have happened.” He murmured as he looked at the starry sky.
Xiao Changyu turned to look at him, then turned back to look at the sky, thinking, Life after marriage is really wonderful…
After a while, their stomachs rumbled at the same time, and they realized they had not eaten dinner.
“I was so busy bargaining with my father that I forgot about dinner. That father of mine too. He doesn’t even care whether his sons have eaten or not!”
The two stopped looking up at the stars and walked towards the kitchen together.
The house that caused Mo Songyan to be in debt faced south and had a screen wall at the entrance, and there are wing rooms and kitchens on both sides. The deepest part of the courtyard is the main house, which contains the bedroom and the living room. The furniture inside is made of high-quality wood by skilled craftsmen. It seems that the original owner must have been from a wealthy family.
When they entered the kitchen, they were surprised to find that there were ingredients inside!
Mo Songyan smiled brightly: “Let me show you my skills. Are you picky about food?”
Xiao Changyu shook his head, then took a step forward, standing between Mo Songyan and the rice jar.
He really couldn’t imagine what kind of skills Mo Songyan could show, he didn’t want to waste time and rice.
“Ai! What? Don’t believe me? I’ll tell you,If I didn’t cook for myself, with my little mother’s tricks, I wouldn’t grow this big.” Mo Songyan saw Xiao Changyu standing in front of him, and he pulled his shoulder with his hand while talking.
He exerted force with his hands, and Xiao Changyu stepped hard on the ground, wishing his feet were glued to the ground. But he didn’t have as much strength as Mo Songyan. As Mo Songyan exerted force, his upper body tilted and his center of gravity became unstable, and he was about to fall!
At the critical moment, Mo Songyan grabbed Xiao Changyu’s hand with lightning speed and then forcefully pulled at him. He successfully straightened Xiao Changyu’s body while also pulling him into his arms…
Just like dancing tango, Xiao Changyu turned around and ended up in Mo Songyan’s arms, his head just happened to rest on Mo Songyan’s shoulder too…
Xiao Changyu: “……”
Mo Songyan: “……”
Mo Songyan really wants to sing at this moment to describe this scene: spinning~jumping~you leaning on my shoulder~
But he dares not. He cleared his throat and explained, “Haha… that… sorry… the situation is urgent, and I got anxious… that… are you okay?”
Xiao Changyu stood up straight and took his head off Mo Songyan’s shoulder. Suddenly, he felt a sense of stagnation. He quickly shook his head and left the kitchen, breathing deeply outside.
Seeing that he looked like he had touched the plague god and needed to be cleaned up immediately, Mo Songyan shook his head in self-mockery and grabbed a handful of rice from the rice jar, washed it in a ceramic basin, and added water to the pot. Following Xiao Changyu’s method, he lit the firewood with a flint.
Then he found a preserved egg in the food cabinet, washed it, and cut it into pieces for later use. He then rummaged through the drawers and found a piece of air-dried bacon, which he also washed and cut into pieces.
He saw some green onions planted in the yard, so he plucked some green onion leaves, washed them, and chopped them up for later use…
After Xiao Changyu’s breathing stabilized, he smelled a pleasant aroma of rice and turned around. Mo Songyan stood at the entrance of the dining hall, folding his arms and smiling, saying to him, “Dinner is ready. Come and try it. I guarantee that after finishing one bowl, you will want to eat the next one, one bowl after another, without stopping.”
Xiao Changyu somehow went over.
The moment he sat at the table and saw the dinner, he blamed himself for believing Mo Songyan. If he had known earlier, he should have stayed in the kitchen and not given him the chance to waste food—
What exactly is this bowl of porridge that is neither porridge nor a side dish? Is it edible? Is it for human consumption? Not poisonous, right?
Looking at Mo Songyan’s expectant expression, Xiao Changyu picked up the spoon and swallowed, his adam’s apple trembling up and down…
The author has something to say: One coin is equivalent to one yuan today, so five hundred taels is equivalent to 500,000 yuan today. Earning 500,000 yuan a year with no money is more in line with the setting of a grassroots counterattack and starting from scratch. After all, there was no system and no cheat codes, and Xiangsheng had not yet been invented in that dynasty, so the difficulty was quite big.
