Chapter 52: The Sorrows of the Rich Second Generation

Song Kai returned to the Prince's Mansion every ten days to report on the construction progress and collect his wages.

Tang Zhao sent someone to the money changer to exchange her still-warm manuscript royalties into copper coins, which filled five large crates.

At Mingxia Village, the tenant farmers gathered early at the village entrance, stretching their necks to look toward the distant crossroads, filled with both anticipation and nervousness.

Under the glow of the morning sun, a mule cart slowly appeared before the crowd and lumbered into the village.

Song Dalang reined in the mule cart, called over the tenant farmers, and had them unload the crates, lining them up in a row.

Song Erlang opened a crate, revealing it packed to the brim with glittering yellow copper coins.

The tenant farmers present had never seen so many copper coins in their entire lives; they stared with mouths agape in shock.

Headman Sun swallowed hard and pinched his right thigh hard behind his back; the sharp pain cleared his mind.

Song Kai took the ledger from his hands and said while flipping through the pages, "When your name is called, step forward and collect your money from the squad leader in charge of you. Remember, count your wages in front of me. Once you leave, neither I nor Headman Sun will handle any disputes."

The tenant farmers gripped their hands nervously.

"Tian Laoda," Song Kai called out, "you were responsible for the canal mud. Your daily wage is twelve wen, totaling one hundred and twenty wen. Any issues?"

Tian Laoda shook her head repeatedly; her eldest daughter helped her keep count every day, so there was no mistake.

Song Kai: "Then press your thumbprint here and go to Dalang to collect your wages."

Tian Laoda pressed her thumbprint decisively and ran to stand obediently before Song Dalang.

Most of the copper coins were strung together with hemp rope, one hundred wen per string, meaning only twenty more individual coins needed to be counted.

Song Dalang handed the counted money to Tian Laoda. "Count it once more."

The next tenant farmer was already queuing behind Tian Laoda. She stepped aside and beckoned her daughter, who had come along to watch the excitement.

Jinhua and Yinhua ran to Tian Laoda's side. The three of them counted the money over and over again; not a single wen was missing.

"Song Dalang, the amount is correct," Tian Laoda said with a smile.

Song Dalang was busy counting the remaining coins in his hand. "Today is a rest day. Work resumes as usual tomorrow."

Tian Laoda acknowledged him, and the father and two daughters ran home in high spirits.

"Mother, Mother! We got our wages!" Yinhua shouted as she rushed into the kitchen.

The Tian family was currently boiling bean rice. Hearing this, Tian's wife immediately dropped her wooden spoon. "Was it one hundred and twenty wen?"

"Yes, not even half a copper coin is missing," Jinhua said, handing the warm coins to her mother.

Tian's wife took the coins, her fingers lightly brushing them as if afraid to disturb the dust on them. Tears welled in her eyes; it had been a year—a full year—and the family finally had savings.

She could buy cloth to make clothes for the children and buy salt to add some flavor to their food.

"Mother, I heard a new kind of food called tofu has appeared in Mingxia Town. Can we buy a piece to try?" Yinhua pleaded, tugging at her mother's sleeve.

"It's two wen a piece," Tian's wife said, feeling a bit stingy.

"Mother, Mother, just one piece, just one is fine!" Yinhua acted spoiled. "Xinghua from the next village bought one and bragged about it to me and sister for two days!"

Seeing that her husband also agreed, Tian's wife gritted her teeth. "Buy it! After breakfast, your father and I will take you to town."

Yinhua let out an excited scream and was led by her sister, Jinhua, to get rice.

In the next room, Tian Erlang's wife hid the heavy copper coins in a hollow under the heated kang bed and ate her meal happily with her husband.

After the meal, Tian Laoda came to ask, "Erlang, your sister-in-law and I are going to take our parents, Jinhua, and Yinhua to stroll through town. Do you want to come?"

"We're coming. Big Brother, wait for us a moment."

Tian Erlang's wife grumbled, "What's the point of going to town? You'll just end up wasting more money."

"Money is meant to be spent. We've long since run out of hemp cloth and needles, and the salt and soy sauce should be running low too," seeing his wife about to argue further, Tian Erlang said, "Even if the two of us don't eat or wear anything new, what about Niuniu? What about our parents?"

Tian Erlang's wife compromised. "It's not easy to have a little money in hand," she muttered, not expecting it to be spent so quickly.

Tian Erlang ignored his wife's nagging and picked up his daughter, teasing her, "Does Niuniu want to go play in town?"

At eight years old, she was at the perfect age for play. Even though Niuniu was a sensible child, she couldn't resist the temptation. She hugged her father's neck and nodded vigorously. "I do!"

Tian Erlang's wife instantly stopped nagging.

Both families were ready, but Tian Laoda's elderly parents refused to go to town, insisting they stay home to watch the house.

With no other choice, the Tian brothers took their wives and children out. Along the way, they encountered many other tenant farmers traveling with their families to town for shopping and leisure. They traveled in groups, chatting and laughing all the way, making for a very lively journey.

***

In the Bidan Courtyard, however, Tang Zhao was not very happy.

The warehouse was filled with her treasures, and she couldn't bear to part with a single one.

"How about this hairpin?" Chunfeng picked out the smallest one.

Tang Zhao, looking like a "Iron Rooster," replied expressionlessly, "That is made of Hetian jade."

"What about this pearl?" Qiu Yu picked the smallest one from a box full of pearls; it was white with a hint of pink.

"That is 'Mermaid's Tears'," Tang Zhao continued expressionlessly, "it is priceless."

Qiu Yu shuddered in fright, nearly dropping the pearl.

Dongmei suggested, "How about that painting?" She pointed to a landscape painting of mountains and rain on the wall.

Tang Zhao remained expressionless. "An original work by a great scholar of the previous dynasty. It is a treasure that money cannot buy."

Xia Mo, under the expectant gazes of her sisters, asked, "Then these coral earrings?"

Tang Zhao sighed. "A personal gift from the Empress." She pointed to the jewelry boxes on the shelf. "They come as a complete set with the hairpins, buyao, necklaces, bracelets, and armlets."

Xia Mo shrank behind Dongmei's wide back.

Chunfeng felt conflicted. Everyone in Dayu thought their lady was dirt poor; who would have thought that in a warehouse full of items, they couldn't find a single thing of mediocre value?

For the first time in two lifetimes, Tang Zhao felt the plight of the ultra-wealthy. Aside from the rewards bestowed by the late Emperor when she was titled County Mistress and Commandery Princess, the warehouse contained only the dowry of her biological mother, which had been returned by the Prefect of Luoyang.

Imperial items were naturally of the highest quality, but Tang Zhao hadn't expected that her mother Song's dowry would also be composed of incomparable treasures.

Even her scoundrel of a father had been extremely extravagant.

Before Tang Zhao left Luoyang, the Duke of Wei had sent three full wagons of clothing and daily necessities. The most precious among them was the Cloud Brocade, known to be worth one gold piece per foot.

Driven by strong personal preferences, Tang Zhao intended to select a piece of Cloud Brocade as a prize for the Winter Warmth Banquet.

However, Tang Zhao was torn. The red brocade was brilliant and eye-catching, the white brocade was pure and elegant, and the blue brocade was gentle and refined. She loved them all.

To maintain her "poor girl" persona, she usually wore old clothes or garments made of ordinary fabrics.

Tang Zhao wasn't picky. After all, in her previous life, after her business failed, she had been burdened with massive debt and was so poor it would make anyone weep. Working three jobs a day like a spinning top, she used to wear twenty-nine-yuan short-sleeved denim shirts from online shopping sites. If they tore or got dirty, she just threw them away.

But in this life, her worst clothes were made of silk. If even a single thread pulled, her heart ached!

Thus, these three pieces of Cloud Brocade were a dilemma for her: she couldn't bear to wear them to make clothes, yet it pained her to give them away.

It was all the Duke of Wei's fault!