Chapter 11: Old Yan's Economic Calculations

As soon as the donkey cart stopped, the gatekeeper at the gambling den spotted Yan Lao'er.

Before he could even collect his thoughts, seven or eight men rushed out from inside.

They surrounded the donkey cart in a tight circle.

"Whoa! Isn't this Yan Er? You've even made it onto a donkey cart now—here to pay back your debt?" After saying this, he leaned in toward the donkey, wanting to stroke it, but the donkey shook its ears and bared its large teeth. The leader sheepishly pulled his hand back.

Afraid of getting bitten, he decided against it.

We're done for!

Yan Lao'er felt his scalp tingle. In a state of terrified slow motion, he turned to look at his older brother—Yan Huaiwen—who had already managed to sit up on his own.

"Pay back what debt?" Yan Huaiwen asked.

Yan Lao'er felt like crying but had no tears; the secret was out way too early, and he hadn't had any mental preparation at all!

They had been hoping that with the platform's help, they could clear this gambling debt tonight.

"B-Big Brother... I didn't... I'm not..." Yan Lao'er broke into a sweat, his face turning bright red.

Wuwuwu! There was no way to clear his name!

If he said it wasn't him, if he said he hadn't done it, who would believe him? Who!

What an injustice!

Although it wasn't even June yet, oh Heavens, please bring some snow!!!

"Oh my, look at my eyes—isn't this the Scholar? Look at this, how rude of me, how rude. If you'd do us the honor, would you like to come inside for a cup of tea?" The leader was dressed in a crisp, short-sleeved outfit, looking burly and powerful, his speech slick as oil.

"No need. Tell me what this debt is about."

"Your younger brother was playing around at our den earlier. His luck wasn't great—it's not much, he owes exactly twenty taels of silver."

"Is that so?"

"Look, we wouldn't dare lie to you. The IOU written in your brother's own hand is right here."

What else could Yan Lao'er say? That guy had pulled out the IOU with his signature again and was pretending to hand it to his brother.

His brother took it, read it carefully from top to bottom, glanced at him, expressionless, and then turned his head away...

Old Yan must be heartbroken and disappointed.

He had been so good to his younger brother.

Everything was happening at once, adding insult to injury.

Yan Lao'er wiped his face hard and, deciding to just let it all fall apart, said

"Big Brother, I was wrong. I shouldn't have gambled!

The money is what I owe, and I will find a way to pay it back myself.

Didn't you promise me three days? The time isn't up yet. On the day we agreed upon, you can come find me, and I, Yan Lao'er, will certainly pay you back in full."

The man sneered and ignored him, keeping his eyes fixed on the scholar sitting on the donkey cart.

Yan Huaiwen didn't remember what his past self's expression had been when faced with this sudden debt—cough, cough, perhaps it wasn't that he didn't remember, but that he didn't want to act it out the same way.

Back then, he had been dumbfounded, looking like a hideous ghost.

He had felt the bitterness of his younger brother's immaturity, and the hatred for his begging and even forcing him to sell the land to pay the debt.

Yes, at that time, his younger brother had said the same thing: Big Brother, I was wrong, please save me. If I can't pay, they'll drag the Li woman and Er Ya away to settle the debt... Big Brother, I know I was wrong, I'll never gamble again... Big Brother, believe me, believe me this once, Big Brother...

In his memory, there was also the sound of Da Ya crying, his sister-in-law crying, and Er Ya...

He hadn't expected that little girl to cry even more piercingly than her sister Da Ya. With her eyes closed and her mouth wide open, such a tiny person, yet her wails were so loud, earth-shattering!

His head had been buzzing; he had almost been knocked over by her crying.

Rather than having the whole family live in fear, it was better to confront this matter early and resolve it in town.

"The family estate is meager; there are only ten mu of ancestral land..." Yan Huaiwen closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Help me down."

Yan Lao'er angrily shoved the debt collector who was trying to curry favor aside, and while stealing a glance at Old Yan's expression, carefully helped him off the cart.

Yan Huaiwen slowly pushed him away, looked up at the sign for the Shunyi Pawnshop, and walked in slowly.

Shunxin, Shunyi.

Listen to those names; it was clear the gambling den and the pawnshop were one and the same.

Yan Lao'er wore a mournful face, hesitated for a moment, and followed him in.

He heard his brother say: "You are not the only pawnshop in town. The silver my younger brother owes can be settled by three mu of land according to the market rate."

"Scholar Yan, you're speaking like an outsider. High-grade fields are seven taels per mu, but that's in a good year. With the harvest looking to decrease this summer, if the heavens don't cooperate and don't grant a single drop of rain, the land will be downgraded to medium or even low-grade. Furthermore, this is a pawnshop; pawnshops have their own rules. Regardless of what is being pawned, the value is discounted. But the good thing is, we don't drag things out—we pay in cash, which is convenient, isn't it?"

Before the second manager of the pawnshop could reply, the head manager stepped out from the back and took over the conversation.

Whether intentional or not, the scholar had hit the nail on the head.

That's right, there was more than one pawnshop in town. If they let him walk away to sell the land elsewhere because of them, that would be a disaster.

They had been eyeing Scholar Yan's land for more than a day or two.

"Other items might be hard to sell, but I have never heard of land being hard to sell. It has always been a seller's market. If I put the word out that I want to sell land, it can be settled the same day. Don't try to fool me with that talk, Head Manager," Yan Huaiwen said calmly.

"You are right, but you are only willing to part with three mu. Large families might not want to go through the trouble of buying such small plots. In the countryside, selling land involves asking relatives first, then neighbors. I'm sure you know that you won't find a suitable buyer immediately. Pawning it to a shop is the most convenient way. We don't need to inspect the fields or measure the land; as long as there is a deed, we can go to the yamen to process the split deed immediately. If you don't have time to go, you only need to write a note, and we will handle it ourselves without you needing to show your face." The head manager was all smiles, polite and courteous, betting that the scholar wouldn't want to go to the yamen himself.

After all, he was a man of status; selling ancestral property was not something to be proud of.

"What is the price?" Yan Huaiwen asked.

"Five taels per mu," the head manager replied immediately.

If it were anyone else today, not Scholar Yan, but someone else who had incurred a gambling debt across the street, it would be impossible to get this price from him; he would give four taels at most.

But Yan Lao'er still owed too little—only twenty taels—it wasn't enough!

Yan Lao'er panicked: "Three mu of land isn't enough, it has to be four?"

That would be four mu of land gone, nearly half the family estate.

Old Yan wasn't wrong to split the family property; he deserved it!

Yan Huaiwen shook his head. "Rather than being squeezed on the price, I might as well sell all ten mu together. After paying off my younger brother's gambling debt, there will be a surplus, and I can invest in property elsewhere."

"Ah? Sell it all?" Yan Lao'er was shocked. Was Old Yan really that open-minded?

But thinking about it carefully, setting aside the sentimentality for ancestral land, just looking at it in terms of money, this was indeed the method with the least loss.

Ten mu of land, seventy taels, minus the twenty taels of debt.

There would still be fifty taels in hand.

If he looked around and bought a plot of land—not a very good one, just an average one—he might even be able to buy another ten mu back.

Old Yan's financial planning was actually pretty good!

Wait, no!

Holy crap!

Wasn't Old Yan planning to leave? Preparing to flee from the famine!!!

He already had a destination, going to some place called Guanzhou...

Aiya!

He couldn't take the land on the road, but he could take the silver!

A happy accident?!

Old Yan decided to take the initiative. Better not wait for the debt collectors to come knocking again, and his niece's crying was making his head throb—thump, thump~

(End of chapter)