Chapter 7: 第六章 兑金

More than ten li from Zhao Village East lay Wu'an City. This Wu'an was the gateway through which the former State of Zhao guarded its capital, Handan, and had historically been a strategic stronghold for military commanders. The city featured high walls and thick ramparts, mostly constructed from blue stone slabs and filled with a mixture of glutinous rice and clay, making them exceptionally sturdy. During the late Warring States period, after King Zhaoxiang of Qin mistakenly executed Bai Qi, King Wang Ling and King Wang E launched two successive invasions of Zhao, only to return in defeat beneath the walls of Wu'an. Setting aside other factors, the sheer strength of Wu'an City was evident from this.

As noon approached, Lin Ye, the proprietor of the "Lin Family Trading House" within Wu'an City, was lying on a green bamboo rocking chair under a century-old tree in his backyard, enjoying the shade. A gentle breeze drifted beneath the tree, and on either side of him, two beautiful maidservants held fans to fan him. Lin Ye was extremely content, feeling so comfortable he was almost on the verge of moaning.

Speaking of Lin Ye, his original surname was not Lin, but Tian. His great-grandfather, Tian Dan, had been a figure of immense renown during the late Warring States period. Tian Dan was originally a collateral member of the Qi royal family. During the great war between Qi and Yan, Tian Dan, acting as a mere merchant, led a crowd to defend the isolated city of Jimo for six years, and later used the ingenious "Fire Ox" tactic to crush the Yan army and restore his state in one fell swoop. Following the restoration, he was appointed Chancellor of Qi due to his merits, but he later fell into disfavor due to the suspicions of the King of Qi, Tian Fazhang, who feared he would become "too big to control," eventually dying in melancholy. After Tian Dan's death, the family's fortunes gradually declined, and his descendants scattered. After Qin destroyed the State of Qi, some members of the Qi royal family were heavily pursued by the First Emperor because they were involved in the conspiracies of the exiled nobility of the former Six States against Qin; Tian Dan's clan was implicated as a result. Consequently, most of Tian Dan's descendants lived under assumed names, fleeing across the world.

This Lin Ye, having been terrorized, had fled alone to Wu'an without even tending to his family, subsequently changing his name to Lin Ye. Although Lin Ye lacked any sense of loyalty or righteousness, he possessed a shrewd business mind. Starting with only half a jin of "Lu Gold" that he carried on his person, he had managed to establish the "Lin Family Trading House" in less than ten years. No one ever complained about having too much money, and as his business grew, Lin Ye's greed expanded. He began engaging in shady dealings such as predatory seizures, bullying men and women, extortion, and human trafficking. However, Lin Ye always acted with great caution and never committed murder; thus, even under the draconian Qin laws, they had failed to find any evidence against him. As a result, the strength of the "Lin Family Trading House" surged, and it had stealthily become the largest trading house in the Handan Commandery. Within Wu'an City alone, the trading house held sixteen storefronts, connected side-by-side, offering every imaginable variety of goods, and its business was exceptionally prosperous.

At approximately the stroke of noon, the front desk manager, Lin Chen, hurried to Lin Ye's side to report, "Proprietor, someone has arrived at the front to exchange currency."

"Just exchange it yourself, such a trivial matter..." Lin Ye said impatiently.

"Proprietor, it is not like that. They are exchanging four jin of gold, and its purity far exceeds that of Lu Gold. The shape is also peculiar—it is square, vastly different from the standard flat, round Lu Gold used in the Empire. Furthermore, the person here to exchange it is Zhao Yun from Zhao Village outside the city. His family is impoverished, struggling to eat and lacking proper clothing; where would he get such a large amount of gold? Moreover, the person accompanying him has a commanding and extraordinary presence. This Zhao Yun claims to be his eldest grandson, but as far as I know, Zhao Yun only has one granddaughter. When did a grandson suddenly appear? There are many suspicious points in this matter, so I did not dare make a decision myself and have come to seek your orders, Proprietor," Lin Chen explained.

"Oh, such a strange occurrence. Quickly, follow me to see!" Upon hearing of such wealth from an unknown source, Lin Ye's avaricious heart could not help but stir. He lunged forward toward the front hall.

Zhao Yun and Qin Yang were currently sitting upright in the side hall of the trading house, waiting. Although it was a side hall, it was arranged in an ancient and elegant manner. On the tea table beside them were several plates of exquisite snacks, and two cups of Silver Needle tea were still steaming, with two maidservants attending them on either side. Zhao Yun had originally been a medicinal farmer; he had never seen such a grand display and felt as if he were sitting on needles, unable to stop rubbing his hands against his robes. In contrast, Qin Yang occasionally comforted Zhao Yun, saying, "Grandfather, please remain calm. Since we have come, we might as well make ourselves at home."

In truth, Qin Yang had already detected something suspicious about this trading house from the manager Lin Chen's suspicious and cunning gaze, though he could not yet pinpoint exactly what it was. However, even if there was some trouble, Qin Yang believed he could handle it. If he retreated at the first sign of difficulty, how could he ever complete his mission? Moreover, aside from this trading house, there was truly nowhere else in Wu'an City that could exchange these two pieces of gold, so Qin Yang could find no reason to avoid it. Thus, he sat there with a commanding posture, calmly waiting for developments to unfold.

A moment later, a middle-aged man in his early forties, dressed luxuriously, hurried in from the backyard, followed by the manager Lin Chen. Qin Yang thought to himself with a secret smile, *Heh, the big shot has finally made his appearance.*

Upon seeing Qin Yang and the other, the middle-aged man immediately bowed and said, "Lin Ye was unaware of the arrival of two distinguished guests and failed to welcome you from afar. Please forgive me!"

Qin Yang returned the salute. "It is no matter. We have come today simply to exchange some currency; please make it convenient for us." Having said that, he took out the two pieces of gold and handed them over.

Lin Ye snatched them up, examined them carefully, and immediately went to the storefront counter to weigh them.

"This truly is good stuff. Just as Lin Chen said, the origin of this is unknown. It seems my fortune has arrived today; I cannot refuse such wealth." Lin Ye's mind raced as he secretly plotted to first stabilize the two men. *I'll exchange it for them first, and then I'll stage an ambush halfway. I doubt these two will be able to escape my grasp.*

Having made up his mind, Lin Ye immediately returned to the side hall, his face full of smiles, and bowed again to Qin Yang and his companion. "This brother, I have completed the inspection. How would you like the exchange to be made?"

Qin Yang stopped being polite and replied immediately, "Exchange it for thirty pieces of Lu Gold, one piece per two liang. The remaining four liang should be exchanged for Qin Banliang. Pack them into two bags, divided equally. Of course, I won't let you work for nothing; I will give you four liang of Lu Gold as a tip. What do you think?"

Qin Yang did not want to linger here any longer, so he blurted out a ten percent commission as a reward, hoping this would extinguish Lin Ye's greed.

Beside him, Zhao Yun was stunned into silence. Seeing Qin Yang give away four liang of gold in a single sentence, he felt a sharp pang of heartache. One had to know that back then, a shi of rice only cost thirty Qin Banliang; four liang of gold could buy more than forty shi of rice—enough to feed him and young Qingyao for several years. Feeling his heart racing, he couldn't help but tug at Qin Yang's sleeve.

Qin Yang gave a slight smile, feigning ignorance.

Hearing this, Lin Ye's smile grew even wider. "This brother is truly magnanimous! I admire you greatly! Manager, pay him immediately as the young master requested."

Qin Yang had originally thought Lin Ye might make things difficult, but he did not expect it to go so smoothly. He was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself, *It seems I was being too suspicious. They say the ancients were simple and honest; they did not lie to me.* He stopped thinking about it and simply waited for Lin Chen to bring the money.

A moment later, Lin Chen arrived before Qin Yang with two small cloth bags and one large one. He bowed and said, "I have divided the money according to your instructions, Young Master. The two small bags each contain fourteen pieces of Lu Gold, weighing one jin and twelve liang each. The large bag contains one thousand two hundred and fifty copper coins. Please check them."

"No need, no need. I trust you." Qin Yang laughed, picked up the bags, and called out to Zhao Yun, "Grandfather, let's go." The two immediately walked out the door.

Seeing them leave, Lin Chen slumped his shoulders and asked Lin Ye, "Boss, you... you're just letting them go like that?"

"Hehe, if we don't let them go, what else do you want? Do you want to rob them in your own shop? That kid is very sharp; he threw out four liang of gold right away to shut my mouth. What else could I say? However, we can do this: isn't there a mountain path on the way out of the city toward Zhao Village? Find a few quick-handed men to hide there first, and then... for now, just send someone to tail them. That kid doesn't look like an easy target, so be careful with everything. Don't let him find you. Haha..."