Chapter 42 Some people are happy and others are worried
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The saying that you can sleep until you wake up naturally and count money until your hands cramp is really not a joke.
The first half of the sentence was realized by Yang Fan just a few months after traveling through time. In the past few days, he felt the pain of counting money until his hands cramped.
There is no way, there are too few people who are literate and numeral in this era.
It was impossible for them to pay such a large amount of money in gold. You must know that gold was not the main currency in circulation in the Tang Dynasty and was very rare.
Although copper coins are the main currency in circulation, there was a shortage of copper in ancient times. The circulation of copper coins was not large, which was not enough to support the currency circulation of the entire society. Therefore, precious objects such as gold, silver, cloth, and grain were circulated at the same price as copper coins.
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Buddhist temples are okay, almost all payment is made in gold, and some aristocratic and wealthy families have almost everything, mostly copper coins, cloth, and food, so the workload is naturally heavy.
In the Tang Dynasty, a Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coin weighed about 3-4 grams, and a thousand coins were considered a consistent coin. A consistent coin weighed almost 7-8 kilograms, as you can imagine.
The total amount of gold paid this time is only about 700,000 guan, and not much silver. Even if all the gold and silver are converted into copper coins, the value is far less than one million guan, so Yang Fan received more than 100 guan.
Wan Guan, more than 200,000 Guan, were made of cloth, copper coins, grain, etc., and it took hundreds of horse-drawn carriages to pull them all.
In order to accommodate this huge sum of money, several side rooms were specially cleared to store all the copper coins, cloth, grain and other items. Of course, the gold was directly stored in the system for emergencies.
Although Yang Fan kept all the high-value items such as gold, Li Shimin was not satisfied and was even happier. After all, gold was not a general currency in circulation. From his point of view, copper coins and grain were more practical.
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The moon crescents over Jiuzhou, where some families are happy and some are sad, some are drinking fine wine in high-rise buildings, and some are living on the streets.
Although the sun was shining brightly in Chang'an in August, there were overcast clouds in the small courtyard where Yang and Wu Shun lived.
Looking at his mother Yang's sad face, Wu Shun gently comforted her daughter who was twisting in her arms with her hands. Wu Shun sighed slightly. Now they were in a desperate situation again.
First, Wu Shun's second brother sent someone to report that it was the eldest lady's birthday in two days, and asked them to prepare gifts and go to congratulate them, otherwise they would be kicked out of the courtyard.
Second, the Helan family sent someone to spread the word that Helan Minyue would be picked up during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
After being kicked out of the house by her husband's family and her eldest brother one after another, she could only live in this dilapidated courtyard with her mother and daughter. Now she was still threatened by them. How could Wu Shun not be angry?
People don't know how expensive firewood and rice are, so after coming here they lived frugally and sometimes picked up vegetable leaves thrown away by others.
But because their daughter had a serious illness, they had no savings to begin with and were already stretched thin. If it hadn't been for some money left by their sister last time, they might not have had the money to treat their daughter. How could they still have money to buy gifts now?
In addition to the gifts, what is even worse is that the Helan family wants to take back their daughter Helan Minyue. This is obviously an attempt to take her daughter away from her.
But what can she, a weak woman, do?
What's the point of living once he loses his daughter again? Thinking of this, Wu Shun suddenly became a little angry.
Although Wu Shun is not a vain and petty person, but many things are coming like a mountain, and he still feels a little bitter in his heart. Isn't this obviously trying to punish them to death?
Seeing Wu Shun's pale face, how could Mrs. Yang not know what she was worried about at the moment? The former noble lady was in such a state of decline that she could only curse herself for being incompetent.
My daughter and granddaughter were not well fed or clothed, and they were often worried and frightened. I sighed secretly in my heart:
"I also had a silver hairpin among my dowry items. Let's pawn it tomorrow so that I can have money to buy gifts. As for Min Yue, let's take it step by step."
After hearing this, Wu Shun's face suddenly changed and he quickly refused:
"Mother, you can't do this. That silver hairpin is the only dowry you have left."
Then he said hesitantly: "How about tomorrow I go to Minyue's grandma to borrow some money."
After hearing this, Yang laughed coldly and said:
"When they kicked you out, do you think you can still borrow money now? Besides, if you go back and beg them now, they will definitely use Minyue as a bargaining chip. If you let me go, I won't let you go!"
Hearing this, Wu Shun was full of grievances, wondering what to do now, his almond-shaped eyes burst into tears and he couldn't control it.
The more the mother and daughter thought about it, the sadder they became, they began to sob and hugged each other for a moment.
Just when they were feeling sad, they suddenly heard people shouting and neighing outside. The two of them looked up at each other with confusion on their faces.
Before they could go out to check, they heard someone knocking on the courtyard door.
Quickly wiping away her tears and straightening her clothes, Yang asked Wu Shun to take care of Helan Minyue in the back room while she got up and went to open the door.
After the courtyard door opened, a little girl came in. Seeing Miss Yang, she was stunned for a moment and asked:
"Are you Miss Wu Zhaowu's mother?"
After seeing Yang's nod, the little girl said again with excitement:
"That's great. The young master asked me to bring you some things."
"Give us something?" Ms. Yang was a little stunned, thinking that there must be a mistake, and she didn't know this little girl.
After settling his daughter, Wu Shun walked out of the back room. When he saw his mother in a daze, her red lips slightly opened, she asked in confusion: "Mother, who is this?"
The little girl saw a flash of envy in Wu Shun's eyes, then smiled slightly and praised:
"You must be Miss Wu's sister. You are so beautiful. You are as beautiful as Miss Wu and look like a fairy."
Seeing Wu Shun's confusion, the little girl then explained: "Hello, sister Wu, I am Xing'er, the personal maid of Wannian County, and I will give you something for the young master today. This is the jade hairpin for you."
After hearing Xing'er's words, Wu Shun's pretty face suddenly turned red and felt at a loss.
Although the social atmosphere in the Tang Dynasty was relatively open, it would inevitably arouse criticism if a brother-in-law gave a gift to his sister-in-law, not to mention the small items used by women.
For a moment, it was either answer or not, and I was suddenly at a loss.
Mr. Yang next to him also frowned. Judging from the last time we got along, this uncle should not be such a frivolous person, so he asked:
"Does Miss Wu know about sending this jade hairpin?"
Xing'er immediately replied: "Of course Miss Wu knows, did Miss Wu order her servants to buy this jade hairpin? Originally, Miss Wu wanted to deliver it in person, but now there are too many things in the house to deal with. I will wait until it is done."
Come and see you."
Wu Shun suddenly realized that he seemed to have thought wrongly, but he heard Xing'er say again:
"The young master said that Sister Wu, you are living a relatively poor life now. Last time I saw that Sister Wu was using wooden hairpins to tie her hair. Next time I ask Miss Wu to come, I will bring a few more hairpins."
These words made Wu Shun flutter again. She didn't expect Yang Fan to observe her so carefully. Could it be that this brother-in-law really had thoughts about him? Wu Shun, who was just imagining things alone, felt the blush spread to his neck again.
Yang helped take the jade hairpin and asked: "What's going on with the commotion outside? Is there anyone else from the house coming with you?"
Xing'er slapped her forehead with a cute look on her face before she realized: "Oh, I almost forgot, there are some money, food and goods outside, I'll let them move them in right now", she said and hurriedly ran out of the hospital.
Seeing boxes of things being moved into the back room, Yang and Wu Shun were stunned and asked in disbelief:
"Did you make a mistake? Why did you send so many things?"
For them, this scene was too shocking. They had never used so many things in the Duke's Mansion before.
There were four or five boxes containing copper coins, which must have been several thousand coins anyway. There were also several boxes of cloth that looked like fine brocade, not to mention food and other items.
The little girl Xing'er said indifferently: "This is not enough. Originally, the young master said that he would send more things. Miss Wu said that there is no need to send more things. Why not bring some more when you come next time?"
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Yang and Wu Shun looked at each other with horrified expressions and hurriedly waved their hands to refuse: "You go back and tell my uncle to thank him. You don't have to bring anything with you next time. I can't even put it in the house now."
Then he asked with a puzzled look on his face: "How can the Earl's residence be so rich..."
Yang has been in the Duke's Mansion for decades, and although he doesn't care about the affairs of the government, he still has a general idea of the financial situation of the Duke's Mansion.
The huge government palace only has about 100,000 guan of money at most. It is not very easy to come up with several thousand guan of cash at once, let alone give it away casually.
And this uncle is just a county uncle. How can he have so much money in his house? It is even more generous than a family that has been passed down for thousands of years.
Xing'er said proudly: "What's this? The young master has earned more than two million gu. If he hadn't dedicated more than 1 million gu to the court, we wouldn't be able to afford it in our house."
Xing'er's words shocked the two of them. They were stunned. They had given more than two million guan to the imperial court. How could they be willing to give up?
I originally thought that my daughter Wu Zhao was at a disadvantage when the emperor granted her a baron, but now it seems that my daughter has climbed onto a high tree.
After Myolie left, Wu Shun looked at the boxes almost filling the room and felt as if he was in a dream.
But the jade hairpin that is lubricated and cool in the hand is so real.
Looking back and forth at so many coins and pieces of cloth, Wu Shun's pretty face gradually showed a smile. When he was about to discuss his thoughts with his mother, he saw Mrs. Yang frowning and looking sad, which made Wu Shun confused.
Already.
So he asked in confusion: "Why is mother worried about something?"
Yang glanced at her eldest daughter's attractive face: "Don't you think there's something wrong?"
Seeing the confusion on her eldest daughter's face, Yang continued, "It's been almost two months since your sister arrived at the Earl's Mansion."
Wu Shun thought for a while and replied: "It's only six days to two months. What's the problem?"
"Didn't you hear what that little maid Xing'er called your sister just now?"
"Miss Wu," Wu Shun blurted out and immediately felt something was wrong. His almond-shaped eyes made the boss stare at his mother in disbelief.