Chapter 136: The Second Move

As the first light of dawn appeared, following a night of autumn rain, Beijing finally felt a hint of chill.

Today is the day for the capital officials to receive their salaries.

Throughout the entire city of Beijing, there are over ten thousand officials of various ranks; aside from those high-ranking dignitaries, the vast majority of officials rely on their salaries to get by.

And so, having just received their salaries, it also happens to be a rest day.

Many officials, either going themselves or sending their servants, have rushed toward Chongwen Street.

Although they had previously received a proclamation from the Office of Transmission stating that these Silver Dollars could be used just as freely as regular silver,

when it came down to it, looking at the thin Silver Dollars in their hands, they still felt a bit of trepidation.

Ambassador Sun Yuan of the Weapon Bureau was one of them.

He stood at the street entrance, looking at the sea of heads, then at the Silver Dollar in his hand, and gritting his teeth, he plunged into the street.

Watching the excitement has been a tradition for the Chinese people since ancient times, and with the advent of the Silver Dollar, many commoners also came to join in the fun.

Although it was early morning, the streets and alleys were already blocked.

Sun Yuan moved with difficulty for two steps and arrived in front of a rice shop.

Pushing through the crowd to look, he saw a clever-looking shop assistant in green clothes shouting: "Gentlemen, neighbors, today is our shop's first official opening. Our master said he wants to offer everyone a bit of luck."

"You ask what kind of luck? Our master said, anyone who buys grain with Silver Dollars today will get it for ninety percent of the market price. There will be plenty more luck in the Higo."

"Would you say this is good luck or not?!"

"Good!" the crowd of onlookers shouted in response.

"Is our master generous or not?"

"Generous!"

The assistant, with his oily tongue, had the atmosphere of the scene lively in no time.

"Everyone, remember, we only accept Silver Dollars today. If you don't have any, it doesn't matter; go inside Chongwen Street, where there are special government officials to exchange them for you. It is absolutely fair and honest."

Once these words were spoken, the onlookers began to discuss it among themselves.

"Yo, did the sun rise from the west today? Can such a good thing really fall to us?"

"Indeed, I've been in this Beijing city for over twenty years and have never seen such a spectacle."

"This is what they call, a toad jumping out of a sewing room—it's a strange turn of events."

"Look! Someone is actually going to exchange for Silver Dollars."

Suddenly, a cry of surprise cut off the discussion. Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a few men in white summer-cloth robes walking into the crowd with smiles.

The men gave the assistant a wink and then slapped the Silver Dollars onto the table.

"Five Silver Dollars at one tael each, five taels of silver, exchange it all for silver."

"Got it!"

The assistant shouted with a drawn-out tone, then turned and yelled inside: "Quick, get ten shi of grain for these gentlemen. Don't you dare short them, or the master won't forgive us."

The crowd's eyes lit up at the sound.

One must know that the current price of grain in the capital is over six mace of silver, but here it only costs five mace.

In one transaction, there is already a difference of one mace of silver.

While they were weighing the pros and cons, the laborers had already weighed the grain and completed the delivery.

Watching the men leave carrying full loads of grain, many commoners were slightly moved; those with spare money went directly to exchange for the silver currency to trade.

Those without much money pooled it with companions to exchange for a tael of silver to buy some.

Business on the entire Chongwen Street instantly became booming.

Sun Yuan let out a long sigh and was about to go forward to buy grain when his shoulder was lightly tapped.

He hurriedly turned his head to look, only to see a black-booted junior officer he did not recognize.

"Are you Ambassador Sun Yuan of the Weapon Bureau?" the black-booted junior officer asked.

"That is I." Sun Yuan was terrified inside, but feigned composure and said, "Who are you, soldier? I am a law-abiding man and have never done anything illegal." "Hey, look at you, I'm not a man-eating wolf," the black-booted junior officer said with a smile and a wave of his hand, pointing to the teahouse on the front left, "There is a noble person upstairs who asked me to invite you up for tea."

"Who?"

"You'll know when you go."

Saying this, he ignored the gazes of others, grabbed Sun Yuan, and headed toward the teahouse.

Upon reaching the private room on the second floor, Sun Yuan took a look inside and hurriedly cupped his hands: "Your humble servant Sun Yuan, greetings to Minister Zhang."

This person was none other than Zhang Yunxiu.

Smiling and nodding, Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand to signal the junior officer to withdraw, then beckoned for Sun Yuan to come and sit, joking: "Ambassador Sun, you've arrived a bit late today."

Sun Yuan only rested his buttocks on the edge of the stool, ready to stand up at any moment.

Teased by Zhang Yunxiu, he scratched his head and stood up, smiling sheepishly: "This servant didn't expect the Silver Dollars to be so useful. I was just eating a meal at home, and by the time I arrived here, it was already packed."

"How many taels of Silver Dollars did you get for this month's salary?" Zhang Yunxiu asked.

"Five pieces. My monthly salary was originally seven shi of grain. According to the rule of seven mace per shi, I should have received four taels and nine mace. The officials at the Ministry of Revenue were generous and rounded it up for us."

As Sun Yuan spoke, his brows could not help but lift.

"Is it enough?" Zhang Yunxiu asked again.

"Hey, money is never enough. Even if the imperial court gave me ten thousand taels, I could spend it all. If the court gave me one tael, I wouldn't starve to death." Sun Yuan shook his head and spoke his mind, "The poor have their way of living, and the rich have theirs. Since I am poor, I will spend sparingly, splitting one petal into two to spend; living like that is still not bad."

Zhang Yunxiu nodded and smilingly poured a cup of tea for Sun Yuan, who hurriedly stood up to receive it.

"Sit, sit. I just wanted to ask you, if your place were to be demolished, how much compensation from the imperial court would you consider appropriate?" Zhang Yunxiu waved for him to sit and said directly.

"Demolished?" Sun Yuan was so shocked he stood up abruptly.

"I went to your place to take a look last time; it's dirty, messy, and poor, and the stench is unbearable. This place really needs a good cleanup."

"How does the imperial court plan to clean it up?"

"Tear it down and start over. Demolish all the houses there, clean it up, and build new ones." Zhang Yunxiu picked up his tea, took a small sip, and said with the force of thunder, "And it must be fast. All the houses must be demolished by the end of this year, and then construction will begin."

"If it's demolished, where will we live?" Sun Yuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"We will give you a large compensation payment. With this money in hand, the world is vast—where can you not go?" Zhang Yunxiu stood up, paced to the window, and gazed toward the West City. "Look, the sun in the West City is even dimmer than it is here."

"Director Zhang, I'm afraid that won't work. These people consider themselves subjects living at the feet of the Emperor, rooted like fallen leaves; they are unwilling to go anywhere else."

"If they don't want to go anywhere else, that's not impossible either. Then they will just take less money, and when the new houses are built, we will simply compensate them with a new house."

The first shot for the Silver Dollar has already been fired.

If the second shot is to follow, it must rely on the demolition compensation payments to distribute these Silver Dollars into the hands of the common people.

As long as these Silver Dollars can circulate, they will ultimately flow back into the hands of the Imperial Court.

"Director Zhang, may I ask, once the houses in the West City are built, who will they be sold to?" Sun Yuan lowered his head to ponder for a moment, then paced to Zhang Yunxiu's side to ask.

"You don't need to worry about that; in any case, you minor officials will have great benefits." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and spoke directly of the plight of Sun Yuan and the other minor officials, "I know that the capital is vast, but living here is not easy."

"You minor officials have low salaries, and after all the entertaining and socializing, there isn't much money left. I am having the Imperial Court spend money to let you live more comfortably."

Sun Yuan nodded heavily and gave Zhang Yunxiu a grateful smile. "If it can truly be so, then I must thank Director Zhang on behalf of the officials in the capital."

"Why thank me? If you want to thank someone, you should thank the Emperor," Zhang Yunxiu said with a grin, pointing toward the sky.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, I should thank the Emperor for his heavenly grace." Sun Yuan slapped his forehead and bowed heavily toward the direction of the Forbidden City.

"Alright, go quickly and buy some scarce goods. As for grain, I have already sent men to deliver three shi to your home; it should be enough for you to eat for a month." Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand, signaling for Sun Yuan to withdraw.

"I take my leave."

"By the way, do not tell anyone else the news that your West City is about to begin construction."

"I understand."

(End of this chapter)