Chapter 90: 088 Yangzhou Slim Horses (Bonus Chapter for Big Boss Penguin)

The Huang family ancestral residence.

"Master, Master!"

A household slave burst in, beaming with delight: "Sir Zhao has sent silver!"

"Truly?" Huang Zundao sprang to his feet and ordered the servants, "Quick, brew the best tea, and invite Sir Zhao into the main hall."

Huang Zundao changed into a new set of clothes, feeling much more presentable, certain he would no longer be looked down upon by townsfolk.

He strode into the hall, saw Zhao Han already drinking tea, and immediately bowed with a smile: "This junior prepared fine tea especially for you, Elder — does it suit your palate?"

"Barely passable," Zhao Han set down the tea bowl and said approvingly, "Young friend, you have been thoughtful."

Those who had attained the rank of xiucai or higher could address each other as friends.

Anyone below xiucai, even if so old they were half in the grave, was only fit to be called "young friend."

Among scholars, seniority was reckoned strictly by the date one passed the examinations for xiucai, juren, or jinshi.

Huang Zundao asked, "Has the Elder already chosen the riverbank land?"

"I have," Zhao Han flicked open his folding fan with a show of swagger. "Maosheng, hand over the silver."

Chen Maosheng hefted a cloth sack and slammed it onto the table. He loosened the opening and said, "A full five hundred taels of silver. You may weigh it yourselves."

Huang Zundao's eyes went wide. He hurriedly called, "Quick, bring the scales!"

For a country moneybags who did not engage in trade, relying solely on the land for profit, five hundred taels was an enormous sum.

An elderly household slave was summoned to verify the silver's purity, after which it was placed on the scales to be weighed.

A moment later, the old slave gave a slight nod, indicating the silver was sound.

Huang Zundao hastened to flatter him: "The Elder is indeed a scion of a great clan — so forthright in his dealings!"

"Five hundred taels of silver — what of it?" Zhao Han waved his folding fan. "Young friend, have you ever been to Suzhou?"

Huang Zundao replied, "Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below — I have long revered Suzhou's great name."

"Suzhou has not only master craftsmen, but the finest cooks under heaven," Zhao Han boasted wildly. "If one craves shark fin, men are sent to sea to catch it. If one craves monkey brain, men are sent into the hills to trap it. When I was studying in Suzhou, five hundred taels of silver was no more than the cost of a single meal."

All of this he had heard from Fei Ruyi.

Aside from the absurdity of a five-hundred-tael meal, the rest was true. In late-Ming Suzhou, a taste for the exotic — shark fin, monkey brain — was how merchants flaunted their wealth.

Huang Zundao sucked in a sharp breath. "Five hundred taels for one meal?"

"Truly a country bumpkin, so ignorant," Zhao Han mocked. "What is five hundred taels? There are meals costing over a thousand. In Nanjing and Beijing, at the Lantern Festival, a single ao lantern can be worth tens of thousands!"

Ao lanterns — Huang Zundao had heard of them, and knew they cost a fortune, but he had never had the chance to see one with his own eyes.

The wilder Zhao Han's boasts, the more inadequate Huang Zundao felt.

He had originally planned, once the riverbank land was leveled and the warehouse half-built, to raise the price. But now, he hastily abandoned the idea, terrified of offending the clan behind Zhao Han.

Huang Zundao smiled obsequiously. "The Elder is so widely traveled and knowledgeable — this junior is truly in awe."

Zhao Han suddenly licked his lips, a lewd, roguish grin spreading across his face. "That Xiaocui you sent over — though only a country maid, she has a certain charm. To be honest, my household has many serving girls, but I have never tasted such a wild mountain lass. Truly... a distinctive flavor. Might you send over her indenture contract? I intend to take her home and savor her at leisure."

"That is easily arranged," Huang Zundao said, suddenly very decisive. "Since the Elder fancies her, I shall gift you another. A few rough country maids, winning the Elder's affection — it is as if green smoke rises from their ancestral graves!"

He had already produced five hundred taels of silver; why quibble over a few serving girls?

The servants in Huang Zundao's household, male or female, were all acquired at negligible cost.

Every year, some tenant farmers fell behind on their rent. No matter how hard one pressed, could one beat every tenant to death?

Whenever the household ran short of hands, they simply made the delinquent tenants send a boy or girl to work off the debt.

Xiaocui and her younger brother had together cleared five dan of back rent, plus a usurious loan of eight qian of silver.

Altogether, that came to only a few taels of silver.

At Huang Zundao's urging, not only was Xiaocui's indenture contract swiftly produced, but, as a buy-one-get-one-free gesture, another maid, Xiaohong, was thrown in.

Master Huang felt a faint pang of reluctance. Both Xiaocui and Xiaohong were quite pretty, and they had been trained to be thoroughly obedient.

But for the sake of big profits, he could only grit his teeth and part with them.

He would inquire around later, see which tenant had a good-looking daughter, and bring her over to be trained up slowly.

Zhao Han played the part of a man utterly bewitched, kneading Xiaohong's soft hand as he said, "Young friend Huang, the maids in your household may be rustic, lacking in proper decorum, but their virtue lies in their unspoiled nature — they carry the scent of the fields and countryside."

Xiaohong, her hand being fondled, dared not move a muscle. She stood frozen in place.

Huang Zundao fawned, "The Elder is truly a master of the garden of flowers — this junior is in awe!"

Zhao Han said with a smile, "I shall be staying in Huang Family Town for some days. If you have more goods of this quality, just send them my way. Talking money wounds friendship — I won't buy them; we can trade. The serving girls in my household have all been meticulously trained since childhood in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Setting aside their looks, in manners and accomplishments alone, they surpass the sheltered young ladies of minor gentry families a hundredfold."

Hearing this, Huang Zundao's heart yearned — serving girls more refined and cultured than proper young ladies!

Huang Zundao swallowed hard and demurred, "Maids the Elder has cultivated for so many years — this junior would never dare accept."

"Why not? The finest maid is still just a lowly servant," Zhao Han said offhandedly. "When I return home and come back next time, I shall gift you one to warm your bed and fold your quilts!"

Huang Zundao felt a heat surge through his body. Struggling to master his excitement, he cupped his hands and said, "In that case, my deepest thanks to the Elder."

Zhao Han kept on bragging: "Do you know of the Yangzhou slim horses?"

"I have heard a little — pray, Elder, enlighten me." Huang Zundao had become like an eager young schoolboy.

Zhao Han smiled. "Yangzhou slim horses are human, not horses. Yangzhou is full of salt merchants and great magnates, so extravagance is the custom. There are old women brokers who select girls with the makings of beauties and begin training them from the age of a few years. Music, chess, calligraphy, painting — those are merely the basics. They must also learn to dance and sing, and how to attend to a man. They can be as demure as a chaste wife, or as seductive as a wanton. Even which foot to step out with first when leaving the house — all of it is governed by strict rules."

"Can such divine creatures truly exist in this world?" Huang Zundao felt as if a new world had opened before him.

Zhao Han sneered. "You cannot afford one."

Huang Zundao quickly asked, "What price do they fetch?"

Zhao Han explained, "Yangzhou slim horses are graded. Even the lowest grade costs several hundred taels per horse."

"And the highest grade?" Huang Zundao could scarcely imagine.

Zhao Han let his boasting run free. "Three years ago, there was a slim horse who had been raised for seven years — a matchless beauty, supreme in talent and art. A salt merchant bought her. For a full fifty thousand taels of silver."

"F-fifty thousand taels? For just one woman?" Huang Zundao was dumbstruck, certain he had misheard.

Zhao Han laughed. "Salt merchants do not lack money. Spend fifty thousand taels on a slim horse and present her at once to a duke — the money earned thereafter will be far greater!"

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is." Huang Zundao was finally convinced. A prize filly worth fifty thousand taels — even the great salt merchants dared not ride such a thing. Only a duke could possibly enjoy it.

Zhao Han sighed. "Ah, my family can't compare. We only bought a three-thousand-tael filly, and for that my father locked me up for three days to reflect on my errors facing the wall. Tell me, isn't that infuriating?"

Yes, so infuriating — if only it were mine.

A three-thousand-tael filly. That's not riding a woman; that's riding silver.

Huang Zundao hurriedly smiled to appease him. "Your esteemed father's household discipline is most strict — truly worthy of a great and noble clan."

"A three-thousand-tael filly — would my young friend like to see her?" Zhao Han winked and grinned. "Next time I'll bring her along and let you have a look. But mind you, she can only play the pipa and sing for you. This filly is my heart's treasure; no one else is even allowed to touch her."

"As it should be, as it should be," Huang Zundao said repeatedly. "To hear but a single song would be this humble student's great fortune."

Huang Zundao, his heart thoroughly itched by all this wild talk, was seized by the urge to sell off his property at once and go to Yangzhou to buy a prize filly of his own.

But then he thought of the price, and decided to forget it.

Zhao Han saw that the old fellow was now completely dazed and bewitched, and immediately returned to the main subject. "Of these five hundred taels of silver, three hundred are for leveling the river flats. I've given you ample funds. You're responsible for hiring the laborers — the land must be leveled within half a month. The remaining two hundred, take it first to buy stone and timber. It likely won't be enough; when it runs out, I'll give you more."

Three hundred taels just to level the river flats?

This money is far too easy to earn — the man's a complete wastrel!

Then Huang Zundao reconsidered: what was three hundred taels? Nothing. The man spent three thousand on a single prize filly.

Huang Zundao immediately thumped his chest. "Leave it to me. No need for half a month — ten days and I'll have the flats leveled!"

A ten-day deadline was a bit tight, and hiring men during the spring plowing season wouldn't be easy, but for this money he'd just have to go all out. Anyone who dared disobey would get flogged within an inch of his life!

"All right, enough talk!"

Zhao Han picked up Little Red's and Little Green's indentures, then took Little Red's hand and stroked it back and forth, too lazy to spare Master Huang another glance. "The worksite is in your hands. This young master is going back to savor the rustic pleasures of the hills. Heh heh, one alone is already a delight — put two together, wouldn't that be drifting blissfully among the immortals?"

"I'll see you out, elder," Huang Zundao said, his body bent low.

"No need. Go on back." Zhao Han walked out with his arm around Little Red's waist.

Huang Zundao still escorted him out of the hall and watched Zhao Han leave, then couldn't help calling out, "Take care, elder! If two aren't enough, this humble student has more here — just come and take them as you please."

The household slave stood there dumbly, still lost in wild fancies, his mind full of everything Zhao Han had just said.

"Ahem!"

Huang Zundao coughed twice and barked, "What are you standing there gawking for?"

The household slave snapped back to his senses and quickly asked, "Master, everything Young Master Zhao said — is it all true?"

"How could it be false?" Huang Zundao's face was full of scorn. "Yangzhou, Suzhou — both are rich prefectures. One top-grade prize filly is worth more than our entire town. If Young Master Zhao hadn't told you, you'd have gone your whole life not knowing — you couldn't even dream of it."

"The master's lesson is well received," the household slave said, hastily smiling to appease him.

Huang Zundao paid the household slave no more attention. He picked up the gleaming silver and stroked it over and over.

Earlier, he had been thinking about how to swindle money out of Zhao Han.

But the man was so open-handed — five hundred taels handed over just like that, and this was only the initial project cost. In the future, there would surely be thousands, even tens of thousands more.

Was there any need to swindle?

Just follow Young Master Zhao and drink the soup. Whatever Young Master Zhao casually let slip through his fingers would be enough for this Master Huang to earn a tidy fortune.

Suddenly, Huang Zundao said to the household slave, "Go quickly to the inn and tell Young Master Zhao that I'm giving him all the rest of the riverbank waste flats. Ask him if he wants those leveled too. The extra cost won't be much — another five hundred taels will do."

"Right away! This humble one will go at once." The household slave left cheerfully. He liked dealing with Young Master Zhao, because there was always a tip to be had.

Huang Zundao clutched the silver to his chest, but his mind was on the Yangzhou prize fillies.

Just how beautiful must a woman be to be worth fifty thousand taels of silver? If he could just touch her once, his whole life would be worth it. A pity he couldn't even catch a glimpse.

Every boast Zhao Han had spun, Huang Zundao took as absolute truth.

And the key to it all was that, without anything being properly settled, Zhao Han had simply tossed out five hundred taels of silver.

Such the manner of a great house — would they swindle a country bumpkin of a petty landlord?

(End of chapter)