Chapter 11: Mortgage

The Village Elder turned to Pang Yu again. "This old man usually hears a bit of everything from every direction. The Zhou family are just ordinary folk — two hundred taels they likely truly cannot produce. And looking at young Brother Pang's noble and prosperous face, you are certainly no short-lived man of meager fortune. I expect your injuries will be no great hindrance. This decrepit old man will presume upon his age and ask young Brother Pang to yield a little as well."

Pang Yu, He Xianya, Jiao Guozha, and the others exchanged darting glances, communicating with their eyes. The Village Elder, as the mediator, would of course say such things — because if the mediation failed, the Village Elder would not get his mediation silver.

Originally, the Village Elder was supposed to be elected, but later the Local Officials took over the appointments, turning the position from joint official–commoner governance into a claw and fang of the authorities. Village Elders became thoroughly corrupt, steeped in bribery. In many places, the Shenming Pavilion system existed in name only. Tongcheng, it could be said, had preserved it fairly well, but the Elders who sat in the pavilion were still basically men who had bought the post. Going home without earning silver was impossible.

Still, looking at Shopkeeper Zhou, it seemed he truly only had that much silver. If they pressed further and took it to court, it would still only be that much silver, but the extra payoffs would be far greater. At the very least, the Punishment Office, the Document Receiving Office, the Magistrate's Private Advisor, and the head of the Runner Squad would all need to be greased. The underlings handling the case would need even more. In the end, they might not even get as much as they could right now.

The group exchanged another round of glances. Pang Yu still lacked any real rapport with these two, but he could at least read their expressions and knew they meant the prelude was sufficient and they could now state the bottom line. So he nodded as well. He Xianya turned to the Village Elder and said, "Then, trusting Old Wu's auspicious words, I shall believe that young Brother Pang's injuries will prove no great hindrance in days to come. However, the cost of medicine and decoctions has already reached eighty-six taels — not a penny of that can be spared. The remaining silver for lost work and hired care must still be paid. Lost work, five taels. As for the future, though we hope for no great hindrance, in the near term someone must be hired to provide care. We calculate that at twenty-four taels. The total, then, is one hundred and fifteen taels — not a copper less. Let us see how the Zhou family proposes to pay."

Shopkeeper Zhou said hurriedly, "I have fifty-three taels in ready silver. If you gentlemen wish, the paper goods in the shop can be valued and transferred to you."

Zhou Yueru wept as she spoke. "Father, if we give away both money and goods, how can the business go on? Where are we to go to scrape out a living?"

Shopkeeper Zhou replied listlessly, "There is no other way. We've run into this trouble — what else can we do? We can't just go back to the jail."

Father and daughter wept in silence. Zhou Yueru tugged and pulled, trying to get Shopkeeper Zhou to stand, but Shopkeeper Zhou lay limp on the ground. No matter how she pulled, she could not move him.

Pang Yu, his great grievance avenged, felt a certain satisfaction in his heart. But watching the Zhou father and daughter weep without end, he reckoned they had been pushed to the end of their rope. If by chance they took a desperate road or fled, he would gain no benefit either. After thinking it over, he proposed a compromise: "If ready silver is inconvenient, then just take out a mortgage."

Everyone in the room was stunned. None had any idea where this "mortgage" had come from.

The Village Elder asked curiously, "Young Brother Pang, what is this 'mortgage'?"

"It means they have only fifty-three taels on hand, but owe me one hundred and fifteen, leaving a balance of sixty-two taels. So I shall consider these sixty-two taels as a loan I advance to them. They repay me two taels each month until the debt is cleared. But until it is cleared, there must be interest, correct? At an annual interest of two mace, that is not much. In a few years, it will be paid off."

He Xianya hesitated a moment, then leaned in close to Pang Yu. "The Zhou family shop is rented. All they have are some goods. What if they run?"

Pang Yu said magnanimously, "We have fifty-three taels as a cushion. We could take some paper goods and sell them off, but we don't know the trade — the goods would certainly sell cheap, and we'd only get a low price from someone. Better that he sells them and earns a profit, keeping the business running as before. We collect our silver, and they can make a living. A win-win affair. And this young master is, after all, a good man. When one can do a good deed, how can one not do it?"

Zhou Yueru said angrily, "That means we'd have to pay you several dozen taels more in interest. You've certainly thought this through nicely."

Pang Yu spread his hands. "If you could pay it all in one lump sum, there'd be no need for more words. This young master is a good man, which is why I'm giving you this method. Don't fail to recognize a good heart."

The Village Elder, terrified that the mediation would fail and he would not get his mediation silver, hastily approved. "It is indeed a method. The Zhou family paper shop could still turn over its goods."

Shopkeeper Zhou pulled at Zhou Yueru. "We'll take this method. Otherwise, there is no road left to live."

Shopkeeper Zhou, having found a path to life from utter desperation, hastily moved to kneel and kowtow in thanks. Zhou Yueru used all her strength to yank him back and said coldly, "Don't thank this villain."

Her expression improved slightly, though tears still streamed down her face. Just as both sides were reaching an agreement, Zhou Yueru suddenly lowered her head and spoke. "Vil-villain of the Pang family — that twenty-four taels for hired care, can you let it go? If you need someone to look after you, this slave will come as the hired help."

Pang Yu sucked in a sharp breath. He dared not let this woman come to care for him. It was entirely possible she meant to seize the chance for revenge — causing a sprain or bruise would be the least of it; poisoning him to death was even possible.

Still, he looked Zhou Yueru up and down. Perhaps because she often helped in the shop, her daily labor had done her well — her figure was well-proportioned, and her brows and eyes were quite delicate and pretty. Only, his impression after the day she hit him had been poor. Now, looking closely, there was indeed a certain something. Though this woman was a bit fierce, she probably could not bring herself to poison and kill a person.

Jiao Guozha grinned maliciously. "What hired help? Marry my brother here as a concubine, and the silver all belongs to one family — then you won't need to pay compensation."

He Xianya winked and gestured at Pang Yu. "Second Brother's words are somewhat improper. This little lady glares at people with knitted brows and bared teeth, her vicious nature fully exposed. She is surely the husband-cursing type. If she married him, she'd instead need to compensate young Brother Pang an extra hundred taels."

The several runners in the room burst into loud laughter together. Zhou Yueru's face flushed bright red under their laughter. Being rejected was always humiliating, and in her shame she turned her head away.

Pang Yu carefully studied Zhou Yueru's figure from behind a few more times. Her build really did seem quite good. In this Ming dynasty, many women never left the house. There were some who showed their faces in public doing business in the city, but after all, they were very few in number, and a large portion were of the older matron class.

As a result, Pang Yu's aesthetic standards had recently undergone a major adjustment. Zhou Yueru had been promoted from above-average looks to top-tier, and with her genuinely good figure added in, his heart now itched as he looked at her. The Liu family fairy was utterly forgotten, cast beyond the ninth heaven.

So, ignoring He Xianya's warning glances, he said with a straight face, "There is some husband-cursing quality. Just hired help is fine too. Then I'll reduce it by another twenty-four taels for you. You will work as hired help for me for three months…"

When he reached this point, He Xianya listened in alarm. That worked out to eight taels a month for hired help — an astronomical price. When he had been wildly inflating prices to extort Zhou Yongtian earlier, shouting such a figure was one thing. But now, spending real silver to hire someone, how could they be so wasteful? He promptly stepped on Pang Yu's foot. Pang Yu, hearing this, more or less realized his blunder and immediately corrected himself. "No, half a year. But let's be clear upfront: no talking back to me. Whatever I tell you to do, you do."

Zhou Yueru had her back to the group. She had been very shocked by what Pang Yu had just said, and now she finally reacted. To prevent Pang Yu from retracting his words, she spun around like a whirlwind and answered, "Fine, fine. Then it's settled — no changes allowed."

Pang Yu was jolted awake. He had been utterly bewitched by lust and hadn't done the math. The betrothal silver for the Liu family fairy had only been eleven taels, yet he had, in a moment of carelessness, given this woman twenty-four taels.

He rapped his own head with a fist. His concept of silver was still not very clear. He had thought twenty-four taels for a female secretary was quite a bargain, but looking back, deducting twenty-four taels this way could give the Zhou family a sliver of hope, so they could settle down and repay the mortgage, and not actually run away.

He Xianya closed his eyes and sighed softly. Four taels a month for hired help was still an astronomical price. This Second Brother was indeed still a fool.

The Jailer beside them spat twice, came over, and slapped Pang Yu on the head several times, cursing as he did so. "His mother's — your hand is loose enough, isn't it? Don't know to give twenty-four taels to your old man? Have you paid enough in filial offerings to my clients? Opening your damn mouth all reckless — don't know to let this fellow surnamed He do the talking?"

Pang Yu smiled as he looked at him, not minding in the least that the man was slapping his head. He said, "It's all kept aside for Big Brother. I'd short anyone before I'd short you, Big Brother."

"I'd wager you wouldn't dare." The Jailer grabbed the Net Cap on Pang Yu's head and shook Pang Yu's head back and forth several times. Pang Yu, a face full of smiles, stared at the tabletop, showing not the slightest trace of anger — perfectly fitting the image of a simpleton. Jiao Guozha, unable to watch any longer, came over and coaxed him with kind words. The Jailer finally gave Pang Yu's head a hard shove before reluctantly sitting back down.

Pang Yu smiled as he watched the Jailer return to his seat, then turned his head to Zhou Yueru. "This old man has been a good person all his life. A gob of spit is a nail — what I've said is a contract. Twenty-four taels of silver, six months of hired help. Tomorrow morning, before the hour of Mao, be waiting at the Pang family Medicine Shop at the West Gate."

The Jailer, hearing this, cursed a few more times under his breath. The others also shook their heads inwardly. A price they had worked so hard to negotiate, and he had casually slashed it by over twenty taels. Sure enough, still a fool.

Twenty-four taels was no small sum for an ordinary family. Zhou Yueru, just a young woman, could only think of this method to reduce the loss. But thinking that in the end they still had to pay ninety taels, she could not help but sob quietly again.

The Village Elder said happily, "Thus concluded, to everyone's great delight."

With that, he brought out brush and ink and began to write. "In the seventh month of the Chongzhen Eighth Year, Pang Yu, having seen a rat scurrying in the street and striking at it, was struck on the head by Shopkeeper Zhou Yongtian of the paper shop, who was wielding a carrying pole. He bled in the street and fainted, and only after several days abed did he show recovery. Zhou Yongtian, of his own free will, agrees to compensate Pang Yu for medicine, hired care, lost work, and other expenses, totaling ninety-one taels of silver. Fifty-three taels to be paid on this day. The remaining thirty-eight taels, at an annual interest of two mace per tael, to be repaid in installments over two years and one month, at two taels per month, totaling fifty taels. Should any payment be deficient, Pang Yu may claim against the goods of Zhou Yongtian's paper shop as offset. Additionally, as Pang Yu's injuries have not yet healed, Zhou Yongtian's daughter, Zhou Yueru, shall serve as hired help caring for him in the Pang household for half a year, until the first month of the Chongzhen Eighth Year. Now, fearing lack of proof, this mediation contract is hereby drawn up for use. Middle Witness: Wu Qinglin, sealed. Pang Yu, sealed. Zhou Yongtian, sealed. Scribe by dictation: Wu Qinglin, sealed."

Pang Yu no longer feigned serious injury. He stood up, looked it over, and nodded his agreement. However, he would not affix his seal before receiving the silver. He said to Shopkeeper Zhou, "Shopkeeper Zhou, let us first settle the silver. Once I withdraw the petition, you can return home."

Zhou Yueru wiped away her tears and pulled at Zhou Yongtian with all her might, trying to drag him up to sit on a chair. But Zhou Yongtian was tall and stout, and his terror had left him utterly drained of strength. Zhou Yueru tried several times without success, exhausting herself until she was drenched in sweat.

Seeing this, Pang Yu said to Jiao Guozha and the other, "Big Brother, Third Brother, let's be good men and lend a hand."

Though somewhat reluctant, Jiao Guozha still came over to help. The three of them practically lifted Zhou Yongtian onto the chair. Zhou Yueru, her face expressionless, glanced at Pang Yu a few times, comforted Zhou Yongtian with a few words, then returned to the paper shop to raise the money.

During the time they waited for the silver, the Jailer paced incessantly in and out of the room. When bored, he would curse Pang Yu a few times, or shake Pang Yu's head — he seemed quite interested in this form of entertainment.

Pang Yu remained seated in the same spot the entire time, letting the Jailer strike and curse him, as if the head being shaken belonged to someone else. Even Jiao Guozha and He Xianya found it strange. The old Pang Yu had rarely been able to sit still for so long.

Half a shichen later, an old Bangyong from Zhou Yueru's shop appeared at the doorway. With a "crash," he set a cloth bundle onto the table.

Zhou Yueru, her eyes rimmed red, tossed the cloth bundle onto the table and opened it. Inside was a pile of silver pieces and Copper Coins, likely weighing several dozen catties.

The Village Elder fished out a steelyard scale from under the table and began weighing them piece by piece. He Xianya stood to the side, checking the fineness and keeping accounts. Zhou Yueru, her eyes red, argued with He Xianya over the fineness.

Pang Yu looked at that heap of silver pieces, large and small, of varying fineness, and felt a headache coming on. The Ming dynasty circulated gold, silver, and Copper Coins together. There was no standard currency — everyone relied on experience to calculate. Silver had varying fineness; copper coins had varying forms. Not only was it easy to be cheated, but even the conversion was a colossal hassle.

They wrangled for about half a shichen, both sides talking until their mouths were dry, before finally reaching an agreement on the fineness of the silver. Then they spent another quarter of an hour converting the Copper Coins into silver. He Xianya fetched an abacus, preparing to add up the recorded silver amounts.

Pang Yu took that slip of paper, studied it silently for a moment, and then said, "Added together, it is fifty-two taels, two mace, three fen, and five li."

Zhou Yueru glared at him suspiciously. "So many entries, and you just speak the total in one breath. You must be spouting nonsense to cheat us of silver."

"I just told you — no talking back. What kind of attitude is this? This young master is a good man, and moreover, used to do big business. If I were going to cheat on silver, I wouldn't cheat you out of this pittance."

Zhou Yueru said crossly, "Calculating money is not part of being your hired help. How can I not argue over this? I insist on using the abacus to check."

Pang Yu spread his hands. "If you don't believe me, then work the abacus."

He Xianya, also somewhat skeptical, brought the abacus over. He and Zhou Yueru each worked through it once. It was neither more nor less — exactly fifty-two taels, two mace, three fen, and five li. The two of them looked at Pang Yu as if looking at a monster.

Unwillingly, Zhou Yueru fished a few more pieces from her money pouch and added them to the table. He Xianya was about to weigh them again, but Pang Yu stopped him. "A little short is fine. We men should be magnanimous."

"I didn't short you..." Zhou Yueru said, indignant.

"No backtalk." Pang Yu finished his drink, then turned to Zhou Yongtian and said, "Shopkeeper Zhou, you can go home now."

Shopkeeper Zhou let out a long sigh, then his head lolled to the side and he passed out in his seat. Pang Yu shook his head. Common folk truly must not get tangled up in official matters. A man so domineering and imposing that very day — now, after just a few days, the mere mention of going home made him faint with joy.

"Wasted half the day of my time. Silver's divided, let's go." The Jailer who had been waiting off to the side had finally seen the silver tallied, and as he spoke he reached out to take the largest ingot from the table. The Criminal Division Runner, hearing this, followed suit. This was all because Pang Yu had once been a half-wit; outsiders often cursed him, and the people inside the yamen were always looking to take advantage of him.

Just as the two were about to lay hands on the silver, a sudden clang rang out. A flash of white light streaked before the Jailer's eyes — a Waist Saber came slashing down at his fingers with lightning speed.