Chapter 20: Valuation

"Metal and stone can be split open — the lioness of River East roars..."

All the way back to the main gate, Pang Yu kept muttering to himself. Finding He Xianya, he asked, "Third Brother, do you know if that Advisor to the County Vice-Magistrate, the one called Mr. Yu — is he afraid of his wife?"

He Xianya, caught off guard by such an abrupt question, paused a moment before laughing. "Everyone knows that story. Mr. Yu is from Zhuji in Zhejiang. His wife's family has considerable influence back home. That woman rules the household with an iron fist. She often curses Mr. Yu until he's utterly humiliated. More than ten years since marriage and no children, yet she forbids him from taking a second wife — won't even allow a chambermaid. She's left Mr. Yu past forty now with no heir. She's one of Tongcheng's most notorious shrews."

Pang Yu nodded as he listened. His gamble this morning had temporarily eased his troubles, but the effect would soon fade. If he didn't seize this golden opportunity to attach himself to the County Vice-Magistrate's coattails, Wang Dazhuang would get him sooner or later. Having just struck up a conversation with the Advisor, how could he let this chance slip away?

After a moment's thought, he asked again, "Have you heard whether this woman is close to anyone — someone who can put in a word?"

"That woman rarely associates even with the families of the Clerks in the yamen. It seems she only has some contact with Madam Tan. She doesn't go out much normally, only visiting the Official Silver Temple every ten days to pray for a son. But after years of praying, there's been no sign of change in her belly. I hear she's taken to raising that sea-pug dog at home like a child. In truth, it's also a female dog — the yamen folk all call it her dog-daughter."

Pang Yu murmured, "Everything Lord Tan said was the truth."

He Xianya lowered his voice to advise, "Second Brother, you're asking about this — are you thinking of taking Mr. Yu's route? Let me tell you upfront, I'd advise against setting your sights on Mr. Yu. He's been here several years and never associates with anyone from Tongcheng. I fear any effort would be wasted. And it's not just him — the Advisors to the County Magistrate, the County Vice-Magistrate, and the Chief Clerk are all the same. The lords need the Advisors' talents, yet they're always on guard against them, always afraid their Advisors are taking money behind their backs, not sharing the same heart and virtue as the Hall Officers. To avoid suspicion, these Advisors don't normally form deep ties with us locals, lest they arouse their lords' doubts. Inside the county yamen, Mr. Yu only associates with the Yin-Yang Official — precisely because the Yin-Yang Official has few entanglements of interest in the yamen and won't provoke the County Vice-Magistrate's suspicion."

Pang Yu smiled. "Then let the Yin-Yang Official be the go-between. He said Mr. Yu's route lies through Madam Yu. The way I see it, an Advisor is well-versed in rations, pay, punishments, and law. He didn't take this post just for that pittance of a salary. But given his position as Advisor, he has to maintain that posture. He refused me as a student because he doesn't care about such empty formalities. An Advisor has no career path to pursue in the yamen and doesn't seek fame. If he's not after wealth, then what is he after?"

He Xianya listened, studying Pang Yu the whole time. This fool of a Second Brother, since his Spirit Awakening, had often surprised him — though occasionally he really could do something utterly stupid. But what he'd just said made considerable sense.

"But Second Brother, even if the Yin-Yang Official is willing to act as go-between, it's still extremely inconvenient for us to come and go from that place."

"That's precisely the difficulty. His wife also lives in the County Vice Magistrate Office compound, right under the County Vice-Magistrate's nose all day. It's not convenient for us to go there. Still, luckily I happen to have a Female Aide."

……

"Young Master, why are you taking out all the silver?"

Pang Yu stared gloomily at the small pile of silver on the bed. If he gave all this silver away, he'd be a pauper again. He was so preoccupied he couldn't even be bothered to answer Pang Ding's question.

When Pang Yu had divided the silver into two packets, Pang Ding spoke up again from the side. "Young Master, that fiancée of yours who hasn't crossed the threshold yet — she passed by our gate three times today. She must be hoping to catch a glimpse of you."

"Fiancée who hasn't crossed the threshold?" Pang Yu tilted his head in thought. "You mean that fairy from the Liu family. Let me calculate — five taels withheld from the penalty fee, twenty-six taels from the Zhou family settlement, twenty taels already given to our parents. The Punishment Office took a hit this time — I'm not giving them a share. They wouldn't dare make a peep. The remaining six taels I'm keeping for myself. That's only eleven taels total here. Just enough for betrothal gifts, actually."

Pang Ding hurriedly said, "Then Young Master, take these eleven taels and go win back the marriage proposal. Now that you've had your Spirit Awakening, word has spread all through the neighborhood. I heard that after Aunt Liu fainted from rage yesterday, she still hasn't been able to get out of bed. If you go propose again, Aunt Liu might just agree. If you wait too long, what if some other family comes and takes the Liu daughter away first..."

"Speak clearly. Have you heard some rumor somewhere?"

"Young Master, it's all over the neighborhood. They say the Liu family had already picked another family before breaking off the engagement — someone who runs a woodware shop at Bean Family Bridge. The matchmaker was Aunt Jiang from the copper workshop. They were just waiting for the Liu family to find a go-between to cancel the engagement, then she'd cross that family's threshold."

"No wonder Aunt Liu, that iron rooster, was willing to pay ten taels in penalty. But it also shows that Aunt Liu fainted purely from the pain of the penalty money, not from regretting the broken engagement. Now that both families have torn face, if I go propose again with eleven taels now, I'll certainly get a face full of dust — just bringing humiliation on myself."

Having said this, Pang Yu picked up the silver pouches and went out the door. Pang Ding hurried after him into the courtyard, where Zhou Yueru was already waiting.

Pang Yu handed both silver packets to Zhou Yueru. "Take good care of this silver. Go together with the Yin-Yang Official's wife. The larger packet is for Mr. Yu's wife, the smaller one for Madam Tan."

"I..." Zhou Yueru waved her hands repeatedly. She had never done anything like this and truly had no idea how to begin.

Afraid that Zhou Yueru's nerves would ruin things, Pang Yu comforted her as gently as he could. "Mr. Yu's family lives in the east guest hall of the County Vice Magistrate Office. Only women can come and go there conveniently. Zhou Guniang, don't worry — Madam Tan will guide you. You just need to deliver the silver. No need to say much. If Madam Yu asks you anything, just chat with her as you would an auntie."

"I'm scared. Such a high official — I won't go..."

Pang Yu's face hardened. "Zhou Yueru, I'm paying you four taels of silver a month to work for me. Do you get to pick and choose? If you won't do it, first return the He Mai silver you just received, and hand over this month's mortgage payment."

Zhou Yueru's face flushed crimson. Her family truly had no silver left — the money distributed today was tomorrow's food money. Forced by circumstance, she had no choice but to agree, though from tension and fear, tears were already welling in her eyes.

The Yin-Yang Official's wife was waiting outside. She was plainly dressed and seemed very low-key. Seeing the group come out, she said nothing, simply taking the lead and walking ahead. Zhou Yueru followed behind, constantly looking back, her expression utterly flustered.

Without a shred of sympathy, Pang Yu waved at her, signaling her to keep close to Madam Tan.

"Young Master, you've given her all the silver. What will you use to go propose to the Liu family?" Pang Ding asked, watching Zhou Yueru's Departure.

Hearing this, Pang Yu narrowed his eyes. In his mind surfaced the image of the Liu family fairy standing graceful and poised beside the river of lanterns. But it lasted only a brief moment before Pang Yu's mind was once again filled with piles of silver. Now that he wanted to connect with the Advisor's route, the silver had to be used for this matter — he absolutely would not use it for a marriage proposal.

"Anyway, I don't have a single copper coin left now."

Pang Ding shook his head. "What a pity — you and that Liu Ruozi grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Such a pity!"

"So her name is Liu Ruozi. Not a very appealing name."

Pang Ding scratched his head, feeling the Young Master was getting muddled again, and quickly reminded him, "Young Master, have you forgotten? The Liu family had two daughters. This Liu Ruozi is the younger one, raised as a son from childhood. Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu both spoiled this little daughter — they neither bound her feet nor made her do needlework. She's always had a wild nature. It's only now that she's a bit older that she's reined it in somewhat."

Pang Yu laughed. "If her nature weren't wild, that would be boring. In that case, I'll have to compete for her after all. But now there's competition, and the Liu family's psychological asking price is quite high. It's not a good time to make a move."

"Good time or not, it doesn't matter now. Young Master, you don't have any silver left."

"Little silver calls for little-silver methods. Even without silver, it's not necessarily impossible to propose."

Pang Ding's mouth hung wide open as he stared at Pang Yu.

Pang Yu raised a finger. "Pang Ding, let me tell you — now that your Young Master has had his Spirit Awakening, the Pang family's Intangible Asset has appreciated in value. It's just hit a new high. At a time like this, you absolutely must not be impatient. Before, that Pang Yu was stuck in a long-term sideways trend at a low level. When the Liu family proposed to the Pang family, they got in at a low-level position. They held it for ten years, but with no room to rise, it really was quite likely a losing investment. But now that I've arrived, the actual value is already different. And I've discovered that the Liu family has already lost confidence — their position is extremely shaky. Of course I had to push Aunt Liu to dump her position at a low level, and incidentally solve our family's urgent cash-flow problem. Right now, your Young Master is in the rising phase of his career, still in the stage of rapid upward movement. At a time like this, don't be hasty, and absolutely don't hand over your position lightly. Wait until the high level is confirmed, then make the trade — only then can you get the best terms."

Pang Ding hadn't understood a word, but of course he didn't suspect anything was wrong, because the Young Master had always talked nonsense before too. Pang Ding not understanding was normal. He stared blankly at Pang Yu for a long moment before finally saying, "So are we going to propose or not?"

Pang Yu adhered to his good habit of daily servant-beating and gave Pang Ding a hard smack on the head. "I explained it that clearly and you're still fucking asking — you think my time isn't valuable?"

Pang Ding clutched his head. "But what if the Liu daughter marries someone else? Where are we going to find one that pretty?"

"That kind of thinking will get you killed. Let your Young Master teach you again — no matter how good something you fancy is, when you're trading, you absolutely cannot feel that you must have it. That will make you impulsive, and impulse is the great enemy of trading. Even if you're desperate for it..." Pang Yu stroked his chin and murmured, "You mustn't let anyone see it. Instead, you must wait calmly and do everything you can to drive down its valuation. Wait for the best moment, then make your move."

"Then why did you give so much silver to Mr. Yu without waiting?"

"Can I drive down Mr. Yu's valuation? If this deal goes through, it'll be pure luck."

"Then how do we drive down the Liu family's — what was it — valuation?"

"Come here." Once Pang Ding leaned in close, Pang Yu gave his instructions in a low voice. "Tomorrow, you go spread the word through the neighborhood. Say that an immortal sent a dream to the Pang family — whoever ties the knot with the Liu family will meet with misfortune. The Pang family broke off the engagement precisely on the immortal's instruction. And sure enough, just one day after breaking it off, the Medicine Shop got a big business deal, and my head immediately got better. Now I'm learned, well-mannered, and brimming with talent. Why was I so stupid before? Because our fortune was suppressed by this marriage connection to the Liu family... Oh, right — you must especially emphasize that birthmark on the Liu daughter's face. Say this birthmark carries an innate calamity. Go spread it everywhere. Let's see who still dares go to Aunt Liu to propose."

"Is this what you call driving down the Liu family's valuation?"

"Of course. Once everyone's scared, they naturally won't dare come seeking marriage. No buyers means no liquidity. No liquidity means no value. By then, the Liu daughter's valuation will hit at least seven or eight limit-downs. When the time comes, your Young Master will go make the trade — buying low at the dip enriches you for life."

"But what if it still can't be driven down?"

Pang Yu leaned forward and made a palms-up gesture. "Then abandon this deal and look for a better target. There's nothing in this world I can't give up. With your Young Master's fine appearance and vast learning, you think I can't find a wife? There's still that Female Aide as a safety net, isn't there."