Earning Money Seriously

Pan Hong brushed away the hand reaching for him. "I'll send it myself tomorrow."

But it wouldn't be long before that was impossible. The village head came to notify them, "Tomorrow, at Chen Shi, we're harvesting wheat in East Two Li. All three of you, father and sons, have been conscripted. Don't be late."

He then called out Pan Yue and Pan Yu's names. "The second battalion needs you to clean the stables. Hurry, you need to be there in fifteen minutes."

Pan Yue and Pan Yu dared not speak, lowering their heads in acknowledgment.

Pan Hong looked at his two sons, who were so thin they were almost unrecognizable. His heart ached. Seeing the village head's covetous gaze as he eyed the rice, flour, grains, and oil they had just bought, Pan Hong knew his path ahead would be difficult.

Pan Hong didn't say much more, complying with the order. After the man left, he divided the buns they had bought among his two sons. "Eat more. You two go ahead, I'll find someone to help you later."

Pan Yue pushed the buns back. "Dad, we've already eaten. These are for you."

"My appetite isn't good. I'll cook some porridge later. You two eat these."

Thinking of the money they had just received, Pan Yue didn't push back anymore. He took the buns and shared them with his younger brother.

Pan Yu followed his brother's lead. Seeing that his older brother had eaten, he also started eating. "Dad, you don't need to worry. We're used to cleaning the stables. We don't need to ask anyone for help."

He didn't want his father to beg for favors.

Pan Hong smiled and said, "Don't worry, your old man won't be wronged. This is mutual help. They help us, and we'll naturally help them in the future."

However, they had only just arrived, and they were weak. Even if they had wanted to find allies before, they lacked the capital to initiate and maintain relationships.

Those people were tight-fisted. The money sent by their second son was barely enough to keep them from dying here; there was no surplus capital to invest in relationships.

Yun'er's hundred taels had truly solved their urgent need.

As soon as the two children left, Pan Hong put away the things he had bought and then went out with a hundred coins.

This village was called Exile Village. In reality, it wasn't a village. They were officials and their families who had been exiled and were living near the military camp, awaiting orders.

Some people married and had children after arriving here, and the population grew. More houses were built. Eventually, those who were guilty and those who were pardoned continued to live together. Over time, it became a village.

Though called a village, it was much larger than an ordinary village, with a large population, almost like a town.

They lived by relying on the military camp, occupying a corner of Datong's border town. And there were many such exile villages in other northern border towns.

The laws of this Dynasty were strict. One person's crime could implicate the entire family, or even the entire clan. Some crimes could even involve friends. Therefore, the exiles and military conscripts came from all walks of life.

Pan Hong had been here for three months. He wouldn't claim to have fully understood the area, but he had at least gained a general understanding.

As a former Censor, Pan Hong believed he had a good eye for people. With money in hand, he quickly made friends and, when he left, he was accompanied by two strong young men.

They slung their arms around Pan Hong's shoulders as they headed towards the second battalion's stables. "Brother Pan, don't worry. We brothers may not have much else, but we have plenty of strength. Leave this kind of rough work to us in the future."

Pan Hong gave a wry smile. "How can I keep troubling you? We've only just arrived and are not used to the climate. We still need to hone our skills, otherwise, it will be difficult to survive here."

"That's true. It's okay now, but in a while, when the autumn harvest gets busy, and if the Tatars from the north descend, we people will have to harvest and transport supplies to the front lines. If we're not strong enough, people will die."

By the time they reached the stables, the sun was already setting in the sky. Pan Yue and Pan Yu were dragging a large bundle of fodder.

The fodder weighed over a hundred catties. The two brothers were young and not very strong, so they pulled a rope together.

Cleaning the stables also involved chopping fodder to feed the horses and removing the horse dung and soiled hay.

The village head chose this time to notify them because he wanted them to work through the night. Those with little strength and slow speeds would likely not finish until dawn.

And shortly after dawn, they would have to depart for the fields to harvest wheat.

Within a few days, even iron-willed men would be worn out.

To escape this suffering, one either had to bribe the village head or find a patron higher up than the village head.

Pan Hong chose a third option.

He was going to replace the village head.

With the help of the Jin brothers, the father and his two sons quickly finished the day's work at the stables. They returned in the dark, slept, and the next day set off to harvest wheat. It wasn't until the afternoon, after finishing work, that Pan Hong returned to the city from East Two Li. Only then did he change direction and personally go to mail a letter.

He didn't use the Civil Mail Bureau but sent it through the post station.

He didn't know how diligently the people watching him in secret were, but to avoid causing trouble for the Civil Mail Bureau, he decided to use the post station.

If others could send him letters through the Civil Mail Bureau, and he also used it to send letters out, they might have an excuse to investigate the Civil Mail Bureau.

Datong was different from other places. It was a border town, and the government officials acted even more high-handedly.

After mailing the letter, Pan Hong walked out of the post station and sighed, hoping Yun'er would receive the letter safely.

Pan Hong didn't know that very few people were watching him anymore.

After all, he was just a minor Censor. Too many officials in the court had offended Wang Zhen, and many had been demoted or exiled. If the Imperial Guards had to monitor every single one, how could they possibly keep up?

The reason they had focused their attention on him again a while ago was the disappearance of a Jin Yi Wei named Wang Yong in the capital.

Before he disappeared, he had visited the Pan family, which was why the Pan family had come under renewed scrutiny.

However, the main focus was on Pan Tao, who had returned to Changzhou Prefecture. Pan Hong was only briefly checked to confirm that he was honestly serving in the military in Datong and that his correspondence showed no abnormalities. The Imperial Guards lost interest.

The people monitoring Pan Tao, however, had not left.

A hidden scout sat in a teahouse. He watched Pan Tao being happily seen off by others, listened carefully to their conversation, and then wrote on a small piece of paper: "On the fourth day, Pan Tao met friends at Chun Meng Spring and arranged to teach at Jintai Academy on the eighth day, with a monthly salary of eight taels of silver."

A monthly salary of eight taels was even higher than Pan Hong's salary when he was a Censor, and Pan Tao's income as a teacher would surely be more than just this amount.

The scout recorded this while shaking his head. No wonder they said Pan Hong often needed his brother's financial support when he was an official.

It was more than just that. After returning home and taking a drink of water, Pan Tao reported to his mother and wife, "My monthly salary is eight taels, and each season I get two sets of seasonal clothes and socks. Festival gifts and pastries won't be lacking either. Most importantly, the academy doesn't restrict the teachers from teaching essays."

Essays were the most difficult subject for students to master. Some teachers, in order to teach their students, would not only have them write but also write essays themselves for the students to imitate.

Therefore, a good essay was worth quite a lot; sometimes a well-written piece could be equivalent to a teacher's annual salary.

Pan Hong had often used his younger brother's name to write and sell essays in the past, earning some extra money.

Pan Tao's essays weren't as good as Pan Hong's, so they couldn't be sold for as high a price, but the extra income was still substantial. With this income, plus the produce from the fields, their lives quickly returned to normal.

Old Madam Pan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Regarding your elder brother, send him a small amount of money first, and save the rest. When the weather improves next year, let Chang Sheng go see him personally."

Pan Tao had the same plan. Constantly sending silver notes and drafts through the post station wasn't a viable solution; only about a third of it reached his elder brother each time.

His elder brother hadn't improved much, but their appetites had been whetted.

Pan Tao glanced at his wife and stepped forward to help Old Madam Pan, "Mother, let me help you back to your room to rest."

Old Madam Pan wanted to say she wasn't tired, but Pan Tao pressed her arm, and she obediently followed him.

Pan Tao whispered to her, "Mother, I received news today that Yun'er is safe and sound."

Old Madam Pan's eyes lit up, and she grasped his arm, "Where is she now?"

Pan Tao shook his head, "My friend was just a messenger and wouldn't say anything more. They only said that if the other party is interested in communicating, they will contact me. I thought about Yun'er's uniqueness, so I didn't ask further, but from the tone of their voice, she is very safe now and has companions.

When the situation calms down in a few years, she should contact us."

Old Madam Pan sighed deeply, "That's good. I always said this child was extraordinary; she was different from birth. Look at our four children; the other three cried incessantly when they were young, but she just ate, slept, and when she needed to be changed, she'd only whimper a couple of times. So well-behaved.

Indeed, she was extraordinary."

Pan Tao: "...Really? How come I remember you always muttering back then that this child was so quiet, you were afraid she was simple-minded."

Old Madam Pan shot him a look, "You're misremembering."

Pan Tao chuckled, "Yes, this son is misremembering."

With the news of Pan Yun's safety, Old Madam Pan and Pan Tao's worries were eased. They began to live earnestly in their hometown and earn money earnestly.

Pan Yun was also earnestly thinking about making money.

Since that night, she hadn't seen Lord Pan again.

Her Master suddenly not appearing in her dreams made Pan Yun a little unaccustomed.

She was a person of her word. Since she had promised to build a temple for him, she naturally had to start preparing seriously.