A Daughter of a Soldier Household

"Young master, you were amazing! When I told him Third Master Du had kowtowed, he wasn't scared at all, but then you said all that stuff about Confucius and customs, and he didn't even dare breathe! What was that little rhyme again? Something about spirits?" Little A-Wu asked Wang Yang excitedly.

Wang Yang smiled. "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, feats of strength, disorder, or spirits."

"Yes, yes! Strange phenomena, strength, disorder, and spirits!"

"That isn't a little rhyme. It's a passage from the Analects."

"What's the Analects?"

"The Analects is a book. If you learn it by heart, you'll be able to speak the way I just did and leave the village chief unable to argue back. What do you think? Want to learn?" Wang Yang coaxed her patiently.

Little A-Wu nodded eagerly at first, but then something suddenly occurred to her, and she began shaking her head instead.

"What's wrong?" Wang Yang asked, taken aback.

"Young Master Wang, A-Wu is a daughter of a soldier household. She'll have to serve with the army someday too," Black Han explained from beside them, a flicker of hope rising in his heart. If Young Master Wang could get A-Wu removed from the soldier register, how wonderful that would be!

The descendants of soldier households remained members of soldier households, and girls were no exception. Women from soldier households generally performed compulsory labor such as logistical duties, however, and apart from certain special circumstances, they did not have to fight on the battlefield. As for studying, that was even less use to them.

A-Wu's expression dimmed, but she soon smiled again. "A-Wu already knows how to cook. Once I get good at sewing, that'll be enough!"

Wang Yang sighed inwardly and patted A-Wu's head, letting the subject drop. Problems had to be solved one at a time, and the most pressing one now was repaying the money.

Making money took skill.

Invent something and sell it, like they did in novels?

First, there was the question of eligibility to trade. Yes, doing business in ancient times had barriers to entry. For example, anyone wishing to operate in a marketplace first had to obtain a place on the "market register." Like the soldier register, the market register belonged to the category of lowly registrations. Entering it effectively cut off one's path to advancement.

However, major merchants who did not "sit and sell in the market," as well as powerful nobles who controlled businesses from behind the scenes, were not subject to the restrictions of the market register. The former required capital, though, and the latter required bloodlines.

If Wang Yang really had belonged to a gentry clan, that status alone would have entitled him to tax exemptions. He could have used that to partner with merchants: they would transfer their goods into his name to avoid taxes, then give him a cut after the transactions.

Though beneath his dignity, the method would at least let him skim off some profit. Unfortunately, his identity was false, with no documents to prove it. Besides, Wang Yang had only just arrived and had yet to think of such a method, which came close to making money through shady channels.

Second, time was too tight. He had only three days, far too little time either to promote a product or establish sales channels, never mind come up with an invention!

He might have studied all the way to a doctorate, but his doctorate was in literature! Give him words to wield, and he would yield to no one; ask him to make glass or smelt steel, however, and that was giving him far too much credit.

Once Zhang Lisi brought over brushes, ink, and paper, Wang Yang began writing. He wrote quickly, setting down content he had already considered carefully. When he finished, he sat on the earthen sleeping platform and asked Black Han, "What can thirteen thousand two hundred coins buy?"

"Buy?" Black Han asked, baffled.

"I rarely leave home, so I don't know much about prices. What I mean is, is ten thousand coins a lot? Would it be a large sum even to wealthy people?"

So this Young Master Wang didn't even know how much ten thousand coins amounted to!

And he'd dared sign as guarantor without knowing? That took some nerve!

Still, that really did make him seem like someone with serious money.

Black Han scratched his head. "For someone like me, even selling myself wouldn't fetch ten thousand coins! But to rich people, it probably isn't much. Building a somewhat spacious house with a tiled roof costs ten or twenty thousand."

"Good." Wang Yang looked thoughtful.

Black Han's words reassured him somewhat. After all, if even wealthy people could not come up with ten thousand coins, his plan's chances of success would be greatly reduced.

Yet suddenly, he felt something was wrong!

He could not put his finger on exactly what it was, though.

He thought it over, but failed to work out where that uneasy feeling came from. He could only set the doubt aside for now and concentrate on his money-making plan.

A-Wu poked her little head in from outside. "Young master, have you thought of a way to make money?"

Wang Yang nodded, then closed his eyes and began turning the idea over in his mind. A-Wu came inside, crouched on the floor, and quietly cleaned his straw sandals for him.

After entering the military camp, Wang Yang had changed entirely into Squad Leader Xue's clothes. Only the shoes had not fit, so he was still wearing the straw sandals that had been on his feet when he first crossed over.

After a while, Wang Yang opened his eyes and asked Black Han, "How much would a decent outfit and a pair of shoes suitable for me cost?"

After the earlier question about how much ten thousand coins was, this one did not shock Black Han quite so much. Besides, many sons of great clans had clothes made at home and never needed to buy them in the street, so there was nothing strange about Wang Yang not knowing the price.

"What sort of clothes do you usually wear, young master?"

"No need to ask me. The sort an ordinary son of a gentry clan would wear will do."

That put Black Han in a difficult spot. He had never met any other sons of gentry clans, nor had he visited a clothing shop, though he did know a little about fabric prices. "I don't know much about that, but decent cloth would cost at least seven or eight hundred coins a bolt. Made into clothes, it might cost over a thousand..."

"Let's call it two thousand coins." Wang Yang doubled the price outright.

Good heavens!

Two thousand coins!

That would probably buy silk!

Black Han thought to himself.

Wang Yang asked directly, "I need two thousand coins. How much can you scrape together?"

"T-two thousand coins!" Father and daughter both jumped.

"Y-young master, you... you want to buy clothes?" Black Han stammered, utterly unable to believe that instead of worrying about the money, the young master first wanted a change of clothes!

"Yes, and good clothes at that. What, reluctant to part with the money?" Wang Yang teased.

Black Han's gaze firmed, and he said solemnly, "How could you say that, young master-"

Before he could finish, little A-Wu suddenly put down the straw sandals and ran outside.

Black Han guessed his daughter must be annoyed that Young Master Wang was neglecting the real problem and instead wanted to borrow money for clothes. He looked embarrassed.

"The child doesn't know any better. I'll give her a scolding later! You saved A-Wu yesterday, young master, and that was the same as saving my life! Whatever you ask, I'll do!"

He paused, then gritted his teeth. "I still have a little money saved at home. If I sell a few things too, I should be able to scrape together three hundred coins..."

"Five hundred coins!" Little A-Wu said as she ran back in, holding a hairpin.

"How did that end up with you?" Black Han exclaimed in shock at the sight of it.

"After that woman came back, I was afraid she'd run away again, so I secretly hid this piece of jewelry. What she had in that wooden box was actually a chopstick!" Little A-Wu said with a laugh. "Too bad her pair of jade bracelets were so noticeable, or I'd have switched those too!"

Wang Yang asked A-Wu curiously, "Instead of thinking of a way to repay the debt, I'm asking your father for money to buy clothes. Aren't you angry?"

A-Wu wore a serious expression. "First, you weren't the one who owed this money in the first place, young master. You stood up for us yesterday and got us three more days. That was already a great kindness. Even if we can't repay it, we'll still thank you. We won't be angry with you."

"Second, you helped us, so we have to repay your kindness. Only that old bastard of a village head would make my father work for nothing and give him nothing afterward! Two thousand coins is a little much, but we still have to do our best to scrape it together!"

"Third..." Little A-Wu gave a sly smile. "I don't think you want the money just to dress well. I think it has something to do with repaying the debt. Father said that if you want to reap a harvest, you have to be willing to put something in. Our two thousand coins are what we put in, and your good clothes are what you put in!"

Both Wang Yang and Black Han listened in astonishment. Wang Yang smiled at Black Han. "This girl is something else. I wasn't nearly as sharp as her when I was little."

"She's just a daughter of a soldier household with a bit of cleverness. How could she compare with you, young master?" Black Han spoke modestly, but his face brimmed with pride.

Little A-Wu held her head high, looking very pleased with herself. Wang Yang teased her. "Maybe I never intended to help you repay the debt at all. Maybe I just want nice clothes."

"You wouldn't do that! If you didn't want to help us, you'd have left this morning."

Wang Yang put on a solemn air and said slowly, "You're wrong. What if I stayed just to swindle you out of two thousand coins, and I leave once I've got it?"

Little A-Wu looked as though she had been struck by lightning!

She clearly had never considered that possibility. Her eyes went wide and her mouth formed an O. Then, like a little frog, she suddenly sprang onto Wang Yang's arm and wailed, "Young master, you're so capable! Please, whatever you do, don't swindle us out of our money!"