"Accountant!"
Wang Fugui looked at the perfectly composed Gu Zhengchen, the flesh on his cheeks twitching slightly.
The accountant, Wang Quan, hurried forward, took the bundle, and opened it. A heap of copper coins stabbed into his vision.
Gasps rose all around.
Old Yan Sanjing gaped in shock at the sight of so many copper coins.
Aunt Wang, Uncle Zhang, Uncle Yan, Aunt Zhou, and the other villagers of Dayan Village also stared wide-eyed, scarcely able to believe that Gu Zhengchen had actually produced the money-nearly five strings of coins!
Zhao Ya'er rubbed her eyes, her face filled with confusion and bewilderment.
The Zhao Family had long since established that the Gu Family had no savings whatsoever. They had also confirmed that no one had been willing to help, whether it was Gu Shi or Gu Zhengchen who went asking for a loan.
Yet now, Gu Zhengchen had actually produced the money-a full six strings!
"They must be fake, right?"
Zhao Yaowen's eyes widened. The Gu Family was utterly destitute. Never mind six strings of coins; even producing six copper coins would have been difficult.
The earlier one string and one hundred and fifteen coins had been pooled by the people of Dayan Village. Even the entire village's efforts had yielded only that much. How could Gu Zhengchen possibly produce four strings and eight hundred and eighty-five coins?
County Magistrate Li Yi chuckled at the sight. "Just as I thought."
"Your Honor?"
His adviser, Yan Bin, looked somewhat surprised.
Li Yi explained, "At Three-Mile Pavilion the day before yesterday, I felt that Gu Zhengchen was far too calm. Either he had resigned himself to his fate, or he had something to rely on. Now it seems he had already secured a loan."
Yan Bin frowned. "But who would lend him money? Landlord Sun drove him out of his house. You saw it yourself, Your Honor."
"Does seeing something with your own eyes necessarily make it true?"
Li Yi suddenly realized something.
If Gu Zhengchen had failed to borrow money from Landlord Sun, then, driven into a corner, he should have sought help elsewhere. He seemed to have a fairly good relationship with the Liang Family, so he should at least have paid them another visit. Yet he had gone nowhere else, returning straight to Dayan Village instead.
Everyone had been blinded by the scene of him being driven out of Landlord Sun's house, deceived by the picture of desolation and despair he had presented at the gate!
That wretched fellow even fooled me!
Li Yi secretly gritted his teeth. He prided himself on his intelligence, yet he had failed to see through a mere provincial graduate's act! But why had Landlord Sun agreed to play along with Gu Zhengchen?
Wang Youcheng stood frozen, his face deathly pale, like a rooster defeated in a fight.
The accountant finished counting. Though deeply reluctant, he still reported the truth to Wang Fugui. "The two amounts together make exactly six strings."
Gu Shi looked at Gu Qingqing, relief spreading across her face.
Gu Qingqing grinned. At last, the debt was paid off. Her brother would not have to become a tenant of the Wang Family, and she would not have to be sold to anyone as a maid.
Gu Zhengchen felt relieved. After days of toil, planning, and maneuvering, he had finally pulled the Gu Family back from the edge of the abyss!
Freed from the burden of debt, he could find a way to enter officialdom under Hongwu sooner. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was contemplating his imperial chessboard and preparing to unleash towering waves, making entry into officialdom at this moment a constant risk of capsizing, the helplessness of remaining outside it and the dangers faced by those at the bottom were even more agonizing!
Just one unexpected debt had nearly forced his sister to sell herself, brought his mother to her knees to plead for help, and almost made him a tenant of the Wang Family-a plaything in their hands!
This crisis had been averted, but what about the next?
He was only a provincial graduate, not an official. Countless feet could stomp the Gu Family into the ground!
Moreover, the Gu Family had thoroughly offended both the Wang Family and the Zhao Family. These two wealthy households had money and connections. If the Gu Family did not want to suffer their retaliation, to be trampled underfoot and slowly ground to death, its only way out was to enter an official career!
I, Gu Zhengchen, would rather ride the wind and cleave the waves, standing tall amid the surging tide, than cower where I am and let others bully me!
Wang Fugui reached out, scooped up a handful of copper coins, then let them clatter back into the bundle. Looking at Gu Zhengchen, he said slowly, "Candidate Gu, six strings hardly seems enough, does it?"
Gu Zhengchen's gaze sharpened.
Gu Shi hurried forward. "Master Wang, we already used our ox and farmland to settle the earlier debt. Only six strings remained unpaid. Now that we've gathered all six strings, how can it not be enough?"
Wang Fugui sneered. "Gu Shi, do borrowed sums not bear interest? These six strings are only the principal. What about the interest?"
Gu Shi's expression changed drastically. She hastily said, "When we borrowed the money, you never mentioned charging interest! Why are you bringing it up now?"
Wang Fugui scoffed. "Ridiculous! Loans have borne interest since ancient times. Our dynasty's Code of Laws stipulates that private loans and pawned property may accrue monthly interest, provided it does not exceed three parts in a hundred. Accountant, calculate it!"
The accountant, Wang Quan, took out his abacus and reset the beads with a few sharp clacks. "The Gu Family borrowed forty strings from the Wang Family in the latter part of the twelfth month last year. By the latter part of the third month, three full months had elapsed. Interest was calculated separately from the principal, at three percent a month. The monthly interest payable was one tael and two tenths, totaling three taels and six tenths over three months. At the end of the third month, the Gu Family repaid thirty-four strings with their ox and farmland, leaving nine strings and six hundred coins unpaid."
"Calculating interest on a principal of six taels, exactly one month has passed from the third month until now, yielding monthly interest of one hundred and eighty coins. Added to the previously unpaid debt, that makes nine strings and seven hundred and eighty coins in total. Only six strings have been repaid today, leaving three strings and seven hundred and eighty coins outstanding."
Gu Shi collapsed to the ground, overcome with anguish. "How could this happen?"
Gu Qingqing burst into tears. Her brother had gone to such trouble to exchange things for money, and it had barely been enough to repay the six-string debt. Even if they brought out another two strings, they still could not fill this hole!
What ruthless methods the Wang Family has!
Even County Magistrate Li Yi was secretly alarmed by the sight.
Yan Bin sighed repeatedly. "Candidate Gu is going to suffer a terrible loss now."
Although the Wang Family had taken matters to the extreme, they had not violated the Code of Laws. Nor had they added the interest to the principal when calculating it.
Zhao Yaowen looked at the despairing Gu Shi, the weeping Gu Qingqing, and Gu Zhengchen's shifting expression, secretly savoring his satisfaction. You may have passed the provincial examination, but you're still nothing more than a destitute, penniless provincial graduate!
If you can't clear the debt, you'll have no choice but to become a tenant of the Wang Family! No one will let you fatten yourself by swallowing your own words!
Zhao Ya'er clenched her fists, secretly delighted. That's it! Finish Gu Zhengchen off with a single blow. Make this hateful fellow a tenant, bent over the soil for the rest of his life, never able to straighten his back and live with dignity again!
Gu Zhengchen raised his head slightly and looked at the blue sky and white clouds.
Usury, was it?
Three percent interest a month meant annual interest of three thousand six hundred on ten thousand. In modern terms, that was thirty-six percent.
That was hardly low.
It seemed borrowing money in Great Ming was a pit. Falling in was easy, but climbing out without getting covered in mud was out of the question.
Three strings and seven hundred and eighty coins!
He still had two strings on hand, but that was not enough to clear the debt.
Seeing clearly that the Gu Family had reached a dead end, Wang Youcheng stepped up to Gu Zhengchen and said in a low voice, "Gu Zhengchen, didn't you say you'd play with me? And how did that turn out? You still lost everything! Once you become a tenant of my family, I'll make you crawl before me like a dog!"
Wang Fugui had someone pull Wang Youcheng away, then fixed Gu Zhengchen with a cold, sinister look. "Since you cannot clear the debt, Candidate Gu will have to suffer a little inconvenience. Someone, bring out the tenancy contract!"
Just then, a booming voice rang into the courtyard. "Tsk, tsk. What imposing airs you put on, Master Wang! Pressuring a provincial graduate of the court like this over a few strings of coins-aren't you afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself?"
Before you continue