A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 196
"You grow spinach well, what's your secret?"

"Before planting spinach seeds, it is best to soak the seeds to accelerate germination, which can improve the emergence of seedlings, and the soil must be deep and thick. Before planting, it is best to deeply plow the soil and sprinkle some quicklime. After the seeds emerge and grow leaves, they must be planted in time, and water cannot Water too much, just keep the ground moist, but not waterlogged, or the roots will rot..."

Wei Zheng and Wu Huaiyu lay on the dirt wall separating the two families.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

"It seems that I watered too much, didn't soak the seeds to accelerate germination, and didn't dry the soil before planting. I didn't expect that there are so many things to pay attention to when growing spinach." Wei Zheng was so embarrassed that he almost used his toes to dig a big hole in the wall. But his wife was still standing behind him, pulling on his trouser legs all the time, signaling him to get down to business.

"Well, Erlang heard what we said just now, so you laughed." Wei Zheng had no choice but to change the subject.

"Actually, I just came here, and I didn't hear clearly through the wall. It's very windy!" Huaiyu was also lying on the wall, chatting with Wei Zheng, and at the same time looking curiously at the Weijiayuan next door. Son, this is a vegetable field.

But it is very different from the Wu family's vegetable field. The Wu family used to grow flowers, and the planning was very neat, and even paved with bricks and stones, which was very elegant. Wei Zheng's vegetable field was really original.

No embellishment.

"I heard that Erlang opened a quality shop in Changshengtang?"

"Didn't Wei Gong impeach me last time for prescribing drugs and competing for the interests of the people?" Huaiyu's words made Wei Zheng blush. He had indeed impeached Wu Huaiyu before.

Momentary embarrassment.

Wei Zheng wanted to jump off the wall and go home, but he couldn't continue the conversation. How could he have the face to talk about borrowing money from Wu Huaiyu at this time.But Mrs. Pei kept tugging on his trousers down there, almost tearing them off.

"Well, Changshengtang Diansi, can you take the house as a mortgage?"

"Look, if I pledge this house to Qiansheng Hall, how much money can I get?"

Wei Zheng's face was quite thick.

Sure enough, there are benefits to reading a lot. It not only increases temperament, but also thickens the skin.

"Wei Gong's house is close to the imperial city, and the location is very good. The land of this house is worth a lot, but your house has been in disrepair for a long time, and it's a bit too rudimentary, so it's not worth a lot of money." Huaiyu said ruthlessly, this guy I didn't make fun of myself, I begged myself today, Wu Huaiyu planned to have a good chat with him, it's a rare opportunity, when I was drowsy, I met a pillow.

Wei Zheng said directly: "You heard it just now, I want to marry Wang Xueshi's family, but I need 100 million to accompany the family, and I can't afford it for the time being, and I can't delay this matter, so I want to use this house as a mortgage to borrow money for emergencies. "

"Wei Gong is talking about marriage for Wei Dalang?"

"Ah."

"But the last time I saw your young men were still very young, weren't they?"

"Da Lang is seven years old and has already started school." Wei Zheng said.

He was only seven years old, so he was in a hurry to say kiss to him.

"Then there's no need to be in such a hurry. Wei Gong is now Shangshu Zuocheng. With this official salary plus the income from the job field, I heard that Wei Gong often writes for others, and the pen fee is also a lot. He saves hundreds of dollars a year. Continuity is no problem.”

"The opportunity to marry the Wang family of Taiyuan is not very common," Wei Zheng said bluntly. Everyone in the world clings to five surnames and seven famous families. Wei Zheng's grandfather was a governor, but his father was only a county magistrate.Although he married a daughter of Pei's family in Hedong, she was not a descendant of Pei's family.

I can have the opportunity to marry a daughter of the Taiyuan Wang family. Besides, although Wang Ji is not a high-ranking official, he has a great reputation. Brother, if such a relationship can be formed, Wei Shuyu's future road will be smooth.

"Wu Erlang, can you help me with this?" Wei Zheng's pleated trousers were almost torn off by Mrs. Pei. For the sake of his son, Wei Zheng had no choice but to bow his head to Wu Huaiyu, whom he always looked down on.

"Neighbor, neighbor, it's not a big deal. How much does Duke Wei plan to borrow?"

Wu Huaiyu doesn't sympathize with Wei Zheng at all, he is too bad a person.

Originally, he was an official in the same hall, and he was also a neighbor next door, so he would definitely be willing to help if he could help.

But the other party is Wei Zheng, who has teased him several times, he must take revenge on him today. Although this is a bit unethical, it is not Wu Huaiyu's style to repay grievances with virtue.

He originally wanted to write a memorial to impeach this guy, but he couldn't find any really fatal problems. It was irrelevant, and would deduct points from the emperor instead.

Don't look at Wei Zheng who hates dogs, but now he still has a high status with the emperor, and he will even be able to go to Lingyan Pavilion in the future.

"Can Erlang lend me 100 million?" Wei Zheng hesitated, and at this moment, Mrs. Pei pulled his pleated trousers from below, "Borrow, can I borrow 200 million?"

"No problem." Huaiyu agreed happily, smiling like a spring breeze.

This caught Wei Zheng by surprise, Mrs. Pei just came forward when she saw her husband down below, "Wu Erlang, why don't you come over to the mansion to explain, there is still some sake at home, please ask General Wu to taste it."

Huaiyu responded with a smile and directly climbed over the wall and jumped into Wei's house.

Seeing this, Wei Zheng frowned, and invited you to go through the mansion, you go through the main entrance, it's too rude to climb over a wall.

Wei Zheng is getting old, almost 50 years old, not young, but his wife Pei is actually quite young, only around [-]. This Pei family was born in Hedong, and married Wei Zheng when the Sui Dynasty was turbulent in the early years. , and bore him four sons and two daughters.The Pei family is also well-versed in books and ceremonies, and is good at both piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but he has not enjoyed any blessings with Wei Zheng, and wandered around. Now he has finally settled down in Chang'an, but he is not rich, and he still has to grow vegetables and weave by himself. cloth.

Huaiyu looked at Pei's family secretly, although she was a commoner, she was young after all, even though she had six children, she still had a charming charm and a special temperament.

"Hi, sister-in-law," Huaiyu saluted with a smile, and then handed over the handful of spinach that was just picked in his hand, which was so green, it was a welcome gift for the first time.

"Wu Erlang's spinach is so fresh and tender, my Alang can't grow it." Mrs. Pei said generously.

All the way to the Wei family hall.

It is also very simple, but very clean and tidy.

Pei also specially invited Wei Shuyu to meet him, and brought a jar of Weigong wine to entertain him.

"Wu Erlang is really willing to lend me 200 million yuan?" Wei Zheng took the initiative to open an altar and pour wine for Huaiyu, and he couldn't help but inhale the aroma of the wine first. These are some of his best treasures, and his wife is generous.

Huaiyu took the wine glass, took a sip, let the wine swirl on the tip of his tongue, and got to know this famous Weigong wine in Chang'an.

A dou of gold is not as good as a sip of Wei Gong, even Wang Ji, a master of wine fighting, praised it so much.

After tasting it carefully, I found that Wei Zheng's home brew was really good, and it was indeed higher grade than the common wines in Chang'an market. At least this wine was clear and transparent.

People in Tang Dynasty made wine, usually rice wine.

Then there is also prepared wine, which is spiced and medicinal materials, and is drunk during various festivals, such as ai wine and realgar wine for the Dragon Boat Festival, and dogwood wine for September [-].

There are also fruit wine and pine wine, which are made from various fruits and pine needles from pine trees. People in Tang Dynasty believed that evergreen pine trees were a good thing, so they created unique pine wine.

Generally, the most drunk is rice wine, which can be brewed from glutinous rice or wheat, broomcorn millet, millet, etc.

These rice wines are generally divided into sake and turbid wine, and sake is also called baijiu.

There are also two types of turbid wine, green and white turbid, which are good for feasting and feasting. This is exactly what I said. Bai Juyi wrote a good poem, "New Roasted Wine by Green Ants, and a Small Red Clay Stove".

Green wine can be regarded as a middle-grade wine, and the lower one is turbid wine.

Wei Zheng's wine is neither cloudy nor green, but very clear.

The Pei family also learned the art of hand-brewed wine from Wei Zheng. It is said that Wei Zheng's home brewing method originated from Wei Zheng's grandfather who was a governor. He was good at wine, collected a lot of wine-making methods, and improved them. Secret method of brewing.

"This wine is quite strong." Huaiyu said.

"Erlang seems to know how to drink." Wei Zheng was very proud, but he also simply revealed something special about Wei's wine.After the wine in their family is brewed, it is filtered several times, and then it is simmered slowly on a low fire.

The method of shochu is not uncommon. Many places have this barbecue method. This kind of wine is also called shochu, and it is mostly shochu in spring, also known as Shaochun.

Cooking on low fire and slow cooking can not only sterilize bacteria, but also keep the taste for a longer time. The shochu is strong, intoxicating and fragrant.However, ordinary rice wine is easy to deteriorate, sour, and even grow wine worms and wine ants.

Shochu can also increase the alcohol content, making the wine more clear and strong.

But this wine is obviously still rice wine, not distilled wine.

What Wei Zheng said were all very simple things, and they were all things that were made public. Those who make wine understand it. If they really want to brew good shochu, there are still many secret methods that are not passed down.

Wu Huaiyu felt that the reputation of Weigong wine was greater than the taste, and this wine was just rice wine, not even as good as some rice wine he drank in later generations.

It's true when you think about it, later generations are more professional in making wine, and Wei's Home Brewing is not even considered a small workshop.

"Drink this wine when it's cold, and cook it slowly in a small stove. It tastes better when it's hot," Pei said.

After drinking a glass of wine, Huaiyu got straight to the point, he didn't come to drink.

"Wei Gong, Mrs. Pei, we are neighbors, and Wei Gong and I are ministers in the same palace. Now you are in trouble and want to borrow money. I just invested some money in the quality shop as a half-owner. This can help. I am also happy.

But Changshengtang is not mine alone. How much and how long do you plan to borrow, and what will you use as collateral? "

"Use this house as collateral and borrow 200 million."

"How long do you want to borrow?"

Wu Huaiyu smiled all over his face, watching Wei Zheng step by step into his trap, he opened a quality shop and was afraid of people borrowing money?Usury is a bottomless pit, even Wei Zheng can't bear it.

"How is the interest calculated?" Pei asked. "Ms. Pei should also know that the quality shops in the east and west cities of Chang'an are basically the same as the interest on pledge loans of the Changsheng warehouses of major temples. 200 million is a lot of money. If you borrow it for one year, then according to the market price, You get ten cents, and you get two cents for storage and other expenses. If you borrow two thousand guan, the annual interest will be 480 guan, and the cost will be 880 guan, which together will be [-] guan.”

"The interest rate is so high?"

Wu Huaiyu smiled and said, "Grand Wei, your house covers an area of ​​[-] acres. It is located in Yongxingfang, Dongcheng. The location is good, but the house is not worth much. I overestimate the land, let's count it as three thousand yuan. According to the regulations, it is worth ten pence. Five, you can pawn [-] guan, but not [-] guan."

Now Wei Zheng and his wife became a little anxious, "We have such a big house, it is worth more than three thousand coins, why can we only bet one thousand five?"

"The interest rate is too high. If you borrow two thousand strings, the annual interest will be two thousand eight hundred and eighty?"

"The interest is two thousand and four, and there are four hundred and eighty for storage, handling and other expenses."

"Too high."

"I believe Wei Gong and Mrs. Pei have also inquired about other quality shops and Changsheng warehouses. They are all of this market. The amount you borrow is large and the time is long, so the interest will naturally be high. If you borrow a hundred and eighty for a month, Just five cents will do,"

Wei Zheng's face wrinkled into a ball,
Mrs. Pei said good things to Huaiyu, and hoped that there would be less.

"Miss Pei, if you really want to borrow two thousand guan, the key issue now is not the profit, but that you can't borrow two thousand for this house, and you have to add some other collateral." Huaiyu smiled. , but he didn't give face.

"We have such a big house, not only three thousand guan, but also houses." Wei Zheng said angrily.

"If Duke Wei is in trouble, forget it." Huaiyu got up to leave.

Pei quickly asked him to sit down, she gritted her teeth, "We still have a lot of books at home that can be mortgaged."

Wei Zheng was in a hurry, and Mrs. Pei glared at him, "When is it, you spent so much money collecting these books, and now you need the money urgently, why can't you mortgage it first, and sell it?"

"May I take a look at Duke Wei's collection?"

Mrs. Pei took Huaiyu to Wei Zheng's study room. Although Wei Zheng's family is poor, this old boy actually has a collection of three thousand volumes. Books from the Tang Dynasty are very valuable. If you ask someone to copy a volume by hand, you need a piece of silk at the lowest grade. The well-known Chaoshou copied a volume of thousands of characters, even asking for thousands of dollars.

Some good books in the Tang Dynasty cost several thousand dollars, while rare editions from certain eras may cost more than tens of thousands of dollars.

Not all of Wei Zheng's books are good, but the three thousand volumes should be comparable to his three thousand volumes.

This old boy and this baby.

"Wei Gong's house is mortgaged for [-] guan, and how about these books worth [-] guan?" Huaiyu smiled.

Wei Zheng almost jumped up and beat Wu Huaiyu.

Isn't this taking advantage of the fire?
Mrs. Pei held him firmly.

"Wu Erlang, this is a three thousand-volume book, not to mention worth ten thousand guan, there are some worth three thousand guan."

"Miss Pei, books are not like houses. They are worth whatever price they are in. There are markets and markets. There are good books and bad books. Some may be worth hundreds of coins per volume, while others may only be worth tens or hundreds of dollars. It's not easy for me to separate the [-] volumes of books. Besides, I didn't buy the book, but just took it as collateral. When you pay back the money, the book will be returned naturally.

Books are more difficult to keep than land. The risk of moth-eaten and rat bites is high, and they take up a lot of land. These books can only be used as five hundred guan, so I won't charge extra storage fees. "

"Inappropriate." Wei Zheng pouted his neck.

Huaiyu crossed his hands with a smile, "Okay, let's say goodbye, thank you Duke Wei for the drinks."

He walked about ten steps, but Mrs. Pei still caught up and stopped him.

"Dang," Mrs. Pei didn't care about marrying women with five surnames in order for her son to marry, "I just hope that the interest will be less. We are all neighbors, so Erlang can help."

"What I just said was the market situation in Chang'an, but since Mrs. Pei also said so, I must take care of the neighbors. In this way, I will make my own decisions. Your house and the three thousand volumes Book, I will mortgage you 480 guan, the interest is originally [-] guan, and the cost is [-] guan.

A total of 880 guan, how about I subtract [-] guan for you? "

"Wu Erlang, how about you just charge two thousand dollars?"

"That's very difficult. You can't do business at a loss, and other owners don't agree."

The two bargained for a long time, but the final result was that the interest was still 240 per month, a total of 640 guan, and the handling fee was only one cent, [-] guan, for a total of [-] guan.

"Forget it, I'll give up the 280 guan for personal favors, let's say [-] guan. Compared with the peers, this is [-] guan. A small courtyard of several acres in Nancheng has been surrendered." Huaiyu A peerless good neighbor. "Who made us neighbors next door?"

Wei Zheng frowned, the interest was too high, if he borrowed two thousand, he would pay back the interest of two thousand six thousand a year, and after one year the principal and interest would be four thousand six hundred, how would he pay it back then?
But now his wife, Pei, is like a drowning man catching a straw. She is determined to marry the Wang family and refuses to miss the opportunity for her son to marry a woman with five surnames. At worst, the house and books will be gone, but as long as she can get another five surnames Daughter-in-law is also worth it.

Houses and books can be bought again when they are gone, and this is the only chance for the son to marry a woman with five surnames.

"Or, I'd better sell you the house for three thousand guan." Wei Zheng said.

"Wei Gong, I will live next door to you. What do you want your house to do? My house is three acres bigger than yours."

"Two thousand eight hundred guan." Wei Zheng lowered the price.

Huaiyu just shook his head, "To be honest, I can't afford so much money to buy your house. Changshengtang is in the business of mortgage loans, which is the capital of the business."

"If Mr. Wei is in trouble, then forget it. It's still the same sentence. There is no such thing as buying and selling, and there is no such thing as forced buying and selling."

Wei Zheng was silent for a long time, before opening his mouth with difficulty, "My collection of [-] volumes is more precious than this house, why not only mortgage [-] volumes?"

"Forget it." Huaiyu turned and left.

Pei Shi caught up again, "Dang, we are all pawned, when will we get the money?"

"As long as the title deed of this house and the three thousand volumes of books are sent to Changshengtang, two thousand coins will be handed over on the same day, but there are not so many copper coins, and the custom is to pay nine silks for one coin."

"Yes." Pei said decisively.

"Then hand over the deed, hand over the documents, hand over the formalities and get the money tomorrow,"

After the matter was settled, Mrs. Pei gave Huaiyu two jars of good wine, and Wei Zheng sat alone in front of the hall in a daze.

All of a sudden, he recited 420 guan in interest. His fourth-rank Shangshu Zuo Cheng only had [-] shi of Lumi a year. Money, [-] acres of land, [-] shi can be collected for land rent.

There are also some Yongye fields.

But the sum of these incomes is not much in a year, 720 stone grains, [-] pennies, a drop in the bucket.

In the past, it was still possible to brew and sell wine, but now it cannot be brewed.

"Write some epitaphs for people, write some words, and earn some retouching fees." Pei said helplessly.

It is very profitable to write epitaphs for people, especially for local tyrants. As long as they have high status and social fame, writing an epitaph can earn as little as tens of thousands of dollars, and as much as hundreds of guan.

For example, the Eighteen Scholars of the original Qin Palace, their retouching fees are very high, especially if they can invite Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui to make a move, at least it must be a BMW with a silver saddle, and other things must be added.But Fang Du wouldn't write for everyone, at least he had to write for the Duke's family. Generally speaking, some local rich and wealthy businessmen had no status, and no matter how much money they paid, they would not write.

Wei Zheng used to disdain earning this kind of finishing fee, he would rather brew some home-brewed shochu at home.

"it is good,"

Wei Zheng can't help it now, he has to earn some extra money, the pressure is too great, writing an article earns [-] to [-] yuan, and writing a hundred articles, wouldn't it be [-] to [-] yuan.

"My books."

"It's just temporarily mortgaged to Changshengtang." Pei comforted.

"I worked hard as an official for a year, and Lumi was only three hundred shi. He, Wu Huaiyu, made a loan and collected interest, and he earned me two thousand six hundred guan. This is wrong, very wrong." Wei Zheng murmured.

Mrs. Pei glared at her husband angrily, "Don't pick up the bowl to eat, and scold your mother when you put it down, you haven't got the two thousand coins yet, have you forgotten how you used to borrow money everywhere?

Let me remind you, don't find fault with Wu Erlang in the future, I think Wu Erlang is a nice person, this time we owe him a huge favor, so we will be more polite when we meet in the future. "

Wei Zheng's beard trembled wildly, "He earned me [-] yuan by lending usury, should I thank him?"

"If you borrow it from others, the interest is more than two thousand and six, and some of them are asking for three thousand."

"Otherwise, forget about not marrying Wang's daughter." Wei Zheng sighed.

"You're talking nonsense, you Wei Zheng has such a dignified face, your son's marriage doesn't matter anymore?"

Wei Zheng lowered his head, poured himself a bowl of wine, and drank alone.

Dukang is the only way to relieve worries.

(End of this chapter)