Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 23: Seemingly Gaining Two or Three Thousand Strings of Money

After moving to Jicui Building, not only has the living environment been significantly improved, but Zhang Luo's creative conditions have also been greatly improved.

When he was writing epitaphs before, he relied entirely on integrating his memories and his own literary talent, and was somewhat isolated from the mainstream epitaph styles and taboos.

This time after moving to Jicui Building, he could learn from the works of famous contemporary writers. For example, his grandfather Zhang Shuo's collection of essays also collected epitaphs he had written before. After some reference and comparison, Zhang Luo's creation was greatly enhanced and his writing style was more in line with his grandfather's.

As the saying goes, it is difficult to guard against a thief in your own home. Zhang Shuo naturally never thought that his appreciation and support for the young man would only provide convenience for this kid to steal his reputation and make profits.

Due to the busy official duties in the court, Zhang Shuo stayed in the province for a few days after this arrangement was made and did not go home to inquire.

In addition to visiting his grandmother in the inner house every day to greet her morning and evening, Zhang Luo became more and more familiar with her, and occasionally dealt with his father Zhang Jun's inquiries. The rest of his time he mainly read and wrote.

The market for epitaphs in Luoyang was indeed quite hot. Ding Qing, a young man staying at Zhou Liang's house outside the city, had repeatedly sent in requests to purchase epitaphs. Zhang Luo would select clients like Liu Sihu of Bianzhou, who had come to the court as an envoy from another state, to minimize the risk of exposure.

While selecting his guests, he also took the opportunity to learn about the wealth of the prefectures and counties within the Tang Dynasty. Although there weren't many prefectures as prosperous as Bianzhou due to its proximity to the Grand Canal, there were some that were equally impressive due to their superior natural conditions and industrial base.

Although the duties of those envoys were to report their work and accept evaluations in the court, it was not easy to come to Luoyang once. They also had the responsibility of visiting, comforting, and maintaining personal relationships, so each of them had a lot of luggage.

When they learned about such an opportunity, these people naturally rushed to seize it. Some of them even had relatives who were still alive, but they felt that they might need it in the next few years, so they wanted to buy it in advance.

However, Zhang Luo naturally would not receive such an unconventional guest. If some dispute arose, he would not only be exposed in public, but might even be regarded as the protagonist of a bizarre story and spread to future generations. It was embarrassing to think about it.

For example, Zeng Guofan, a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty, was restless during the New Year and stayed at home to write elegiac couplets for his good friend. However, his good friend was not dead yet, so he went to wish him a happy new year and caught him red-handed. His friend was so angry that he broke off the friendship with him.

If Zhang Luo dared to use his grandfather's name to collect money to write epitaphs for living people, the news would be spread by some big mouth. Just thinking about that scene was too exciting.

He worked diligently and tirelessly, creating seven or eight epitaphs in just a few days, earning over two thousand strings of cash. Of course, while doing business, he also wrote a heartfelt epitaph for his mother, Wu, and gave it to Ding Cang to find a skilled craftsman to carve.

He didn't know what his future would be like, but since he was living with the young Zhang Luonu, doing what he could for her would not let the mother down.

More than two thousand strings of cash is already a very considerable fortune. Most people would probably find it difficult to accumulate such a sum of money in their entire lives.

In his poems, Bai Juyi of the mid-Tang Dynasty jokingly described his plans for his afterlife, saying, "First, sell the ten-acre garden in Nanfang, then sell the five-hectare farmland in Dongdu, and finally sell the house he lived in" to "seem to get two or three thousand strings of cash." This sum was clearly a significant sum, more than enough to buy a house and property in the two capitals, plus several years of living expenses.

Han Yu, a fellow master of this art, toiled for thirty years in Chang'an to acquire this house. And Zhang Luo, having decided to pursue this path for just two weeks, has already achieved a similar feat.

This is because Han Yu spent more than half of those thirty years building up his reputation and accumulating experience, but Zhang Luo secretly opened a finished large account from the beginning, so he naturally achieved twice the result with half the effort and was incredibly efficient.

While it was certainly exciting to open a large account and make money, Zhang Luo knew it wasn't a long-term solution. There was no end to making money, but some things were incredibly difficult to do once the opportunity was missed. Now that he had earned enough money, he needed to begin other preparations for leaving the Zhang family.

So after delivering the last epitaph requested by the imperial envoy from Yangzhou, Zhang Luo decided to put down his pen and start dealing with other matters. The first thing that came to mind was what to do with the money and silk.

"This room is filled with silk, thousands of bolts! I can't even breathe loudly in my sleep. I never dreamed I'd be sleeping surrounded by piles of money and silk every day!"

Zhou Lang led Zhang Luo to his bedroom, pointed inside, and sighed. His house wasn't very spacious to begin with, and the thousands of rolls of silk stuffed into his small bedroom filled it to the brim. Even the wooden couch where Zhou Lang slept was covered with two layers of silk.

Zhang Luo had been so busy with his creative work recently that he hadn't had time to carefully count his earnings. He was shocked when he peeked inside. People often use the expression "a bare house" to describe a poor family, but if those walls were filled with silk and satin, then it wouldn't be considered poverty.

"Thank you for your hard work!" He patted Zhou Lang's shoulder and said with a smile.

Zhou Lang quickly shook his head after hearing this and said, "My dear husband, you have helped my family so much, so this is nothing compared to my hardship. But the money is piling up, and I'm afraid I can't take good care of it. I dare not leave the courtyard all day..."

He had never seen so much money since he was born, especially since it was deposited here by his benefactor. He felt particularly worried and anxious, and even couldn't sleep every day, and had two huge dark circles under his eyes.

In Luoyang today, a piece of silk fetched five hundred coins, and silk was even more expensive. The silk in this room was worth around a thousand strings of cash, a fraction of what Zhang Luo had earned during this period. Other items included thousands of strings of cash, gold, silver, and other precious metals. The Zhou family's small courtyard was no longer large enough to hold them, so Zhou Liang rented a spare house in the village to store them, leaving Ding Qing and several farmhands to look after them.

"Ah Lang, these coins are so heavy, it's really hard to store and carry them!"

Ding Qing led Zhang Luo to the courtyard where the coins were stored. He pointed at the coins piled in the baskets with a look of happy worry on his face.

This isn't to say I'm being ungrateful, but it's certainly a bit of a hassle. A Kaiyuan Tongbao note of consistently high quality weighs six or seven pounds, and since the customers felt they were buying from the prime minister, they naturally wouldn't use bad money to fill the bill, so they mostly paid good money.

The thousands of coins here weigh several thousand kilograms, which is indeed difficult to carry.

After reviewing his recent gains, Zhang Luo felt a momentary headache. He'd been troubled before when he had no money, and now that he had, he was just as worried. Keeping so much money and silk piled up at the Zhou family's house wasn't a long-term solution. Even if they didn't mind the hassle, it was still unsafe.

As for transporting it back to the farm, there is no need to think about it. The mistress Zheng must have been arranging people to keep an eye on the farm. Once she finds out that such a large amount of money and silk is being transported back to the farm, she will definitely understand that there must be something fishy. Once she investigates, the money and silk will definitely not be able to be kept, and the fact that she wrote the epitaph in someone else's name will probably be exposed.

Moreover, Zhang Luo earned money in order to escape at any time if the situation turned bad, so it was not appropriate to carry so much money with him. Therefore, the most urgent thing was to quickly find a way to reduce the target.

Nowadays, in order to solve the problem of carrying and transporting such large amounts of money and silk, people usually exchange the money and silk for small, valuable, and easy-to-cash goods, such as gold, jade, jewelry, spices, medicinal materials, pigments, various high-end textiles, and rare specialties from all over the world.

If these light goods are purchased properly, not only can they be transported conveniently, but they can also generate very considerable profits.

This was the only solution Zhang Luo could take. Since he didn't plan to take on the business of writing epitaphs anymore, he would use these last few days to convert the money and silk into suitable light goods so that he could pack up his valuables and run away at any time.

Luoyang's largest trading market was the Luoyang South Market. It was said to be incredibly prosperous, with all kinds of trades, seasonal goods from near and far, and rare treasures from all corners of the world displayed and sold. Zhang Luo wanted to convert these coins and silks into small goods, and the South Market was naturally the most convenient place. So, after leaving the Zhou residence, he took Aying and Ding Qing straight to the South Market.

When the group arrived near the South Market, the city drum had already struck, the market was open, and the streets were bustling with people and vehicles. Beyond this flow of people, there were also many people wearing green robes and futou wandering and shouting in and out of the city gate.

"They are all brokers in the city. Some work for government officials, while others work as hired servants for various shops. Some are cunning and deceitful, while others are honest and trustworthy. If you want to hire a broker, you must carefully distinguish between the good and the bad."

Seeing Zhang Luo looking at her, Aying explained in a low voice.

Zhang Luo understood what he was saying. It turned out to be a market promotion. He hadn't even decided whether to hire a broker as a guide, but the sharp-eyed brokers near the city gate had already noticed this young man. At least seven or eight of them immediately approached, shouting their sales pitch: "Excuse me, sir, would you like a broker to guide you? There are hundreds of shops and thousands of restaurants in the city, selling goods in countless stores. Your noble physique wouldn't allow you to stay with peddlers and camels for long. Hiring a broker would make things easier for you."

"Then how do you each calculate your profits?"

Zhang Luo had been hesitant at first, but after hearing this, he was moved. Nanshi was bustling, but also incredibly dirty and messy. Besides the crowded crowds of people and vehicles, the ground was also littered with the excrement of donkeys, horses, camels, and other animals.

Although there were street patrolmen inside and outside the team to maintain order, they were unable to control the donkeys and horses. When they encountered camels defecating, they would just ask for a few coins as a fine before entering. As for the excrement, they would just let it pile up on the ground and be trampled by people and cars, so that the whole street was filled with a foul smell.

These brokers were already trained to distinguish between the noble and the humble. Seeing that Zhang Luo was well-dressed and had male and female attendants with him, they immediately became excited when they heard that he wanted to hire someone, and began to introduce their respective charging standards.

The brokers affiliated with the government charged higher fees, while private brokers charged lower fees. Their charges all included a commission based on the transaction amount after facilitating the transaction.

Zhang Luo was a little unhappy when he heard this. He had to spend more than 2,000 strings of cash in the city today. Even if the commission rate these people took was low, it would still be a considerable expense considering the huge total amount.

"For only fifty coins per hour, I will take you on a leisurely tour of the South Market!"

At this time, another voice sounded behind Zhu Yalang. It was a middle-aged man in his early thirties who looked a little down and out. After shouting out the price, he ignored the equally resentful eyes beside him, squeezed in front of Zhang Luoma, and looked up with anticipation.

"That's you!"

After hearing this, Zhang Luo laughed and said that as a qualified employer, he would not hesitate to reward such internal labor traitors.

(End of this chapter)