Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

The Registrar was the chief steward of the Left Guard, and the Xue Guard's salary was under his control.

"Let me go and check in first, then I'll come find you."

Time was running out, and Gao Yuanli dashed off to check in.

Xue Wei returned to his official residence, which was about ten square meters. It was specially found for him by General Cao Jinling of the Left Guard. It contained only a table, a couch, and a slightly worn bookcase. That was all the furniture.

There was only a set of writing implements and a teacup on the desk. Documents and official documents were irrelevant to him. He was just a driver; what official business did he need to do? If it weren't for Cao Jinling finding him an official room out of respect for Princess Taiping, he wouldn't even have a seat.

So what if he's a fifth-rank official? His real power is far less than that of a military advisor who is an eighth-rank official!

He only gets a fixed salary and doesn't earn any extra income.

However, Xue Wei really didn't consider his salary. He was living off Yuan Min, who gave him a thousand taels of silver every month as an advisory fee. Yuan Min covered all his food and lodging expenses, and he didn't even have to worry about raising horses. With such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?

Of course, there is a price to pay: Xue Wei can't have any other women besides Yuan Min. He can forget about taking a concubine, and he's not allowed to go to brothels. He's definitely a domineering female CEO.

Just then, the tea servant Xiao Qiu entered carrying a teapot, smiling and bowing, "Master Xue, let me pour you some tea!"

The officials brought their own tea. Xue Wei brought the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens tea that Yuan Min had given him. This was a tribute tea that ordinary officials could not drink. On his first day, Xue Wei gave Cao Jinling and Chang Wen a pound each, which made the two of them smile so much that their eyes narrowed.

Xue Wei used Xing kiln white porcelain, but it was a top-grade folk kiln. He wanted to bring celadon porcelain to work, but Yuan Min wouldn't allow it. In her words, if he dared to drink tea with celadon porcelain in the official residence, the prime minister would have to ask him about it every day.

Xue Wei pushed his teacup away. "Xiao Qiu, could you get me a newspaper?"

"Alright, I'll go get Master Xue a copy of the latest 'Official Gazette'!"

"Holy crap, there really are newspapers!"

Xue Wei was just joking, but he didn't expect there would actually be a newspaper about it.

"Master Xue, please wait, you'll be right there!"

Xiao Qiu worked very hard, not for any other reason than that Master Xue gave him a lot of money. He earned one string of cash a month. On his first day of work, Master Xue gave him five taels of silver, which caused a sensation in Xiao Qiu's whole family and the entire Zuowei.

But soon another piece of news came out: Xue had sexual relations with children.

Actually, it's a real injustice. Master Xue is not Master Xue, and Xue Wei is not Xue Pan. Xue Wei of the Tang Dynasty never did anything so despicable.

But there's nothing you can do. With fame comes trouble. Who told you to flaunt your wealth and make others envious?

Soon, Xiao Qiu brought two copies of the "Official Gazette." Xue Wei only read two lines before his eyelids started to droop.

It's so boring. Who's been reassigned to what position? Who's attending court sooner or later? Who's been fined a month's salary? What did the emperor say today? What did the emperor say yesterday? What did the emperor say the day before yesterday?

However, this "official gazette" is quite good for using the outhouse; the front is covered in ink, so you can use the back.

At this moment, Gao Yuanli walked in with a smile, carrying a scroll of documents. Xue Wei pushed the writing materials to him but didn't offer him a seat. Helpless, Gao Yuanli had to squat down and copy a salary list while also explaining.

"Commander Xue is a fifth-rank official, with a monthly salary of three strings of cash, an annual stipend of one hundred and sixty shi of grain, and an assigned land of four hundred mu, with an annual land rent of sixty shi of grain."

"How much is rice now?"

"Fifteen coins for a peck of rice."

Xue Wei did the math and suddenly his eyes widened. He only earned 69 strings of cash a year, which was less than 6 strings of cash a month.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken? I don't even earn six strings of cash a month."

Gao Yuanli sighed, "A government office with little money has so little. Of course, there are some benefits, like charcoal and ice allowances, but it's not much."

Xue Wei suddenly thought of Old Sun's noodle shop, which made a net profit of ten strings of cash a month. He, a dignified fifth-rank official, did not earn as much as a small restaurant owner!

Gao Yuanli suddenly said softly, "Being an official doesn't mean you can support your family with a salary."

Xue Wei was speechless. Yuan Min had spent 10,000 strings of cash to bribe officials to add a stone slab to his water prison, and had even taken out all of her dowry.

Of course, ordinary people wouldn't ask for that much, but he is Xue Wei, and the officials of the Dali Temple are risking offending Wu Sansi, so of course they are asking for a high price. Everyone in the Dali Temple has to get benefits so that no one will report them.

Moreover, Xue Wei later realized that Yuan Min's bribe of 10,000 strings of cash not only gave him a bluestone slab, but also carved out a ventilation shaft for him. The passage that he called Ali Baba's treasure was actually just a ventilation shaft. He also gave him food, which allowed him to survive in the end.

Otherwise, Blackwater Prison would have been a death row, and Wu Zetian only found out about him a month later. If Yuan Min hadn't bribed him with 10,000 strings of cash in the early stages, he would have starved to death long ago.

Therefore, bribing officials in the capital was very important, as they relied on bribes for income to support their families.

In this sense, the two thousand strings of cash for the transfer of ownership at the pawnshop was actually not a high amount.

Now Xue Wei finally understood who the real owners of those profitable shops in Luoyang and Chang'an were. They lived on their salaries and were not even as well as the merchants. How could the high-ranking officials and nobles tolerate that?

However, only a few high-ranking officials could make money, and even fewer had family support. Most officials from poor backgrounds at the middle and lower levels relied on their salaries to support their families and lived in rented houses. Bai Juyi rented a house for eighteen years before buying his first small house in Chang'an at the age of fifty.

No wonder most officials rode donkeys to court.

"And what about the income of local officials?"

"Local officials earn twice as much as those in the capital."

"If that's the case, why does everyone want to stay in the capital and not go to serve as officials in the provinces?"

"Well...everyone's situation is different!"

"Ambiguous statements!"

Xue Wei was filled with resentment, 'This guy actually refuses to pass on his secrets to being an official.'

Xue Wei took a small packet of Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Tribute Tea and pushed it over. He understood the social niceties of having someone squat down to copy his salary list for him.

Gao Yuanli, beaming, took his tea, bid farewell, and stood up to leave. As he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and said with a smile, "Serving as an official in the capital allows one to benefit the local people!"

In a single sentence, he conveyed the essence of the entire officialdom to Xue Wei.

Xue Wei suddenly understood why Bai Juyi had saved money for eighteen years and only bought a small two-acre house in Chang'an when he was fifty, but was able to buy a large ten-acre house in Luoyang just seven years later.

.........

After sitting there for a moment, Xue Wei picked up the salary list that Gao Yuanli had copied for him and looked at it carefully. The more he looked, the more shocked he became. His income as a fifth-rank official was only half that of a noodle shop owner.

Those big restaurants make a net profit of 20,000 strings of cash a year, while my annual salary is only 69 strings of cash. It's not enough to be compared with the best, nor is it enough to be compared with the worst. This comparison is too painful.

At that moment, he suddenly saw the last line of text: "Fifteen coins for a peck of rice."

Fifteen coins—this number was familiar to him. He remembered that a bowl of knife-cut noodles at Sun's Noodle Shop cost fifteen coins.

One dou of rice is twelve jin, so two jin of rice costs three wen, while two jin of wheat is even cheaper, costing only two wen. But a bowl of knife-cut noodles only costs one jin, which is equivalent to two jin of wheat! That damned old Sun dares to charge me fifteen wen.

"I got slaughtered!"

The sound of Xue's wailing came from the official's room.

.........

Feeling incredibly bored with nothing to do, Xue Wei went to find Wu Sansi again, only to be told that he wasn't in the government office. There were only two types of people who could leave the government office at any time: those who were in charge of others and those who were left unattended.

Wu Sansi belongs to the former, while Xue Wei belongs to the latter.

It was still early, so he left the imperial city to go shopping and unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Qingfeng Restaurant.

The waiter didn't recognize him, but seeing that he was alone and without any female companions, he recommended him in a seductive tone.

"Our shop's orchid girls are all fair-skinned and voluptuous. The dancing girls wear only a tiny bit of clothing and sway in front of you, big brother. The girls who urge you to drink will lie in your arms and feed you drinks mouth-to-mouth. How about it, big brother, would you like to go upstairs to a private room for a drink?"

Hu Ji! Xue Wei longed for her so much, but when he thought of the sadness in Yuan Min's eyes, the little desire that had just risen in his heart was extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

"I desire both fish and the Hu woman; if I cannot have both, I will choose the fish and forgo the Hu woman!"

Xue Wei went to Beishi, strolled around the city, and bought a set of high-quality fishing rods and tackle. He was a fisherman in his previous life, and Luoyang has the Luo River flowing through the city, so he really wanted to try fishing.

Over the past 1,300 years, most things have changed, but chasing girls and fishing have remained the same.