Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"With this person's skills, he could easily win a large sum of money quickly, for example, by betting on points directly."

Ma Sankui paced back and forth inside the room twice, then gave the order.

"But he didn't do that. He only bet on big or small, and he didn't bet much each time. He also deliberately had both wins and losses."

If things continue at this pace, even if you play until dark, you'll only win a few hundred taels of silver at most.

It's clear that he used the methods I just described, winning a few taels of silver from different gambling dens each time before stopping.

No one has ever been able to see through his abilities.

He must have been in dire need of money, and time was of the essence, so he had no choice but to take the risk and try to take several hundred taels of silver from our gambling den at once.

Even so, this person still hoped that others would think he won money because of good luck and not see his true skill.

Let him keep winning!

So many people are watching, and we can't produce any evidence that he cheated.

If we were to take action against him at the gambling den, wouldn't that be telling everyone that even if he wins a lot of money at Rong Sheng Gambling Den, he can't take it with him?

I, Master Ma, can certainly afford to pay several hundred taels of silver!

I want him to walk out of Rongsheng Gambling House in style, carrying his silver, and let all the gamblers see the grandeur of Master Ma!

"I understand!"

His subordinates showed knowing expressions.

"I'll have the brothers get ready right away. Don't worry, Third Master, no matter how much silver he takes away, we'll bring it all back tonight."

"etc!"

Ma Sankui stopped his men who were about to go downstairs.

"After you and your men find where this man is hiding, don't make a move. Keep a close eye on him and send someone back to report immediately!"

I, Master Ma, will personally go and meet this master!

. . .

"Big! Big! Big!"

Dozens of gamblers gathered around the gambling table, watching the dealer uncover the dice cup.

One three-point, one five-point, one six-point, and fourteen-point!

"We won! We won again! Pay up!"

The gamblers immediately erupted in cheers.

Under the watchful eyes of the gamblers, the dealer, his face ashen, picked up a few silver ingots from in front of him and placed them on the black "Big" sign on the gambling table.

Lu Chen stood up and gathered one-third of it, along with his initial investment, in front of him.

After seeing Lu Chen take the silver, the other gamblers who had placed bets also took their own silver.

At this point, there was already a large pile of silver ingots on the gambling table, but Lu Chen didn't know exactly how many.

I estimate it's around three or four hundred taels, all spoils won at this gambling table.

After deciding to double-cross someone to quickly make a fortune, Lu Chen began to formulate a plan.

Choosing where to start, who the target is, and how much money to allocate are all factors that need to be considered.

After spending a night at the inn, Lu Chen gained some understanding of the prices in this world.

Although this postmaster was abusing public resources for private gain, his fees should not be higher than those of a privately-run inn of the same level.

Lu Chen chose the best room, which, according to the postmaster, was reserved for receiving officials.

The room was spacious and decorated in a typical Chinese classical style. It had everything you needed, including a bed, tables and chairs, and the bedding looked very clean.

Apart from lacking modern facilities, it was similar to the hotels and guesthouses Lu Chen had stayed in before his transmigration.

The room rate is three qian of silver per night.

I ordered a meal and had the courier deliver it to my room. It consisted of four dishes and a soup, including chicken, fish, and meat, and it only cost me two coins.

One tael of silver still has considerable purchasing power.

This standard of living is certainly unattainable for ordinary people in this era.

Lu Chen learned about the composition of the post station worker's income from the post station worker who had accepted his reward money.

The monthly salary from the government was very low, only five qian of silver a month, plus a liter of food rations every day.

With that little money, he would have to tighten his belt just to support himself, let alone his family.

Fortunately, he had other sources of income, such as tips from customers and regular payments from officials, which amounted to more than ten taels of silver a year.

It's still enough to feed myself, my wife, and my children.

Of course, Lu Chen didn't think the other party would tell him all the sources of their shady income. There might be some, but it probably wouldn't be much more.

All income combined, the average monthly income is about two taels of silver.

This income is barely enough to support my family.

Although the income of post station workers was not high, they were still low-level civil servants in the Ming Dynasty, with a secure job.

Their standard of living should be slightly higher than that of ordinary people in the same region.

Lu Chen estimated that the median monthly income of ordinary citizens in Gucheng County was probably between one and two taels of silver.

Where are the yamen runners from the county government?

According to the postman, the monthly salary of a regular servant in Gucheng County was one tael.

Externally hired auxiliary police officers do not receive a monthly salary.

However, these yamen runners did not live off their meager salaries alone. Whether they were from the yamen, the labor yamen, or the express yamen, they all had various extra incomes.

In particular, the constables, who were responsible for apprehending thieves, patrolling the streets, and investigating cases, had a lot of illicit income.

The exact amount varies from person to person, depending on their abilities.

One of the yamen runners who was familiar with the courier once boasted to him after drinking that he had collected more than thirty taels of silver in annual allowance.

With his salary, he could earn as much as fifty taels.

He's just an ordinary constable; a head constable would earn much more, perhaps even several hundred taels.

In the Ming Dynasty, where official salaries were shockingly low, officials at all levels of government had their own sources of illicit income.

If one were to rely solely on their salary, their standard of living would have to be on par with Hai Rui's.

Lu Chen also learned that the person in charge of household registration in the county government was the clerk of the Household Registration Office.

This person handled all matters related to household registration changes and the compilation and review of the Yellow Register in the county.

Officials at all levels have their own gray income, and this clerk in charge of housing is no exception.

Although this position has no rank or grade and cannot be considered a formal official, the Household Registration Office is a key department that manages the county's core economic accounts, including household registration, land and housing, and taxes.

Opportunities to exploit one's position for personal gain and make extra money will be plentiful.

The clerks in the Household Department probably earned just as much gray income as the head constables, amounting to several hundred taels a year.

One's income level can often reveal the size of their appetite.

It was certainly possible to bribe the officials in charge of household registration to legally include unregistered residents in the Yellow Register.

Lu Chen roughly estimated that the cost might range from tens to hundreds of taels of silver.

Even among unregistered individuals, there are different levels and categories.

For the officials in charge of household registration, registering vagrants with no criminal record as ordinary citizens and including them in the Yellow Register was not very risky; they could probably get it done by collecting a few dozen taels of silver.

However, the risks are much greater for those who are military households, artisan households, or even fugitives wanted in other places who have evaded military service.

Since it involves greater risks, the fees will naturally increase, potentially requiring hundreds of taels of silver.

The principle that the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish is has been universally true from ancient times to the present.

The body I occupied after transmigrating didn't retain any memories.

Lu Chen had no idea what the original owner of this body was.

This budget should be increased a bit.

Ultimately, Lu Chen set the target of this operation at five hundred taels of silver.

It's not just about the budget; you also have to consider the money itself.

One tael of silver in the Ming Dynasty weighed 37.3 grams, and five hundred taels weighed 18.65 kilograms. Any more would be too heavy for one person to carry while traveling.

After determining the amount of money to be raised, the next step is to decide where to take action.

After a brief consideration, Lu Chen decided to look for his target in Gucheng County.

Even if it's a case of double-crossing, it might still cause quite a stir.

Gucheng County is just a small place, and I don't plan to stay long. I'll just leave when the time comes.

The impact would be far less than if they had taken action once they reached Xiangyang Prefecture.

After having breakfast at the inn, Lu Chen extended his stay for another night before heading to Gucheng County to scout out the area.

Lu Chen walked along several main roads in the city and found that the small county town was quite prosperous, with many shops open for business along the streets.

There were shops selling mountain products, pharmacies, clinics, tailor shops, as well as inns, taverns, teahouses, and even brothels and pawnshops.

Around noon, Lu Chen finally found a casino.

That's right, Lu Chen's target for double-crossing is the casino!

The reason is simple: this is the easiest black market to find, and it has a sufficient cash flow.

In the face of one's own telekinetic perception, most gambling games are completely transparent!

Isn't this just an ATM?!