Love Lock

Chapter 18 Finding a Way to Get Money
Han Lei asked Pingchuan to get her two jars of wine from the warehouse, then carried the wine straight to the wounded soldiers' camp to find Old He.

This wine was purchased by Zhao Zun on the first day Han Lei treated the wounded.

At the time, she had limited funds in her system and couldn't buy much alcohol, while there were too many wounded soldiers with severe infections, requiring large amounts of alcohol to clean the wounds. Therefore, this alcohol was intended for brewing.

Unexpectedly, she soon received a second reward from the system, which she used to buy food and medicine.

Of course, this included a sufficient amount of alcohol. So, she didn't bother with the low-alcohol beverages she bought from the market for the time being.

Now, it's perfect to use this to treat Old He to drinks.

Old He was busy removing stitches from the wounded when he saw Han Lei coming to find him, and his wrinkled old face immediately filled with a fawning smile.

"Master, I'm busy, what brings you here?"

Han Lei blushed when he called her "Master" in such a clear and crisp voice. Even after so many days, it still sounded awkward to her.

I've told him several times not to call me "Master," and that we should just discuss things amongst ourselves, but this stubborn old man just won't listen.

"Uncle He, I've come to have a drink with you."

Old He was taken aback, only then noticing the two cans of liquor Han Lei was holding. "Master, you can drink?"

"will not!"

Han Lei's answer was straightforward, leaving Old He speechless.

No way, would you invite him for drinks?

"Hehe, Master... what are you up to?" Old He asked cautiously when he saw that Han Lei's expression was not good.

"Uncle He, don't you like drinking? Let me treat you, and I also have some things I'd like to ask you for advice on."

Old He suddenly realized that his master needed his help! He immediately became smug.

My master is such a legendary healer, yet I have to ask him for advice? Hehe!
Old He handed his work to the medic next to him, wiped his hands on his clothes, and cheerfully led Han Lei into a small tent next to them where medicines were temporarily stored.

"Master, please sit here."

Old He dusted the dust off the small stool with his sleeve, let Han Lei sit down, and then sat down on another small stool, taking out an oil paper package from his pocket and opening it.

The package was wrapped in several layers of oil paper, but inside were only a few deep-fried broad beans that had been sitting for who knows how long. Judging from how carefully he handled them, he probably wouldn't normally eat them.

Han Lei opened a can of liquor and handed it to Old He. There were no glasses; they just had to drink from the can.

"Uncle He, come on, have a drink first." Han Lei, though young, was very shrewd and knew how to navigate social situations, offering him a sugar-coated bubble tea first.

Old He didn't stand on ceremony, uncorked the bottle and took a sip. "Mmm, good wine!"

Seeing that Old He was satisfied with his drink, Han Lei got down to business. "Uncle He, I came here to ask if the treatment in the military camp is good?"

"treatment?"

Old He obviously didn't understand this word.

"Uh... how much silver do you receive each month?"

"Oh, this!" Old He suddenly realized, "Ordinary soldiers get one tael of silver a month, while we doctors get three taels. I am the most senior and have the best medical skills..."

At this point, Old He popped a broad bean into his mouth, took a sip of wine, and then held up five fingers, saying proudly, "I get five taels of silver every month!"

"Uh... With your medical skills, you only charge five taels of silver a month?" Han Lei was astonished. Han Lei had read in a book that the average price of rice in the Han Dynasty of China was one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure) of millet.

Millet is the same as foxtail millet. Nowadays, millet costs about six yuan per kilogram. In the Han Dynasty, one shi (石) was called si jun (思钧), and each jun weighed thirty kilograms. That is to say, one shi was one hundred and twenty kilograms. Therefore, one tael of silver in the Han Dynasty was worth about seven hundred yuan.

A veteran military doctor like Old He only earns about 3,500 a month, and five taels of silver is all he has to buy five bushels of millet.

That's way too low!

How could she possibly afford to eat out, shop, or achieve financial freedom?

Han Lei was upset!
"Do you know, sir, that the Marshal receives every month..."

"Shh..." Old He gestured for silence, glancing cautiously outside. Seeing no one passing by, he lowered his voice and said, "Master, please spare this old man! What kind of status does a marshal have? How could this old man possibly inquire about or discuss such matters in private!"

Han Lei pouted.

How could she forget that this was a wicked feudal society with a deeply entrenched hierarchical system?

As the garrison commander of the pass and also a prince, Zhao Zun's status was naturally noble. No matter how kind he was to his soldiers, these lowly figures were still aware that they dared not cross that social divide.

Seeing Han Lei pout, Old He quickly put on a fawning smile again.

"However, I know that a captain in the army receives five taels of silver per month, while a lieutenant general and a deputy general receive twenty-five taels per month."

"The strategist's position is higher than that of the deputy general, so I wonder what the strategist is like..."

Han Lei stopped asking there, winking at Old He. Was she implying that the strategist's salary was definitely higher than that of a deputy general?

Old He smirked and gave Han Lei a knowing smile, then quickly picked up the small wine jar and drank.

I didn't say anything!
Han Lei understood immediately, and unable to hide her excitement, she stood up and shoved a can of wine into Old He's arms.

"I understand, thank you, Uncle He," Han Lei said, and walked out of the tent.

Old He was taken aback and quickly called out, "Hey! There's still so much wine! You're leaving already?"

"Come on! I'll treat you to all the drinks!"

Han Lei didn't turn around, but waved her hand as she walked, as if she had encountered something good, walking with a swagger.

Since the deputy general and vice general each received twenty-five taels of silver per month, she could roughly guess the treatment of a general or strategist in this era.

Although she was a woman, with her abilities and knowledge, she wanted to find Zhao Zun to become a strategist or something similar to increase her income.

It's said that it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. For a modern person accustomed to a life of luxury, eating millet and steamed buns with those antiques every day might be bearable for a short time, but who could endure it in the long run?
Zhao Zun gave her several thousand taels of silver that day, but as a newcomer, she needed to spend money on many things to settle down and make a living here! From big things like real estate and carriages to small things like food, drink and toileting, even if she saved every penny, she wouldn't be able to make ends meet for long.

Since she can't go back, she has to find a way to increase her income and make her life better!
Anyway, in modern times, several of her relatives are in business, such as restaurants, hotels, and express delivery companies. With this exposure and her own academic genius, she can do a lot of things as long as she has enough money to invest.

Thinking this, Han Lei quickened her pace to find Zhao Zun.

Not far from the tent, Han Lei passed a row of haystacks and heard hushed voices coming from behind them.

"I'm not exaggerating! Let's not even mention the ten thousand catties of fine grains we pulled out of that monster's belly the first time, but Old Chen from the kitchen said that within two days, a lot of millet, potatoes, and sweet potatoes suddenly appeared in the warehouse. We'd never even heard of potatoes and sweet potatoes before!"

"What's so strange about that? Didn't the marshal say that it was collected and sent by the imperial court?"

"Pah! That's tens of thousands of kilograms! Did you see the supply corps transporting it? Did you see anyone carrying that grain into the warehouse? Tens of thousands of kilograms of grain appearing out of nowhere, besides a monster, who could have such a great ability?"

"Are you saying the Marshal is lying? The Marshal is actually a monster?"