A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 2 Mithril Pill Pot
The yellow-haired girl with twin buns was called Lanxiang, the daughter of Luo San, a former tenant farmer of the Wuji Monastery, who owned eighteen mu of rice fields. He was a diligent and honest man.

Wuyi was the person Luo San dug out from the collapsed cave. He was his savior.

Li Yi looked at the position of the sun and estimated that it should be around eight or nine in the morning.

This time is Chenshi, also called Shishi, the time for eating breakfast.

Li Yi followed Lan Xiang to her straw shed on the south bank. On the way, Li Yi experimented quietly and was already able to skillfully put the piece of dough into and out of his consciousness space.

What a pleasant surprise!
He did not come here alone a thousand years ago. At least the house he bought with half his life savings also came with him.

He can take out the things inside as he wishes, put the things outside in, and even use his spiritual consciousness to transform into a form and enter it.

This made him feel much more at ease, less panicked and anxious, and gave him more confidence to survive.

Next to the irrigation canal on the south bank of the Hehe River, Luo San built a very simple shed with straw. Fortunately, it was summer now, so there was no need to worry about the cold wind blowing in from all sides.

"Master Li has passed away. Don't be sad anymore. Life must go on. Eat first. I'll help you build a straw shed here later. The houses in the Taoist temple are about to collapse and can't be lived in."

"You'll eat with us from now on."

Luo San was a man in his forties, with a square face full of wrinkles, his tangled hair and beard already gray, calluses on his shoulders from carrying heavy loads and logs in Zhongnan Mountain, and his once straight back now bent.

He had herded sheep, worked as a wheat harvester, cut bamboo in the mountains, carried wood, burned charcoal, worked as a farmhand for a landlord, and rented rice fields from Wuji Temple because of his good reputation.

He married two wives, had five children, dug three caves, and bought a big yellow cow.

His first wife died of illness while fleeing famine. He even sold his eldest daughter to pay for her medical treatment. When his wife died, his youngest son had starved to death before he was a month old.

His second wife died in a kiln collapse caused by a previous rainstorm, and his eldest son was also crushed to death.

Hemp ropes tend to break at the thinnest part, and misfortune only finds the unfortunate.

Lanxiang helped Li Yi scoop rice.
The rice was millet porridge, very thin, so thin that you could see your reflection in it. There were also some wild vegetables mixed in it, and there wasn't even a speck of oil.

"Get something for your brother," Luo San said to his daughter.

Lanxiang blushed and did not argue, but a good cook cannot cook without rice.

Li Yi also noticed her embarrassment. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get a few grains of rice out of the pot. The rice in Luo San's bowl was also very watery. It was more like millet and wild vegetable soup than porridge.

"Wuyi will eat with us from now on, so you should cook more rice." Luo San said.

"Aye, there's no food at home."

Luo San paused and sighed, "I'll go to Guo Erlang's house to borrow some more."

"Aye, we have borrowed a lot of money and food from Guo Erlang's family, including seeds and oxen for the spring.

The money for my mother and elder brother's coffins was also borrowed from Guo Erlang's family. The interest rate of Guo's family is very high. If we have to pay back twice as much as we borrowed, how can we pay it back?" Lanxiang cried anxiously.
Guo Erlang is not a kind-hearted person. He charges very high interest for borrowing money and grain from his family. When borrowing, they have already signed the contract and put their fingerprints on it. If the money cannot be repaid on time, he will be ruthless and may even ask others to pay off the debt.

Li Yi's mind moved.
The piece of bread appeared in his sleeve.

White Elephant bone soup instant noodles, one piece of noodles weighs a little over two taels.

"Sister Lan, cook this pancake."

When Li Yi handed out the golden pancake from his sleeve, Lanxiang, her seven-year-old brother Shitou, and Gousheng, the five-year-old stepson left by the woman Luo San married, all stared at it with wide eyes.

Especially Gousheng, he even kept sniffing, "It smells so good."

"What is this?" Luo San was also surprised.

Li Yi didn't explain much and just threw the dough into the rice soup pot. "Sister Lan, add some more heat and cook it."

This white elephant bone noodle is made with traditional frying technology, fried in oil at high temperature. This instant noodle will absorb some oil and taste crispier, although it is not as healthy as non-fried noodles.

But Li Yi bought instant noodles only to eat when he was hungry while typing in the middle of the night. The main reason was convenience. Since he was already eating instant noodles, who would care whether it was healthy or not?

Not cooked yet.
It smells quite good already.

After putting it in the pot, boil the hot water.
The oil also appeared and the aroma became even more fragrant.

Li Yi asked Lanxiang to add some wild vegetables into the soup. After it gurgled for a while, it was ready to eat.

A little over two taels of flatbread, just enough for one person.

Li Yi divided it into five parts.
Gousheng and Shitou couldn't wait to eat it, but they screamed in pain because it was too hot.

To be honest, instant noodles smell better than they taste, especially for those who have never eaten them, the aroma is even more tempting.

Li Yi's stomach growled with hunger. He blew on the noodles while eating, but he didn't think they were particularly delicious. This instant noodle had to be put in soup packets. He didn't know if it was real bone broth, but it tasted really good. Without the soup packets, it was just ordinary instant noodles. It smelled okay, but the taste was just average.

Especially since the noodles are cooked in millet and wild vegetable porridge, it looks a bit weird and tastes strange.

But the four people from the Luo family were all astonished.
Gousheng even exclaimed, "It's so delicious!" after taking a bite.

The noodles were quickly eaten and everyone shared the soup.

Gousheng licked the bowl clean, still looking unsatisfied. He rubbed his belly and smacked his lips, "I've never had such delicious soup noodles in my life. They smell so good. These soup noodles are so thin and curly. Are they the soup noodles that the emperor ate in Chang'an?"

Stone also licked the bowl, "Before I could even taste it enough, it was gone."

Luo San actually felt the same way at this time.
Such delicious soup noodles, let alone eating them, I have never even heard of them before.

Li Yi said vaguely, "When I was traveling with my master, a noble person gave it to me."

Luo San couldn't help but slap his thigh when he heard this. "How could such a good thing be eaten so casually? If it were exchanged for millet, this piece of cake could be exchanged for one or two dou of rice, right?"

He felt that he was not worthy of eating such good food and was at a loss.

It’s a pity that you can’t get it out once you eat it.

"Uncle San, it's just a piece of bread."

Luo San was a little worried. He could eat meat today, but what would he do tomorrow? The rice in the field had only been planted for less than a month, and it would take almost three months before the harvest.

I can only go to Guo Erlang to borrow food again.
Li Yi drank a bellyful of soup. Seeing Luo San's worried look, he took the initiative to say, "Uncle San will take me to Guo Erlang's house later. I have a few things left by our master. They should be worth some money. I will exchange them with him for some money and food."

"How can we sell off the things left behind by the real person casually?" Luo San shook his head repeatedly.

"Uncle San, we can't even fill our stomachs, so why should we care so much about material possessions at this time? Don't worry, these are not special inheritances, just some ordinary things, but they should be worth some money and food. Let's get through this difficult time first."

"Uncle San, tell me about Guo Erlang's situation?"

The village chief Guo Erlang is not the village chief of Luojiabao, but the village chief of Guozhuang next door. Guo Village and Luojiabao are adjacent, separated by Wujiguan, and have about thirty households.

Guo Erlang's family is the largest landlord in the village. Guo Erlang has three brothers. Guo Dalang works as a judicial assistant in the Chang'an County Government, which is equivalent to the chief of the Xicheng District Police Department of Beiping City in later generations. His rank is not high, but he has considerable power. Guo Sanlang works as a soldier in the Youxiaowei Guard, and he is also a deputy team leader, a ninth-rank military officer. Guo Erlang stayed in the countryside, although he was only a small village chief, but his wife was from the neighboring Fanchuan Duqu, the Du family of Jingzhao Weiduzhong, one of the six surnames in Guanzhong. Although his wife was only a illegitimate daughter of a side branch,
But this is a big deal even for the country people.

In short, the Guo family is one of the richest families in Xingshengli, Yusu Township, Wannian County.

Li Yi thought about it and decided to make some money from him first.

He pretended to go back to Wuji Temple, but in fact he just took the opportunity to find something from his home deep in his consciousness.

He picked up a pot.

A very delicate aluminum pan weighs only one jin and can hold more than three jin of water. A cast iron pan this size would weigh three or four jin.

This small pot is not only exquisite, but also has fast heat conduction. It can heat milk or cook porridge very quickly without overflowing. Li Yi spent 99 yuan to buy it. He usually writes at night. If it is too late, he will use this small pot to cook a bowl of instant noodles.

Wrap the pot with a piece of cloth.

Li Yi met up with Luo San and went straight to Guo Cunzheng's house.

In the villages on the north bank of the Beihe River, people basically live in earthen caves dug on the cliffs. They are really just holes dug out, and are quite simple.

But it is different at the home of Village Chief Guo.
His family also dug a cave on the cliff, but they used bricks and stones to connect the doors and windows of the cave, which immediately made it look more noble. Moreover, his family had many caves. Others had two or three holes, but his family had five holes. Each hole also had two rooms on the left and right, which was equivalent to a three-room suite.

There is a large yard outside, with more than a dozen thatched houses, livestock houses for cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and pigs, a farmhouse, a kitchen, a firewood room, a warehouse, a toilet, a utility room, etc.
Guo Er was a little surprised by the arrival of Li Yi and Luo San.

"Guo Erlang, my master has passed away. Now I am forced to return to secular life, but I don't even have a place to stay. I am really embarrassed. I have no choice but to use something my master left behind as collateral to borrow some money and food from Guo Erlang."

"Oh," Guo Erlang didn't care too much. There were too many people coming to his house to borrow money and grain, and Guo Erlang usually didn't refuse. Lending was profitable. He would collect interest when the debt was due. If the debt was not repaid, the debtor could use his land or house as collateral. If he had no land or house, he could use his life as collateral and become a slave. He would always make money and there was no such thing as a bad debt.

Most of the Guo family's current business was earned through loans. This is the way all landlords and powerful people do these days.

But when Li Yi untied the cloth and took out the small pot inside, Guo Erlang was dazzled.

Even his wife, Mrs. Du, widened her eyes.

"Is this a silver pot?"

Li Yi shook his head, "Guo Erlang, why not take it and have a look."

Guo Er picked it up and said, "Wow, it's so light." He was surprised. If this shiny silver pot was made of silver, it would weigh four or five pounds, but this pot felt like it weighed less than a pound.

He handed it to his wife, and Mrs. Du was even more surprised after taking it.

It looks like silver, but it is so light. It can't be made of iron. If it were iron, it would weigh about three pounds.

"This looks like silver, but it's so light?"

Li Yi said calmly, "This isn't silver, but it's much more valuable than silver, even more valuable than gold. It's refined using Taoist secret methods and is extremely rare. It's called mithril, also known as light gold. Of the same size, this mithril is only one-fourth the weight of silver."

"This mithril pot was made by my teacher, Master Li, who traveled extensively and painstakingly collected materials. It's used to refine elixirs. Now, I'm forced to use it as collateral for some money and food, and redeem it later."

"This mithril pot, minus the handle, uses thirteen and a half ounces of mithril."

"This item is extremely rare and precious. One ounce of mithril and two ounces of gold are rare and can only be found by chance."

Guo Erlang looked at his wife. He had never heard of such things as mithril and light gold. Mrs. Du also shook her head slightly. She was from the Jingzhao Du family and had also never heard of mithril.

However, something that looks so much like silver but is only a quarter of its weight is indeed rare, and they intuitively think it must be very valuable.

In addition, Li Yi said that it was the alchemy item left by Taoist Li, so he believed it a little.

"I would like to pledge this mithril alchemy pot for ten taels of gold and redeem it in one year. I am willing to pay back the principal and interest of twenty taels of gold at the end of the year, at the current temple pawnshop rate of double the annual interest."

Guo Er looked at the pot, then at Li Yi, and said with a smile, "In the pawnshop, the rule is to get 50% of the value. You said it was light gold and secret silver, but none of us has seen it before, so we can't just say whatever you say, right?"

"I think this is the case. I will estimate the price based on silver. Your weight is thirteen and a half taels, so even if it is thirteen and a half taels of silver, the rule is to estimate it at five out of ten, so it can only be estimated at a little over six taels. I will directly estimate it at seven taels of silver.

Currently, one tael of silver in Chang'an is exchanged for 1,600 five-zhu coins, so I estimate it to be worth 11,200 coins. If you agree to pay it back for one year, with double the interest, at the end of that year, you will give me 22,400 coins, including principal and interest.

But I'm not sure if this pot is really worth silver, and how can I be sure you'll be able to redeem it for 22,400 coins when it's due in a year?"

After hearing this, Li Yi couldn't help but sigh that Guo Erlang was really a dishonest businessman.

He started by slashing several times, each time cutting directly into the aorta.

Even if this is made of silver, it is silverware, not silver material.

He didn't lie to Guo Erlang. There was no aluminum in the Tang Dynasty. Although this was an aluminum alloy, it was unique in the Tang Dynasty.

Things are rare
You should know that Napoleon the Great once made an aluminum crown out of aluminum. He also made aluminum plates, aluminum knives and forks and other tableware. He used gold tableware to entertain nobles at his court banquets, but he only used aluminum tableware.
At that time, aluminum was extremely scarce and twice as expensive as gold.

Li Yi said that this is called mithril, and one tael of mithril is worth two taels of gold. He was not exaggerating.

"Guo Erlang, you can find someone knowledgeable in the business to authenticate it. If it turns out to be fake, I will bear all consequences. As for if you don't have the money to redeem it when it's due, then we'll follow the old rules. If you don't redeem it by the due date, it will be forfeited and you can deal with it as you wish."

Seeing Li Yi's attitude, Guo Erlang believed it a little more and said, "Okay."

"I hope to convert part of it into gold and part of it into food." Li Yi made a small request.

"That's fine. Nowadays, one tael of gold is worth eight thousand coins, which can be converted into five taels of silver. A dou of rice is worth a piece of silk, and a piece of silk is worth three hundred and sixty coins." Mrs. Du said from the side.

Luo San pulled Li Yi's sleeve and said, "Change it to millet, not rice."

Six dou of rice can be exchanged for one dan of millet.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll exchange it for one ounce of gold, one and a half stone of millet, and one piece of silk."

"Wu Yi's mental arithmetic skills are amazing," Guo Erlang took out the abacus bag from his waist, took out the abacus sticks and fiddled with them to calculate several times. Seeing that Li Yi's calculation was accurate, he was amazed.

"Then let's sign the contract, seal it with your signature, and give me one and a half stone of millet and a piece of silk today. I'll give you the gold after I appraise it."

Guo Erlang was cautious and it never hurts to be careful.

In fact, he felt that he would not lose money in this business, and he believed that Li Yi would definitely not be able to pay back double the principal and interest in a year, so by then the mithril pot would be his.

If it was really one tael of mithril and two taels of gold, this small pot would be worth more than 200,000 coins. The more than 10,000 coins he paid after a year would have increased twenty times.

The excited Guo Erlang couldn't wait to start writing the contract, and then asked his wife Du to measure the rice and get the silk, and told the kitchen to cook, so that he could keep Li Yiluo for a meal.

Li Yi had a helpless expression on his face, but he was very happy in his heart. The small milk pot he bought for 99 yuan could actually be exchanged for one or two taels of gold, more than one hundred kilograms of millet, and forty feet of silk. This business was a huge profit.

Since I can exchange so much for it, it doesn’t really matter whether I can redeem it after a year.

(End of this chapter)