Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 750 Rumors from the Clouds
He Xiaokui was taken aback, and then he realized that the silver note was meant for him to use to buy snacks to treat guests!

Disappointment immediately welled up in He Xiaokui's heart when he realized the silver wasn't being given directly to him. But then he thought again, at least he'd received a tael of silver and had the opportunity to show his face in front of everyone; it was already a pleasant surprise. He quickly accepted the silver note, bowed, and replied, "Yes! I understand! I thank the master for his kindness on behalf of everyone!" As he spoke, he was about to bow again.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Gao Shiming waved his hand. "Stand up, I have some errands for you to run."

He Xiaokui quickly stood up straight, his face beaming with undisguised excitement, and his voice became louder: "Please give your orders, Master! I will go through fire and water for you!"

Gao Shiming smiled at his eager expression, pondered for a moment, and said, "There's no need for you to go through fire and water. I want you to go to Da Shi Yong Fang. There's a Yunlai Inn there, and an old gentleman named Zhang Sixiu should be staying there. After you find him, respectfully ask him where his family lived in the capital forty years ago. Once you have the information, go there and check if the old house still exists, what it looks like, and who the current owner is. Then come back and tell me."

He Xiaokui was bewildered, completely unable to understand why the bank manager would suddenly assign him such a strange task. Ask an old gentleman about a house he lived in forty years ago? What kind of errand was that?

However, He Xiaokui didn't dare to ask too many questions. He just tried his best to remember the key points and repeated, "At Da Shi Yong Fang and Yun Lai Inn, find Mr. Zhang Sixiu and ask him where he lived in the capital forty years ago. Then go there and check it out. Once you've confirmed it, I'll come back and tell you. Is that right, Master?"

“That’s right.” Gao Shiming nodded, his expression suddenly turning serious. He specifically instructed, “Remember, this Mr. Zhang is the tutor of the current prince! You must treat him with utmost care and respect, and never show the slightest negligence, lest you tarnish the reputation of my bank! Do you understand?”

"The...the prince's tutor?!" He Xiaokui was startled. He immediately straightened his back, his face showing utmost solemnity, and patted his chest to assure him, "Please rest assured, Master! I...I will treat him with the utmost respect and reverence as if he were my own grandfather! There will be absolutely no mishap!"

Gao Shiming looked at him with great concern and nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, go ahead. Come back soon."

"Yes! I'll take my leave!" He Xiaokui bowed deeply and quickly left the bank manager's office.

After He Xiaokui left, the duty room fell silent again, with only the faint sounds of the bustling city outside the window. Gao Shiming stared at the closed wooden door for a while, lost in thought. Then he pulled out the densely scribbled draft from under the ledger and spread it out on the table.

Picking up the brush and coating it with ink, Gao Shiming was once again caught in a dilemma. The ink gradually gathered along the wolf hair, finally condensing into a full ink bead, trembling and hanging precariously at the tip of the brush.

Should this memorial be submitted openly or covertly? After it's written, should it be sent to the central government first, or directly to the Directorate of Ceremonial? Is now truly the time to submit such a memorial?
While choosing his words and crafting his sentences, Gao Shiming couldn't help but think.

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He Xiaokui went downstairs with the same two silver notes in his pocket, but his aura was completely different.

He Xiaokui stood tall and proud, his previous dejection gone, and walked with a brisk pace, making the wooden stairs thump loudly with his footsteps.

When they reached the main hall, the customer who had come to redeem the pawned item had already left. Yu Tinghua, the head manager who was now free, was dusting the counter with a feather duster when he heard footsteps. He looked up and called out to He Xiaokui, "He Xiaokui."

Hearing the call, He Xiaokui turned around and walked over, his back ramrod straight: "Manager Yu, what is it?"

"What is it?" Yu Tinghua was taken aback by his posture, and even stopped dusting. He looked He Xiaokui up and down before saying, "What are you doing up there, kid? You're not going up to ask the boss to forgive your punishment, are you?"

"Admit your mistakes and be punished accordingly." He Xiaokui smiled, his words carrying a hint of nonchalance. "Even if I'm ignorant, I won't make a fuss about this."

"Hmph," Yu Tinghua looked at him with suspicion, then stuck the feather duster back into the celadon painting tube next to the counter: "Then what were you doing up there?"

He Xiaokui reached into his pocket and grabbed two silver notes, but then, his eyes darted around, and he deftly pulled out another one, finally managing to pull out only one. He said, omitting the beginning and end of the note, "Yesterday I went to that Europa Trading Company to deliver a letter, didn't I? They gave me a tip before I left. I went up there to tell the owner about this." With that, He Xiaokui placed the one-tael silver note on Yu Tinghua's counter.

As a seasoned scholar with official rank and the head waiter in the main hall, Yu Tinghua's monthly salary was much higher than He Xiaokui's, three taels a month, the same as the salary of an eighth-rank official. But seeing the one-tael silver note, he still raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but say, "A whole tael? They're really generous." Then, Yu Tinghua smiled and said, "No wonder you dared to be late, you don't care about the cost, huh?"

He Xiaokui couldn't explain the matter in detail, so he just scratched his head awkwardly: "Hey, these are two different things. I didn't want to either. Besides, I can't keep this money in my own pocket."

"Confiscate it?" Yu Tinghua frowned slightly. "It can't be that bad." In his memory, Gao Shiming had never been a stingy person.

“No.” He Xiaokui shook his head with a smile. “The boss told me to cash this silver and then take it to the pastry shop to buy some dried fruit and pastries to distribute to the shop assistants.”

"Oh," Yu Tinghua said, relieved. But he immediately looked He Xiaokui up and down and said, "The boss asked you to take out your reward money to treat everyone. You're quite happy about that?"

He Xiaokui, still mindful of keeping his wealth hidden, didn't mention that he had kept a tael for himself. Instead, he said, "Hey! What am I? Just a waiter and messenger. Those foreign merchants gave me such generous rewards only because of the bank's name and the owner's reputation. The owner is so generous, what complaints could I possibly have? Besides, I can share some of the pastries I bought."

He Xiaokui didn't want to argue any longer, so he quickly pushed the silver note into the counter: "Please exchange it for me quickly, sir. My boss has assigned me a business trip. I can't afford to be delayed any longer."

"Alright!" Yu Tinghua chuckled, picked up the silver note and examined it carefully, then said jokingly, "Please wait a moment, sir! I'll go get the money for you right away."

He opened the drawer, took out a few pieces of silver, carefully weighed them with a scale, and counted out a few strings of copper coins, pushing them all to He Xiaokui: "There's no silver left in the counter. I can only give you loose pieces, nine mace and five fen in cash. I'm too lazy to cut the other five fen, so I'll give you fifty copper coins. Beijing notes, no exchange fees. Take them all."

He Xiaokui deftly put the money into his pocket and said with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, shopkeeper! When I buy some pastries later, you'll have to spend a couple more."

"You brat, you're getting all cocky!" Yu Tinghua waved his hand. "Go on, don't delay your master's business."

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The lobby of Yunlai Inn was bustling with noise at midday, with waiters carrying food trays weaving between tables and chairs. At a octagonal table by the window, a few leisurely guests were drinking with salt-fried beans, and the conversation suddenly turned to current affairs.

A diner dressed in a straight blue robe took a sip of wine and mysteriously turned to a stranger at the same table, saying, "Brother, have you heard? The King of Joseon has been deposed by the Emperor for colluding with the enemy." The stranger's hand, which was about to pick up some food, froze in mid-air. He looked up in surprise: "What nonsense are you talking about? Joseon has always been loyal and obedient, serving the country with utmost sincerity, and sending envoys to the court every year. How could they be colluding with the enemy?"

"Why would I lie to you!" the diner said, his voice low but unable to hide his smugness. "My master is a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, working in the Grand Secretariat. He told me that the Grand Secretariat was discussing this matter the day before yesterday, and it caused quite a stir."

Customer B looked him over with suspicion: "Who is your master?"

"Hey!" Diner A curled his lip. "What do you care who my master is? If you don't believe me, fine." He then made a move to get up.

At this moment, a casual customer wearing a square scarf at the next table hurriedly came over and grabbed the diner's sleeve: "Brother, don't go!" As he spoke, he took the wine pot from his own table, poured half a bowl of wine and pushed it over, "I also heard people talking about this yesterday outside Zhengyang Gate, but I don't know if it's true or not. Since you know the inside story, why don't you tell everyone about it?"

The diner took the wine bowl but didn't drink it immediately. He squinted and asked, "What have you heard, brother?"

Traveler C glanced around and whispered, "I heard that our troops have already marched to Seoul. In the time it takes us to talk, that king, what's his name again?, is probably already a prisoner!"

These words immediately attracted the attention of those around them, and diners at several nearby tables craned their necks to look. Even the previously indifferent diner couldn't help but lean in and ask, "Really?"

The casual customer, C, waved his hand with a smile: "I came to ask this gentleman for advice precisely because I was unsure." He then gestured towards the diner who had started the conversation, "Brother, since you've drunk my wine, you should at least tell me the truth, shouldn't you? Has the imperial court really sent troops to Korea?"

Diner A tilted his head back and gulped down half a bowl of wine, then slammed his hand on the table: "That's right! The troops were dispatched in March. Now our imperial army has already marched into Hanyang, and has been ordered to depose that traitorous king!"

"March?" A peddler sitting by the window suddenly interjected, "Are you talking about the Beijing garrison soldiers who left the capital in March?"

"Exactly!" Diner A slammed his hand on the table again, making the bowls and plates clang loudly.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar at the next table shook his head, beckoned the waiter to settle the bill, and as he stood up, glanced sideways at the diners picking out flowers and said, "Those soldiers were clearly transferred to Shandong to prepare for the Japanese pirates. Before you brag, don't you even read the official gazette?"

Diner A blushed and turned to retort, "What do you know? This is called feigning an attack on one side while secretly advancing another!"

The waiter trotted over and deftly calculated on his abacus: "Sir, a bowl of fresh noodles, a plate of braised meat, a plate of pickled vegetables, and a pot of olive wine. That will cost you three cents of silver, or thirty copper coins."

"Ha. You even know Zhang Liang's strategy?" The scholar sneered at the diner, calmly taking out two pieces of silver and ten copper coins: "Weigh them yourself."

"Alright, please wait a moment." The waiter took the money and carefully weighed it with a steelyard.

The scholar walked slowly toward the door, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "He should drink less; he really dares to say such absurd things."

At this moment, He Xiaokui strode in through the door, brushing past the scholar.

The scholar's mutterings, though soft, drew silent nods from many diners in the hall. While most of the diners were illiterate and had never read the official gazette, they subconsciously trusted the words of scholars more. They treated this political discourse as mere entertainment. A few had already turned back to their noodles, while those who didn't mostly wore smiles, simply enjoying the amusement.

Enraged by this disrespect, the diner who was picking flowers shouted at the scholar's retreating back as he was about to step out the door, "So what if you can read the official gazette? Everyone has seen a couple of pages! Besides that stuff in the gazette, what else do you know? Go and find out for yourself whether my master, Huo Shoudian, is a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat!"

The moment he announced his name, "Huo Shoudian," the atmosphere in the hall subtly shifted. Several diners who had initially scoffed gradually composed themselves upon hearing him introduce himself, exchanging knowing glances. Even the scholar who had already stepped halfway out the door couldn't help but pause, hesitatingly glancing back.

He Xiaokui, who had just entered the room, happened to hear this commotion. He paused in his tracks and subconsciously glanced at the diner a few more times.

At the dinner table, the casual guest holding the wine pot rolled his eyes and then poured half a bowl of wine for the talkative diner: "Brother, don't be angry, why bother getting angry with him! Please continue, what else did your Master Huo reveal? How did those soldiers sent to Shandong end up in Korea?"

Diner A tossed his head smugly, took the wine bowl, downed it in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, "What else can we do? Take a boat! Back in the day, when we fought against the Japanese invaders and aided Korea, didn't our Ming Dynasty's navy sail from Tianjin and Dengzhou?"

His words sounded quite convincing, and whispers arose again in the hall. He Xiaokui's curiosity grew even stronger, but he had to suppress his thoughts because he was preoccupied with his business. Just then, a quick-witted waiter came forward and asked with a smile, "Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

He Xiaokui had been running all the way and was hungry, so he asked, "How much will it cost to have lunch here?"

The waiter smiled and said, "That depends on what dishes you order."

"A bowl of rice, a pot of braised pork hock, a small plate of stir-fried meat with some vegetables, and a pot of hot wine," He Xiaokui said after a moment's thought.

The waiter quickly calculated with his fingers: "Five cents, or fifty coins."

He Xiaokui nodded, reached into the silver Yu Tingkui had given him, took out a small silver ingot weighing about one qian (approximately 3.5 grams), and handed it over: "Alright, serve me the food."

The waiter took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and called out, "I'll cut it up for you right away!" He then turned to the kitchen and shouted, "A bowl of rice, a pot of braised pork hock, a stir-fried pork dish with vegetables, and a wine jug!"

He Xiaokui strolled to the counter. The shopkeeper had just finished adjusting the abacus beads and looked up with a smile, asking, "Is there anything else you need, sir?"

He Xiaokui leaned slightly against the counter and lowered his voice: "Shopkeeper, I'm asking about someone. Is there an old gentleman named Zhang Sixiu staying here?"

(End of this chapter)