Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 366 A Promise Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold

After hearing Zhang Dai's words, everyone in the hall fell into deep thought and lost interest in enjoying the ongoing song and dance performance.

It's one thing for people to get together to eat, drink, and visit brothels, and occasionally play a little prank, but it's another for them to actually put together tens of thousands of dollars to start a business. This is more or less beyond their expectations, and they worry that things will go wrong and things will be difficult to handle.

Even if they didn't need to contribute the tens of thousands of strings of cash, the debt was a real problem they had to face. Leaving aside the possibility of losses, the exorbitant interest alone was something they couldn't afford on their own.

Although Zhang Dai said that future dividends could offset the interest, who can guarantee that things will be extremely profitable and will never incur losses?
"I...I heard that Yuan Jiu of the Yuan family was punished recently because it was related to your debts, Zhang Liu. What exactly happened? Could you please explain in detail, Zhang Liu?"

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, one of them spoke up and asked a question.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Zhang Dai with slight surprise. Li Xia, who was also at the table, couldn't help but slam his hand on the table and stand up, pointing at the man and angrily rebuking him: "What did you say? Yuan Jiu had his own way of dying, how could Zhang Liu have framed him! We have known each other for years, do you think I don't know who Zhang Liu is? How could he deceive and plot against us!"

"Li Jiu, please calm down. Although we usually get along well, we only do trivial things. Suddenly talking about such a serious financial matter, involving a lot of money and silk, it is only natural that everyone has doubts. Since I have this plan, I should explain it clearly in order to gain everyone's trust."

Zhang Dai raised his hand to signal Li Xia not to get angry, then looked at the person who had asked the question and said with a smile, "My dispute with the Yuan family dates back to when I traveled east to Bianzhou after the provincial examination last year..."

As he explained the details of his dispute with Yuan Jie, he sighed inwardly, thinking that too many schemes and tricks would indeed damage one's character and leave one with a scheming and sinister image.

Therefore, if you have any disputes or conflicts with others in the future, it is best to resolve them clearly and openly to avoid affecting your public image.

Once an image becomes too negative, even if there is no direct harm, it becomes very difficult to gain the trust and reliance of others in daily interactions and collaborations. Someone like Li Linfu, despite wielding power for many years, will immediately be ousted and everyone will kick him while he's down once things turn sour.

Those who surround such people are destined to be a group of people full of selfish desires and devoid of faith. The more they gain, the more they will despise integrity. In the end, it is only natural that they will betray Li Linfu and try to make one last profit.

Ultimately, Yuan Jie's case was a case of the sage making an example of someone to warn others, while Zhang Dai's actions were perfectly justified, and he acted with utmost sincerity. Shi Liu had some suspicions, mainly because the punishment was too severe. After Zhang Dai explained the inside story, everyone understood, and they couldn't help but sigh that Yuan Jie truly deserved to die.

"It's not that I doubt Liu Lang, but... well, now everyone knows that Liu Lang is not a sinister person. I'll drink this cup to apologize to you!"

After hearing what Zhang Dai said, the person who asked the question was somewhat embarrassed. He picked up his wine cup, drank it all in one gulp, and apologized to him.

"It's alright, it's alright. If friends can't be honest with each other, what else is there to say?"

Zhang Dai spoke very politely, but in his heart he had already crossed out their friendship. The reason was simple: it is normal to have suspicions and reservations about people and things, but the premise is that it must be within a reasonable range.

Now that I'm going to help you get rich, you suspect I'm setting you up with money. You can imagine what kind of image I have in your mind. I'm already being very lenient by not kicking you out outright. We don't need to have any further dealings in the future.

"The matter doesn't need to be explained so clearly. When Zhang was harassed by personnel six days ago, no one offered any help!"

Li Xia was still somewhat resentful. His relationship with Zhang Dai was originally just that of drinking buddies, but his father, the Prince of Xin'an, thought highly of Zhang Dai, which influenced Li Xia to have a heartfelt admiration and protection for Zhang Dai.

After expressing his dissatisfaction, Li Xia spoke up again: "If Pei Lang is willing to work with me, I have known Zhang Liu for a long time, so there is no reason why we shouldn't work together! I have over two thousand strings of cash in my own pocket, and I will probably need to borrow another seven or eight thousand strings of cash. Let's settle this matter today and go to the money shop tomorrow morning to get the money!"

"Li Jiu is quite wealthy!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Li Xia with some surprise. When they went out to have fun together, this guy never took the initiative to pay, but they never expected that he had quietly saved more than two thousand strings of cash.

Li Xia was somewhat annoyed by the surprised yet mocking looks from the crowd, so he said in a low voice, "That's all, no more! From now on, you don't need to call me for any gatherings where no one will be paying the bill!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd couldn't help but boo again, as if this guy had already paid the bill before!
“I have heard a lot about Zhang Liu’s deeds, and I know that you are not a person who speaks nonsense or breaks faith. I also said that you have done a lot of bad deeds, and I am sure that you did not invite me to work with you because you lack the capital. Since you are willing to help me, do you think I am afraid of money burning my hands? It’s just that I am even worse off than Li Jiu. I have to borrow money to have a capital of 10,000 guan.”

Then Dou E spoke up, revealing that these playboys weren't entirely brainless; their views on people and things were greatly influenced by their elders. Zhang Dai felt quite gratified upon hearing this. It wasn't because he had secured two more investments—as Dou E had said, he wasn't lacking in capital—nor was he simply trying to get his brothers rich together. Rather, he wanted to leverage the connections and networks of the established wealthy to make things easier.

He did not immediately reveal his detailed plan. Even Pei Zhen, who had initially agreed to invest, was still unclear about what he was planning to do. This meant that the current decision to invest and work with him was based solely on trust and optimism in him personally, rather than on any grand business plan.

This feeling of being trusted is undoubtedly very good, which also means that Zhang Dai has not been wasting his time over the past few years. In the eyes of some people, his promises can be exchanged for money.

Although Pei Dunfu was present, he did not casually intervene in the young people's conversation. However, when he heard Zhang Dai mention the exchange of tens of thousands of strings of cash, he couldn't help but shift his gaze from the dancing girls in the hall. He sighed inwardly, "Have the young people in the capital become so arrogant these days?"
He held back for a while, but finally couldn't help himself. Half out of curiosity and half out of concern for Zhang Dai, he asked with a smile, "May I hear what you're planning, Zongzhi, that requires the allocation of tens of thousands of strings of cash for this project?"

This wasn't some top-secret information involving illegal activities, nor was he worried about someone else getting their hands on it first; Zhang Dai didn't shy away from admitting this. In fact, he was eager for more people to join in, in order to expand and grow the tea market.

However, for things that people don't understand, simply explaining is not enough. So Zhang Dai had his family bring out various teas from home and began brewing them in front of everyone.

"Zhang Liu wants to make tea? What's so strange about that?"

Seeing Zhang Dai fiddling with the utensils, Li Xia couldn't help but ask a question. But when he saw Zhang Dai directly pouring the tea leaves into boiling water to steep, he immediately shook his head and said, "You really are lazy! How can you drink this tea without roasting, crushing, and mixing it with ginger and dates!"

The history of tea use is long, but the custom of drinking tea as a beverage truly originated in the Southern Dynasties. Because the natural environment in the south is more suitable for tea tree production, high-quality tea can be harvested without the need for exquisite seed selection and cultivation. In addition, the promotion by religious figures such as monks and Taoists made the custom of drinking tea a popular trend in the Jiangnan region.

As the Western Wei regime, based in Guanzhong, destroyed the Southern Liang regime in Jiangling at the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, a large number of people from the Southern Dynasties entered Guanzhong, bringing with them the custom of tea drinking.

However, even during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, tea was not considered a mainstream beverage; various dairy products and low-fermentation fruit wines were more commonly found at banquets.

The tea-drinking method advocated by Li Xia is a relatively popular method of boiling tea at present. Because the tea leaves are not processed enough, the basic tea-making processes such as fixing, rolling, and fermentation have not yet been developed, so the flavor of the tea leaves cannot be fully brought out. It is necessary to add other ingredients to remove the astringency and enhance the aroma.

The tea that Zhang Dai had brought from home included not only the famous teas that He Zhizhang had collected during his visits to Shannan, but also some of the finest tea varieties that he had previously arranged for his family to cultivate on a small scale in Luonan and Yichuan. All of them were processed to varying degrees according to the processing procedures instructed by Zhang Dai, so there was no need for the complicated preparation of ingredients and steaming. After steeping for a while, they began to gradually release their aroma and flavor.

"Please, sir, drink this cup first!"

Zhang Dai poured the bright orange-yellow tea from the pot into a cup, then personally presented it to Pei Dunfu and said...

Pei Dunfu, still somewhat skeptical, brought the tea to his face, examined it briefly, and then took a small sniff. His eyes immediately lit up, and after blowing on it twice, he drank it all in one gulp. He then closed his eyes and savored the taste before exclaiming, "This tea looks bright, smells sweet, and tastes delicious. It's completely different from the murky boiling water of the past. It's truly wondrous, wondrous!"

"Is it really that amazing?"

Upon seeing this, everyone crowded around, each raising their cup to ask for a drink.

Zhang Dai accepted all the tea offered, distributing it to everyone like Han Xin commanding his troops. After each person drank some, they all exclaimed in amazement, just like Pei Dunfu, praising the taste they had never experienced before. Some even grabbed a tea leaf and put it in their mouths, chewing it vigorously: "How can it be so sweet without honey? Could it be that this tea leaf is soaked in honey?"

Ignoring the astonishment and amusement of the crowd, Zhang Dai looked at Pei Dunfu and said with a smile, "I intend to clear the mountains south of the city and plant tea trees everywhere, so that the tea buds can be harvested to add flavor to the food of the people in the capital. What do you think of this plan, Master Pei?"

Pei Dunfu did not answer Zhang Dai's question directly. Instead, he poured another cup of tea and sipped it slowly. He picked up some dry tea leaves and examined them closely in his palm. After a while, he said, "This tea has a truly novel and enticing flavor. What's more, it's easy to brew, saving you the trouble of boiling and removing the bitterness. Once it enters the market, it will surely sell very well."

"Zongzhi, you possess this extraordinary item; you must have grand ambitions, hence your gathering of good friends and the accumulation of vast wealth. However, while the mountains south of the city appear desolate and readily available, in reality, every blade of grass and every tree has its owner—either in the imperial garden or a private estate. It will likely be difficult to amass a large operation."

"Does the master have any instructions for me?"

Seeing that Pei Dunfu's words seemed unfinished, and considering that this examiner had served as an official in the capital for several years and was naturally very knowledgeable about the official and private affairs within the capital region, Zhang Dai quickly pressed him for more information.

(End of this chapter)