1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 19 Counting in Person
The thirty-two taels of silver that Qiu Gusan prepared for Peng Gang consisted of six five-tael ingots of 93-yuan Guangding silver and two taels of loose silver.

The three Guangding silver ingots and two taels of broken silver at the top are fine, but the three silver ingots at the bottom have been replaced with lead-filled "six-fold silver," and their purity and weight are obviously incorrect.

If Peng Gang hadn't remembered the lesson that money must be counted in person before leaving the counter and that no one would be responsible after leaving, he might have been ripped off by Qiu Gusan again.

These days, it's so difficult to get a fair price when selling land and houses.

Peng Gang was a literate student, and even with a renowned Confucian scholar acting as his intermediary, so many pitfalls awaited him.

One can only imagine the plight of a farmer who is completely illiterate and has no connections when selling his land.

"Country folk don't need so much silver. They usually use 'diaoqian' (a type of currency). I'd like to trouble you, Master Qiu, to exchange these fifteen taels of silver for 'diaoqian'."

In front of so many people, Peng Gang did not reveal the truth, giving Qiu Gusan some face. He simply found a pretext to ask that the three problematic Guangding silver ingots be exchanged for hanging coins.

"You're such a troublemaker! You ignorant country bumpkin, don't you even know how valuable silver is now?" Qiu Zhongyan, the eldest son of Qiu Gusan, was in charge of the Qiu family's accounts. He was habitually scolding the ungrateful commoner in front of him.

"Fifteen taels of silver is equivalent to thirty thousand copper coins. Where are you going to find so many copper coins in such a short time? If you want copper coins, go exchange your silver elsewhere."

Qiu Zhongyan did it purely out of habit, since the Qiu family always mixed in some inferior silver that had been adulterated with lead and copper whenever they traded land and houses.

As for Qiu Gusan, he really didn't intend to cheat Liu Bingwen's student in front of him; he just forgot to tell Qiu Zhongyan that this time he should handle it as a special case.

After several encounters, Qiu Gusan had already realized that Peng Gang was different from the meek and submissive commoners who used to come to him to sell their land and houses. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would suffer in silence.

Peng Gang only asked to exchange the three problematic silver ingots for copper coins, without directly pointing out the problem with the silver, which already gave the Qiu family a way out.

Qiu Gusan glared at Qiu Zhongyan and scolded him, "You blind fool! Go and get fifteen taels of silver for Zhongliang's senior!"

When his father spoke, Qiu Zhongyan responded weakly and obediently exchanged fifteen taels of silver for Peng Gang.

Qiu Gusan treated Liu Bingwen very politely and hired a sedan chair to carry Liu Bingwen back to Qishixu.

Qiu Zhongliang, accompanied by two attendants, happily rode his horse to Qishixu to study.

Peng Gang wanted to learn to ride a horse, and Qiu Zhongliang readily had his servants find a gentle yellow horse for Peng Gang to ride.

Peng Gang had no experience riding a horse, so he was inevitably nervous and scared on his first time. His movements were stiff and awkward, his legs were tightly gripping the horse's belly, and his hands were gripping the reins tightly, as if he was afraid of falling off the horse.

Seeing Peng Gang's predicament, Qiu Zhongliang chuckled and said, "Is this your first time riding a horse? Relax. Not only are you uncomfortable, but the horse is too. It's only because Huang Biao'er is so good-natured that you would have been thrown off by any other horse."

Under Qiu Zhongliang's patient guidance, Peng Gang finally figured out some tricks. He relaxed his body, adjusted his sitting posture, and made his center of gravity more even. He also used his calves to squeeze the horse's belly instead of his thighs, which made him feel much more comfortable.

Peng Gang stayed at the Qiu family's house for seven days. He met several of the Qiu brothers, and they were all scoundrels.

Only Qiu Zhongliang was of relatively pure character and good personality, living up to his name.

Liu Bingwen probably took Qiu Zhongliang under his wing because he saw this quality in him.

"Actually, it wouldn't be bad for you to come to my house as a son-in-law. You won't have to worry about food or clothing."

As they gradually became more familiar with each other, Qiu Zhongliang started chatting with Peng Gang casually.

“My three unmarried sisters are all quite beautiful. Except for my youngest sister, who is spoiled by my father and is a bit unruly, the other two are very good-natured and have some education. You are a good match for them.”

“How can you do this, pushing your own sisters into a fire pit?” Peng Gang laughed. “We’ve only met a few times. You can know a person’s face but not their heart. How can you say such things?” “If I take you in as my husband, your sisters can stay in my family, and you’re all the right age.” Qiu Zhongliang’s eyes were a little moist.

“When I was little, my eldest sister loved me the most. When I was eleven, my father forced my eldest sister to marry Wang Dianli, a decrepit old man in his forties or fifties, in the county. Since then, I have never seen my eldest sister smile when I went back to my parents’ home.”

Although there are many Hakka people in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and quite a few of them have become wealthy, the Hakka community remains a marginalized group politically.

The Qiu family was large and powerful, and to preserve their family fortune, marriage alliances with local gentry were an essential step.

"Mr. Liu's academy has many rules, so you should abide by them well, or you'll inevitably be punished by Mr. Liu's ruler." Peng Gang changed the subject, kindly reminding Qiu Zhongliang as a senior student.

"No matter how many rules there are, it's still better than going home to marry Wang Jingcheng's daughter, who weighs over 200 pounds and has a bad temper." Qiu Zhongliang quickly steered the conversation back to the issue of marriage.

"If only I could pass the imperial examination like you, my father would definitely arrange another marriage for me."

Although the route from Muge back to Qingfeng Village is through the rich and fertile land of Guixian County along the Yushui River.

As far as the eye could see, there were mostly haggard-looking pedestrians with tattered clothes, resembling walking corpses.

Even when passing through Guixian County, it was a scene of decay and decline, with a large number of refugees fleeing the spring famine gathering nearby.

When Peng Gang arrived at Qingfeng Village, he met Peng Xianzhong's eldest, second, and fifth sons. One was moving the boundary stone on the east side of the paddy field, another was digging up the camellia trees on the north side of the paddy field, and the third was digging a ditch to divert water.

It's true what they say, "You've forgotten the pain once the wound has healed." Peng Gang couldn't help but chuckle as he advised, "For the sake of us both being surnamed Peng, I suggest you quickly move the boundary stone back to its original position and replace the dug-up camellia trees. Master Qiu isn't as easy to bully as I, Peng Gang."

"Master Qiu? Who are you trying to fool? With Master Qiu's character, would you really be willing to sell the land to him?" Neither the eldest nor the second son's family believed that Peng Gang would sell the land to Master Qiu.

Who in your county doesn't know Master Qiu's character? If a top-quality paddy field were sold to Master Qiu, it would only fetch the price of a medium-quality paddy field.

The eldest and second sons of the family, judging others by their own standards, believed that Peng Gang would never sell the land to Qiu Gusan at such a low price.

"You can't reason with a damned devil." Peng Gang shook his head helplessly. These relatives were greedy, selfish, and stupid. They were beyond saving.

No wonder that even though his main branch has a large population over the years, they are not as well off as his small, branch family.

"Brother Peng, is this your family's land?" Qiu Zhongliang asked, frowning.

“Brother Qiu, what are you saying? This is your Qiu family’s land now, it has nothing to do with me,” Peng Gang said, spreading his hands. He had successfully exchanged the land and houses left by his ancestors for silver from the mountain land.

The land that this family is now touching is not Peng Gang's land, but Qiu Gusan's, Master Qiu's land.

"Damn it! You've got some nerve! Not only did you move my Qiu family's land boundary, but you also dared to gossip about my father! Beat him up!"

Qiu Zhongliang pointed with his whip from his horse, signaling his two attendants to go up and teach these three reckless fools a lesson.

The wicked will be punished by the wicked; the servants kept by the Qiu family will not be polite to commoners who offend the Qiu family.

In order to make a good impression on Qiu Zhongliang, the two attendants dismounted and gave the third branch of the family a severe beating.

Peng Gang looked down at the three fellow villagers, their faces bruised and swollen, their limbs broken, and shook his head, saying, "I warned you and gave you a chance."

(End of this chapter)