Tiger Owl

Chapter 137 The Witch's Kiss
The day after Xu Wei left, Yuzhang County finally produced its first batch of Wuzhu coins. The coins circulating in various places were still the small Wuzhu coins minted by Dong Zhuo, which were without any characters and were also called unwritten small coins.

Of course, it wasn't necessarily minted by Dong Zhuo. These small coins were being imitated everywhere. They were simple to make, but even though they were simple to make, they weren't something that could be made casually.

Gan Ning had been preparing to mint coins since last year. The coins in Yuzhang County were all minted by Liu Biao and Jiangdong. By minting a batch of copper coins, he could buy up all the grain and supplies in Yuzhang County.

Although copper coins also have costs, they are far less than the profits from minting them. Minting coins also incurs seigniorage. While the imperial court's minting of coins was a manifestation of its ruling power, it was also a means of reaping wealth from the people. Otherwise, why would various feudal lords be vying to mint coins?

Those with a better conscience would use more copper, while those with a worse conscience would use less copper, or even larger amounts of coins, making one copper coin worth ten or fifty times the value of another, cruelly exploiting the wealth of the people.

Gan Ning failed to mint coins last year because the old craftsman who originally minted coins for Liu Yao had passed away. He then searched for coin minting craftsmen in various places and found several experienced old craftsmen in Changsha County two months ago. After more than a month of careful preparation, he finally minted the first batch of copper coins.

Inside the official residence, several officials were gathered together admiring the newly minted Wuzhu coins.

Lu Su picked up a coin and examined it for a long time, exclaiming, "This coin is in really good condition, better than any other coin I've ever seen, even better than those minted by the imperial court."

“Really good!”

Jiang Wan also praised, "It has a high copper content, thick and solid texture, and feels heavy in the hand. The quality is really good. I hope it can stay that way, so that our money will be liked by more and more places."

Gan Ning paused for a moment and said, "But how can ordinary people distinguish between our money and the imperial money? They may not be able to tell the difference just by looking at the condition."

Gan Ning was considering the issue of public acceptance. If the people of the world accepted the coins he minted, they would gradually accept his regime. Once they accepted it, they would become loyal. Therefore, the degree of public acceptance was very important.

Lu Su thought for a moment and said, "These coins are indeed difficult to distinguish from the imperial coins. I think we can start by adding a simple mark on the back of the next batch of coins. When ordinary people see this mark, they will know that it is a coin we minted."

Gan Ning laughed and said, "Isn't that too much trouble? We have to make the mother coin first, and then start all over again."

Lu Su shook his head. "Actually, it's not troublesome. The trouble is in the various preparations. Now that all the preparations are complete, it will be easy to do anything from now on. Making the mother coin will only take a few days."

Gan Ning readily agreed, "Then we'll add a five-pointed star to the back of the next batch of coins. That way, the people will immediately recognize them as coins we've minted."

Jiang Wan hesitated for a moment, "I'm afraid someone might deliberately frame us by minting a batch of inferior Wuzhu coins with five-pointed stars. My lord, how should we deal with this problem if it occurs?"

Gan Ning pondered for a moment and said, "We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I believe the people have their own judgment, and they won't doubt us just because a few inferior counterfeit coins have appeared."

Xu Shu, who had been silent all along, laughed and said, "I have a suggestion. My lord can choose an appropriate time to mint a batch of inferior counterfeit coins, then publicly destroy them and claim that someone framed him. In this way, the people will be prepared. Once they encounter poor-quality coins with five-pointed stars, they will not think of our problem, but that someone is impersonating us to make counterfeit money again."

"This is a good idea!"

Lu Su praised, "This is the preventative measure our lord often talks about."

Although Lu Su didn't know what a preventative injection was, Gan Ning often mentioned the term, so he understood that a preventative injection meant taking precautions against potential problems.

Gan Ning said happily, "This patch is good, let's go with it."

In the afternoon, Gan Ning returned to the mansion. As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, a yellow figure flashed and jumped in front of him. It turned out to be Xiao Qiao.

Gan Ning reached out and patted her head, laughing, "You startled me. Were you trying to ambush me?"

Xiao Qiao hugged Gan Ning's waist, pouted, and said coquettishly, "No, that's not it! I miss my husband."

"It's Gan Lang, not Fu Lang!" Gan Ning corrected her.

"I'll share a room with you tonight, so you don't need to change how you address me."

"You're not ready to sleep together yet. What did I tell you before?"

"Why should I?! Last New Year's Eve, my sister shared a room with you. She's only a year older than me, so this year it's my turn." Gan Ning pinched her little cheek and laughed, "First, your sister is two years older than you, not one year; second, your sister is more sensible and mature than you. I've already accepted her in my heart, while you're still a naughty child in my eyes. You haven't grown up yet, so you have to wait patiently for two more years."

Xiao Qiao said coyly, "It's not about being sensible and mature. My mother said that even when I'm eighty years old, I'll still be easily startled. My sister and I just have different personalities, hee hee! You eat big fish and meat every day, don't you want to change things up and have a couple of green vegetables?"

Gan Ning laughed and said, "I like green vegetables too, but it's really not the right time for you. This is what Dr. Liu said. She said that having sex too early can easily lead to lifelong infertility. These are her exact words. You can go and ask her."

"OK then!"

Xiao Qiao hugged Gan Ning's neck and whispered, "You kissed Xu Wei yesterday afternoon, so you have to kiss me too?"

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"I didn't hear what you were saying, but I saw it. You kissed her for a long time. Humph! You've never kissed me. That's not fair to me."

Gan Ning gave her a light kiss on the lips and laughed, "Is that fair now?"

"No! No! I'm not ready yet, let's do it again!"

Xiao Qiao pouted and leaned forward, so Gan Ning had no choice but to kiss her again. Unexpectedly, Xiao Qiao was prepared and immediately hugged Gan Ning's neck tightly and kissed him passionately. Gan Ning struggled for a moment before losing himself in the little witch's fiery kiss.

They kissed for an unknown amount of time before footsteps approached from afar. Gan Ning then realized what was happening and quickly pushed Xiao Qiao away. Xiao Qiao blushed, twisted her hands together, and gently swayed her body, saying, "How was it? The little green vegetable tasted pretty good, didn't it?"

Gan Ning pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "You little brat, you're not allowed to seduce me like that again?"

"Hehe! You clearly like it but you're pretending to be innocent. I'm going to seduce you from now on, just you wait and see!"

Xiao Qiao turned around and flew away like a butterfly.

"Now you know how powerful this little witch is!"

Gan Ning turned around and found Da Qiao standing not far away, smiling at him.

Gan Ning stepped forward, gently put his arm around Da Qiao's waist, and laughed, "You saw everything?"

“I saw her secretly hiding behind the artificial hill, so I became suspicious and kept observing her in the room.”

Da Qiao pointed to an empty house next to her, "She didn't notice me. I thought she was playing with the cat. I didn't expect she was waiting for her husband."

Gan Ning said with a wry smile, "When I said goodbye to Xu Wei yesterday, she saw it and she wanted me to make it up to her too."

"She and Yunqing are as close as if they were wearing the same dress, but she is also worried that Yunqing will marry someone before her, so she must fight for what Yunqing gets."

“You two sisters have completely opposite personalities; one is as gentle as water, and the other is as passionate as fire, yet you can blend together.”

Da Qiao said playfully, "I thought my husband would say that one is like a big fish and meat dish, and the other is like a small green vegetable dish!"

"You...you overheard too! No, I'm going to punish you. Come with me to the study."

Da Qiao said coquettishly, "Husband, no! My period just started today."

"Then let's try another form of punishment. Come with me!"

Gan Ning put his arm around Da Qiao and walked quickly toward the study.

(End of this chapter)