My house's electrical wiring dates back to the Tang Dynasty.

Both sides are covering for each other, writing down their respective amounts.

At that moment, three men dressed as Persian merchants hurriedly entered the house.

When the three of them saw the glass on the counter, they gasped and stood in front of the counter to examine it closely.

If such a priceless treasure were broken, the other party would have to set a price, and I couldn't afford to pay for it.

The three of them just stood in front of the counter and looked.

Later, more and more people poured into the house to take a look.

In the end, the shopkeeper asked those who were not involved to leave.

As the shopkeeper saw that more and more people were arriving, his face darkened, and he secretly thought, "This is bad."

The more people come, the worse it is for you.

The fat, big-eared Persian merchant soon joined the purchasing team and also took out a pen to write.

"Alright, those who have written down their readings, start taking the readings." Seeing that more and more people were arriving, Li Mingbo decided not to wait any longer.

Li Mingbo checked and found there were 11 people.

Finally, everyone took out the amount they had written down.

Each piece of paper has its own name on it.

It was eventually bought by a Persian merchant with big ears for 3800 strings of cash.

3800 strings of cash is equivalent to 380 taels of gold.

Li Mingbo wanted 350 taels of gold, plus 30 strings of cash for pocket money.

Go directly to the Persian shop to collect the money.

The gold they were carrying consisted of gold coins, Roman gold coins from the Western Regions.

It was packed in a beautifully decorated rosewood box, which looked very prestigious.

"Not bad, this box is worth quite a bit of money if I take it back," Li Mingbo thought to himself as he looked at the beautiful box.

"Lotus, count it and see if it's real gold," Li Mingbo said to Lotus.

"Yes, my lord," Lianhua replied, and began to take inventory.

Some gold coins were counted, but one side was cut off.

"That's not fair of you to do this. I'm not selling it to you anymore." Li Mingbo was furious when he saw that there were quite a few gold coins with the edges cut off.

Even though each gold coin is cut a little off, it still adds up to quite a lot.

How is this any different from theft?

"No, this can't be done, my lord, listen to me!" Big Ears cried out in alarm.

Countless people outside would want this glass cup. If Li Mingbo went out into the street and shouted it out, plenty of people would want it.

"Fine, if you don't give me a satisfactory reason, we'll see each other at the East City Police Department."

"My lord, you may not know this, but I didn't trim the edges. It was done by some scoundrels. Look at this notch, it's not new." Big Ears said, taking a gold coin. "Although there's some trimming, it's definitely heavy enough. If you don't believe me, we'll weigh it now."

"Then weigh it, as long as it's enough." Li Mingbo wasn't an unreasonable person.

As expected, Li Mingbo was wrong; the weight was definitely sufficient.

Finally, Li Mingbo asked the other party to replace the gold coins with intact ones after trimming the edges, and then he left.

Li Mingbo also asked the other party for a sack, which he then picked up.

The box is too big to fit in my backpack.

With the money, the most important thing was to buy a carriage and horses.

In this respect, Li Mingbo is a complete novice.

Lotus flowers cannot judge horses.

Oh well, if it didn't happen, it didn't happen. It's not like I was going to war; I was just using it as a means of transportation.

"Speaking of which, now that we have horses, who will herd them?" Li Mingbo used to herd cattle when he was young, and now that the family has horses, someone will definitely herd them.

"My lord, you don't need to tend the horses. Just buy some fodder and some servants," Lotus said.

The two arrived at the horse stable.

"Manager, I'd like to buy a carriage. Could you provide the sturdiest one?" Li Mingbo walked into the horse shop.

When the shopkeeper saw Li Mingbo and his companion enter, he walked over to Li Mingbo and politely bowed.

After exchanging pleasantries, both sides...

Li Mingbo said, "Shopkeeper, you can't lie to us. You have to be honest."

"Oh dear, sir, how could I dare? I guarantee they are the best. As for horses, we have good ones, but they are expensive. I don't know." Upon hearing Li Mingbo's words, the shopkeeper instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

"Money's no object," Li Mingbo said before the shopkeeper could finish, "but the price has to be fair, otherwise..."

"It's definitely worth the price. We're a century-old shop, and we value integrity," the shopkeeper said, wiping the sweat from his brow after hearing Li Mingbo's words.

"Turkic draft horses are muscular, can pull carts even after traveling 300 li a day, and are docile and not easily startled. They cost 40 strings of cash."

"As for the carriage, may I ask your status, sir?"

"What do you mean?" Li Mingbo looked at Lianhua.

"My lord, the imperial court has strict regulations regarding those who ride in carriages. Different ranks are entitled to ride in different types of carriages."

"I don't have an official rank right now."

"Then let's get a mid-range sedan," Lotus said. "A mid-range sedan doesn't require any special permits."

"What about horses? Surely there's no regulation of horses anymore?"

"I don't care about horses, as long as I have money."

"Then the most expensive Turkic draft horse," Li Mingbo replied.

The Turkic draft horses are large, with an estimated shoulder height of about 1.5 meters. They are muscular, strong, and powerful. Most importantly, the shopkeeper said they have a gentle temperament.

We can't ride horses, so we need someone docile.

Li Mingbo stepped forward and felt it; it was indeed docile.

A mid-range carriage costs 20 strings of cash, and a Turkic draft horse costs 40 strings of cash, totaling 60 strings of cash.

Lotus was sold for six taels of gold coins, and the shopkeeper was overjoyed.

Nowadays, copper coins are commonly used in daily life, and gold coins like these are extremely rare.

It is only used in transactions involving huge sums of money.

Next, Li Mingbo and his companion went to a shop and bought a housekeeper.

The housekeeper was quite old, looking to be in his fifties or sixties, but was actually around forty.

People from Tang Dynasty all look old.

However, Li Mingbo looks kind and gentle, and most importantly, he is literate.

"Can you drive a horse-drawn carriage?" Li Mingbo asked.

"Yes!" the old man replied.

"Alright, you're the one. From now on, you'll be the steward of the manor."

"Thank you, Master!" The old man exclaimed upon hearing this, realizing he had become the steward.

He replied gratefully.

"The manor needs five maids and three laborers to do rough work. The laborers need to know carpentry. Go and choose them, and then come with me."

"Hurry up."

Li Mingbo directly assigned the old man a task.

"Yes, then this old servant will go?" the old man said, looking at Li Mingbo and Lianhua.

"Go ahead, you've made your choice. They'll all be under your control from now on."

"Please rest assured, Master. This old servant may not have many other skills, but when it comes to choosing servants, that is my specialty," the old steward said confidently.

The buying and selling of people was a legal transaction in the Tang Dynasty, with prices varying greatly depending on status, age, and skills.

Slaves were considered "lowly people" and were legally regarded as the "property" of their masters. They had no personal freedom and needed to be registered as "slaves" with the government. They could be bought and sold for life.

"Damn it..." When Li Mingbo saw the five maids the butler had chosen standing in front of him, if it weren't for his age, he would have kicked the old man to death. "These are the maids you picked?"

Li Mingbo glared at the butler.

You were just saying that picking people is your specialty, but Li Mingbo got all excited for nothing.

The three men were burly, which was one thing, but the five maids were all big-chested and thick-waisted, just like Sister Jialing.

I'm not a weightlifting coach.

"This old servant is guilty." The steward, hearing that Li Mingbo was truly angry, quickly knelt down and said, trembling.

This is the first thing the master asked me to do, and I've messed it up. What if the master doesn't want me anymore?

I'm still here, starving to death.

"Never mind, I'll do it." Li Mingbo still softened and couldn't bring himself to do it.

Damn it, I've always heard people say that the Tang Dynasty considered plumpness to be beautiful, and now I've seen it for myself.

Tell the shopkeeper to call out all the maids to choose from.