Chapter 105: The Magic of Silver
One hundred taels!
The crowd of onlookers, who had been straining their ears, were all stunned.
’One hundred taels of silver for three people to eat for a month?’
’This is just a handout, isn’t it?’
’Are rich people out of their minds?’
Zhang Ze had given it careful thought before proposing one hundred taels, a price he considered just right.
Recently, grain prices had risen tenfold, and the cost of meat and vegetables had also skyrocketed. Lately in Tong City, a single meal cost several taels of silver, and his young master still wasn’t used to the taste.
Gu Zhang’s family’s food seemed decent, unlike the coarse grains other families ate. Although there weren’t many dishes, you couldn’t be too picky when you were away from home.
When Mrs. Chen heard "one hundred taels," she stopped packing and straightened up, her eyes gleaming as she stared at Gu Zhang, as if silently urging him to agree at once.
Gu Zhang then looked at Gu Fei, who had already turned around and was blinking at him frantically.
Gu Zhang understood. ’The magic of silver... neither my wife nor my daughter can resist it.’
Just as he was about to nod and agree, Ms. Qian suddenly darted over from the side. "Young masters, why don’t you board at my place? I have white flour at home! I can make you white flour cakes and white flour buns for every meal, how about it?" Ms. Qian’s eyes were glued to the silver note in Zhang Ze’s hand, as if she wished a pair of hands would shoot out of her eyes and snatch it away.
Zhang Ze glanced at her and said coolly, "Thank you for your kind offer, ma’am, but we’d still prefer to eat at Second Uncle Gu’s home."
Gu Zhang acted decisively, reaching out to take the silver note. "Alright then. You gentlemen can eat with my family. It’s just that we can’t find any fine ingredients right now, so I’m afraid the meals will be quite simple."
Zhang Ze quickly replied, "Not at all, not at all! We’ll eat whatever your family eats."
His task completed, Zhang Ze left happily.
Mrs. Chen shot Ms. Qian a vicious glare. ’Shameless! To think she’d try to steal our good fortune!’
Ms. Qian watched as Gu Zhang handed the one hundred taels to Gu Fei, who immediately tucked it into her robes. She truly wished she could rush over and snatch the silver note herself.
It took a long time for the crowd of onlookers to quiet down.
Aunt Liu’s mouth twitched for a long while before she turned to the village chief. "What did I tell you? Gu the Second’s family’s luck has finally turned! If they hadn’t been cooking rabbit meat today, none of this would have happened. One hundred taels! One hundred taels!"
"Sigh, how come you don’t have the luck to find a rabbit when you go take a piss!"
"My cooking skills aren’t bad either!"
Boss Zhang’s wife from the Yu Family was also sighing over there. "Sigh, why does this kind of good fortune never fall on our family?"
"That’s one hundred taels!"
"Even if we sold our whole family, we wouldn’t fetch one hundred taels."
Seeing the one hundred taels of silver, everyone’s heart was filled with varying degrees of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
Ms. Qian went back to her own area, throwing things about and making a racket.
Having watched one hundred taels of silver go to someone else right before her eyes, she was filled with a rage she didn’t know who to vent it on.
Her gaze fell on Xing’er. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she grabbed Xing’er and started walking.
Xing’er was completely bewildered. "Mom, where are we going?"
Ms. Qian didn’t say a word, simply pulling Xing’er straight over to Su Chen. She gave him a fawning smile. "Young Master, do you think you might need someone to wait on you? My daughter can do anything—serve tea, pour water, make the bed, fold the blankets... Young Master, if you would just—"
Before she could finish, Su Chen called out softly without even lifting his eyelids, "Chen Hu—"
Chen Hu immediately stood in front of Su Chen like an iron tower and barked, "What do you think you’re doing, woman? Stop harassing my young master!"
Ms. Qian wanted to say more. Just as she opened her mouth, Chen Hu placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and took a step forward. "Still not leaving?"