Chapter 673 - 348: Borrowing Money

Chapter 673: Chapter 348: Borrowing Money

Her belly growing heavier by the day, Juhua sat in the shade of a tree, trimming vegetables. Hearing the low murmur of voices from inside the house, she sighed inwardly. ’Huai Zi’s third uncle came this afternoon. I wonder if he’s here to borrow money.’

Ever since Qinghui County got a new County Magistrate, things had changed drastically. To put it simply, the gap between the rich and poor had widened at a shocking rate.

In the past, even when there were corrupt officials, everyone was poor together, so they all just scraped by. But now, with Xiatang Market flourishing, the number of wealthy people had grown. There were those who had made their fortunes locally, others who had moved in from elsewhere, and even gentry like the Li Family. The poor households started by selling their fields, and then their children. They became tenants or servants, or they went to work in the Fang family’s workshops at the market. More and more people were losing their land.

Huai Zi’s four maternal uncles had once been better off than his family, but they themselves were only just getting by. How could they withstand such exploitation? By the fourth or fifth month, they could no longer manage and had come to borrow grain.

Inside the house, Zhang Dashuan and his son were sitting with Huai Zi’s third uncle. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they asked the purpose of his visit.

The third uncle rubbed his calloused palms and said to Zhang Dashuan, embarrassed, "Brother-in-law, you see... I only came today and swallowed my pride because I just can’t make ends meet. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the face to ask. I know things are difficult for you, too. Yangzi’s studies are expensive, and now he’s gone to Huzhou for the exams. You know the saying—a traveler needs a full purse, even if his family is poor. I’m sure you’ve emptied your savings for his expenses. But if I can’t find a way to get through the next two months, I’ll have to sell my land. And wouldn’t that mean squandering my family’s legacy?"

When he finished, Zhang Dashuan sighed. "Third Brother, I know you. You’ve always been a man who values his pride. You wouldn’t have come to our door unless things were truly desperate."

The third uncle nodded vigorously and chimed in, "Mother told us not to come. She said we should be the ones helping you. We should all be working together to support Yangzi. If he becomes a Scholar, won’t that give all of us relatives a brighter future? Instead of helping, here I am bothering you. I truly had no other choice. So, even though I’ve brought it up, if you really can’t spare anything, just tell me honestly. I’d rather sell my land than see Yangzi go without."

His face flushed red as he spoke, and he felt a deep sense of shame. ’These words sound so hollow. If I were truly thinking of Yangzi, I shouldn’t have come at all. I should have found another way myself.’

Huai Zi quickly interjected, "Third Uncle, don’t say that. Everyone falls on hard times. It’s not like you’re lazy or wasteful—it’s all the fault of those corrupt officials. The rice and corn harvest is right around the corner. If we help each other and just hang in there, we’ll get through this. Just tell us what you need, Uncle. We’re family, not strangers." ℯℯ𝘭.

Zhang Dashuan nodded in agreement. ’His brothers-in-law are all decent men, not the ungrateful type,’ he thought. ’And this third one, especially, is a truly honest person.’

Seeing how the father and son were reacting, the third uncle said gratefully, "At first, I thought borrowing a little grain would be enough. But I’ve been doing the math. Even after we harvest the rice, corn, and Shanyu, all the miscellaneous crops won’t fetch a good price. We’re not like your village, nestled against the mountains where you can still find acorns to feed the pigs. All our income has to be scraped from the soil, and it’s not even enough to pay the taxes. I was thinking, Dashuan, if you could spare a little money, I’d like to borrow a few taels of silver. I could go from village to village, collecting mountain goods to sell at the market. There are so many shops there now, you can buy and sell anything. Sigh! They’re even selling people."

Huai Zi was stunned. ’I thought he was here to borrow grain, which would have been simple enough,’ he thought. ’But money...’

’We only have two taels of loose silver left in the house. Juhua has money, of course. I always give her all the rent collected from the market shops, since they were part of her dowry from the Zheng Family.’

’But I can’t bring myself to ask her for it. When Yangzi left, Juhua slipped him some silver, which is one thing—a kind gesture from a sister-in-law. But to have her front the money when one of *my* relatives comes to borrow... that wouldn’t be right at all. I haven’t even been able to provide her with a good life; the shame of using her money would kill me.’

Zhang Dashuan was thinking the same thing as Zhang Huai. ’We could spare one tael of silver, but a few taels is difficult. If he could just wait another two months, things would be easier.’

Then another thought occurred to Zhang Huai. He spoke earnestly to his third uncle, "Uncle, it’s not just that we don’t have the money. Even if we did, I would still advise you to be patient and not pursue this. Look at Qingmu and me—we’ve managed a workshop for two years, but we haven’t dared to venture into business for ourselves. It’s just too hard right now. If you don’t have deep pockets or powerful connections, the government officers will skin you alive. For now, let’s just wait. If Yangzi becomes a Scholar, what will you have to worry about? You can register your land under our family’s name—it’s not like we’d charge you rent, right? And if you still want to do business, you should wait a couple of years. Wait for this damn official to leave and see what the next County Magistrate is like. Then you can make your plans. For now, we can give you one tael of silver, and we’ll get you some grain to take home. After this harvest comes in, if your family is still struggling, our pigs will be ready for market by then, and we’ll have more cash on hand."