Great Tang Idyll

ly, and to be able to show off some in front of the other peasants—these are the largest spiritual and material needs for a culture.”

“Yes, ~ya! They’re all good folks, ~ah! Treat them a bit well and they’ll remember it for a lifetime.
I’ve decided, when it’s a bit warmer, to build a school and let the little kids of our two manors be able to learn to read.” Wang Juan started getting emotional over there.

“Not only from our two manors—also have to attract the children of the surrounding manors.
The children of the other manors would only have to bring some food themselves, the rest I’ll cover.” Zhang Xiaobao was thinking even further.

“Are you sick?”

“You have medicine, ~ah? Not joking with you.
With my allowing the children of the surrounding manors to come and study, the reputation will get out there.
Once the disaster over there starts up next year, I’ll freely give away food grains over there—let’s see who will dare take back my family’s lands? I’ll use popular opinion4 to crush him to death.”

“Up to now, I still don’t understand what kind of person you are.
This many operations with each making a bit of money, all for the sake of that piece of land with a grant of 100 heads in the end.
Is it worth it?” Wang Juan had been constantly trying to figure out Zhang Xiaobao, wanting to know what his inner heart was actually like but was kept on failing.

Zhang Xiaobao glanced at Wang Juan next to him and smiled: “Don’t go guessing men.
At the same time, I also never think about how women actually think.
Sometimes, we ourselves don’t even understand ourselves, much less understanding others, ~ne.

To tell the truth, I really don’t care.
To lose or to gain are as nothing in front of me—I’m talking about money.
But I also care very much.
I know that my Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma all hope to keep maintaining this family legacy.
What I can do is to give them a hand.

The material gain and spiritual gain are separate.
It’s just like if you gave money to a beggar on the street.
Even if you don’t admit it on the surface, you subconsciously still treat yourself as a good person.
For those animals to not be able to win over humans is not only because humans can use tools but it’s most fundamentally because at a given time, humans will take pity and sympathize with the weak and go on to ally with the weak.”

“Don’t speak of this with me.
I don’t understand.
I only know that this world is an existence where the strong prey on the weak.5 I learned so many things for the sake of my family clan.6 Give and take— it’s just that simple.” Wang Juan felt like her own thinking had followed along with Zhang Xiaobao’s at this moment and was extremely uncomfortable.

“Fine, let’s not talk anymore.
Since your family clan over there is no more, then let’s remake a new family clan over here.
We don’t have impressive ancestors so let us become the next generation of impressive ancestors.
It’s snowing.
One of the manor’s oxen froze to death so there’s ox marrow to eat.”

Zhang Xiaobao really didn’t wish for Wang Juan to obey him on everything so seeing that Wang Juan had reacted quickly, couldn’t help but laugh.

“When did it freeze to death? How come I didn’t hear of it?” Wang Juan used her tongue to lick her lips as she really did crave it.

“An ox from the family of the manor’s Chen Hao.7 It really was too old and couldn’t move to work anymore.
Once the snow fell, it froze to death.
I’m prepared to give him 6 guan [strings of cash] and he’ll go report it.
Once we return, we can eat beef.”

“That’s not right? I still remember that his family’s ox was still living.
In the morning, it even passed by in front of the courtyard house, ~ne.
Besides, today isn’t even that cold.
Once the snow fell, the temperature would have risen.” Wang Juan asked, wrinkling her brow as if recalling this morning’s events.

Zhang Xiaobao sadly shook his head: “Yes, ~ya.
It was still fine this morning, ~ne.
Who knew that in a while, it’d freeze to death here? If it didn’t freeze to death, then it was scared to death.
The ox looked and such heavy snow, ~ah! It was over.
It drank a mouthful of cold water and it suicided.”

“You craved it to this degree? To insist on butchering someone else’s ox to eat?” Wang Juan figured it out now.
Of course, she wouldn’t go ask as to why an ox could die from drinking water.
She could imagine that Zhang Xiaobao would definitely counter her by asking that since people can die from drinking water, why can’t an ox? This matter was impossible to debate.

“6 guan [strings of cash] is enough to buy a young ox.
The money that the official will come over to request, I’ll pay.
If a half-grown ox is bought, it can still be used when it’s spring plowing time.
When we get back, I’ll make beef ligament for you to eat.
It’s tender and chewy so it won’t ruin the teeth.” Zhang Xiaobao chose to use bribery.

“I want to eat tendons that have a bit of spicy flavor to it.”

The wind blew the drifting snow on which it relied, dressing the green mountains with some white clothing.

Once it got closer and closer to the New Year, the price of brown sugar doubled.
Erniu obeyed Little Mister’s instructions and immediately acted, transforming 20 silver taels into 60 taels.
The money hadn’t even been warmed up, ~ne, when he once again received a command from Little Mister to go commission large quantities of flat little bamboo baskets or little bamboo cases that were required to be made through weaving.

Once the first batch of bamboo baskets had been sent over, the cucumbers in the back of the courtyard of Zhang Manor’s main house were already 3 cun [inch] long.
Waiting for two or three more days to eat them was the best.
If it were three or five days, then they’d be considered to have grown.

“Shiliu, here’s three cucumbers.
Let us three each have one per person.
You help us peel the cucumbers.” Wang Juan went to go pick three cucumbers that were, comparatively speaking, bigger and handed them over to Shiliu.

Shiliu woodenly accepted them and nodded her head: “Cucumbers, winter cucumbers—just the smell is nice.
This single one needs how much money, ~ah? Just some time before, they looked to still be vines; here now, they’ve matured.”

“Don’t mind about how much money—just eat it.
Quickly, Xiaobao and I are waiting, ~ne.” Wang Juan hadn’t eaten any vegetable greens for a month or more so seeing Shiliu was still in a daze, could only begin prodding her.

Shiliu finally recovered and began peeling.
The three of them ate with great gusto.

Five days later, Song Jing-gong placed the bamboo case filled with six cucumbers that were still bearing flowers and thorns on the table in front of Magistrate Cheng Lingxiang.