Chapter 40 Advice

Ever since Commander Lin got on the good side of the commander, many people have become a little more polite in their speech.

A few days ago, after finishing his shift, Lin Changning went to apologize to Commander Zheng. Commander Zheng was an upright man, and after Lin Changning explained his purpose, he didn't mind at all.

He frankly stated that it was his ability to gain the respect of his superiors, and that having such a subordinate made him proud.

Of course, despite saying that, Lin Changning didn't believe it entirely. After finishing his shift, he invited Zheng Baihu and several familiar colleagues to have a drink together.

Zheng Baihu naturally did not refuse, and the group started talking about family matters while drinking.

Although these men were all minor officers in the army, once they had families, their money was not enough. These men were all in their prime, and every day, besides going on duty, they would go home and sleep with their wives. So, generally speaking, they had quite a few children. One or two was normal, three or four was not uncommon, and five was not unusual.

With a large family, especially when the children are close in age, the household can become stretched thin. Despite receiving a monthly salary, they can't save much money at the end of the year. Some families with heavy burdens even have problems feeding their children.

With poor harvests and reduced yields, farming in the border regions was particularly unprofitable, leading to food and clothing problems for many families.

Zheng Baihu said with a long face, "Life has become increasingly difficult these past two years. My wife gave birth to a big, healthy boy last year, and my eldest daughter is twelve years old this year. It's time to start saving some money for her dowry. My second son is six years old this year, and he's at that age where even cats and dogs hate him. He's incredibly mischievous. We can manage to get by, but we're always short of money."

General Zhou sighed, "Old Zheng, don't even mention you. Who isn't these days? My wife is due to give birth next year, and I'm already overwhelmed with the thought of three or four hungry mouths."

Wan Jin sniffed: "My family is doing alright. My mother manages the money, and we have enough to eat. It's just that my mother said she'll find me a wife in two years, so we're not exactly well-off."

Lin Changning didn't say anything. Her family was doing alright. They would hunt wild animals to sell for money, keep some of the remaining money for themselves, and send the rest back to her mother through someone else.

She didn't speak, but the others waited for her to offer advice. Zheng Baihu nudged Lin Changning and coughed lightly: "Brother, I heard from some of your soldiers that you can earn some money with them to supplement your family's income?"

Commander Zhou rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation: "Yeah, brother, everyone says your soldiers are doing well. We're all comrades, so give us some advice. These days, everyone wants their men to have a better life, hehe."

Wan Jin looked at Lao Zheng with some annoyance. He breathed a sigh of relief after glancing at Lin Changning's expression and finding nothing amiss. It was his fault. Last time, he had let slip while drinking with a group of uncles and was tricked into revealing information by them. Fortunately, he managed to hold it in at the end. Otherwise, Lao Zheng probably wouldn't have dragged him out today. He probably wanted Lin Changping to give him some advice, which was why he had to bring him along to mediate.

After all, he was quite familiar with Changping and even worked under Changping, so it would be convenient to ask him questions.

Lin Changning found it amusing; so that's what it was about. But it was really hard to say it out loud.

So Lin Changning pretended to be troubled, looking left and right, and said, "This..."

Zheng Baihu seized the opportunity: "Brother, is there something you'd rather not say?"

Lin Changning nodded, his expression becoming even more troubled: "It's not that I'm unwilling to tell my two elder brothers, but the matter is risky, and the fewer people who know, the better."

General Zhou downed a glass of wine in one gulp: "Brother, there are no outsiders here. I swear on my life that I will never tell anyone about what happened today. Please tell me."

Commander Zheng also agreed: "If anything happens, we will take responsibility ourselves and will never implicate our worthy brother!"

Lin Changning took a sip of yellow wine and frowned slightly: "It's not a matter of beheading, but it does cross the line of military discipline. You two brothers should know that there are traps set under the watchtower I'm guarding. Occasionally, animals like foxes, wolves, and rabbits fall in. At first, we just killed them to eat the meat, but later we found that many of the pelts were good, so we found passing merchants to sell them. However, they weren't tanned, so they didn't sell for much money."

Commander Zheng put down his wine bowl, somewhat puzzled: "Is that all?"

Lin Changning nodded: "Of course."

Upon hearing this, Commander Zhou also began to ponder: "It's just some leather, can it really make that much money?"

Lin Changning started counting carefully on his fingers:

"A good wolf pelt costs about five qian of silver, a better quality fox pelt is more expensive, about one tael, and a rabbit pelt is about one qian."

Wolves and foxes are rare, but rabbits are easy to catch. By guarding the watchtowers and shooting with arrows, you can usually catch three to five every day. The meat can be used to make traps, and you can catch a few foxes and wolves every month.

That adds up to about ten taels of silver a month. I keep three taels for myself, use one tael to buy enough eggs to pickle for a month, and give one to each person every day. The rest of the silver is distributed according to the amount of game caught, so everyone gets a little over a hundred coins, which makes life a bit easier.”

While Commander Zhou was counting on his fingers, Commander Zheng had already figured it out. He patted Lin Changning on the shoulder and exclaimed, "Changping, you truly are a scholar! Your mind is far superior to ours, you roughnecks. Come, brother, I toast you!"

After clinking their bowls together, the two drank the not-too-strong yellow wine in one gulp. Zheng Baihu then asked again, "But if we frequently deal with merchant caravans, I'm afraid it might be inappropriate."

Lin Changning naturally knew it was inappropriate, so he lowered his eyes and said, "Of course, once or twice is fine, but too many times is not good."

General Zhou stared intently at Lin Changning: "Then? How did you do it, my brother?"

Lin Changning picked up his wine bowl and gently tapped it against Zhou Zongqi's bowl: "Find a middleman and promise him a 10% profit. We don't need to show our faces. We are just selling to farmers. As for where the farmers sell to and to whom, that's none of our business. But even if we are the middleman, we need to find a loyal and reliable one."

Zheng Baihu slapped Lin Changning on the shoulder again, making him wince: "You little rascal! What's wrong with your head? If we weren't already engaged, I would definitely have given my daughter to you in marriage!!"

Lin Changning spat out a mouthful of rice wine and hurriedly waved his hand: "Thank you for your kindness, Commander. How could I dare to covet your daughter?"

Commander Zhou interjected, "Old Zheng, get lost! Everyone knows Commander Ma has his eye on this kid and wants him as his son-in-law. Trying to steal him away? Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?"

Zheng Baihu said with an air of nonchalance, "Who doesn't know about his daughter? If you ask me..."

Lin Changning interrupted Zheng Baihu: "Ahem, brother, it's inappropriate to talk about women. My family has already arranged a wife, so naturally I won't break my promise."

Zheng Baihu glanced sideways at Zhou Zongqi and threatened, "Old Zhou, I'm your superior now. Aren't you afraid I'll make things difficult for you?"

General Zhou rolled his eyes. Old Zheng was a man who loved to talk tough. The two had been through thick and thin together, and he was the most upright man in the world. He didn't believe that Old Zheng would make things difficult for him.

"Wear it. If you wear it, I'll make my wife cry to your wife every day, and I'll make sure you can't even get into bed at night."

Zheng Baihu kicked him, saying, "Hey, you damned piece of trash."

Wan Jin chuckled and watched the two men play around. When the game ended, Wan Jin and Lin Changning left together, while Zhou Zongqi and Zheng Baihu walked back arm in arm.

Moonlight streamed down the road as the two walked arm in arm toward home.

"Old Zheng, do you really want to marry your daughter off to that boy Ping?"

"Of course, my judgment is pretty good, isn't it? This kid is clever, and now he's climbed up to the commander. I think he's got potential. My daughter is only twelve, so there's no rush. We'll wait three years. If this kid proves to be a good person, I'll go all out to mediate between my daughter and him."

"Go away, they've already said their family has already made a decision."

"The wife is already engaged, so there's no problem with the concubine. If this boy is successful, it's not unacceptable for him to be a concubine. Besides, what if he's in three or four years? Who knows if the woman won't change her mind, right?"

"You're willing to let your daughter become a concubine? I'll skin you alive if I don't live!"

"What do you know? If my daughter were to get engaged now, she'd most likely end up as a martial arts master, or at best, a poor, ill-educated scholar, and her family would be very poor."

But this kid is smart and skilled with his hands. Didn't you see the plans he drew for the pier renovation? The miscellaneous construction bureau has already started building according to the plans.

He's only fifteen and already in the command's favor; climbing the ranks is only a matter of time. If my daughter marries him, even as a concubine, she'll be pampered and fed in luxury. I'm his comrade now, and he'll be his father-in-law in the future. Even if he treats my daughter badly, he won't do so just because of me..."

"You're thinking really far ahead. It's a pity my wife didn't give me a daughter, otherwise I would have married that guy and become a father-in-law..."