"Come on, let's have a drink too!"

Zhuang Zhou picked up the cup of boiling beer and said:

"Thank you all for your hard work this year. Next year, everyone should fulfill their responsibilities and work hard."

Without saying anything more, everyone followed Zhuang Zhou's example and raised their glasses.

Everyone in the mansion knew that the head of the family was not from Chang'an.

It’s the end of the year and I have to go back to my hometown to celebrate the New Year.

So today is considered as an early New Year's Day.

There was laughter and joy in the banquet hall.

Just as I was enjoying my meal, I heard a commotion outside.

Niu Dali ran out first.

Then he quickly ran back:

"Boss Zhuang, Duke Lu is here to visit!"

Duke Lu?

Isn’t that Cheng Yaojin?

Why is he here?

After all, he was a big shot in the court, so Zhuang Zhou had to go out to greet him in person.

As soon as I walked into the front hall, I heard Cheng Yaojin's unrestrained laughter.

Then I saw a lot of people following him.

Everyone had something in their hands.

"Brother Zhuang, I heard that His Majesty has specially promoted you to the rank of County Earl, so I came to visit you and brought you some gifts. It's not meant to be a token of respect!"

Zhuang Zhou glanced over and saw that there were people outside the door moving things into the mansion.

I couldn't help but ask:

"What are they?

It’s too valuable, I dare not accept it.”

Cheng Yaojin laughed heartily and waved his hand:

“They’re all cheap stuff!”

Then, he roughly said:

"A gift of one thousand taels of silver, one hundred taels of gold, ten pieces of silk, three sections of brocade, fifty meters of silk, and one cartload of silk."

This is called a cheap stuff.

If it were in the past, Zhuang Zhou certainly wouldn’t have known how much these things were worth.

But now, he has a general understanding of it.

The gifts of money and silver alone are enormous.

It is now the early years of the Zhenguan period, and one tael of silver is equivalent to one string of copper coins.

The full amount is one thousand wen.

One penny is equivalent to 4.5 yuan in later generations.

The one thousand taels of silver gift alone is 4.5 million.

“???”

You call this a bargain!