"Oh my, Fourth Brother Xiao! What time is this? The plague is raging around the capital, so how could any nobles come to buy things? The fact that we can offer this price is only because of our friendship," said Shopkeeper Yang.
"That won't do! At least 400 taels! Otherwise, let's go to the door opposite, Mr. Zhao! Let's go! This guy is too unpleasant!" After Xiao Si said that, he took the bottle back from Manager Yang's hand and pulled Zhao Xiaofei out.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go! Don't go! 300 taels for this! You're doomed! If not, go to the door across the street!" Shopkeeper Yang stopped the two people who were about to go out.
At this time, Xiao Si looked at Zhao Xiaofei, and Zhao Xiaofei nodded. Xiao Si said, "Okay! You old man have a conscience, write it!" Then he handed the bottle back to Shopkeeper Yang.
After writing the pawn ticket, Shopkeeper Yang retrieved some silver from the counter, weighed it, and handed it to Zhao Xiaofei. One liang of silver in the Ming Dynasty was equivalent to 37.3 grams today. 100 liang equaled 4,000 grams, or 8 jin today. 300 liang was roughly 24 jin, which Zhao Xiaofei could barely carry. The Ming Dynasty didn't have silver bills. They did have some bills of exchange, but most people didn't use them.
After leaving the pawnshop, Zhao Xiaofei asked Xiao Si, "Are there any houses for sale here? I want to buy one and rest my feet!"
"Mr. Zhao! I do know someone in the pawnshop. How many courtyards do you want?" Xiao Si asked.
"A two-story house will do! How many rooms are there?" Zhao Xiaofei asked. A two-story house in the Ming Dynasty had about eight rooms, easily enough for a family of five or six.
"Young master, you don't know that the houses in this county town are cheap. Compared with the capital, a house with two courtyards only costs about 35 taels. You want to pay 40 taels, which is enough to buy a house with three courtyards, including the money from the pawnshop and the tax from the government office! Would you like to take a look?" Xiao Si said.
"Okay! Then we have to go in three times! It's already afternoon! I want to move in tonight!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"No problem! I'll do it for you right away! You can go to my house and rest first!" Xiao Si said.
"Okay! I'll follow Brother Xiao Si's instructions!" Zhao Xiaofei said. Xiao Si then took Zhao Xiaofei home. He gave his wife, Yu, some money to buy some daily necessities. He then left the house to look for the pawnbrokers. About half an hour later, Xiao Si and his men arrived.
"Mr. Zhao! This is Qiao Er from the real estate agency! We'll take you to see the house!" Xiao Si said. Qiao Er nodded hurriedly and said, "Mr. Zhao, please!"
The three of them arrived at a courtyard, which indeed had three entrances and twelve rooms. Zhao Xiaofei immediately paid the money and signed the contract with his fingerprints. Xiao Si said, "Master Zhao! I'll take care of the rest for you personally, so don't wander off! Rest well inside! My wife is tidying up the middle courtyard! I'll call you when it's ready!"
"Okay! Thank you, Fourth Brother Xiao!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
As night fell, Xiao Si came over to invite Zhao Xiaofei to the middle courtyard. The house had been cleaned, but the furniture was missing. Zhao Xiaofei gave Xiao Si 10 taels of silver and asked him to help with the furniture. Xiao Si happily agreed, thinking he had met a generous man.
After the lights went out, Zhao Xiaofei sat alone at the table. He was a bit dazed. That morning, he and his friends were taking photos at Marco Polo Bridge, and then, in the blink of an eye, he found himself in the Ming Dynasty, experiencing the horror of plague corpses and injecting himself with pet streptomycin. Now, he'd bought a house in the Ming Dynasty. This was simply unbelievable.
At night, Zhao Xiaofei lay in bed, thinking. Could he go back? Were his mother and brother anxiously looking for him? How anxious would they be? Wouldn't Xiaomei burst into tears if she found out? Thinking of Xiaomei, Zhao Xiaofei pulled out the jade pendant from his neck. It was his only souvenir of his future world.
Gazing out the window at the pitch-black scene, in this age without electricity or internet, I wondered how I would survive. It was the fourteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, and the year after, Li Zicheng, the courier, would reach Beijing. Then the Eight Banners would enter the city, and I had to flee, to Jiangnan. I remembered that the Hongguang regime barely lasted a year, and I had to flee to Nanjing. If that didn't work, I'd have to find the Zheng family. I had to find Zheng Chenggong; his family would surely have survived until the Kangxi reign. It was doubtful whether I'd even made it to that point.
Holding the jade pendant, Zhao Xiaofei pondered and suddenly felt like crying. How could he be so unlucky, traveling through time and space to the end of the Ming Dynasty? He had no ability at all. To overthrow the Qing Dynasty? To save the Ming Dynasty? With just a few pounds and a few ounces of his own weight, he still had some idea in his mind! Stop talking nonsense!
"Brother! Mom! Where are you? I want to go home!" Zhao Xiaofei finally cried! Just as he was crying, the street lights outside seemed to suddenly light up. The bed under him suddenly disappeared and fell to the ground, making him dizzy and dazed.
It took Zhao Xiaofei a long time to react. He was back! He was back! So he shouted loudly: "Help!"
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