noveltune Chapter 002 You are shameless
Chapter 002 You are shameless
Chapter 002
"Chen Lang, dinner's ready!"
Chen Ying should now be called Chen Boying.
Song Yanniang placed the dishes on the table and then turned to leave.
"Why……"
Chen Boying then realized that in the eastern Henan region, even in later generations, the custom of not allowing women to sit at the table when facing unfamiliar guests was still preserved.
Of course, once you get used to it, there will be no more taboos in this regard.
There were four dishes on the table: a plate of radish, a plate of lotus root slices, a plate of scrambled eggs with garlic sprouts, and the only meat dish was a stalk of celery stir-fried with cured pork.
"Brother Chen, please!"
Chen Ying didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of radish, which was crisp and delicious, and then took a piece of cured meat, which was fatty but not greasy and smooth.
Perhaps because he was so hungry, he found every dish to be incredibly delicious.
After drinking a large bowl of millet porridge and swallowing the last piece of cured meat, Chen Ying solemnly said, "Bo'an, I've thought about it, and I absolutely cannot let your sister suffer!"
"You want to back out?"
Song Xianze instinctively reached for his sword.
"No, no, don't misunderstand!"
"The position of centurion in our centurion garrison is vacant; you can buy it for one thousand taels of silver!"
Chen Ying continued, "Bo'an, give me a thousand taels of silver, and I'll buy this centurion position. Once I have the rank of a sixth-grade official, I'll make sure your sister has a grand wedding and becomes the wife of a sixth-grade centurion..."
"A thousand taels? You make it sound so easy."
"A thousand taels of silver is a bit too much, so let's make it five hundred taels. I'll buy you a captain's position and make your sister a seventh-rank captain's wife... Or maybe a hundred or eighty taels..."
"In the past, our Song family could afford a hundred or eighty taels of silver, but now..."
Song Xianze was so angry that his chest heaved, but he did not explode. Instead, he turned around and went back into the house.
A short while later, he came out carrying a jar covered in mud, clearly indicating that it had just been dug out of the ground.
Song Xianze poured the jar directly in front of Chen Ying.
"Splash..."
More than a dozen pieces of silver fell from the jar, each one irregular in shape, except for one that was a ten-tael silver ingot.
"There's a total of forty-four taels, five mace, and seven fen of silver here. Even if you dismember me, I still can't scrape together fifty taels!"
"Doesn't your family own more than 270 mu (approximately 18 hectares)?"
"Hmph, in recent years, in addition to the regular taxes, we've also had to levy additional taxes on Liaodong..."
"But the Liaodong tax isn't just nine li of silver per mu. Your family has over 270 mu of land, which would only amount to a little over two taels of silver..."
"The imperial court only charges nine li per mu, but the provincial administration adds three li, then another qian in Guide Prefecture, and finally three qian in Yongcheng County!"
According to Chen Boying's memory, for more than three years since the Tianqi Emperor ascended the throne, there had been either drought or locust plagues. Finally, this summer, the weather was favorable, and a bumper harvest was achieved.
As a result, the Yellow River breached its banks, drowning tens of thousands of people and leaving more than a million homeless.
Right now, not only are ordinary people struggling to survive, but even small landlords like Song Xianze are running out of food.
However, even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse. If they really wanted to sell the land, each mu of the Song family's irrigated land would be worth seven or eight taels of silver, and each mu of dry land would be worth four or five taels of silver. These two hundred and seventy-eight mu of land could be sold for at least one thousand three or four hundred taels of silver.
However, the problem is that Song Xianze has fixed assets but no cash left.
However, Song Yanniang, who had been eavesdropping from behind, had no such concerns.
Song Yanniang rushed in and laid a red cloth on the table. Inside the cloth were about seventeen or eighteen taels of silver. She then placed all the forty-four taels of silver that Song Xianze had taken out onto the red cloth.
As Song Yanniang wrapped up the silver, she said to Song Xianze, "Bo'an, after I got married, you'll be all alone at home. You have a small appetite and don't eat much, but you can write and interpret characters, so wherever you go, you'll always have food to eat..."
Song Xianze was speechless.
Chen Ying was dumbfounded. He had seen women who supported their brothers and their entire families, but he had never seen anyone like Song Yanniang who had plundered all of her family's wealth.
It seems that Song Yanniang is really anxious and eager to get married as soon as possible.
Chen Ying could understand this. In later generations, there were plenty of young women in their thirties and forties, but this was the Ming Dynasty, where girls started getting married at the age of sixteen. At twenty-four, she was already considered an old maid.
Song Yanniang stuffed the sixty-odd taels of silver directly into Chen Ying's arms: "Chen Lang, take this money and use it first. It's enough for you to repair the house..."
"You...you'd better think this through!"
Song Xianze directly threatened Chen Ying, implying that Chen Ying should leave him some.
However, before Chen Ying could speak, Song Yanniang raised her hand and slapped Song Xianze on the head.
"Smack..."
"How dare you speak to Chen Lang like that, with such disrespect?"
Song Xianze felt extremely distressed. He felt that his biggest mistake was trying to arrange a marriage between Chen Boying and Song Yanniang. When Song Yanniang captured Chen Boying, she never intended to force him to marry into the family.
It was he who suggested it. Chen Boying was six feet tall and had a handsome appearance. Song Yanniang carefully looked at Chen Boying and was immediately smitten.
Now things are really messed up. Before anything is even started, Song Yanniang only has eyes for Chen Boying and no longer cares about her younger brother.
Song Xianze stared at Chen Ying with a murderous look in his eyes. Song Yanniang raised her hand again, but the problem was that Song Xianze could only shrink back and plead with a look on his face.
"You little brat, you've finally met your match!"
Chen Ying was extremely pleased with himself; the kick Song Xianze had given him was still throbbing slightly.
Despite Song Xianze's martial arts skills, even a tall man like Chen Ying, who is 1.85 meters tall, was kicked away by him and instantly lost his fighting ability. However, he did not dare to fight back against Song Yanniang.
Despite being born less than a quarter of an hour earlier than Song Xianze, Song Yanniang's bloodline suppression of her brother was vividly demonstrated.
Chen Ying cupped his hands and said, "Bo'an, don't worry, I will definitely make sure Yan Niang marries into our Chen family in a grand and glorious manner!"
Song Xianze's lips twitched. Chen Boying's family was poor, they didn't own a single plot of land, and their house was dilapidated, yet they still lived in luxury...
However, Song Xianze learned his lesson; if he dared to say those words aloud, his sister would beat him up again.
Chen Ying took out a handful of silver, about twenty taels, and placed it on the table.
Song Xianze thought to himself, "Hmph, at least you have some conscience; you still know to leave me some money!"
"Our Ma Mu Bai Hu Shou (horse herdsman's office) is more than thirty li away from Song Jia Zhuang (Song Family Village), so it won't be convenient for Yan Niang to go back to her parents' home in the future!"
Chen Ying smiled and said, "Bo'an, I'd like to trouble you to make a trip and find out from the elders of Ma Mu village who wants to sell a house or plot of land. If there is, please help me buy it!"
"I have never seen such a shameless person as you!"
"Smack..."
Song Yanniang slapped Song Xianze on the head: "Chen Lang is right. Our house is only seven or eight li from the market, so it's very convenient to travel back and forth. Bo'an, go directly to Li Dayou. He's busy arranging to sell the house!"
His elder sister was like his own life, and Song Xianze dared not disobey her.
Song Xianze grabbed the silver and left angrily.
Looking at Chen Ying's tattered clothes, Song Yanniang seemed to realize something and hurriedly turned around and went into the inner room.
Chen Boying was born into a military household. In the late Ming Dynasty, military households were not restricted by military status. They could engage in commerce, join the army, or participate in the imperial examinations. However, he did not buy land in the Ma Mu Bai Hu Suo.
Because he was in the Hundred Household Office, he was not a registered official. Chen Boying's ancestors were hereditary Hundred Household Officers of Guide Guard, but they were demoted to General Banner Officers because they failed the assessment.
By the time of his father Chen Youshi's generation, the position of General Banner Officer had fallen to his uncle Chen Youfu. Although he was a military household member and not officially registered, he could make a living on his own.
The promotion system within the Ming Dynasty's military garrison system was extremely rigorous.
Military merit was the most ideal and easiest way to get promoted. Although official positions in the Ming Dynasty could be inherited, it did not mean that one could inherit an official position simply by being born into the family and reaching adulthood.
Hereditary military officers also need to be assessed. Lower-ranking officers below the rank of 100 households are assessed within the garrison, but those above the rank of 1,000 households need to take the military selection exam. If they fail the exam multiple times, their hereditary opportunity will be canceled or they will be demoted.
Chen Ying's grandfather was a centurion, but by the time of his eldest uncle, he had been demoted to a general. In fact, after his uncle failed the assessment four times in a row, his father, Chen Youshi, also took the assessment once, but his result was not as good as his uncle, Chen Youfu.
The Ming Dynasty is now facing not only the Jurchens eyeing it covetously beyond the Great Wall, but also natural disasters and man-made calamities in the Central Plains. The eunuch faction, Jin faction, Qi faction, Chu faction, Zhe faction, Xuan faction, Kun faction, Luo faction, Qin faction, and Donglin faction in the court are fighting among themselves.
The garrison system had also collapsed. In fact, any system is implemented by people. As long as you have money, you can get promoted. Chen Ying had no capital, so he decided to marry Song Yanniang, hoping to use her as a stepping stone.
Of course, Chen Ying would like a girl like Song Yanniang, whether she was rich or poor.
The problem, however, was how to make money, which put Chen Ying in a dilemma.
The horse pasture he is currently in is under the jurisdiction of Yongcheng County. The current magistrate of Yongcheng County is none other than Sun Chuanting, a famous figure during the Chongzhen era, and the prefect of Guide Prefecture is Zheng Sanjun.
Both of these men were capable and competent officials of the Ming Dynasty. Trying to cause trouble under their noses was simply courting death.
When evening came, Song Xianze returned from outside, holding a contract, and slammed it down in front of Chen Ying.
Chen Ying opened it and saw that it contained the land deed for the house:
"The person who made this sales contract is Li Dayou, a resident of Yongcheng County, Guide Prefecture. Due to the urgent need for grain taxes, he voluntarily sells his ancestral homestead, located east of Mamu Village, measuring two mu and three fen, bounded by the Zhang family wall to the east, the official road to the west, the river ditch to the south, and the Wang family's field to the north, with clear boundaries. Through the mediation of a middleman, he sells the property to Chen Boying, a military household of the Mamu Hundred Household Office, for permanent use."
"The agreement was reached on the same day through three parties, and the price was 16 taels and 5 mace of silver. The silver was paid in full on the spot without any shortfall. After the sale, the buyer was free to build houses and plant trees, and there was no competition from relatives or neighbors for the property."
"If the origin of any property is unclear, the seller shall bear all responsibility. This is a mutually agreed upon agreement, and there is no redemption. All taxes and levies were originally for the house and were not subject to any taxation. If taxes are levied in the future, the buyer shall pay them according to the regulations. In case there is no proof in the future, this sales contract is hereby established for record-keeping."
May 18th, the third year of the Tianqi reign
Contractor: Li Dayou (signature)
See in the image: Wang Shoutian (signature), Zhao Si (signature)
Scribe: Song Kangnian (signature)
Song Yanniang glanced at the document and frowned slightly: "Li Dayou is too greedy. He wants twenty taels and five mace of silver for that dilapidated piece of land?"
Song Xianze curled his lip and said, "If the Yellow River hadn't breached its banks, they wouldn't have sold it even for a hundred taels of silver!"
Chen Ying put away the land deed and said with a smile, "I'll have someone tidy it up tomorrow. Once the house is ready, I'll marry Yan Niang!"
Song Xianze said fiercely, "You'd better keep your word!"
Chen Ying knew very well that in the Ming Dynasty, people without houses or land were called "vagrants," and people without a proper job were called "rogues."
Chen Ying is now fortunate to be a military household member. He is not a registered official and has no formal occupation. He can also be called a commoner. The land in the Hundred Household Office belongs to the garrison, and he has no land there.
Now, he owns a plot of land that covers two and a half acres. In the Ming Dynasty, one acre of land was 580 square meters, which is about 1,334 square meters, or about two acres in modern terms.
A house on two acres of land, with a storefront facing the street, is very nice.
The next morning, while Chen Ying was still asleep, Song Yanniang had already gotten up to cook. When Chen Ying got up, he found that there were more than twenty men, women, and children in the Song family's courtyard.
"Yan Niang, what are they doing...?"
"Help us rebuild our house!"
Song Yanniang actually knew that Li Dayou's house had collapsed due to years of disrepair and flooding. Chen Ying spent twenty taels of silver to buy a plot of land with only a few dozen trees on it.
Thank you all!
"You're too kind, son-in-law!"
These people were all members of the Song family or tenant farmers. The way they looked at Chen Ying was somewhat strange. Song Yanniang was not only a mountain on Song Xianze's head, but also a mountain pressing down on everyone in the entire Song Family Village.
After having breakfast at the Song family's house, the group pushed more than a dozen large carts loaded with tools and headed to Ma Mu in a grand procession.
Before the group had completely left Songjiazhuang, they saw a group of people walking towards them from a distance. The leader was an old man with a hunched back, wearing a faded, patched-up battle jacket.
Chen Ying stopped in his tracks.
That was Chen Boying's father, Chen Youshi, who is also his current adoptive father.
In Chen Boying's memory, Chen was an honest and simple man, the kind who wouldn't utter a word even if you hit him three times. He could never stand up straight and always had a smile on his face when he met someone.
Chen Boying always looked down on Chen Youshi, resenting his uselessness while also pitying his hard work.
Behind Chen Youshi were Chen Daniu, Wang Tiezhu, and other familiar military households from the garrison; a rough count revealed more than thirty people.
They all looked pale and thin, but they were carrying weapons: long guns, muskets, rusty sabers, and even clubs.
"Uncle...Uncle Ying?"
"Dad...I'm alright!"
Chen Ying originally hated Wang Tiezhu and Chen Daniu very much. If these two disloyal childhood friends hadn't turned around and run away, he wouldn't have been captured.
Of course, if the two hadn't run away, all three of them would have been captured.
Chen Ying thought to himself that it would be better for the three of them to be captured together than for him to be captured alone.
Fortunately, the outcome was positive.
"They said you were..."
"I voluntarily agree to marry Song Yanniang..."
As soon as Chen Ying finished speaking, there was a deathly silence, which was then followed by an uproar from the crowd.
"Marry his sister? That Song Yanniang?"
"My God, that girl...that temper...that height!"
"You dare marry the eldest daughter of the Song family?"
"Bo Ying, have you gone mad?"
Chen's lips trembled as he pointed at Chen Ying and said, "You...you volunteered? You volunteered to marry...one?"
He didn't know what to say for a moment.
Is it true that Song Yanniang is the sister of the dwarf?
They say she's an old maid who can't get married?
Those words were too harsh for him to say.
Aside from being tall, having a bad temper, and being prone to hitting people, Song Yanniang seemed to have no other flaws.
"Boying, is that really you?"
Chen Daniu couldn't help but advise, "No matter how down on our luck or how poor we military households are, we can't..."