Green Mountain-Chapter 716 - 570: Pawnshop

Outside Zhengyang Gate.

Chen Ji rode aimlessly on the cobblestone road, the setting sun casting his shadow long and slanted on the street. Passersby, seeing the dazzling Qilin embroidery, turned their heads to avoid him, yet couldn't help but glance back.

Few in the Imperial Capital recognized his face, but the Qilin embroidery was uniquely of the Ning Dynasty.

The wind swept past the street corner, carrying bits of gossip: "Have you heard? The Qi family has taken those two playboys into their house..."

"Now the Marquis Wu Xiang has nowhere to get silver from, right?"

Under the gray-tiled eaves by the roadside, a few scholars in blue robes stroked their beards and nodded: "The Qi family's action, unafraid of the Eunuch Party's power, protecting the children of good families, is a model for our Confucian scholars."

Across the street at the meat stall, the butcher wiped his knife and sneered, "Who's pretending to be a big-tailed wolf? One robs openly, the other protects secretly, who's really clean?"

"But this time, it seems the Marquis Wu Xiang won't be able to save Princess Bai Li; a weak arm can't twist a strong thigh."

Chen Ji appeared completely oblivious, just wobbling on his horse as if he might fall off at any moment, lost in thought.

It wasn't until sunset that Chen Ji slowly returned to Shaojiu Alley, where two small lanterns hung at the door, giving it a hint of home.

Upon entering, Xiao Man took a piece of white cloth to dust off him, cautiously observing his expression as she did so: "Young master, are you okay?"

Chen Ji replied nonchalantly, "Heard about it?"

Xiao Man nodded: "It's spread around the neighborhood, saying the Qi family has made a move, and no matter how fierce you are, you can't do anything to the Qi family... But don't worry, young master, there must be a way. I've made your favorite pot-stewed tofu and stir-fried eggs with chive buds tonight, they're delicious."

With that, she went into the kitchen to bring out the dishes, pressed chopsticks into Chen Ji's hand, and sat him down at the table.

Chen Ji sat at the table, picked up a piece of tofu with his chopsticks but didn't eat it for a long time: "Xiao Man, what about the rewards from the palace earlier, the one hundred taels of gold and one thousand taels of silver, ten horses, and this house?"

Xiao Man was taken aback: "What does the young master want to do?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "Tomorrow, go convert the gold into silver. One hundred taels of gold should make fifteen hundred taels of silver... How much can this house sell for?"

Xiao Man thought: "Outside Eastern Hua Gate is already the best area on the inner city's east side, a courtyard like this can sell for two thousand eight hundred taels of silver. But selling a house can't be rushed, you need to find the right buyer, sometimes it might take half a year without finding one."

Chen Ji, not eating any food, absently picked at his rice and said: "Pawn it."

Xiao Man's eyes widened: "Young master, pawning at a pawnshop might be quick, but they're exploitative. They might only give fifteen hundred taels for a house worth two thousand eight hundred, and a 'live pawn' has a nine percent monthly interest, compound interest. Pawn it out and it'll be hard to redeem."

Chen Ji was thoughtful, "What else in this house can be pawned?"

Xiao Man counted her fingers: "The furniture in this house is excellent, those few old chairs alone can pawn for fifty taels each, and the tables. But young master, these are imperial rewards, pawning them privately will lead to exile."

Chen Ji shook his head: "I can't worry about that now."

Xiao Man sighed softly: "We just got a new home. But with such a big shortage of silver, how about I take Heavenly Venerate for breeding? It's so smart, breeding in officials and nobles' homes might earn a few taels each time..."

Before she finished, Wu Yun jumped onto her shoulder and tapped her head twice with its paws.

Xiao Man covered her double hair buns and complained: "Heavenly Venerate, didn't you see I was trying to cheer up the young master?"

Wu Yun finally let her go.

While eating, Xiao Man discreetly observed Chen Ji's absent demeanor, finally gritting her teeth, putting down her chopsticks, and went into her West Wing Room to retrieve a wooden box: "Inside here is the land deed to Changping's fertile land, and the property deeds to Gufu Building, Tianbao Pavilion, and Baoxiang Bookstore. Young master should take them to pawn."

Chen Ji was somewhat surprised: "These were promised to you before, no need to give them to me."

Xiao Man opened the box, revealing the property deeds inside, and sighed: "Aunt always said, when you encounter trouble, friends standing neutral are enemies, enemies standing neutral are friends. Pawn these and young master shouldn't pawn this house, otherwise there'll be another impeachment from the Imperial Censor."

Chen Ji confirmed repeatedly, "Are you sure you can part with them?"

Xiao Man thumped her chest, taking a deep breath: "I'm sure."

Chen Ji smiled, closing the box: "Then I'll take them to the pawnshop for silver."

Xiao Man is instantly heartbroken: "Aren't you going to hesitate a bit more, young master? This is all the wealth that Aunt painstakingly saved up. Do you know how hard it was for me to manage the mess of Gufu Building? From top to bottom, it's full of parasites. And about that Tianbao Pavilion, the shopkeeper dared to deceive me relying on his experience..."

Chen Ji was curious: "How did you handle them?"

The little monk suddenly said: "If someone didn't listen to her, she'd threaten them, 'If you dare mess with me again, I'll have my young master kill you all,' and they'd be frightened on the spot. Other people's young masters might not really kill, but her young master truly killed hundreds."

Chen Ji slowly looked at Xiao Man; Xiao Man hurriedly said guiltily, "I'll go wash the dishes."

After she took the dishes to the kitchen, she didn't forget to come back and twist the little monk's waist, making him grimace in pain.

...

...

Fourth Day.

Early in the morning, Chen Ji changed into a gray cloth garment and went out, carrying the wooden box to Li's Pawnshop outside Eastern Hua Gate first.

He looked up at the signboard and stepped over the high threshold, finding the inside dimly lit.

A musty old ink scent mixed with camphor hit him as he entered, and the counter was absurdly high, made from a solid slab of elm wood, polished to a glossy sheen.

Sitting behind the counter was an old pawnbroker, carefully examining the yellow infiltration on a nephrite jade ring under the dim light. Hearing footsteps, the broker did not lift his head, drawing out his words: "What do you wish to pawn, Guest?"

Chen Ji placed a wooden box on the counter and opened it, revealing a stack of property deeds inside.

Only then did the broker look up, leisurely extending two fingers to pick up the topmost deed, five hundred acres of prime land in Changping.

He held the deed against the light, carefully examining the seal, the corners, and the paper grain, before slowly saying, "Changping's land, it's too far from the Imperial Capital, not worth much."

Chen Ji said nothing.

The broker picked up the deed for Gufu Building: "I've heard of this building, it used to be prosperous, hard to find a spot, but in recent years its business has plummeted, also not worth much."

Chen Ji still said nothing.

The old pawnbroker went through each one, slightly curling his lips when he picked up the Baoxiang Bookstore deed: "Baoxiang Bookstore? Also not worth much."

When he saw the Tianbao Pavilion deed, the broker's eyes immediately lit up, but before he could examine it closely, Chen Ji had already pulled the deed away.

The old pawnbroker looked at Chen Ji over the counter: "Guest, are you the landlord of Tianbao Pavilion?"

Chen Ji replied calmly, "I am."

The old pawnbroker asked again, "Just now I hadn't seen clearly, is this a 'red contract' or a 'white contract'?"

Standing outside the counter, Chen Ji replied, "Red contract."

The old pawnbroker nodded, "A red contract is good."

A red contract is an official government-stamped contract, while a white contract is a private one, with a significant difference in value.

The old pawnbroker's eyes twinkled: "Guest, are you willing to pawn Tianbao Pavilion separately?"

Chen Ji shook his head, "No, all together."

"Live pawn or dead pawn?"

"Live pawn."

"So it's urgent money you need, a temporary loan," the old pawnbroker stroked his beard, retrieved an ebony abacus from under the counter, and began clicking it, muttering, "Changping five hundred acres, calculated as top-tier land, market price fifteen taels per acre. But since you need money urgently, our pawnshop will offer seventy percent. Gufu Building, half an acre, originally worth five thousand taels, but with the building old, deduct another twenty percent, four thousand taels."

He calculated very slowly, secretly glancing at Chen Ji each time he finished an item.

Chen Ji just stood there quietly, his expression calm.

When the calculations were finally complete, the old pawnbroker pushed the abacus forward, looking at Chen Ji through the gap in the barrier: "Guest, all these together are worth this amount, if not for Tianbao Pavilion, not even this much."

He held up four fingers.

Chen Ji looked at him.

The old pawnbroker sluggishly said, "Forty thousand taels. This is a live pawn, with nine percent interest per month, for a term of six months. If after the term you don't redeem, the items belong to us."

Forty thousand taels.

Xiao Man had mentioned that if these properties were sold normally, they would be worth at least sixty thousand taels; Tianbao Pavilion alone was worth forty thousand taels.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, "Too low."

"Guest," the old pawnbroker leaned back, tapping his fingers lightly on the counter, "our Li's Pawnshop is a century-old establishment, we cheat neither old nor young. If you don't believe, you can ask around, in the whole Imperial Capital, who can offer a higher price?"

He retrieved a purple clay teapot from under the counter, sipping from its spout as he squinted his eyes: "Guest, if you agree, we can write the pawn ticket now, if not..."

The old pawnbroker gestured toward the door.

Chen Ji stood outside the counter, "Forty-five thousand."

The old pawnbroker sneered, "Guest, forty thousand taels, not a cent more. If you wish to pawn, we'll write the ticket now. If not, the door is over there."

Chen Ji remained silent for a long time, "Pawn."

The old pawnbroker's face beamed with joy, he spread out a pawn ticket, taking out a wolf hair small seal and densely filled the paper: "Now pawned, five hundred acres of top-tier land in Changping County, one shop-front of Gufu Building, one shop-front of Tianbao Pavilion, one shop-front of Baoxiang Bookstore, for a total pawn of forty thousand taels, nine percent interest per month, six-month term. At risk from pests and rodents, each according to their fate. Loss from fire, water, or theft is unrelated to this pawnshop. Recognize the ticket, not the person. If overdue and not redeemed, subject to sale..."

After writing, he blew the ink dry, and took out four small stamps from under the counter: one for the shop "Li's Pawnshop," one for the "Pawnbroker of the Year," and one for "Damage from pests and rodents."

With three stamps applied, the pawn ticket was complete.

The old pawnbroker handed the pawn ticket along with four strings of Buddhist Treasure coins to Chen Ji, smilingly said, "Guest, live pawns accrue interest by the day, if you wish to redeem, you must do so promptly."

Chen Ji turned and left without any hesitation, now holding 240,000 taels, though there was still a large shortfall.

He did not wish to waste time here, there was much to be done.