Chapter 11 of 100

Chapter 11: Eliminating Tyranny and Ensuring Peace for Parents

11 min read2,835 wordsMature

Han Qianli sipped the wine lees, seemingly lost in thought. He put down the bowl and sighed, "Sigh, when people get greedy, they don't even care about their own face. Third Brother is already better and is planning to redeem the land. But Li Laizi is even thinking of changing the mortgage to a sale!"

"Spit! He must be out of his mind!" Han Aili slammed her chopsticks on the table, her face fierce, "When we needed money to save lives, he haggled and even recommended quacks, making the family spend money like water. Now we're not short of money. Let him dream! Once Third Brother is fully recovered, we'll go to his place and redeem all the land mortgaged to Li Laizi. If we have the money for one acre, we'll redeem one acre; if we have the money for two acres, we'll redeem two acres!"

"Didn't I also tell Li Laizi that today? I definitely plan to redeem the riverbank vegetable field."

"Bah! Today, Li Laizi was driven away by me, and you just stood there watching! He dares to bully us because he sees you as a mute gourd! If it were me, I would have beaten the idea out of his head long ago! His in-law, Huang Daliu, is the same kind of scum. The last time I saw Yunni at the ferry, he almost drooled. If I had a rolling pin at hand then, I would have given him an even bigger lump on his forehead!"

It was only then that Han Gang realized that before meeting him, Li Laizi had already encountered his parents and discussed the vegetable field. No wonder he turned his face as soon as he saw him. It seemed that in the afternoon, after his parents had gathered enough mountain goods in the southern mountains and were preparing to go north to the state city, they met Li Laizi at the ferry.

Han Gang stopped his chopsticks and lowered his head, "It's all my fault... making Father and Mother suffer at the hands of Li Laizi."

"Nonsense!" Han Aili turned and shouted again, "To save lives, any amount of money is worth spending!"

"That's right, no matter how much money it takes to save a life, it must be spent. If the family line is broken, we won't have the face to meet the ancestors of the Han family." Han Qianli drained his bowl and wiped the remaining wine from his beard with the back of his hand, "Third Brother, don't worry too much. When your grandfather moved from the old home in Jizhou to Guanxi to trade, he lost his capital and had nothing left, not even the clothes on his back. He couldn't return home and had to settle in Qinzhou. But by the time he passed away, he had already bought the three acres and two corners and fifteen steps of vegetable land for your father. I spent twenty years and bought one hundred and ten acres of land.

Even if we lose everything now, it's just like when your grandfather first came to Guanxi. In another twenty years, your father can still save up the land and enjoy wine and meat. In this world, people are not afraid of being poor, but of being lazy. As long as you work hard, you can achieve anything. Third Brother, you are a scholar, full of the wisdom of the sages. I have nothing to teach you except to be diligent. Be diligent in your studies, in your work, and even in your official duties."

"Father is right." Han Gang bowed his head in acceptance. Although Han Qianli could not read much, his insight was not lacking. He raised his head and smiled, "The sage also said, 'Be quick in action and cautious in speech,' which means to do more and talk less. Father's words already have half the wisdom of the sage."

"Truly worthy of the sage!" Han Qianli was very pleased by his son's praise, and he tilted his head back, drinking a bowl of turbid wine lees. He smacked his lips, picked up the wine jug, shook it, and sighed, "It's no different from the wine in the government distillery. The wine in the government distillery gets weaker every year. It's sold at the price of wine but tastes like water. One dou of grain produces only a few sheng of wine, which is diluted three to five times."

"Then why did you drink so much in the past?" Han Aili shouted again. Han Qianli felt embarrassed and drank the wine lees on his own. His wife was fierce, and Han Caiyuan knew when to yield.

Han Gang smiled, "If we could brew our own, we wouldn't dilute it for ourselves."

Han Qianli shook his head and sighed, "Who says it isn't so. But who in Qinzhou dares to brew privately? If you do, you might be exiled three thousand li away from Qinzhou!"

Han Gang was taken aback. A memory he had not touched before suddenly surfaced. Right, in the Song Dynasty, alcohol was a government monopoly.

Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, to make up for the lack of national resources, the old rules of the Five Dynasties were followed. Most of the distilleries in various regions were government-run, either directly by the government or contracted out through public bidding, known as 'buying and beating.' Not only alcohol, but salt and iron were also government-run. The government also controlled tea, alum, and medicinal herbs.

If someone tried to take food from the government, if they were an official household, they might be let off lightly depending on the situation; but if they were a civilian household, the lightest punishment was exile, and the heaviest was beheading. Especially in Qinzhou, many people had fallen victim to this. Qinzhou was a border region with over a hundred large and small fortresses. Each fortress near the barbarian tribes had an official distillery to do business with the barbarians, and each fortress had a small official to supervise the alcohol tax, just to ensure that the government monopolized the profits from alcohol.

'It seems I can't open a distillery to make money! It would cost me my head.' Han Gang shook his head. Privately opening a distillery would definitely result in beheading or exile. Even if he could contract a government distillery, any improvements would lead to better business, but the government would either take it back or it would be taken by envious people. This path was clearly not feasible.

Han Qianli did not know what Han Gang was thinking. He always hoped his son would have a bright future. He drank while sighing, "If Third Brother could become an official, it would be good. With an official position, you could brew your own wine without anyone interfering. Today, when I went to deliver vegetables to Huide Tower in the city, I saw an old soldier from the governor's house take wine yeast from the distillery behind the tower, saying that the governor's house was going to brew its own..."

"Go drink your wine lees, why so much talk?" Han Aili scolded Han Qianli again, then turned to Han Gang, "When Third Brother was seriously ill, your father and I went to the Temple of General Li to make a vow and donated twenty pounds of incense oil. Since that day, you have been getting better every day. This is the blessing of General Li. Your father and I have discussed it, and in twenty days, it will be a good day. By then, the wheat in the village will be planted, and there won't be much to do. We can go to the Temple of General Li to offer a few feasts, one to thank the god and the other to wash away your bad luck..."

Han Gang smiled and nodded. Han Qianli and Han Aili were good parents, giving their son what they themselves could not afford. Meeting such considerate parents, Han Gang felt a strange overlap with the image of his parents from another time and place in his heart.

The tree wants to be still, but the wind does not stop; the child wants to support the parents, but the parents are no longer there.

Han Gang felt fortunate that after being reborn, he still had the chance to fulfill his filial duties and make up for the regrets in his heart. However, farming was not a good livelihood, and he did not want to be like Han Qianli, returning from the fields every day with a smell of manure.

Han Gang did not think much now. To free his parents from the hardships of labor and to live a comfortable life, he had to strive. But money was not enough; only power could ensure it. From any angle, Han Gang had a reason to seek an official position.

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