Chapter 2

"Strange attire, from Nanyang?"

"Yes, that guy's hair is barely an inch long, and his clothes look really odd. You can tell they're not from our Great Ming," Qi Lao Liu said, thumping his chest confidently.

The face of Song Tou, the small banner leader, which was originally impatient, turned to surprise. He had never seen anyone from Nanyang before. Thinking about this, he stood up, patted the dust off his buttocks, and said, "Let's go... take a look!"

Soon, when Song Tou saw Yang Feng, he was also taken aback by Yang Feng's "strange" appearance.

"Oh, this is really strange attire."

Song Tou walked up to Yang Feng, sized him up for a while, and then asked in an official tone, "Who are you, where are you from, and where are you going?"

Seeing someone who was clearly better dressed than the two ragged soldiers, Yang Feng knew this must be the head of the gate. He repeated the same story he had used before, and added, "I just came from Nanyang to the Great Ming, but my ship was robbed by pirates at sea. I was the only one who managed to escape. I hope the大人 can let me enter Nanjing to find a place to stay. When the next ship arrives, I will not forget your kindness today."

"Hmm..."

After thinking for a while and sizing up Yang Feng, Song Tou, who had been a gate official for many years, knew that taking a cut from everyone was their "fine tradition." He wanted to ask for some benefit, but after sizing up Yang Feng for a while, he found that Yang Feng had almost nothing except his strange clothes. He muttered a curse under his breath and waved his hand, indicating that Yang Feng could go.

Seeing the small banner leader let him pass, Yang Feng bowed in gratitude and walked toward the city gate. Watching Yang Feng leave, Qi Lao Liu smiled at his companion and said, "Today, our Song Tou was unusually merciful and didn't make things difficult for that foreigner."

The companion also sneered, "You saw that guy, he had nothing but his clothes. Unless Song Tou was willing to take his clothes, what could he get? Didn't you hear him say that all his goods were stolen? Maybe leaving a good impression will make him remember Song Tou's kindness in the future."

"That's true, but I doubt it..."

As the two chatted, Yang Feng entered Nanjing, one of the largest and most prosperous cities of the era. He walked along the San Shan Gate to the Xuanwu Lake area. Despite the cold weather, there were still many people on the lake embankment, and most of them were dressed much better than the ragged farmers he had seen in the village. Many red-painted pleasure boats were crossing the lake, and Yang Feng could hear the laughter of men and women from time to time. If he were in a normal mood, he would have marveled at the scene, but now he felt neither cold nor hungry, and he was acutely aware of the gazes of the people around him, which made him feel like a monkey in a zoo, very... well, uncomfortable!

Walking along the river embankment by Xuanwu Lake, Yang Feng entered a wide street. He walked slowly, looking around. Of course, with an empty stomach, he wasn't admiring ancient architecture or looking at beautiful women; he was looking at the shops. Suddenly, a large "典" (pawn) character on a shop sign caught his attention. The purpose and nature of such shops were the same whether in the Ming Dynasty of 1625 or in the 21st century, and Yang Feng felt a sense of familiarity for the first time.

Stopping, Yang Feng felt in his pocket, gripped two hard objects, and walked briskly toward the pawn shop. He had had enough of the coarse grain cakes mixed with wild vegetables and even suspected that if he ate them for a few more days, he might become a bandit.

As Yang Feng entered the pawn shop, a strange feeling immediately enveloped him. The walls of the shop were tall, but the windows were high and small, making the room dark. The black walls were adorned with red paper strips, which read, "No redemption without a guarantor," "Damage by insects or rats is at the will of heaven," "Antiques and jade must be redeemed within a year," and "No pawning of firearms or theatrical costumes."

Looking at the decoration, Su Jin couldn't help but comment that if any shop in the 21st century had such a terrible style, it would have gone bankrupt long ago.

As Yang Feng looked around, a young clerk in a brown short coat, about twenty years old, walked over. He was about to greet Yang Feng but was taken aback by his strange attire. He then asked in a Nanjing accent, "Sir, what can I do for you?"

"I want to pawn something!"

For the first time in his life, Yang Feng said this with a slightly trembling voice.

"Sure, please follow me!" Although the clerk wanted to look at the strangely dressed customer more closely, he suppressed his curiosity and led Yang Feng to a counter.

When Yang Feng reached the counter, he frowned. The wooden counter was very high, so high that even at 1.78 meters tall, it was still a head taller than him. Yang Feng estimated that the counter was at least two meters high. On the other side of the counter, an old man in a blue robe with a melon-shaped hat and a gaunt face was looking at him intently. When their eyes met, the old man slowly asked, "Sir, what do you want to pawn?"

Although he didn't like looking up to speak, Yang Feng said, "Boss, I want to pawn this."

Saying this, Yang Feng placed the object in his hand on the counter, which was clearly a head taller than him, with a light "thud."

The old man looked down and saw a silver coin about the size of a thumb. One side of the coin had a chrysanthemum and some letters he didn't recognize, while the other side had the simplified characters "People's Bank of China." Although the old man had never seen such a coin, the exquisite craftsmanship still amazed him. The engraving on the coin, whether the characters or the objects, was lifelike and vivid. Having been a pawn shop manager for most of his life, he had seen countless items, but he had never seen such a finely crafted coin.

Suppressing his surprise, the old man asked calmly, "Sir, can you tell me what this is?"

"Of course!"

Su Jin took a deep breath and said, "Boss, I am a merchant from Nanyang who came to the Great Ming to do business. However, I encountered pirates at sea, and all my crew and subordinates were killed. I was the only one who escaped. Now I have nothing but some precious coins from the far west, made of rare gold and silver. They are not only finely crafted but can last for thousands of years without damage. I want to pawn some silver to settle in Nanjing and wait for the next ship, hoping for your convenience."

"Oh..." The old man's face showed a shrewdness that belied his age. He said with a half-smile, "Sir, don't take advantage of my old eyes. This coin clearly uses the characters of our Great Ming, and even simplified characters. How do you explain that?"

"Boss, you are making a fuss over nothing," Yang Feng said without hesitation, using the answer he had prepared. "The Great Ming has a vast influence, and the people of Nanyang admire our culture. Using our characters is quite normal!"

"Hmm, that's true." This explanation, which would be laughable in the future, sounded quite normal to the old man. At this time, China was the most powerful and prosperous country in the world, and both officials and common people had a sense of superiority over other countries. The inferiority complex that would appear in the future when facing foreigners had no place in the Great Ming.

After a quarter of an hour, Yang Feng left the pawn shop, tightly gripping a piece of broken silver in his hand.

The silver was not much, only about three taels, which he had exchanged for the two one-yuan coins he had. Although he had only been in this era for a few days, Yang Feng had a rough idea of the price levels. It was the fifth year of Tianqi, and the price fluctuations in the Ming Dynasty were not yet extreme. The price of rice was about nine silver coins per dan, meaning one tael of silver could buy about 200 pounds of rice. By this calculation, one tael of silver was equivalent to about 600 to 700 yuan in the future, and three taels of silver was about 2000 yuan.

Although Yang Feng didn't know how much the two coins were worth in this era, he knew he had been cheated by the old man. However, he had no bargaining power, so he could only grit his teeth and agree. His most urgent need was to find a place to stay and figure out a way to return to modern society.

After leaving the inn, Yang Feng ate something and found a place to stay. Next, he needed to carefully study the mirror on his chest, which had accompanied him from the modern era to the Ming Dynasty. His return home depended entirely on it...