Chapter 7 of 100
Chapter 7
13 min read3,263 words
Hearing the words of the steward Xu, Zhou Chong couldn't help but feel a headache. People live in the world, and they always need to eat and drink. Now, the Zhou family had no income, and there was nothing valuable left in the house. However, there were still three adults and two children to support. Among them, Lady Wang was a woman, and the steward Zhou was already old. As for Zhuo'er and Duo'er, they were even less capable, so the responsibility of supporting the family fell on Zhou Chong.
"How much grain do we have left in the house? Can it last us through this year?" Zhou Chong suddenly asked. As a person from the future, Zhou Chong believed it would be quite easy for him to come up with something to earn money. However, it was already winter, and the cold weather made it difficult to find ways to earn money, so he decided to wait until next spring.
"Master, you may not know, but we did have some grain stored. However, when we dismissed the servants, some of them were not clean-handed and almost stole all the grain in the house. Fortunately, I had some savings, so we have managed to get by until now. But the grain I bought is almost gone. Even if we drink porridge every day, I'm afraid we won't last through this month!" Steward Xu said with a worried face. If the situation were not so urgent, he wouldn't have rushed to find Zhou Chong for a solution.
"Can't even last through this month?" Zhou Chong was somewhat shocked and also felt a bit moved. He hadn't realized that the grain they had been eating these days had all been bought with Steward Xu's personal savings. It was already mid-October, and the family had only enough grain for ten more days, and they could only drink porridge. For Zhou Chong, who couldn't live without meat, this was undoubtedly a huge blow. Moreover, there were still two months until the New Year, and where would they get the grain to feed the family?
"Alright, I understand the situation. Don't tell the others for now. I will think of a way!" Zhou Chong sighed. Although he still had over four hundred taels of silver, ninety of which belonged to Lady Wang, this money was for paying off debts, and Zhou Chong had already promised to deliver it the next day, so he couldn't touch it. It seemed that his plan to earn money had to be accelerated.
Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Steward Xu looked at him with concern. After all, Zhou Chong had grown up under his watch, and he knew that Zhou Chong had no other skills besides reading. Although since the family's misfortune, Zhou Chong had changed and handled everything well, Steward Xu didn't believe that Zhou Chong had any real means of making a living.
Although Steward Xu still doubted Zhou Chong's abilities, as the head of the family, the responsibility of supporting the family naturally fell on Zhou Chong. So, Steward Xu sighed and left the back garden.
After Steward Xu left, Zhou Chong didn't stay in the garden but returned to his room and lay on the simple bed, lost in thought. Originally, Zhou Chong had slept on a carved wooden bed, but he had sold it to pay off debts. The same went for the books and antiques in the room; none of them were left. The bed he was now sleeping on was moved from the servants' quarters. Apart from this bed, there was no other furniture in the room, making it look quite barren.
The money to pay off the debts was already prepared, which made Zhou Chong feel a sense of unprecedented relief. This feeling was like paying off the mortgage from his previous life. The ancient saying "no debt, no burden" perfectly described Zhou Chong's current state of mind.
However, after the relief, Zhou Chong thought about the problem of earning money to support the family. He went through all the resources he had, and realized that he now owned a large house, and had Lady Wang and Steward Xu, who were old and weak. As a person from the future, his mind was filled with countless advanced knowledge. Although Zhou Chong wasn't sure, he believed that this knowledge was his greatest asset. Whether he could live a good life in the future depended on whether he could apply this knowledge reasonably.
Speaking of the knowledge in his mind, Zhou Chong had a surprising discovery. Since he had traveled back to the Ming Dynasty, he found that his memories from his previous life were like a detailed and vast movie. Every person he had known, every event he had experienced, and even every book he had read, could be found in this movie with detailed records.
Sometimes Zhou Chong wondered whether the original Zhou Chong had absorbed his previous life's memories, or whether the memories from his previous life had taken over Zhou Chong's mind. This was a serious philosophical question, and Zhou Chong felt that with his intelligence, he might never figure it out. So, he decided not to think about it anymore. He was Zhou Chong, and Zhou Chong was him. Why complicate things?
The knowledge from his previous life was undoubtedly a huge treasure for the current Zhou Chong. Without mentioning other things, just by bringing a few modern inventions, he could probably ensure that his family of five would never worry about food and clothing. This thought invigorated Zhou Chong, and he began to go through his memories, looking for something that could bring him profit. In the end, he did think of a few things, such as soap, toothbrushes, and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
However, Zhou Chong soon realized that these household items, though good, had various limitations that made them impossible to implement. For example, MSG, which he knew was produced through microbial fermentation in his previous life, but he had no idea which microorganisms were used or what conditions were needed, let alone how to produce it.
In comparison, the toothbrush had a lower technical threshold and lower manufacturing costs. The handle could be made from bone or bamboo, and the bristles from pig hair. The production process was not very complex, but to achieve scale, a large number of workers and raw materials were needed. Given his current situation, where he could barely afford food, it was impossible to achieve.
Even if he managed to produce the toothbrushes, the market was a big problem. People in the Ming Dynasty were used to brushing their teeth with their fingers or willow branches, and the wealthy might use tooth powder or green salt. How many people would be willing to spend money on a new product like a toothbrush was anyone's guess.
As for soap, compared to the other two, it was a more practical solution. Zhou Chong knew the laboratory method for making soap, and although it would be difficult to achieve large-scale production, even small-scale production could bring in a decent income. However, like the toothbrush, soap required an initial investment, and Zhou Chong was short of money.
Besides these, Zhou Chong thought of some other things, but they were all limited by various conditions and could not bring in a fortune in the short term. Thinking about the vast treasure in his mind being constrained by reality, Zhou Chong felt a bit discouraged. However, to ensure his family didn't go hungry, he had to muster his strength and think of all the resources he could use. Finally, he came up with a feasible plan.
This plan had nothing to do with the knowledge he brought from his previous life. The main focus was on the large house of the Zhou family. Although the house had been mortgaged to his future father-in-law, Lord Wang, the other party, for some reason, had always claimed that he would not reclaim the house. Therefore, in name, the house still belonged to Zhou Chong.
Since the house belonged to him, Zhou Chong found a way to make money. He could divide the house into several courtyards and rent them out. After all, the Zhou family's house was so large that Zhou Chong and Lady Wang, along with the others, couldn't possibly live in all of it. Moreover, without servants and maids to maintain it, the entire house would fall into disrepair. More importantly, renting out the house required almost no cost, and he could collect rent in advance, which was the most important point for Zhou Chong.
With this idea, Zhou Chong jumped out of bed, put on his clothes, and ran to a courtyard in the front, where Steward Xu lived. Steward Xu knew the Zhou family's situation best, and Zhou Chong naturally needed to consult him before renting out the house.
Steward Xu was highly respected in the Zhou family and had enjoyed high status. He didn't live with the other servants but had his own courtyard. Zhou Chong didn't knock and directly walked into Steward Xu's room.
However, when he entered, he found the room in a mess. Several large trunks were on the ground, and clothes were scattered everywhere. A large red undergarment was draped over the open lid of one of the trunks, fluttering in the breeze. Steward Xu was only wearing a single layer of clothing, his body fat bulging, and he was rummaging through the trunks. Due to his large size, he was sweating profusely, looking like he was taking a sauna.
"Steward Xu, what are you doing? Are you planning to leave the Zhou family?" Zhou Chong asked, feeling a bit relieved. This fat old man, despite his age, had an astonishing appetite. The combined food consumption of Zhou Chong and Lady Wang, along with the others, was about the same as the fat old man's. If he left, Zhou Chong's burden would be significantly reduced.
Steward Xu, who was rummaging through the trunks, turned around when he heard someone behind him. He sighed with relief when he saw it was Zhou Chong and wiped the sweat from his face, panting heavily. "Master, I have always said that I am a Zhou family man in life and a Zhou family ghost in death. How could I leave you at such a time?"
"Then what are you doing?" Zhou Chong pointed to the trunks and cabinets on the ground, where clothes and bedding were in a mess, looking like he was preparing to leave.
Seeing Zhou Chong's misunderstanding, Steward Xu quickly explained, "Master, you are mistaken. Seeing the family's situation, I wanted to find something valuable to pawn, at least to get some money to help us through the winter. Look at this cotton jacket. It was given to me by the old master years ago. The outer layer is smooth silk, and the inner layer is thick cotton. I have never worn it. There are also some silk clothes that should fetch some money at the pawnshop."
Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, to ensure a stable empire for his descendants, made detailed regulations for various aspects of the Ming Dynasty, including what clothes people in different professions could wear. For example, merchants were not allowed to wear silk, and servants and entertainers were not allowed to wear sable fur. These regulations were unreasonable and difficult to enforce, so they were only implemented for a short time in the early Ming Dynasty, and later even the court ignored them.
Because of this, in some wealthy merchant families, not only did the merchants wear silk, but even the servants could wear silk clothes. Given Steward Xu's status in the Zhou family, it was normal for him to have a silk-lined cotton jacket, and even the red undergarment was made of silk.
Zhou Chong took the cotton jacket from Steward Xu and examined it. The jacket was indeed made of silk, and the craftsmanship was good. Although it was old, it was well-preserved and thick. However, it probably wouldn't fetch much money at a pawnshop. As for the silk clothes, including the red undergarment, they probably wouldn't be worth as much as the cotton jacket.
"Speaking of clothes, I remember that in my courtyard, there are several large trunks in the side room, containing many of my clothes. Steward Xu, you can go and pick some valuable ones to pawn, and then buy some grain. We can't let the family run out of food!" Zhou Chong said.
Since Steward Xu was willing to pawn his undergarment for the family, Zhou Chong couldn't discourage him. However, apart from the cotton jacket, Steward Xu's other items were not very valuable, so Zhou Chong decided to pawn his own clothes as well. As the eldest son of the Zhou family, his clothes were definitely better than Steward Xu's.
Finally, Zhou Chong remembered why he had come to see Steward Xu. He pulled Steward Xu to sit down and quickly explained his idea of renting out the courtyards. However, when Steward Xu heard the idea, his face showed a lack of confidence.
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