Near the city gate was a relay station, and beside it stood a carriage rental shop with horse-drawn carriages, ox carts, and donkey carts.
Panting, Jiang He asked, “Sir, which one is the fastest?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course it’s a horse.”
“Can we still make it back to Anyue before the city gates close?”
“No.”
Jiang He: “…”
Xie Zhao asked again, “Is there anything faster?”
“There is. Ride a horse yourself.”
“Can we reach Anyue before dark if we do that?”
“Yes. It’s one hundred copper coins to rent a horse to Anyue. The deposit is two taels of silver. Return it at the Luo Family Carriage and Horse Agency in Anyue, and you’ll get your deposit back.”
One hundred copper coins?
Jiang He did the math.
That was enough to stay at an inn for a night.
But there were two of them.
They’d need two separate rooms, which suddenly didn’t seem very economical.
“All right.”
Xie Zhao agreed immediately.
“We’ll rent one horse.”
“One horse?”
The owner looked the two of them over.
“You’re traveling together.”
“Yes, but my younger sister doesn’t know how to ride. Please help us choose a sturdier horse.”
“That’s fine, but there’ll be an extra charge for two riders.”
“How much?”
“One hundred and fifty copper coins.”
“Deal.”
Jiang He quickly stopped him.
“It’s already one hundred and fifty! Why don’t we just stay here for the night? Two hundred copper coins would cover the inn.”
Xie Zhao shook his head.
“It’s not about the extra fifty coins. If we don’t go back today, I’ll lose a day’s work tomorrow, and we’ll still have to spend another day walking. Riding back saves us an entire day’s effort.”
When she thought about it…
He had a point.
“All right. We’ll do it your way.”
Renting horses in ancient times is ridiculously expensive…
A trip of only a few dozen li costs several days’ worth of wages.
Xie Zhao followed the owner into the stable to choose a horse.
The owner first recommended one large enough to carry two people.
But Xie Zhao wasn’t interested.
Instead, he pointed at another horse nearby that was slightly shorter.
“I’ll take this one.”
The owner looked at him in surprise.
“You’ve got a good eye. Know horses, do you?”
Huh?
He didn’t know.
It was just instinct.
The same instinct that somehow told him he knew how to ride.
Still, Xie Zhao didn’t deny it.
“I do.”
“Fine, then. This one it is.”
As the owner untied the reins, he said,
“This is the strongest horse we’ve got.”
After handing the reins over, he added,
“Don’t overwork it. Stop to let it rest along the way, and make sure it gets grass and water.”
“I’ll remember.”
The two of them rode toward Anyue together.
When the horse was visibly exhausted, Xie Zhao finally brought it to a stop.
While the horse grazed by the riverbank, they rested beneath the shade of a tree.
Curious, Xie Zhao asked,
“Why didn’t you ask me how I know how to ride a horse?”
Jiang He already knew he could ride, but…
“Didn’t you say you thought you used to be a bandit? Isn’t it normal for bandits to know how to ride horses?”
He coughed awkwardly.
“I only guessed.”
“Oh. Turns out your guess was pretty accurate.”
Xie Zhao: “…”
Joking aside…
His superb riding skills.
His instinctive eye for judging horses.
And…
According to the others, the way he’d rolled to absorb the impact after falling from the roof beam wasn’t something a person could learn overnight.
All of it left him deeply unsettled.
Just what kind of person was I before I lost my memory?
They stopped twice along the way to let the horse rest.
Even so, they managed to return to Anyue before the city gates closed.
The Luo Family Carriage and Horse Agency was located just inside the city gate.
They returned the horse and successfully got their two-tael deposit back.
The moment they reached the entrance, they spotted Auntie Zhang.
As soon as she saw them, she hurried over.
“Oh! You made it back safely! Jiang He, are you all right?”
As she spoke, her eyes kept drifting toward Xie Zhao’s back.
The cloth had been borrowed under her guarantee.
Fortunately, it looked like none of it was missing.
Jiang He smiled.
“I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me, Auntie Zhang.”
Auntie Zhang finally relaxed.
“Good, good. That’s a relief. You really are a bold child. It was so far away. Why did you go by yourself? You should’ve had your brother go with you.”
Ahem…
“You’re right, Auntie. I’ll remember that next time.”
“Oh, by the way, someone named Lu… Lu something came looking for you yesterday. Said he was your friend.”
“Lu Changgeng?”
“That’s it! That was the name.”
Xie Zhao nodded.
“Got it. Thanks.”
“Auntie, we’ve been traveling all day, so we’ll head home now. I’ll return the cloth to everyone tomorrow.”
“All right, all right. Hurry home and get some rest.”
After an exhausting day, they simply ate a light meal before each retiring for the night.
The next morning, Xie Zhao got up early as usual and cooked enough food to last the entire day.
Then he went to work—
Where he also got scolded, as usual.
Jiang He cleaned the house before taking the borrowed cloth back to the neighboring women.
While returning it, she also explained the Manufacturing Bureau’s grading standards for cloth.
“These two bolts wouldn’t qualify as medium-grade cloth at the bureau. They’d only be considered lower grade. The weaving itself isn’t the problem. It’s because the cocoons used were lower-grade silkworm cocoons.”
“My goodness! The cloth’s already woven, and they can still tell the cocoons were inferior?”
Jiang He answered seriously,
“They inspect countless bolts of cloth every day. You can’t fool professionals like that. We absolutely can’t cut corners.”
The women all grew solemn.
Someone muttered,
“They’ve got incredible eyesight.”
Auntie Zhang stepped in with a laugh.
“Of course they do! It’s their livelihood. One look, one touch, and they could probably tell whether the silkworm was male or female!”
Her joke immediately sent all the married women and young wives into laughter.
The courtyard filled with cheerful voices.
Jiang He had already explained everything that needed explaining.
Now all that remained…
…was money.
It was too late for this year’s spring silkworm season.
She would have to wait for the autumn harvest.
If everything went well, the cloth could be delivered before the New Year.
That left only a few months.
She had to pay the weavers deposits first.
Only then would they buy silkworm cocoons and begin weaving.
But the deposits…
Looking around at the house, Jiang He couldn’t help feeling troubled.
That evening, she said to Xie Zhao,
“I’ve thought it over. You were right. There’s no guarantee we’ll ever recover that three thousand eight hundred taels. I can’t put all my hopes on that money.”
Xie Zhao looked pleasantly surprised.
“You finally came to your senses.”
Jiang He: “…”
Listen to him…
“So I’ve decided…”
“I’m going to pawn this house to raise capital.”
“Pfft—”
The mouthful of porridge Xie Zhao had just swallowed sprayed straight out.
Watching it go to waste hurt him more than anything.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“When Father was dying, he still refused to pawn this house.”
“He left it for you.”
“This house is your security.”
“It’s what gives you the confidence to take a husband into your family.”
“Huh?”
Take a husband into the family?
“So…”
Jiang He blinked.
“Brother Lu is willing to marry into my family?”
Xie Zhao: “…”
Weren’t we talking about starting a business? How did we end up here?
“I’ve already asked around.”
“Ever since his family divided their household, they’ve become dirt poor. Five people are crammed into just three rooms. Even if he gets married, there won’t be anywhere for his wife to live.”
“You’ve got such a big house.”
“When the time comes, we’ll negotiate with his family.”
“They’ll definitely agree to let one of their sons marry into ours.”
After hearing about Lu Changgeng’s family situation…
Jiang He’s scalp tingled.
So many children…
And they’re poor…
Is that really a family I want to get involved with?
“Aren’t you worried they’ll swallow up my entire family estate?”
Xie Zhao slammed the table.
“Who would dare?”
“I’ll twist his head right off!”