39 Fiasco at the Food Stand

There were a few properties that had recently been seized and were -very soon- to be placed on the market by the town magistrate. The only reason Jiang Ya Lin knew of its existence is that she overheard her father talking to some of his subordinates, who related the news to him.

Apparently, due to Minister Li's actions, his properties had been seized and he had been imprisoned for treason. His actual sentencing, she was unaware of, but all of his assets had been turned over to the town of Mencheng. Although some of the proceeds would, of course, make it to the emperor's pockets, most of the taken wealth would be used for the betterment of the town.

And, while most would question whether or not that was actually true, the magistrate of Mencheng was not a corrupt fellow. Or, rather, it could be said that due to Li Yu Rong's presence, the magistrate was made to shy away from corruption.

Just as Jiang Ya Lin was about to lead them around a corner two very distinct gurgling sounds spoke out; a clear sign of hunger. She turned to find both Paoxiao and Nastasia looking away, embarrassed by their protesting stomach.

Biting back a laugh, Jiang Ya Lin asked. "Do you want to get something to eat first? There's a stand nearby that sells really good Ci Faan."

Paoxiao glanced at Nastasia to get her opinion. When she nodded, he looked back saying. "Okay."

Going the opposite direction from where she had been taking them before, Jiang Ya Lin took them on a short walk to a nearby stand. The stand was situated at the corner of the street where it hooked a right, leading into a narrowing pathway.

The stand was being run by two children while an older man sat at the back, watching their every action closely. Nastasia couldn't help but wonder if the man was their father and the brothers were learning the trade of the family, or if they were apprenticed to the old man. Either way, she felt it astonishing that such young children, looking no older than eight and ten, were already working.

A man and woman, probably husband and wife, just finished purchasing a few pieces of a breaded thing. This Ci Faan, as Jiang Ya Lin had called it. After the couple left, Jiang Ya Lin hopped over and began conversing with the old man that sat at the side.

Wanting to try breaded Ci Faan thing, Nastasia turned to Paoxiao. "Money." She said, using the word she just learned. Paoxiao reached into his robe and pulled a few gold coins out of the coin purse, dropping them into her outstretched hand.

Walking forward, she smiled at the young boys. "I want Ci Faan."

"How many portions." The youngest of the boys asked.

"6 portions."

The eldest of the two wrapped up three long bread stick things in oiled paper. Once three of these were made, he handed them over. He took a second as he counted the amount due using an abacus before finally saying. "That'll be 60 copper coins."

Not understanding the word "tóng​bǎn (copper coin)," Nastasia was a bit confused. After a moment of thinking, she decided the amount said was the amount to be paid. Luckily she thought it was said to be six coins. The shock would have been much worse, otherwise, as she handed over those six gold coins.

The older boy stared at the glittering coins, stunned. After a few seconds, what felt a good many minutes, the boy's brain that had ground to a halt began working again. "Master," he called, panicked. "Master, what do I do?"

Stopping his chat with the young miss Jiang that was a frequent customer of his, he saw his pale-faced and horrified apprentice. Looking from that face to the outstretched hand full of glittering gold coins, he too felt stunned. Moving from his relaxed position, he was about to berate the boy, but the young miss Jiang was faster.

After seeing the two apprentices of Old Man Cheng finally being allowed to prepare and serve the food and the handle the money, she couldn't help herself and started talking to him about it. She had forgotten that the two didn't understand money and left them to buy the food on their own.

Quickly taking the money from the boy's hand, she gave it back to Nastasia. "That's way too much, way too much." She cried. "Look, 1000 copper coins is equal to 1 silver coin and 1000 silver coins are worth 1 gold coin. You gave the poor boy 6 gold coins!"

"The average family in this town lives off of a couple hundred silvers a year, gold coins aren't often seen. Not even counting that, the merchant stands do not keep large amounts of money on hand for fear of thieves. From where will they get the necessary amount to make change for you?"

Taking a breath after her onslaught of rushed words in her haste, and realized that it might have been hard to grasp, so Jiang Ya Lin then asked. "Do you understand?"

Having used too many words she did not know, Nastasia only managed to grasp the possible point of the tirade. Thinking it over, she realized that it was her fault for not asking how money worked here. The currency was different from the paper money and plated coins she used in her world. Haphazardly tossing about money and hoping to learn how it worked in that way, honestly, wasn't the best of choices.

Due to that and the fact that she found the chubby faces of the children impossibly cute, she gave each one a gold coin. "Sorry," she said with an apologetic smile, "you can keep." Then, taking note of the older man at the back, she felt that he should also be given a coin. It was his shop that she caused trouble at, after all.

Jiang Ya Lin watched all this take place, stunned. Then, remembering what Paoxiao had said during the banquette a month ago, she bowed an apologetic bow to Old Man Cheng as she said. "My friend is from a faraway country that doesn't speak our words, so she doesn't understand how things work here."

Old Man Cheng waved off her concerns. "Everything worked out in the end, so don't keep it in your thoughts."

"Thank you Old Man Cheng!" With that, Jiang Ya Lin hurriedly brought Paoxiao and Nastassia away.

As Old Man Cheng watched them leave, he suddenly frowned. Where was there a country that didn't speak the same as everywhere else? Though he was really curious, and though he wanted to ask more about it, the thought was quickly placed from his mind. It wasn't his business in any case.

Happy with the easily got gold coin, he pocketed it in a flash. To his apprentices, he said. "Stop dallying in a daze! Put those coins away! We'll close up shop early today and head over to the bank."

Keeping this amount of money on hand wouldn't be a good idea, especially since it wasn't a quiet transaction. Though he knew a bit of martial arts, he was old and hardly kept up with his practices. His apprentices were but children. The risk was too great, best to deposit the money as soon as they could.