Great Tang Idyll

Book 1: Chapter 54

Ge Yingxi panicked. He let Er Gou go first and then went out himself. Looking out at the moonlight, Ge Yingxi sighed because at first, he planned to have a drink while enjoying the glorious full moon, but he didn't expect to be preoccupied with this kind of thing.

Before Ge Yingxi had gone far and reached the place where he was heading for, he saw the brightly-lit view on the other side of the bridge. If it was not because the peasants under his charge were all over there, he would really like to enjoy the scenery. It was beautiful, very beautiful. Zhang Family and Wang Family must have spent a lot of money this time.

Ge Yingxi kept walking for a while and finally arrived at this side of the bridge. He thought Er Gou had already gathered all the people there long ago, waiting for him to come. Unexpectedly, there was no one there. On the contrary, it was very boisterous on the other side of the bridge, and Er Gou had disappeared.

Holding back the anger in his chest, Ge Yingxi walked to the other side of the bridge. The sounds of laughter, selling things and cheers came to his ears from time to time. A special atmosphere was formed here, making him feel better.

"Village Head Ge, you're here too. This way, please." While Ge Yingxi was looking around to see what his tenant peasants were doing, Xu Si came up. Xu Si was in charge of the fair, so it was natural that he was the one who greeted him first. There was a head in each of the three little villages. At usual times, this title was useless.

Ge Yingxi was stunned when he saw the people in front of him. Just when he was about to reply politely, he suddenly realized that the man standing in front of him turned out to be Si Gou, the peasant who had just left Ge Family a few days ago. Ge Yingxi suddenly felt annoyed and asked, "Si Gou, what are you doing here?"

"Village Head Ge, I am working for the Zhang Family now, taking charge of the management of the local fair. Village Head Ge might as well take a good look at the fair. Everything in the fair today is sold at cost, but the price will rise in a few days," hearing Ge Yingxi called his nickname, Xu Si became less respectful.

Ge Yingxi heard the change in his voice. When he was just about to question Xu Si, he remembered all of a sudden that Xu Si was no longer a tenant peasant of his family. Therefore, Ge could only suppress his anger and said, "What kind of good things you have got here? Does our Ge Family lack such ordinary things?"

"Village Head Ge is right. Ge Family is much richer than the ordinary families, let alone you are the master of the family. Please continue to take a look around. I shall return and report to my master."

Xu Si himself got a lot of things on his plate, so he had no time to accompany others. Besides, his status was a little inferior to Ge Yingxi, who was the master of Ge Family and a village head authorized by the government.

With Xu Si's departure, Ge Yingxi felt much angrier in his heart. He refused to wait there for someone from Zhang Family or Wang Family to come; instead, he went straight to the boisterous place ahead. Ge Yingxi was planning to find Er Gou first and then asked him what was going on.

While he was walking along this road, though he had not found Er Gou yet, he saw many peasants of his family buying and trading things there. Every one of them was joyful. At ordinary times, he would be happy to see them as happy as this moment. But today he could feel no happiness at all.

"What are you doing here, Junior Wu of the third?" Ge Yingxi finally couldn't help asking. When he caught the sight of a peasant crouching there, talking with a man on a stall and laughing, Ge stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"Master, you're here too. I am trading things here. You see, I have just exchanged for a thimble, since the one in my home is broken. The things here are cheap today. With a salted duck egg, I traded a thimble and two rolls of thread, one black and one white.

Look, these are all I got today. When I go back to home, I'll sew the clothes that I accidentally tore a hole in it. That's my best clothes and it is decent to wear.

Junior Wu of the third did not seem to feel the master's anger. Holding the things in his hand high, Junior Wu of the third talked happily over there. When he looked at the peasants of Zhang Family and Wang Family, there was a trace of envy in his eyes. They were all wearing new clothes and the cloth they used was much better than his own. The cloth was gifted by their masters and their clothes were tailor-made.

Ge Yingxi was distracted for a moment. By the lights around him, he saw the look in the eyes of Junior Wu of the third. Ge Yingxi did not speak out what he wanted to scold Junior Wu. He looked at the peasants of Zhang Family and Wang Family, their well-fitting, neat and clean clothes were catching people's attention.

Then Ge Yingxi took a look at the lanterns made of silk cloth, they invisibly gave him a feeling of oppression. Ge compared them with the ones of his own family, the difference was really big.

"Head Ge, I didn't expect you would have time to come here for a walk. How about this fair? Not bad, right? A few days later, after all the goods are ready, it will be more convenient for people from surrounding villages to come here to buy and sell things, and then it will be more bustling.

Just when Ge Yingxi was making the comparison, a voice suddenly appeared. Ge Yingxi took a good look at the person and found it was the current master of the Wang Family. Hence, he could not treat him in the way he treated Si Gou and forced out a little smile.

"Hi, Head Wang. You and Head Zhang are very generous. I heard that the peasants in the two villages got a lot of things from you two. But if you want to earn money by collecting taxes at this fair, it's necessary to report to the government. It's not easy to deal with them."

"Collect taxes? What tax?" Father Wang was stunned, and then laughed. "Village Head Ge misunderstood. We have never thought about collecting any taxes here. With this fair, it is easier for people to buy and sell things. I am going to build some houses over here, put up some shelters, and then make some food.

Those who come a long way from other places can take a rest here. The money earned will be used for the maintenance of the surrounding areas. In summer, when it rains heavily, the river will flood. Then we can use the money to fix this problem. The road also needs to be repaired. Head Ge, why don't you also make a contribution?"

"Oh, well, since Head Wang has plans, you can keep it going first. The road in my village is still fine, so there's no need to repair it. Village Head Wang invited the lion dancers for the peasants this time. All of these must have costed you a lot of money, right? There are many torches lit in the village, making it easier for people to go back home in the evening."

Ge Yingxi did not want to do it with the other two villages because he would have to listen to what the other two families said. Hence, he refused it politely and talked about something else.

Father Wang did not continue to talk about this matter. He followed Ge Yingxi's words and said, "It doesn't cost much money, just eighty to one hundred liang of silver. A year has passed, and it is not easy for all the villagers, so we want to make them feel the happiness too.

Those torches are good, making the surroundings bright. There are seven hundred and ninety torches, neither more nor less. It is exactly the number of the peasants of Zhang Family and Wang Family plus the number of their masters. People should be reunited when the moon is full. Though the stars are dull, then let the torches that represent all the people of Zhang Village and Wang Village lighten the night sky together."

As soon as these words were finished, the peasants who heard them all quieted down. Tears were welling up in the eyes of some peasants from Zhang Family or Wang Family. That was what those torches mean. The masters treated them as family members. Yes, they belonged to the same family.

The eyes of those peasants from Ge Family became dull. At the old times, everyone was the same and people felt fine with that. Now Zhang Family and Wang Family had become rich, and they began to treat their peasants kindly. They spent the Mid-Autumn Festival together, laughed together, and lit up the night sky together. If they were them, they would feel satisfied for the rest of their lives.

Ge Yingxi also become silent. He did not have the courage to call back the peasants of his own village. He was afraid that if he did so they would be out of spirits at the spring sowing this year. And he felt nothing but only inferior to Village Head Wang when standing in front of him. The bustle and hustle here suddenly seemed to be far away from him. After thinking about it, he said,

"Head Wang, your fair is very impressive. I also feel happy for you. You can go on with what you are doing. Something needs to be dealt with in my family. I shall say goodbye first."

After Ge Yingxi finished speaking, he turned around and left before the others could say anything. A sullen look appeared on his face.

But before he reached the bridge, Er Gou came to him and said, "Master, there is something I want to discuss with you."

"Er Gou, where have you been? What's the matter? Spit it out," Ge Yingxi was not in the mood to scold Er Gou at the moment, and his voice was much lower.

"Master, I want to redeem my freedom. I just ran back via the path and asked the steward. The steward said I have to give you ninety-two liang of silver. Is that right?" Er Gou asked carefully.

Ge Yingxi was shocked, but at the same time he also understood why he could not find Er Gou just now. He stared at Er Gou and said, "Yes, if the steward said that, that is absolutely right. You have ninety-two liang of silver?"

Ge Yingxi laughed when he said that. Was Er Gou insane? That was an irrevocable deed. Ninety-two liang of silver! How could he dare to ask?

Er Gou, however, showed a happy face and took out a parcel from his bulging clothes. After thinking about it, he ran away without even notifying Ge Yingxi. Though Ge Yingxi intended to leave, he was too curious about that and stayed.

After a while, Er Gou ran back again and opened the parcel. He held it up in front of Ge Yingxi and said, "Master, here is ninety-two liang of silver. Take a look at it, if the quantity is correct, you can give my deed back to me, right?"

Ge Yingxi looked at the heavy grey-white silver with his eyes wide open. He did not come back to earth until Er Gou asked him again. "Where did you get the silver, Er Gou?"

"Si Gou gave it to me. We grow up together and have been friends since childhood. He is now in charge of the fair of Zhang Village and Wang Village, and he wants me to help him with that."

"Where did he get the money then?"

"The master gave it to him. Si Gou said he asked the master of Zhang Family for help and got a hundred liang of silver. The master said that he was willing to give Si Gou the money because Si Gou is worth the money and good at making money, and that one hundred liang of silver is not that much. I also feel the same way. It only took a few days for Si Gou to organize this fair.

Master, you take this money and return the deed to me. After that, I will work very hard here and I will not bring shame to you. Si Gou let me help him with the pricing.

While Er Gou was speaking, he sent the silver forward. Er Gou just went back and exchanged ten liang for two liang. It was unexpected that the master gave him the remaining eight liang of silver.

"You said Sigou organized the fair all by himself? And pricing? Ok, ok, ok, I don't blame others but myself. One hundred liang of silver It is worth it, really worth it. This is such a large fair, no wonder they gave him that money. It turns out that they have the pricing right in hand. Why didn't I find out that Si Gou has such kind of abilities? I let him go for one liang of silver."

Ge Yingxi's eyes were full of puzzlement. He was murmuring to himself there, as his voice was getting smaller and smaller, lowering his head, with his waist bent. He knew how many things need to be done to organize such a big fair and how much benefit it could bring to Zhang Family and Wang Family. All of these were done by Si Gou, the person that he looked down on before.

"Never mind, just go, all of you. Er Gou, you go back with me and I will give the deed back to you right away. You should take care of the peasants of Ge Village when you have a chance."

Ge Yingxi felt so tired that he was even unwilling to walk. He left a few words to Er Gou and moved back step by step.