Gu Yun swallowed down his anger and stared at him silently.
The assistant said, “Pawn it or don’t pawn it. If not, hurry up and leave. Don’t interfere with my business.”
Gu Yun snatched back the padded short jacket and walked out.
The assistant shouted after him, “I’m telling you the truth, this is a rule everybody knows. Anything less than one wen gets rounded up to a full wen! Go ahead and leave this pawnshop, then see whether anyone else will give you more money! It’s a worthless rag to begin with, yet you guard it like treasure!”
Gu Yun ignored him and walked straight away.
He walked a full li in one breath. This time, he deliberately chose a pawnshop where someone was already pawning goods.
After thinking it over, he did not rush inside. Instead, he waited until the previous customer came out, then secretly followed him for some distance. Seeing no trace of regret on the man’s face, he finally entered the pawnshop.
The person handling the pawns this time was an old man. The old man pinched the clothing, inspected it, then even sniffed it before slowly asking, “Dead pawn or live pawn?”
The interest and redemption period were identical to the previous shop, and they likewise rounded anything below one wen up to a full wen. However, the depreciated value here was one hundred and sixty wen.
Which meant a live pawn would fetch sixty-four wen, while a dead pawn would fetch ninety-six wen.
The precise monthly interest on the live pawn came to 3.84 wen. Even if it were rounded up to four wen, the loss would not be too severe.
After doing the sums and deciding it was worthwhile, Gu Yun live-pawned the padded short jacket there.
The old man instructed the assistant helping him to hand over sixty-four wen.
For the first time, Gu Yun held money from this era in his hands.
The currency of this dynasty, namely copper cash, was exactly the sort of copper coins everyone was familiar with: round, with square holes in the middle, golden-yellow in colour.
Several dozen copper coins already carried some weight, enough to buy roughly three days’ worth of rations for two people.
Provided he did not eat energy-dense food like Lin Yue did.
For example, all kinds of flatbreads, Lin Family Rice Meals, which consisted of a large bowl of coarse rice with salty soup, or mixed stew, a soup made by simmering assorted poultry innards and bones together with tofu and the cheapest seasonal cabbage.
If he avoided such things, then these sixty-four wen could last even longer.
The reason Gu Yun knew this so clearly was because every time he failed to find work, he would pass through a street lined with food stalls in an apparently casual manner, using the sight of plums to quench his thirst.
Gu Yun retreated into the furthest corner by the pawnshop counter, turning his back to the entrance. Taking out the sturdy grass rope he had already braided and tucked into his trouser pocket, he threaded the copper coins onto it one by one. Afterwards, he stuffed them back into his pocket and pressed a hand tightly over them.
He was afraid of pickpockets stealing them.
According to Old Huo, there were no fewer than fifty pickpockets of all sizes in this tiny county town.
To avoid looking like someone carrying a huge sum of money, he stood inside the pawnshop and took two deep breaths. Only after calming himself did he step outside.
Whether it was imagination or not, he kept feeling that someone was watching him from the shadows.
Cold sweat spread across his back. He quickened his pace and lowered his head as he hurried forwards. He twisted and turned through several streets, some bustling and some quiet, yet still felt eyes fixed upon him from hidden places.
He walked even faster.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
His legs felt as though they were being pierced by needles. His stomach cramped violently, and it seemed as though a mountain had been pressed onto his chest, leaving him unable to breathe.
Each breath came heavier than the last. Suddenly, Gu Yun’s vision blackened and the world spun around him. Hastily, he jammed his wooden stick against the ground to support himself.
At that moment, through the haze clouding his ears, he heard a faint sound.
Gu Yun exhausted all his strength trying to identify it.
Footsteps.
The footsteps drew closer and closer, more numerous and more urgent. Adrenaline surged through Gu Yun’s body. Ignoring all discomfort, he leaned on the wooden stick and fumbled forwards.
After staggering several steps, someone lightly tapped his shoulder and came to stand behind him.
His ears had not deceived him. Someone really had been approaching him.
At this point, Gu Yun no longer believed the sensation from earlier had been his imagination. His heart hammered wildly. He bit down hard on his lower lip and quietly tightened his grip on the wooden stick.
If the other person dared rob him of his money, he would ram the stick straight into the man’s groin.
If you dare steal my money for staying alive, then I’ll make sure your family line ends with you.
Yet the other person made no move.
After what felt like an eternity, clarity gradually returned to Gu Yun’s vision. Carefully, he took a step forwards, then suddenly bolted ahead.
The thought had barely formed before the person behind him seized his shoulder, pinning him firmly in place.
“A-Yun?” A familiar male voice rippled through the air.
Gu Yun’s heart jolted. The urge to stab someone instantly vanished. Slowly turning his head, he was met with Lin Yue’s exceptionally handsome face.
Gu Yun loosened his clenched teeth. The tension draining from his body at once, his expression unconsciously softened.
“Husband.”
His shoulder was thin, carrying only the faintest warmth. Even through the thin, rough hemp cloth, Lin Yue could clearly feel it beneath his fingers. He withdrew his hand and scrutinised him with an indifferent gaze.
“Where’s your outer garment?”
Lin Yue did not believe Gu Yun would simply leave his outer robe lying near the bridge culvert to bake beneath the sun. After all, it was still worth a bit of money.
So where had the garment gone?
Gu Yun answered irrelevantly, “Come with me.”
Lin Yue glanced around, then silently followed behind him. Only after they had walked quite some distance and Gu Yun stopped of his own accord did he quietly ask for the reason.
Gu Yun hesitated for a moment before saying, “I felt like someone was following me. But after you appeared, the feeling disappeared.”
Lin Yue said, “You suspect I was following you? I was on my way home and just happened to run into you. Instead of waiting properly at home, what were you doing in the county town?”
Gu Yun observed Lin Yue’s expression and found not the slightest trace of guilt there. Retracting his gaze, he said, “I pawned my outer garment.”
Lin Yue frowned.
Gu Yun said, “It isn’t too cold yet. Once it gets colder, you’ll already have work, and we can redeem the clothes then. It’s not a problem.”
After glancing around and confirming no one was nearby, he pulled the string of copper coins from his trouser pocket and pressed it into Lin Yue’s hand.
Lin Yue swept his eyes over it and estimated the amount.
“And my inner shirt?”
“I didn’t pawn your inner shirt together with it. Before you left, you handed it to me. I watched over it, let it dry, then tucked it beneath the straw bedding,” Gu Yun replied.
Lin Yue returned the money to him. “Even if you had pawned it, I wouldn’t have blamed you. It’s just that now I’ve found work, it would ultimately be inconvenient not to have spare clothes for changing.”
In the past, Gu Yun had cared deeply whenever people misunderstood him or assumed he had done something wrong, to the point of anger. But not anymore. Perhaps these past days had worn away his sharp edges.
He explained himself. If people believed him, fine. If they did not, then it no longer mattered.
Out of the long string of words, he caught the phrase he most longed to hear.
“You found work?!” His eyes lit up astonishingly brightly.
Lin Yue paused, then answered cautiously, “I asked one of the local elders who lives here permanently and learned that a family is building a new house. I found the craftsman in charge and asked whether they needed more hands.
“They said they’d already recruited enough people, but one of the apprentices got injured and won’t recover anytime soon. They had arranged for someone else to come in his place, but that person never showed up, so I filled the spot. They told me to report for work tomorrow.
“But it’s only a verbal agreement for now. Tomorrow… there’s no telling.”
Yet Gu Yun remained delighted. “That’s great!”
Great in what way? Lin Yue found himself both speechless and amused.
Still, in the next instant, he instinctively reined in the emotions that had spilled out too openly. Even he himself did not notice this reflexive restraint, but Gu Yun noticed it.
Gu Yun suddenly remembered something. “You know how to build houses?”
What he had actually wanted to ask was whether he knew how to lay bricks and build walls, but he did not know how to say those words, so he simply repeated the term Lin Yue had used earlier.
Lin Yue said, “No. I’ll just be doing labour work, assisting others. The tasks are simple, only physically demanding.
Moving bricks, tiles, timber, mortar. Cleaning everything up after the day’s work and keeping the place tidy.
“Twelve wen a day, meals not included. The wages can be settled daily, provided I work at least three days. I worked half a day for free today in exchange for two wen in advance.”
Lin Yue lifted a hand and drew two round copper coins from the slanted pocket sewn into his sleeve, placing them into Gu Yun’s palm.
One light and one heavy, the two copper coins collided against the string of cash already in his hand, producing a crisp and pleasing sound.
“I originally thought I’d solve the food problem as quickly as possible by getting wages in advance. I didn’t expect… you’d already solved it. That’s good too. I’ll steadily finish this job, redeem your clothes first, then buy some necessities. After that, I’ll find other work.”
Carefully, Gu Yun threaded the two coins onto the string as well and tucked them close against his body.
“Let’s go eat!”
Lin Yue looked at this wife of his, who still felt unfamiliar. Illness had not diminished his looks by much. After a moment’s thought, he said, “The feeling you had today, of someone watching you in secret, probably wasn’t your imagination. Whether they were after money or something else, I can’t say. To be safe, come with me to the county town from now on. You don’t need to do anything, just don’t run about. Once work finishes, we’ll come back together.”
Gu Yun froze briefly. “Alright.”
Pressing his lips together, he hooked a finger around Lin Yue’s sleeve, just as he had once hooked Old Huo’s sleeve.
A long time ago, Gu Yun had already wanted to pawn the padded short jacket, but Old Huo had told him that if he pawned it, he would not survive much longer.
Winter was already on its way. With his current abilities, once he pawned the jacket, there would be no getting it back. Old Huo had told him to wait until he stood right on the boundary between life and death before pawning it.
Gu Yun had forced himself to hold on and agreed.
After Old Huo left, that last breath of resolve also disappeared from him. He wanted to pawn it, but whenever he saw groups of beggars passing the bridge culvert, eyeing his clothes like hungry tigers watching prey, he understood that even if he exchanged them for money, all he would gain were several days of fearful, oppressive survival.
He felt there was no point.
He hated it. He desperately wanted to go home.
Then suddenly, circumstances turned around. He felt that now was exactly the life-and-death boundary Old Huo had spoken of. Now, he could pawn it.
“You…” Lin Yue noticed his movement.
Gu Yun softly called out, “Husband.”
The tone was spoiled and pitiful at once.
Lin Yue’s ears itched unbearably. Turning his face away, he muttered, “…Let’s go.”
…
Not far away, a slippery-looking child was speaking to a young man. As he talked, he occasionally pointed in the direction Gu Yun and Lin Yue had left.
