Chapter 4 Betting

  A fight broke out at the intersection of Cross Lane.

  At that time, the Song Dynasty was not rich in economy, but money was used as money. Later, the average price of one stone of wheat in the Song Dynasty was 30 cents, and one stone of rice was 70 cents. Now the price of wheat is only 10 cents, and the price of rice is only 20 cents. Other commodity price indexes are also low, which means that one tael of silver can be used as two taels of silver later. However, there is one exception, which is silk. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, production was severely damaged due to war, including sericulture, so the price of silk was slightly higher than in the following decades, generally around 1,300 cents per bolt of silk. The silk used by Zhu's family as a betrothal gift is not ordinary silk, with a price of two or three taels of silver per bolt.

  A porter carrying a load of silk suddenly spilled a large quantity of tofu, worth over 100 taels of silver! The porter was flustered, and the people from the Zhu family were also anxious. Several men grabbed hold of Old Gu's collar, demanding that he compensate them. Old Gu was honest and obedient, not knowing what to do, so he knelt down to beg for mercy.

  Song Jiuyi pushed away the onlookers and walked into the arena, saying: "What's going on, what's going on, Gu Gonggong, get up."

  "This has nothing to do with you, get out of the way!" Zhu Jia's third uncle said angrily.

  "The road is not flat, someone has dug it up. Moreover, the uneven thing happened right in front of my house." Song Jiu said, borrowing a bundle of hemp rope from the grocery store diagonally across from his house to illustrate what had happened.

  "Everyone, neighbors, look! Old Gu is pushing his tofu cart down the hill. At the crossroads, he can't see what's ahead and shouts loudly to make way. Zhu Sanlang's horse is startled, and Old Gu's cart has arrived - will it crash into the horse?"

  No chalk was used, but a rope was used to draw lines. With one pull, the scene that happened at the time reappeared. The neighbors on both sides shouted in unison: "Cannot knock down."

  "The old man was in a hurry and had no choice but to push the cart to the side, then it collided with this gentleman's cart. Everyone please see, whose responsibility is it?"

  "Besides, one family raises a daughter and a hundred families ask for her hand in marriage. My elder sister will act on my behalf to propose to the young lady of the Liu family. If it succeeds, that's great; if not, it won't be a shameful matter either, right?"

  "Really." They both burst out laughing together.

  "The Liu family neither agreed nor refused, and I didn't pass the exam this year either. The Liu family sent someone to inform my family that they had decided to form an alliance with the Zhu family instead. At the time, both my elder sister and I were present, but we didn't say anything. Was there any mistake?"

  "No."

  "It's all in the past now, has my family ever said anything about the Liu family?"

  "No."

  "I'm actually not bothered at all. As the Master said, 'The younger generation is to be feared, how do we know that those who come after us will not surpass us?' If one remains unknown even in their 40s and 50s, then they are indeed not worthy of respect. This phrase means 'do not belittle young people'. I don't think this incident is humiliating, on the contrary, it gives me even more motivation."

  "Little Jiu, well said." They were all familiar with each other and cheered together.

  "Why do you have a big road to walk on, but instead you lead such a large crowd with luggage to Suijing Alley, and deliberately blow and beat in front of my house? This is where the poor people live, and there's also a slope to the west. Can't you see that this will lead to trouble? Fellow villagers, isn't Old Man Guo pitiful? His wife has been ill for years, he makes a living by selling tofu, and needs to support his family and take care of his wife. You are unreasonable, yet you turn things around and make him pay for your dowry. What kind of logic is this? Is it that just because someone has money, they're not allowed to live?"

  First of all, let's talk about reason.

  Finally, the Song Dynasty and its later generations are almost the same in terms of economy, culture, military, diplomacy, including some ideological concepts. Song Jiu wanted to be a local tyrant, others also wanted to be local tyrants, but before becoming a local tyrant, they also hated local tyrants.

  Song Jiu said one sentence, everyone immediately worked together in harmony. Su Shu, who was doing needlework across the street to make a living, loudly said: "Right, Ninth Master is right, we must compensate Old Gu for his money."

  Matchmaker Zhong's mother was displeased, with her hands on her hips, she said: "Oh, so being poor is reasonable now?"

  "You have money, so what? We don't want to be associated with you, loser," said Aunt Chen from the alley.

  Song Jiu saw the opportunity and deliberately stumbled, stumbling onto Chen Auntie's body. Chen Auntie didn't know if he did it on purpose, but Song Jiu's head was big enough to bring Chen Auntie into contact with Zhong Mama. Zhong Mama was a professional matchmaker, not only was her mouth quick-witted, but she was also not easy to mess with, and with one hand, she pushed Chen Auntie away.

  "What's wrong with you? You don't compensate us, instead you extort people, and now you even want to beat us up."

  Thanks to his instigation, the neighbors and the wedding procession really started fighting. In just a moment, the luxurious dowry changed its appearance, various exquisite utensils, fruit wine meat, buckets and ladles were trampled into pieces, silk fabrics became fragmented cloth strips. Fortunately, several servants saw that things were not right, and they tightly hugged the gold and silver jewelry box without letting go, so nothing was lost.

  Zhu's family has reason in this unclear matter, so they sent someone to report to the authorities.

  Seeing them report to the authorities, the neighbors were a bit afraid. Song Jiudao said: "Don't be afraid, the government also talks about reason. The old Han is pitiful, everyone contributes some money to the old Han. Also, everyone checks if they have been beaten by the Zhu family, and wait for the government to handle it."

  The river is poor, it's a slum, all sorts of people are here, don't you understand?

  Uncles and aunts are laughing happily, some people are contributing money to the old man, while others are lying on the ground, oh my, it's really loud.

  However, Song Jiu was a good comrade and from start to finish was a gentleman who would rather talk than fight. He had nothing to do with it, and as a scholar, he couldn't just lie on the ground pretending to be injured. So he went to Li Tie's blacksmith shop and said to Li Tie: "Li Dalang, let's get started."

  Li Tiejiang and his apprentice carried tools with Song Jiu to the riverbank, set up a furnace on the dike, and melted iron water on the spot.

  Song Jiurun ran to the riverbank and bought a few wooden sticks, then found Qiuzi's husband from among the laborers, as well as Zhang Jialang, He Jialang, Zhong Jialang, Cao Sanlang, and Qi Balang. They all had some connection through kinship or acquaintanceship, although it was somewhat distant. However, they normally got along with each other, and their relationship was not bad.

  First, a high platform was built. At that time, there was no cement mortar concrete, so it was feared that it would not be solid. So, he first called on Qi Jie and others to help, surrounding the wooden logs with a circular shape and pressing them down, leaving a round gap in the middle. Then, according to this gap, a hole more than one meter deep was drilled on the river embankment. Only then did they carry over the mud and build this high platform, but the gap in the middle remained untouched. This time it was Li Tiejiang's turn, who poured molten iron into the gap.

  From time to time, white steam rose from below, and after a while, the molten iron solidified again, pouring all the way to the top of the high platform. Li Tiejiang followed Song Jiu's instructions and found a mold, on which he poured an iron pillar, which would later become the axis, with great force, so it was poured all the way down to the river embankment, making it a whole, strengthening its solidity. A large iron hook was also designed on top of the iron shaft.

  Many people came over curiously to watch.

  "Xiao Jiu, what are you doing?" Hu Lao Da saw that there were many onlookers and also came over to watch. He was puzzled, so he asked.

  In the Tang Dynasty, there were gangs, and in the Song Dynasty, there were also various gangs. The porters on both banks of the Bian River inside the East Water Gate also had their own gangs. Because they competed for business, they often fought and brawled. Hu Lao Da was big-headed, strong, and had a wild temper, so he was chosen by the porters as their leader. In the recent fight, he was also the leader, and after being flogged with 80 rods at the Kaifeng Prefecture, he was released and returned.

  The river is an immigrant district, a slum, and people with good prospects have moved to the inner city or other high-end areas of Beijing. Among these three thousand households, Song Jiu's father was considered one of the best, and although he died, neighbors still often praised him.

  Hú Lǎodà was not convinced, he thought of himself as a hero and often said that if he were to go into battle, he would be no weaker than Sòng Dàláng.

  She had once carried a pole with him and quarreled with the elder sister, which was not a big deal. When she met Song Jiu, they would still greet each other.

  When he saw Hu Lao Da, Song Jiu immediately thought of one thing. If this thing comes out, it will have a huge impact on the porters on both sides of the river. If not handled properly, they will be torn apart by these porters. But if he speaks out, although he has gained some prestige from Hu Lao Da, with over 3,000 households in the river area knowing him, at least half of them recognize him, but his reputation is far inferior to that of Hu Lao Da, so he will be at a disadvantage.

  "Hu Xing Tou, I use this thing to carry goods."

  "Xiao Jiu, you didn't pass the exam, have your brains gone bad?"

  "Hu Xing's head, don't believe me? Let's make a bet. Not only can I use it to pick things up, but my efficiency will be more than double yours."

  "This kid is crazy," said Old Hu, disbelieving, to the people beside him.

  At least for now everyone thinks that Old Hu is right. What can this platform move, could it come overnight and the platform turn into a person or a monster?

  "Hu Xing's head, let's make a bet. If I lose, I'll write a statement on paper saying that my late father is far inferior to Hu Xing's heroism and post it in every street and alley of the city."

  "This is great! Old Hu excitedly asked: 'Then did you win?'"

  "If we win, you listen to my instructions, and help me organize all the porters on the river into a more compact team, divide the shares, and expand on a large scale on the Bian River embankment. Let's really defeat the Hebei porters and make them drink northwest wind."

  "Go."

  "This doesn't count, it's for everyone's benefit. Besides, you're leading a group of people to the Zhu family's neighborhood and singing songs for me day and night."

  Liu's family had arranged a marriage with the Zhu family, and this was common knowledge. After Song Jiu finished speaking, everyone burst out laughing, and even Hu Lao Da couldn't help but laugh loudly, saying: "Alright, I agree."

  Just then, a man in yellow robes rode up on horseback, accompanied by yamen runners.

  The yamen runner pushed through the crowd and shouted loudly: "The prefect has arrived, everyone make way quickly."

  Who is the Kaifeng prefect, no one knows, it's Zhao Kuangyi, the second great king. Everyone immediately made way for a path, two bailiffs went in and pressed Song Jiu down with one hand, Song Jiu was at a loss, shouting loudly: "I am a scholar, you can't arrest me."

  The soldiers did not seize him, however, as Zhao Kuangyi waved his hand and said, "Just bring him up here."