Scripture of Days Past

Chapter 22: There’s Nothing I Detest More Than Money

Wang Chengwang was just about to insist that Chu Qiguang accept the silver when the latter turned to Steward Wang and said, “You can go now. I have some things that I’d like to discuss with your master in private.”

Wang Chengwang gave the steward a nod, and Steward Wang promptly withdrew, leaving only Chu Qiguang, Wang Chengwang, and Wang Cailiang in the courtyard.

Only after Steward Wang left did Wang Cailiang reveal to his father that his condition still hadn’t been completely cured, and that he still required further treatment from Zhou Ergou. He explained that he had only put on an act earlier to reassure everyone and have them believe that he was completely cured.

“You did the right thing,” Wang Chengwang said with an approving nod before turning to Chu Qiguang and asking him what the subsequent treatment would entail.

“From now on, I will continue to visit and treat Young Master Wang’s condition,” Chu Qiguang said. “However, I’m really busy with work at the moment because I have to scrape together enough money for the grain tax...”

Wang Chengwang immediately understood what he wanted, and he said, “I already asked my steward, Wang Zhong, about your family’s grain tax earlier. It turns out that our accountant made a mistake, and your household doesn’t have any outstanding grain tax at all. I told Wang Zhong to take care of the matter already. Has he still not done it? That bastard must be slacking off again. I’ll personally see to it that he follows through this time.”

“Even so, I still have to work in the fields,” Chu Qiguang said with a troubled look.

Wang Chengwang understood his intentions once again. Chu Qiguang wasn’t turning down the silver. Instead, he wanted more!

After some thought, Wang Chengwang offered, “How about you rent your family’s land to me, Nephew Zhou? For five acres of land, I’ll give you five taels of silver a year regardless of the quality of the harvest, and you have my word that the rent will be paid every year for as long as I live.”

“That’s it?” Chu Qiguang asked reluctantly.

Wang Chengwang had to control his temper as he argued, “Five taels of silver is already well above the market price.”

“You misunderstood me, Master Wang,” Chu Qiguang sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to rent my land to you; the problem is that my sister loves farming. We’ve been farmers for generations, and we’ve grown accustomed to this lifestyle. My sister feels terrible if she goes even a single day without working in the fields.

“Our ancestors always taught us that our land is our lifeblood, so if I rent our land to you, I fear that my mother would accuse me of going against the teachings of our ancestors.”

Wang Chengwang was almost unable to suppress his temper. Unfortunately, he needed Zhou Ergou’s help, and the latter had even brought up his ancestors. In the Great Han Empire, it was considered a cardinal sin to show any disrespect to one’s ancestors.

Chu Qiguang immediately flew into a rage at the sight of the skeptical look on Wang Chengwang’s face.

“Master Wang! Do you think that I’m trying to extort silver from you?”

Is that not the case?

Wang Chengwang blinked in a daze, wondering if he had misconstrued Zhou Ergou’s intentions.

Chu Qiguang immediately turned to leave.

“I came here with full sincerity to treat Young Master Wang’s condition; how could you insult me with money?”

Wang Cailiang was horrified. He was depending on Zhou Ergou to treat his condition, so he quickly stepped into his path to stop him from leaving.

“Please don’t be mad at my father, Brother Zhou,” he said frantically. “He’s just an old codger who knows nothing but money!”

“My sincerest apologies, Nephew Zhou,” Wang Chengwang hurriedly chimed in. “From now on, I won’t mention money again.”

Wang Cailiang grabbed Chu Qiguang by the arm, terrified that he would really leave, only to find that a gentle tug was enough to pull him right back to where he had been standing.

“Please do not mention money to me again, Master Wang,” Chu Qiguang warned. “I have never saved people for money, and there’s nothing I detest more than money!”

Wang Chengwang was naturally more than happy to agree. If he could get Zhou Ergou’s services without spending any money, then he would be overjoyed.

“I will continue to come and treat Young Master Wang’s condition, but I’ll have to refine some pills to assist in the treatment,” Chu Qiguang said.

“What medicinal ingredients do you need?” Wang Chengwang asked. “I’ll send people to purchase them from the county town right away.”

Chu Qiguang shook his head as he said, “The medicinal ingredients required to treat canine poisoning can’t be found in ordinary pharmacies. Fortunately, I already have most of the ingredients, such as immortal beans, blood bodhisattva, and seven pistil quince flowers. Right now, I’m only missing brain platinum.”

Neither Wang Chengwang nor Wang Cailiang had ever heard of any of those ingredients, and the former asked, “What is this brain platinum, and where can it be found?”

“Brain platinum is formed from the essence of underground ichor. It gathers drop by drop over the course of tens of thousands of years from stalactites in an auspicious cave,” Chu Qiguang explained. “As I’m sure you’re aware, such precious and exotic ingredients are all in the possession of certain major powers.

“If you know, you know, and if you don’t, then I suggest you keep it that way because it doesn’t do you any good to know too much. Don’t ask me any questions; there are some very powerful forces at play here, so just pretend like you don’t know anything.

“Most of the information pertaining to these topics is strictly confidential, so it’ll be very difficult for you to find out anything on your own. That is why all I can say is that if you know, then you know.”

This deliberately cryptic explanation from Chu Qiguang made him appear very mysterious and unfathomable in the eyes of Wang Chengwang and his son, and they couldn’t help but wonder who his master was.

“The good news is that my master has the connections required to source these ingredients, but at a cost, of course,” Chu Qiguang continued.

Wang Cailiang was very relieved to hear this, and he hurriedly asked, “How much is it going to cost?”

“It’ll cost about three hundred taels of silver’s worth of brain platinum to remove the remaining canine poison in your body,” Chu Qiguang replied.

“That much?!” Wang Chengwang exclaimed.

The Wang Clan’s annual income was only just over a thousand taels of silver. After all expenditures, all that remained were about a hundred to two hundred taels of silver.

“That’s already very cheap,” Chu Qiguang said. “Without my master’s connections, you wouldn’t be able to purchase brain platinum no matter how much money you have. I’m not going to charge you for the treatment, but you’ll have to cover the costs of the medicinal ingredients yourself.”

“Of course,” Wang Cailiang replied.

Wang Cailiang was naturally willing to accept this arrangement, but his father remained in a rather hesitant silence.

It was clear to Chu Qiguang that the old landowner felt like this was too heavy a price to pay. He was a standard feudal era landowner, someone so miserly that he would stoop as low as to squeeze a few taels of silver even out of a household as poor as Ergou’s. To someone like him, three hundred taels of silver was undoubtedly an enormous expense.

With that in mind, Chu Qiguang turned to Wang Cailiang and warned, “If the residual canine poison isn’t cleared out of your body, your condition could worsen at any time, so I suggest you make a decision soon. If you delay treatment for too long and miss the best treatment window, then you could be beyond saving.”

“Father! What are you still hesitating for?” Wang Cailiang urged. “I’m your only son! If I die, that’ll be the end of your bloodline!”