Chapter 727: Two Copper Coins

Chen Shou, the officer, whose name was Chen Shou, was initially skeptical about the family letter he had received. However, as a veteran who had campaigned with the army and fought in several bloody battles, he had already seen Heavenly Masters from both Da Zhen and the enemy, making him more careful and cautious about such things. Now that he had seen the "Fu" character, Chen Shou could almost certainly conclude it was a treasure.

There was nothing more to say; Chen Shou had only one thought: to acquire that "Fu" character. Of course, he didn't dare forget the warnings mentioned in the letter, but first, he had to ensure he could seize the treasure if the opportunity arose.

Many people were gathered around the young man's stall, looking at his wares, which included exquisite carvings and various ornaments. Chen Shou stepped back to the outer edge, where some of his fellow soldiers were joking around.

"This person's crazy for money! Ten taels of gold for a single 'Fu' character? That's enough to buy a fine house."

"Exactly! Ten copper coins would be more like it!" "Uh, the calligraphy does look like a master's work. Ten coins might be too cheap."

"Then a hundred copper coins, no more than that."

Chen Shou approached them, glanced at the stall, and quietly asked his companions, "How much money do you have? How much can you spare?"

"Ah? Brother Chen, what are you buying?" "What do you want to buy? Don't you have enough money?"

"Yeah, I just remembered my family wants me to bring some things back, and I don't have quite enough money."

Chen Shou had thought it over carefully. He had about seven or eight taels of silver and half a string of copper coins in cash. He also had a 20-tael silver note and a 10-tael silver note, but the banks they were issued from weren't in this area, so he couldn't convert them to cash quickly.

Firstly, Chen Shou was a Dudao Commander, albeit a minor one; secondly, he was generally well-liked. So, everyone was willing to help and checked their cash.

"I only brought two taels." "I have four taels of silver and over a hundred copper coins."

"I also have one tael." "Commander, I have a piece of gold dust, probably worth about one tael."

Everyone pooled their money. Not counting the silver notes, they had over forty taels in cash. Chen Shou frowned.

"It's not enough, still not enough..."

The others were puzzled.

"Commander Chen, that's not enough?" "Brother Chen, what are you trying to buy?"

"You're not really trying to buy that 'Fu' character, are you?"

Someone noticed Chen Shou's frequent glances at the stall and couldn't help but ask. Chen Shou quickly smiled and shook his head.

"I do like that 'Fu' character; it looks like a master's work, but ten taels of gold is far too much."

"Exactly..."

"Let's go, let's look around nearby."

Chen Shou called out, and they all started to walk away. But before leaving, Chen Shou approached the stall, which now had far fewer people. The young man, who was counting copper coins, looked up at him.

"Sir soldier, did anything catch your eye? If you want to buy, I can give you a discount."

Chen Shou shook his head, looking at the "Fu" character in the basket. It truly looked like it had only recently been written.

"This character..."

"You want to buy this character?"

The young man paused, instinctively placing his hand on the "Fu" character.

"This character, you shouldn't sell it. Regardless of whether it's been blessed, just for its calligraphy, you should preserve it well and take it home."

Seeing that Chen Shou wasn't planning to buy it, the young man relaxed.

"You don't need to worry about that, sir soldier. I, Zhang Shuai, know what I'm doing. I definitely won't sell it for a low price."

So his surname was indeed Zhang. Chen Shou nodded.

"Then put the character away. As the saying goes, don't show off your wealth, and the same applies to this character. Oh, and when do you usually come to set up your stall?"

Zhang Shuai scratched his head. What was this soldier on about? But since the other man seemed to be an officer, he didn't dare be impolite.

"It's hard to say. I don't come when I'm lucky. If I do set up a stall, it's usually near noon."

"Mmm."

Chen Shou nodded, took one more look at the "Fu" character, and then left with the soldiers beside him.

Zhang Shuai continued to hawk his wares for a while longer. Seeing that business was slow, he packed up his things, picked up his carrying pole, and left. On his way back, he hummed a little tune, feeling quite pleased. He reached into his pocket and weighed his money bag; the jingle of copper coins and silver bits was more pleasant than his singing.

"Heh heh, I sold almost a tael today!"

Zhang Shuai glanced at the "Fu" character, now rolled up in one of the baskets. He knew for sure that the character had been blessed. It hadn't faded since he could remember, and his elders in the family greatly valued it.

However, Zhang Shuai felt that the "Fu" character only served a minor purpose in warding off evil; it couldn't even repel snakes, insects, rodents, or ants. While the Zhang family was slightly better off than average, with a somewhat larger house, they weren't truly wealthy and opulent. He had never heard of the family encountering any windfalls; all their wealth had been accumulated through the hard work and frugality of the older generation.

So, to Zhang Shuai, who had seen this "Fu" character for nearly twenty years of his life, it wasn't as mysterious as people claimed. Of course, since the Zhang family moved, this character was no longer displayed outside but hidden in a cabinet at home, where it had remained for almost ten years.

The family had been doing well all these years, and truthfully, the Zhang family had almost forgotten about this "Fu" character. It wasn't until recently, when Zhang Shuai was rummaging through things to pawn, that he rediscovered this "Fu" character, which he had thought long lost. But Zhang Shuai kept quiet about it.

After Chen Shou returned to the military camp, he became distracted. For two days, his mind was consumed by the "Fu" character he had seen.

For these two days, after his drills, he would go to the market, but he never saw the man named Zhang Shuai again. What's more, he still hadn't gathered enough money, which made Chen Shou feel a sense of anxiety and longing.

Returning from the market again today, Chen Shou passed a white tent and saw someone inside writing. Preoccupied with his thoughts, he considered writing a letter home to inquire, but then realized that the round trip for letters could take months, which was too long.

The clerk inside the tent looked up and saw Chen Shou lingering before preparing to leave, so he called out to him.

"Commander Chen? Is something the matter?"

Chen Shou stopped. Feeling troubled, he remembered that the clerk was learned and that they had a good relationship. Perhaps he could relieve some of his distress, so he walked inside.

Chen Shou first cupped his hands in greeting, then sighed.

"Mr. Qi, I am indeed troubled."

The clerk's name was Qi Yuantian. Originally from the capital region, when the war between Da Zhen and Zuyue first broke out, he, like many passionate scholars, took up his sword and directly joined the army heading north.

Qi Yuantian stood up to return the greeting, then gestured for Chen Shou to sit on a stool. He quickly finished his writing, affixed a seal, and then put down his pen to look at Chen Shou.

"Commander Chen, what troubles you?"

"Sigh, I've taken a liking to... taken a liking to something, but it's too expensive, and the person selling it hasn't appeared recently. It's driving me crazy!"

Qi Yuantian felt a little curious. He knew Chen Shou; he was a decent man with a clear head. Although he was only a Dudao Commander, there were intentions from above to promote him to a Qu Commander, and the merits from the last battle hadn't been fully tallied yet. Given Chen Shou's performance, this promotion should be confirmed.

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's... sigh, it's a rare item, hard to explain. By the way, Mr. Qi, how much silver do you have? Could you lend me some?"

"Me?"

Qi Yuantian chuckled slightly, pulled out his money pouch, and peered inside. Besides copper coins, there were some silver ingots, fragmented silver, and gold dust.

"Probably worth about a hundred taels of standard silver."

Chen Shou was startled.

"That much? Could you lend me some, thirty taels? Thirty taels would be enough!"

"Thirty taels? That's no small sum!"

Qi Yuantian smiled.

"Then, then Mr. Qi, will you lend it or not?"

"Of course. How could I, Qi, not trust Commander Chen's character?"

At this, Chen Shou's mood improved considerably.

"Hahahaha, thank you, Mr. Qi, thank you! Alas, it's a pity that having money still isn't enough..."

Qi Yuantian looked at him, then lowered his head to sort the gold and silver in his money pouch. Unlike some soldiers who would indulge in pleasure after conquering a city, he saved most of his rewards. Coupled with his not-so-low position, he had plenty of spare cash.

As he rummaged through the money pouch, a cluster of golden light suddenly flashed, causing Qi Yuantian to pause. He then pushed his finger through the coins in the pouch; two copper coins seemed more eye-catching than the others.

"Mr. Qi? What's wrong?"

"Ah? Oh, nothing, nothing. Thirty taels, right? Luckily, I have a silver scale here..."

As Chen Shou watched Qi Yuantian take out the whole and fragmented gold and silver to weigh, his thoughts turned to the "Fu" character, and he suddenly asked another question.

"Mr. Qi, what do you think truly constitutes 'blessing' or 'good fortune'?"

Qi Yuantian had actually been looking at the bottom of his money pouch every time he took out gold and silver, but he still found the question interesting. He thought for a moment, then looked up and replied.

"Actually, in my humble opinion, what is called 'blessed' is not about immense wealth, not about living in luxury with servants at your beck and call."

"Then what is it?"

"I remember discussing this very question with Brother Deng when I was still a student: what is good fortune? A comfortable family background, a harmonious family, free from disaster and calamity, without illness or pain, not hating others, nor being hated by others. In short, a smooth and comfortable life with not too many worries. Parents living to old age, a virtuous wife, and many children and grandchildren—these are all blessings. Look at this land of Zuyue, how many families can truly have such a life?"

Chen Shou listened, deeply convinced, and nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Qi speaks wisely. In the past, in Zuyue, wealthy families were easily targeted, and powerful families were caught in whirlwinds..."

"That's the truth."

By now, Qi Yuantian had also finished weighing the gold and silver.

"It's about thirty-two taels, a bit hard to divide exactly. Commander Chen, please take it and use it first."

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Qi!"

Chen Shou stood up and bowed, then took the gold and silver offered to him. The heavy feeling made him feel more secure.

"I shall take my leave. If you need anything, Mr. Qi, please come to me. I will certainly do my best to help if I can!"

"Yes, alright. No need to see me out."

Qi Yuantian also stood up to return the bow. After Chen Shou left, he immediately sat down and took out two copper coins from his money pouch. Once out, these coins looked ordinary, yet that peculiar feeling persisted.

"These coins are... right!"

Qi Yuantian suddenly remembered that before he joined the army, a distinguished gentleman in a tea house in the capital region had given him two copper coins for tea. But when he tried to recall the man's appearance, he couldn't.

'That's not right. Didn't I lose my money pouch once shortly after joining the army? These copper coins should have been lost with it... Could they not be those two coins?'

Qi Yuantian frowned and thought for a long while. His intuition told him that these two copper coins were indeed the ones from back then.

"Uh, the war is almost over, and it's nearly New Year. Should I also go to the market and buy something?"

Because of Chen Shou's words, Qi Yuantian also felt the urge to visit the market.