Zhan and Lan spent their days exploring their surroundings. They hadn't left their mother's room for months and hadn't even seen the outside of the villa, but as long as they could listen and see, there was something to learn.
Lan remained quiet so the midwife wouldn't distance herself, while Zhan preferred the open window because of the summer heat.
Behind all the actions of these two brothers was a purpose: information. They had inherited the instincts of a man who had compensated for his lack of talent with sharp senses and a tenacity unfamiliar to modern people.
Lan's task today was listening:
"Choi is talking with the maid."
"She earns three hundred wen a day as a midwife. Now the question is, how much does a laborer earn per day?"
"She's from a great family and has many benefits alongside her salary."
"Even the young maid isn't a good example."
"If you're a maid for a lady from a great family, you should earn at least twice as much as an ordinary maid."
The midwife was busy talking with the young maid, Yeon:
"The first days were hard, right?"
"But now the young masters have gotten used to you."
"See how calm they are? Have you ever seen babies this calm before?"
"No, honestly."
"Madam Choi, you mentioned you have a garden."
"It's now the season for picking summer fruits, and it's driving me crazy."
"Do you need help?"
"No, really, thank you."
"I've gotten old, and my husband and I used to do these things together, but now we're both old."
"So we hire seasonal laborers, at the start of spring and the start of summer."
"You know, my salary is good, and my garden is small. Hiring a laborer for five days costs about two hundred and fifty wen for the whole season."
Two hundred and fifty wen for five days meant fifty wen per day, which is a handful of copper coins.
So that's the wage of a simple laborer. But carrying two hundred and fifty hollow coins? That means they like to walk around with full pockets and the clinking sound of coins!
Then what do they use to buy a horse, which might cost a thousand wen? A cart?
No, they can't be that backward. They haven't mentioned anything more valuable yet.
The gifts that come for the mother include many silver ingots shaped like boats among them.
Probably fifty-gram ingots shaped like boats. This could be that second unit they call a liang.
That's most likely the answer! The midwife and guards were talking about their memories of being farmers, meaning I'm dealing with a society based on agriculture. In such a society, three or four months, or a season, is very important, and they must save money for such a period.
A farmer's wealth, I don't think, comes from accumulating gold, but silver is probably a reliable asset.
"Madam Choi."
"Yes?"
"Sorry for asking, but don't your children help you?"
"Because taking care of the garden for parents in old age is the children's duty."
"No, it's fine."
"I don't have children."
Zhan's task today by the window was observing, seeing things that others have seen so much they no longer notice.
Zhan looked at the guards. Even though the villa is inside something like the inner complex of a fortress, it has armed protectors.
Every movement and action of these guards and protectors signifies the will and identity of their master. Seven armed men standing at close intervals, and it seems they have bent their knees and are having a hard time.
But that's a fool's perspective. In Zhan's view, they have slightly bent their legs and are putting pressure on their thigh muscles. This is one of the basics of isometric exercises.
After a set time, the guards stand on their toes and continue their exercises while on duty.
"The foundation of any martial art is a strong lower body."
"There have been martial artists who remained in history without one arm, but a lame leg has been the end of many heroes in history."
But what was important to Zhan was not the guards themselves, but the power of the man who had passed through such men like a ghost.
"In the villa, there are seven male guards and two shift guards, alongside three servants including Choi, Yeon, and the food deliverer. In the kitchen, there's one male cook and one female assistant cook."
"How many people do three people living in a fortress need?"
"Perhaps we play the role of important assets that someone covets."
"Ha."
"I'm hahah-ing."
Lan and Zhan unknowingly overtaxed their infant brains. An infant's brain responds to any pressure with sleep: the result was two delicate children sleeping on a sunny afternoon.
The midwife picked them up and placed them in one cradle.
"Madam Choi."
"Yes, Yeon?"
"Why are you putting Lan and Zhan in one cradle?"
The midwife, while gesturing for Yeon to come closer, said:
"Look at them, how they're sleeping with a smile."
"They only shine and smile like this when they're sleeping next to each other."
In the Tai Mountains, at the great Taoist temple, a man in noble attire descended the Ten Thousand Steps path. Midway, a disheveled man in black began to follow him.
Calmly, not too far and not too close, but the man was aware of the pursuit and tried to hide his smile—a smile like a gambler with a good hand.
The man boarded a carriage waiting near the entrance of the Ten Thousand Steps path.
The carriage passed through the entrance gate of Tai'an—which would be strange for an ordinary worshiper to enter the city of Tai'an. This indicated a status that allowed free movement.
After half a day, the carriage stopped in front of a restaurant, and the man who had ridden in noble attire got off in peasant clothes and headed towards a narrow alley beside the restaurant.
The man in black paused. He now had enough information to sell to the Hao Sect, but he thought to himself that with more information, he could get more money.
He continued the pursuit and, when five steps away, the man suddenly turned to face him.
"I was waiting for you!"
"Because beauty isn't a reason to harass men."
"...!"
"S-sorry, you've made a mistake!"
This cold feeling on my back...
The cold touched the black-clad man's back. He turned—he had sensed the danger.
Facing him stood a woman with a long, bloody silver flute.
Whose blood is this...
He wanted to ask something but couldn't.
His body was cold, and his black clothes were wet.
Before falling, he realized it was his own blood and his throat was slit.
Jianghu is no place for greed.