Chapter 372: Ill Treat
Chapter 367 of "The Great Ming in the Box" reveals: Zheng Daniu made a face. âWhatâs so good about cake? Isnât it just flour? I... Keep reading!
Zheng Daniu made a face. âWhatâs so good about cake? Isnât it just flour? I donât want to eat cake, I want to eat lamb.âThe shopkeeper was torn between laughter and tears. âBut I canât just give you a big bowl full of lamb, otherwise the small shop would suffer a loss.â
The other five soldiers laughed along. âBrother Daniu, stop messing around;the shopkeeper will be ruined.â
Their commotion happened to disturb Zao Ying as she was passing by the shop entrance.
Hearing the noise inside the shop, Zao Ying turned her head and glanced, relieved to see that the troublemakers werenât her own cavalry;then she watched with an amused attitude.
Zheng Daniu looked confused. âWould adding more lamb without cake really cause a loss?â
The shopkeeper wore a pained expression. âIt definitely would cause a loss;lamb is expensive. In good times, a pound of lamb cost about eighty coins here, but in this great disaster year, it climbed to eight hundred coins;only in the last few days when Gaojia Village sent us lots of flour did the price of lamb drop back to four hundred coins a poundâŚIf I add a few thin slices of lamb to a bowl of Lamb Cake, that bowl has to sell for fifty coins;adding more slices would bankrupt me.â
Zheng Daniu looked bewildered and turned to the gunners beside him. âHuh? How many taels are four hundred coins?â
Someone nearby laughed. âFour taels.â
Zheng Daniu scratched his head. âExactly how much is four taels?â
The person beside him fell silent.
It was impossible to communicate with this fool using normal methods.
A gunner reached inside his coat, pulled out a very small piece of silver, and placed it on the table. âBrother Daniu, look, this small piece of silver is four taels.â
Zheng Daniu pinched the piece of silver with two fingers and squinted at it with one eye for a long time. âHuh? So just a pound of lamb is equal to such a tiny bit of silver? That scared meâhearing four hundred, I thought it was a huge amount.â
The others remained silent.
Zheng Daniu reached into his coat, pulled out a huge ingot of silver, and slapped it onto the table with a bangâit was really big, at least five taelsâthen thumped the table and declared. âShopkeeper, take this ingot;bring as many pounds of lamb as it covers, and donât add cake as filler!â
The others stayed quiet.
The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment: was this the spending bravado of a common soldier? If not for your soldierâs uniform, Iâd have thought you were an official.
A gunner whispered. âBrother Daniu, even if youâre rich, you shouldnât waste it;that much money could buy a pretty maid, and you shouldnât spend it treating us all to a meal.â
Zheng Daniu laughed heartily. âBuy a maid? Arenât you afraid the Deity might slap you silly? Besides, even if the Deity allowed it, I donât want a maidâI canât eat her;I just want to enjoy good food, and I donât care about the rest.â
âPfft!â A womanâs chuckle came from the shop entrance.
Everyone turned at the sound and spotted Zao Ying standing at the doorway holding her horseâs reins;she must have listened for quite a while, and it was only when she laughed that they noticed her.
Zheng Daniu waved to Zao Ying. âInstructor Zao, anyone who sees this gets a shareâcome have some lamb, my treat.â
Zao Ying chuckled and walked in, sitting boldly next to Zheng Daniu with her legs spread wide. âYou just said you wonât buy a maid? Why?â
Zheng Daniu replied. âCanât eat her.â
Zao Ying gave a strange smile. âFor men, a maid can be consumed too.â
Zheng Daniu shook his head. âNo, no, I donât eat human flesh.â
Zao Ying confirmed it nowâthis guy truly didnât get the joke, and she found it fascinating. âDaniu, are you an Old Villager of Gaojia Village?â
Zheng Daniu chuckled. âYeah, I arrived early;besides the first forty-two villagers of Gaojia Village, folks like those from Zhengjia Village, Zhuangjia Village, and Wangjia Village came next;back then, when Gaojia Village was building its gate, I pitched in too. I even cut wood for the carver to make statues, and I drove the public sun chariot, haha, that was years ago.â
Zao Ying asked. âNo wonder youâre so rich;the Deity bestowed generous rewards then;you must still have more of these large ingots, which explains your spendthrift ways?â
Zheng Daniu responded. âMore? Not really;I only had that one ingot left, and I just spent itânow Iâm broke, hahaha.â
The others froze.
The five gunners he had treated immediately looked awkward;what the heck, Brother Daniu was poorer than them? They had more than that ingotâs worthâwas the poorest person footing the bill?
Zao Ying was amazed. âWhereâd your money go? What happened to it?â
Zheng Daniu patted his belly and grinned. âEaten!â
The others stayed silent.
By then the shopkeeper had sliced a huge plate of lamb and thumped it down before them;Zheng Daniu didnât use chopsticksâhe just grabbed a piece of lamb with his hand and shoved it into his mouth. âWow, tasty, tasty.â
âStop eating like that;dip it in the seasoning!â
âHey! The broth spilled on your clothes.â
Seeing him like that, Zao Ying couldnât help but beam;he was one bold man.
She wasnât a delicate girl;she disliked meek, scholar-type men and simply admired Zheng Daniuâs gutsy spirit;matching his hearty appetite, she also grabbed lamb with her hand and crammed it into her mouth. âHahaha, eating big chunks of meat is such pleasure.â
Zheng Daniu exclaimed. âHahaha, Instructor Zaoâs a gutsy person too;come on, have more.â
He held the lamb in his right hand but casually draped his left arm over Zao Yingâs shoulder.
The other five gunners simultaneously swapped strange looks, thinking: Even though Instructor Zao looks like a gorilla (and itâs hard to tell sex with gorillas), everyone knows sheâs femaleâwhat if she yells assault when you touch her like that?
But they neednât have worried;Zao Ying didnât care at all and just laughed out loud. âDaniu, you suit me well;here, down this bowl.â
âHey, weâre on duty and canât drink alcohol;even though Iâm stupid, I know that.â
âItâs not alcohol;itâs tea.â
âMuch better.â
They clinked bowls loudly and chugged a huge serving of tea, their mouths wide open as they tilted their heads backâa truly startling sight.
Zao Ying went on eating lamb and asked teasingly. âHey, Daniu, if youâve spent all your money, arenât you planning to marry?â
Zheng Daniu chuckled idly. âThereâs no girl I like, and no girl likes me.â
Zao Ying retorted. âA fine man like you, and no woman wants you? Are all those women blind?â
The five gunners broke into a cold sweat, thinking: Instructor Zao, arenât you the blind one? Daniuâs a fool, personally dubbed an âidiotâ by the Deity, and heâs spent all his moneyâwhoâd have him?