Chapter 210 1/3

That afternoon, Zhang Zao and the others returned from the dock with a load of items.

These included various pieces of furniture and household goods they had moved onto Wu Baichuan’s boat back in Chongcheng County, as well as the three hens raised by Li Damao, Li Ermao, and Zhao Xiaodou.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were generally well-behaved and would have agreed if Li Qingzhi had not allowed them to bring the hens to the capital.

Zhao Xiaodou was even less attached to the hens, as he had grown up in the countryside and viewed chickens more as food, even the ones he had hatched himself.

But Li Qingzhi decided to bring the three hens along.

After all, it was rare for the children to have pets, so he figured he might as well let them keep them.

Throughout the journey, the three hens were kept in a cage, only being moved to the deck to bask in the sun on good days.

Keeping chickens like this made them prone to illness, but with Li Qingzhi around, the three hens arrived in the capital in good health.

However, due to the cold weather, they hadn’t been laying many eggs, producing only one every few days.

Once they reached the capital, they couldn’t keep the hens at the inn, so Li Qingzhi left them on the boat, asking the crew to take care of them until now when Zhang Zao finally brought them over.

“Dabao and Erbao!” Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately went to check on their beloved hens.

Zhao Xiaodou followed, somewhat puzzled.

“They’re just chickens. Why do Li Damao and Li Ermao care so much?”

He was more interested in eating chicken meat, remembering how delicious the chicken noodle soup at the inn had been.

Li Qingzhi and his family spent two days tidying up their new home.

Madam Qian and her two maids lived in the east wing, while Zhang Zao and the two cooks stayed in the west wing. Li Laogen and Zhao Xiaodou stayed with Li Qingzhi and his family in the south-facing rooms.

The house wasn’t large, but it was spacious enough for them.

Once settled in, Li Qingzhi began to make his presence known in the capital, visiting others and receiving visitors.

He wrote a calligraphy piece, bought some common yet appropriate gifts, and first visited Lord Ping.

Lord Ping lived in Qingshi Lane. As Li Qingzhi approached his house, he could hear Lord Ping arguing with someone inside due to his keen hearing.

“You lazy woman, can’t you tidy up the house properly? Look at the mess!” Lord Ping sounded very angry.

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, tomorrow, always tomorrow! You always say tomorrow but never do it!”

“You know I won’t do it, so why bother asking?”

“Why don’t you learn from Mr. Zhang’s wife? She keeps their home in perfect order!”

“And why don’t you learn from Mr. Li? He hired several maids for his wife!”

Li Qingzhi thought to himself, “This couple is quite amusing.”

Lord Ping, a fifth-ranked scholar at the Hanlin Academy, earned a monthly salary of about ten taels of silver. While this was a lot for ordinary people, it was very little for officials.

To put it in perspective, the rent for Li Qingzhi’s house alone was ten taels a month!

Officials relying solely on their salaries often struggled financially. Even Governor Zhang had lived modestly when he was a prefect, only hiring more servants after becoming a governor, thanks to the substantial increase in salary, and even then, some of those servants were gifts from others.

Of course, many officials had additional, unofficial sources of income. Back when Gou Tongzhi was in Chongcheng County, businessmen like Zhu Qian often gave him money.

However, the Hanlin Academy was known for its integrity, and Lord Ping probably didn’t have many opportunities to receive gifts. It was only recently that he went to Jiang’an Province as an examiner and received some extra compensation.

Li Qingzhi knocked on the door. The doorman responded, and the arguing couple fell silent.

When he entered, he saw that Lord Ping’s house was similar in size to his own, with various pots, jars, and miscellaneous items cluttering the yard, making the place look rather untidy.

Lord Ping didn’t realize Li Qingzhi could hear the argument. Seeing him, Lord Ping warmly greeted him, and so did Mrs. Ping.

Lord Ping was quite old, and Mrs. Ping wasn’t young either, but she must have been quite beautiful when she was younger.

Li Qingzhi and Lord Ping weren’t very close, having only spoken briefly at the Lu Ming Banquet. After a short chat, Li Qingzhi took his leave.

As he stepped outside, he overheard Mrs. Ping saying, “That fellow seems nice. He brought several gift boxes. You can give them to Mr. Wang for his birthday.”

“You’re always thinking about that.”

“Why don’t you stop thinking about it then?”

“Well, among the gifts from Li Qingzhi, his handwritten calligraphy piece is the best! Such writing is comparable to the masters!”

“Can we sell it for money?”

“Vulgar! Vulgar!”

“If you give me money, I’ll show you how refined I can be!”

…

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Qingshi Lane housed some officials, but many ordinary people lived there too.

In the evening, people were outside enjoying the sun and chatting.

After a moment’s hesitation, Li Qingzhi approached a group of elderly women chatting together.

Seeing how approachable he was, the elderly women immediately started asking him questions, and Li Qingzhi chatted with them freely.

He hadn’t had a casual chat in a long time and found it quite enjoyable.

Moreover, these elderly women included the mothers and wives of officials, as well as some elderly ladies from families with ancestral properties in the capital. They knew about everything and could talk about anything.

Soon, several old men joined the conversation, including one with a birdcage who held the title of a scholar.

When they learned that Li Qingzhi had just visited Lord Ping, they shared some insights about the Ping family: “Lord Ping is too concerned with appearances. Even though he doesn’t have much money, he still puts on extravagant displays for his daughter’s marriage…”

Lord Ping didn’t have much background, and once he entered the clean Hanlin Academy, he couldn’t advance. Over the years, his salary just covered living expenses.

They rented a house, which cost a lot annually.

But Lord Ping still valued appearances. When arranging marriages for his children, he wanted to hold grand ceremonies, which only made them poorer.

This was partly due to the culture in the capital.

In rural areas, parents often collected a bride price when their daughters married but gave little in dowry, sometimes nothing at all.

In contrast, officials in the capital competed over the size of their daughters’ dowries.

As a result, the dowries prepared far exceeded the bride price received.

This was because daughters were often married into higher-status families or used for alliances, necessitating generous dowries.

Lord Ping had two sons and three daughters. Arranging their marriages had already cost him seven to eight thousand taels of silver. It was said that he even borrowed money to prepare his daughter’s dowry, only paying it back after his recent trip to Jiang’an Province.

As for Mrs. Ping, her father was also an official, and she was pampered from a young age, never having to do much work. After marrying Lord Ping, she disliked doing chores even more.

This wouldn’t have been an issue, except Lord Ping wasn’t wealthy. They had only three servants: a woman who cooked and did laundry, an old man who looked after the gate and fetched water, and a young servant shared by the two sons.

The Ping family had many members, and there was a lot more household work to do than in modern times, keeping these three servants very busy.

After discussing Lord Ping, the conversation turned to other scholars.