Chapter 36 Settling In

He never intended to break the rules.

With the amount of twenty-four taels already settled, there was no need to fuss over a mere seven qian. The middle-aged man, seeing Li Mu so straightforward, smiled even more brightly and presented the contract with both hands.

Li Mu turned directly to the old man. “Sir, please have a look.”

“Ah, gladly.” The old man took the contract and examined it closely. After a moment, he nodded to Li Mu. “No problem, all the terms are as agreed.”

“Good.” With that, Li Mu drew a pouch from his chest and took out some broken silver. Besides the silver, he also produced a small balance scale—a silver scale.

Transactions in this era were troublesome, especially those settled in physical silver, which were even more so. The pieces of silver varied in size and weight, and disputes were common. That was why scales were necessary—two, in fact: one for himself, and one for the other party, to avoid arguments. Both would weigh the silver on their own scales, confirm the weight, and only then proceed.

Of course, this was the common people’s way of doing things. The truly wealthy used silver drafts—notes issued by banks, made with special anti-counterfeiting measures. With the bank’s credibility behind them, there was no need for such hassle; any redemption would be at the bank anyway.

Currently, the official drafts in use were those from the Dayu Bank. Still, exchanging physical silver for drafts incurred a small interest fee. For ordinary folk eking out a living copper by copper, who would willingly let the bank “exploit” their hard-earned silver?

Li Mu wouldn’t, either.

So he had no silver drafts, only physical silver, which made transactions somewhat more cumbersome.

After weighing out twelve taels and seven qian, Li Mu handed the silver to the middle-aged man. The man carefully inspected each piece, verified their authenticity, then weighed them on his own scale. Satisfied with the result, he broke into a wide grin.

“No problem. I’ve received twelve taels and seven qian from you—the rent for half a year, and the full year’s commission. In six months, you can come here in advance and have Xiao Qi contact me. Or our people will come to collect the second half of the rent then.”

Xiao Qi was the name of the inn’s assistant. His second uncle called him Wang Xiao Qi.

Li Mu nodded at these words.

Both parties then signed two copies of the lease—one for the broker, one for Li Mu. However, Li Mu didn’t recognize the characters of this world and could only make a handprint—not just a thumb, but his entire left palm pressed onto the document.

With that, the house was officially rented.

The middle-aged man handed Li Mu the key to the courtyard gate and took his leave.

Li Mu and his companion also stepped outside. Xiao Qi, the assistant Wang Xiao Qi, saw them to the door and said with a smile, “Sir, if you need anything or if there’s any problem with the courtyard, you can always find me here. I’m usually around.”

Li Mu nodded with a smile, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and as a customer arrived, Wang Xiao Qi excused himself and returned to the inn.

Li Mu then expressed his heartfelt thanks to the old man, taking out an extra qian of silver as a tip.

The old man accepted it with a cheerful grin. After a few more words, he went on his way.

Watching the old man leave, Li Mu let out a long breath and looked at the key in his hand.

Now, in this county town, he finally had a place to call his own, however temporary. Though only a rented house, it gave him a sense of having a foothold, at least for now—a feeling of security in this unfamiliar town.

No wonder people were so obsessed with owning property…

In a strange city, as long as there was a stable place to stay, one’s heart could find rest.

He exhaled, rubbing his throbbing brow. Today had gone a little better than yesterday, but only just. For the next few days, he would focus on resting and recovery.

He patted the old blue ox waiting in the small sunken space outside the inn. The ox knelt obediently, and Li Mu mounted. With a gentle tap to its belly, the ox started off docilely into the street.

“Ah, I mustn’t forget bedding, and I need to prepare ingredients for dinner…”

…

Over the next five days, Li Mu stayed inside the courtyard to recuperate. Aside from going out to buy food for the day, he hardly stepped beyond the gates.

After renting the house, he bought only a quilt for bedding, an iron pot, two bundles of firewood, and a few sets of bowls and chopsticks—nothing more. Since he lived alone, there was no need for anything else.

As for the blue ox’s meals, it fed on the weeds growing in the courtyard—saving Li Mu a great deal of effort.

Of course, eating meant it had to relieve itself as well, but Li Mu was clever. His skill in handling livestock came in handy: every time the ox needed to “do its business,” Li Mu would simply open the door and let it walk to the mouth of the alley and relieve itself on the street. Then it would return.

There were workers who cleaned up livestock droppings daily—the county town was full of animals; without regular cleaning, how could anyone live here? The various guilds paid for these workers, each tending their own territory. Every dawn, cartloads were hauled out of town. The blue ox’s contributions made no difference.

The salve from Third Grandpa worked wonders. In just five days, the bruises and swelling on both arms had faded significantly. To be honest, it was more effective than anything in his previous life. Back then, such muscle injuries would have taken two or three months to heal completely, but this black ointment had reduced swelling and bruising in less than a week. Though heavy use still brought pain, it was nothing like the agony of the first days when even a little pressure felt like his arms might break.

This brought Li Mu great relief.

Besides the injuries, his energy and blood were much replenished. Cooking for himself, he ate meat every day, though the expense was considerable. Due to scarcity, meat was expensive—forty or fifty copper coins per jin. To recover quickly, he bought a jin each day. In five days, he had spent over two taels of silver on meat alone. Vegetables, rice, and flour were cheaper, but still cost dozens of copper coins.

In all, after several days in the county, he had spent fourteen or fifteen taels of silver. Most of it went to rent, of course, but the rate of spending still made his heart ache.

Life in the county was anything but easy.

In the village, at least, one never had to pay for vegetables. Aunt Six, Aunt Nine—they all grew their own. This year’s harvest was good, and the family had more than enough to eat.

“Silver really doesn’t last. I must start martial training again as soon as possible,” Li Mu thought with a frown.