Chapter 81
By mid-to-late the ninth month, Ji Yangzong had finally managed to collect all the taxes.
Not daring to delay, he promptly delivered the grain and tax payments to the prefectural office.
Given the bandit troubles during last year’s autumn harvest, the village heads were still apprehensive and acted with great caution.
Huo Shu went along to help escort the village’s grain, partly to ease Ji Yangzong’s worries.
This year, the archivist of the household office had been replaced, and all the rules and paperwork were different from before. Ji Yangzong spent quite some time sorting things out before he could hand over the grain and taxes.
When he stepped out, the furrow between his brows that had been there for over a month finally relaxed. This year’s harvest had been poor, and every household was struggling. Collecting taxes had been an arduous task.
Now that the year’s biggest responsibility was done, a huge weight lifted from his mind. Instead of heading straight back to the village, he went with Huo Shu to the horseback archery range.
By late the ninth month, the weather had turned chilly. The autumn wind blowing between mid-morning and noon was enough to make one shiver.
The crisp autumn days were gradually fading into bleakness.
“How much are they paying for grain?”
Ji Yangzong walked through the market streets with Huo Shu, who was leading a horse. It had been some time since he last came to town.
Grain was still selling briskly in the town. After autumn, farming households relied on selling their harvest to make some money. Besides covering tax payments, they needed cash to buy candles, oil, salt, and other daily necessities—money was essential to keep things running.
“Fine grain at 1,100 coppers per shi, coarse grain at 800 coppers.”
A clerk straddling a cart and hawking goods slurped his noodles as he quoted the price to Ji Yangzong.
A farmer nearby overheard and scowled. “How come the price dropped again! Just two days ago, fine grain was going for 1,200 coppers per shi!”
“Take it or leave it. Go ask around if you think we’re the only ones offering this price. If you don’t like it, don’t sell. Who knows—it might drop even more in a few days.”
The clerk's demeanor shifted noticeably between the two men. When responding to Ji Yangzong—whose fine clothing marked him as someone of standing, and whose companion's imposing stature commanded respect—the clerk maintained at least surface-level courtesy, though his tone lacked genuine warmth. Yet when the coarse-clothed farmer dared question the prices, the clerk's patience vanished entirely. His words came rapid-fire, each syllable sharp as an arrowhead.
The farmer had no retort and hurried away, likely to check other buyers’ prices.
Ji Yangzong clasped his hands behind his back as he and Huo Shu continued walking. “I remember grain prices were quite high back in the seventh month. In previous years, fine grain sold for 1,200 or 1,300. This year, with the rains damaging the harvest, the seventh month prices hit 1,400 or 1,500. After the tax notices came out in the eight month, a flood of people started selling, and I heard from villagers that prices dropped to 1,200 or 1,300. I didn’t expect it to fall to 1,100 now.”
He sighed. “Even in a bumper year, prices wouldn’t be this low. These city grain buyers are just taking advantage.”
Huo Shu said, “Farmers don’t have much else to turn into cash. They have to sell grain. When many sell at once, prices naturally drop.”
Ji Yangzong nodded. “Those who sold early were lucky. If they wait until now, the losses would be heartbreaking.”
After a few more words, they reached Xinjie Street.
By mid-morning, the archery workshop and horseback archery range were already open.
Seeing no one at the archery workshop, Huo Shu figured Ji Taoyu must be at the range. As he needed to bring the horse there regardless, the situation suited his purposes.
Ji Yangzong took a quick look around the workshop before following to see how the range was doing.
Just as they reached the entrance, they spotted a middle-aged man with streaks of white in his hair seemingly peering at something.
Huo Shu was about to speak when Ji Yangzong beat him to it. “Archivist Jiang?”
The man turned, and the weariness in his face made Ji Yangzong’s eyes flicker with surprise.
Quickly masking his reaction, he smiled. “It really is you! I almost thought I’d mistaken someone else.”
“Village Head Ji.”
The man, addressed as Archivist Jiang, greeted him with a tired expression. “What a coincidence running into you here.”
Ji Yangzong replied politely, “I just delivered this year’s grain and taxes to the prefectural office. What brings you here, Archivist Jiang? Official business?”
The man waved a hand. “I’m no longer the archivist. Just call me by my name.”
He was straightforward. “I heard a large horseback archery range opened on Xinjie Street and was hiring an accountant. I came to take a look.”
Ji Yangzong paused, surprised that Jiang Yuhou would be seeking work—and as an accountant, no less. Without knowing the full story, he wasn’t sure what to ask.
He turned to Huo Shu. “Did you put up notices for hiring?”
Huo Shu gave a nod.
Jiang Yuhou looked startled. “This archery range…?”
Though Ji Yangzong tried to sound modest, a touch of pride seeped through. “It’s my son-in-law’s venture. Young folks like to keep busy with new projects.”
Jiang Yuhou couldn’t help but glance at the towering Huo Shu. “Truly an outstanding young man. Impressive.”
“You flatter us. Ah, let’s not stand around outside. Come in for some tea.”
Ji Yangzong chuckled and ushered Jiang Yuhou inside without further delay.
Huo Shu followed silently. At this hour, the range had just opened and didn’t yet have any customers.
Ji Taoyu was by the stables feeding the horses a handful of hay. When he noticed visitors, he quickly set the hay aside and went to greet them.
“This gentleman is here to apply for the accountant position. An acquaintance of Father’s.”
Huo Shu said briefly, reaching out to remove the grass debris from Ji Taoyu's head.
Ji Taoyu said, "Then I'll go prepare some tea. You go ahead first."
"Mm."
Jiang Yuhou was originally an archivist in the household department of the prefectural yamen. Though merely a clerical position without official rank, this was nonetheless the prosperous and affluent Tongzhou - securing such a post without connections and substantial ability would have been utterly impossible.
This was especially true for the household department archivist position that oversaw local fiscal administration.
All tax payments - whether land taxes or commercial tax, had to pass through his office for processing.
Ji Yangzong had dealt with Jiang Yuhou frequently when submitting tax payments and collecting annual rewards. Compared to other yamen functionaries, Jiang Yuhou proved to be exceptionally mild-mannered and accommodating.
For this reason, Ji Yangzong had always held him in high regard.
He was aware that when the new prefect took office, a batch of personnel had been replaced in the performance review—just as a new emperor brought his own ministers, the same also happened locally.
Jiang Yuhou was one of those replaced. At the time, Ji Yangzong had felt quite regretful upon hearing the news.
None of this was particularly surprising. What puzzled Ji Yangzong was how Jiang Yuhou had ended up in his current state.
Back in the prefectural yamen, though not exactly high-spirited, he had carried himself with authority. It was said he even had a brother serving as an official in the capital, though the position was minor, he was well-informed.
Having served as household department archivist for several years, Jiang Yuhou was originally a xiucai (passed the county-level civil service exams) before joining the yamen as a clerk and later climbing to the archivist position. His competence was undeniable.
Logically, with some family background, ability, and years managing finances in the yamen, he should have accumulated some wealth.
Even if he lost his position, he shouldn’t have fallen so low as to seek work as an accountant.
Thank you for the update!!
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