Andrew Bennett felt a surge of joy in his heart, thinking, “Could it be that my first ambiguous encounter in the Tang Dynasty is about to happen?”

　　“Ping’an…”

　　Amidst the billowing dust, David Clark came running, carrying a book chest on his shoulder.

　　The young girl cried out in surprise and quickly retreated.

　　Damn!

　　Andrew Bennett got up, feeling a bit disgruntled. Seeing David Clark sweating profusely but looking extremely pleased, he asked, “Cousin, did something good happen to you?”

　　David Clark came closer, first glancing at the girls. After they spat in annoyance and left, he said regretfully, “Ping’an, their butts are all too small, not good for having children. Girls like that aren’t suitable for you!”

　　Big butts… Andrew Bennett tried hard to recall, but it seemed that among Eastern women, there weren’t many unmarried girls with big butts.

　　“That shopkeeper at the warehouse tried to cheat me out of half a coin. But he didn’t consider that I, David Clark, can make a handful of rice last two days. Does he really think he can take advantage of me? Later, I got a hammer and a chisel… See, I brought the half coin back.”

　　David Clark took out the half coin, looking very proud.

　　Andrew Bennett was speechless, feeling that this cousin was the reincarnation of Grandet, or Huang Shiren come again. If he ever became a landlord, the tenant farmers probably wouldn’t survive.

　　The key point was making a handful of rice last two days—that was pretty scary. The porridge he cooked must be barely more than water.

　　“I also bought a chicken.” Hanging from the back of the book chest was a big rooster, clucking away.

　　As the cooking smoke rose, the rooster was stewed. David Clark was in charge of tending the fire by the stove, arranging the firewood as he said, “Today we’ll eat the two legs of this chicken, and put the rest in a clay pot in the well so it won’t spoil. We’ll eat the meat for three days, and use the soup to soak rice for two more days. This way, one chicken can last five days…”

　　But after the meal, the two brothers had eaten the entire rooster clean, and David Clark felt very guilty about it.

　　“Cousin, we’re not short on money now. If we need to buy something, just buy it. If we want to eat, just eat.” Although Andrew Bennett wasn’t rich in his previous life, he never skimped on food and drink.

　　David Clark looked at him and said seriously, “Ping’an, our family has been farmers for generations. Tofu can make money, but if others figure out how to make it themselves, how much can we still earn? If we don’t save now, when you get married and have three kids, you’ll need money for their weddings, for building houses, for food and drink, for all sorts of things.

　　I may not be educated, but I know one thing: when poor people get money, they can’t get carried away—they have to be careful! If you can keep making money for three or five years, then you can start spending a little more. Otherwise, you still have to save.”

　　David Clark glanced at the chicken bones that had been gnawed clean, his eyes full of regret.

　　Andrew Bennett sensed something was off and asked, “Don’t tell me you want to use the eaten chicken bones to make soup?”

　　He thought it couldn’t be. After all, the Jia family wasn’t short on money anymore. Not to mention chicken, even having lamb every few days wouldn’t be a problem. If they expanded tofu production, they’d be a proper small landlord family.

　　David Clark said with relief, “Ping’an, you think so too? That’s perfect…”

　　Andrew Bennett was completely baffled…

　　In the end, the chicken carcass wasn’t kept, but David Clark mourned it for a long time, sighing and groaning even in his sleep.

　　As Andrew Bennett was drifting off, he heard David Clark say, “Ping’an, when I went to the market, I heard something. The public funds of Huazhou are missing—they say the money lent out by the money-handlers hasn’t been paid back, and a huge sum is lost. They say… two boats sank.”

　　The Tang Dynasty had many odd systems. For example, officials’ salaries came from several sources, one of which was lending. The Huazhou prefecture office had a sum of money allocated from above, and the office would find wealthy locals with connections to lend out the money. The interest collected would be sent back to the office regularly, and that interest was part of the officials’ salaries.

　　This money was called public funds, and those well-connected wealthy people were called money-handlers.

　　Wait a minute!

　　Andrew Bennett thought about it and felt something was off.

　　This season, there were no storms or waves. If a boat sank, one would be enough, but two at once? That sounded like… like the loan fraud schemes from his previous life.

　　Thinking about the recent news of Prefect Liang Bo’s serious illness, Andrew Bennett found it all very interesting.

　　But this had nothing to do with him, so he just grunted and fell into a deep sleep.

　　The next morning, David Clark kicked Andrew Bennett out. “You used to like reading under the tree. From today on, just focus on your studies.”

　　This cousin really was capable!

　　Andrew Bennett picked up a book and strolled over to the tree, reading carefully.

　　He was a history enthusiast, quite knowledgeable about Tang and Song history, and very interested in the imperial examination system that shook the foundations of the aristocratic clans.

　　At present, the most important parts of the Tang imperial exams were regulated verse and policy essays. Both of these, for Andrew Bennett, offered opportunities to cheat.

　　But right now, he had no intention of taking the exams. He just wanted to live out his days at The Clark Estate.

　　When the time came, he’d marry a virtuous wife, have a few children, teach them knowledge, and watch them grow up…

　　Slurp!