Chapter 66: Chapter 45: Borrowing Money
Translator: 549690339
“Brother Sun.’
As Lu Yuan opened the door, he saw his good friend standing outside. He immediately greeted him with a gesture to come in.
“Brother Lu.” Sun Siwen returned the greeting and then seemed to pause, rooted in place, not walking in as he usually did in the past.
Looking back,
Noticing that Sun seemed worried and hesitant, as if overwhelmed with something, Lu Yuan’s heart stirred, and a smile appeared on his face as he invited, “Brother Sun, your timing is perfect. I just made some salty bone porridge and was about to have breakfast. Now that you’re here, let’s enjoy it together. Please, come in.”
Having said that, he took Sun Siwen’s hand and dragged him inside to sit down at the stone table in the courtyard.
Lu Yuan could see that the other had something on his mind, so he did not hurry to ask.
After seating his guest, he immediately served a cup of hot tea. Then he went into the kitchen and soon emerged with a large clay pot and two sets of bowls and chopsticks.
Just as he had said before.
When it was time for breakfast, Mr. Sun arrived just in time.
As for whether breakfast for one would be enough for two?
Since he began martial arts training, especially with the help of his golden finger, which increased his time training Inner Strength, Lu Yuan’s appetite had grown enormously.
He needed to take in massive amounts of food and medicine to maintain his body’s consumption.
Therefore, the large clay pot in front of him was filled with a portion meant for five people. With Mr. Sun’s appetite, having him eat would only mean a few less bites for Lu Yuan.
After finishing three large bowls of porridge and feeling five or six points full, Lu Yuan put down the bowl and looked up to see his friend lost in thought. The porridge that had been poured earlier had gone cold, with only a few bites taken and more than half left.
Narrowing his eyes, Lu Yuan asked, “Brother Sun, is there something you need from me so early today?”
As he asked, he thought to himself, could it be that some change had happened in Sun’s dreams, but it didn’t look that way.
At his words, Sun Siwen snapped back to attention, his face showing a hint of hesitation, and he stammered, “Indeed, indeed there is.”
Lu Yuan laughed, “Considering our relationship, why be so hesitant? If Brother
Sun has something to say, I’ll listen.”
Perhaps it was his words that had an effect. Remembering that the other was his only close friend, Sun Siwen gritted his teeth and said with a hint of embarrassment, “Actually, I came to ask Brother Lu a favor today.”
“A favor?” Lu Yuan’s expression changed slightly, and he said solemnly, “Please tell me straight away, Brother Sun. If I can help, there will be no evasion.”
With the conversation going smoothly, Sun Siwen no longer hesitated and revealed his request: “I’ve told Brother Lu before that I plan to participate in this year’s imperial examination. I’m also preparing for it now.”
“However, the exams are hard, and they require a lot of money.
The journey to the county town is eight hundred miles away, and the expenses required for food and accommodation are numerous. Once in the city, there are registration fees, lodging fees, gatherings, bribes, and so on.
I come from poverty and have no extra money. In my past 20 years of struggle, I’ve known few close friends, and the only one I have is Brother Lu.
So, this time I can only shamelessly seek help from Brother Lu.
I hope Brother can lend me some money for the exam. In the future, when I pass the exam and become successful, I will repay it tenfold.”
So he came to borrow money!
Lu Yuan immediately understood after hearing Sun Siwen’s explanation.
However, he didn’t change his demeanor like those fair-weather friends who harshly rejected people when asked for money.
In fact, as a wealthy man with thousands of silver taels, Lu Yuan did not mind lending money to his good friend to help in difficult times.
After all, who doesn’t face hard times?
Furthermore, ever since discovering Sun Siwen’s uniqueness, his interest in getting to know and interact with him had grown.
Now, borrowing money presented a good opportunity to do just that.
After all, he wasn’t worried about not being repaid.
One reason was that he trusted Sun Siwen’s character, and the other reason
So, after thinking for a while, Lu Yuan immediately smiled and asked, “Brother Sun, how much silver do you need for your exam?”
Sun Siwen immediately replied, “I need five silver taels for travel expenses, five for lodging fees, one for the registration fee, two for bribes, and two for socializing and gathering, a total of fifteen silver taels.”
Mr. Sun disclosed his carefully calculated expenses.
In reality, fifteen silver taels were barely enough for an imperial exam in a faraway county town, but he also had one or two silver taels on hand, which could make up the shortfall and just get him through.
Most importantly, Mr. Sun’s face was a bit thin, and he was embarrassed to make exorbitant demands from his good friend.
After all, though he knew his friend had made more money due to his martial arts training,
He was still just a hunter, and how much could a hunter really make?
Sun Siwen couldn’t bear asking for too much.
A good friend can be generous, but one shouldn’t abuse their kindness with an endless list of demands. That’s the basic principle of being a person.
“Brother Sun’s examination is a big deal. How can fifteen silver taels be enough?”
Hearing Sun Siwen’s request, Lu Yuan’s heart, which had originally braced for a small loss, suddenly relaxed. He felt his friend was truly honest.
Lu Yuan muttered in his heart, then took out his money pouch and extracted thirty silver taels, putting them on the table with a smile, saying, “Here are thirty silver taels. That should be enough. Brother Sun, please take it.”
“This is too much, way too much,” Sun Siwen’s face flushed, and his heart warmed as he quickly waved.
“Hey,” Lu Yuan held his friend’s hand and said sincerely, “Brother Sun, you’re my good friend. How can I not help when you’re in need? Just take the thirty silver taels. Like you said, when you pass the exam, you can repay me more.”
Sun Siwen was deeply touched, feeling that no one in the world could be as good to him as Lu Yuan.
With that thought, he gritted his teeth, took out a long, slender, green jade plaque from his bosom, and handed it to Lu Yuan.
“Brother Lu, I don’t know how to thank you for your sincerity,” Sun said. “At the beginning of the year, when my family’s old house was in disrepair, this jade fell out of the wall. It was preserved in a wooden box at the time.
I examined the contents of the box, and there was a letter left by my great-grandfather, saying that if his descendants ever fell on hard times, they could take the items in the box and pawn them for silver.
There were a few other things in the box, which I’ve already pawned in the town’s pawnshop for silver expenses. But I’ve kept this jade piece, which is not only my favorite but also the last item left by my great-grandfather, as a sentimental keepsake.
Lu Yuan, you’re always curious about immortals and gods, right?
My great-grandfather also liked searching for immortals and visiting ancient paths. Today, I offer this jade plaque as a gift to you.
If you ever need anything from me in the future, just bring this jade plaque, Sun Siwen or my descendants will do everything in their power to help, with no objections.”
Sun Siwen offered the jade plaque and made a solemn promise..