Shen Lang still didn't buy a house in Changsheng County.
Because when he went to Changsheng County with the team, he told Zhu Hu that he wanted to buy a house and settle down. He asked Zhu Hu if he had any recommendations. Brother Zhu immediately advised him:
"Brother Shen, you are a martial arts genius at the level of Mu Da. You will never be limited to a small Changsheng County in the future. Changsheng County will only be your springboard. Your future will be in Yingzhou Fucheng, or even
In the imperial capital Jade City.
"In short, listen to my brother's advice. Don't waste money on buying a house in Changsheng County. Rent a similar small courtyard and live together for the time being."
In this way, when Shen Lang arrived in Changsheng County with his team, he followed Zhu Hu's persuasion and introduced him to rent a small single-family courtyard to live temporarily in a market not far from the county government office.
There is a small pond in the courtyard. Although it is not big, it is enough for small fish to live.
There is also a tall mulberry tree with lush branches. Xiao Zhao can also climb up and down the tree to exercise and harass the birds.
After Shen Lang rented this small courtyard, he also took Mu Qingxue's recommendation letter and went to the county government office to find a job with the county magistrate.
The twenty taels of gold that Mu Qingxue gave him was a huge sum of money in this small county.
But Shen Lang is a martial arts practitioner and has a huge appetite, so he has to eat in buckets.
There are also two little monsters, Xiao Yu and Xiao Zhao, who are also very edible. Of course, Shen Lang can't just sit back and rest in vain. He must find a job and earn a steady salary.
Mu Qingxue's name was very useful, and as soon as the recommendation letter came up, the county magistrate readily arranged a job for Shen Lang.
For now, he is just a temporary government servant, and his main job is to patrol the streets with Zhu Hu and other policemen. The salary is not high, only two silver dollars a month, which is not enough for Shen Lang to feed himself.
Shen Lang asked Zhu Hu quietly, and it turned out that Zhu Hu's salary was only five silver dollars. Even the seventh-grade county magistrate, not counting various annual allowances, had a regular salary of only twenty silver dollars.
Of course, whether you are a county magistrate, a full-time police officer, or even a temporary government servant, if you really want to make money, there are always ways.
Even if you don't want to commit corruption to make money, you can still go to the countryside to earn allowances on business trips, or catch thieves and earn rewards for meritorious services.
For example, when Zhu Hu followed Mu Qingxue to annihilate Wangjiazhuang, because Mu Qingxue killed all the hard ideas, he didn't get any outstanding achievements, only some hard work of running errands, so he only received ten silver dollars as a reward for his meritorious service.
However, when the house was raided, the income from the regular profit distribution amounted to more than fifty silver dollars.
Just business trip allowances and rewards for catching thieves are not stable income. After all, there are not missions to the countryside every month, and a large-scale battle like the annihilation of Wangjiazhuang may not happen once in several years.
So that kind of extra money is really not as good as the money for tea that market vendors routinely pay.
Seeing Zhu Hu's calm expression when he talked about "routine filial piety", Shen Lang felt a little uncomfortable, but he soon felt relieved.
This is an imperial society, an era where families are confiscated, county magistrates are confiscated, and family officials are exterminated. It is an era where casinos and brothels can be opened openly. It is an era where emperors and nobles exist. Of course, there are countless stereotypes and bad habits.
In this kind of world, powerful police officers and government servants can be considered very conscientious if they can accidentally set up a name, extort money, and only collect regular money.
For this kind of society and this era, in some aspects, it is best not to have any expectations.
After completing the entry procedures, Shen Lang did not go to work immediately.
The county master knew that he was not from Changsheng County and had just settled in the county, so he was very reasonable and gave him a day to settle down before returning to the Yamen for work tomorrow. He also thoughtfully arranged for Zhu Hu to take him to familiarize himself with the county environment.
.
So Shen Lang followed Zhu Hu and wandered around the county town for a long time. He also went to the gunsmith shop recommended by Zhu Hu and ordered two heavy flintlock pistols.
This kind of material is very solid, and the price of a special type of firearm for warriors is naturally more expensive than that of conventional firearms. The price of the two guns was forty silver dollars, which was a friendly price given by Zhu Hu for his introduction.
A gun costs twenty silver dollars, which is equivalent to one month's salary of a county magistrate. If Shen Lang relied on his salary, he would have to save for ten months to buy such an exclusive custom-made gun.
Fortunately, Shen Lang now had a huge sum of two hundred silver dollars sponsored by Mu Qingxue, so he didn't even frown when he paid the deposit.
But when he asked Zhu Hu to take him to the drug store to buy some medicinal materials to make medicinal bath bags, the price frightened him.
"What, a pack of medicine costs five silver dollars? Are you mistaken? Why is it so expensive? Are you, the shopkeeper, trying to deceive me because of my appearance?"
Facing Shen Lang's angry questioning, the pharmacy manager smiled and said:
"Sir, the medicine prepared according to your prescription is at this price. You don't even look at how expensive the main ingredients in your prescription are. Even many of the auxiliary medicines can only be purchased in
Precious medicinal materials collected from deep mountains and old forests.
"Honestly, if our Changsheng County didn't rely on Yingzhou Prefecture, which has all kinds of supplies at home and abroad, the medicine in your prescription wouldn't be available in an inland county, even a top-tier county.
."
Shen Lang raised his eyes to look at Zhu Hu, and when he saw him nodding helplessly, his heart suddenly dropped.
A pair of medicated bath bags can only be used once, and each time will cost five silver dollars...
Wouldn’t that cost one hundred and fifty silver dollars a month?
The shopkeeper was still talking with a smile:
"My lord, look, you are preparing this medicinal bag for medicinal bathing, right? Are you a martial arts practitioner? You must have heard the saying that the poor are rich but the literary are rich."
Poor in literature and rich in martial arts...
Shen Lang had indeed heard this sentence countless times, but it was not until today that he realized the power of this sentence!
Shen Lang, who had just thought that he was a wealthy man, suddenly felt that he was pitifully poor.
Zhu Hu is still comforting:
"Actually, there is no need to use such expensive medicated bath recipes. I practiced martial arts when I was young, and occasionally took medicated baths. The medicated bath bags I used only cost 200 copper coins each, and the effect was barely okay. Brother Shen, why don't you think about it?
Cheap recipe?”
So this is why, brother, you are in your twenties, but you are still only at the seventh level of martial arts?
Shen Lang complained silently in his heart, feeling that his path to martial arts might be full of twists and turns.
Although he was very poor and the medicated bath bags were expensive, Shen Lang still gritted his teeth and spent ten silver dollars on two pairs of medicated bath bags, planning to go back and try the effect.
If the effect is average, that's it.
But if it works well…
Then you have to find a way to make money, make a lot of money!
When the lanterns first come on.
Zhu Hu went to the restaurant for a meal, thanked Shen Lang for accompanying him that day, and walked to his residence alone, carrying two medicinal bath bags and a large carp weighing five kilograms.
When passing by a brothel, a young lady waved a handkerchief and greeted him:
"Master, come in and play. It only costs one silver dollar a night..."
Shen Lang sneered and frowned:
"You only have one silver dollar and you want to sleep with me? I'm so handsome, even if you don't tell me, you have to give me ten dollars!"
The young lady was stunned. She finally came to her senses and rolled her eyes at Shen Lang.
Shen Lang, on the other hand, went back proudly as if he had won a battle.
Girl, I'm worried about having no money, and you actually want to earn a silver dollar from me... It's enough to give me some money!