By afternoon, Ye Tian went out again to buy firewood, rice, oil, salt, and some daily necessities. Since he knew how to cook, it was much cheaper than eating out, and he also took the opportunity to buy a couple of changes of clothes for himself.
It was only then that he realized how cheap the cost of living really was in North City.
For instance, the items he bought that afternoon would have cost at least twenty taels of silver in East City and West City, but here in North City, he got everything done for just seven or eight taels.
The quality of the clothes might be slightly inferior, of course, but it was more than enough for him.
That evening, Ye Tian built a fire to boil some porridge and made some pickled vegetables on the side.
Although simple, eating a meal he cooked himself in his own courtyard gave him a sense of peace for the first time in many days.
After eating and drinking his fill, Ye Tian lay down on the bed to ponder his future.
Though he had spent quite a bit of silver today, he still had a little over a thousand taels left. Even if he were to idle his days away, this money would be enough for him to live on for a very, very long time—at least a decade or two would be no problem at all.
If he kept cooking for himself and lived frugally, it might even last him a lifetime.
However, since he was already here and his memories held so many ways to make money, he naturally still had some ideals and ambitions.
Ruling the world and holding supreme power was out of the question; Da Qian was in a golden age of peace, and he hadn't lived enough yet.
That left only waking to the sight of beauties draped across his lap. No matter what others thought, he was quite looking forward to that.
As a man, who wouldn't want a houseful of wives and concubines?
Especially before meeting the true love of one's life.
Besides, the money he had now was private savings given to him by Lin Wan and Zhao Qinghuan. Even if this sum wasn't all that important to the two of them, and they had said it didn't need to be repaid, the problem remained: while living off a woman was great, if possible, he would rather make a fortune of his own before taking the two of them... Well, fair maidens are sought after by gentlemen, after all.
Still, Ye Tian was not in a rush. Now that he was settled, he could take his time making money. He would prepare thoroughly first and then take action, leaving no room for accidents.
***
The next day.
Ye Tian slept until noon before waking up. After a simple meal, he began to exercise in the courtyard. After all, health was the foundation of everything, and only with a strong body could one truly enjoy life!
It was not until afternoon that he went out to hail a carriage and told the driver to take him to Bright Moon Pavilion.
This was what he had previously agreed upon with Zhao Qinghuan and Lin Wan: to attend the poetry gathering together at Bright Moon Pavilion today.
However, upon arrival, he found that there were simply too many people heading to Bright Moon Pavilion. The carriage could not get close, so he had to get out nearby and squat in an empty corner to wait for them.
Along the way, he started considering which poem to bring out today to give the literary circles of Da Qian a mild shock.
"When did the bright moon appear?" definitely wouldn't do.
Of course, it wasn't that "Water Melody" wasn't good; rather, it was *too* good. He worried that if he wrote it out today, future Mid-Autumn poetry gatherings would have to be canceled altogether, wouldn't that ruin his own fun?
"The affairs of the world are but a grand dream" was also a classic by Su Shi, but the setting didn't seem quite right either.
Hmm... Xin Qiji's "Tai Chang Yin" would do, and Wang Jian's "Looking at the Moon on the Fifteenth Night and Sending It to Official Du" was also quite good!
***
As he thought about it, Ye Tian realized there were simply far too many poems he could write, and every single one he could recall was a masterpiece.
Still, he rather enjoyed this kind of sweet agony; it was far better than knowing nothing at all.
Furthermore, through his previous conversations with Zhao Qinghuan and Lin Wan, it had dawned on him that aside from seeking out backers, actively raising his literary reputation through poetry and prose seemed much more reliable than depending on outsiders.
After all, in the dynasties of his memories, many literati rose to prominence through poetry and prose, won the appreciation of literary giants, and ultimately succeeded in joining their ranks.
Take himself right now.
Whether it was Lin Wan, Zhao Qinghuan, or Lin Sheng, they all valued him so highly precisely because of his poems.
Otherwise, no matter how handsome he was, Lin Wan would never have taken the initiative to strike up a conversation with him.
"Young Master Ye, when did you arrive? Have you been waiting long?"
As Ye Tian's mind wandered wildly, a familiar voice rang out in his ear: Lin Wan!
She had finally arrived.
"Not bad, I haven't been waiting long," Ye Tian said as he stood up.
At the same time, he began to look over Lin Wan and Zhao Qinghuan. Lin Wan was wearing a light pink long dress, looking exceptionally playful and cute.
Zhao Qinghuan wore a white dress, appearing aloof, cold, and stately—much more mature by comparison.
Because the two of them had taken the initiative to greet him, quite a few people nearby curiously gathered around.
"Who is this fellow? How did he manage to get Miss Lin to initiate a conversation?"
"And here I was wondering why Miss Lin looked down on me. Turns out she likes this kind of pretty boy."
"Don't guess blindly. Miss Lin is probably just asking him for directions."
"Asking for directions? Bright Moon Pavilion is right ahead, and Miss Lin has been here dozens of times. Could she possibly get lost?"
"Wait a minute, this guy looks a bit familiar. Haven't I seen him somewhere before?"
"I think he looks familiar too, like I've seen him somewhere. Where was it..."
"I remember now! He's Ye Tian, that fool who was swept out of the estate by Vice Minister Sun's servants a few days ago!"
"No way? Why would Miss Lin be chatting with a fool? Did they know each other before?"
"Now that you mention it, he really is Ye Tian. I hadn't heard any news of him these past few days and thought he'd jumped in the river to drown himself. I never expected him to strike up a conversation with Miss Lin."
"Didn't you guys say he was an idiot? But he doesn't look like an idiot right now, does he?"
"..."
Although the surrounding voices were chaotic, neither Lin Wan nor Zhao Qinghuan lowered their voices, so they heard all of this gossip as well.
"Young Master Ye, please don't mind them. These people are just like that—they love gossiping behind people's backs," Lin Wan comforted him.
"That's right, Young Master. Just pretend they're all fools. I never take a word they say seriously anyway," Zhao Qinghuan immediately chimed in.
After all, they were the ones who had invited Ye Tian here today, so they felt somewhat guilty that he was now the target of gossip.
"Don't worry, I've been through things much more unpleasant than this. These words can't possibly affect me. Let's head inside first; I've never been to Bright Moon Pavilion before!" Ye Tian said with a smile.
Hearing his words, Lin Wan and Zhao Qinghuan exchanged glances and let out sighs of relief, then took the lead to walk into Bright Moon Pavilion together with Ye Tian.