Brothers really did think alike.
In the end, Tang Shi and Tang Yi each had a potato and half a bean-flour flatbread to eat with their porridge. It was enough to fill their stomachs, to the envy of the workers who had brought nothing with them.
Tang Shi had never imagined a day when his younger brother would share food with him. He was deeply moved. “Now that you understand how to live properly, I feel so much more at ease. Young Wen is hardworking. Just look at this flatbread. It's delicious. You must treat him well. Don't ever hit him again.”
Tang Yi was hungry enough to find the flatbread delicious too. He nodded vigorously. “Don't worry, Big Brother. I won't behave like that anymore.”
Tang Shi nodded, satisfied.
As they ate, Tang Yi asked, “Brother, how many days will this work last?”
Tang Shi thought for a moment. “Eight or ten days, perhaps. Jobs like this are temporary. They never last long.”
Tang Yi did some sums. Ten days of wages would not be enough to keep them fed for a month. “Then come into town with me after work. I'll see if I can find another job. I have to plan for the future.”
Tang Shi regarded his brother with fresh respect. What a remarkable change! Tang Yi was actually thinking ahead. Relieved and pleased, he agreed.
The workers had barely any time to rest after lunch before returning to work. The afternoon shift was shorter, since they finished unloading the ship and would have to wait for another to arrive the following day.
When the work was done, the laborers lined up for their wages. The manager brought over an accountant, who set up a little table. Each worker handed in the small tally tokens recording his work, and the accountant worked an abacus with a rapid clatter to calculate the pay.
Tang Yi counted his tokens: six large and fifty-six small. That was eleven copper coins, with two small-sack tokens left over. It was a pitiful return for so much labor. Of course, his strength had not been up to much either. Beside him, Tang Shi had carried twenty large sacks and sixty small ones, earning nearly twenty coins.
Whenever a worker's leftover tokens did not add up to a whole coin, the accountant recorded the remainder and added it to the following day's pay. Tang Yi did not particularly trust these merchants. So when their turn came, he said, “I've earned eleven coins, with two small tokens left. My brother's earned sixteen coins, with two large tokens left. Two small tokens are worth one large, so that adds up to one more coin between us. Could you give us that extra coin now instead of putting it on tomorrow's account?”
The manager and accountant both looked up in surprise. Tang Shi was still counting on his fingers. The accountant asked, “You know arithmetic?”
Tang Yi nodded. “A little.”
The accountant said nothing but glanced at the manager, who nodded. They handed over the additional coin as requested.
Tang Shi was delighted. Few villagers could calculate wages. In the past, workers had sometimes been paid short after the accountant carried their balances forward. Now, as long as he and Tang Yi kept track of how many sacks they moved, there would be no need to carry amounts over, and no reason to fear losing money.
Tang Shi pressed the extra copper coin into Tang Yi's hand. “You keep this.”
Tang Yi quickly waved it away. “Brother, you did more of the work today. You take it.”
Tang Shi pretended to be angry. “We're brothers. Why count every coin between us? You've got hardly anything at home. Keep it.”
Tang Yi stopped refusing. He did need the money, and he had no wish to keep such strict accounts with his elder brother. Their households would be close in the future; being too exact about every little thing would only make them distant.
Since it was not yet very late, the brothers went into town for a look around. It was clearly much more prosperous than the village, with five or six restaurants alone, as well as shops of every kind and size.
Tang Yi first bought some grain. On Tang Shi's advice, he chose the cheapest mixed-grain flour, though he selected the finest-milled variety so it would not scrape their throats. It cost one copper coin for two catties, so he bought ten catties for five coins. Almost half his day's wages vanished at once, and Tang Yi felt the loss keenly.
Then the brothers went to the wall where hiring notices were posted. Most were dated long ago, and there was nothing suitable. They wandered through town in search of other work.
As they passed the entrance to Phoenix Arrival Bookshop, Tang Yi stopped. Tang Shi asked, “What are you looking at that for? You can't even read.”
Tang Yi: “…” Right. The former owner had been illiterate. Tang Yi wanted to find work copying books, but if he suddenly demonstrated literacy, people would become suspicious. For now, he would have to keep pretending—or find an opportunity to begin again.
So he decided to prepare Tang Shi for the idea. “Brother, I want to study.”
Tang Shi nearly jumped out of his skin. He felt his brother's forehead. It wasn't hot!
“You're already twenty! Why would you suddenly want to do that? Studying costs a fortune. How could a village family like ours afford it? Forget it. Come along.”
“I really want to learn,” Tang Yi insisted. “Even if I can't afford to study now, surely I can go inside and have a look.” With that, he stepped into the bookshop. Tang Shi had no choice but to shake his head and follow, deeply worried that his brother had suddenly developed an interest in the ruinously expensive business of education. His own family could never pay for it. Who knew what would become of them if Tang Yi tried?
As soon as they entered, an assistant came forward, looked the brothers up and down, and asked disdainfully, “Are you here to buy books, or brushes and ink?”
Tang Shi felt nervous the moment he entered the shop, which was filled with the scent of ink. The assistant's arrogant question made him even more flustered, and he could not speak. Tang Yi, however, was perfectly at ease. “How much are your cheapest paper and brushes?”
Hearing him ask immediately for the cheapest goods, the assistant became even more convinced they could afford nothing. He rolled his eyes and answered insolently, one leg jiggling, “The cheapest coarse hemp paper is one tael of silver per bundle of a hundred sheets. The cheapest writing brush is two taels of silver each. Are you buying?”
Tang Yi calculated that even to buy a bundle of the poorest paper, he would have to work at the docks for a hundred days without spending a penny on food or drink. Now he understood why it was so difficult for someone from a poor family to rise through scholarship. The cost of paper and brushes alone was enough to discourage them, never mind ink, inkstones, and even more expensive books. No wonder Tang Shi had been so frightened when he mentioned studying.
The two of them obviously could not afford the goods. Tang Yi had only come to learn the prices anyway, so after asking his questions, he left. The assistant mocked them as they went.
After leaving the shop, Tang Shi wiped his brow. “Come on. You heard what he said. It's hard enough for farming families like ours to earn a little money in a whole year. Don't waste it on this.” A single brush cost as much as his family's annual income. It was terrifying!
But instead of giving up, Tang Yi asked, “Are there any other bookshops in town? Let's look around.”
Tang Shi nearly jumped. Had his foolish brother really got it into his head that he must study? What were they going to do?
Seeing his unease, Tang Yi smiled. “Don't worry, Brother. I'm not buying anything now. If I ever study, it'll be when I can afford to support myself. I just want to have a look.”
Tang Shi relaxed a little. “There's one at the western end of town, but it's smaller than this. There aren't many scholars around here, so we can't support many bookshops. I reckon that little place in the west is about to close.”
“Even better,” Tang Yi said. “If it's going out of business, perhaps its goods will be cheaper. Let's go and see.”
