Chapter 3: Gongsun Zan is truly a good girl

Sun Yu listened to her words, his expression momentarily blank. He thought to himself, is this pile of thatched houses really considered good? It is only worth 2,000 coins, which is merely the price of ten stones of millet. In later times, ten stones of millet wouldn't even be enough to buy a square meter of housing. However, upon reflecting on this, Sun Yu felt that his salary was quite high; with an annual income of one hundred stones of millet, wouldn't that allow him to purchase ten such houses?

"Twelve years old!" Zhao Yun said, blinking his eyes

Looking at the somewhat satisfied Zhao Yun, Sun Yu sighed and said: "Zilong, rest assured, you will be able to unleash your general's skills for a whole day, and they will be exceptionally powerful. By that day, you will be able to live in a better house"

Aren't you my maid? Sun Yu replied with a smile, "With me around, you won't starve."

This house is a simple thatched cottage, consisting of only one room and one bed. This truly poses a challenge for Sun Yu, especially since he is accompanied by a young maid, Zhao Yun. How can they possibly sleep on one bed? What he does not realize is that in this era, poor families cannot afford to hire maids, and ordinary people's homes certainly do not have separate quarters for maids.

Sun Yu had heard several times about the ranks of martial skills from Guan Jing and Gongsun Zan, and could not help but ask curiously: "My lord, I come from the deep mountains and am unaware of worldly matters. Could you please enlighten me on the various types of martial skills?"

This man is actually quite decent, neither servile nor arrogant, composed and experienced, although his martial skills are somewhat lacking... Just as Gongsun Zan thought of this, he suddenly saw Sun Yu walking back, who smiled wryly at her and said: "My lord, could you please tell me how much the salary of the historian is? Additionally... could I possibly receive an advance on one month's salary... You see, my subordinate's clothing made of plant fibers... both my maid and I are on the verge of starving."

However, as one grows older, one must ultimately marry! After much difficulty, there is finally a man who can utilize martial skills, yet he only possesses the most basic civil official skills, which truly disappoints Gongsun Zan

Above the top tier, it is said that there exists a dark golden super general skill... This... It is said that no one in the world has yet been discovered to possess the ability to use it

That night, the darkness was as serene as water. Sun Yu lay in bed, while Zhao Yun slept among the remaining two shis of millet, her pitiful figure curled up in the pile of grains, resembling a forlorn abandoned cat

Having clothes is not enough; one still needs to sell rice to have some cash on hand. Sun Yu went to the market and exchanged eight stones of rice for money. As calculated by NM01, the market price of rice in this era is 200 wen per stone, but due to the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion this year, the price has risen to 260 wen per stone. Sun Yu sold his eight stones of rice for a total of 2080 wen, which can be considered a small amount of pocket money.

Sweat, so little! Sun Yu shook his head in frustration, thinking, with this little money, I might as well be drinking the northwest wind. This position called "Ling Shi" is too unreliable. If I want to earn some money and then travel the world to seek the truth about time travel, this amount is clearly insufficient. It seems I need to strive for a higher official position to earn more money.

The voice of NM01 echoed in Sun Yu's mind: "One stone of millet is approximately equal to 180 jin, and ten stones of millet is about 1800 jin. During the Eastern Han period, the grain price was roughly 200 qian per stone. Now, with the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, theoretically, the grain price should rise, and one stone should be between 200 and 300 qian. According to calculations, the price of ten stones of millet is approximately between 2000 and 3000 wen."

At this moment, ten porters arrived in front of the house, sent by Gongsun Zan. Each porter was carrying one stone of millet. With so much millet suddenly brought into the small house of the two men, the entire space became cramped, leaving no place to sleep except for the bed. Even the spot where Zhao Yun was supposed to lay down the bedding was occupied.

Zhao Yun took a handful of rice to the kitchen, and before long, he cooked a pot of rice. The two of them had no vegetables to accompany the rice, so they ate two bowls of plain rice. Just after finishing the meal, Gongsun Zan sent someone to deliver the official attire to Sun Yu. The official attire was originally supposed to be funded and made by oneself, but seeing that Sun Yu was empty-handed and wearing clothes made of ferns, Gongsun Zan took it upon himself to pay for a set of official attire for Sun Yu.

But the poor Zhao Yun was not angry at all; instead, she was very happy. She lay on the pile of rice and happily turned over, saying, "Tonight I will sleep in the pile of rice. Haha, now I won't have to go hungry anymore"

"I have a house to live in!" Zhao Yun appeared very happy. She turned around the room twice, looking left and right, and joyfully said to Sun Yu, "Mr. Xun Zhen, this house is truly wonderful, worth at least 2000 coins. My martial skills are quite good, but unfortunately... people say I have the talent of a general, yet I just can't seem to utilize my martial skills."

Poor child! Sun Yu sighed, thinking that so much rice could not be consumed, nor could it be transported to Zhuo County. Ultimately, it had to be sold for money, so he could buy himself a set of clothes to wear. How could he continue wearing clothes made of ferns?

However, speaking with women is truly troublesome. I came to meet Gongsun Zan to seek a bowl of rice, and before we even began discussing serious matters, you brought up whether the lord can get married or not. It is utterly illogical. He cupped his fists towards Gongsun Zan in the hall and said: "My lord, I am unworthy and possess only a useless green martial arts skill. I wish to seek a civil position under your command, as long as I can have something to eat"

"Zilong, how old are you this year?" Sun Yu could not help but ask

Gongsun Zan let out a bitter laugh, raised her phoenix eyes, and wanted to get angry, but instead spoke in an unprecedented gentle tone: "There has never been a precedent for advancing salaries; I cannot make an exception for you. However... seeing that you are indeed in a difficult situation, I will grant you a separate reward... The annual salary for the registrar is one hundred shi of grain, so I will reward you with ten shi."

The lowest level is the green general skill, which is mostly used for handling civil affairs. For example, Guan Jing's "Talent Search" and Sun Yu's "Shorthand". The intermediate level is the red general skill, which can be used for charging into battle, such as Yan Gang's "Spear General" and Tian Yu's "Breaking the Enemy". The advanced level is the blue general skill. The Gongsun family only has Gongsun Zan's "White Horse", while Yuan Shao's subordinate in Nanpi, Yan Liang and Wen Chou, also possess advanced blue general skills.

"What is the historical record? NM01, hurry up and check for me," Sun Yu said softly

Guan Jing arranged for Sun Yu to stay in a temporary small house, allowing him to rest for a few days before taking up his post in Zhuo County

Guan Jing bowed to the female general and said: "My lord, the man behind me is Sun Yu, also known as Sun Xunzheng, and the little girl behind him is Zhao Yun." She then introduced Sun Yu and Zhao Yun to her.

Behind the barracks, there is a row of low wooden houses, and beyond these houses, one can see a grand central hall.

Gongsun Zan stared at him for a long time, and a fleeting look of confusion passed through his phoenix eyes. He thought to himself: "This man is the only one skilled in martial arts, and he looks quite good; he is also very young. If I truly cannot find someone to marry, the Gongsun family must continue, and I will have no choice but to invite this person to join our family... Alas, how tragic. Why is there no man in this world who is on par with my abilities?"

Guan Jing was drenched in cold sweat, as she knew that the lord was proud and arrogant, looking down on ordinary men. Now at the age of 20, she was still unmarried. She had the intention of finding a formidable man to marry, but... In the Han state, there were only female generals and no male generals, and Gongsun Zan had no man worthy of her attention.

However, Zhao Yun did not mind this matter; she took a small bundle from her back, spread out several pieces of cloth on the ground, and made it her bed

I see, managing documents and archives, this position indeed aligns well with my "shorthand" skills. Gongsun Zan is quite adept at utilizing talent. Sun Yu clasped his fists towards Gongsun Zan and said: "Thank you, my lord"

Sun Yu tried to persuade her to go to bed several times, claiming he would sleep in the rice pile, but Zhao Yun refused each time. The young girl insisted on sleeping with the rice, saying she would rather die than sleep in a bed. In her view, being able to sleep among the food was a hundred times more blissful than sleeping in a bed

Now that the work issue has been resolved and there is food to eat, I can slowly explore the truth of this world. Sun Yu felt a surge of joy in his heart, but he was always calm. Although he was happy inside, he did not show it on his face and walked out of the main hall with composure

No wonder, at this age, the loli is utterly captivating, causing him to be unable to harbor even a hint of wicked thoughts. Sun Yu buried his head in the blanket and fell into a deep sleep.

Guan Jing entered and announced himself, then came out to escort Sun Yu and Zhao Yun into the hall. Inside, there was a massive tiger-skin chair, upon which sat a formidable female general. She was tall and athletic, adorned in exquisite iron armor, with a white cloak trailing behind her, exuding an air of menace. Her features were delicate, not as intimidating as her presence suggested; while she could not be considered a stunning beauty, she certainly possessed first-rate looks. This person was none other than Gongsun Zan.

Is that so? Zhao Yun blinked, expressing a hint of concern as he said, "Will I starve to death before I can unleash my general's skill?"

She waved her hand and said: "Mr. Xun Zhen, I hereby appoint you as the magistrate of Zhuo County. If you perform excellently, there will be opportunities for promotion in the future"

The highest level is the golden general skill, a level of general skill that even none of Yuan Shao's subordinates possess. It is said that further south, Sun Jian has a daughter named Sun Ce, whose general skill is golden, but Guan Jing has yet to see it with his own eyes. It is also said that there is a famous female general in Changsha named Huang Zhong, whose general skill is also golden, but few have seen it.

NM01 reported back in an instant: "Ling Shi is a civil official under the county magistrate, responsible for managing documents and archives"

After finishing the introduction, Guan Jing sighed: "The lord is proud and ambitious, and being a high-ranking blue general, ordinary men are unlikely to catch his eye. I wonder if she will ever get married in this lifetime."

Sun Yu quickly committed these things to memory, thinking to himself: So it is, it seems that the strength of the military generals in this world has considerable similarities with what I know of the Three Kingdoms. Aside from the fact that all the characters' genders have changed, their strengths can be roughly comparable to those of the Three Kingdoms period. The super martial arts technique that Guan Jing mentioned, which "no one in the present has been found to use," is most likely attributed to Lü Bu.

Gongsun Zan is truly a good girl! Sun Yu couldn't help but exclaim

Guan Jing took over the conversation and introduced: "There are five types of military general skills..." After listening to him for a long time, Sun Yu finally understood.

Gongsun Zan rested his hands on the back of the chair, his pair of phoenix eyes sweeping down: "This gentleman in search of truth, you are the first man I have encountered who can utilize martial general skills, how interesting! Unfortunately, your martial general skill is merely the lowest-level green martial general skill, and its only use is for recitation. Alas! In the end, you can only be a civil official..."