Li Jinhe had stayed up all night, finally turning Zhenniang’s smoke coal into ink. Eager to test its quality, Li Jinhe dried the ink over a slow fire at the end.
“Steward Shao, let’s test the ink,” Li Jinhe said to Senior Steward Shao, who had been working with him all night.
“Very well.” Steward Shao nodded, carefully taking out an ink stone. It was a genuine Longwei ink stone. He breathed on it, creating a mist, then added a few drops of clear water.
Li Jinhe carefully ground the ink, holding it between two fingers.
“This ink is quite dense, and being new, it might be difficult to release its color,” Steward Shao commented. (Note: “Releasing color” refers to how quickly the ink disperses during grinding, determining how quickly one can obtain usable ink.)
“That’s normal for new ink. Keep track of the time so we can compare it with our previous inks,” Li Jinhe said.
“Mm,” Steward Shao nodded.
After a while, the ink began to flow smoothly. Li Jinhe took up the prepared paper and brush, first drawing wave-like lines. The beginning of each line was dark as lacquer, while the end showed a living luster. Due to the ink’s gradation, the entire wave line appeared almost three-dimensional.
He then wrote several characters, all showing excellent ink quality.
“Excellent ink!” Steward Shao exclaimed excitedly.
“Come, let’s see Seventh Sister-in-law,” Li Jinhe said excitedly, slapping the table.
The two men carried the ink and ink stone, hurriedly leaving the ink workshop and heading straight to the main house through the back door.
“Is the ink ready? How is it?” Seventh Madam had just risen and was drinking tea in the hall. Hearing that Ninth Brother and the steward sought an audience, she immediately understood and rushed forward to ask anxiously.
“Sister-in-law will know once she sees it,” Li Jinhe handed the ink block and the test paper to Seventh Madam.
Coming from an ink-making family, her eye for ink quality was naturally first-rate. Seventh Madam examined the writing, thought for a moment, and then splashed tea on the paper. Though the paper was soaked through, the writing showed no signs of bleeding.
“Truly excellent ink.” And this was just new ink—it would be even better after aging for a few years.
“Ninth Brother, we should go see Eighth Brother,” Seventh Madam said with a deep breath. Though it was difficult to let go of years of grievances, she had to obtain this smoke coal formula, which meant she needed to see Li Jinshui personally.
“Let’s go see him. This is purely business,” Li Jinhe said, making his position clear—only discussing business, nothing personal.
“By the way, have you heard about Brother Six’s Jin Hua’s situation?” Seventh Madam asked then.
“I’ve heard some things, but isn’t that Brother Six’s family matter? We shouldn’t interfere, should we?” Li Jinhe said.
“Though it’s Brother Six’s family matter, it’s also about our Li family being taken advantage of. While we shouldn’t interfere directly, we should at least ask Brother Six about it,” Seventh Madam said.
“Mm, we can visit Brother Six together after meeting with Eighth Brother,” Li Jinhe suggested.
“Mm.” Seventh Madam nodded.
She called for the steward to prepare a carriage, planning to visit Li Jinshui first, then go together to visit Old Six at Li Village.
…
Zhenniang had returned from the Tiger Stove in the morning, then followed her mother and sister-in-law to dig up some wasteland by the river for growing vegetables.
By the time they returned home, it was already noon. She saw Grandmother Wu talking with Aunt Jin Hua, whose eyes were still red.
Zhenniang recalled the gossip she’d heard at the Tiger Stove that morning and understood why Aunt Jin Hua was upset.
“Grandmother, Aunt Jin Hua,” Zhenniang greeted them. Then she asked, “Where’s Grandfather?”
“He’s inside with your Sixth Granduncle, Seventh Grand-aunt, and Ninth Grand-uncle. Don’t disturb them,” Madam Wu said with a dark face, muttering somewhat unhappily: “They never visit normally, but now they smell profit, they come calling.”
“Grandmother, is it about my smoke coal?” Zhenniang glanced next door excitedly.
“Of course, otherwise not even an eight-bearer sedan chair could bring them here,” Madam Wu snorted coldly.
Zhenniang smiled and hugged her grandmother, gently swaying her. Madam Wu had always been protective of their family. Though Jingfu had made a mistake back then, it wasn’t intentional. Although their branch hadn’t been officially expelled from the Li family, their situation these past years had been a little different from expulsion. How could she be happy about that? Moreover, thinking about how her eldest son Jinggui had died in their service made her even more resentful, naturally disliking the main family branch.
She only kept quiet about it usually out of respect for Old Shopkeeper Li.
“Grandmother, have you heard what terms they’re offering?” Zhenniang crouched before her grandmother and asked.
“Fifty taels for your formula, and you can work at the ink workshop if you want,” Madam Wu said.
Fifty taels of silver wasn’t a low price. The smoke coal formula wasn’t like an ink-making formula—smoke coal was mostly burned by workers, making the formula difficult to keep secret, so its price was naturally lower. Ink-making formulas were different, always controlled by the family head, and considered the crown jewel of every ink workshop.
The price was beyond Zhenniang’s expectations. Perhaps the Seventh Grand-aunt wanted to help their family.
As for working at the ink workshop, there was no rush. Seventh Grand-aunt and Ninth Grand-uncle probably thought the smoke coal and its formula came from her grandfather, so they wouldn’t expect her to come to the workshop. The offer was likely made just out of respect for her grandfather.
If not for the fifty taels, Zhenniang might have gone to work there for the family’s finances. But with fifty taels as a foundation, they could set up an ink-making workshop at home. What Zhenniang wanted most was to turn the smoke coal into ink and sell it on Four Treasures Street, where many people sold homemade ink, and even some scholars occasionally sold their ink for fun.
The business was generally quite good.
“A young girl should stay at home sewing and mending. How can you go out working in public?” Madam Wu was still chatting with Li Jin Hua.
Zhenniang understood her grandmother’s meaning—she didn’t want her to go to the ink workshop. After Elder Uncle Jinggui’s death, Grandmother viewed the ink workshop as dangerous territory.
“Grandmother, what if I ask Grandfather to help us set up an ink workshop at home? We can make and sell our ink. How about that? With Grandfather’s reputation, we should get customers, if only Grandfather is willing,” Zhenniang said with a smile.
“Why wouldn’t he be willing? He’s not in his coffin yet! Leave this to Grandmother,” Madam Wu guaranteed.
Zhenniang winked at Madam Wu, and they reached an understanding.
Just then, Old Shopkeeper Li came out with a Sixth Granduncle, Seventh Grand-aunt, and Ninth Grand-uncle.
Zhenniang hurriedly gave her greetings.
“Well done, Zhenniang,” Seventh Grand-aunt said. Madam Zhao beamed with joy beside her—as a mother, she was naturally delighted to hear her daughter praised by Seventh Madam.
“Sixth Uncle, Seventh Aunt, Ninth Uncle, why leave so soon? Stay for a simple meal,” Madam Zhao said warmly.
“No need, we have matters at home. Oh yes, Jingfu’s wife, when your Zhengliang returns, have him come to my place. We should discuss how to support Jin Hua in this matter,” the Ninth Grand-uncle said.
“Alright,” Madam Zhao nodded.
Then Sixth Master, Seventh Grand-aunt, and the others took their leave. Aunt Jin Hua stayed behind, as she had always been close to Madam Zhao, who could keep her company and comfort her.
By evening, Li Dalang returned with Li Zhengsheng, having convinced him to join the venture.
Li Zhengsheng, wearing Daoist robes with his hair in a Daoist topknot, looked completely out of place. Old Shopkeeper Li caught sight of him and gave him a stern lecture. Then, hearing that Li Zhengliang was going to his house, Li Zhengsheng tried to slip away.
“Where do you think you’re going? Are you still a Li or not? Your Aunt Jin Hua has been wronged, and you, being her nephew, strong and healthy, aren’t thinking of standing up for her?” Madam Zhao, usually sharp and efficient, only showed restraint before the elders.
Upon hearing the situation, Li Zhengsheng slapped the table and left with Li Zhengliang.
“Mother, making such a big scene… Jin Hua and Jincai are still husband and wife after all. If they break completely, how will they get along in the future?” Madam Du pulled at Madam Zhao’s sleeve and whispered.
“Your Aunt Jin Hua’s situation is different from ordinary couples. Li Jincai was a married-in husband, yet he openly took another wife outside. The face-saving ship has already sailed. Besides, if this isn’t handled properly, your Sixth Granduncle isn’t getting any younger, and your Aunt Jin Hua has such a soft nature—the Li family’s sixth branch might get swallowed up entirely, and your Aunt Jin Hua might not even have a place to stand,” Madam Zhao explained.
“That’s true,” Madam Du nodded.
That night, Li Jin Hua shared a bed with Madam Zhao, while Zhenniang slept on the bed separated by a cloth curtain. She could hear Aunt Jin Hua’s sobbing: “How can someone change so suddenly? He used to be so good.”
“Ai, such is the nature of men in this world,” Madam Zhao sighed.