After everyone entered and sat down, Zhen Niang carefully explained to the Seventh Madame about the medicinal ink combinations she knew. Of course, she didn’t mention the Eight Treasures Five Gallbladder ink yet, as Master Yan’s fate remained uncertain. It was better to wait on that matter.
Speaking of Master Yan’s situation, the Seventh Madame suddenly said, “Actually, I don’t think Master Yan will necessarily get into trouble.”
“Sister-in-law, why do you think so?” Old Master Li asked.
Zhen Niang listened carefully from the side, eager to hear her Seventh Grandmother’s insights.
“Old Eight, do you remember the storm that hit the Luo family a few years ago?” The Seventh Madame sipped her tea.
“Of course, I remember. Yan Shifen was arrested and imprisoned, and Yan Song nearly lost his position. The prefecture office took control of the entire Luo family. Several major ink workshops in Huizhou were waiting to divide up the Luo family’s assets, believing the Luo family had reached its end. But unexpectedly, Yan Shifen turned things around, and the Luo family became even more powerful than before,” Old Master Li recalled.
The Huizhou prefect had even been demoted because of that incident.
“Exactly. Think about it—the Luo family recovered from such dire circumstances so quickly. Now look at Master Yan’s situation. If there were real problems, wouldn’t the Imperial Guard have arrested him directly? Why all this delay? When has the Imperial Guard ever been so hesitant in taking action? This suggests the Luo family is uncertain about whether to move against Master Yan. If they’re hesitating, there might be some opportunity for change,” the Seventh Madame explained.
“That’s true,” Old Master Li agreed.
From the side, Zhen Niang admired how deeply her Seventh Grandmother analyzed matters. No wonder she had managed to sustain the Li family ink workshop all these years as a woman—quite an achievement!
Speaking of changes, Zhen Niang estimated that someone in court might already be moving against Yan Shifen. By her calculations, the timing seemed about right.
After some casual conversation, the Seventh Madame took her leave.
During dinner that evening, Zheng Shi couldn’t help feeling ashamed. “Ai, it’s all my fault. If it weren’t for my situation, Master Yan wouldn’t have noticed the medicinal ink.”
After Li Jingdong’s earlier scene, everyone knew that the eighth branch of the Li family had become entangled with the Yan residence due to that single visit.
Old Master Li, having lived most of his life, had experiences far beyond ordinary people. He saw matters clearly and maintained an open mind, so he didn’t take the matter too seriously.
As for Zhen Niang, knowing the Luo family’s eventual outcome, she guessed Master Yan’s situation would likely be a false alarm, so she wasn’t too concerned either.
However, except for Old Master Li and Zhen Niang, the other members of the Li family couldn’t help feeling anxious.
“Aunt, let’s not frighten ourselves. As I said, Master Yan is the ink supervisor. When he heard about my medicinal ink, he called me to inquire about it—who can say that was wrong?” Zhen Niang said, holding her head high.
“Jinggui’s wife, this isn’t your fault. Don’t take all the blame upon yourself. Rest easy, everything will be fine,” Old Master Li put down his chopsticks and comforted her.
“Yes, yes, eat in peace,” Madam Wu said from the side, appearing unbothered. Of course, she neither had Old Master Li’s clear understanding nor Zhen Niang’s inside knowledge—she simply believed in fate, thinking that all life’s matters were arranged by heaven and couldn’t be avoided, so there was no use worrying.
“Indeed, sister-in-law, it’s not your fault. If anything happens, it’s because this girl Zhen Niang had to show off,” Madam Zhao said irritably from the side.
So in the end, it became Zhen Niang’s fault.
Zhen Niang knew her mother was deliberately speaking this way to comfort Zheng Shi, so she didn’t argue, and just ate quietly with her head down.
As she looked down, she noticed Madam Du kicking her eldest brother, who was eating silently beside her. This reminded her of what Madam Shen had come to say that morning.
Madam Du seemed afraid to speak directly and was trying to get her husband to speak instead.
Sure enough, Li Zhengliang, unable to bear Madam Du’s kicking, put down his chopsticks and said, “Grandfather, Grandmother, Mother, the oil workshop where I used to work—the owner wants to sell it. Du Da and Du Er want me to join them in taking it over. What do you think?”
“I know that oil workshop—the business isn’t bad. By the way, why is the owner selling?” Old Master Li asked.
“The owner needs to return to his hometown and can’t manage it anymore,” Li Zhengliang replied.
“If that’s the case, it might be worth taking over,” Old Master Li said after some thought.
“Elder Brother, can you handle it? Running an oil workshop involves many responsibilities. You’re already spending almost every waking hour at the coal stove workshop,” Zhen Niang said from the side.
She wasn’t trying to make things difficult for Madam Du, but firstly, the Du brothers weren’t reliable people, and secondly, she was stating facts. Business requires full dedication, and the coal stove workshop already occupied all of her brother’s time. How could he manage an oil workshop as well?
Without the energy to manage it, partnership wouldn’t be a wise choice.
Of course, she was just offering a reminder—the final decision wasn’t hers to make.
Hearing Zhen Niang’s words, Li Zhengliang became hesitant. He was a straightforward worker without sophisticated business acumen. Even with the current coal stove business, he only managed the production side while Zhengxin handled all the external business matters. Now that Zhen Niang mentioned it, he realized he truly couldn’t manage both.
“I think we should forget about the partnership. Da Lang doesn’t have that capability—one should eat according to the size of their stomach. It’s better to focus on developing the coal stove workshop well. As for the oil workshop, we shouldn’t get involved. If the Du brothers need money, we can try to lend them some, and they can repay it when the business improves. Father, what do you think?” Madam Zhao quickly interjected.
This had been her plan all along.
“Yes, that makes sense. Success comes from single-minded dedication. This seems good,” Old Master Li said, then turned to Madam Du: “Daughter-in-law, what do you think?”
With Old Master Li’s shrewdness, he naturally understood that Madam Du was the one who wanted the partnership.
Although disappointed about not getting the partnership, Madam Du was satisfied with the possibility of a loan—at least she would have something to report to her mother. She nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll follow Grandfather’s decision.”
The matter was settled, and Madam Du would need to find out how much money her family still needed.
Seeing the matter concluded and dinner finished, Li Zhengliang stood up: “Grandfather, Grandmother, I’m going to the workshop. The weather’s getting colder, the wind is strong, and it looks like it might snow. Someone needs to watch the workshop.”
“Go ahead,” Old Master Li waved his hand—the early stages of business were always particularly difficult.
Li Zhengliang bid everyone farewell and left with his storm lantern. Madam Du hurried to see him to the door. Outside, the wind howled piercingly cold, making the storm lantern sway back and forth.
That night, the cold wind blew continuously.
The next morning, when Zhen Niang woke up, the entire courtyard was covered in white—it had indeed snowed. Little Hui was excitedly rolling in the snow. Zhen Niang set aside lighting the coal stove and went to the Tiger Stove first to get some hot water to warm up.
Since the Li family introduced their coal stoves, fewer people came to the Tiger Stove for hot water. Zhen Niang had specially sent Uncle Water a large coal stove. Each day, he would cook some thin porridge on it and make some pancakes, setting up two old tables at the entrance to sell breakfast.
At the city gate, carts transporting goods into the city would get stuck there for quite a while each day, and as a result, Uncle Water’s breakfast business was doing quite well.
Today, with the snow, the Tiger Stove area was especially crowded, and cart after cart had blocked the entire road.
Shouts and curses filled the air.
“Hey, Fourth Brother, what are you carrying?” several young men who were cargo handlers sat by the Tiger Stove chatting, with one pointing at what the one called Fourth Brother was holding.
“Some pig gallbladders,” Fourth Brother replied.
“What do you need those for? No wonder there’s such a rank smell,” the first person held his nose.
“You don’t know? Master Yan is collecting these things now, paying a high price. I spent all yesterday afternoon barely managing to get there,” Fourth Brother said.
Zhen Niang, standing in line next to them, naturally understood that pig gallbladders were one of the ingredients in the Eight Treasures Five Gallbladder ink—fifteen were needed.
“What does Master Yan want pig gallbladders for?” someone asked curiously.
“They say it’s for making medicine. He needs fifteen of them,” Fourth Brother replied.
“Don’t know if they’ve collected enough. My uncle’s family in Yuliang—I heard from my cousin they’re planning to slaughter pigs today,” one of them said.
“This order only came down from Master Yan yesterday at noon, so they haven’t collected enough. You’d better hurry and get them,” Fourth Brother said.
“Alright!” The man jumped up and rushed through the crowd, pushing people left and right.
Zhen Niang was pushed backward and accidentally stepped on someone’s foot.
“I’m sorry,” Zhen Niang quickly apologized after steadying herself.
“Oh, it’s Zhen Niang. No worries,” the person smiled—it was Tian Benchang, whom Zhen Niang had met once before.
This truly felt like enemies meeting on a narrow path. Zhen Niang patted her forehead, and since there was no issue, she said nothing more and continued waiting in line.
“Zhen Niang, a gentleman doesn’t stand beneath a dangerous wall. You really shouldn’t have gotten involved with Master Yan. If you have any difficulties you can’t speak of, tell me, and I can ask the Luo family to help clear things up with Lord Fang,” Tian Benchang said, standing beside Zhen Niang.
Lord Fang was the Imperial Guard Commander.
The two were already subjects of gossip, and now standing together talking, they attracted whispered discussions from those around them.