“This doesn’t look like Wuyuan Luowen stone. It’s the fine Luowen stone from Qimen,” Zhenniang said.

Hearing this, Jiang Laiyun responded irritably, “What do you know, girl? I brought these stones with the horse caravan from Wuyuan. How could they possibly be fine Luowen stones from Qimen? Besides, does Qimen even produce Luowen stones?”

Li Jingdong turned to look at Zhenniang. “Are you certain?”

“According to the records of She inkstone authentication, this type of stone is indeed found in Xikeng of Qimen. Of course, Zhenniang cannot be entirely certain just by looking, but while these two types of stones are easily confused, they’re simple to verify. Wuyuan Luowen stone is hard and heavy, while Qimen fine Luowen stone is loose and brittle. To distinguish them, one need only smash it against the ground,” Zhenniang explained calmly.

The verification method was simple, but since the Song Dynasty, She inkstones had been highly sought after by scholars and literati, with prices climbing steadily. In ancient times, She inkstones specifically referred to inkstones from Wuyuan, including those with a golden star, Luowen, eyebrow, and fish roe patterns.

For this reason, unless one had prior suspicions, who would think to smash an inkstone on the ground? Wouldn’t that be like throwing money away?

Upon hearing Zhenniang’s words, Li Jingdong didn’t hesitate. He immediately smashed the stone in his hand against the bluestone ground. The inkstone instantly broke into several pieces, and looking at the cross-section, the loose grain structure was evident – nowhere near as dense as genuine Wuyuan Luowen stone.

“Cousin, you smashed it?!” When Jiang Laiyun saw Li Jingdong raise the stone, he cried out in distress. After the stone shattered, Jiang Laiyun’s face turned pale. After a moment’s shock, he jumped up. “Cousin, I have urgent business at home. I must go. Please give my regards to Aunt.”

With that, Jiang Laiyun fled as if his rear was on fire.

“What’s wrong with Laiyun? Why did he leave in such a hurry?” Madam Huang asked curiously at the courtyard gate.

“He’s afraid of being late getting back,” Li Jingdong replied. This time, if his cousin hadn’t been short on money, he wouldn’t have come to him. Thus, Li Jingdong naturally understood that his cousin feared his family might make their own decision to buy these inkstones while he wasn’t home. If the inkstones were genuine, that would have been fine, but now it was clear they were fake. If they had bought them, they would have been devastated beyond tears.

How could he not hurry?

Thinking of this, Li Jingdong silently acknowledged their close call. If Zhenniang hadn’t been here today, he might have paid for these inkstones, after all, who wouldn’t want to make such an obvious profit?

If events had followed their original course, Li Jingdong would have bought these inkstones, ultimately falling into debt and being forced to withdraw shares from the ink factory to repay it. This would have given Li Jincai his opportunity.

Now, thanks to Zhenniang, they had avoided this entire situation.

Li Jingdong reached for his crutch. Zhenniang was quicker, bringing it before him. She then helped him into the wheelchair and began pushing him.

“You can go now,” Li Jingle said coldly.

“Uncle Jingdong, Zhenniang only wants to say one thing: the ink factory is the Li family’s ink factory. It’s not yours, nor will it be mine. I know Uncle Jingdong is unwilling, and truthfully, Zhenniang is also afraid. But despite my fear, my Seventh Grandmother has already put me in this position. If Zhenniang doesn’t accept, and if Uncle Jingdong and Manager Shao have other intentions, even the main branch families might have their plans. Add to that the master craftsmen’s different thoughts – how could the ink factory continue operating? Uncle Jingdong would understand this with just a moment’s reflection,” Zhenniang said as she pushed his wheelchair around the back courtyard.

Li Jingdong remained silent.

After pushing for a while, Zhenniang released the wheelchair back. “Several master craftsmen and some workers submitted resignation letters this morning. I need to return to handle this.”

She bowed to Li Jingdong: “Zhenniang needs Uncle Jingdong’s support.”

Then she left without another word.

She had said and done what she needed to. Now it was up to Uncle Jingdong to understand or not.

Madam Huang saw Zhenniang out and then turned to look at Li Jingdong. “Jingdong, why make things difficult? I think Zhenniang is quite good – she’s respectful, kind-hearted, and clever. Actually, not just others, but even I can see that it’s because you conflict with Manager Shao that the Old Madam brought up Zhenniang to create balance.”

Li Jingdong remained silent.

“I know you’re not opposed to Zhenniang. You’re opposed to Li Jingfu,” Madam Huang complained.

“Shut up,” Li Jingdong snapped.

Madam Huang shook her head. The whole family was as stubborn as mules.

Just then, the door was kicked open with a bang.

“Eighth Master, Eighth Master, what are you doing? Calm down, calm down, let’s talk this through,” Old Wei’s anxious voice came through.

Madam Huang turned to see Old Master Li enter wielding a broomstick, immediately moving to strike Li Jingdong with it.

“Eighth Uncle, Eighth Uncle, what are you doing?” Madam Huang quickly grabbed Old Master Li.

“Old Eight, Ninth Brother just passed away, and you’re already causing trouble like this? Aren’t you afraid Ninth Brother will come seeking vengeance at night?” At this moment, Madam Jin also rushed out of her room, glaring fiercely at Old Master Li.

“It’s precisely because Old Nine is gone that I’ve come to discipline this unfilial son in his place. I want to ask if he still considers himself a Li! Now he’s letting a young girl face the craftsmen’s difficulties alone. The Li family ink factory has been pushed to the brink by the Tian family, yet this boy isn’t thinking about everyone working together to overcome this crisis. He’s just obsessing over who will inherit the factory. If the factory goes bankrupt, I’d like to see what face this boy has to meet Old Nine with!” Old Master Li berated him.

“Huh, of course, you’re not bothered since your granddaughter got the factory. Have you forgotten who caused Jingdong’s leg injury? Let me tell you, as long as Li Jingfu lives, our Ninth Branch will never bow to your Eighth Branch,” Madam Jin said viciously.

“Jingfu is already dead…” Old Master Li said coldly.

“Serves him right!” Madam Jin cursed, then suddenly widened her eyes in surprise. “Old Eight, what did you say? You must be joking?”

Her earlier “serves him right” had been reflexive. Only afterward did the shock set in.

“He’s dead. Perhaps it’s heaven’s will. Earlier this year, he went with his employer’s caravan beyond the passes to purchase ginseng and furs. On the way back, they were killed by Tatars. The entire caravan was wiped out. We couldn’t even recover a body,” Old Master Li said, red-eyed and breathing heavily.

The three members of the Li family’s Ninth Branch were stunned.

Old Master Nine’s death, while painful, came at an advanced age.

But Li Jingfu – though he deserved death, for parents to bury their child, how could the Eighth Branch couple bear such grief?

Old Master Li rubbed his reddened eyes, then took a chopstick and snapped it with force. He handed another bundle of chopsticks to Li Jingdong, then turned and left with hunched shoulders.

“What did Eighth Uncle mean by that?” Madam Huang asked Li Jingdong.

“Eighth Uncle wants to tell me that each member of the Li family is like a single chopstick – alone, we break easily. But together in a bundle, we’re unbreakable…” Li Jingdong murmured.

Then he turned to Madam Jin: “Mother, I’m going back to the ink factory.”

“Go then, go. We’ve spent a lifetime harboring hatred, only to find it brought us nothing,” Madam Jin sighed and returned to her room.

Madam Huang pushed Li Jingdong out the door.

…

After noon, Zhenniang set up a table at the ink factory entrance.

On the table sat a pot of wine, several cups, and a stack of red envelopes, their vibrant color brilliant in the sunlight.

Zhenniang took the lead, sitting there first.

“What should we do?” Master Ma of the smoke division asked Master Jiang of the glue division, both looking gravely at Zhenniang.

“What else can we do? Submit our resignations,” Master Jiang replied.

“Submitting resignations under these circumstances – I fear no one will want to follow us, and we’ll completely lose face this way,” Master Ma said.

“What choice do we have? We’ve already signed contracts with the Tian family. If we don’t resign, the Tian family won’t let us off,” Master Jiang said. At this point, they had to ride the tiger whether they wanted to or not.

“You’re right,” Master Ma nodded, then said to Master Jiang, “Let’s go together.”

“Yes, together,” Master Jiang nodded.

The two then walked toward the factory entrance. The onlookers watched them, making for an uncomfortable experience.

“Miss Zhenniang…” the two came forward, bowed, and presented their resignation letters.

“You don’t need to explain anything. I understand,” Zhenniang nodded, then poured them each a cup of wine. She poured one for herself as well and raised her cup.

“Let me offer this toast,” a voice suddenly came from the factory entrance. Everyone looked to see Madam Huang pushing Li Jingdong.

“Uncle Jingdong,” Zhenniang called out in surprise and delight.

“What are you staring at? Pour the wine,” Li Jingdong said to Zhenniang.

“Yes,” Zhenniang nodded firmly and filled Uncle Jingdong’s cup.

“These years have been hard on you two masters. Jingdong offers you this toast,” Li Jingdong raised the cup Zhenniang had handed him toward the two masters.

“You’re too kind, Jingdong. We’re the ones who have let you down,” seeing this, Master Ma and Master Jiang felt uncomfortable. But what was done was done – they couldn’t turn back now.

Zhenniang offered them the red envelopes.

The two masters refused to take them – they couldn’t face accepting red envelopes at this point.

“Take them. They might be useful to you,” Zhenniang said with a smile.

The masters had no choice but to accept the envelopes before leaving the factory.

Standing outside the factory, Master Ma and Master Jiang heaved long sighs. They had a feeling they would regret this later. At this point, no one else came out of the factory – clearly, those who had agreed to leave the Li family factory with them were now unwilling to go.

“Let’s go. No point waiting,” Master Jiang patted Master Ma’s shoulder.

“Alright, let’s go,” Master Ma nodded, then casually opened his red envelope. Looking inside, he was filled with emotion: “Miss Li is truly righteous.”

“What is it?” Master Jiang leaned over to look. Inside the envelope was not money but a letter of appointment – meaning that with this letter, Master Ma could return at any time.

Master Jiang opened his envelope and found the same thing.

“I have a feeling the Li family ink factory will see glorious days again,” Master Jiang said.