Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but observe the person calling out.
She saw that the caller was in his early twenties, wearing a bright blue coarse cloth short jacket. He was tall and well-built, and though he was too far away to see his features clearly, his movements were quite agile.
Hearing Qin Ziping respond, he immediately ran over, stood on the shore facing the bow of the boat, respectfully bowed, and called out loudly, “I’m a shop assistant from Fang’s Silk and Fabric Store in Jiaxing. Our master is purchasing goods in Changzhou, and when he heard that Fourth Master Cheng and Old Madam were passing through Changzhou, he specifically ordered us to wait here and report to him as soon as Fourth Master and Old Madam arrived…”
While he was still speaking, a fat man wearing a blue lake-silk long robe ran over, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief while his body fat jiggled. He said, “May I ask how to address this young brother? I am Du Ming, the chief steward of Fang’s Silk and Fabric Store. Our master will arrive shortly. Please, young brother, kindly announce us.”
As he spoke, he bowed deeply to Qin Zi’an.
Qin Zi’an smiled and said, “So you are the steward and shop assistant from Master Du’s household in Jiaxing. Please wait a moment, I’ll go inform our Fourth Master and Old Madam right away.”
By this point, Zhou Shaojin had already understood.
If she remembered correctly, Fang’s Silk and Fabric Store in Jiaxing should be a business belonging to Fang Xintong, the wealthiest man in Jiaxing.
She thought of the elegant Miss Fang.
Another year had passed, and Miss Fang was a year older too. She wondered if Miss Fang had married yet.
Lost in thought, she closed the boat window and instructed Chun Wan and the others, “Fourth Master has guests, and they might even come aboard later to pay respects to Old Madam. Don’t wander around.”
Chun Wan and the others all responded in agreement.
Before long, she heard the sound of footsteps on the deck.
Zhou Shaojin stayed even more firmly behind closed doors.
It wasn’t until Nanny Lu came to invite her for dinner that she finally followed to Old Madam Guo’s cabin.
Cheng Chi was also there.
Old Madam Guo’s expression showed some displeasure, but Cheng Chi was as usual. Seeing Zhou Shaojin enter, he even smiled and nodded at her. But somehow this simple, ordinary gesture touched Old Madam Guo. Suddenly tears streamed down her face, and she choked out, “Fourth Son, take office! Don’t worry about the messy affairs of this family anymore. Go live your own peaceful life. That Fang Xintong, that wretched creature—he’s nothing but a minor scholar, yet he dares put on airs in front of you. He should look at what he is and see if he can handle it…”
“Mother, Mother.” Cheng Chi stepped forward and put his arm around Old Madam Guo’s shoulders, comforting her in a low voice, “It’s not as serious as you say. He merely said a few words that made you uncomfortable to hear. Unless one stays home for a lifetime, how can anyone go through life without hearing some unfair words and suffering some unfair treatment? Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.” As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Shaojin and said, “Look, there’s a younger generation watching. You’ll frighten her like this.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Guo finally managed to stop her tears with difficulty.
Zhou Shaojin thought that since she couldn’t avoid it anyway, she might as well take out her handkerchief and hand it to Old Madam Guo.
Old Madam Guo took the handkerchief and dabbed at the tears at the corners of her eyes, saying to Zhou Shaojin, “Good child, I’m not in a good mood today, so I won’t have dinner together. Order whatever you want to eat and have the kitchen make it for you. Come read scriptures to me first thing tomorrow morning.”
Zhou Shaojin obediently responded “Yes” and returned to her room with Chun Wan.
While Chun Wan arranged Zhou Shaojin’s dinner, Zhou Shaojin was thinking about Fang Xintong.
Last time at the second branch old ancestor’s eightieth birthday celebration, the Fang family had sent people to pay their respects. Even if the two families weren’t close friends, they should have considerable friendship. How could this time provoke Old Madam Guo to such anger?
She hastily finished her dinner and went to find Ji Ying.
Ji Ying stood in the middle of the cabin with her legs slightly apart, twisting and bending her body.
“Can you help me ask Qin Ziping,” Zhou Shaojin said directly, “and see if he knows what Fang Xintong said to Old Madam Guo and Fourth Master Cheng? Why is Old Madam Guo so angry!”
“Sure!” Ji Ying replied casually.
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but push her, saying, “Be serious. This matter is very important.”
“I know, I know,” Ji Ying quickly said. “Wait for my good news tomorrow.”
Zhou Shaojin wanted to ask Cheng Chi, but then thinking of Cheng Chi’s expression earlier, he clearly didn’t want to discuss this matter further. She could only return to her cabin with a heavy heart.
The next day, before dawn had broken, Ji Jian came to find her, saying, “That Du Tongxin you mentioned—Fourth Master didn’t see him at all. He just went on and on to Old Madam by himself for ages, saying how the two families were old friends, that when Fourth Master wanted to buy the Hangzhou looms he had intended to take them over, but in those days his business was spread too thin and he couldn’t turn around the silver in time, so he didn’t dare discuss buying the looms with Fourth Master. Some days ago he had just taken on work from Jiaxing Prefecture to weave tribute items for the inner palace, but who knew the looms wouldn’t be enough, so he wanted to take this opportunity to ask if Fourth Master had any spare looms and if Fourth Master could help him out with some.”
This sounded quite normal!
Why was Old Madam Guo upset?
Zhou Shaojin was very confused.
Ji Ying quietly told her, “Our Fourth Master did something remarkable—he found the looms too troublesome and sold all the weaving workshops under the Cheng family name.
“Before this, Fourth Master had Huai Shan give the Fang family advance notice. Merchants pursue profit, so the Fang family actually haggled with Master Cheng! In his anger, Fourth Master sold all the looms to someone called Zheng Si.
“That Zheng Si originally came from humble beginnings, so naturally this kind of work weaving tribute items for the court wouldn’t fall to him. But he has looms and weavers!
“If Du Tongxin didn’t take on government work it would be one thing, but having taken on government work, the scale of the Fang family weaving workshop can’t handle it all. But if he farms it out to others, Zheng Si now has the largest weaving workshop in Jiangnan with the best weavers in Jiangnan. If he wants to bypass Zheng Si, he can just wait until the deadline arrives and he can’t deliver, then pay compensation! But if he gives the work to Zheng Si, it’s as if he’s securing work for Zheng Si. Not only won’t Zheng Si be grateful to him, but he can haggle with Fang Xintong at will… He came here to back down.
“But who knew that when Old Madam Guo heard this, she felt he had slapped Fourth Master in the face, and now knowing he’d made a mistake, he was like a weasel paying New Year’s respects to a chicken—he had no good intentions…”
How complicated!
Zhou Shaojin spent ages warning Ji Ying “Don’t wander around outside, be careful the River Transport Gang people don’t discover you” and such, before the two finally parted.
As it turned out, early the next morning, first that Zheng Si rushed over from Hangzhou Prefecture, then Miss Fang from the Fang family wanted to come aboard to pay respects to Old Madam Guo.
Zhou Shaojin was astounded. She said privately to Chun Wan, “Who says merchants have it easy? I think earning money isn’t easy for them either!”
Chun Wan laughed, “Good thing that Zheng Si came by himself. If he’d brought his wife to kowtow to our Old Madam, wouldn’t the two families have run into each other?”
“So what?” Zhou Shaojin sighed. “Look at Miss Fang, such a refined person. For the sake of her brother, she can stand on the deck in the wind for half an hour. Meeting Zheng Si’s wife and exchanging pleasantries with her—how hard could that be!”
When Miss Fang came to visit, Old Madam Guo made the excuse that they were about to set sail, so she wouldn’t receive her. But who knew she would keep standing at the wharf, saying she would wait until the Cheng family boat sailed far away before returning to the temple.
So Old Madam Guo let her stand there in the cold wind.
When Zheng Si came to see Cheng Chi, Cheng Chi also didn’t see him. He even used the same excuse as Old Madam Guo and left Zheng Si standing at the wharf.
Looking at the gradually rising sun, Zhou Shaojin opened the window and looked outside.
Miss Fang still stood at the wharf, but Zheng Si was nowhere to be seen.
“Truly merchants pursue profit,” Zhou Shaojin muttered a few words before going to have breakfast with Old Madam Guo.
Old Madam Guo had already regained her composure. She cheerfully asked Zhou Shaojin if she had slept well last night. The kitchen had made pickled vegetable buns—she should try them and see if they were good. She made no mention of what had happened yesterday evening.
Zhou Shaojin also acted as if she had forgotten, smiling and chatting with Old Madam Guo.
The boat slowly began to move.
Zhou Shaojin found an opportunity to look out the window and saw Miss Fang standing somewhat bewildered at the wharf, watching as the boat gradually sailed away.
She sighed inwardly, feeling a bit contemptuous of Fang Xintong.
One should resolve one’s own mistakes oneself. What did it mean to push Miss Fang forward like this?
She kept this thought to herself.
That evening, they stayed at a small wharf called Yiqiao over a hundred li from Changzhou, and Zheng Si requested to see Cheng Chi.
Zhou Shaojin was astonished.
She hadn’t expected Zheng Si to pursue them all the way.
But Cheng Chi still didn’t see him.
Zheng Si left disappointed.
They peacefully passed through Wuxi and arrived at Suzhou.
Zhou Shaojin studied chess manuals with Cheng Chi every day and got along very well with him.
Her courage grew bolder. She said to Cheng Chi, “I promised to bring local specialties back for Grandmother, Aunt, and Elder Sister. When we get to Hangzhou Prefecture, can we go shopping in the streets? I’ve heard people say that Hangzhou Prefecture has many things—there’s only what you don’t know about, not what you can’t buy…”
After explaining several moves, Cheng Chi let Zhou Shaojin ponder them herself while he took a book and read on the side.
Hearing this, he looked up and said, “We can buy them on our way back too. It won’t be too late, and we’ll avoid having your purchases everywhere.”
Zhou Shaojin thought of the long list she’d drafted before leaving and felt her ears grow hot.
Cheng Chi then instructed Huai Shan, “Go tell the boatman we won’t dock at Jiaxing Prefecture. Go directly to Hangzhou Prefecture.”
Zhou Shaojin calculated the days and asked, “Will we stay in Hangzhou Prefecture for a few days?”
“We’ll go directly to Mount Putuo,” Cheng Chi smiled. “We can watch the tidal bore at Qiantang River on our return trip!”
It could be done this way!
Zhou Shaojin smiled embarrassedly.
But Cheng Chi had underestimated the tenacity of the Fang and Zheng families.
They quickly pursued them to Hangzhou Prefecture.
Zhou Shaojin said, “Really won’t see them? Wouldn’t that be rather improper!”
Sometimes Cheng Chi felt that the chess patterns Zhou Shaojin set up didn’t interest him enough to give them a second glance. He had somehow produced another chess board, and when tired of reading, he would occasionally set up an endgame position and try to continue playing. He was now setting up a chess pattern. Hearing Zhou Shaojin’s words, he didn’t even lift his head, saying, “Can I get Zheng Si to return the looms and weavers to me? Since I can’t, then what’s the point of seeing them? It won’t solve the problem! I don’t have time to listen to them quarrel!”
Listening to this, Zhou Shaojin was deep in thought.