The innkeeper and his wife both remembered Yu Tang.
Not only did they warmly welcome Yu Tang and her brother to stay at the inn, but the innkeeper’s wife specifically selected a quiet guest room for Yu Tang and personally brought her hot water for washing up.
Yu Tang naturally thanked her repeatedly.
The innkeeper’s wife lowered her head to show her the silk flower in her hair: “You gave this to me last time you came. Everyone says it’s beautiful. Every time I wear it out, I get compliments.”
Yu Tang smiled with pursed lips, then asked the innkeeper’s wife to accompany her to the small alley that sold hair ornament materials.
She planned to make several more hair flowers this time, so that when her brother and Miss Xiang returned for their post-wedding visit, she could take them back to the Xiang family to show off.
Yu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief when he learned of this.
He was about to go to Wulin Gate to inquire about information and was just worrying about how to arrange things for Yu Tang.
“Then be careful,” he instructed his sister. “Come back after you’ve finished shopping. I won’t be having dinner at the inn tonight—I’ve already told the innkeeper. The innkeeper’s wife will bring dinner to your room. If you’ve had dinner and I still haven’t returned, remember to lock your door and windows tight and go to bed early. I’ll tell you about anything tomorrow.”
This was the first time Yu Tang had entrusted her eldest cousin with such a task. She couldn’t help worrying that he might reveal something and be targeted by the Gu family, or encounter some danger. She tugged on his sleeve and said with concern: “You must be careful in everything. Whether or not you can find out information doesn’t matter—what’s most important is that you stay safe. You said it yourself: a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years. As long as the green hills remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood. If it doesn’t work this time, we’ll think of other methods next time. If anything happens to you, I don’t want to live either.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Yu Yuan found this both amusing and exasperating. “I told you to read fewer storybooks and go to fewer operas, but you treat it as wind past your ears. Stop thinking such wild thoughts. What do you think I’m going to do? Finding out about Miss Gu’s wet nurse is important, yes, but what’s most important is our family shop’s business. Going to Wulin Gate is mainly to find Yao San’er—helping you inquire about information is just incidental.”
Ever since he had connected with Yao San’er during his last visit to Hangzhou, Yu Yuan had maintained contact with him. A few days ago, he had even sent New Year’s gifts to Yao San’er through someone. When their family shop opened, Yao San’er had also sent congratulatory gifts to Lin’an through someone.
That was good then!
Yu Tang giggled and said: “Then Brother, go early and return early. Remember to bring me braised pig’s head from the Zhenbei family.”
“You’re a young lady—why would you eat braised pig’s head?!” Yu Yuan said mercilessly. “If I’m going to bring you anything, it’ll be osmanthus cake, euryale seed powder, or wosi candy.” After speaking, fearing that Yu Tang would continue pestering him to buy this and that, and that he would soften and agree to everything like before, he simply waved at Yu Tang, said “I’m leaving, take care of yourself,” and left the inn without looking back.
Yu Tang was so angry her cheeks puffed out, but there was nothing she could do. She could only go to the adjacent alley selling hair accessories with the innkeeper’s wife. Then, seeing someone selling chestnut cake, she bought two catties and had the inn’s errand boy deliver it to Shopkeeper Tong’er, with a message: “Last time I came to Hangzhou, thank you for Shopkeeper Tong’s care. I originally wanted to bring some local specialties from home, but they weren’t as good as what’s sold in Hangzhou. So I simply bought some pastries from the adjacent alley. The gift is ordinary and inadequate to show my respect. Please be understanding, Shopkeeper Tong. When my brother returns, he’ll come specially to visit Shopkeeper Tong.”
After being lectured by Pei Yan, she had gone back and properly studied etiquette with Yu Wen. She now knew that when wanting to visit someone, you couldn’t just go directly—you had to send a name card in advance or have someone deliver fruit or pastries, greet them first, arrange a time, and only then go. That was what it meant to be proper and courteous. She had also learned from her experience of giving gifts to Pei Yan, bringing out sincerity and speaking honestly.
Shopkeeper Tong’er was indeed very pleased to receive the pastries. Since Yu Tang had sent them in Yu Yuan’s name, Shopkeeper Tong’er had the errand boy relay a message to Yu Yuan, saying he would host a banquet in the courtyard behind his shop tomorrow evening and inviting Yu Yuan to come have a drink.
Yu Tang took it upon herself to accept on Yu Yuan’s behalf, and also had the errand boy help purchase several jars of quality Jinhua wine to await Yu Yuan’s return.
Yu Yuan returned before curfew.
He had been drinking, his face completely flushed, his eyes somewhat glazed, and his speech disjointed.
Yu Tang had no choice. She thought that once they received money from the auction of the map, she must buy Yu Yuan a personal servant. Their family wasn’t a great household—the servant who used to attend Yu Yuan was supposedly serving him, but most of the time was actually serving her uncle. Moreover, Yu Yuan was about to get married. Although Miss Xiang had grown up on a farm, she had money, and would probably have several attendants around her. She couldn’t let her eldest cousin appear too shabby.
Once the thought arose, she couldn’t stop it.
She stuffed a few copper coins to the inn’s errand boy to help Yu Yuan wash up, while she herself went to find the innkeeper’s wife, wanting to ask her to help introduce a familiar and reliable matchmaker to buy Yu Yuan a personal servant.
The innkeeper’s wife was rather surprised and said with a smile: “Oh my, your family’s fortunes are getting better and better.”
For a family like the Yus, the servants usually weren’t so clearly distinguished. To specially buy someone for Yu Yuan this time—if the family hadn’t come into money, they certainly wouldn’t be so generous.
Yu Tang didn’t want to say more and smiled: “My brother is about to get married. He can’t very well have no one around him to run errands.”
“That’s true.” The innkeeper’s wife agreed with a smile and went off to help Yu Tang find someone—but let’s leave that aside for now. When Yu Yuan got up early the next morning with a splitting headache, Yu Tang, bringing in breakfast, had no pleasant expression for him.
“Serves you right!” Yu Tang said. “Who told you to drink so much? You don’t even have anyone with you—what if you fell somewhere? You promised me you’d be careful!”
Yu Yuan smiled awkwardly and tried to appease her: “A’Tang, I found out everything for you yesterday. If the Gu family doesn’t have anything urgent, Miss Gu’s wet nurse should go to the shop to see her son tomorrow. Speaking of which, this matter is quite coincidental—Yao San’er’s shop is right behind the Gu family’s shop. Yao San’er not only knows Miss Gu’s wet nurse’s son, but also knows several shopkeepers from their shop. According to him, their Third Shopkeeper is a real gossip, especially loves to talk about this and that. Because of this, their Head Shopkeeper is very dissatisfied with him. He’s well aware of this and wants to take advantage of the remaining goodwill with the Gu family to find a smaller shop where he can be the head shopkeeper. When he heard I was from Lin’an and wanted to open a shop in Hangzhou, he was particularly enthusiastic toward me. I drank too much yesterday because he kept urging me to drink at the banquet.”
Very few shopkeepers would change employers. If they changed employers without a recommendation letter from their old employer, new employers wouldn’t dare use them.
When Yu Tang heard that this Third Shopkeeper was a gossip, she didn’t quite like it and said: “If you came to Hangzhou to open a shop, would you use this person?”
“No!” Yu Yuan also disliked gossipy people.
Yu Tang thought of Pei Yan’s lecture to her and said: “We’re using him, yes, but we can’t let him think we’ll hire him as a shopkeeper for our shop in the future. These two things need to be kept separate.”
It wouldn’t be good to create bad blood.
Yu Yuan held his aching head and said in a dull voice: “I know. It was Yao San’er who, afraid they’d look down on me, said I was going to open a shop in Hangzhou. I said right then that I really wanted to, but my father wouldn’t allow it. There’s an eighty or ninety percent chance this matter won’t happen. At most, I’m just coming over to look around and satisfy my curiosity.”
Yu Tang nodded.
Yu Yuan began talking about the Sheng family’s lacquerware shop: “The moment you walk in, you feel that the things in their shop are especially good. But when you look more carefully, they’re not sold at particularly high prices. Of course, some things are sold expensively, but I feel there are good reasons they’re expensive. And then the designs on their lacquerware are truly novel. Not to mention anything else—take the same lacquer box with the theme of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity. Their carving work is so lifelike, our family truly can’t compare. Not to mention they also have the craft of ‘inlaid mother-of-pearl with backing colors’…”
As he spoke, his expression became dejected.
“I didn’t dare look too closely. It happened that the time I’d arranged with Yao San’er was almost up, so I left quickly. But thinking about it after I came back, this won’t do—I have to go look again today.”
Yu Tang could sense the pain in his heart.
Although Yu Yuan was a young master and had traveled to some places with Yu Bo, he was after all just a youth who hadn’t yet come of age. Newly arrived, and in Hangzhou, the number one city in Jiangnan where famous establishments, famous shops, and famous products gathered, he would naturally feel inadequate standing among such pearls and jade.
In her previous life, when she had just married into the Li family and faced the beautiful and generous Gu Xi, she had also felt this kind of inferiority.
“I’ll go with you,” Yu Tang said. “I’m also approaching marriageable age. If this ‘inlaid mother-of-pearl with backing colors’ is truly as good as the legends say, when I come with Mother and Aunt next spring, I can also buy one or two items to take back.”
Mainly, her going to the Sheng family’s shop like this gave Yu Yuan sufficient reason. With confidence, his behavior and movements would naturally become more assured. Those shopkeepers and clerks all had discerning eyes and thought a lot—when they discovered that despite wearing coarse cloth clothes, they dared to casually examine their wares, they would surely think they were children from some great household out gaining experience, and naturally wouldn’t dare slight them.
Elder Cousin could also learn some methods of dealing with people through this matter.
Yu Tang secretly nodded at her own idea, then inexplicably thought of Pei Yan wearing plain fine cloth clothes yet handling precious objects.
Very easy to make those people who judge by appearances take a great fall.
Yu Tang suddenly understood Pei Yan’s wicked sense of humor.
She couldn’t help wiping non-existent sweat from her forehead before telling Yu Yuan about Shopkeeper Tong’er’s invitation: “We’ll go out and look around today, but we need to return early in the evening. You can also take the opportunity to ask Shopkeeper Tong’er for advice about doing business in Hangzhou.”
Yu Yuan was somewhat nervous.
This was the first time he would socialize independently with an elder of status like Shopkeeper Tong’er without his father’s or uncle’s guidance. But he wasn’t one to shrink back. Since Yu Tang had already made plans for him, he would do his best.
As for today during the day, they decided to visit the Sheng family’s lacquerware shop in Hangzhou in the morning, then go to Yao San’er’s place in the afternoon to meet the Gu family’s Third Shopkeeper and talk about the Li family’s matter—ideally, Gu Xi’s wet nurse would happen to pass by at that time.
Having settled on their plan, the siblings finished breakfast, changed into clean and tidy clothes, and headed toward Wulin Gate.