By afternoon, Zhu Gui hurriedly came to find Zhen Niang.
After discussing more details, they finalized and signed the contract.
Zhen Niang wrote down the liquid ink formula and handed it to Zhu Gui. Looking at it, he seemed hesitant to speak. There were many intricacies in the ink formula – the slightest deviation could lead to vast differences. Sometimes, even small changes in the order of ingredients or timing could result in dramatically different quality.
Zhen Niang understood Zhu Gui’s concerns and said, “Master Zhu, some aspects like timing and technique must be adjusted based on actual conditions – these can’t all be explained in the formula. I’ll send over a master craftsman to guide you for a while until the liquid ink production stabilizes, then he’ll return.”
“Good, good, Miss Zhen thinks of everything,” Zhu Gui replied eagerly. Zhen Niang’s words had addressed his exact concerns. With a master craftsman from the Li Family overseeing production, the quality would be guaranteed, putting Zhu Gui completely at ease.
Indeed, Miss Zhen of the Li Family was truly generous in her dealings.
With everything settled, Zhen Niang called for Ergou, gave him instructions, and sent him with Zhu Gui to help produce liquid ink at the Zhu Family workshop.
As the sun set in the west, its slanting rays cast a light red veil over the Qinhuai River banks. The brothels along both sides of Qinhuai began playing their string and bamboo music. Though pleasing to the ear, under the setting sun, it carried a hint of melancholy that naturally brought forth a sense of wistfulness.
At this time, Zhen Niang sat behind the counter, checking the day’s accounts, but her mind kept wandering to Luo Wenqian’s visit in the morning.
Perhaps influenced by the melancholic music, Zhen Niang felt something weighing on her mind. No matter what, during their time in Nanjing, Luo Wenqian had helped them multiple times. Although he now harbored some resentment toward the Li and Han families over the land issue, and though some things couldn’t be fully explained, she still wanted to share her thoughts with him.
Returning kindness with kindness was simply basic human decency.
Thinking leads to action – Zhen Niang called Hua’er to watch the counter, had Little Ya help in the shop, and then went out to visit the Yihousheng branch. Just as she stepped out, she saw some plums being sold by the roadside.
The plums were large, deep purple-red like fully ripened grapes. They looked delicious, though a few days ago when Hua’er bought a jin of them, they had made everyone’s teeth ache from the sourness.
Seeing these plums reminded Zhen Niang of when Luo Wenqian had treated her to xiaolongbao. She chuckled to herself and bought a jin of plums, placing them in a small bamboo basket before strolling toward the Yihousheng money shop.
At Yihousheng Money Shop.
After leaving Li Family Ink Shop in anger that morning, Luo Wenqian sat drinking tea in the back room of his shop and felt somewhat bewildered, thinking perhaps he had overreacted.
Han Yigui was, after all, just an ordinary merchant dealing in raw silk, inevitably having to maintain relationships with officials. Although the Xu Family had wronged them first, most people in Nanjing didn’t know that the land crisis had escalated to such a terrible degree because of the Xu brothers’ manipulation behind the scenes. Therefore, from the Han Family’s perspective, although the Xu Family had previously broken faith, merchants were of lower status and needed to maintain harmony for business. Moreover, the Han Family couldn’t keep the land themselves. Viewed this way, selling the land back to the Xu Family seemed somewhat logical.
Furthermore, this matter hardly concerned Zhen Niang at all. Luo Wenqian suddenly felt his earlier indignation was somewhat unreasonable, making him appear petty – quite unlike the straightforward Luo Jiu of the Northern territories.
Thinking this, he scratched his head. He seemed to be regressing.
“Cousin, Cousin, Aunt is here!” At this moment, a young woman in green silk entered, supporting an elderly lady.
Luo Wenqian hurried out. The Wang family’s aunt was the only member of the Wang family he still respected. Years ago, she had arranged his mother’s marriage into the Luo family.
The young woman in green silk was Wang Si’fang’s only daughter, Wang Wan’er.
“Aunt, please sit. Bring tea,” Luo Wenqian stepped forward, also helping support his aunt to the side hall and settle on the soft couch, even helping massage her legs a bit.
“That’s enough, Wan’er and the others can do these things. You’re a grown man, no need for such attention,” the aunt pulled Luo Wenqian to sit beside her. She carefully examined him, then began to tear up. Luo Wenqian had grown thinner, darker, and lost that youthful vitality of his former young master days. He had become steady, his angular face now bearing the marks of hardship.
He must have suffered greatly these years. If his mother knew from the nine springs below, she would be heartbroken.
“Aunt, don’t cry. I’m doing fine, aren’t I?” Luo Wenqian understood his aunt’s thoughts and consoled her, then changed the subject: “When did you arrive in Nanjing? Why didn’t you let me know so I could meet you at the dock?”
“I arrived yesterday. Your uncle invited me, otherwise, this old bag of bones would never have left Huizhou in this lifetime.”
Hearing this, Luo Wenqian’s face darkened. Undoubtedly, Wang Si’fang had brought his aunt here for his sake, and she was likely here to mediate.
Sure enough, after a few sips of tea, the Wang family aunt spoke: “Wenqian, stop fighting with your uncle. Although what he did back then was a bit extreme, with the feud between the families, you can’t blame your uncle. Now, after all, we’re family. Your uncle and nephew should be working together, not turning against each other.”
Hearing his aunt’s words, Luo Wenqian’s face darkened, and after a while, he said: “Aunt, I’m not clear about past events, and there’s no need to dwell on them. But there’s one thing I can never forgive. When my family faced disaster, some were killed, some exiled, and our branch couldn’t escape being implicated. At that time, my parents had nowhere to go and brought what belongings they had to seek shelter with Wang Si’fang in Nanjing, hoping he would take them in for a while considering the sibling relationship. But unexpectedly, when they arrived in Nanjing, Wang Si’fang would only let my mother return to the Wang family if she divorced my father. Otherwise, the Wang family would no longer consider her their daughter and wouldn’t take them in. My mother could never agree to such a demand, so my parents decided to return to Huizhou, planning to face life or death together. But on the way back, they encountered bandits and have been missing since, likely meeting with misfortune. So, Aunt, how can Wang Si’fang and I still be family?”
Luo Wenqian’s face was cold, his murderous aura palpable – it seemed impossible for him and Wang Si’fang to ever be family again in this lifetime.
His words left the Wang aunt speechless – indeed, Uncle Wang Si’fang had gone too far back then. However, she continued: “Your uncle may have been excessive, but even so, you shouldn’t ally with outsiders against him.”
By “allying with outsiders,” she was referring to how Wang Si’fang had almost taken over the Han family’s business recently, but Luo Wenqian had unexpectedly intervened, lending money to help the Han family repay Wang Si’fang’s loans and recover, thoroughly embarrassing Wang Si’fang.
“This is just business, Aunt. You wouldn’t understand,” Luo Wenqian said coldly, not wanting his aunt caught in the middle. The atmosphere immediately became tense.
Beside them, Wang Wan’er, hearing about her father, understood that he had indeed gone too far back then, and it was no wonder her cousin opposed him. This point truly couldn’t be blamed on her cousin. Seeing the awkward atmosphere, she cheerfully said to the Wang aunt: “Aunt, this is our first visit to our cousin’s place. Come, let’s look around and explore.”
With that, she practically dragged the Wang aunt to the back courtyard, hoping to let things cool down and prevent damaging relationships further.
Luo Wenqian didn’t pay attention to them. His aunt’s words had stirred up painful memories, and he sat there with his eyes half-closed, his face still dark with anger.
When Zhen Niang arrived at Yihousheng, she entered to find Luo Wenqian sitting in the small reception hall with a dark expression, assuming he was still angry about her uncle’s refusal to sell him the land.
Sighing at his substantial temper, she stood at the doorway and coughed softly.
Hearing the sound, Luo Wenqian opened his eyes to see Zhen Niang at the door, wearing a pink dress with a blue-green outer garment, combining youthful freshness with capable steadiness – these two qualities together truly caught the eye.
“Miss Zhen’s visit brings light to my humble abode,” Luo Wenqian said.
“Is Brother Luo saying I look like a lamp?” Zhen Niang playfully asked.
“A lamp? What do you mean?” Luo Wenqian was confused by her words.
“If not a lamp, how could I bring light to your home?” Zhen Niang replied.
“Hmm, that makes sense,” Luo Wenqian nodded seriously.
Zhen Niang couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing his expression had softened, she sat down and brought out her small bamboo basket: “Brother Luo, try these plums. They’re said to be very sweet.”
Luo Wenqian raised an eyebrow, took one, and bit into it. Immediately his whole face puckered from the sourness, while Zhen Niang watched with great amusement.
Then she said: “About buying land to settle the retired soldiers you mentioned earlier, I have a thought.”
“Oh? Do tell,” Luo Wenqian took a big drink of tea to wash away the sourness, now understanding that this girl was quite vindictive, remembering how he had treated her to xiaolongbao before and now repaying him with sour plums.
“Well, settling retired soldiers with land is a good thing, but it involves many complications. The soldiers all have some relatives, and being able to retire means they’ll want to return to their hometowns. Bringing them all to Nanjing would involve moving families and such, which isn’t ideal. It might be better to simply give them silver and let them make their arrangements. Of course, for those who want to buy land to settle, Anqing Prefecture might be better than Nanjing. After all, Nanjing is near the imperial capital, and the recent land incident caused quite a stir – many people are probably still watching these lands. Using them to settle soldiers might attract ill-intentioned attention and prevent peace,” Zhen Niang explained, completing her earlier unfinished thoughts.
After a moment, she added: “I’m not just making excuses – this is truly what I think.”
This final explanation made Luo Wenqian both amused and exasperated. This girl had so many thoughts in her head – he had never thought Miss Li was making excuses. Just as he was about to speak, Wan’er returned with his aunt: “Cousin, your back courtyard is nice. It seems cooler than our place. In a few days, I’ll often bring aunt here to enjoy the cool air.”
It was now entering the fourth month, and the weather was turning warm.
Zhen Niang couldn’t help but observe the Wang aunt and the young lady. Since she called him cousin, she must be Wang Si’fang’s daughter, but she couldn’t immediately place who the elderly woman was.
“Let me introduce you – this is my aunt, and this is my cousin Wang Wan’er,” Luo Wenqian said. Then he introduced Zhen Niang to his aunt and Wang Wan’er: “Aunt, Wan’er, this is the chief manager of the Huizhou Li Family’s Nanjing branch, Li Zhen Niang.”
“Greetings, Grandmother Wang,” Zhen Niang gracefully paid her respects to the Wang aunt, then nodded to Wang Wan’er: “Hello, Sister Wan’er.”
“Hello, Sister Li,” Wan’er replied according to custom, though her eyes kept darting between Luo Wenqian and Zhen Niang as if trying to discern something.
“Oh, you’re the girl from the Li Family’s eighth branch. Quite capable indeed,” the Wang aunt said coolly.
Reading expressions and listening to tones, Zhen Niang could hear the Wang aunt’s disapproval in her words. Having said what she needed to say to Luo Wenqian, she took her leave.