The Tian family had arrived in Nanjing more than a month before the Li family, reaching there at the end of last year. The eldest Tian son had come to make all the preparations. However, since the Huizhou ink workshop was the Tian family’s foundation, and they needed to oversee the tribute ink production, Tian Benchang couldn’t leave.

Originally, Old Master Tian was supposed to come, but he had caught a cold after the New Year and his health hadn’t been good since. Thus, Second Young Master Tian got this opportunity.

Therefore, when Second Young Master and Tian Ronghua arrived in Nanjing, although their ink workshop hadn’t officially opened, everything was already prepared, just waiting for an auspicious date for the opening. So while Second Young Master and Zhen Niang arrived in Nanjing at the same time, the Tian family’s business opened nearly two months before the Li family, with their workshop fully equipped with masters, workers, and materials.

Thus, now that they had obtained the Li family’s liquid ink formula, they needed no preparation. Second Young Master directly selected several masters to enter an independent workshop and begin trial production of the liquid ink.

This independent workshop, in modern terms, would be called a research and development laboratory. Every ink workshop had one, and it was also the lifeline of an ink workshop.

As soon as they entered the workshop, the masters and workers began their work. For them, trying to produce a new type of ink was quite exciting. The second Young Master, unusually patient with the tedium, stayed with the masters and workers. Tian Ronghua watched even more closely, even personally participating in some procedures.

Though the Tian family were newcomers to the trade, and the Tian siblings’ craftsmanship couldn’t compare to Li Zhen Niang’s, they had the advantage of having the original team from the Luo family workshop. Furthermore, during the pine plague outbreak two years ago, many small ink workshops had either closed or merged, and the Tian family had seized the opportunity to recruit considerable talent. Therefore, even though the Tian brothers were newcomers, as long as they didn’t give misguided orders, their overall ink-making technical level was quite good.

Thus, the Tian siblings and several masters worked from noon until the oil lamps were first lit. The liquid ink was finally produced, and after having several people test it and especially purchasing some bottles of ink from the Li family for comparison, they found them identical.

Tian Ronghua finally breathed a sigh of relief. Second Young Master was even more pleased with himself, feeling he was comparable to the ancient Zhuge Liang.

“Second Brother, to be sure, you should buy some bottles from the Zhu family to test as well,” Tian Ronghua was still somewhat worried.

“No need. I’ve already obtained the Zhu family’s ink formula, and it’s the same as what Master Zeng got from the Li family. I was worried the Li family might be guarding against the Zhu family and hadn’t given them the real formula, which is why I had Master Zeng get another copy from the Li family. Unexpectedly, Li Zhen Niang was truly generous, readily giving away the formula she had worked so hard to develop, hehe.” Second Young Master remarked dismissively.

If it were his Tian family, that would never have happened.

“Li Zhen Niang is determined to bring in the Zhu family to compete with us for market share in Nanjing’s ink market, so naturally she must cooperate sincerely with the Zhu family,” Tian Ronghua said. If the Li family hadn’t helped the Zhu family, they might have already left Nanjing dejectedly like the Wei family.

Truthfully, Tian Ronghua had to admire Li Zhen Niang’s business acumen.

However, people needed experience. Though his second brother’s actions this time were somewhat underhanded, his planning was quite thorough—from initially directing anger at Master Zeng to subsequently stealing both the Zhu and Li families’ formulas, ensuring nothing could go wrong.

Second Brother had indeed grown more capable. With this, the weight on Tian Ronghua’s mind lifted.

“Hmph, they dare to compete with us. This time I want to see how they fight back. Manager Fang, prepare sufficient materials for me. Watch closely and produce the liquid ink at full capacity. When the time comes, I’ll lower the prices. Fight with me? I’ll drive you to ruin,” the Second Young Master said viciously.

At this point, Tian Ronghua wouldn’t stop his second brother. Business was like warfare—since the Tian and Li families had begun their battle, they would fight to the end.

In the following days, the Tian family produced liquid ink at full capacity. Of course, this was kept strictly confidential, with no news leaking to the outside. They planned to wait until they had accumulated enough stock, then launch it all at once into the ink market, using high volume and low prices to seize the market share that the Li and Zhu families had just consolidated, thereby crushing both families.

The Li family was unaware of the Tian family’s scheming.

However, since the day Master Zeng had requested leave to depart with his son, he hadn’t returned to the Li Family Ink Manor, nor had anyone brought any message back. The people at the Li Family Ink Manor were naturally suspicious.

“Miss Zhen, Master Zeng hasn’t returned for several days. I hope nothing has happened to him?” During the liquid ink production, Master Ma, who used to do the grinding work and now handled the ink mixing—a crucial process that required considerable strength, making him the natural choice—finished his work and sat down. He spoke in his deep voice to Li Zhen Niang, who was directing people to paste labels on bottles.

Hearing Master Ma’s words, Zhen Niang’s lips curled slightly, having a general idea of the situation. After thinking for a moment, she nodded: “When Master Zheng returns, have him take two people to check on Master Zeng. If he’s in any difficulty, we should lend a hand.”

“That’s right,” Master Ma nodded and returned to his work.

Zhen Niang watched the workshop for a while before returning to the front shop, where customers were browsing in small groups while clerks introduced various inks.

Zhen Niang had instructed the clerks that even if customers showed no intention of buying, they should be warmly received and introduced to Li inks. No purchase today didn’t mean no sale tomorrow—with a good impression, business would gradually improve.

Then Zhen Niang went to check the accounts.

Shortly after, Zheng Fuli returned somewhat drunk. Business socializing was unavoidable, and as a young woman, it wasn’t appropriate for Zhen Niang to appear on such occasions. Therefore, Zheng Fuli handled all the business entertainment. Currently, many traveling merchants were interested in the Li family’s liquid ink, all wanting to stock it. The Li family had certain procedures in place without much room for exploitation, so these merchants aimed to establish good relationships. Therefore, there were frequent drinking occasions that couldn’t be declined, resulting in Zheng Fuli attending one banquet after another these days.

Most of these drinking events took place in the Qinhuai pleasure houses. Fortunately, Zheng Fuli wasn’t married, otherwise his wife would have been furious with jealousy.

However, Hua Er had recently been quite critical of this, often whispering to Zhen Niang that Manager Zheng was being corrupted and asking her to control him.

Zhen Niang found this both amusing and exasperating. Truthfully, as long as it wasn’t her husband, she was happy to see this. After all, Zheng Fuli was “sacrificing” himself for the Li Family Ink Workshop.

Moreover, Zheng Fuli had been trained by Manager Shao. Although Manager Shao hadn’t initially been very cooperative with Zhen Niang, he was truly a model of loyalty to the Li family’s main line. It could be said that without Manager Shao helping Seventh Grandmother support the workshop back then, the Li Family Ink Workshop might not have maintained its current position. Zheng Fuli had grown up at Manager Shao’s side, and although he sometimes thought too highly of himself, once you proved your ability to him, he would work properly and systematically.

Not to mention, since arriving in Nanjing, from the workshop’s preparation until now, Zheng Fuli’s contributions have been invaluable. Those who had run shops in later times would know that during the opening phase, while there might not seem to be many visible tasks, the details were quite complex.

And Zheng Fuli had taken care of all of this. This was why when selecting people to come over, Zhen Niang had chosen Zheng Fuli first.

Therefore, in this regard, Zhen Niang trusted Zheng Fuli and teasingly scolded Hua Er: “Stop worrying needlessly.”

She then joked: “If you’re concerned, why don’t you keep an eye on him yourself?” The words carried some suggestive undertones. She expected Hua Er to be embarrassed, but surprisingly, Hua Er nodded seriously: “Yes, I’ll watch him.”

This left Zhen Niang both amused and exasperated.

Seeing Zheng Fuli’s drunken state, she had him sit down to rest and asked a clerk to prepare some sobering soup.

Zheng Fuli was excited. After sitting down, he spoke through his drunkenness: “Miss Zhen, now merchants from Shandong, Shanxi, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Wuhu all want to stock our goods. Oh, and today at the banquet, there was a merchant from Zhoushan Island who was very interested in our Li ink. I think they use sea routes—Miss Zhen, should we consider developing this route?”

As he spoke, Zheng Fuli looked at Miss Zhen’s calm face, his gaze darkening.

He felt a surge of ambition, wishing he could achieve something remarkable so Miss Zhen wouldn’t look down on him.

“We don’t need to rush with this route. The sea routes are still restricted, and our Li ink is still in its foundation-building stage. Haste makes waste,” Zhen Niang said after some thought. She had already included this sea route in her plans, but she was reserving it for Wang Cuiqiao. Only when the Longqing Emperor opened the restrictions would it truly become a golden route?

Currently, the coming autumn and next spring would be the period for the Li family to focus on ink production and building inventory.

Of course, as the time wasn’t right, this plan couldn’t be revealed yet.

“Miss Zhen, this is a rare opportunity. That merchant from Zhoushan seemed quite capable. Why don’t we try shipping a batch of ink to test the waters?” Zheng Fuli said anxiously.

“I said we won’t discuss this matter for now,” Zhen Niang waved her hand. While Zheng Fuli’s reasoning wasn’t wrong by common sense, what he considered the right timing wasn’t what Zhen Niang considered the right timing. She didn’t want to continue this discussion.

Seeing Zhen Niang’s firm decision, Zheng Fuli felt frustrated, thinking it was a shame. After all, she was a woman, too timid, with limited vision.

Thus, feeling dispirited, he excused himself to rest. Next to the workshop was a row of single-story houses where the ink masters lived, separated from the Li residence’s back courtyard—essentially a workers’ dormitory area.

Since Zheng Fuli couldn’t go check on Master Zeng now, Zhen Niang eventually sent Master Ma with two clerks.

Master Ma returned with the two clerks shortly after, wearing a grave expression.

“Miss Zhen, Master Zeng’s entire family has disappeared,” Master Ma urgently reported to Li Zhen Niang as soon as he entered.

“What happened?” Zhen Niang asked with furrowed brows.

“I’m not entirely sure. When we reached Master Zeng’s home, we found it empty. I asked the neighbors, who said they moved away several days ago, but no one knows where they went. Also, I inquired about Master Zeng’s father-in-law—the neighbors said he passed away long ago, which means the story his son told that day was a lie,” Master Ma said seriously. Even with his straightforward nature, he now realized that something was suspicious about Master Zeng.

“If that’s the case, let it be. When it rains, it rains; when a mother wants to remarry, she remarries. Let him go his own way,” Zhen Niang narrowed her eyes. Master Zeng had achieved his goal and left to pursue his future.

“This situation seems strange. Perhaps we should have Er Gou investigate—he has more underground connections,” Master Ma suggested. Master Zeng had seen quite a lot during his time at the workshop, and Master Ma felt uneasy.

“It’s fine. The Zhu family still needs Er Gou for now. As for Master Zeng, let it be,” Zhen Niang said calmly.

Seeing Zhen Niang’s response, Master Ma said no more and returned to his work.

After Master Ma returned to the workshop in the back courtyard, Zhen Niang sat alone sipping tea, her eyes showing an interesting gleam, with a smile at their corners. If Seventh Grandmother and Old Master Cheng were here, they would understand—this girl was plotting something again, and someone was going to be in trouble.