“Third Uncle, that wasn’t very sporting of you,” complained Luo Jiu. “Official Qi came forward specifically to challenge you, yet you hid behind Miss Li instead. If Elder Eight of the Li family were here, he’d surely want to duel with you first.”
After leaving the Li Family Ink Workshop, Old Master Cheng strolled to the Yihousheng Money House. The clerks were sweeping up, preparing to close for the day. Luo Jiu, standing by the door, deliberately teased the old master as he approached.
Others might not know, but Luo Jiu was well aware that Official Qi and Third Uncle Cheng had been at odds years ago during their ink-making days. This time, Official Qi, despite his prestigious position at the Ink Affairs Bureau, had willingly represented the Tian family. He had anticipated that Old Master Cheng would step forward to compete for this business opportunity on behalf of the Cheng family. Official Qi had long wished to have a proper confrontation with Third Uncle Cheng, hoping to settle their years-old grievance. Unexpectedly, Third Uncle Cheng had passed up this opportunity.
When Official Qi received this news, he would likely be furious.
“You rascal, you’re the one being unsporting,” Old Master Cheng retorted, twirling his beard with irritation. “The Li family has everything ready and only needs the right opportunity. What’s that opportunity? This birthday ink is exactly that. That girl would brave any challenge, and she’s a natural in this business who knows how to play hardball. She just dealt Tian Er a major setback. I’m not falling for your trap. If I had stepped forward to duel with that petty Qi, losing would cost me face and fulfill his wishes. And if I won? That girl might stab me in the back, and losing to her would make me an even bigger laughingstock to that fellow Qi. This old man won’t do anything so thankless.”
He had made up his mind to watch the tigers fight from the mountain.
After all, this Li family girl was no pushover either.
Old Master Cheng then turned to Luo Jiu with a teasing look: “Tell me, young Luo, what’s your relationship with that girl, that you’re so eager to speak up for her?”
“You misunderstand, Third Uncle. I was just making conversation. It’s been a while since I played chess, and my fingers are itching for a game. How about it, old master? Care for a couple of rounds?” Luo Jiu said with a laugh.
The old master’s fingers were itching too. Nanjing wasn’t like Huizhou – he didn’t know many people here, and there were few he could talk to. The old master could only find these young people to chat with most days.
“Very well then, set up the board,” the old master waved his hand.
Luo Wenqian led Old Master Cheng up to a second-floor private room. A clerk brought up Liu’an tea and snow-flower cakes among other refreshments.
As they began playing, Luo Wenqian’s chess style was remarkably aggressive. Old Master Cheng was caught off guard at first and nearly fell into a trap. He had to concentrate fully, yet still found himself struggling against the attacks from all sides. He couldn’t help but grumble internally about how young people these days showed no respect for their elders.
Finally, Old Master Cheng muttered, “This game is too exhausting. I quit.”
With that, he swept the pieces off the board and leisurely took his leave.
Just then, Manager Yan entered the shop with the account books from Branch A tucked under his arm. Seeing this scene, he laughed, “The old master is getting more and more unreasonable.”
“He’s becoming quite the playful old man,” said Luo Wenqian, then gestured to a chair, inviting Yan Xilai to sit.
Yan Xilai handed over the account books and then produced a letter: “Old Song from beyond the Great Wall sent word that Master Fu is coming south. Seems he’s heading to Nanjing, but not right away. He’ll likely visit the Qin family caravan in Shanxi first, then come here – probably around year’s end. We’ve taken quite a bit of business from the Qin family this year. Old Song suspects they’ve sent Master Fu to deal with us.”
They had started their fortune in gold mining. Later, Luo Wenqian donated to the Qi family army, and afterward, Commander Qi entrusted the army’s supply business to Luo Wenqian – returning the favor and showing his trust.
But this meant taking a piece of meat from the Shanxi Qin family. Speaking of which, one must mention the Shanxi merchants and the Kaichong system. In the early Ming Dynasty, with the capital established in Nanjing, not only was military grain transport complicated, but more importantly, the numerous checkpoints caused too much waste, which the court couldn’t afford. Thus came the Kaichong system – the court reached an agreement with Shanxi merchants to transport grain directly to the military in exchange for salt permits, granting them monopoly rights in the salt trade. This brought enormous profits to the Shanxi merchants.
From then on, most military supply procurement fell under the control of Shanxi merchants.
The Qin family rose to prominence during this time. When Commander Qi went to train troops at the Nine Borders, the Qin family had considered the military supply business as good as theirs. They never expected Luo Wenqian would snatch it away.
And thus began their feud.
As for Master Fu mentioned in the letter, he had only started gold mining last year. It was said the Qin family had once saved his life. Moreover, being fellow miners and rivals, they had countless conflicts, and their grudge only grew deeper.
That’s why Old Song specifically wrote to warn Luo Jiu about Master Fu’s arrival.
Luo Wenqian read the letter and smiled faintly: “Well, whatever the Qin family’s plans are, I don’t think Master Fu himself is coming specifically to target us. I believe he’s returning home. It’s already the latter half of the year, and he’s mined plenty of gold – time for a triumphant return. This Master Fu should be from Huizhou.”
Mining gold beyond the Great Wall was a life-risking occupation. Many miners were bandits or fugitives, and killing during mining disputes was commonplace. Therefore, most used false names. For instance, Luo Wenqian became Luo Jiu beyond the Wall.
Beyond the Wall, people never inquired about others’ real names or family backgrounds – it was taboo unless there was a death feud. So usually, unless someone volunteered the information, no one would know their real name or hometown.
However, some things were obvious, like accents. Master Fu spoke with a Huizhou accent, so they could guess his origins.
“That’s quite possible,” Yan Xilai nodded, then chuckled: “Wonder if Master Fu has found a good son-in-law for his daughter?”
Luo Wenqian laughed at this too.
Among the miners beyond the Wall, there was a rumor about Master Fu having a daughter who was as plain as salt and had a temper like a shrew.
Naturally, no one had ever seen Master Fu’s daughter. But Master Fu had a weakness – he loved drinking despite his poor tolerance. The liquor beyond the Wall was strong, and Master Fu often got drunk after just a few bowls. Usually tight-lipped about family matters, he would lose his discretion when drunk.
He would then ramble about finding a match for his daughter, asking older men to act as matchmakers and directly proposing to those closer to his age.
In several mining areas, any decent-looking, sturdy man with some gold in his pocket became Master Fu’s target.
Even his rival Luo Jiu wasn’t spared. Once, during a fight between mining areas, Luo Jiu’s men captured Master Fu. Thinking death was certain, Master Fu demanded wine, saying he wouldn’t die hungry.
The men beyond the Wall, perhaps influenced by the rugged environment, followed a code – even as enemies, they wouldn’t go beyond taking a life and maintaining a certain respect. So when Master Fu asked for wine, Luo Jiu had it brought and even drank a few bowls with him. Unexpectedly, Master Fu got drunk immediately and started proposing a marriage between Luo Jiu and his daughter, saying he’d forget about the mining area Luo Jiu had taken if he became his son-in-law.
This left Luo Jiu both amused and exasperated.
It also amused the brothers who had just arrived with gold to ransom Master Fu – imagine being at death’s door yet still thinking about arranging marriages. This became a running joke about Master Fu.
A rumor spread through the mining areas: Master Fu was now a person of some standing who had mined considerable gold, yet he worried so much about his daughter’s marriage. The only explanation must be that his daughter was too ugly and ill-tempered to find a husband.
There was even a betting pool in the mining areas wagering on when Master Fu’s daughter would finally marry. Quite a sum had been staked on it by now.
That’s why Yan Xilai found the topic so amusing.
“It’s probably still up in the air,” Luo Jiu laughed, then waved the letter in his hand: “Let’s set aside Master Fu’s matter for now. We’ll deal with things as they come.”
Yan Xilai nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Zhenniang had been pondering something these past few days.
She had discovered that the ink master helping the Tian and Can families in the competition was none other than Official Qi of the Spring Chamber, who was as renowned as her grandfather.
She immediately realized this wouldn’t be an easy task. To win, she’d need to find an unconventional approach.
“Zhenniang, just do your best. Don’t wear yourself out,” Madam Huang said worriedly, seeing Zhenniang’s constant furrowed brow.
“But this opportunity is truly rare. If we can secure it, Li Ink can open up new horizons,” Zhenniang leaned against Madam Huang. No matter what, if Li Ink were to regain its former glory, they couldn’t miss this chance.
Additionally, Zhenniang valued the position of ink supplier to the Princess’s manor. Though her mother maintained a cheerful demeanor during her visit, Zhenniang occasionally caught hints of complaints about idle gossip from Huizhou in their conversations.
Although Seventh Grandmother had managed things well, and Uncle Jingming harbored no resentment, she was still a girl not yet seventeen who had taken over the Nanjing business, managed the Li Family Ink Workshop, and eventually pushed Uncle Jingming’s family back to Huizhou. How could their clan members in Huizhou all stay silent about this?
Even in a later era, such matters would still invite relatives’ gossip, let alone in these times.
Of course, whether others talked about it didn’t matter, and she wouldn’t care, but her mother did.
If they could secure the position of ink supplier to the Princess’s manor, with such prestigious backing, no one would dare speak ill of them. They might even seek their favor instead – such was human nature.