Hearing Zhenniang’s words, Madam Huang knew this girl was ready to give her all. She knew her temperament well – back when the Eighth House was struggling, this girl had shut herself in a tiny woodshed for over ten days in the scorching heat, working with smoky coal. When she emerged, according to Madam Zhao, the girl was covered in soot like a coal miner. Though Madam Zhao said nothing, her heart ached terribly.
Yet this girl could endure such hardship.
And now it was the same. Madam Huang stopped trying to persuade her to just do her best. She simply patted Zhenniang’s shoulder, telling her to rest, then left her room. Soon after, she returned with a bowl of bird’s nest soup with lilies, watching Zhenniang finish it before taking the empty bowl away.
Zhenniang understood her aunt’s concern. After sitting for a while and seeing it was already late, not wanting Second Aunt and others to worry, she blew out the lamp and went to bed.
Yet though she lay down, sleep was nowhere to be found.
Zhenniang was rather stubborn, and Qi Chun put tremendous pressure on her. A man’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow – this Qi Chun had come from the Imperial Ink Office, and he wasn’t some flash in the pan who found fame young. He had honed his craft there until middle age before making his name, eventually becoming as renowned as her grandfather. His ink-making skills were extraordinary.
She knew she couldn’t match even her grandfather. Thus, to defeat Qi Chun, she’d need some strategy.
Speaking of which, though the Tian family’s tactics in competing for the Tribute Ink position had been deceitful, they had been effective.
Should she learn from that?
However, she felt that using such tactics would be unfair to the craft, regardless of the method. Yet without tactics, her chances of winning seemed quite low.
The more she thought about it, the more restless she became. Unable to lie still, she sat up, hugging her knees with her chin resting on them. Due to some faint light, the room wasn’t completely dark.
But moonlight? Today was the new moon – where could light come from?
Zhenniang found this strange. She quietly got out of bed and gently opened the window, only to discover the light wasn’t from the moon but from a hurricane lamp in the window of Yihousheng Money House’s tower. Its soft glow happened to reach her side.
Soft and gentle, not disturbing anyone, yet its faint light was somehow comforting.
She wondered when Yihousheng had started hanging that lamp. She hadn’t noticed it before – it must be recent.
Indeed, in the quiet night, such a softly glowing lamp could bring extraordinary peace to one’s heart. It swept away Zhenniang’s earlier restlessness.
Standing quietly for a while, Zhenniang smacked her head in frustration. “Don’t do unto others what you wouldn’t want done to you” – she had despised the Tian family’s actions back then, yet now when it was her turn, she was considering using such tactics herself.
Though business was like warfare, technical competitions shouldn’t involve too much manipulation. Victory should be decisive, and defeat should be graceful. As she had always believed, those who make their living by skill should let their skill speak for itself.
These past few days, under pressure from Qi Chun, she had been racking her brains for shortcuts and alternatives. In truth, this only showed that Qi Chun’s reputation had made her timid.
Wanting something too desperately had made her lose her composure.
With such an attitude, it was questionable whether she could even make it to the final round against Old Master Qi. After all, this ink competition would be public – with her current mindset, she was likely to lose halfway through.
Thinking this, Zhenniang knocked her fist against her forehead again. Yes, she should abandon thoughts of shortcuts and focus on properly planning everything for the competition. An honest contest of skill was the right path.
She still wanted the position of supplier, but not through shortcuts – only through her skills and effort. She would strive toward this goal. Zhenniang clenched her fist, encouraging herself.
Having figured this out, Zhenniang felt suddenly enlightened. She turned to look at the faint glow of the hurricane lamp again, tilting her head and squinting with a smile. Tomorrow when she saw that fellow Luo Jiu, she’d thank him – he’d probably be puzzled. Well, she wouldn’t explain, just let him stay confused. That would serve him right for always trying to make fun of her.
Thinking this, Zhenniang chuckled to herself. She took one more look at the lamp before closing the window.
With the window closed, the faint light became even fainter.
Zhenniang lay back down and soon fell into the most peaceful sleep she’d had in days.
Early the next morning, Zhenniang woke up early. After getting up and washing, she first took a walk around the courtyard before heading to the shop front. Choumei was sweeping fallen leaves with her broom. The weather was turning autumn-like – though the days still had some late summer heat, leaves were already occasionally floating down.
“Morning, Choumei!” Luo Jiu was standing at the entrance of Yihousheng Money House in a horse stance, huffing and puffing as if he’d been throwing some punches, raising his voice to greet the sweeping Choumei.
Choumei just glanced at him once, said nothing, and continued sweeping.
Actually, when Zhenniang had brought Choumei here, seeing her age, she hadn’t wanted her to work. But Choumei couldn’t stay idle and wasn’t one to listen to others, so she did as she pleased.
Choumei completely ignored Luo Jiu, who rubbed his nose, feeling awkward.
Zhenniang smiled, and Luo Jiu looked over, then shook his arms and legs before walking over: “Zhenniang, how are the preparations for the ink competition going? Don’t lose too badly, eh?”
Zhenniang squinted with an expression that said “You’ll see.” Then she smiled sweetly and said, “Manager Luo, thank you for your lamp.”
“Thank me for my lamp? What lamp?” Luo Jiu was indeed completely puzzled.
At this point, Zhenniang just lifted her chin slightly, then turned around and walked back into the shop with her hands behind her back, imitating Third Uncle Cheng’s gait. No time to chat – she still needed to use these last few days to work on the ink line patterns for the birthday ink. The design was also part of the competition.
Watching Zhenniang return to the shop and seeing Miss Yao next door curiously looking this way as she opened her shop, Luo Jiu casually continued his walk. But his eyes swept over the hurricane lamp hanging in his tower, full of mirth.
Soon it was the hour of Chen, and people began appearing on the street in twos and threes. Especially as the ink competition approached, ink masters from regions near Nanjing arrived. With the mindset of knowing both oneself and the enemy to ensure victory, they naturally came to observe their competitors’ ink craftsmanship.
Therefore these days, though the ink shop’s business wasn’t particularly good, there were noticeably more visitors. And they all asked extremely professional questions.
Some even probed for information quite directly.
“Hmm, are all your inks displayed here? These inks seem very ordinary. I heard you’re participating in the Princess’s Manor’s ink competition soon – with these inks, your chances seem quite small. Are you hiding something? Why not show us?” This person asked quite directly.
“Trade secret, nothing to disclose.” Whenever this happened, Tang and Hua’er at the counter would respond with stern faces, thinking these people were thick-skinned.
We don’t see you showing us your inks either.
This gave the shop staff something to talk about. Master Ma from the pestle room declared that the next time someone asked like that, he’d answer with his fists.
This kind of situation was no different today. Several suspected ink masters entered the shop and went straight to the display area, carefully studying the “Han Xizai’s Night Revels” collection of inks. They discussed among themselves, believing these inks represented Li Ink’s highest technical level.
Hua’er stood to the side, eyes wide open, watching them like thieves.
Zhenniang was watching, thinking it was much like other days. She was planning to return to the back workshop to try making a few more inks when she heard someone shouting outside: “Where did this arrogant fellow come from? Is he here to challenge the shops?”
“Challenge? What challenge?” someone else asked curiously.
“At the street corner, there’s an impudent youth with an ink stick, declaring that whoever can identify his ink can have it as a gift, but those who can’t should withdraw from the Princess’s manor’s ink competition to avoid embarrassment.” The first person announced loudly. These were quite arrogant words.
Immediately, those examining inks in the shop stopped looking, put down the inks, and invited each other: “Let’s go take a look! Who’s so arrogant? We’ll make him eat his words!”
“My, our street has three major ink shops! This is a challenge,” Miss Yao joined in the excitement.
At this point, the people at Li Family Ink Shop looked at each other in bewilderment. This was a challenge, just like when Luo Jiu had used “Han Xizai’s Night Revels” to shame the money houses and pawn shops.
But while people had given Luo Jiu trouble back then, they hadn’t troubled anyone now, had they?
“Elder Sister, let’s go look!” Hua’er, who loved the excitement, pulled at Zhenniang.
Zhenniang nodded – she mainly wanted to see what kind of ink this person had that made them dare to make such claims. So they all went out together.
At the corner of Official Street, there was a small open space that was now surrounded by several layers of people. Of course, those on the outside were mostly spectators, while several ink masters inside were sweating.
When Zhenniang and Hua’er approached, they heard the onlookers whispering.
“Oh my, they really can’t identify it? Could this unremarkable ink be something precious?”
“Hard to say…”
“Brother Luo, with your exceptional eye, why not go teach that arrogant fellow a lesson?” At this time, Tian Benchang, standing with Luo Jiu, urged.
“This is a matter for you ink makers. An outsider like me shouldn’t interfere. Besides, my family no longer has a place in the ink business. However, Brother Tian, shall we make a bet? If I win, you return the Tian Ink Shop to me entirely,” Luo Jiu raised his eyebrows in response.
Tian Benchang hesitated before saying awkwardly, “Brother Luo must be joking.”
“I’m not joking, I’m serious,” Luo Jiu said earnestly. Tian Benchang laughed nervously, not daring to respond.
“Why don’t you go try?” Hua’er, who had a clear sense of grudges, showed no goodwill toward the Tian family who had targeted the Li family.
But her words helped Tian Benchang out of his predicament: “As a newcomer not particularly versed in the ink business, I’d rather not embarrass myself.”
Hua’er wanted to say more, but Zhenniang pulled at her – no need to say more.
“Girl, go up and try to identify it. We can’t let others come challenge us at our door,” Third Uncle Cheng had also arrived, strolling over.
“The older the ginger, the spicier it gets. Third Uncle, you go first, I’ll cheer for you,” Zhenniang said with a smile.
“This old man won’t play around with you youngsters,” Third Uncle refused to get involved.
“Come on, either identify it or admit you can’t! Those who can’t should just go home quietly. People should know their limits, especially some young girls who should just find good marriages and stay home to be proper wives and mothers – that’s the right path,” the arrogant youth in the crowd declared.
Zhenniang’s eyes flickered – so this person was targeting her. Well, then there was no reason to just watch the show.