And so, Luo Jiu departed for the capital that afternoon.
The lifting of the maritime ban was no small matter.
This girl was quite daring, already stockpiling tung oil. If her prediction proved wrong and the ban remained, tung oil prices wouldn’t rise in the short term, which would inevitably impact Li Mo’s business.
Of course, if the ban was truly lifted, she would profit tremendously. Li Mo was reportedly expanding significantly this year, increasing workshops in both Huizhou and Nanjing and stockpiling not just oil but also ink.
Once the maritime ban was lifted, the Li family could accumulate several years’ worth of capital in just one year, enabling them to compete in the tribute ink market. This was likely why the entire clan supported Zhenniang – after all, both Seventh Madam and Old Shopkeeper Li weren’t young anymore, and their wish must be to see the Li family regain control of the tribute ink market in their lifetime.
Though Zhenniang spoke with certainty, rumors about lifting the maritime ban were difficult to verify. He needed to investigate in the capital, and if the probability wasn’t high, he would have to advise the girl against it.
Of course, if the chances of the ban being lifted were indeed high, Luo Jiu wouldn’t mind making a big play himself.
Thus, in the following days, when Zhenniang opened the shop in the morning, she no longer saw Luo Jiu’s leisurely figure practicing martial arts and exercising. She understood he was gathering information. His methods were quite unorthodox – who knew how he had built such connections in just these few years?
During these days, Zhenniang was also quite busy.
More than ten days had passed since the Imperial Consort’s birthday celebration, and the Princess Manor’s steward had returned with news that the Imperial Consort was very pleased with the birthday ink, having gifted some to noble ladies who came to offer birthday wishes. Among these noble ladies, there was often a spirit of competition, and suddenly collecting Li Mo ink became fashionable in their circles.
The merchants of the Four Treasures shops in the capital were naturally sensitive to such trends. Riding this wave, they placed numerous orders with Li Mo Ink Shop. Even Fu Xian Pavilion’s honest proprietor Li Fusheng, who normally never managed the business, stepped forward due to his connection with Li Mo and ordered a batch of collection inks.
Thus, these days, Li Mo Ink Shop’s business transformed from the post-New Year quiet to quite bustling. Combined with Zhenniang’s tung oil purchases, they were kept extremely busy.
That evening, as the oil lamps were first lit and Zhenniang was about to close the shop, Luo Jiu, who had been absent for some time, appeared casually: “Master Li, it’s time for us to make our move.”
“Oh? Did you confirm everything?” Zhenniang was startled by his sudden appearance – this man truly came and went like a ghost. However, she noticed signs of weariness in his expression.
“Yes, I’ve confirmed it,” Luo Jiu said, tapping his forehead with his index finger. “However, to be safe, I’ve spent these days traveling to Suzhou, Hangzhou, Wuxi, and other places, finding people to add momentum to the maritime ban lifting… It’s not just the hope of some court officials, but also the expectation of civilian maritime merchants. So I arranged for some people to submit petitions reflecting the people’s voice.”
Luo Jiu’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
Zhenniang was shocked – she hadn’t expected her suggestion would lead him to make such an extensive journey. This wasn’t the future era with airplanes; traveling on horseback could exhaust anyone, no wonder Luo Jiu looked weary. However, the people Luo Jiu mentioned were all powerful merchants – how could they be persuaded by him? “Will this work? Why would they listen to you?”
“I didn’t go alone,” Luo Jiu rubbed his nose.
“Who went with you?” Zhenniang asked curiously.
“Zhang Zhong,” Luo Jiu replied.
Zhang Zhong? Zhenniang was incredulous. If she hadn’t known who Zhang Zhong was in her previous life, in this life, having stayed in Nanjing for so long, she was well aware of his reputation. Zhang Zhong had been Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng’s attendant since childhood and was now one of his most capable household managers. With Zhang Zhong’s involvement, everyone knew what that implied.
With such backing, plus the huge profits potential from lifting the maritime ban, only a fool would refuse to participate.
Of course, Zhenniang didn’t pursue the topic further.
She knew he had unorthodox methods, but hadn’t expected them to be this extensive.
It seemed Luo Jiu had become a driving force behind lifting the maritime ban. Zhenniang admired his approach – rather than waiting for a possibility, he actively pursued it, maximizing their chances of success.
Combining historical events with the current situation, perhaps the court had already reached a consensus on lifting the ban, but after so many back-and-forth decisions, they lacked the right timing to implement it. Luo Jiu’s actions might well become the stepping stone the court needed.
Of course, this was pure speculation.
“I’m only collecting tung oil, just what we can handle. I’m not concerned with anything else,” Zhenniang said. Once the maritime ban was lifted, all commerce would flourish – silk, hemp, ironware, daily necessities, and more. There were countless ways to profit, but Zhenniang would only focus on tung oil. That was the extent of her capability.
“Good,” Luo Jiu smiled with narrowed eyes. This was what he admired most about Zhenniang – she was clear about what she wanted and didn’t want, without any pretense.
In the following days, the tung oil market became strange. Supplies entering the market seemed to be absorbed immediately, but just when people were about to raise prices, another batch of low-priced tung oil would appear, pulling prices back down. It was puzzling.
Of course, only those paying close attention noticed this; overall, the tung oil market maintained a steady average price.
March 20th was Young Lady Seat’s birthday.
Since Zhenniang had helped Young Lady Xi with the Eight-Treasure Rouge, Young Lady Xi often invited her to visit, and Zhenniang would also take the initiative to pay respects during festivals.
Combined with frequent business interactions over the Li family’s tung oil trade, the two families had grown closer. Naturally, Zhenniang couldn’t miss Young Lady Xi’s birthday.
Now, the Xi family’s greatest pride wasn’t their vast wealth, but their young master, Bao’er, Young Master Xi, born just last year.
So when Zhenniang arrived at the Xi mansion, her ceremonial gift for Young Lady Xi was quite ordinary, but she had prepared a special set of collection miniature inks for Young Master Xi. They were five-Qian small inks in various shapes, perfect for the little one’s hands. The patterns, created by the workshop’s master carvers using micro-carving techniques, featured various cartoon-style expressions of literary stars, making the set of five ink sticks full of childish charm.
Lady Xi was delighted and couldn’t put them down. She pulled Zhenniang to sit beside her.
Nearby, several merchants’ wives were chatting.
“Have you heard about Wei Baiwan’s trouble?” asked the proprietress of Ning’s Dye House.
“Indeed, I heard it was about tax evasion. The tax office has sealed all his properties, and he barely saved his life by giving up his entire fortune,” replied the owner’s wife from Zhenyu Pavilion.
Hearing their conversation, Zhenniang’s heart skipped a beat. Had the Princess made her move? It didn’t seem so. After pondering for a moment, she understood – how many people had lost sleep over this account book affair? Now that Ge San’er had come forward and the account book matter had some clarity, these people must have been terrified afterward. This would naturally make the Weaving Bureau people cautious, and their first target would naturally be Wei Baiwan, who knew too much.
It was fortunate that Wei Baiwan could keep his life. Given what was recorded in those account books, Zhenniang felt his fate wasn’t entirely undeserved.
However, the real storm had yet to come.
“Enough of this talk today,” Young Lady Xi stood up and announced to everyone, then pulled Zhenniang over to introduce her.
“By the way, Miss Li, I heard you’ve been buying tung oil lately. How about it? I still have quite a bit in stock – can you take it?” Madam Bai, the proprietress of the Bai family oil shop, called out to Zhenniang from among the crowd.
Originally, the Xi family’s tung oil business had been exclusively supplied by the Bai family, but after the previous incident, the Li family had taken half their business. This left the Bai family with considerable unsold inventory, and with tung oil prices falling these days, their inventory pressure was significant. Thinking of this made her bitter. This was a perfect opportunity – if Miss Li could take their excess inventory, it would both relieve their pressure and satisfy their grudge. How perfect! Her proposal was completely reasonable and wouldn’t offend Young Lady Xi – they were all merchants, after all, and discussing business was normal.
However, she had inquired and heard that Miss Li was buying tung oil because of rumors about lifting the maritime ban. How naive – if it were that easy to lift, it would have happened long ago.
Zhenniang smiled faintly. Since she and her brother had exposed the Bai family’s adulterated tung oil, they had offended the Bai family. Madam Bai’s current behavior was understandable, so Zhenniang didn’t want to engage with her, merely saying coolly, “No need, we lack sufficient funds.”
“If it’s about funds, that’s no problem. I can extend you credit,” Madam Bai persisted, then turned to the other women and said, “The Li family has been stockpiling oil and ink lately, supposedly because the maritime ban will be lifted.”
At Madam Bai’s words, the women all looked at Zhenniang and shook their heads – this Miss Li was still too young. The maritime ban was an old topic; who would still take it seriously?
“Very well, then please have Madam Bai extend credit to my family. However, it must be pure three-year-aged tung nut oil without any additives. I will repay in two months,” Zhenniang said calmly. If this person insisted on offering, she had no choice.
“As you wish. Let’s have these ladies witness our agreement,” Madam Bai said, and they drew up a contract on the spot.
Zhenniang knew that the recent price drops were unusual. She knew someone had intervened – after all, Luo Jiu’s round of visits must have caught some people’s attention. Perhaps Master Xi’s influence was involved.
This Madam Bai was truly impatient – if she had waited just two more days, she might have seen the clouds part and the moon appear.
Of course, Zhenniang had no objection to this at all.