At this moment, Shopkeeper Cheng’s face darkened. This Five Stone Powder ink was a special product recently launched by the workshop targeting the scholarly circle. The workshop had invested heavily in it and planned to submit it for imperial tribute selection.
He never expected the ink to perform this way, especially since it had passed all testing perfectly.
Shopkeeper Cheng couldn’t make sense of it.
“Shopkeeper Cheng, why don’t we try a She inkstone or a regular old quarry stone?” Zhenniang stepped forward and suggested.
“And this young lady is?” Master Dongtu turned to look at Zhenniang, slightly surprised. Though simply dressed and somewhat frail, the girl possessed a unique grace that caught the eye.
She didn’t have the air of an aristocrat, nor the delicate charm of a common maiden. Instead, she carried herself in a natural, unaffected manner.
“She’s the granddaughter of Old Master Li Jinshui, the ink maker, and has inherited much of his expertise,” Shopkeeper Cheng introduced, obviously embellishing Zhenniang’s credentials.
“Why does Zhenniang suggest this? Could there be an issue with the Duan inkstone?” Shopkeeper Cheng turned to Zhenniang eagerly.
“It’s just a thought, and I can’t explain it clearly right now. Shopkeeper Cheng might as well try – it would only take a moment,” Zhenniang smiled.
She then bowed to Master Dongtu, apologizing for her unsolicited intervention.
“Very well, let’s try,” Shopkeeper Cheng, like a drowning man grasping at straws, had already sent for the Third Master. Until he arrived, they needed to do something, and more testing would at least buy time.
Master Dongtu showed slight displeasure, feeling there were too many excuses. His Duan inkstone was undoubtedly among the top three in Huizhou in quality. How could the ink perform poorly on a fine inkstone yet show better results on an inferior one?
Though somewhat annoyed, he couldn’t fault the well-mannered young girl, so he nodded in agreement.
Soon, an assistant brought a common inkstone used for daily testing in the workshop.
Shopkeeper Cheng slowly ground the ink again. This time, the ink produced was deep black, smooth, and lustrous. When tested with a brush, it flowed perfectly without any bubbles like before.
“Ha ha, so it was indeed the inkstone’s problem!” Shopkeeper Cheng let out a long breath, beaming with joy. The matter was cleared up, and he had protected the Cheng ink’s reputation.
“Is that so?” Master Dongtu remained skeptical and tested it again. Indeed, the Five Stone Powder ink performed excellently on the common inkstone, completely different from its behavior on the Duan inkstone.
Intrigued, Master Dongtu had the shopkeeper’s assistant bring several more common inkstones. The ink performed superbly on all of them.
The onlookers were also amazed.
They murmured, “This young lady is quite remarkable.”
“Young lady, how did you know?” Master Dongtu asked Zhenniang curiously.
“Shopkeeper Cheng, Master Dongtu, I believe the earlier poor performance wasn’t due to either the inkstone or the ink being inferior. Rather, it was because the Five Stone Powder in the ink reacted with the iron content in the Duan inkstone, causing an over-activation of the ink,” Zhenniang finally explained.
It was well known that Duan inkstones were excellent for grinding ink, producing smooth and fine ink.
In her previous life, Li Zhen had discussed this with colleagues. The superior ink-grinding quality of Duan inkstones and their ability to produce lustrous ink likely came from their iron content.
However, when this iron met the Five Stone Powder, complications arose. The current Five Stone Powder was mostly derived from alchemists’ formulas, and nobody knew exactly what it contained. Iron could react sensitively with certain substances, especially when heat was generated during grinding. If the reaction became too intense, bubbles were inevitable.
It was like making steamed buns – with the right amount of yeast, the surface would be smooth, but if over-fermented, the surface would become pitted.
“So that’s it. Yes, it makes sense,” Master Dongtu nodded. Well-read in various subjects including astronomy and geography, he understood basic alchemical reactions.
Thus, the dispute was resolved.
Master Dongtu left satisfied, and Shopkeeper Cheng was extremely grateful to Zhenniang.
Zhenniang repeatedly waved off his thanks. Having encountered the situation and guessed at the cause, she couldn’t just stand by. Though not entirely certain earlier, as a young woman, even if she had been wrong, no one would have held it against her. Therefore, she couldn’t remain silent.
Afterward, Zhenniang collected her copper oil.
Seeing that she and Xier lacked strength, Shopkeeper Cheng sent an assistant to help carry the tung oil.
The three of them left Cheng’s ink shop and went to the nearby Luo ink shop, where they collected another twenty jin of tung oil, before returning to the Li household.
After Zhenniang left, Third Master Cheng finally arrived at the shop hurriedly.
The shopkeeper explained everything in detail, and Third Master Cheng sighed with relief before commenting that Old Eight Li had an excellent granddaughter who would carry on the legacy.
…
Meanwhile, at the Li ink shop.
Seventh Grandmother Li was reviewing account books while chatting with Ninth Uncle Li Jinhe about what had happened at the Cheng ink shop.
“Yes, that girl Zhenniang is quite good, showing keen insight and staying composed in difficult situations,” Seventh Grandmother Li remarked. She had seen Zhenniang once during the Tian family incident and found the girl level-headed, quick-witted, and properly mannered. Her bearing resembled her grandfather’s rather than her parents’.
“Old Eight does have a good granddaughter. Fortunately, Zhenniang found the cause, otherwise, Cheng’s Five Stone Powder ink might have been abandoned,” Li Jinhe added.
Seventh Grandmother Li nodded, then asked, “By the way, when Jin Hua came yesterday, wasn’t it also that girl who identified their Tang Dynasty Dragon Guest ink?”
“Yes, it almost got broken by little Run’ger. I’ve had others authenticate it – it should be self-made ink from Emperor Minghuang, worth quite a sum,” Li Jinhe replied.
“What was Zhenniang doing at Old Six’s place yesterday?” Seventh Grandmother then asked.
“Getting raw lacquer. The girl has a new ink smoke formula, though I suspect it’s something Old Eight developed over these years,” Li Jinhe paused before continuing, “Sister-in-law, I think Old Eight wants to return but is bound by his past oath, so he’s putting Zhenniang forward.”
“I’m not so sure. We know Old Eight’s character – he’s always been straightforward and true to his word. Having sworn not to touch ink again, he truly wouldn’t. Somehow, I feel this new formula might be connected to Zhenniang,” Seventh Grandmother Li said.
From how Zhenniang could instantly recognize the Dragon Guest ink’s origin and help resolve Cheng’s problem today, it was clear she had some genuine knowledge of ink making.
“Perhaps,” Li Jinhe responded noncommittally, clearly disagreeing with his sister-in-law. He couldn’t believe that Zhenniang could develop a new ink smoke formula, something that typically required years of experimentation.