After the Tian family obtained the tribute ink rights, Huizhou’s ink industry erupted with another piece of major gossip—Old Madam Li had suffered a stroke and named Li Zhenniang from the Eighth Branch as heir to the Li family ink factory.

The factory now had its youngest master—fifteen-year-old Li Zhenniang.

The future of the Li family’s ink business became the focus of many interested parties.

“Father, I’m going out to try to talk with those old masters from the Li family ink business again. I believe at this time, the people at the Li family factory must be panicking. We should take this opportunity to draw those old masters to our side. Without them, the Li family ink business won’t be a concern anymore.”

At the Tian residence, Tian Benchang spoke to Master Tian.

“Those masters have all been with the Li factory for at least ten years—it won’t be easy to draw them away,” Tian Huaian frowned.

“Not so, Father. I’ve been in contact with them recently. Since Old Ninth Li passed away, many problems in the Li ink business have surfaced. Those old masters were already unsettled then. Now, with Old Madam Li’s incident and her passing the factory to Li Zhenniang, I think those old fellows won’t sit still. Though they’re longtime employees of the Li factory, it’s precisely because they’re old hands that they no longer have grand ambitions. They just want to work peacefully at the Li factory until retirement. If the Li business were stable, we couldn’t draw them away. But now, who knows if the Li business will even have a tomorrow? Under these circumstances, as long as we offer sufficient compensation, I believe it won’t be difficult to bring them over.”

“Good, since you have a plan, give it a try,” Tian Huaian nodded.

Tian Benchang nodded too, but his mind was calculating.

Strike while the iron is hot—this time, the Tian family’s requisition of pine wood from the Li family had burned all bridges. There was no possibility of peaceful coexistence between the two families anymore, so they had to strike the Li family decisively.

However, Master Qin from the Li factory would be difficult to poach, and without him, they couldn’t truly wound the Li family’s foundation.

But everyone had weaknesses—Master Qin’s two children seemed to be struggling in life. He could work from that angle.

…

Early morning, Li Zhenniang rose early. Today she didn’t wear a skirt, but rather a light pink short jacket with dark floral-bordered trousers, covered by a green vest. Her hair was tied in a bun with two silver ornaments. This outfit was simple and fresh—though the green vest made her look somewhat mature, it was appropriate as she was heading to the factory and couldn’t dress like a young girl as usual.

This current attire suited the occasion well.

Madam Zhao and Madam Zheng carefully examined her appearance, with Madam Zhao even smoothing out stray hair at her temple.

“Alright, go on now. Act boldly—our Eighth Branch can’t be looked down upon,” Madam Zhao nodded after finishing the adjustments.

“Mother, don’t worry, I won’t let you down,” Zhenniang teased lightly, trying to cheer her mother up. Then she adjusted her clothes once more and turned to bow to her father’s memorial tablet in the room.

Though everyone held onto a sliver of hope that Li Jingfu might still be alive, and thus hadn’t mentioned funeral arrangements, they all understood the reality—when an entire merchant convoy had perished, how could Li Jingfu be an exception? So they had still made a memorial tablet and offered some incense.

After bowing and offering incense, Zhenniang left the room to find her grandfather already standing in the courtyard. Seeing Zhenniang emerge, Old Manager Li looked her up and down, then nodded solemnly: “Though grandfather cannot go to the factory to support you, remember, grandfather is always behind you.”

These were Old Manager Li’s words of caution to Zhenniang.

“Grandfather, I understand,” Zhenniang nodded firmly, then opened the courtyard gate and left.

It was the season of spring rain, and after a night of rain, the ground was covered with puddles of various sizes. Though the rain had stopped in the morning, the combination of morning mist and humidity made the air feel saturated with raindrops, creating a watery haze.

In just a moment, Zhenniang’s bangs became slightly damp.

Zhenniang walked slowly, using the time to organize her thoughts. Her wooden-soled shoes made rhythmic clicking sounds against the bluestone slabs of the alley.

“Zhenniang, heading to the factory?” When passing Tiger Stove, Uncle Shui stood by the door greeting her. By now, those getting hot water had finished, leaving only a few people eating breakfast at Uncle Shui’s stall, chatting as they ate.

Zhenniang could faintly hear them discussing matters about the Li ink business.

“Mm,” Zhenniang smiled faintly and nodded at Uncle Shui.

“Here, I got some plums this morning, try a couple. Though they’re sour at first bite, they turn sweet afterward,” Uncle Shui stuffed a handful of plums into Zhenniang’s hand.

“Thank you, Uncle Shui.” Zhenniang never refused others’ kindness. She immediately put one plum in her mouth and bit down—indeed it was very sour, making her face scrunch up. Then she waved goodbye to Uncle Shui.

Uncle Shui watched her thin figure: “This girl, it’s not easy for her. Heard about Jingfu’s incident, and now such a big responsibility. It’s tough, but this girl doesn’t give up easily,” he muttered.

Zhenniang walked while chewing the plum, and indeed, after the sourness came sweetness.

Soon she reached Sibao Street. Passing by Moxuan, Zhenniang didn’t enter. She couldn’t attend to Moxuan at the moment—after Ninth Uncle’s incident, it was being managed jointly by Second Master Zhengyan from the Ninth Branch and Manager Zheng, Manager Shao’s son-in-law.

With the factory’s many affairs, she wouldn’t interfere much with Moxuan. She recalled that when Ninth Uncle was managing Moxuan, Seventh Grandmother didn’t interfere either.

Soon she reached the factory entrance, but instead of entering immediately, she went into the Li residence from another side.

“First Aunt, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, good morning,” Zhenniang greeted Madam Chen and others who were having breakfast when the doorkeeper led her in.

“Ah, Zhenniang’s here? Have you been to the factory?” Madam Chen asked.

“Not yet, I wanted to see Seventh Grandmother first,” Zhenniang bowed to them.

“Good, you’re filial. Qingping, take Zhenniang over,” Madam Chen instructed Madam Sun, her daughter-in-law.

“Grandmother, I want to see Great-Grandmother too,” nine-year-old Tianyou ran over, addressing Madam Chen.

“Alright, let your mother take you along,” Madam Chen rubbed little Tianyou’s head.

The Li family’s Seventh Branch was left with only widows, with this little one being their only hope—everyone in the family was very concerned about him.

Then Madam Sun held Tianyou’s hand and accompanied Zhenniang to a Buddha hall in the back courtyard. Next to it was a small room where Old Madam Seven was resting.

“Who knows if she’s just putting on a show,” Madam Tian watched Zhenniang’s retreating figure and sneered.

“Third Sister-in-law, we all know Zhenniang’s character. Since Mother-in-law has chosen her, we should trust her. Less suspicion will lead to more harmony—haven’t you learned this over the years? I don’t want to hear such talk again,” Madam Chen said. With Old Madam Li unconscious, Madam Chen was now the head of the Li family’s Seventh Branch. Some things needed to be addressed firmly.

“Yes, Elder Sister,” Madam Tian responded grudgingly.

With no men in the house, the women had less desire for conflict and mostly got along peacefully.

Zhenniang now stood by Seventh Grandmother’s bedside. Seventh Grandmother still lay unconscious, her mouth and eyes twisted, looking somewhat frightening. However, those present were close family members who felt only sadness, not fear.

“Seventh Grandmother, Zhenniang will work hard,” Zhenniang said to her grandmother on the bed. She had come not merely to show filial piety, but to strengthen her resolve. Seventh Grandmother’s trust in her was undoubtedly her motivation.

“Great-Grandmother, Tianyou will work hard too,” little Tianyou imitated Zhenniang. Zhenniang smiled and rubbed his head.

But Tianyou turned away with a sullen face, then turned back after a while and looked at Zhenniang, saying angrily in a low voice: “They say you stole our factory.”

Tianyou’s voice carried a childish accusation.

Zhenniang was startled for a moment, then her lips curved upward: “They say? Who says? What do you think yourself?”

“I don’t know, but I know I’m too young, and Great-Grandmother doesn’t trust me. When I grow up, I’ll take it back,” Tianyou said, pursing his lips.

“Then you’ll need to have ability—you can’t take it if you don’t have skill. Besides, your body is too weak. To develop skills, you need a healthy body,” Zhenniang said.

Tianyou was about the same age as her third brother Xihu’er, but unfortunately, perhaps due to being too pampered, his body was very weak, too refined—this wouldn’t do for an ink maker, as ink making required physical strength.

Zhenniang spoke as she turned to leave—there were still countless matters at the factory to attend to.

“How can I have a healthy body?” Tianyou called urgently after her retreating figure.

“Every morning, rise at cockcrow and run three laps around the east warehouse,” Zhenniang said.

The east warehouse was where the Li factory stored pine wood—one lap was about two hundred meters, so three laps would be six or seven hundred meters, enough to give the little fellow a workout. But she believed that if the little fellow could persist, the benefits would be obvious.

“Good, I’ll do it,” Tianyou clenched his fists and vowed.

“Then I’ll wait and see,” Zhenniang responded as she walked away.

In the Li factory’s workshops, the atmosphere was particularly oppressive today. After last night’s fire, all workshops had stopped work, with workers cleaning and scrubbing the blackened tables, chairs, and walls.

The masters from the major workshops had gathered together, testing each other with a few words while lost in thought. When Zhenniang arrived, the masters didn’t even know how to greet her.

Zhenniang, being far junior to these masters in both age and experience, wouldn’t wait for them to greet her first. Upon entering, she took the initiative to greet the masters.

The master finally relaxed and returned her greeting.

“Manager Shao, Master Qin, tomorrow is the deadline set by the Tian family. Regarding their requisition of pine wood, we need to make a decision—whether to agree or not and if we agree, whether to take money or materials in exchange. We need to reach a consensus on this,” Zhenniang said politely to Manager Shao and Master Qin.

“Regarding the Tian family’s pine wood requisition, I think Miss Zhen has her thoughts, so it’s not too urgent. However, there’s a more pressing matter that’s quite troubling,” Manager Shao stood up and said.

The pine wood matter involved Old Ninth, and today, Li Jingdong hadn’t come to work. This matter had now become an issue between the Eighth and Ninth Branches—Manager Shao wouldn’t interfere.

Moreover, Manager Shao had heard the conversation between Miss Zhen and Young Master Tian during the factory fire the night before last and roughly understood Miss Zhen’s decision—the pine wood would definitely be requisitioned, what remained was just bargaining, so it wasn’t urgent.

“Oh? What matters?” Zhenniang asked.

“Take a look at these,” Manager Shao produced a stack of letters.

Zhenniang took them and opened them to find they were all resignation letters.