“You put appointment letters in their red envelopes?” Li Jingdong asked Zhenniang as he watched the two figures departing.
“Yes,” Zhenniang nodded.
“That was kind of you,” Li Jingdong said.
“It wasn’t kindness, just leaving a thread of connection. Master Ma has worked at the ink factory for fifteen years, and Master Jiang for eleven years. Even if they haven’t made great achievements, they’ve contributed their labor. My public handling of this matter was admittedly somewhat embarrassing for them, but if I hadn’t done it this way, we would have been too passive. It had to be done,” Zhenniang explained.
“True. You’ve certainly learned your Seventh Grandmother’s methods,” Li Jingdong shook his head. Then he turned to face Zhenniang with a serious expression: “Enough about that. Now tell me, what do you plan to do about the Tian family’s requisition of the pine wood?”
“We can only give it to them,” Zhenniang replied to Li Jingdong.
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Jingdong’s crutch came down hard on her leg: “Unacceptable.”
Zhenniang winced in pain, nearly jumping up, somewhat angry that Uncle Jingdong would strike her so casually. “Uncle Jingdong, I know you’re unwilling to let this pine wood be requisitioned because of Ninth Uncle’s situation, but the Tian family now controls the tribute ink rights. We have no choice. We can’t let the Ink Affairs Bureau seal our doors – that would be falling right into the Tian family’s trap.”
She continued, changing tack: “Besides, even if the Tian family requisitions this pine wood, they’ll have to offer something of equal value in exchange.”
As she spoke, she kept rubbing her leg – Uncle Jingdong hadn’t held back.
Little did she know that her grandfather had earlier given Li Jingdong several strikes with his crutch, and Li Jingdong was now taking revenge – blatant revenge.
Of course, Li Jingdong’s strikes were still lighter than Old Master Li’s had been.
“You think I’m only concerned about your Ninth Uncle? I’ve worked in the ink factory for decades – don’t I know what’s important? Do you know what period we’re in? It’s the pine plague period! Pine trees are dying in large numbers. Century-old pines in Huizhou are now impossible to find, and the Li family’s top-grade Xuanyu pine soot ink requires smoke from hundred-year-old pines. We’ve run out of pine smoke to make this ink, and our inventory is almost depleted. Once we run out of this ink, the Li family will have to withdraw from this market segment. Add to that the fact that our oil soot ink can’t compete with the Cheng family’s, and we’ll be left competing only in the low-end market. But can the Li family operate like other small workshops, cutting costs wherever possible? What about the Li family’s centuries of reputation?”
Li Jingdong fired off these questions in succession. Though his expression remained cold, his eyes held pain.
“Uncle Jingdong…” Zhenniang tried to explain, but Li Jingdong raised his hand: “Exchange? What can the Tian family offer in exchange? No amount of money can buy back an opportunity. If you’re thinking of getting pine forest cutting rights in exchange, not only is that wishful thinking, but even if the Tian family agreed, I can guarantee they would cut down all the mature pines before handing over the forest. Ten years of cutting rights? Have you calculated how long it takes a pine to mature? What would be left to cut by then?”
Li Jingdong finally vented all the thoughts he’d been holding in these days.
“It’s not wishful thinking. While it would be impossible in normal times, during this pine plague period, the Tian family might agree. And even if they cut down all the mature trees first, so what? Uncle Jingdong, though Zhenniang wants the forest cutting rights, I’m not after the trees but the oil – the pine resin oil buried in the ground.”
She then repeated what she had told her grandfather earlier.
Hearing Zhenniang’s words, Li Jingdong’s eyes suddenly widened, staring straight at her. Zhenniang didn’t avoid his gaze but met it directly, her expression certain.
“Have a cart prepared for me. I need to go outside the city,” Li Jingdong ordered a worker. Hearing was one thing, seeing was another – Li Jingdong would never be at ease without seeing the actual thing.
Zhenniang naturally went along without hesitation.
Soon, they arrived at Li Village. Instead of going to the Sixth Grandfather’s house, they went straight to the pine forest. Without calling anyone else, Zhenniang began digging directly, and sure enough, they found pine resin oil beneath the old tree stumps.
Though Li Jingdong specialized in block carving, he had started in ink making and had studied smoke materials. Taking the pine resin oil in hand, he could judge its quality and estimate the quality of smoke it would produce.
He was certain that the smoke from this pine resin oil would be superior to that from the pine wood itself.
“Good… good…” Li Jingdong said excitedly.
“Uncle Jingdong, imagine how much pine resin oil like this must be in the ground if we get ten years of cutting rights to the Luo family’s pine forest?” Zhenniang asked with a smile.
Li Jingdong nodded and sighed: “Indeed. If we get ten years of cutting rights to the Luo family’s forest, the Li family won’t lack pine smoke material for years, and it will all be top grade.”
“Then tomorrow when the Tian family comes to discuss this, will Uncle Jingdong handle it and pressure them?” Zhenniang asked. For dealing with outsiders, it was better to have Uncle Jingdong take the lead.
Li Jingdong readily agreed with a nod.
Uncle and niece exchanged smiles.
Li Jingdong added: “Zhenniang, you’re good. You know, Jingfu couldn’t compare to me in anything, but he did have a good daughter. It’s just a pity that Jingfu… sigh…”
Hearing Li Jingdong’s sigh, Zhenniang knew he must have heard about her father’s situation, though she didn’t know how he’d found out, as they hadn’t announced it to relatives yet. So she asked, “Uncle Jingdong, you know about my father?”
“Yes, after you left this morning, your grandfather came to see me. After giving me several strikes with his crutch, he told me about your father,” Li Jingdong said.
“Oh.” Zhenniang nodded, finally understanding why Uncle Jingdong had changed his mind so quickly – clearly, it was her grandfather’s beating, plus news of her father’s fate, that had helped him let go of some past grievances.
Zhenniang realized she had deserved that earlier strike with the crutch.
“By the way, when will the family hold the ceremony?” Li Jingdong asked.
The ceremony he referred to was naturally the funeral – without a body, they would at least need a cenotaph.
“Mother says that since we haven’t seen the body, and Father is like a pest that lives for a thousand years, he might still be alive. So we’re waiting for now until Big Brother checks in Suzhou,” Zhenniang replied.
“That’s good. Without seeing a body, there’s still hope,” Li Jingdong nodded.
“That’s right,” Zhenniang agreed.
As they were talking, Li Jincai came up the mountain with several village workers.
“Brother Jingdong and Zhenniang, when did you come up? Is something wrong? Why didn’t you stop by the village to let me know? I could have had someone help,” Li Jincai called out warmly from a distance.
“Nothing much, just came with Uncle Jingdong to check on the pine plague situation,” Zhenniang replied. She didn’t trust Li Jincai, and since they hadn’t yet negotiated with the Tian family, they naturally couldn’t let him know about the pine resin oil beforehand.
“Mm,” Li Jingdong merely grunted ambiguously. He was already a man of few words, and adding his disdain for Li Jincai, he naturally wouldn’t say one word more.
Li Jincai didn’t mind Li Jingdong’s coldness – everyone knew he had become eccentric after losing the use of his legs.
Then everyone went down the mountain together.
“Zhenniang, I heard the Old Madam left the ink factory to you?” Li Jincai moved closer to Zhenniang and asked.
“Does Uncle-in-law have something to discuss?” Zhenniang stepped slightly away, glancing at him. Everyone already knew Seventh Grandmother had left her the factory, and this man had probably been keeping a close watch on factory matters. He wasn’t asking because he didn’t know, but to lead into another topic. So Zhenniang didn’t answer his question but directly asked about his underlying meaning.
“Oh, nothing much. It’s just that they don’t need me much in the village, and our Sixth Branch has a small share of the factory, right? I was thinking maybe I could come to the factory to learn. After all, as a Li family member, it would be embarrassing not to know anything about ink,” Li Jincai said awkwardly.
Zhenniang’s lips curved slightly. This man was truly skilled at maneuvering and speaking – according to him, his entering the Li family ink factory would be for the family’s face.
Beside them, Li Jingdong also glanced at Li Jincai, his eyes slightly narrowed, clearly contemplating Li Jincai’s intentions.
The Sixth Master was quite at ease about the factory but seemed uneasy about this son-in-law.
“Though the Old Madam left the factory to Zhenniang, it belongs to the Li family, and as Uncle-in-law said, Sixth Grandfather has shares in the factory. If the Uncle-in-law wishes to show filial piety by sharing their Sixth Grandfather’s burden, learning at the factory wouldn’t be a problem. However, this idea would need both Sixth Grandfather’s and Aunt’s approval,” Zhenniang said.
Her words bluntly pointed out Li Jincai’s position, implying that his request to enter the factory wasn’t enough – it would need to come from his Sixth Grandfather and her aunt.
Though Zhenniang was from another world and had no prejudice against married-in sons-in-law, this man’s schemes ran too deep. He needed to be put in his place.
“Of course, of course. I was just sharing my thoughts. I’ll naturally discuss it with your aunt when I get back,” Li Jincai’s face flashed with displeasure before returning to an awkward smile. Then he walked ahead to lead the way.
“I don’t think his intentions are pure. If your Aunt Jinhua brings it up, will you agree to let him into the factory?” Li Jingdong asked, watching Li Jincai’s retreating figure.
“If Aunt brings it up, we naturally have to let him in. Refusing such things hurts relationships. Besides, the more impure his intentions, the more we need to keep him close to watch him. Don’t you agree, Uncle Jingdong?” Zhenniang asked in return.
People say if you want to understand someone, stay close to them; if you want to strike at someone, also stay close to them.
Zhenniang understood clearly that if Li Jincai brought it up with her aunt, her aunt would bring it to her. After all, this wasn’t going to some distant place but right under the Li family’s eyes. Li Jincai couldn’t pull any tricks, so her aunt would naturally give her husband this face. Even the Sixth Grandfather would probably turn a blind eye.
“As long as you know what you’re doing. I won’t tolerate any nonsense either,” Li Jingdong snorted coldly.