In such a small place, secrets couldn’t stay hidden for long. News of the Tian family’s ink problems spread to other ink workshops almost instantly.
Everyone was discussing it and given how aggressively the Tian family had entered the industry, most were taking pleasure in their misfortune.
In the evening, after dinner, Zhen Niang had her usual discussion about ink matters with her grandfather. The Tian family’s situation naturally became their topic of conversation.
“Anyone new to the trade has to pay tuition fees through mistakes. When they were cutting down the pine trees, I said they might end up shooting themselves in the foot, and now it’s happened exactly as predicted,” Zhen Niang said while organizing documents.
The Tian family had entered the industry with great fanfare, backed by the Luo family’s foundation, and immediately obtained tribute ink rights – seemingly reaching their peak in one step.
But their foundation was hollow, and problems were inevitable. It would have been stranger if problems hadn’t occurred.
This was another reason why Zhen Niang hadn’t stopped the Tian family from cutting down the pine trees – a businessman’s methods don’t change easily. Once the Tian family had cut down that batch of pines, how could they let it go to waste?
Moreover, being new to the industry, they lacked a deep understanding of the ink business and wouldn’t fully appreciate how even slight variations in raw materials could ruin an entire batch of ink. These were the details that determined success or failure.
“Hmm, don’t worry about the Tian family’s affairs. We should focus on our own business. Though the reprocessed ink is good, remember it’s not our main product. We must maintain the Li family’s pine soot ink advantage while developing oil soot ink simultaneously,” Old Master Li said.
“Yes, we’ve stored enough pine soot, and we’ll begin ink production after autumn. As for the oil soot ink formula, Qin Zheng is working with several masters to solve the problems. They’ve identified the cracking issue. After a few more trials, we can finalize the formula. Come autumn, we’ll produce the first batch with the new formula,” Zhen Niang replied.
The cracking problem of Li ink in the northern regions was caused by improper use of soap pod, and once this issue was resolved, the quality of the Li family’s oil soot ink would improve.
Ink production generally occurs in spring and autumn. Winter was too cold, making it difficult to air-dry the ink and prone to cracking. Summer was too hot, so ink workshops were typically produced in spring and autumn, spending other seasons collecting and storing materials.
Although Zhen Niang had several ready-made oil soot ink formulas, she didn’t want to use them directly. Firstly, these formulas weren’t necessarily the best. Secondly, an ink workshop needed a spirit of continuous improvement and innovation.
If she just handed over the formulas, it might foster complacency and stifle progress, which was undesirable.
“Good, that’s good,” Old Master Li nodded, then added, “By the way, we should still keep an eye on the Tian family’s situation.”
“Grandfather, what do you think the Tian family’s next move will be?” Zhen Niang asked, tapping her nose with her brush – a habit from her previous life.
“A young lady should behave like one. Be careful, or you won’t find a husband,” Madam Wu came over to put a coat on Old Master Li, as the night air was damp and cold, unsuitable for the elderly. Seeing Zhen Niang’s casual gesture, she swatted her hand disapprovingly.
“Grandmother, I’ll never marry and just stay with you forever,” Zhen Niang put down her brush, and though joking, she obediently straightened her back and sat properly.
If for nothing else, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Seeing her like this, Madam Wu felt a pang of sympathy. It was all because of that mess with the Tian family. She sighed and went to discuss with the two daughters-in-law how Zhen Niang would soon be sixteen, yet not a single marriage proposal had come – what a situation.
After Madam Wu left, Zhen Niang refilled her grandfather’s tea, and the two continued their discussion. When talking about the ink workshop, they never ran out of things to say.
Anyone who saw how well grandfather and granddaughter got along would sigh, wondering why Zhen Niang wasn’t born a boy.
However, neither Old Master Li nor Zhen Niang ever had such thoughts.
“What else can they do? They can only produce a new batch, but a hundred-year pine is hard to find now. Starting over won’t be easy. Their best option would be reprocessing,” Old Master Li said.
“Grandfather, you mean the Tian family might target our reprocessing formula?” Zhen Niang asked as they had precedent for such behavior. Then she laughed: “They won’t be able to steal the formula. The reprocessing formula is based on waste ink adjustments – there’s no fixed formula to steal.”
“What if they ask our Li workshop to help reprocess their batch of ink?” Old Master Li suggested.
Hearing her grandfather’s words, Zhen Niang thought it quite possible. From a purely business perspective, they could accept this deal – after all, who would turn down money? Moreover, the workshop hadn’t yet escaped its financial difficulties. The reprocessed ink only opened up one channel, and as Grandfather said, it wasn’t mainstream. It could only improve the workshop’s situation somewhat but wasn’t enough to drive overall development.
For real development, they needed to rely on their original pine soot ink and the oil soot ink under development, advancing together – that was the right path. All of this required capital, so why not earn extra money if possible?
But emotionally, Zhen Niang couldn’t accept it. After all, the Tian family had treated the Li family so badly over that batch of pine wood, and she believed Uncle Jing Dong would never agree.
As she was pondering this, someone knocked at the courtyard gate.
“Is this where Li Zhen Niang lives?” a strange male voice called from outside.
“Who is it at this late hour?” Madam Zhao came out from the next room and asked.
“I’m from the postal station, with a letter for Li Zhen Niang,” the person outside said, and only then did Madam Zhao open the door.
Zhen Niang, hearing this from inside, found it curious. A letter for her? Who would write to her? And delivered by the postal station no less. Thinking this, she got up to receive the letter while Madam Zhao showed the messenger.
Zhen Niang unfolded the letter – it was quite thick. She looked directly at the signature at the end and was surprised to see it was from Luo Wenqian. Thinking about it, she realized it had been half a year since he left Huizhou.
She began reading Luo Wenqian’s letter carefully.
“…It has been half a year since I left Huizhou, and I am now thousands of li away, among the white mountains and black waters. Though the journey has been perilous, I have seen the vastness of heaven and earth. I recall my grandfather’s words from my youth that a man’s path should be rough. In my ignorance then, I didn’t understand, but now I know all these flavors of life…
I have many feelings, but I won’t dwell on them. I am writing to Miss Li because I recently met a merchant who happened to know about Huizhou’s ink industry situation. Though I can’t claim a complete understanding of Huizhou’s ink business, I can see through some aspects, and I’d like to share my insights with Miss Li.
I hear that in Huizhou’s current ink industry, the Tian family leads. Though their shallow foundation means they’re not a concern in the short term, I know Tian Benchang well as a former friend. His strength lies in strategic planning, often manipulating others while reaping the benefits himself. However, his prideful nature makes him careless with details, often causing him to shoot himself in the foot. When dealing with him, focus on the details.
As for the Cheng family, their ink business is steady and stable, though this often means missing opportunities – the reason they haven’t risen to prominence over the years. But with their gradual accumulation, given time, Cheng ink should lead Huizhou’s ink industry. Therefore, when dealing with the Cheng family in the future, use unexpected tactics to succeed.
The Li family ink business is what I’m both least optimistic about and most concerned about, especially hearing about Ninth Master Li and Seventh Madam’s successive misfortunes, and Miss Li’s unexpected inheritance of the ink workshop. I observe Miss Li’s independence and remarkable intelligence, but what concerns me is that although Miss Li inherited the workshop through Seventh Madam’s written will, having an eighth-branch daughter inherit seventh-branch property is ultimately improper. While everyone might work together during difficult times, once the business recovers, power struggles will inevitably arise. Open attacks can be dodged, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Miss Li must be extremely careful.
Your Seventh Grandmother was an extremely shrewd person, and she must have seen the difficulties of Miss Li inheriting the workshop. Therefore, I suspect she may have made other arrangements. Thus, if Miss Li finds herself in an extremely difficult position, it might be wise to step back and observe the situation.
Moreover, to develop the ink business, being confined to Huizhou alone won’t suffice. Most profit in the ink trade goes to traveling merchants, so developing the ink business requires expanding beyond Huizhou.
Well, these are all my heartfelt words, and I’ll say no more. I must continue working hard to repay the silver Miss Li lent me…”
After reading Luo Wenqian’s letter, Zhen Niang couldn’t calm her thoughts for a long while.
She hadn’t expected Luo Wenqian’s insight to be so sharp. No wonder he had supported the Luo ink business since his youth. Now, after his experiences, his perspective had become even more precise.
The Tian family’s strategy could be seen from their fight for tribute ink rights, and wasn’t Tian Benchang now shooting himself in the foot due to poor attention to detail?
As for the Cheng family, if what he said was true, wouldn’t they indeed become Huizhou’s leading ink maker in the future?
And who could understand her situation better than herself? She hadn’t wanted to take over the workshop initially, but circumstances forced her hand. She knew that if she didn’t take it, the workshop would fragment and eventually fall into outsiders’ hands, the seventh branch wives would face hardship, and the Li family ink business would vanish, becoming a great regret for the Li clan. These factors, along with her seventh grandmother’s trust, made her reluctantly accept the workshop.
Zhen Niang thought deeply – if she truly found herself in an extremely difficult position, stepping back to observe would indeed be a good strategy. After all, through her efforts, though the Li family workshop still had various issues, it was much better than the situation described in the clan records.
It shouldn’t deteriorate to the state described in the clan records again.
“Who’s the letter from?” Madam Zhao asked from beside her.
“Young Master Luo Wenqian,” Zhen Niang replied.
“Why is he writing to you?” Madam Zhao asked curiously.
“When he left Huizhou, I lent him some silver. He says he can’t repay it yet,” Zhen Niang said, not wanting her mother to worry about the ink business matters.
“Oh, how kind of you,” Madam Zhao gave Zhen Niang a stern look but said nothing more.