“Mmm, it’s been many years since I’ve had Eighth Aunt’s winter solstice dumplings,” said Madam Da Huang as she dipped the dumplings in sauce and finished a plateful with evident satisfaction.
“Indeed, Eighth Aunt’s winter solstice dumplings are delicious,” Madam Chen smiled from the side before turning to ask Zhen Niang, “Zhen Niang, how are things at the oil mill?”
“My elder brother has returned, and he’s handling the oil mill matters now. There shouldn’t be any problems,” Zhen Niang replied.
“That’s good. If you’re short on funds, don’t hesitate to tell First Aunt about it,” Madam Chen said.
“Thank you, First Aunt. My brother brought some silver back with him, and we have enough for now. If we need more, I’ll certainly let First Aunt know,” Zhen Niang responded with a bright smile.
“Good, that’s how it should be. By the way, you should go see Seventh Great-grandmother. I was just about to head there myself, let’s go together,” Madam Chen added.
“Alright.” Zhen Niang rose, bid farewell to everyone, and supported Madam Chen as they walked together to the Buddhist hall in the back courtyard.
“Isn’t First Sister-in-law being too generous to Zhen Niang? It seems like she wants to give everything to the Eighth House. How are we supposed to live?” Madam Tian complained as she ate her dumplings without much enthusiasm, watching the departing pair with resentment.
“We’re all of the Li surname, and we’re blood relatives. How can we stay uninvolved in such matters? Remember when Mother-in-law was in trouble, it was Zhen Niang who stepped up and took over the ink factory. Even now, the formula for Zaihe ink belongs entirely to Zhen Niang. If she were to sell it, how much silver could she get? But Zhen Niang didn’t take a single coin and gave it to the ink factory for free. What do you say to that?” Madam Da Huang cast a cool glance at Madam Tian.
She knew that Madam Tian privately objected to Zhen Niang taking over the ink factory, but Madam Tian was blinded by minor profits and couldn’t see the bigger picture. If it weren’t for Zhen Niang first securing the Luo family pine yard and replacing pine wood with pine resin oil as raw material, plus establishing the reputation of Zaihe ink, the Li family ink factory would likely have dissolved by now.
It could be said that the Old Madam’s decision to entrust the ink factory to Zhen Niang was the wisest thing she could have done.
Yet some people in the family couldn’t see this clearly and kept fixating on minor profits.
“I’m not saying we should stay completely uninvolved, just that there should be limits,” Madam Tian replied sheepishly after being rebuked by Madam Huang. She recalled that Ben Chang had mentioned being willing to pay a thousand taels of silver for the Zaihe ink formula.
However, the formula was solely in Zhen Niang’s possession, and even having the ink recipe wouldn’t help—it required skillful application. Zhen Niang would never cooperate with the Tian family, especially after the Pine Yard incident. Ben Chang deeply regretted it now; if he had known earlier, why would he have insisted on claiming the Li family’s pine wood?
In the end, he not only shot himself in the foot but also severed ties between the two families. Even now, she felt caught between the Tian and Li families, uncomfortable with both sides.
“Enough. Stop worrying about these things. First Sister-in-law knows what she’s doing,” Madam Da Huang said.
Madam Tian fell silent.
Meanwhile, after visiting Seventh Great-grandmother, Zhen Niang went to the ink factory.
“Hey, have you heard? The secret owner behind Huiyuan Money House has a pirate background—it’s Xu Hai’s wife!” Zhen Niang overheard two cleaning workers gossiping as she entered the ink factory.
“Pirates? So when our ink factory did business with Huiyuan Money House recently, we were doing business with pirates!” the other worker exclaimed in surprise.
“Exactly! I heard the coastal defense is very strict now. If Huiyuan Money House’s people go to sea at this time and get caught by the coastal patrol officers, not only will Huiyuan Money House suffer losses, but our ink factory might also be charged with colluding with pirates. Oh my, Miss Zhen made a dangerous deal here. We shouldn’t have taken this kind of business. Our ink factory shouldn’t be involved in such things.”
“Well, she’s just a woman after all, with limited vision. She only looks at whether it can make money, without understanding the dangers behind it. Now we can only pray that nothing goes wrong with Huiyuan Money House,” the other worker said.
“That’s right…” the other worker agreed.
Listening from the side, Zhen Niang’s brows furrowed deeply before gradually relaxing. All along, she had been wondering how Li Jincai’s scheme would unfold.
Now, hearing these workers’ idle talk, she began to understand.
The matter these two were discussing was deliberately spread by someone, likely rumors released by Li Jincai to set the stage for what was to come.
Zhen Niang was now certain that soon there would be news of Huiyuan Money House’s ships being seized, which would inevitably implicate the Li family with charges of colluding with pirates.
At that point, Li Jincai would surely use Madam Tian to step forward and blame her, achieving his goal of removing her from the ink factory. Of course, this wasn’t Li Jincai’s ultimate objective.
Zhen Niang knew well that Wang Cuiqiao wouldn’t actually go to sea, so the news about Huiyuan Money House’s ships being seized would certainly be false, and the charges against the Li family of colluding with pirates would also be fabricated. However, if Sun Bai came forward to testify, or if they bribed a couple of officials to intervene, the Li family would likely be thrown into chaos. At that time, Li Jincai would surely step in to resolve the crisis and even recover the ink business.
Thus, he would establish great merit, and with Madam Tian’s support, plus Golden Flower Aunt’s misunderstanding—thinking he had truly accomplished something great—she would surely support him too. This way, Li Jincai could truly take control of the ink factory.
As for Manager Shao, since Manager Zheng had handled all the previous business dealings, he wouldn’t escape blame. With Manager Zheng guilty, Manager Shao would have to recuse himself to avoid suspicion.
And since Uncle Jing Dong was hindered by his leg injury and couldn’t attend to many matters, the ink factory would fall into Li Jincai’s hands, just as it had in the family records. This was Li Jincai’s ultimate goal.
Not bad at all—killing two birds with one stone while advancing himself as a meritorious official. No wonder Li Jincai had easily taken over the Li family’s business in her previous life.
His scheming was truly profound.
At this point, Zhen Niang had roughly figured out most of Li Jincai’s plot.
“What are you two gossipping about here? Do you need a beating?” Er Gou suddenly burst out from the side, giving both of them a slap on the head.
“Er Gou, stop putting on airs. Aren’t you just a nobody too? You’re no stranger to gossip yourself,” the first speaker teased Er Gou with a grin.
“Nonsense, gossip is one thing, but you can’t spread rumors that could bring trouble! How can you spread such dangerous talk?” Er Gou gave him another slap, making him stumble.
“Enough, Er Gou, stop acting. Get back to work, everyone,” Zhen Niang stepped forward.
Earlier, Er Gou had seen her and acted out against the two workers, trying to help them avoid trouble. The boy was quite loyal, but sometimes such loyalty could do more harm than good.
“You two, come with me,” Zhen Niang said to the two workers.
The workers hadn’t expected Miss Zhen to be nearby, and their unfortunate gossip had surely reached her ears. They turned pale and followed her nervously.
Zhen Niang went straight to the accounting room and called for Li Zhengyan, “Help settle their wages and let them go home.”
“What happened?” Li Zhengyan asked, puzzled.
“Miss Zhen, we know we shouldn’t have gossiped behind your back. Just this once—we know we were wrong. Please keep us on. We’ve worked at the ink factory for over two years and have always been diligent,” the two workers pleaded. Truth be told, their families had pulled quite a few strings to get them positions at the Li family ink factory.
“My decision is final. Say no more,” Zhen Niang said calmly, instructing Li Zhengyan to calculate their wages.
Hearing the workers’ words, Li Zhengyan realized they must have said something inappropriate that Zhen Niang had overheard. Honestly, such things happened often—usually, a scolding and docking some wages would suffice. Dismissal seemed excessive.
These two workers were usually quite diligent.
The Li family ink factory had always been managed with benevolence and righteousness. This seemed somewhat harsh.
He was about to say something, but Manager Shao shook his head at him, so Li Zhengyan remained silent and helped calculate the workers’ wages. The workers collected their pay and left with resentful expressions.
Zhen Niang watched them leave the factory.
“Miss Zhen, I think you handled this poorly. Workers gossip all the time—how can you stop all idle talk? These two workers were usually quite diligent. Are you being so harsh just because they said you’re a woman with limited vision? In my opinion, you not only have limited vision but also a petty heart,” Er Gou came over and said disdainfully.
Being a straightforward person, he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.
Zhen Niang turned and gave him a sidelong glance before responding, “Those who spread rumors are troublemakers themselves. I want my ink factory filled with honest, hardworking people, not troublemakers. Moreover, their gossip has already affected the factory’s stability.”
Of course, if these two workers had merely been discussing trivial matters, Zhen Niang wouldn’t have taken it so seriously. However, their gossip threatened the factory’s stability, and Zhen Niang could guess that during the days she wasn’t at the factory, these rumors had spread more than once or twice. Therefore, her harsh treatment of them was also meant to serve as a warning to others.
“It can’t be that serious,” Er Gou said.
“Whether it’s serious or not isn’t for you to decide. Besides, if you want to help them, you shouldn’t try to persuade me. They’re still young, and this lesson will teach them to be more careful and diligent when working for other employers in the future. They might even achieve something greater elsewhere,” Zhen Niang said.
Then she took out a letter and handed it to Er Gou: “Give this letter to them. Tell them to find my brother—he will employ them. Their future achievements will depend on themselves.”
Whether at the oil mill or the inkstone quarry, her elder brother needed workers.
“Heh, a stick first, then a sweet date—quite skillful, Miss,” Er Gou chuckled. He often used such tactics in his street dealings and hadn’t expected Miss Zhen to be so adept at it.
“How else could I manage the ink factory?” Zhen Niang replied irritably.
“Alright, I’ll give it to them. These people did need a lesson,” Er Gou now fawned over Zhen Niang, completely agreeing with her.
Then he took the letter and hurried out to catch up with them.