Mo Sang – CH 230

Chapter 230. Happy Birthday, Blue Bean Landou!

The next morning, Gong Xiaoyi arrived early.

Perhaps because he had eaten, Gong Xiaoyi seemed less timid.

Li Sangrou pointed to the bamboo chair beside her, gesturing for Gong Xiaoyi to sit down. She poured him a cup of tea and pushed it towards him, smiling as she asked, “Is it just your mother and two younger sisters, a family of four?”

“Yes,” Gong Xiaoyi replied, sitting awkwardly and timidly in the chair.

“The foreman you mentioned yesterday—who is he to you?” Li Sangrou sipped her tea and continued.

“He’s my maternal uncle.”

“You usually help your uncle with calculations and such, making a living that way?”

“Yes, I also help other foremen. My father died early, and I originally apprenticed as a carpenter under my uncle, but I am short and thin, unable to use a plane, so I can only calculate materials and labor.” Gong Xiaoyi’s voice lowered.

“You can read? Did you go to school as a child?” Li Sangrou sized up Gong Xiaoyi.

Indeed, quite short and thin.

“Well, I have not been to school. I learned to read when I was learning the Lu Ban manual,” Gong Xiaoyi answered politely.

“How many characters do you know? Can you read?”

“I can read, pretty much anything.”

Speaking of reading, a hint of pride lingered in Gong Xiaoyi’s voice.

“Then you are quite clever,” Li Sangrou praised with a smile. “Did you hear about this job from your uncle?”

“Yes, on my way back from the Boss, my uncle brought two jin of rice to my house. He mentioned the Boss’s job, saying it was for a woman.”

Gong Xiaoyi vaguely mentioned “a woman.”

“My uncle said he was going to look for work outside the city for a few days. I was thinking maybe I could get that one tael of silver. We only have two jin of rice at home, and we’ve been eating porridge every day. It is almost gone, and I was really starving.”

“What did you buy with that one tael of silver yesterday?” Li Sangrou asked with a smile.

“I exchanged one tael of silver for nine hundred copper coins and sent five hundred coins to my uncle’s family. They are out of food; they have a large family.”

“With the remaining four hundred coins, I bought thirty jin of rice with three hundred coins, salt with one hundred coins, and some oil,” Gong Xiaoyi answered honestly.

Li Sangrou gave a slow hum.

In this bountiful year in Yuzhang City, the price of rice was more than double that of Jianle City.

“Do you think you can handle the job of repairing the Tengwang Pavilion? Whether you hand it over to your uncle or do it yourself, can you take it?” Li Sangrou got to the point.

“I think I can,” Gong Xiaoyi said, holding his breath, as if each sentence had exhausted all his strength.

“I will only provide the money for this job; I will not concern myself with anything else. Once it is finished, I will come and inspect the goods and tally the accounts. Besides being the foreman, you will also have to do the purchasing.”

Li Sangrou smiled at Gong Xiaoyi. “Also, Tengwang Pavilion is a place for scholars to compose poems and enjoy tea and wine; it should be very elegant. We cannot build it into a gaudy, village-style shrine.

Besides the central pavilion, the pavilions on both sides, and the surrounding flowers, plants, and rocks, all need to be systematically planned, maintained, and planted.

Either you have the vision yourself, or you need to find someone with good vision and the ability to plan things out to help you.

You can handle all of this?”

“Finding someone with good planning skills is very expensive,” Gong Xiaoyi said breathlessly.

“Hmm,” Li Sangrou nodded. “Since you think it can be done, let’s give it a try. Now, you need to do a few things:

First, find out what materials you need and what the prices are for each type. Either find out for yourself or find a purchasing agent and bring them to talk to me.

Second, design what the Tengwang Pavilion will look like after it is finished. You can design it yourself or find someone in charge to make a model for me to see.

Third, you need to prepare a budget for the entire project: approximate cost, including the cost of materials, labor, and other miscellaneous items; how many installments you plan to make; and how much each installment will be.

How many days will it take you to prepare these items?”

Gong Xiaoyi pursed his lips tightly, blinking repeatedly. After calculating for a moment, he looked at Li Sangrou and said, “The preparation will be slow, seven or eight days.”

“Eight days then. Hei Ma, give him one hundred taels of silver.” Li Sangrou smiled at Gong Xiaoyi, who was staring wide-eyed. “You’ve never been a Boss before. If you need to find people or anything and they do not trust you, you can give them some deposit money first, which will save you some trouble.”

“Do not worry, Boss! Thank you, Boss!” Gong Xiaoyi took the heavy bag of silver ingots, clutching it tightly, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

Watching Gong Xiaoyi carry the silver ingots and run out the door, Da Chang came out of the house, frowning. “Yesterday, Hei Ma said Bai-Cheng told him he checked the old records and said the current Tengwang Pavilion cost sixty or seventy thousand taels of silver to build. Even repairs would cost a lot. Why build the Tengwang Pavilion at all?”

“It’s called sentiment,” Li Sangrou said slowly, sipping her tea.

Da Chang grunted and turned to leave. “I am going to check if the fermented rice wine is ready. We need it for drunken fish tonight!”

……………………

In the afternoon, Li Sangrou went for a stroll. Seeing that it was almost time, she headed towards Tengwang Pavilion.

Last night, Gu Xi had asked Ru-Yi to tell her that he had some free time today and invited her to enjoy the scenery and tea at Tengwang Pavilion.

When she could see the tall Tengwang Pavilion, Li Sangrou also saw Gu Xi.

Gu Xi wore an indigo brocade robe with a dark pattern and a matching turban. Standing with his hands behind his back, he surprisingly looked somewhat refined, like a scholar.

“Your outfit matches Tengwang Pavilion quite well,” Li Sangrou said, looking Gu Xi up and down, pointing to the pavilion in the distance with a smile.

“This is new clothing; that’s a dilapidated building,” Gu Xi said, pointing from himself to Tengwang Pavilion.

Li Sangrou sighed and laughed.

“Are you saying I am as pretentious as this Tengwang Pavilion?” Gu Xi turned around and walked alongside Li Sangrou, smiling.

“That’s about it.” Li Sangrou nodded.

“Shouzhen said you want to renovate this place?” Gu Xi looked up at the dilapidated Tengwang Pavilion.

“Yes.”

“Why renovate this place? Like in Yangzhou? To give everyone work?

Then why not renovate the examination hall or the prefectural school? There’s also an academy outside the city. Shouzhen went there once, and since he came back, he’s mentioned it to me two or three times, wanting me to fund its renovation. I ignored him. Why not fund it?” Gu Xi looked at Li Sangrou, offering a series of suggestions.

“No, I only want to renovate this place.” Li Sangrou did not look at Gu Xi.

“The location here is good; hmm, the scenery is nice.” Gu Xi and Li Sangrou climbed the steps together, stood in front of the main building, and took a deep breath, facing the river breeze.

“This place definitely needs renovation.” Gu Xi looked up at the collapsed ceiling; the building was now inaccessible.

“This building, built here, exposed to the wind and water, needs constant maintenance to stay in good condition; otherwise, it will easily decay,” Li Sangrou said, walking to the top of the stairs and looking up again. “If this place were repaired, it would be so elegant to set up a tea ceremony or wine tasting upstairs. We could hold tea parties or wine tastings regularly.”

“Hmm?” Gu Xi murmured, glancing sideways at Li Sangrou.

She wanted it constantly maintained, and now she wanted it for tea and wine tastings? What was she planning to do?

He knew she would not repair such a dilapidated place for no reason.

“You have a plan, do you not? What is it?” Gu Xi asked, following Li Sangrou.

“For tea and wine tastings, maybe a poetry or literary gathering,” Li Sangrou answered earnestly.

Gu Xi looked around, frowning. “Circling it up and charging for it?”

Li Sangrou chuckled, nodding as she laughed. “That’s a good idea, but it will not work now; there are not enough people.

Did you not say last time that Hongzhou is famous for its excellent tea and wine? Compared to Jiangbei wine, the flavor here is quite different. I was thinking, people in Hongzhou might know which tea and wine are good and which are bad, but people in Jiangbei are definitely clueless. Right?

I was thinking, how can we get a label for their tea and wine when they are sold in Jiangbei, like rice, with rice merchants grading it—first-class rice, second-class rice, and so on?”

“You plan to do the grading here? Then Luo Tingxian will have to handle that, Shouzhen will do, or even me.” Gu Xi reacted quickly. “If we can get our hands on grading tea and wine, that’s a money-making opportunity.

Tea and wine are different from rice and grain; they are more like silk. If you have spare money, you can be particular about them—they are things that can fetch a high price.”

“No, not you!” Li Sangrou glared at Gu Xi. “If this matter were handled by the government, it would rot and be ignored within a few years.”

Gu Xi grunted, then smiled. “I was just saying. I do not know much about business, and neither does Shouzhen. You handle it.”

“I have not decided what to do either. Maybe we will have to invite you, or Master Wen, to come and lend a hand. Right now, let’s get this building built. We need a nice, elegant place.” Li Sangrou softened her tone.

“Shouzhen has only been in Yuzhang City for a few days, and despite being so busy, he still rode back and forth to come here. This is my first time here; I really have not had the time.” Gu Xi looked ahead at the vast river.

“That’s called Yajiang Pavilion. It is the best place to see the river. Last time I invited people from the Hongzhou rice and grain merchants, it was there,” Li Sangrou gestured to Gu Xi.

“Shouzhen said you are going to compete with the rice and grain merchants in Hongzhou?” Gu Xi asked with concern as she walked alongside Li Sangrou towards Yajiang Pavilion.

“It’s not me; it is the grain merchants from Jiangbei. You know the price of rice in Yuzhang City, right?” Seeing Gu Xi nod, Li Sangrou snorted coldly. “The price of rice here is even higher than in Jianle City. Why?

Master Wen promised them he would not plunder. Fine, then. I am planning to abolish them and establish a new business according to Jiangbei’s rules.”

“Shouzhen’s promises were for all the merchants in Hongzhou; he could not just exclude the rice and grain merchants.

On the day Luo Tingxian took office, Shouzhen instructed him to keep an eye on things and prevent those guild leaders and elders from causing trouble or distorting facts. Otherwise, he was told to maintain a neutral stance,” Gu Xi explained, then added, “Let’s not talk about that. Your post station is not open yet? Are you going to stay here for a while?”

“Yes, and what about you? When do you plan to besiege Changsha?”

“No rush. First, we need to clear out the remaining troops in Hongzhou, stabilize the situation, and consolidate our forces. Changsha is already an isolated city. This is much earlier than my brother and I planned, thanks to you.” Gu Xi smiled brightly.

“You flatter me. Then we will be spending the New Year here this year.”

“The other day, I mentioned spending the New Year in Yuzhang City, and Da Chang started asking what kind of New Year’s goods people prepare here. I am really worried about Da Chang’s New Year’s supplies,” Li Sangrou sighed.

“Ru-Yi said that Da Chang’s New Year’s supplies will last at least half a year?” Gu Xi laughed.

“We just finished the last sausage last month.” Li Sangrou shook her head and sighed.

“Are you not going to do anything about it? Can you not?” Gu Xi laughed out loud.

“I am. If I were not so strict, Da Chang’s New Year’s goods would be piling up year after year, one year after another, without interruption.” Li Sangrou thought about Da Chang’s New Year’s goods and could only sigh.

Gu Xi laughed loudly, then looked at Li Sangrou and asked in a slightly lowered voice, “You know about Hei Ma trying to buy Shouzhen’s old turban from Bai-Cheng, right?”

“I did not know that. Back in Jianle City, he always bought it from the Seventh Master,” Li Sangrou said calmly.

“Pan Dingbang? He sold it to him?” Gu Xi raised her eyebrows high.

“Sold it. Hei Ma always buys directly from the Seventh Master.

The two were haggling. The Seventh Master said he’d only worn the turban once; the fabric was a gift from the palace. His father only received two bolts in total. His wife, Ah Tian, ​​had a little jacket made from it, and the remaining fabric was used to make the turban.

Hei Ma said he’d worn it at least once and that the Seventh Master’s head was too big for his, so he’d have to pay for a lining later. That’s all he could afford.

It always took several rounds to agree on a price. Hei Ma did not have money, and the Seventh Master was short of coins too,” Li Sangrou said calmly.

Gu Xi went from surprised to laughing, then burst into laughter.

“Why did you let Hei Ma be so stingy? How much is a new turban worth? You cannot possibly shortchange him like this?” Gu Xi was at a loss for words.

“It was not me, Da Chang. Da Chang often complains about Hei Ma, saying he’s wasteful,” Li Sangrou said, spreading her hands.

“Shouzhen said that when Hei Ma first approached Bai-Cheng, he startled Bai-Cheng. He said that when Bai-Cheng told him, he also thought there was some kind of hidden meaning, and he mentioned it to me twice, asking me to ask you what that hidden meaning was!” Gu Xi said, laughing.

“What hidden meaning? Master Wen can sell it if he wants, or not if he does not, letting Hei Ma buy it elsewhere.

Hei Ma is just greedy for bargains. The finest silk headscarves in the secondhand shops are much more expensive than what he bought from Seventh Master,” Li Sangrou laughed.

Gu Xi could not stop laughing.