Mo Sang – CH 271

Chapter 271. Yuzhang

The journey between Yangzhou and Anqing was quick.

A letter arrived from Anqing soon after; Ye Anping wasn’t there, saying he’d gone out to inspect medicinal herbs.

Accompanying the letter from Anqing was another letter from Yuzhang City. It was from Fourth Madam Wu née Wei: the Tengwang Pavilion was nearing completion, and the essays were almost finished being reviewed. She asked if Li Sangrou would like to go to Yuzhang City.

Upon receiving the letter, Li Sangrou considered it carefully for a while. Ye Anping couldn’t come anytime soon, and Grand Master Wu said he was out on business and couldn’t come anytime soon either. The arrangements with Madam Meng were already in place; the remaining matters wouldn’t be significantly different with her presence. The major events in Yangzhou would all take place in a month or two. Hmm, a trip to Yuzhang City would be a good idea.

Perfect timing! She could reclaim her two shipyards in Hongzhou.

Li Sangrou summoned Meng Yanqing and explained the recent arrangements. She instructed him to ask everyone who wanted to go to Yuzhang City to see the excitement, who wanted to stay and rest, who wanted to return to Jianle City, or who wanted to go elsewhere—it was all up to them.

Meng Yanqing quickly returned with several sheets of paper.

Most of them wanted to go to Yuzhang City to see the excitement.

The excitement in Yuzhang City was a grand spectacle, a once-in-a-century event, and not to be missed.

Meng Yanqing remarked that these men were becoming increasingly fond of watching a spectacle, then pointed to the remaining dozen or so people and explained one by one:

“This one is going back to his hometown; his mother’s death anniversary is approaching, and he’s quietly going to visit his parents’ graves. This one is going to quietly check on his family; his youngest son is getting married at the end of the month…”

Li Sangrou didn’t see Wei Fu among the group and asked, “Where’s Wei Fu? Isn’t he going back to Jianle City?”

“I asked him, and he said he’d go back with everyone during the New Year.” Meng Yanqing paused. “Last time, we went back from Muzhou, rushed through Raozhou City, and returned to the camp. Everyone was exhausted; they all fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow. I was too, just about to drift off when Old Dong woke up, glanced around, and asked, ‘Where’s Wei Fu?’

I went out and saw Wei Fu sitting at the tent entrance, looking up at the stars.

I asked him what was wrong, and he said he was too excited to sleep and would sit for a while before going back to sleep, so I sat with him for a bit.

He kept repeating, ‘I regret not having come along before, missing out on so many errands like this.’

Sigh, Wei Fu has always been a restless soul.”

Li Sangrou listened intently and, after a moment, gave a soft ‘hmm.’

The next day, Li Sangrou and the others left Yangzhou for Yuzhang City.

They changed ships in Jiangzhou City, traveled upstream, and soon arrived at the Yuzhang City dock.

In their house, from the courtyard gate to each room, every corner was spotless. The pots and pans in the kitchen were clean and tidy, and the bedding in each room looked as if it had just been sun-dried and washed, soft and clean.

Da Chang was extremely surprised.

They’d been gone for almost two years. When they left, they’d been in a rush, and Yuzhang was a damp place. Based on his years of experience, he’d expected a musty smell as soon as he entered, cobwebs everywhere, rusty iron pots, moldy chopsticks, and mildewed bedding. Only a hundred or so rough porcelain bowls, after being boiled a few times, might still be usable.

But the cleanliness before him was something he’d never imagined!

“This is…who is this?” Da Chang strode in, pushing open the doors of about ten rooms, and stood on the veranda, his eyes wide with astonishment.

“Nanny Zhang has been in Yuzhang City all along,” Li Sangrou chuckled.

“That’s right! My Aunt Zhang has been here all along!” Datou chimed in, quite proudly.

Da Chang inspected the place, unable to suppress his smile.

Datou’s Aunt Zhang was truly kind; the house was like this, not only saving them trouble, but also because there were many of them, and they weren’t afraid to work.

“It’s so great that we don’t have to buy anything! Think of how much money we’ll save!”

The Boss wanted the best of everything for their clothing, food, and shelter. She wanted silk quilts, thick mattresses, and even a copper charcoal brazier—all very expensive!

Da Chang and Meng Yanqing were busy buying vegetables, rice, and oil. Li Sangrou left the courtyard and headed straight for the back residence of the yamen.

Governor Luo was going to his post alone. Since Fourth Madam Wu née Wei and her family arrived, Governor Luo had moved into two side rooms in the front office, leaving the back residence for Fourth Madam Wu née Wei and her family’s daily needs, as well as for reading and writing commentaries.

When Li Sangrou arrived at the side gate of the yamen, the old woman guarding the gate, upon hearing that she was from Jianle City, hurriedly went inside to report.

A moment later, the head maidservant beside Fourth Madam Wu née Wei rushed out. Seeing Li Sangrou, she quickly curtsied from a distance of ten paces. “Our mistress said it was probably the Boss, and it is! Boss, please come in!”

The gatekeeper stared in astonishment at the respectful head maidservant, then at Li Sangrou, whose clothes and attire were even less refined than her own. She only looked away after the head maidservant had led Li Sangrou around the corner, clicking her tongue repeatedly in surprise.

Oh dear! What a strange turn of events!

As soon as they entered the side courtyard where Fourth Madam Wu née Wei and the others were reading, the head maidservant called out, “Fourth Nanny, it really is the Boss!”

In the main room, Fourth Madam Wu née Wei, Wei Jingming, Fu Wannian, and Liu Rui hurried out to greet them.

Li Sangrou stopped at the bottom of the steps, looked each of them up and down, and greeted them with a smile and a cupped-hand salute.

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

“You flatter me; we should thank the Boss,” Wei Jingming replied with a smile, in high spirits.

“The head steward has done us a great service,” said Lady Wei, stepping down the stairs and bowing to let Li Sangrou in.

Li Sangrou entered the room and looked around.

The partition between the five main rooms had been removed. Thick, wide wooden planks had been used to construct a long table on the north side, stretching from the east wall to the west wall. A long table was placed horizontally against each of the east and west walls.

Stacks of ink and paper were laid out on the north-facing planks. On the tables along the east and west walls were brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, with two armchairs in front of each table.

In the center of the room stood a large tea table, surrounded by four chairs.

A maid had already brought in another chair, cleaned the tea table, and prepared to brew tea again.

“Thank you all so much,” Li Sangrou said, looking around and thanking them again.

“It’s really not tiring,” Fu Wannian said with a smile.

“I’m very happy. Ah Yao and Sister Li are so envious of us,” Liu Rui said, her face slightly flushed.

“Lady Qian is in Ezhou City, so it’s very convenient for her to come over. She’s come four or five times already, and she never wants to leave,” Lady Wei said, sitting down and taking the tea needle from the maid, stirring the tea as she spoke and laughed.

“That’s good,” Li Sangrou said, sitting opposite Lady Wei and gesturing for Fu Wannian and the others to sit as well.

“Any good articles?” Li Sangrou asked.

“Yes, quite a few, really good articles,” Lady Wei laughed.

So far, the most talked-about topic in the Gossip Evening Post was still the Tengwang Pavilion article selection.

“That’s good.” Li Sangrou breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, “Didn’t you guys set up a betting pool to see which article would win?”

Fu Wannian’s eyes widened. Liu Rui looked at Li Sangrou, blinking repeatedly. Wei Jingming burst out laughing. Fourth Madam Wu née Wei was taken aback at first, then chuckled, “The Boss is really something!”

“It’s too late.” Li Sangrou clicked her tongue regretfully.

“We’ve already made quite a bit of money printing and selling books.” Fu Wannian couldn’t help but laugh.

“One tael of silver per book; what kind of money can you make? Those who can afford one tael of silver for a book can only afford ten taels. You should sell at ten taels per book. And then what? Printing books is not that fast, is it? Ten taels of silver, two months to get the book. If you’re willing to add ten taels of silver for express delivery, you can get it in a month,” Li Sangrou continued.

“The Boss is too calculating!” Lady Wei exclaimed in surprise, then said, “The printing of books can’t be done like this; it can’t be done like this!”

“One tael of silver per book. My mother wrote a letter saying it was too expensive, saying that as long as he’s willing to read it, she’d give it to him for free; no need to accept silver,” Fu Wan-niang said, laughing as she spoke.

“Books, not just books, but everything else, if you don’t spend money or effort, you won’t cherish them. As the saying goes, a book can only be read if borrowed, and it can only be cherished if bought at a high price.

If a book could be bought for a few coins, or even given away for free, then it wouldn’t be a book anymore. I wonder how many families would simply use it as toilet paper in the outhouse.

Anything that’s easy to obtain, or given away for free, doesn’t deserve to be cherished,” Li Sangrou said bluntly.

Fu Wan-niang paused, her smile slowly fading.

Liu Rui nodded repeatedly. “That’s so true! At the Imperial Academy, the snacks and tea are all provided by the public treasury. Those students take a snack, take a bite, and throw it away. Some even just eat the filling and throw the outer layer away.

My grandfather always gets so angry when he talks about it.”

Lady Wei paused, then bowed respectfully. “I understand.”

Wei Jingming sighed, “People!”

“It’s human nature,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

“Those poems?” Fu Wannian looked at Lady Wei and said softly.

Li Sangrou looked at Lady Wei.

“Bring them to the Boss to see,” Lady Wei said hurriedly with a smile.

“I’ll go get them!” Liu Rui said, quickly standing up.

“It’s like this,” Lady Wei said, smiling at Li Sangrou. “The first time was in early sixth month, during those ten days. There was a poem, full of spirit, but not very well-structured. It was clearly written by a beginner, yet extremely inspired. Chancellor Huang praised it highly, calling it a rare gem. But this poem wasn’t signed.

Chancellor Huang asked Governor Luo to look for the writer, but where could he look?

Who knew, early in the seventh month, another poem appeared. One look at the handwriting and you could tell it was from the same person as before.

This poem was full of emotion, extremely sorrowful. It certainly wasn’t a child’s feeling. It was still unsigned; the author couldn’t be found.

During those ten days, the same person wrote another poem, still unsigned.”

Liu Rui handed the three poems to Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou flipped through them and smiled at Lady Wei. “I can’t see any spirit or emotion in them. What do you think?”

“This ethereal quality is tinged with fragility and despair; it’s more like a woman’s.” Fu Wannian picked up a poem, looked at it, and sighed.

“She’s probably self-taught. The structure is superficially good, but there are two mistakes that require explanation,” Wei Jingming said with a smile.

“She’s probably not well-read. It didn’t use any classical allusions. This poem, here, uses the allusion to Li Guang’s difficulty in obtaining a title, adding a finishing touch. If she knew the allusion, it wouldn’t have been omitted,” Liu Rui said, pointing to one of the poems.

“We all think the person who wrote the poem is probably a poor girl, definitely from near Tengwang Pavilion,” Fourth Lady Wei said with a smile.

“Then what do you mean?” Li Sangrou asked directly.

“Could the Boss find her? We want to help her, send her to school or something,” Wei Jingming said with a smile.

“Alright,” Li Sangrou readily agreed. “The final ten-day review hasn’t been posted yet, right? When?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Lady Wei replied hastily.

“Then we’ll know tomorrow or the day after,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

………………………………

Li Sangrou returned to her residence, where Nanny Zhang and Gong Xiaoyi were already waiting.

Nanny Zhang hadn’t changed much, but Gong Xiaoyi had gained a little weight and was in excellent spirits. Perhaps because he had gained some presence, he also appeared a little taller.

Li Sangrou looked Gong Xiaoyi up and down and asked with a smile, “You’re married?”

“Yes, thanks to the Boss,” Gong Xiaoyi bowed deeply.

This “thanks” was sincere; it was thanks to the Boss.

“His eldest uncle personally selected his wife, the eldest granddaughter of the old master carpenter. She’s literate, tall, and strong. I went to the engagement and the wedding; it was a good occasion.” Nanny Zhang laughed.

“My uncle said I’m short and that I should marry a tall woman. He said if the father is short, the child will be short too,” Gong Xiaoyi said, scratching his head.

His wife was a head taller than he was.

“That makes sense,” Li Sangrou chuckled. “Is the Tengwang Pavilion almost finished?”

“It’s almost done. Just need some flowers and plants. Master Jia is overseeing their planting, and there’s just one last coat of paint,” Nanny Zhang said with a smile.

“After the Tengwang Pavilion is finished, there’s nothing left to build in Hongzhou. However, I have many houses, a temple, and a charity school in Yangzhou, and probably more.

There’s a Master Zhou in Yangzhou who’s excellent at building houses, but he can’t calculate the work volume. How about you go to Yangzhou and help him out?” Li Sangrou asked Gong Xiaoyi.

“Alright!” Gong Xiaoyi nodded immediately. “Aunt Zhang told me that from now on, I’ll follow the Boss. Wherever the Boss tells me to work, I’ll go!”

“Alright, take your mother, your wife, and your sister with you. Go to Yangzhou and find a house. It’ll probably take three to five years, maybe even ten years, to build there. Also, Jia Wendao will come with you,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

“Ah? Old Jia, he…he?” Gong Xiaoyi didn’t dare ask the rest.

Was he really going to keep Old Jia as a slave for a thousand days?

“Yes, he’s pawned himself for a thousand days, not a single day less!

Just take him with you. After we get to Yangzhou, someone else will watch over him,” Li Sangrou snorted.

Gong Xiaoyi subconsciously shrank back, not daring to utter another word.

“Thank you for the matter at Tengwang Pavilion. Once things are settled here, you’ll be free. You can decide what to do or listen to your mistress,” Li Sangrou said, smiling at Nanny Zhang.

“My mistress sent a message; Zhang thanks the Boss.” Nanny Zhang stood up, curtsied deeply, and expressed her sincere gratitude.

“No need to be so polite; this is something I owe your mistress.”

“My mistress said that Zhang should transfer the management of the two shipyards in Hongzhou to the Boss. She instructed me to help you consolidate the shipyards if needed,” Nanny Zhang said with a smile.

“No need. Your involvement wouldn’t be good for your mistress. She’s very busy and desperately needs manpower. You should go back and help her,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

“Yes, in that case, I’ll go to Yangzhou with Xiaoyi then,” Nanny Zhang said readily.