Chapter 100 Harsh Policies

Meng's parents had already made up their minds; they would not consider Meng Qing's opinion at all and would go to Meng Chun to discuss it on their own.

After dinner that evening, Meng's father and mother called Meng Chun, and the three of them went for a walk in the back garden.

"Meng Chun, I heard from your sister that you gave her half of the money you saved up in the past few years?" Meng's father asked, starting with this point.

Meng Chun nodded.

"So generous? Isn't there anything you're reluctant to part with?" Meng's father asked again, "How much will you give her? Is it five hundred strings of cash?"

Meng Chun frowned and asked unhappily, "Why are you asking about this? This is between my sister and me, and it didn't involve your money. Why are you asking?"

"Oh! You don't think I'm unhappy that your sister took your money, do you?" Mr. Meng clicked his tongue a few times. "No wonder you didn't tell me, were you afraid I would stop you? Meng Chun, you think too highly of yourself. Although you are my son and can carry on the Meng family line, you are not as important as your sister. Although she is married, she is not an outsider. She is still my eldest daughter."

"Alright, alright, I understand." Meng Chun wasn't unhappy when he heard him say that. He explained, "Give her 430 strings of cash, and I'll keep 430 strings for myself. I'll give the remainder to my brother-in-law, and he'll get 7 strings."

Meng's father laughed heartily, "You and your brother each have four or five hundred strings of cash, but you only give your brother-in-law seven strings? Aren't you worried that your brother-in-law will have something to say about this? This is treating him like an outsider."

“He was very happy and didn’t have any other thoughts. Even if Du Laosan wanted it, I wouldn’t give it to him.” Meng Chun said smugly. “This is a matter between us young people. Don’t use your old-fashioned worldly wisdom to judge our actions. That’s why I don’t want to talk to you about it. It’s troublesome and boring.”

“Alright, alright, we old folks are so boring,” Meng’s father conceded. “What do you think of that three-courtyard house we saw in Xingjiao Lane the day before yesterday? Your mother and I want to buy it.”

Mencius' mother nodded, "I live in a spacious house, so I can't stand cramped rooms. Let's buy a three-courtyard house so I can grow flowers and vegetables, and there's a pond where I can raise fish and shrimp. I won't feel bored even if I don't go out."

“We are business owners, and there are restrictions on buying houses. Given our status, we cannot buy that house,” Meng Chun reminded them.

“Buy it in Wangzhou’s name, put the house in his name, we’ll live there, and the house will belong to him in the future,” Meng’s father explained.

Meng Chun instantly understood, "You want me to pay for the house?"

"You reacted quite quickly." Meng's father nodded. "The money you've saved is useless if you keep it in your hands, and you're worried about it being stolen if you leave it at home. You might as well use it to buy a house."

“If you refuse to get married, there’s no hope of ever settling down. Your father and I have discussed it, and we’re not going to leave you the money for your marriage and children. We plan to invest it all in shops,” Meng’s mother continued. “We’ll use the money we have to do business, and you can use the money you have to buy a house.”

“We’ve never given Wangzhou anything valuable in all his years. In a few years, his mother will have made a lot of money, and his uncle will have become a high-ranking official. He won’t lack money, power, or fame, and we’ll be even less able to provide him with what he needs. As his uncle, you should buy him a house as soon as possible, and make it clear that it will be his home. Only if he likes to live there and can stay there for a long time will he have a bond with us,” Meng’s father said, speaking practically.

“Okay,” Meng Chun agreed. “However, I don’t have enough money on me yet. You’ll have to give me fifty strings of cash.”

“Let your sister fill in the missing parts. Consider this house a gift from you and your sister to Wangzhou,” Meng’s father said.

Meng Chun nodded repeatedly, "That's a good idea."

Mencius's father and mother exchanged a glance; this boy was truly willing to spend so much.

After agreeing on the terms, the next day, Meng's father went to the brokerage firm to inform the broker, who then brought the homeowner to the county government office to complete the transfer of the property deed.

After the clerk rewrote the house deed and stamped it, he handed it to Wang Zhou, saying, "This is the youngest homeowner I have ever dealt with in my career."

Wang Zhou held the property deed and looked at it. He said sweetly, "I have to thank my generous and wealthy uncle for this."

Meng Chun laughed, "You should thank your mother. You're the only one who gets this treatment because you're her child."

Wang Zhou looked up at Meng Qing, who flicked the deed in his hand and said, "Keep it safe. This is the first house under your name, and it's very valuable."

Wang Zhou nodded, "This was a gift from my mother and uncle, I will cherish it."

Mencius' mother shook her head. This boy is really good with words; he's as shrewd as a fox.

After leaving the county government office, the family went to the blacksmith's shop to buy locks and replaced all the old locks in the house. They then hired four or five day laborers through a broker to clean the house.

“Our family lives in a two-courtyard house. These two rooms are for your family of three. Once we move in, I will provide beds and all the necessary supplies. You can move in whenever you want and stay as long as you like, just like in Jiayufang,” Meng’s mother said to Meng Qing.

Meng Qing nodded, "Before moving in, we also had a monk perform a purification ritual for the house. Leave this to me, and I'll take a stroll around the Buddhist temple while I'm at it."

"Alright." Meng's mother knew that she probably wanted to use Buddhism to make paper effigies famous in Heqing County.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. Meng's mother and Meng Qing went out and saw a short-bearded, fair-skinned man wearing a scholar's robe standing outside the door.

The man glanced at the two men's clothing and cautiously asked, "Are you the host family?"

"Yes, what brings you here?" Meng Qing asked.

“I live next door. I passed by here on my way home and found the gate wide open. A couple of days ago, my servants told me that a broker had brought guests to see this house. I guessed that a new family might have moved in, so I came over to say hello,” the man said.

Meng Qing nodded. "May I ask your name? My surname is Meng, and my husband's surname is Du. The landlord is my son. My family lives in the county government office. We only stay here occasionally. To maintain the house, my family lives here."

"Living in the county government office? I wonder who the newly appointed Magistrate Du is to you? By the way, my surname is Lu, my name is Lu Di, I come from the Lu family of Fanyang, and I teach at the county school."

"The Lu family of Fanyang? We met Prime Minister Lu once when we were in Chang'an. Are you from the same clan?" Meng Qing asked in surprise.

Master Lu stroked his beard and said proudly, "According to seniority, Prime Minister Lu is my cousin, but he comes from the main family, while my family is a collateral branch."

“The Lu family of Fanyang is truly a prominent and flourishing clan. There are even Lu family members in Heqing County.” Meng Qing exclaimed, “It is indeed a prestigious family.” She introduced, “The magistrate of the county is my husband’s third younger brother, and my husband is the second oldest.”

"I have long admired Magistrate Du's name and will visit him another day." Seeing that no one else had come out after he had been standing there for so long, Master Lu guessed that the newly appointed Magistrate Du was not here, so he bowed and left.

The first thing Meng Qing did after returning to the county government office was to find Du Min. Du Min was talking with County Magistrate Sun in the clerk's office when he saw her coming and let her in directly.

"Second sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

“I met someone from the Lu family of Fanyang in Xingjiaofang. They are my parents’ neighbors. He said he would come to visit you another day.” Meng Qing looked at Magistrate Sun and asked, “Magistrate, are there many people from the Lu family of Fanyang in Heqing County?”

"Quite a few. The collateral branches of the Lu family of Fanyang came to Heqing County as early as twenty or thirty years ago due to their official careers and migrations. They have now taken root here. There are teachers and students with the surname Lu in the county school, there are gentry with the surname Lu, there are big landowners with the surname Lu, and the general of Nancheng Town also has the surname Lu." Du Min continued, "In addition to the collateral branches of the Lu family of Fanyang, there are also collateral branches of the Zhang family of Qinghe and the Wang family of Taiyuan in Heqing County. These collateral branches of prominent families have developed into prominent families in Heqing County."

"Why don't you host a banquet and invite them to get to know each other? Or you could host a separate banquet. That Master Lu from today came specifically for you; he probably wants to curry favor. You happened to have dealings with Prime Minister Lu in Chang'an, so using that as a reason to see him wouldn't be abrupt or beneath your dignity," Meng Qing said.

Magistrate Sun was extremely surprised that this woman dared to discuss political affairs. He then stared at Du Min, waiting for his reaction.

Du Min was also watching Magistrate Sun's reaction. When their eyes met, he asked first, "Lord Sun, what do you think of my second sister-in-law's proposal?"

This stumped Magistrate Sun. After much deliberation, he said, "Sir, you also wish to probe the intentions of these prominent families. Why not follow your sister-in-law's suggestion and use this Master Lu as a starting point to gauge the reactions of the Zhang and Wang families? If they are willing to cooperate with your proposal, they will take the initiative to visit you."

"I'll listen to Lord Sun." Du Min nodded, but then looked at Meng Qing and asked, "Second sister-in-law, I have a plan. Can you help me think of it? The Tang Code specifies what level of burial goods are appropriate for different social statuses. I plan to copy it down and have the yamen runners take the ward chiefs of each neighborhood to post it door-to-door. For illiterate families, the ward chiefs will read and explain it to them. Once this order is implemented, any funeral that violates the regulations will result in punishment for the family and their ward chief."

"Your Honor, you mustn't! The custom of lavish funerals in Heqing County has been going on for a long time and cannot be prohibited by law. This measure is too harsh and may damage your reputation." Magistrate Sun preemptively stopped him. "Forgive my impertinence, but this is your first time in office, and you may not be familiar with the situation in local government. In places where powerful families and local gentry are everywhere, the magistrate's words have little effect, and he may even be restricted in his actions. Just look at the fate of the previous magistrate. If he could enforce the law, would he have died in office because of the funerals of powerful families?"

Du Min breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this County Magistrate Sun was of one mind with the County Magistrate, and did not favor the local gentry.

"Thank you for your advice, Lord Sun." He thanked him sincerely, "However, I have decided to give it a try. In Heqing County, the slow and steady approach won't work. It's better to start a big fire and see how everyone reacts."

Magistrate Sun sighed.

“I’ll arrange this setup. You’ll show up at the housewarming party for the new house. I’ll send invitations to the neighbors the day before. If Master Lu is interested, he’ll come to the party,” Meng Qing said. “You should test his attitude first, let it slip out a little, and then unleash your big move a few days later, giving him time to prepare. You see, before a thunderstorm, there’s always a change in the weather. If a sudden thunderstorm comes without warning on a sunny day, everyone will curse the heavens.”

Du Min smiled. "Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Your Excellency, which temple's monks did you invite to cleanse your house?" Meng Qing asked.

“Longxing Temple is a Buddhist temple built by order of the imperial court. Baofeng Temple is a private temple, built with funds from merchants and gentry,” Magistrate Sun replied.

Meng Qing nodded and then asked, "Has there been any progress in choosing a location for the free school?"

Magistrate Sun went to find the Market Magistrate, who supervised market transactions and frequently traveled to various markets, so he was very familiar with each place.

However, Meng Qing was not satisfied with the places the city magistrate introduced. She had more suitable locations, but she didn't know if a free school could be built there.

“Are there any vacant houses in the open space at the north end of Heyang Bridge? That place is the only way to Beiman Mountain. If you put up paper effigies and funerary objects by the roadside, you won’t have to worry about passersby not stopping to look,” Meng Qing said.

“That place is under the jurisdiction of Nancheng Town General. By the way, the town general’s surname is Lu.” County Magistrate Sun looked at Du Min, indicating that he could step in to mediate.

“I see fields and villages along the river,” Meng Qing asked.

“That’s not a village, it’s an abandoned granary. This is government land. If you’re going to use it as a free school instead of demolishing and rebuilding it, then there’s no problem,” said Magistrate Sun.

"Why is it abandoned? Is the house going to collapse?" Du Min asked.

"It was because the Yellow River channel was widened and the river level rose. During the heavy rains in spring and summer, the Yellow River would flood the granaries, causing the official grain to mold. After that, new granaries were built, and the old granary was abandoned, only occasionally used to store grain and fodder," said Magistrate Sun.

“I’ll choose that place.” Meng Qing made her decision. She looked at Du Min and said, “When you issue the decree on the specifications for burial goods, I will take the opportunity to start recruiting apprentices.”