Chapter 563 No One Will Complain About Too Many Books
The next day, there was a flower-viewing banquet hosted by the wife of Guanglu Dafu.
Late May is the season when peonies are in full bloom. The flowers in the back garden of the Zhao Mansion are in full bloom, which is a beautiful sight.
At this time of year every year, many people in Beijing are invited to enjoy the flowers, and many ladies come together, and Mrs. Zhao personally greets them at the door.
Madam Zhao was about forty years old and looked very capable. She welcomed everyone in with a bright smile. "Please come in, Madam Zhou. Miss Li is becoming more and more beautiful. Madam Yang's pearl flower on her head is really beautiful. Miss Yu's dress is so beautifully embroidered. Which embroidery workshop is it from?"
Madam Zhao greeted everyone one by one, and her gaze quickly fell on Cheng Wanwan. "So you're from Sui'an and you're so young. Please come in."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes fell on Cheng Wanwan.
They were just wondering when a strange woman came to the capital, and thought she was the wife of an official of the seventh or eighth rank. Who would have thought that she was from Sui'an.
They were so curious about Sui'an that some of them couldn't help but send her visiting cards. They didn't expect that Sui'an would appear at the Zhao family's flower-viewing banquet, and the third-rank Guanglu Lady also invited Sui'an, so it wasn't too abrupt for them to send her visiting cards.
"Greetings, Madam Zhao." Cheng Wanwan stepped forward. "I'm new here, and I've had nothing to do every day. Madam Zhao's flower-viewing banquet has saved my life. It's saved me from being bored at home, and it's also allowed a country girl like me to see the world in the capital. Enjoying the flowers and touring the gardens with the other ladies has allowed a country bumpkin like me to learn their manners."
She kept her status very low, calling herself a village woman and a bumpkin all the time, which actually made the ladies present feel good about her.
"What country woman could possibly wear the clothes that Sui'an wears? Made of the finest brocade and ice silk fabric, what country woman could possibly afford to wear them?" Madam Zhao said with a smile, "Tea and snacks are already prepared in the courtyard. Let's all go in and talk."
A group of noble ladies and young ladies walked in.
The back garden was full of beautiful peonies. Everyone sat down to admire the flowers and drink tea, enjoying themselves immensely.
Many people asked Cheng Wanwan curiously about what she had done, such as what ratooning rice was and what cotton was... Cheng Wanwan explained to these pampered ladies in simple terms. These ladies, who were born into privilege, had never heard of rural life before, and they listened with great interest.
"We also have flower gardens in Dahe Village, planted with lotus, peach, chrysanthemum, jasmine, plum blossoms... beautiful scenery all year round." Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, "If you have the opportunity, ladies and girls are welcome to visit Dahe Village to enjoy the flowers."
A woman sighed, "The Never Fading Flower is nice, but it's a little far away, and the village is inconvenient everywhere. I'm afraid I won't be able to go there in this lifetime."
“The capital is convenient in every way, which is great, but many things are just too expensive.” Cheng Wanwan sighed as well. “This trip to the capital was arduous, and we don’t even know how much we spent on travel expenses. That’s not all. Now that my nephew and I are preparing to open a reading pavilion, we’ve discovered that the most expensive things are books. Take the most common book, the 300-cash one, for example. Annotated books cost at least 400 or 500 cash each. Money doesn’t go by quickly… Fortunately, Madam Zhang generously donated several hundred books, otherwise, I’m afraid this reading pavilion wouldn’t be able to open…”
"So that reading room is actually related to the people of Sui'an," the lady said in surprise. "A distant nephew of mine has been living in my house since he became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). I heard recently that he donated thirty books to a newly opened reading room. Is it the same thing?"
“That should be it,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “Everyone who donates books to the reading room will have their name written on the merit wall, and Madam Li’s nephew will also have a place on the merit wall.”
Madam Zhao asked curiously, "What exactly is this 'Merit Wall'?"
"...The names of those who have contributed to the Reading Pavilion will be written down, ranked according to the amount of their contribution. If the number of donations is equal, then the ranking will be based on the rarity of the books... For example, if Madam Zhang donated four hundred books, then Madam Zhang's name will be written first. Every reader who enters the Reading Pavilion will see Madam Zhang's name, and the vast number of poor students in the world will naturally remember Madam Zhang's merits."
Cheng Wanwan explained carefully, "I was originally planning to write Lord Zhang's name, but I feel that men can achieve great things anywhere, but it's hard for us women to leave our names in history... I can't say I'll leave my name in the annals of history, but if I can become a person of merit among scholars, I can also earn a good reputation for myself..."
The ladies around immediately started to think about it in their hearts.
Sui'anren already has a very good reputation and has become a role model for women. Moreover, she has the support of the emperor and the empress. This reading pavilion will definitely attract a large number of scholars. If she can leave her name on the wall of merit, maybe the emperor and the empress will see it. This is a great thing for the benefit of future generations. Such a good opportunity cannot be missed.
Madam Li quickly asked, "I wonder if the reading room is still short of books?"
Cheng Wanwan said quietly, "Books are the golden house. No one will ever complain about having too many books."
"That's great," Mrs. Zhao said quickly. "Our Zhao family is a family of scholars. My son's great-grandfather was a Jinshi (imperial scholar). Our family has hundreds of years of books, and our study is overflowing with them. We could organize some and donate them to the Reading Pavilion. We should be able to donate at least four hundred books."
Her husband was a third-rank official, and so was Lord Zhang. As the wives of two third-rank officials, she didn't want to fall behind Old Madam Zhang. As for whose name came first, that depended on the rarity of the book; it was all down to luck.
"Madam Zhao is indeed generous. Our Li family can't compare. So let's donate two hundred copies."
"We have some books in our Zhou family study, and I'll donate 200 of them as well."
"Then I'll donate a hundred copies."
"..."
With Madam Zhao taking the lead, and with Cheng Wanwan offering hidden incentives, the ladies present all spoke up to donate books.
The minimum number of books was 100, and the maximum number was 400 for Mrs. Zhao, so she easily collected 4,000 to 5,000 books.
Cheng Wanwan stood up and bowed sincerely to everyone present. "Thank you all for your generous donations. The Reading Pavilion will definitely write your names on the wall of merit. As long as the Reading Pavilion exists, your names will also be there. If the Reading Pavilion remains, your names will be remembered forever..."
The Zhao family's garden party quickly spread throughout the capital because of the book donation.
More people came to Cheng Wanwan's residence, most of them donating books. Some wives of seventh and eighth-rank officials followed suit and donated around a hundred books, while the wives of second and third-rank officials, unwilling to be outdone, donated five hundred books. Originally, the wives of first-rank officials disdained to participate, but then Madam Lin donated eight hundred books, Concubine Lin donated five hundred books in her own name, and finally, the Queen even arranged for someone to donate a thousand books...
With the Empress's involvement, the book donation wave intensified, with even ordinary people bringing their own books, one or two, including rare and unique copies... A problem that had been giving Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng a headache was thus resolved.
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