Chapter 82 The garlic vendor visits, and Sister Mi Fu...
The weather was beautiful the next day. The teacher was going ice fishing, and the second and third senior sisters went along. Zhang Ting and the eldest senior sister didn't go because they felt cold, and stayed in the study to discuss their studies.
"I never imagined that in just one year, my junior sister would surpass me so much." Yang Fuchen took a sip of tea and sighed, then said with a faint smile, "On the day I entered the city, I even heard people in the teahouse talking about my junior sister's great talent."
Zhang Ting waved his hand dismissively, and was about to speak when there was a gentle knock on the study door, "Knock knock—"
"Come in."
Lin Xiuzhen bowed and entered the room. "Miss, the peddler from yesterday came and said he wanted to return the money to you."
After a moment's thought, Zhang Ting decided that although this person was of lowly status, she still wanted to meet him. She then gave her senior sister an apologetic look and said, "Senior sister, please excuse me for now."
Yang Fuchen was quite understanding and even pleased that his junior sister was close to and respectful of ordinary people. "Go ahead."
Zhang Ting nodded to her, then turned and followed Lin Xiuzhen out.
Outside, the snow on both sides of the street was melting. The vendor, stamping his feet from the cold, exhaled a breath of warm air and rubbed his hands. Seeing the owner come out, he hurried over.
With a red nose, she pulled out the string of warm copper coins from her bosom, presented them to Zhang Ting with both hands, and smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits: "My lord, I can't accept any more of your money. I already shamelessly sought shelter from the snow at your residence and even got a free lunch, hehe."
Zhang Ting refused the copper coins offered to him, his eyelids drooping, maintaining a humble and refined demeanor, and gestured with his right hand for her to enter the mansion first.
"Master Zhang, Master Zhang—"
A shout came from behind her. Zhang Ting turned around in surprise and saw Cui Jingji running towards her, panting. It was quite a coincidence; before leaving her hometown, she had entrusted Cui Jingji to look for several properties, and it seemed he had made some progress by now.
To her surprise, the vendor was even more astonished than she was. He took two steps forward and exclaimed excitedly in his local accent, "Sister Cui, you've come to see a benefactor too!"
Cui Jingji then saw her and was surprised to find that she was his cousin who had stayed at his house the day before.
Cui Jingji, speaking in his local accent, asked her what she was doing there. After learning the whole story, he clasped his hands in thanks to Zhang Ting, saying, "Our Fengyang garlic is the least suitable for soaking. If it weren't for your kind help yesterday, my cousin would have lost everything."
Zhang Ting laughed and said, "Economician Cui, you're actually from Fengyang. You've managed to earn a house and a job in the capital all by yourself, and you're quite impressive." He then invited the two of them into his residence to talk.
"You flatter me, sir. I am just a humble man who has no choice but to come out and make a living."
The three of them, one in front and two behind, walked along the bluestone path and through the solemn corridor.
I had that garlic wine yesterday; it's really good for warming up in winter. Zhang Ting asked where she could buy it again.
The garlic vendor looked dejected and replied blankly, "You can't buy it in the market anymore. Only a few of us brew it privately for our own consumption."
"Oh?" Zhang Ting noticed the hidden meaning in her words and deliberately asked, "Since Your Majesty has the recipe, why not open your own winery? That way you can earn some money to make a living and support your family. It's much easier than going all the way to the capital to sell garlic."
"I heard you say last time that this garlic wine used to have quite a reputation."
Fearing that his cousin might say something she shouldn't, Cui Jingji hurriedly nudged her with his elbow to signal her to stop talking. He then turned to Zhang Ting with a fawning smile and said, "Sir, you may not know this, but this business was bad. It went bankrupt back then because it couldn't keep going."
Little did she know, Cui Jingji's actions only fueled Zhang Ting's suspicions, but she simply smiled and let it go, seemingly unconcerned about the past. This relieved Cui Jingji.
The three arrived at the hall, where Zhang Ting, as the host, warmly invited them to sit down and even called a servant to serve tea.
Cui Jingji told Zhang Ting about the estate he had his eye on. The soil was fertile, and it would be good to sow grass seeds and raise some livestock there. There was also a small sandy plot where watermelons could be grown.
Raising livestock? Then let's raise a few sheep, since Zong Suyi loves to eat them.
Speaking of Zong Suyi, Zhang Ting's eyelids twitched. She didn't know what the boy was thinking lately; he was very irritable, but he wouldn't say when she asked. She could easily make him cry if she wasn't careful.
It's because I haven't been doing enough work, I'm just too idle!
Just then, the servant brought over a tray of tea. Zhang Ting pretended to take a small sip, smiled faintly, and said to the two of them, "This winter tea is indeed more mellow." Although she couldn't taste the difference and couldn't remember which year's leftover tea it was, she was sure to impress them with this statement.
The two thought it was tea produced in winter, and looked over in surprise. They nodded in agreement, secretly admiring how refined the life of Master Zhang was.
Zhang Ting nodded in satisfaction and chatted with the two men. Suddenly, seemingly unintentionally, he mentioned that he had encountered bandits in Yinzhou Prefecture who killed and robbed him, but he managed to escape.
Cui Jingji listened with a frown, then sighed and felt fortunate for Zhang Ting, as did her cousin.
Zhang Ting took in their reactions, then raised an eyebrow, indicating that it wasn't this kind of accident.
Then they mentioned that the county magistrate who handled the case of the thieves seemed to be colluding with the criminals. At first, when they reported the crime, he even tried to turn the tables on them. But upon closer inspection, they saw a hint of disgust flash in Cui Jingji's eyes. Her cousin, filled with righteous indignation, slammed her hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Outrageous! These corrupt officials!"
Zhang Ting held the teacup in one hand, while the other hand lightly caressed the inside of the bowl. Her eyelashes were slightly lowered as she calmly thought: The decline of Fengyang garlic wine is probably due to government influence.
This is a difficult situation. She originally intended to buy the recipe and then take over a workshop to brew and produce the product.
The garlic vendor, as if she had witnessed it herself, was so angry that she waved her hands wildly in the air, tears streaming down her flushed face. She was completely different from the honest and simple country woman she had just been, and she kept muttering, "Corrupt official! Corrupt official!"
Her reaction was too agitated. Cui Jingji stood up, forcefully grabbed her shoulders, and told her to calm down.
The garlic vendor buried his face in her shoulder and cried loudly, "Cousin, I hate it so much, I hate it so much!"
Cui Jingji's eyes also welled up with a little moisture, and his lips trembled, but he didn't say anything.
It seems there's a deep-seated grudge, perhaps even a blood feud. Zhang Ting quickly abandoned the idea of buying the prescription.
But the next moment, Cui Jingji turned around, his eyes red, and apologized to her: "My sister was thinking of our parents who passed away eight years ago, and she was so sad that she acted rudely. Please don't take offense, Master Zhang." As he spoke, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhang Ting.
Eight years ago? This time of year is too sensitive. But what would a riot in Zhangzhou Prefecture have to do with Yinzhou Prefecture, which is two prefectures away?
Zhang Ting helped the person up, and couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Did your father and mother pass away?"
Cui Jingji didn't want more people to know about this, and was about to agree on behalf of his cousin when she suddenly glared at him and said, "My parents were forced to their deaths by corrupt officials!" Suddenly, the garlic vendor realized that since Zhang Ting could afford such a large house in the capital, he might be some powerful and influential person. She hurriedly knelt down with a thud, tears blurring her vision, and kept kowtowing and begging, "Your Excellency, please have mercy and do justice for my unjustly killed parents and sister!"
Zhang Ting didn't say whether she agreed or not, but helped her back to a chair and asked her to explain in detail.
Seeing this, Cui Jingji sighed deeply and sat down as well.
According to the garlic vendor, the family of four lived peacefully in a village in Fengyang County. The village was famous for its garlic, and the family had been brewing garlic wine for generations. Because of their excellent craftsmanship and unique flavor, many people from the county would come to the countryside to buy their wine. By her parents' generation, their craftsmanship was unparalleled, earning high praise from the county magistrate. Her older sister was intelligent from a young age and well-educated. She recognized the business opportunity early on and discussed with her parents opening a winery with other villagers, believing they could make a lot of money!
The imperial court levied heavy taxes, and many children in the village were too poor to afford to go to school. It was difficult for them to even get a new set of clothes every two or three years. So the villagers gritted their teeth and decided to take action.
At first, they made a lot of money and rebuilt the village the following year, even sending all the children to school. The business was so successful that it attracted the covetous eyes of the county officials, who insisted on investing and taking 80% of the profits without contributing anything. The villagers had no choice but to agree. However, since everyone in the village was involved in brewing garlic wine and not engaged in any other production, the remaining 20% was barely enough to cover daily expenses.
She remembered that her sister hated those corrupt officials so much that she couldn't sleep all night. But her sister was very clever, and soon she came up with a solution. She told the villagers that she wanted to expand the winery's business and sell the garlic wine all over the country, so that even a 20% profit would be enough for everyone to eat.
After that day, my sister packed her bags and headed north, never to return to the academy. Year after year, when everyone was starving while guarding their treasury, my sister brought back good news from outside. Soon after, the village's garlic wine was officially sold all over the country. Seeing everyone's lives getting better and better, my sister even got married and had a son.
The garlic vendor suddenly stopped, covered her face, and tears streamed through her rough fingers as she choked out, "A group of soldiers suddenly stormed into my house, saying that my family was illegally selling garlic wine, plundered all our money, and brazenly occupied the winery, driving away our fellow villagers."
"The garlic wine is a family heirloom, it's clearly ours! My parents, my parents, couldn't stand it and went to argue with us, and they were stabbed to death! Corrupt officials!!"
“We all went to report it to the authorities, but the corrupt official who had taken a large sum of money turned around and accused us of being incorrigible and disrespectful of the law. He even had my sister flogged in court!”
“My sister was beaten so badly she almost died, but thankfully Heaven has a heart of mercy and spared her life. She rallied and opened many shops,” the garlic vendor’s thin shoulders trembled uncontrollably, his chest bursting with intense grief. “But while she escaped this calamity, she couldn’t escape the next one… Two years ago, my nephew came to me seeking refuge, saying that my sister had been murdered by corrupt officials…”
Suddenly, she lost all strength and collapsed to the ground, pounding the ground in anger to vent her boundless grief.
After hearing the garlic vendor's story, Zhang Ting breathed a sigh of relief. He had never heard of garlic wine being a government-run business; it was clear that someone was coveting his vast business empire and assets. This person must be someone of considerable influence.
She turned her head to the side, thinking, and casually asked, "What's your sister's name?"
The garlic vendor said, "My sister's name is Fu, and her given name is Mi Fu."
Zhang Ting's pupils suddenly contracted, and she abruptly turned around to find that her sister was actually Boss Mi.
His lips opened and closed repeatedly. No wonder, no wonder.
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