Chapter 153 Dispute
"Is it about the colored paper funerary objects?" Meng Qing still remembered the letter she had sent to the Chang'an Yishu.
“It should be.” Du Li nodded. “If you trust me, I’ll take care of them. If you have any instructions or questions, I’ll ask them.”
"Take them to a restaurant for a meal first, chat with them there, and find out their purpose," Meng Qing instructed. "When evening comes, after the sun has set and it's no longer hot outside, have someone set up a tea table in the courtyard and invite them to sit down and enjoy the tea. I'll chat with them through the door."
"Second sister-in-law, there are some fine teas in my dowry. I'll send someone to deliver them later," Yin Caiwei said.
“I’ll go and find out their intentions first. If it’s just about business, you can give them an answer. There’s no need to meet them in person.” Du Li objected. “Today is the third day of your postpartum period. It’s still early. Don’t overexert yourself. You need to rest more.”
“What my second brother said makes sense.” Yin Caiwei sided with Du Li again.
Meng Qing smiled and said, "Okay, you can go and ask first."
Du Li is gone.
Yin Caiwei looked outside, thought for a moment, and then said, "It's noon, and it's terribly hot outside. Second sister-in-law, please let me stay for a meal and rest for a while. I'll go back when it cools down."
Meng Qing glanced at her twice, "Alright, when your second brother comes back and relays their purpose, I'll call you over to listen in."
Yin Caiwei's thoughts were seen through, and she smiled shyly, "Second sister-in-law, please forgive me, my days in the government office are really boring, while your days outside the mansion are really exciting. I would like to know more about it."
"You were born into an official family, yet you're interested in business. That's different from many people," Meng Qing said, puzzled.
“It’s not that I’m interested in business matters, but rather in women who are different from me. Let me put it this way, the person I admire most is Empress Wu, Second Sister-in-law, you understand?” Yin Caiwei’s eyes gleamed as she said, “Second Sister-in-law is also very capable. There must be other women in the world like Second Sister-in-law. Your lives are what I yearn for but am afraid to pursue. I’ve read many books, but there are no records of you in them, and the more I read, the more curious I become. Fortunately, I now have the opportunity to step out of the books and see how women who are different from me live in this world.”
"So that's how it is. I misunderstood. I was also wondering why you would be interested in business." After all, even a poor scholar like Du Min looked down on business. A girl like Yin Caiwei, who was born into an official family, would have no contact with business at all and should have even more of a class consciousness of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants. Meng Qing thought so.
Yin Caiwei shook her head, "I don't know anything about business."
“My life revolves around business. Everything I do is for profit and fame.” Meng Qing felt a little bored. “My days are spent chasing fame and fortune. My ultimate goal is to ensure that my descendants have the same background as you and enjoy more of the rights that everyone should have.”
Yin Caiwei pondered for a moment. She understood, but it seemed like she didn't fully comprehend it.
“I admire your courage to pursue your dreams, whether for fame, fortune, or power. I don’t have that kind of spirit,” she said.
Meng Qing smiled slightly, "Your husband is not lacking in this kind of temperament."
Yin Caiwei disagreed, saying, "Many men have this kind of mentality; it's not surprising."
“Alright.” Meng Qing understood. Yin Caiwei was probably inspired by the deeds of Empress Wu and developed a consciousness of female power. However, she had been confined to the inner palace since childhood. Her parents had built a carefree living environment for her, where she lacked neither fame nor fortune, nor was she subject to the oppression of power. She had no desire to fight and gradually lost the desire to pursue power. However, the remaining imprint in her heart still drove her to draw strength and nourishment from other women. She would be attracted to women who were different from her.
The child sleeping next door woke up, and the maid brought the child to nurse, thus ending the conversation between the two sisters-in-law.
Yin Caiwei stepped out of the room and stared blankly at the blazing sunlight streaming into the courtyard for a while.
"My lady, shall we go back now?" the maid asked as she stepped forward.
Yin Caiwei shook her head. "Go back and tell Mother Sun to send over some of the good tea from my dowry. I won't go back; I'll go back in the evening when it's cooler."
The maid should be.
The door opened again, and Wang Hongzao, the second daughter-in-law of Steward Chen, came out. The Meng family all called her Sister-in-law Wang. She walked up to Yin Caiwei and bowed, "Madam Yin, please come with me. I will take you to have dinner."
Yin Caiwei went with her.
Wang's sister-in-law handed Yin Caiwei over to her sister-in-law to take care of, and then she went to find her mother-in-law. The two of them went to clean the east wing of the courtyard.
Meng's parents were busy clearing Magistrate Zhao's name, and neither of them returned home at noon. Wang Zhou was resting at the government office and also didn't return. The only two mistresses of the Meng family were both in confinement and unable to leave the house. Yin Caiwei was quite content walking alone in this spacious and empty three-courtyard house. She sat in the pavilion watching the geese floating on the water, bathing and washing their feathers, until a servant came to invite her, and then she returned to the side courtyard to rest for the afternoon.
An hour later, Du Li returned alone, having settled all the guests at the inn.
"The seven paper horse shop owners from Chang'an came for colored paper offerings. After you wrote to them, they decided to come to Luoyang in person, mainly because they were afraid that red sedan chairs and purple horses would be taboo and violate regulations. They had already stayed in Luoyang for seven or eight days before coming to Heqing County, and witnessed firsthand the booming sales of colored paper offerings in Luoyang County and Henan County. They decided to buy a batch of colored paper to take back to Chang'an to make colored paper funerary objects to sell," Du Li relayed. "But they still have a lingering concern. They want you to step in and get the Chang'an Yishu (a local academy) to take the lead. They are willing to pay a high price to buy from the Chang'an Yishu, which is why they came to Heqing County to find you."
“Of course,” Meng Qing agreed. “What did they say about the colored paper? Are they going to get it from the dye houses in Luoyang?”
"I mentioned that we not only want to buy from the dye shop, but also want to purchase split bamboo strips from the bamboo shop. The prices will be set according to the prices that the charity school buys from, and the shipping costs will be calculated separately," Du Li said. "But since the dye shop and the bamboo shop are under Chun Di's name, I made an excuse to ask my parents for their opinions, and I haven't given them a definite answer yet."
“Okay.” Meng Qing nodded. “When Dad comes back, tell him to go and sign the contract.”
"There's something else, and it's good news," Du Li said with a smile. "The seven owners also brought thirteen apprentices, whom they took in after they started their own businesses years ago. They've already graduated. Nowadays, there are paper horse shops everywhere in Chang'an and the surrounding counties, more than shops selling pottery and lacquerware. The market has been completely taken over. Apprentices who graduated last year and this year probably won't make much money if they open their own shops. Moreover, these thirteen apprentices are three-year apprentices from poor families and don't have the capital to open shops. They came here to see if you need any more manpower and if you could let them come to the free schools near Luoyang to teach."
“That’s really great news.” Meng Qing said happily. “I’ll write a letter later, and you can take it to them so they can take it to He Bian.”
"Okay." Du Li nodded. "Is there anything else you need? If not, can we cancel the evening tea party?"
"Let's cancel it." Meng Qing had achieved her goal; Yin Caiwei had no interest in business, so the tea party was unnecessary.
Du Li breathed a sigh of relief. "You rest, I'll go check on the kids next door."
No sooner had Du Li left than Yin Caiwei came in, eagerly asking, "Second sister-in-law, what did second brother say?"
Meng Qing repeated, "The evening tea party has been cancelled."
"Then you should rest well." Yin Caiwei was not disappointed. "I'm going to the front yard to watch the geese playing in the water. When it gets cooler, I'll go back by myself. Second sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about entertaining me."
"You also like watching geese play in the water? Just like Wang Zhou, he can watch them for half an hour at a time," Meng Qing said.
"That's quite interesting." Yin Caiwei was still thinking of feeding the geese.
"Don't go near them. If they stretch their necks at you, they're trying to bite you. Run away!" Meng Qing warned.
Yin Caiwei went out.
As evening fell, Wang Zhou returned from school, and Yin Caiwei also left with her maid, leaving behind the fine tea that the maid had brought.
*
The next morning, Yin Caiwei arrived again with her maid. The maid was carrying a basket of water spinach. When the goose tried to bite them at the door, she threw the water spinach leaves out, and the two of them took the opportunity to enter smoothly.
Seeing this, Mencius' mother smiled and said, "Next time you come, call out twice before you enter so we can lock the goose up."
"No need to shut them off, I'll bring food and feed them myself." Yin Caiwei found it interesting. "Aunt Pan, I want to draw geese."
"Alright." Mother Meng had no objections.
Yin Caiwei visited Meng Qing again, expressing her request to feed and paint geese in her spare time.
"Okay." Meng Qing was happy that she was willing to visit the Meng family often, but she was a little troubled. She was in her postpartum period and could not wash her hair or take a bath. The weather was hot and she was sweating a lot. She was greasy all over, and the room smelled of blood mixed with sweat, which was really unpleasant. She did not want to meet guests in such a disheveled and weak state.
“Caiwei, I won’t stand on ceremony with you. You’re welcome to come and sit around if you’re willing, but look at me, it’s really inconvenient for me to receive guests. You don’t need to come in to visit me again,” Meng Qing said bluntly.
Yin Caiwei hesitated. She was thinking of spending more time with Meng Qing, and Du Min would definitely be happy to know.
"It's settled then," Meng Qing decided. "Go and go paint geese."
"Alright, I won't bother you any longer, Second Sister-in-law," Yin Caiwei replied.
"Make yourself at home here, and feel free to do whatever you want," Meng Qing said.
Yin Caiwei said "Okay" and went out.
An hour later, Yin Caiwei packed up her drawing paper and prepared to leave. Suddenly, she heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the courtyard. The horses' hooves stopped outside the gate, and she had a premonition.
Du Min led his horse through the door and entered. He instinctively looked towards the goose pen, but unexpectedly saw someone he didn't expect.
"Husband, you're back?" Yin Caiwei stepped down from the pavilion. "I heard the sound of horses' hooves and knew it was you."
"What are you doing here?" Du Min glanced at the geese stretching their necks as if eager to pounce, and said angrily, "If you dare to swear again, I'll kill you all."
Sister-in-law Wang scooped up a ladle of wheat to call the geese away, and took the opportunity to lock up the four geese.
Yin Caiwei was startled by the fierce look that flashed between his brows, and lost all interest in sharing the painting.
"I'll go check on my second sister-in-law." Du Min's attitude softened again. "I couldn't come back yesterday for the third-day celebration at Wangchuan. Was the celebration lively?"
"We didn't hold a baby shower yesterday because something came up." Yin Caiwei walked with him to the backyard, telling him about Magistrate Zhao hiding in the Meng family and the visit of distant guests.
Du Li came out when she heard the voices and saw that it was Du Min who had returned. She said, "Your second sister-in-law is asleep. You can go about your business."
“I heard that the third-day celebration was not held? How about a grand full moon celebration? How about holding the banquet at the government office?” Du Min said, “Back then, when Wangzhou was full moon, monks came to chant sutras and pray for blessings. When Wangchuan was full moon, I also invited monks to chant sutras and pray for blessings for him.”
"We'll see," Du Li said, unwilling to agree, as it meant moving back to the government office once the child was a month old.
“I’ll come over another day to talk to my second sister-in-law.” Du Min found him dawdling. He glanced at Yin Caiwei and said, “Let’s go back.”
Yin Caiwei was a little annoyed. She had been holding it in all the way back to the government office before asking, "Husband, shouldn't you discuss holding a full moon banquet for Wangchuan at the government office with me first?"
"You're not happy about it?" Du Min asked.
“It’s not a matter of whether you’re willing or not. I have no objection, but you have to tell me first. It’s a matter of respect,” Yin Caiwei emphasized. “And why didn’t you tell me when you left Heqing County for Wangwu Mountain? Why did you leave? Why didn’t you tell me? I was kept in the dark and knew nothing about it.”
Du Min smiled and gently rubbed her face with the back of his hand, coaxing her, "I don't want you to worry. I can handle my own affairs. You don't need to know. Just like at your parents' home, be happy and carefree."
"But I want to know..."
"What can I do even if I know? I'm going to take a shower. Bring me some undergarments later." Du Min said impatiently.
Yin Caiwei was furious at his attitude and didn't let him get close that night, nor did she accompany him to the Meng family the next day.
Wang Zhou walked around the government office all day, and he noticed something was wrong that day. He went back in the evening and immediately informed Meng Qing.
Meng Qing told him not to meddle in the adults' affairs, and she did not interfere, but took the opportunity to refuse Du Min's suggestion to hold a full moon banquet for Wang Chuan at the government office.
Du Min got angry and stopped going to the Meng family.
Just then, the weather changed, and Heqing County was hit by a heavy rain that lasted for seven days. Using the excuse of worrying about the dikes and pontoon bridges, he took his bedding and moved to an abandoned granary, where he ate and lived with the students of the free school and did not return to the government office.
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Author's note: Ugh, I'm not in a good mood. My mind is always stuck in a rut, unable to find the right words.
See you tomorrow night at 8 PM
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