Chapter 86 Royal Sales
The Imperial Household Supervisor stared at the Buddhist verse paper offerings with reluctance. He carefully counted them: nine carried and three groups. He could guess that the sacrificial ceremony presided over by the two sages would use Buddhist verse paper offerings filled with scriptures. After thinking it over again and again, he was almost certain that he could not get involved in this event.
"Minister Zheng, you've kept this a secret very well." The Director of the Imperial Household Department snorted. He had placed fifteen craftsmen here, yet they hadn't heard a word of it.
The smile on Vice Minister Zheng's face faded slightly. "This free school is, after all, our Ministry of Rites. The Director of the Imperial Household Department should be content and not be too greedy."
The Director of the Imperial Household Department turned his gaze to the courtyard of the Free School. He chuckled softly. The Free School belonged to the Ministry of Rites? The Ministry of Rites had no responsibility to supervise the skills of various crafts.
“Your Excellency is right.” The Director of the Imperial Household Department nodded. “I have official duties to attend to, so I will take my leave first.”
After Vice Minister Zheng and the other officials from the Imperial Household Department left, he also got into his carriage and left.
When the officials left, the onlookers swarmed around, asking if the free school was still accepting students and if the paper funerary objects were still for sale.
"We are accepting apprentices," Meng Qing announced. "The school will continue to accept apprentices, up to fifty more. However, it will no longer be free, and there will be requirements. Not only will you have to pass my assessment, but you will also have to pay twenty strings of cash to learn the craft. Those who pass the assessment will be guaranteed to learn the skills and graduate within a year."
A hush fell over the crowd, then someone shouted, "Why didn't those who came to become apprentices last year have to pay? It's only been a year, yet the difference is so huge?"
"Why so many whys? Don't you know the reason yourself? I'd like to ask you why you didn't come to learn from us last year, but now you're scrambling to ask. Why pretend you don't know?" Du Min retorted. "If you want to learn from us, you must first abide by our rules."
The crowd quieted down, and after a moment, a few people stepped forward to ask when they could come for the assessment and whether they could pay in advance to reserve their place.
Du Min looked at Meng Qing, completely unaware that she had plans to take on disciples.
"You can register now, no need to pay in advance. The assessment will be held on February 24th. You can pay after you pass the assessment," Meng Qing announced.
Du Min understood immediately. The emperor's procession to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony would leave Chang'an on the 18th of the second month. Once the paper offerings appeared in the procession, their status would rise dramatically. At that time, countless people would come to learn from them. After that, an examination would be held to select truly talented apprentices.
"Are you selling paper funerary objects?" someone asked.
Meng Qing didn't speak. She pointed to the wooden plaque hanging on the wall outside the door, and then went inside.
"What does she mean?" The person who asked the question did not understand Meng Qing's meaning.
“This is a free school; it doesn’t do business. If you donate money to her, you can get paper effigies as a gift from the school,” explained a local resident.
"What kind of charity school is this? They charge money to take on students, and all the money donated to the charity school ends up in her pocket." The man who had been rebuked by Du Min earlier scoffed disdainfully.
Ignoring the provocative question, the man continued, "How much money do you want to donate?"
“Go look at the wooden plaque on the wall. It shows the money donated by the officials of the six ministries and the paper offerings they gave in return. Just donate according to that amount; they won’t accept more. The brass paper horse and the black gold paper horse seem to be fifteen strings of cash. The most expensive one is a three-courtyard paper house, which costs forty strings of cash.” The local residents were quite familiar with this matter.
A group of people gathered around to look. The man who asked about the price looked it over from beginning to end and said, "At this price, the tuition for the free school is quite low. It's only twenty guan a year, and they guarantee you'll learn everything. After a year of study, you can open a shop and earn back your tuition in a month at most."
Upon hearing this, the already interested residents immediately flocked into the courtyard to register.
Du Li brought out a table and chairs, and Meng Qing sat down to record the names on the roster. Some had signed up for the assessment, while others had donated money to order paper effigies for funerary objects.
As eighty-four palanquins carrying offerings passed through four neighborhoods and were carried into the imperial city via Zhuque Avenue, the school was constantly bustling with visitors throughout the day.
When the curfew drum sounded, Meng Qing sat under the lamplight and looked through the roster. By the end of the day, seventy-eight people had signed up for the assessment, and one hundred and forty-one people had placed orders for paper-made funerary objects.
"With the Qingming Festival approaching, after the Emperor's entourage leaves Chang'an, there will definitely be many people ordering paper effigies for the deceased. The threshold of the charity school will be worn down by the crowds. Good business is a good thing, but we can't keep up with the demand," Du Li said.
Meng Qing looked at Du Min and said, "Go to the Ministry of Rites and find Vice Minister Zheng. Ask him to keep the craftsmen sent by the Imperial Household Department to learn their craft. We can't have all fifteen craftsmen follow the Emperor to Luoyang."
Du Min nodded, "Okay, I'll ask about it tomorrow."
*
The following day, Du Min went to the Ministry of Rites to explain his purpose to Vice Minister Zheng. After listening to him, Zheng thought for a while and nodded in agreement.
Two days later, the thirteen craftsmen who had left the school less than three days ago returned to work there. They also brought their children, grandchildren and apprentices to help them, making a total of thirty-seven people.
"I was planning to have our apprentices from the charity school come and help you, but I didn't expect you to bring your own helpers. Was this at the behest of the Imperial Household Department?" Meng Qing found it strange. If three or five craftsmen brought their children and grandchildren to be apprentices, she could understand. But thirteen craftsmen all brought their children, grandchildren, or apprentices. This must have been at someone's behest.
“We’re not used to employing apprentices from outside, and we don’t want to deal with strangers,” said the craftsman in charge.
“I understand. You work for the royal family and all have family-inherited skills that you need to keep secret, right?” Meng Qing asked.
The artisans nodded.
Meng Qing stopped pursuing the topic and changed the subject, saying, "Asking you to come back and help is causing you trouble. The next two weeks will be very busy, so I had no choice but to take this measure. To express my apologies, you will receive wages for each paper effigy you make, ranging from five hundred to three strings of cash."
After saying that, she took out a piece of paper and handed it to the foreman craftsman. It listed the wages for various paper effigies, with paper figures having the lowest wages and paper houses having the highest wages.
"This..." The craftsmen felt the paper was burning hot in their hands. They were registered craftsmen who had worked for the royal family from birth to death. They had never taken on any outside work and had never received extra wages.
“We need to consult with the Imperial Household Department to see if we can accept this money,” said the foreman. He then asked, “Master Meng, have you consulted the Ministry of Rites?”
"I can make my own decisions." Meng Qing asked Du Min to ask the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites to borrow craftsmen from the Imperial Household Department. She had instructed him to briefly mention the matter of taking on apprentices and selling paper-made funerary objects through donations to Vice Minister Zheng. At the time, Vice Minister Zheng did not inquire about anything. Regardless of his reasons, his non-interference made Meng Qing understand that she could make her own decisions regarding the affairs of the free school.
"You should ask your superiors first, otherwise we won't dare accept the money," the craftsman advised.
“Alright,” Meng Qing agreed. She asked Du Min to run errands again and convey the message that the craftsmen had brought their children, grandchildren, and apprentices to the charity school to help with the work.
Du Min went to the Ministry of Rites to report. After listening to the report, Vice Minister Zheng thought about it for a while, but still didn't ask any questions and nodded in approval.
Du Min returned and relayed Minister Zheng's attitude: "Minister Zheng is probably testing you. He has truly listened to your words and entrusted the charity school to you. He will not interfere anymore and will review the results when he returns to Chang'an next year."
Meng Qingxin was delighted. "This is a good backer. It's much more pleasant to work with this backer than with Lord Chen."
Du Min also remembered that when they were in Wu County, Lord Chen instructed the Paper Horse Shop to keep a low profile in order to avoid being taken advantage of. He did not try to expand his business, but could only suppress his subordinates.
“We’ll all be leaving in a few days, and you’ll have plenty of time to make your mark in Chang’an,” Du Min said.
Meng Qing nodded with a smile.
“I’ll come back next year and see what you’ve accomplished,” Du Min said.
"I'm sure things will be good here, it all depends on you. Your official career seems to have opened up, but in reality, there's no clear path forward. Next year, when the Ministry of Personnel appoints officials, you'd better not be left in Chang'an as a pawn." Meng Qing was worried about him. She was determined to leave Chang'an, but if Du Min was left behind, she couldn't leave either. If everyone stayed in Chang'an, the splendor brought by paper effigies and funerary objects would be taken by others, and he would only be left with some tasteless soup.
Du Min nodded. "I know, I will look for opportunities."
Du Min stayed at home for another five days, then packed his bags and moved to the Ministry of Rites to work as a errand boy. He only returned briefly on the eve of the Emperor's departure.
"The Emperor will leave the palace at the beginning of Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow. You should all go to the vicinity of Zhuque Avenue early and wait there, finding a place where you won't get in the way to watch the excitement," he informed him upon his return.
Meng Qing and Du Li nodded.
The next day, before dawn, the night watchman's drum sounded, signaling the end of the curfew, and Meng Qing and Du Li took Wang Zhou and went out together. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw the alley was packed with people, all eager to witness the magnificent spectacle of the imperial procession.
Du Li carried the Wangzhou boat in one hand and held Meng Qing's hand in the other, running swiftly through the streets and alleys from dusk till dawn, arriving at Zhuque Avenue drenched in sweat. But the road ahead was blocked by crowds, and apart from the iron hats of the ceremonial guards and the bright yellow canopies, nothing could be seen.
"I'm late," Meng Qing said, panting.
Du Li wiped his sweat and tried to squeeze into the crowd, but after receiving a few elbows and glares, he had no choice but to give up.
“Come on, let’s walk to the street and follow the lead group. We’ll see them eventually.” Du Li wiped her hands, took Meng Qing’s hand, and turned to head south.
Hearing his father's rapid, heavy breathing, Wang Zhou said, "Dad, I can walk by myself."
"No, you're too short. You'll get stepped on," Du Li immediately rejected the idea.
People who lived far away and arrived late, just like them, shared the same idea. Thousands of them walked south along Zhuque Avenue, bathed in the morning light and treading on the darkness.
Wang Zhou clung to Du Li's shoulder, peering out onto the empty Zhuque Street. Suddenly, the sound of drums and music rang out, and a troop of armored soldiers marched across the distant bridge, bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
“Mother, Father, the army is coming out!” Wangzhou shouted.
"Shh, don't speak loudly," Meng Qing reminded him.
Everyone fell silent, watching and moving about quietly.
The drums and music grew louder and louder, and the soldiers marched in neat formation on the smooth bluestone bricks, clearing the way for the imperial road in front of millions of onlookers.
The sun came out, and the sky was bright.
Meng Qing was sweating profusely. She stood on tiptoe and looked ahead, but could only see a dense crowd of heads; she couldn't see the road ahead at all.
After another incense stick's time, Wang Zhou leaned down and whispered, "Mother, I saw the paper effigies you made."
Meng Qing's eyes lit up, and she perked up again, whispering, "Let's hurry up and grab a spot up ahead."
Du Li wiped the sweat that was about to drip into his eyes, stopped and put Wang Zhou down, instructing him, "Hold on to my legs, don't get pushed away."
After saying that, he turned to the side, squatted down, hugged Meng Qing's legs, and lifted her up with a burst of breath.
Meng Qing's vision suddenly rose higher. She didn't have time to say anything and hurriedly seized the opportunity to look over the crowd onto Zhuque Street. The ceremonial guard that cleared the way had already reached her position. Behind the ceremonial guard were palace servants holding up the canopy, followed by monks and Taoists. After the monks and Taoists were the procession carrying the sacrificial offerings. Four people carried each offering, with the three sacrificial animals covered with scriptures at the head. The pigs, cattle, and sheep were all tied with bright yellow silk.
Meng Qing had her fill of visual enjoyment, and she struggled to jump down, worried that she might exhaust her man.
Du Li wiped his sweat again, picked up Wang Zhou, and continued walking with Meng Qing in his hand.
"Never mind, let's not go see it." Meng Qing felt sorry for him.
"I haven't seen it yet. Let's go, it's okay." Du Li thought to himself, what's this? When he used to do farm work, carrying rice seedlings and bundles of rice, he could carry them all day long and he didn't die of exhaustion back then.
After another incense stick's time, they came to the end of Zhuque Avenue, and the crowd of onlookers on the street was thinning out. Du Li and Meng Qing found a spacious place to squeeze in.
The procession had already passed by, and ahead lay the procession of monks, followed by eighty-four pallbearers carrying paper offerings. They stood high on the backs of the palace attendants, the silk ribbons on their shoulders fluttering freely in the spring breeze, and the amber and black animal hides shimmering in the sunlight as if gilded.
Once one steps into the royal family, even paper-made funerary objects seem to acquire a kind of royal value.
"Where's the third brother? I haven't seen him at all," Du Li asked in a low voice. "Have you seen him?"
Du Min stood at the end of the procession of officials. He lowered his head and looked up at the procession ahead. The officials in purple, scarlet, green, and blue robes, and the belts in gold, jade, silver, and stone, were truly captivating.
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