Chapter 142 Building Momentum
Seeing Master Konghui walk away without looking back, Meng Qing and Du Li had no choice but to go down the mountain and leave.
"The master has quite the airs; when he doesn't want to answer, he either kicks people out or leaves," Meng Qing muttered.
“He’s really not putting on airs in front of you. Didn’t you see that he didn’t even want to see his own brother? He even wrote to tell you that he was going to Luoyang. I think that’s quite a strange thing.” Du Li helped her up, glanced at her suspiciously, and said with certainty, “You must have mentioned other things in your letter.”
Meng Qing laughed heartily, "You understand me best."
"What else did you say to him?"
"I told you that the third brother has a bright future. Within a year, he rose from a seventh-rank official to a sixth-rank court advisor. He gained the favor of the Zheng family of Xingyang and became a disciple of the Minister of Rites. He also has a past relationship with the Prefect of Luoyang. My free school has spread throughout the nine provinces and ten counties, and my paper-made funerary objects will soon be known all over the country. In the future, everyone will surely be a household name." Meng Qing did not hide anything. "We have connections and reputation. Master Konghui still has worldly desires. He is greedy for fame and unwilling to accept his small territory. There is a 90% chance that he will leave Ruiguang Temple and come to our territory. I just thought that he wrote to me to try to use our influence to enter Baima Temple. I didn't expect that he would defeat the monks guarding the temple and get in by his own strength."
“Master Konghui himself was very capable,” Du Li said.
Meng Qing agreed, "If there's a chance in the future, we should help this outsider monk make a name for himself. In ten or twenty years, who knows, he might even end up in front of the female saint."
Du Li pinched her, "I knew you weren't up to any simple scheme."
Meng Qing protested, "I didn't have any ulterior motives. I was only thinking of him and wanted to repay him. I have no demands of him now, and besides, he doesn't want to get involved in worldly matters related to his family."
Du Li didn't believe her words. He pondered her words about the next ten or twenty years. In ten or twenty years, Wang Zhou would grow up, and Du Min's official position would probably be quite high. If Master Kong Hui could really enter the royal family and get close to the sage, Du Min and Wang Zhou's official careers would be much smoother!
"Madam Meng, you have grand ambitions!" Du Li exclaimed excitedly.
"I don't understand what you're saying," Meng Qing said, feigning ignorance.
They descended the mountain, where there were many people, so Du Li said no more.
The two did not go to the free school again, but instead hired a donkey cart to go home.
Now that Master Konghui's whereabouts are settled, and with the last worry in Luoyang gone, the couple do not intend to stay long and are preparing to pack their bags and return to Heqing County.
The day before departure, Meng Qing slept until late morning. Just as she finished washing up, there was a knock on the front door. Du Li put the food on the table and went to open the door.
"Qingniang, it's Madam Yin who's here." A moment later, Du Li's voice reached the backyard.
Meng Qing had just sat down when she got up again and went out to greet them.
"Sister Qing, I'm sorry to bother you." Yin Caiwei quickly took a few steps to support her. She noticed that Meng Qing's hair was still wet and smiled, "Looks like I really am bothering you. Sister, did you just get up?"
Meng Qing nodded with a smile, "I didn't sleep well last night, and I couldn't wake up this morning. I didn't get up until about an incense stick's time ago."
Hearing this, Yin Caiwei guessed that she hadn't eaten yet. Without delay, she explained her purpose directly: "Sister Qing, if you're free at noon, why don't you come to my house for lunch? I have a cousin who works in Lingnan who is passing through Luoyang and is staying at my house for a while. He wants to talk to you about something."
“Alright.” Meng Qing nodded in agreement. “I have a vague impression of this relative of yours. Which prefecture in Lingnan is the Chief Administrator, right?”
"Yes, you've seen him before?" Yin Caiwei asked.
"Five years ago, we accompanied Du Min to the capital for the imperial examination and met him at the Bianzhou post station." Meng Qing remembered that back in Chang'an, it was this Chief Secretary Yin who recommended Du Min to Prefect Yin, which is why Prefect Yin was interested in recruiting Du Min to serve as a county magistrate in Luoyang.
"Sister Qing, you have such a good memory. You still remember someone you only met once, even after five years." Yin Caiwei exclaimed. "I won't bother you any longer. I'll go back and wait for you to come."
Meng Qing saw her off at the door and watched her leave in a carriage with her maid. She went inside to eat and then arranged for Du Li to go to the street to buy some gifts for the guests.
About half an hour later, the couple carried gifts into the government office. Madam Yin greeted them, and soon after, Prefect Yin and Chief Secretary Yin also came out from the reception room.
"My Lord Chief Secretary, it's been so many years since we last met. I never imagined we'd become relatives," Meng Qing said affectionately.
Yin Changshi laughed and said, "I never expected this fate. Back in Chang'an, I just introduced Du Min to Xin Yuan as his subordinate. Who would have thought that he would take a liking to him as his son-in-law?"
Yin Mingfu smiled, led his men back to the hall and instructed, "Madam, go and call Caiwei out to keep you company."
Madam Yin smiled and agreed.
The group sat down in the reception room. Meng Qing picked up the water beside her and took a sip. She found it was honey water and thanked the maid.
"It was instructed by our young lady." The maid smiled, curtsied, and left with the tea tray.
"Lord Chief Secretary, you've come all the way from Chang'an? Could you stay in Luoyang a few more days? In two months, Caiwei and Dumin will be getting married. You're their matchmaker, so why don't you stay for a cup of matchmaker's wine?" Meng Qing asked.
Yin Changshi's smile faded slightly. He said regretfully, "I did have that plan, but unfortunately, my trip back to the capital is for reporting on my duties. I can only stay temporarily in Luoyang and cannot reside there for long."
“My uncle is leaving for Lingnan in a couple of days,” Yin Mingfu explained. Seeing Yin Caiwei arrive, he gestured for her to sit down next to Meng Qing.
"It's a pity. You were the matchmaker for Du Min and Cai Wei. Without you, how could Du Min have met Yin Mingfu, and how could this marriage have taken place?" Meng Qing said with regret. "Du Min owes you a matchmaker's gift."
Yin Changshi was in a good mood and joked, "I'll pick up this matchmaker's gift from him in person another day."
Meng Qing nodded earnestly, "Of course."
"I've come to see you today on official business. Last year, when I passed through Luoyang, I happened to see you recruiting talented people to be in charge of the Luoyang Free School. This year, when I returned to Luoyang, I heard from Xinyuan that you had hired a dozen or so people to set up schools in other places. Have you considered bringing the free school and paper effigies to Lingnan?" Without further ado, Chief Secretary Yin got down to business.
“Lingnan is too far away. According to my plan, it may take three to five years, or even longer, to develop the free school and paper-crafted funerary objects in the Lingnan region,” Meng Qing replied. She pondered for a moment and said, “Other things are not the problem, it’s just the distance. Few people living in the heart of the Central Plains are willing to go to Lingnan to live for a long time. Furthermore, people from the Central Plains who can speak the Lingnan dialect are extremely rare. Your Excellency, if you are willing to support the development of paper-crafted funerary objects in the Lingnan region, you can send a group of locals here to learn the craft. Alternatively, you can arrange for a group of servants to come and learn the craft. After they complete their apprenticeship, I will arrange for them to return to Lingnan, where you can let them open paper horse shops.”
"Do you have any servants here who have already completed their training? Give me the person, and I'll take them back with me on this trip." Chief Secretary Yin had this idea in mind. "I won't let you suffer a loss. You give me one person, and I'll give you two back."
"It's really unfortunate. I bought fifteen servants last year, and they've all been sent out one after another this year and last year. I bought twenty new ones last month, and they've only just barely learned how to assemble skeletons this month," Meng Qing said with difficulty.
Chief Secretary Yin looked at Prefect Yin.
“Last year, Sister Qing arranged for nine managers to go to other places, and this January she sent away sixteen more. We really don’t have enough manpower,” Yin Caiwei said.
"Keep the three servants who came with you. Buy ten more servants in Luoyang. Once they have learned their skills and are ready to go to Lingnan together," Yin Mingfu said.
"How long will it take to complete your apprenticeship?" Chief Secretary Yin asked.
“At most one year,” Meng Qing replied. “If I remember correctly, I heard Du Min mention that there are many Indians in Lingnan. They are Buddhists and believe in cremation after death. Paper effigies can take root there quickly. Here’s what we’ll do: in this year, I’ll arrange for these servants to learn to recite Buddhist scriptures. With the blessing of the scriptures, paper effigies will definitely be a hot commodity for the Indians.”
Yin Changshi's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he stood up happily and took a few steps, "Good, good! As you wish, I will do as you say."
Meng Qing smiled. How could she not have thought of that? She could also arrange for the students of the free school to learn to recite scriptures. After they learned, they could recite scriptures while making paper effigies, which would add another gimmick to the paper effigies.
After the meal, Meng Qing did not linger. After leaving the county government office, she and Du Li immediately took a car to Baima Temple to find Master Konghui.
Master Konghui, as an outsider monk, was unknown and had no followers in the temple. With nothing to do, he debated scriptures with the monks in the temple, trying to make a name for himself.
When Meng Qing came looking for him, he had just lost a sutra session and was in no mood to see her. He tried to get rid of her twice with the young monks, but they couldn't, so he had no choice but to let her in.
Meng Qing and Du Li entered the meditation room and saw Master Kong Hui sitting cross-legged on a futon, chanting sutras with his eyes closed. She and Du Li sat down quietly and waited.
After a cup of tea, Master Konghui opened his eyes and said, "Speak, what is it now?"
"Why are you so impatient?" Meng Qing asked in surprise. "You're so good at divination, don't you know that your niece has come here today for some good reason?"
Master Konghui stared at her silently.
Meng Qing immediately backed down. She dared not dawdle any longer and quickly explained, "I want all the students in the free schools to learn to recite the 'Rebirth Sutra.' I plan to invite a highly respected monk to hold a sutra recitation ceremony every three days to lead the students in reciting the sutra. There are a total of 278 students in the four free schools in Luoyang County and Henan County. This will be a grand sutra recitation ceremony. I wonder if Master Konghui would be willing to preside over it? For each sutra recitation ceremony, the free schools will donate 30 strings of cash to Baima Temple for incense oil. There will be ten sutra recitation ceremonies per month, each lasting one hour, for three months."
"Bring 1,000 strings of cash to Baima Temple tomorrow to donate, specifying that the sutra assembly will be held at Baima Temple. I will take over the sutra assembly for the next three months." Master Konghui looked down on donations of 30 strings of cash, considering them insignificant.
“Alright.” Meng Qing understood. “I’m about to give birth and will be returning to Heqing County in a couple of days. I’ll leave this matter to you, Master. I hope that through this sutra gathering, you and the Yishu Academy can become famous in Luoyang.”
Master Konghui chanted Amitabha Buddha's name.
After Meng Qing and Du Li left, the couple stayed in Luoyang for two more days. Du Li, along with He Bian, donated 1,000 strings of cash to Baima Temple, specifically requesting that Master Kong Hui preside over the sutra assembly. They also invited four Buddha statues from the temple to be placed in the charity school. After that, they left the matter to He Bian, and the couple then left Luoyang by carriage.
*
Meanwhile, Dr. Xu, who was far away in Wu County, took the Chen family, including the old and young, onto a boat bound for Luoyang.
Du Min counted the days and sent another letter back to his hometown to make sure the people of Dujiawan knew about his marriage, but he was unable to attend the banquet.
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Author's Note: There will be another update at 12 o'clock.
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