Chapter 91 Returning Home in Glory
Du Min started his official career as a seventh-rank county magistrate. Meng Qing took out fifty strings of cash and held a celebratory banquet for him at the Yishu (charitable school) on May 28th. The students at the Yishu all came to help, and the thirty-one students who had shops in Chang'an also came with gifts to offer their congratulations. Officials from the Ministry of Rites, led by the Minister of Rites, also attended.
Du Min also sent an invitation to the Chen residence. Chen Mingzhang's two sons arrived early and sat at the banquet. Watching Du Min, beaming with joy, drinking and laughing with the officials from the Ministry of Rites, they felt a pang of resentment.
"Have you set a date for returning to your hometown?" Doctor Cui asked.
Du Min nodded, "I've already checked the ship; it will depart on the second day of June."
"What kind of ship is it? An official ship or a merchant ship?" Cui Langzhong asked. "My family has a ship going to Yangzhou, without making a long stop along the way. If you don't plan to go to Luozhou along the way, you can take my ship."
Upon hearing this, Du Min immediately agreed, "Thank you, Lord Cui. We'll take your boat; it will save us over two hundred strings of cash in fare."
Doctor Cui smiled. Two days ago, the Ministry of Rites took away five cartloads of copper coins from the Yishu, totaling nearly nine thousand strings of cash. Compared to this, what was two hundred strings of cash for the boat fare? Besides, there would be a steady stream of money coming in the future.
"With my departure, I don't know when I'll see you all again. I'd like to raise a glass to you all to thank you for taking care of me over the past three years." Du Min stood up, picked up his wine cup, and drank it all in one gulp.
After Minister Zheng raised his wine cup, everyone else followed suit.
Du Min picked up the wine pot and poured himself another cup. He cupped his hands and said, "Minister, it is my greatest regret in Chang'an that I cannot attend your banquet to offer my congratulations. I offer you this cup of wine, and my congratulations are all in this wine."
"If you miss this year's banquet, you'll have to come next time, no matter how far away you are," the newly appointed Vice Minister of Rites said with a smile.
Du Min understood immediately; the next banquet would be the one where Minister Zheng would enter the Hall of State Affairs and be appointed Prime Minister. He nodded repeatedly, "Your Excellency is right. If I miss this one, I certainly cannot miss the next."
Minister Zheng gestured for him to stop, then smiled and lightly scolded, "Have you had too much to drink? Don't talk nonsense."
After saying that, he glanced at Doctor Cui and said, "You have been in charge of this free school all along, and you will continue to manage it. Make sure to hand over the reins well with Master Meng. She is quite experienced in managing free schools and has a long-term vision. If you don't understand something, don't be ashamed to ask her. Under her management, this free school has a profit of nearly ten thousand strings of cash a year and has trained twenty-nine experienced teachers. It can be considered one of the top paper-crafting schools in Chang'an. Don't let it be managed worse than the up-and-coming talents."
Dr. Cui nodded in agreement.
Minister Zheng finished his wine and stood up, saying, "I have official duties to attend to and cannot drink any more. I will take my leave now. You may continue."
Du Min rose to see him off, and the officials from the Ministry of Rites also rose to see Minister Zheng off. After sitting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they also left one after another.
“Junior brother, it’s time for us to go too.” The second son of the Chen family said goodbye. “We have already sent a letter to my father. If he knows that you have become a county magistrate on your first official appointment, he will be very happy for you.”
"I also sent a letter to the magistrate. Du Min owes the most to him for his current opportunity. Without him, I wouldn't have such a high starting point." Du Min's heart was surging. If Chen Mingzhang hadn't tripped him up, he would still be a county magistrate in Luoyang County. Paper effigies would never have appeared at the Fengshan ceremony, he wouldn't have been able to curry favor with the Minister of Rites, and the Qingniao Paper Efficiency School would never have been affiliated with the Ministry of Rites.
"Thank you so much, sir. He is my mentor and the wake-up call that made me realize my mistakes. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today," Du Min exclaimed again.
The Chen brothers' faces turned slightly pale. They both knew what their father had done, and hearing Du Min's sarcastic words now, they felt extremely frustrated. They could imagine how disgusted their father must have been after receiving Du Min's good news; he probably would have smashed everything in the house in anger. By some twist of fate, all their schemes had benefited Du Min.
Seeing their expressions, Du Min felt truly pleased. After seeing the two off, he returned to the backyard and burst into laughter.
After everyone had left the banquet, Meng Qing and Du Li, along with their apprentices, were cleaning up the table. She told the apprentices to take the leftovers back with them; those who could eat them could eat them, and those who couldn't could be fed to the dogs or pigs.
An hour later, the school was cleaned up and everyone had left. Meng Qing began to count the congratulatory gifts she had received that day. The thirty-one apprentices who had opened their paper horse shops all gave fifteen strings of cash as gifts, returning the ten strings she had given last year, plus an extra five strings. The apprentices in the school gave a total of thirty strings of cash as gifts. The Chen brothers gave ten strings, and the rest were from officials of the Ministry of Rites.
Meng Qing registered them one by one, and then handed the gift register containing the gifts given by officials from the Ministry of Rites to Du Min. "Keep this safe, and remember to return the favor when you have the chance."
Du Min glanced at the gifts. Minister Zheng had presented a jade seal and six bolts of blue bamboo-leaf silk, the newly arrived Vice Minister of Rites had presented two bolts of plain blue silk, and Physician Cui had presented two silver hair ornaments. The remaining officials had presented two bolts of plain silk.
“For the past two years, you haven’t needed to buy fabric to make your clothes.” Meng Qing handed him the silk fabric, “Feel it. The students who have been supported by mulberry planting and silkworm raising can finally wear silk.”
Du Min fell silent, the excitement and restlessness he had been carrying these past few days subdued in an instant. He didn't reach out to take the cloth; the shimmering silk contrasted sharply with Meng Qing's linen sleeves.
“We have come a long way, and it has not been easy for us. In the past, I relied on you. From today onwards, I will strive to become your support, so that you too can wear silk,” he said.
Meng Qing smiled, "Second sister-in-law has been waiting for you to say that."
Du Min took a deep breath, took the cloth, and went back to his room.
Du Li patted Wang Zhou's head and said, "Compare with your third uncle and see who can put silk on your mother first."
Wang Zhou pouted, "I'm so much younger than him!"
“You are more legitimate than him,” Du Li said.
Wang Zhou didn't quite understand, but he mumbled, "When we get to Heqing County, I'm going to start elementary school."
Du Li heard this and conveyed Wang Zhou's idea to Du Min.
On the second day of the sixth lunar month, the family boarded the Cui family's boat with two cartloads of luggage. As soon as Du Min boarded the boat, he grabbed Wang Zhou and began to teach him.
June is the high-water season for rivers, with fast currents and large waves, allowing boats to travel at high speeds and arriving in Yangzhou by the third day of the eighth lunar month.
Du Min hired a boat in Yangzhou and arrived in Wu County four days later. On the morning of the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, the boat stopped at the Wumen Ferry.
After nearly three years, the ferry crossing came into view again. Meng Qing stepped onto the stone steps and said excitedly, "I'm back! Wu County, I'm back again!"
"Is that the eldest daughter of the Meng family?" The supervisor at Wumen Ferry was the same person as three years ago. He recognized Meng Qing and said, "You've finally returned. Your parents and brothers come to Wumen Ferry to watch the boats every morning and evening."
Meng Qing's eyes stung, and tears welled up in them. She took Wang Zhou's hand and said to the two people unloading cargo from the boat, "Wang Zhou and I will go to the paper horse shop first."
Du Li responded.
"Du Min? Is it really you?"
Du Min looked up at the sound of the voice, "Brother Gu, it's you, long time no see."
Gu Wudong nodded. "I heard you passed the imperial examination the year before last? Why are you back this year?"
Du Min feigned surprise and exclaimed "Ah!" He looked at Du Li and said, "It seems our ship is moving too fast; the imperial decree has not yet reached the Wu County government office."
Du Li instantly understood his meaning. He put on a smug look and said loudly and arrogantly, "My third brother won first place in this year's imperial examination and became a disciple of the emperor. The emperor appointed him as the magistrate of Heqing County in Luozhou. He is now Magistrate Du."
Those who heard these words on the river and on the riverbank gasped in unison, then cheered in surprise.
"Incredible! Such a young magistrate! The magistrate of Wu County is so old that his beard is all white." Supervisor Li stood up and exclaimed. He waved his fat arm and ordered several customs officers to board the ship to help carry the luggage. Then he arranged for a long-legged officer to go to the county office to report the good news.
Gu Wudong felt as if he had fallen into a dream. Du Min, a peasant boy with no family background and no talent, not only passed the imperial examination smoothly, but was appointed as a seventh-rank county magistrate on his first official appointment.
Du Min led Du Li off the ship, basking in the admiring gazes of everyone present.
"Could I see the talisman that grants official rank?" Gu Wudong knew that Du Min would not lie about such a thing, but he would not give up until he saw the talisman with his own eyes.
Du Min took out a wooden fish-shaped tally, an official's identification token, engraved with his name and official title.
Gu Wudong held the fish-shaped talisman and looked at it for a long time before he had to admit the truth.
“Brother Gu, please tell your father that I will visit him in a couple of days. I received a lot of help from you during my time studying at Chongwen Academy, and I haven’t had a chance to thank you yet,” Du Min said meaningfully.
Gu Wudong's expression instantly turned ugly.
Du Min was satisfied with his reaction. He flicked his sleeves, took two steps forward, took out two bolts of silk from the luggage he had carried down, and also took out two jars of wine he had bought from Chang'an. He said, "Second Brother, I need to go to the prefecture first to pay my respects to my teacher. You can hire someone to carry the luggage back."
Du Li nodded.
"Lord Du, please wait a moment. I've sent someone to the county government to deliver the good news. They'll have the county officials clear the way for you shortly," said Supervisor Li.
Du Min shook his head, "This is unacceptable. I am just a seventh-rank county magistrate, not a high-ranking official. How can I be worthy of such a grand display?"
"Yes, yes, it's been so many years since Wu County has produced someone as promising as you. How old are you? To be appointed a seventh-rank county magistrate at such a young age, in another twenty or thirty years, you'll surely be a high-ranking official." Supervisor Li flattered him wildly.
Du Min humbly said, "Thank you for your kind words," but he didn't take a step.
Half an incense stick later, two boats full of officials docked, accompanied by an old county magistrate with gray hair.
Du Min hurriedly stepped forward to help the man, saying, "Sir, why have you come all this way?"
Upon hearing this, the old magistrate glanced at the man's belt and saw half a wooden fish-shaped tally. He looked up again and exclaimed in amazement, "The younger generation is truly formidable! Truly formidable!"
Seeing the old magistrate's attitude, the officials judged that the news was true, and immediately lined up to beat gongs, and took big red flowers from the boat to tie around Du Min's neck.
When Meng Qing arrived with his family, he saw this scene: amidst the crowd surrounding him, Du Min stood beside an old county magistrate in official robes. One was shrouded in twilight, the other brimming with youthful vigor; anyone could tell that he would have a remarkable career.
Gu Wudong squeezed through the crowd and quietly left, his face ashen.
"My lord, I have just disembarked and wish to go to the prefectural capital to pay my respects to my mentor, Dr. Xu," Du Min said to the old county magistrate.
The old magistrate immediately made arrangements, ordering the officials to clear the way for Du Min to go to the prefectural school, and he accompanied him.
Officials dressed in black uniforms led the way, banging gongs, while Du Min, draped in a large red flower, supported the old magistrate as they walked behind. Wherever they went, all eyes were on him.
"What a beautiful sight!" Even Meng Qing felt envious.
Wang Zhou stood on the bridge, silently watching his dazzling third uncle in the crowd. The seed of envy sprouted in his heart, and he also hoped that he could have that day.
*
State Academy.
Dr. Xu had already received the letter. He walked out of the prefectural school gate with surprise and doubt. As the sound of gongs and voices grew closer, all his doubts disappeared when Du Min's figure drew near. This farmer's son had indeed begun his official career, starting as a seventh-rank county magistrate.
Du Min stopped, lifted his robe, knelt down, and bowed deeply: "Student Du Min kowtows to thank his revered teacher."
"No, you mustn't!" Dr. Xu quickly pulled him up. He looked Du Min up and down, his eyes filled with joy as if he were looking at his own son. "You've really made your teacher proud."
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