Chapter 125 I respect my mother and uncle...
After Du Min left Luoyang, Meng Qing and the others moved out of the post station and rented a small two-courtyard house in Yongfengfang, near the government office. Since it was close to the government offices, Wang Zhou went to his classes there by himself every day, and Meng Qing, Meng Chun, or Du Li would pick him up when he returned. Because they were busy with business and couldn't always return home, Wang Zhou would stay at the government office until someone came to fetch him.
On the way home, Meng Qing held Wang Zhou's hand and asked as usual, "How was your schoolwork today? Did anything unpleasant happen while you were at your grandfather Yin's office?"
Wang Zhou shook his head. "No, Grandpa Yin's family is very kind to me. Today, Grandma Yin and Aunt Caiwei even taught me origami. The teacher saw the origami I made and praised me for being skillful."
Caiwei is Madam Yin. Her marriage to Du Min has not yet been made public. Wangzhou calls her "Auntie," and "Master" is the eldest son of the Yin family.
Meng Qing nodded, then asked, "Your father is going back to Heqing County in the next couple of days. Are you going back with him, or are you staying here?"
Wang Zhou was caught in a dilemma and remained silent.
"Is it because you can't bear to leave me and your father, or do you think the days of your education at the Yin residence are more interesting?" Meng Qing asked.
“I prefer studying in Heqing County,” Wang Zhou replied. He felt more comfortable in the Heqing County government office, where there were no constraints and he didn’t have to worry about anyone’s opinion.
“I think so too. It’s never as comfortable to visit other people’s homes as it is to be at home,” Meng Qing said, putting herself in Meng Qing’s shoes.
Wang Zhou nodded repeatedly, no longer holding back, and said with some distress, "Yes, I feel the same way. Although Grandma Yin and Aunt Caiwei are very kind to me, and the servants in the government office are also very polite to me, I still feel uncomfortable. When the servants get together, they talk about me, and Aunt Caiwei and Grandma Yin also ask me about my third uncle. They think I don't know anything, but I know everything."
“Go back to Heqing County with your father.” Meng Qing guided him to express his feelings, and she made the decision for him.
Wang Zhou hummed a few times, then leaned against Meng Qing, letting her drag him along as if he were being spoiled. "But I can't bear to leave you. I won't see you for a long time once I go back."
Meng Qing took out her key and opened the door. She dragged her little tail through the door, then bolted it shut behind her, saying, "In another half month, your third uncle will come to Luoyang again. You can come with him then."
"I'll go back when he comes to pick me up." Wang Zhou refused to leave. "I want to stay in Luoyang for another half month."
Meng Qing glanced at him. "Have you decided?"
Wang Zhou nodded.
"Okay, I can spend another half month with you." Meng Qing smiled. "I'll miss you too."
Wang Zhou's eyes lit up instantly, and he smiled triumphantly, saying, "I knew it!"
"Oh? You can tell I'm very reluctant to part with you?" Meng Qing smiled as she walked into the kitchen.
“Yes, when you asked me to go back to Heqing County with my dad, I almost cried,” Wang Zhou said exaggeratedly.
"You noticed that?" Meng Qing didn't deny it. "Do you want fried rice with eggs for dinner?"
"Eat! Pour in more oil."
"You might as well just drink oil from the oil can," Meng Qing muttered. "Keep an eye on the door. When your dad and uncle come back, open the door for them."
Wang Zhou responded, put the book bag back inside, and then skipped and hopped around in the yard by himself.
Just as the egg mixture was being poured into the oil to fry, Du Li returned. Wang Zhou ran to open the door, and as soon as the door opened, he smelled the aroma of mutton soup.
"Dad, did you buy cooked mutton?"
"Yes, so your mother won't have to cook anymore." Du Li smelled the aroma of eggs. "Your mother is frying eggs?"
"Yes, she's going to make me fried rice with eggs," Wang Zhou said happily.
Du Li took a pot of mutton soup back to the kitchen and asked, "Besides fried rice, what else do you have?"
"Should we make some more noodle soup?" Meng Qing poured the leftover rice from the steamer into the earthenware pot and said, "There's still plenty of rice left, enough for the four of us. We can eat less dry food, drink more soup, and have a bowl of mutton. That should fill us up."
“Okay.” Du Li walked to the stove and sat down, then gathered a handful of firewood and stuffed it into the firebox.
A short while later, Meng Chun returned, bringing back a basket of pilu.
Meng Qing looked at it and thought, "Great, I've got breakfast ready for tomorrow morning."
The noodle soup was ready, and the family of four sat down to eat. Wang Zhou ate the crispy fried rice with eggs, while Meng Qing complained that it was too oily and wanted to pour the noodle soup over it. Du Li and Meng Chun complained that it was too dry but not that it was too oily, and even mixed the fried rice with mutton soup.
"Business is easier in Luoyang than in Heqing County. We've only been open for half a month, and we already have thirty or forty customers," Meng Chun said. "We took two more orders today. As soon as the customers came in, they asked if the funerary objects in the shop were the same as the paper funerary objects used in Lord Chen's funeral."
“There are many wealthy people in Luoyang. The burning of paper effigies looks fancy, and it’s also lively to see people carrying paper effigies in and out. Families who are not short of money are mostly willing to follow the trend to make themselves look better,” Meng Qing said.
Du Li swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "I have a suggestion. Could the free school and the paper horse shop make some inexpensive paper offerings? For example, the paper figures don't need to be colored, and the sacrificial animals don't need to be waterproofed or moisture-proofed. The price can be lowered and sold to ordinary people. Among the merchants, there are small merchants with low profits; among the clerks, there are low-paid officials; and among the farmers, there are small farmers with little land and little wealth. These families cannot afford pottery and lacquerware as burial items, and the paper offerings currently available in the paper horse shop are also a burden for them."
"After I left, more guests came?" Meng Qing asked knowingly.
“Yes, a small merchant wanted to buy funerary objects for his mother. He asked about the price of each one, and after much deliberation, he only decided on two paper figures.” Du Li nodded.
"I happen to have a plan, you three listen up. I'm thinking of buying a dye house to make colorful paper effigies for funerary objects, and Magistrate Yin also said it's worth a try," Meng Qing said. "Landlords, gentry, and merchants have almost no resistance to purple paper horses, yellow paper oxen, red-clad paper figures, and colorful paper buildings. I'm sure that colorful paper effigies will sell like hotcakes as soon as they appear. Correspondingly, brass paper horses and oxen, which are glass-like and can be made with accompanying scriptures, will be even more popular with the powerful and wealthy. Finally, we'll make another batch of plain-colored paper effigies and price them the lowest possible. In this way, the paper effigies will be divided into three categories, catering to customers of all three levels: the poor, the rich, and the powerful."
Meng Chun nodded first, "Good idea."
Du Li nodded, "As long as it doesn't violate regulations, it will sell very well."
Wang Zhou nodded one last time, "Mother is so smart."
Meng Qing smiled and said, "Since you all agree, Du Liming will go back to Heqing County tomorrow to transport the money, and Meng Chun will help me keep an eye out for dyeing workshops that I want to sell."
Du Li subconsciously looked at Wang Zhou, and also had the idea of sending him back, but after thinking about it, he didn't say anything. He wanted Wang Zhou to stay with him and Meng Qing.
"The last issue is the ownership of the workshop. Young man, I want to put the workshop under your name," Meng Qing said. "Not only the workshop, but I also want to buy a paper mill and put it under your name as well. However, paper mills are in high demand, and finding one to resell will depend on fate."
"This...this isn't appropriate, is it?" Meng Chun said nervously in a low voice, "Sister, you're using public funds to buy a dye shop and then putting it in my name? Isn't that illegal?"
“There are no official accounts this year, so the money in the accounts is for my own expenses. Minister Zheng clearly stated in his letter that there is no need to submit accounts this year, and he will not check the accounts, which means we can keep this year's profits. Actually, this is his reward for Du Min serving him, thinking that he will take a portion and I will take a portion,” Meng Qing said. “However, I don’t plan to do that. The accounts still need to be kept. I want to make money, but I can’t embezzle. I will use this year’s profits for investment, and I will pay the money back next year. It’s a matter of borrowing and repaying, but it won’t be recorded in the ledger.”
“I remember Minister Zheng urged you in his letter to speed up the establishment of the free school. Is this the kind of investment he wants?” Meng Chun asked cautiously.
Meng Qing pushed his head, "You're really stupid. If he didn't write it like this, wouldn't he be giving us leverage? He clearly stated that he wouldn't hand over the accounts or audit them, which means we can take the money as we please."
Meng Chun looked at Du Li, and Du Li nodded.
"Actually, there's another layer of meaning. Next year or the year after, the Ministry of Rites might appoint a special accountant, and then I won't be able to spend money so freely. I want to take this opportunity to acquire my own assets. The dye house and paper mill will be under your name. The paper mill will produce paper and send it to the dye house, and the charity school will buy paper from the dye house. We'll both profit from this," Meng Qing explained. "You'll be in charge of the name, and I'll give you the specific instructions. You'll handle the details, and we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."
Meng Chun shook his head, "No, I'll just take 20% of the profits."
“I’ll provide the money, you provide the labor, and we’ll split the profits 50/50. Listen to me,” Meng Qing said firmly.
“I’ll just provide the title; you’ll still be the one doing the work.” Meng Chun shook her head firmly. “Sister, listen to me, let’s split the profits 20/80. I know you don’t want money to hurt our relationship, but what am I going to do with so much money? Just pile it up at home and get robbed? Or buy another house in Wang Zhou’s name? How many houses can I even live in? I have no use for the money. You keep it. In the future, Wang Zhou will earn you an official title, and you can use this money to buy houses and land, wear gold and silver—it will always be useful.”
“You can also take over the workshop and manage it all yourself,” Meng Qing said. “From Wu County to Heqing County, and now to Luoyang, this is the fourth paper horse shop you’ve handled. You’re very familiar with taking on apprentices, teaching students, and buying and selling. You don’t need to spend too much time on these things. You can focus your attention on other things. I want to buy the dyeing workshop and paper mill in Luoyang. Aren’t you interested? You can go to Heqing County to buy them, or you can train a capable assistant and have him go back to Wu County to buy the dyeing workshop and paper mill.”
Meng Chun fell into deep thought.
"Let's practice at my dye shop first," Meng Qing said. "I'll also leave the task of finding a paper mill to you."
Du Li smiled. Meng Chun's capable henchman was still nowhere to be seen, but Meng Qing was already cultivating his own capable henchman.
Wang Zhou finished his rice and ladled himself a spoonful of noodle soup.
Meng Chun was startled by his actions. He emphasized, "Sister, let's split the profits 20/80, you get 80% and I get 20%. Once I'm truly in charge, we'll split the profits 50/50."
“Okay.” Meng Qing nodded.
“Brother-in-law, when you come back from Heqing County, bring Zhang Douzi with you. He’s the most reliable of the five servants. Let him guard the shop. Also, pay him an extra ten strings of cash. See which of the ten apprentices you took in last year is willing to leave home and come to Luoyang for four months. I plan to hand over the religious affairs and devote myself to the dyeing and papermaking workshops,” Meng Chun said.
Du Li looked at Meng Qing, "Should we pick a few servants and apprentices from the free school and bring them along?"
Meng Qing nodded, "Alright, hand over the teaching duties, and I can do other things too."
"What else do you want to do?" Du Li asked, alarmed. "Master Meng, how much money do I need to bring with me to keep up with your antics?"
"With 10,000 strings of cash, I also want to buy a house specifically for storing bamboo, and outsource the bamboo splitting process, hiring people specifically to split bamboo strips. The apprentices in the free school only need to learn the processes of bone setting, strengthening, and mounting. After they have worked for three years, they can start their own businesses, buying paper and bamboo entirely from my workshop." Meng Qing chuckled, "I should have thought of this earlier. Labor is expensive in Luoyang, and I should have done this back in Heqing County. Once I have settled things here, I will go to Heqing County to set up a workshop. With Beiman Mountain behind us, the free school and the paper shop will never lack business, and setting up a dyeing workshop, paper mill, and bamboo workshop there will not be a loss."
Du Li pinched her, "You're really audacious! Aren't you afraid the Ministry of Rites will come after you?"
“With the appearance of colorful paper effigies, next year’s accounts will definitely look very good. I borrow 10,000 strings of cash and will pay back 100,000 strings in a year. Would you be angry?” Meng Qing put his arm around Wang Zhou and said, “Next year I will pay back 100,000 strings of cash. The high interest is tempting. The Ministry of Rites will probably send officials to manage it. At that time, I can only take a fixed share of the interest. I’m keeping a backup plan. When my son becomes an official in the future, I will give him money when he needs it. I will never let him go down the path of a corrupt official.”
"Your uncle will get some for you too," Meng Chun said to Wang Zhou.
Wang Zhou raised his bowl of noodle soup. "I'm toasting my mother and uncle. All my words are in this bowl."
Meng Qing laughed heartily and slapped Wang Zhou, "You little rascal, you learn so quickly."
Du Li, wanting to support his son, scooped two spoonfuls of noodle soup into Meng Qing and Meng Chun's bowls and urged, "Hurry up, don't let my son's hands get tired from holding it up."
Meng Qing and Meng Chun picked up their bowls, leaned over and gently touched Wang Zhou's bowl to theirs, then tilted their heads back and drank the soup in their bowls as if they were drinking.
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Author's note: I've resigned myself to it; I won't be able to finish writing six thousand words during the day.
There will be another update at 12 o'clock.
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