Chapter 44 Within two years, I will guarantee Du Min's success in the provincial examination…
"Dad, congratulations, you're going to make a fortune!" Du Li sat down next to him, holding the child.
Meng's father chuckled reservedly, "Thanks to your third brother, he helped us a lot."
"He can probably only offer verbal help. The real skill lies in your craftsmanship. The customers on the pleasure boat are willing to place orders because they value the paper effigies, not because they care about him. He doesn't have that kind of influence," Du Li said matter-of-factly.
Mencius' father waved his hand, "You're being too modest."
"Alright, you two stop arguing and eat," Meng's mother urged, sounding hungry.
Niu Ji's Taihu Three Delicacies is a specialty, and autumn is the season when whitefish are plump and delicious. Meng's father generously ordered three servings of steamed whitefish. The whitefish, almost as long as a rolling pin, were laid out on a black porcelain plate and placed on the table with great presence.
Steamed eggs with silverfish, salted white shrimp, shrimp meat from Biluo, crab roe tofu, steamed fat crab, braised duck, stir-fried eel in hot oil, lotus seed and mutton soup, and finally, a dish of water spinach and egg drop soup. There were eleven people and twelve dishes. The table was full of people and dishes.
"Master Meng, our master sent me to deliver a sweet lotus root with osmanthus to congratulate you." The waiter knocked on the door and came in.
"Mr. Niu, you're too kind. After I've eaten, if your boss has time, I'll go and thank him." Mr. Meng said, getting up.
The waiter placed the sweet lotus root with osmanthus on the table and said, "Master Meng is too polite. Please eat in peace."
Upon hearing this, Meng's father understood that the owner of Niu Ji wanted to see him.
Half an hour later, the dishes and bowls on the table were empty, and everyone was so full that their backs were hunched and their bellies were bulging.
"Please sit for a while, I'll go settle the bill," said Meng's father.
He didn't return until an incense stick had burned.
"Come on, let's go home." Meng's father waved from outside the door.
"Master, Niu Ji's food is so delicious! When will you invite us to eat here again?" Wen Jiao was the youngest and the most cared for. She was more casual with the Meng family than the others and said whatever came to mind.
"Still thinking about next time? This meal cost five hundred cash, enough to feed you for a year." Father Meng didn't respond to her words. He replied perfunctorily, "Go back and work hard. I'll consider bringing you here to eat next time there's a big business opportunity."
Wenjiao said "Oh".
"What did Master Niu say to you for so long?" Meng's mother asked.
“Next month is the day his grandparents are buried together. He wants to cut in line and have us rush to make a funerary object like the one we have today for his grandparents,” Meng’s father replied. “I’ll go back and check the orders later. I remember there are two other orders that are also for pickup next month. If we can make it in time, I’ll take on his order.”
"I remember that his branch of the family was the second wife. Wasn't his grandfather buried with the old lady from the first wife? Why is he being buried with the second wife now?" Meng's mother wondered.
“I know,” Shen Yuexiu said. “The eldest son’s side only has a granddaughter left, and the family line has ended. The second wife’s side has a big business and many descendants, so she took over the old man’s grave, and now each side worships their own grave.”
Meng's mother shook her head, "Old Master Niu's actions were not magnanimous. Even if he moved his father's grave, he shouldn't have stopped paying respects to his first wife. His first wife died young, but she never mistreated him. They had no grudges against each other, and he wasn't short of money. Why would he do something like this?"
“Don’t meddle in other people’s business. There’s probably something unspeakable going on behind the scenes that outsiders wouldn’t know,” Meng’s father said.
“What I call me meddling? This is just a casual remark; I didn’t go to anyone with the surname Niu to criticize them.” Meng’s mother glanced at him sideways.
Meng's father kept his head down and let her mutter, without saying a word.
Du Li looked up at the elderly couple, remembering Meng Qing's words, pretending not to have heard anything, and then lowered his head again.
Back in Jiayufang, Meng Chun took his six apprentices to the paper horse shop first, while Meng's parents and Meng Qing's family of three went home.
"Dad, Mom, don't cook dinner tonight. Du Min said he's treating our family to dinner." Meng Qing said as they returned home.
“He invited us to dinner? We should be the ones inviting him to dinner,” Meng’s father said.
Mencius' mother nodded. "Why did he invite us to dinner?"
“He’s benefiting from our connections. He got to talk to Dr. Xu and Master Chen again today. Dr. Xu even promised him he could attend some kind of gathering.” Meng Qing sat down and rubbed her lower back. “If he’s so kind, let him treat us. He won’t lose out anyway; he’s eaten a lot of meals at our house.”
"Is my son-in-law going back today?" Meng's father asked.
Du Li nodded, "I'll take the boat in half an hour, I won't be going tonight. Dad, Mom, I've almost finished packing up, when are you going? The dates are ripe now, you can pick a basket of dates and bring them back."
"I've been quite busy lately..." Mother Meng didn't want to go over, mainly because she didn't want to see Du Laoding and Jiang Hehua's sour faces.
“Even if you’re busy, you can always find a day.” Meng’s father had said this before, and Du Li had kept it in mind. Not wanting to disappoint his child, he said, “Next time you come, stay here for one night, and we’ll go over together the next day.”
Du Li thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll ask someone to keep watch for me tonight, and I'll stay here for the night."
With the matter settled, Meng's father got down to business. He took out two lists from his pocket, which contained a total of twenty-six orders. Apart from those from Wang the cloth merchant and Li the cloth merchant, the rest were all requests to make brass paper horses.
“There are two orders for goods to be picked up next month. One is from Mr. Li, a local gentry from Tonghuanfang, who wants five brass paper horses. The other is from a student named Xing Shu from the prefectural school, who wants two brass paper horses. One order will be picked up at the beginning of the month, and the other at the end of the month.”
"Let's get the deposit first. Tomorrow, my brother and I will go to their door with the receipt to collect the deposit." Meng Qing was worried that the students from the prefectural school might change their minds.
Meng's father nodded, handed her two lists, and said, "Write down all the types of funerary objects in the shop and show them to Wang the cloth merchant tomorrow."
Meng Qing reached out and took it.
"Accountant Pan, get the money, we're going to buy the goods," Meng's father said to Meng's mother, turning his head slightly.
Mencius' mother curled the corners of her mouth slightly, took out her key, went inside, and opened the money box.
Da Mao suddenly started braying in the front yard. Meng's father remembered that he had forgotten to feed the donkey. He was about to go feed the donkey when he saw Du Min walk into the gate.
"Du Min is here," Meng's father reminded his daughter and son-in-law, then went out to greet him.
"I'll go put Wangzhou on the bed," Du Li said. Wangzhou had fallen asleep while they were eating.
Meng Qing nodded, picked out a list of students from the prefectural school, and said, "Third brother, I was just thinking of going to find you, and here you are. Is something the matter?"
"Deliver the deposit on behalf of Master Chen." Du Min shook the mahogany box in his hand, the copper coins inside clinking. He boasted, "I had lunch with Master Chen at his residence this afternoon, and we talked for a long time about today's events. When we talked about paper offerings, we discussed how the brass paper horse could be made into many other things. For example, glass lanterns, glass oranges, glass fish, and glass shrimp that look like glass. These things can be lit and enjoyed during festivals, instead of just being burned for the deceased. Master Chen wants you to try making a batch of lanterns shaped like fish, shrimp, and fruits, just like the brass paper horse, so that when burned from the inside, the outer skin looks like glass."
Meng Qing opened the money box. Inside, besides five strings of copper coins, there was a small silver fish, a silver safety buckle, and a peace plaque. Her gaze fell on the silver peace plaque. This silver plate probably weighed two ounces; she wondered if it was the silver ingot from her dream.
“Master Chen said that the five strings of cash is a deposit, and the silver fish, the safety buckle, and the peace pendant are rewards for your trouble, for the children to play with,” Du Min explained.
"With such a generous reward, I can't turn down this business." Meng Qing closed the money box and asked, "Did Master Chen say when he would like these things?"
"No later than New Year's Eve. You can send it to him whenever you've finished making it. If he sets everything on fire that day, he'll definitely place another order for New Year's Eve." Du Min suggested to her.
Meng Qing nodded, "Okay."
After Meng's parents finished speaking, he said, "Third Uncle, we're going to buy some goods and won't be home with you. You can talk to your second brother and sister-in-law."
Du Min stood up and said, "Uncle Meng, Aunt Pan, are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner."
“Your second sister-in-law said we were just saying you were too polite, that we should be treating you,” Mr. Meng said politely.
“I should treat you. I’ve had this idea for a long time, but I’ve been putting it off until now. Come back early tonight, and we’ll go to a restaurant near the Confucian Academy for dinner,” Du Min said sincerely.
“Okay, we’ll be back soon,” Meng’s father replied.
After watching Mencius' parents walk out the door, Du Min was about to take his leave when he turned around and suddenly saw several unexpected people a few steps away, which startled him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised.
"If you can be here, why can't I?" Du Li looked him over; the man had changed quite a bit.
Du Min felt extremely uncomfortable. Du Li's condescending gaze reminded him of the embarrassment and humiliation he had felt when he was beaten earlier. In that instant, his armor and fig leaf seemed to have been pierced through, and he felt an indignant sense of shame. It was also at this moment that he realized his feigned magnanimity and humility would crumble in front of a long-time acquaintance.
Du Min chose to sit down in silence. He stopped talking to Du Li and instead asked, "Second sister-in-law, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?"
Meng Qing handed over the order form. "Twelve students from the prefectural academy placed orders today. Meng Chun and I might go to the prefectural academy tomorrow to collect the deposits from them. Will that embarrass you?"
Du Min pondered for a moment and said, "The students at the prefectural academy dislike me. They're united in their opposition to me. The fact that someone has placed an order at your shop is, to some extent, a betrayal, and this will definitely provoke others to object. You definitely won't get the deposit tomorrow in front of everyone at the prefectural academy, and these orders will become invalid. I suggest you hold off for now. I'll try to mention it tomorrow; those who are interested will privately arrange for their servants to pay the deposit. If they don't come for a long time, they've probably changed their minds. Give me the list of those who haven't paid the deposit, and I'll ask them to say they've changed their minds, to avoid trouble with the paper horse shop later."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Meng Qing thought to herself that he was indeed smarter than her and had also improved.
Du Min nodded, then stood up, supporting himself on his knees, and said, "I have something to do, so I'll be going now. I'll come back later."
Meng Qing got up to see him off. "Your second brother built a small hut in Sangtian to raise chickens and ducks. He usually lives in Sangtian. My parents are worried that he's living in a simple place and is just making do, so they plan to go and take a look in a few days. Are you free? Do you want to come back with me? Or should we go back during the ten-day break next month?"
“I have plans for the ten-day break next month; I need to organize a gathering,” Du Min said.
"The year after next is Chinese New Year, so will you go back after your annual leave?" Meng Qing asked.
"Go back as soon as possible. If you don't have time off, ask for a day off," Du Li said. "It's the off-season for farming, and the villagers have nothing to do. They gather together every day to gossip about this and that. You haven't been back for four or five months, and people will start talking about it."
Du Min then looked at him and said, "You set a specific date, and I will ask for leave in advance."
“Then let’s make it the sixteenth, five days from now,” Meng Qing said.
“Okay.” Du Min nodded. “Second sister-in-law, please stay. I’m leaving.”
After watching Du Min walk away, Meng Qing and Du Li turned back to the backyard. She glanced at him and asked, "Did you figure it out?"
"Yes, he holds a grudge against me."
"You also harbor resentment towards him." One's words were barbed, the other's attitude was barbed.
Du Li did not refute.
Meng Qing simply stated that whether or not to change it was his business, and since it didn't involve her, she wouldn't interfere in the matter between the two brothers. She took out some paper and asked Du Li to help her grind the ink while she began writing down the list of funerary objects.
Currently, the paper craft shop offers wreaths, paper clothes, paper figures, paper houses, paper horses, and paper cows. They can also make paper cats, paper dogs, paper snakes, paper chickens, paper ducks, and paper crickets, all of which Meng Qing can write on.
"Wangzhou is awake." The bed inside the room creaked, and Meng Qing reacted quickly.
Du Li opened the door and went in, only to find that Wang Zhou had sat up on his own. He picked him up and went out, saying, "Next time I come, I'll bring three wooden railings. I'll tie the railings to the foot of the bed and both sides, so he won't wake up without a sound and fall off the bed again."
Meng Qing was surprised that he had this kind of awareness. She nodded and said, "I had the same thought. I was so busy before that I forgot about it."
“Du Min used to fall off the bed a lot when he was little. He never learned his lesson. Even after bumping his head, he wouldn’t stay on the bed properly, which made me get beaten several times,” Du Li said indignantly.
Meng Qing glanced at him, and he said as if complaining, "I've suffered so much because of him, and I can't even hold a grudge? Sigh! Never mind, I'm bringing up old grievances again, I'm not going to talk about it anymore."
Wangzhou suddenly started wriggling on his father's leg like a maggot. Du Li glanced at him, and he quickly picked him up to pee.
Meng Qing blew on the ink stain, flicked the paper, and said, "Many of the losses you suffered came from your parents. Du Min was indeed a beneficiary, but the perpetrators were your parents. If my parents had raised me as a servant and Meng Chun as a prince, and made me serve him all the time... well, given Du Min's attitude, I hate my parents and I will also resent Meng Chun."
Du Li was amused by her and felt much more at ease.
"You two can fight it out, I won't say a word," Meng Qing surrendered. "Come on, I'll take you to the boat."
Du Li picked up the boat and followed them out.
The family of three walked out of Jiayufang, crossed the bridge and went around the tea house. After crossing another bridge, they could see the ferry. The child, who had been quiet all the way, suddenly shouted and grabbed Du Li's clothes, jumping around in his arms.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Du Li was startled. He picked up the child and said, "Did something prick you?"
Meng Qing walked over, put down the bucket, and said, "I'll carry it."
But Wang Zhou refused. He grabbed Du Li's sleeve with one hand and pointed to the way back with the other, yelling.
Du Li and Meng Qing immediately understood that he had realized his father was leaving again and was trying to pull him back.
"Just leave it here, I'll go over by myself." Du Li felt a pang of sadness. He forced the child into Meng Qing's arms, not caring whether he could understand or not, and said to himself, "When you're a little older, next year, you can live in both places. By then, Dad will have raised all the chickens and ducks. You can go back and chase after them, and I'll slaughter them all for you to eat."
Meng Qing could barely hold on any longer, and she urged, "Let's go, let's go quickly, so he can't see us."
Du Li picked up the two buckets and ran away quickly.
Wang Zhou burst into tears, and people on and under the bridge all looked over.
Feeling embarrassed by the stares, Meng Qing panicked and saw Du Li raise her hand to wipe her eyes. She immediately burst out laughing.
"Huh?" Wang Zhou turned to look at her through teary eyes, then stopped crying.
Meng Qing's laughter stopped, and he started crying again; she laughed again, and he stopped crying. To avoid being tormented by the crying, she walked off the bridge laughing loudly, and went home laughing heartily under the strange looks of others.
Wang Zhou stared at her the whole way, from being stunned at first, to gradually frowning, and finally being so frightened that he wiped away his tears and even reached out to pinch her lips to stop her from laughing.
Meng Qing was about to stop laughing, but he made her laugh again. She went home, closed the door, and stood in the yard, deliberately making "goose, goose, goose" noises.
The boat suddenly fell silent.
"What's that noise?" Mencius's mother and father returned, and she asked in confusion, "Are there geese in the house?"
When Meng's father kicked open the door, the honking of geese in the yard instantly disappeared.
"What are you doing? Your son-in-law has left?" Meng's mother asked.
Meng Qing felt awkward, so she laughed it off and said, "Wang Zhou likes to hear geese call, so I called out to him a couple of times. How much did you buy the paper for?"
“Five thousand sheets cost seven strings and five hundred cash. We bought a lot and made a deal with Hengshu Bookstore. In the future, if we buy more than a thousand sheets of mulberry bark paper, we can get a discount of five cents at the price of one cash and five cents,” said Mencius’ mother.
"Du Min has left too?" Meng's father asked. "Did he say what time he would be eating?"
“No, he said he had something else to do and would come over after he was done. I guess he went back to the prefectural school to get the money, and he should be arriving soon,” Meng Qing said.
*
“Student Du, Dr. Xu is not here. He was invited away by Master Chen this afternoon. If you have urgent business, go to Master Chen’s residence to find him,” Dr. Xu’s page replied. “If it’s not urgent, I can pass on the message.”
"It's nothing, it's just that my second sister-in-law's family wanted to thank him and see if he would do them the honor of having a meal with them. He's busy, so we'll leave it at that," Du Min explained.
"Dr. Xu should be having dinner at the Chen residence tonight," the page said.
Du Min knew that even if Dr. Xu wasn't visiting, he wouldn't have gone to this meal; his purpose in coming was simply to express his feelings and seek closer ties. He nodded to indicate that he understood, said "thank you for your trouble," and turned to leave.
*
The Chen residence.
Dr. Xu sat in the pavilion, and Master Chen sat opposite him. The two did not play chess today. On the stone table was a black and gold paper horse.
“Senior brother, I see that Du Min has come to his senses and is no longer trying to outwit the students from the prefectural school. He seems to have let go of his background and understands what he should do. He reacted quite quickly,” said Master Chen. “The kind of person he is is very adaptable to officialdom. Once he enters officialdom, he can quickly gain a foothold.”
"That's quite a high evaluation," Dr. Xu said with a slightly sarcastic expression.
Master Chen smiled slightly, “You dislike the intrigue and backstabbing in officialdom and have the courage to resign and return to your hometown to become a teacher. With your personality, you naturally can’t stand people like him who are so eager to make a living.”
Dr. Xu took a sip of tea, shook his head and said, "What kind of resignation was that? I was just a scholar in plain clothes, without any official rank."
Master Chen sighed. His senior fellow apprentice was exceptionally talented, but unfortunately, his straightforward personality made him prone to offending people. After passing the imperial examination, he hadn't been appointed to an official post for a long time because he had offended someone and was being sabotaged. Young and hot-blooded, he couldn't stand it and made a scene, thus ending his chances of becoming an official.
"Speak, what did you invite me here for?" Dr. Xu had no choice but to speak up when he saw that the man was dawdling.
“I would like to ask you to take the trouble to guide Du Min’s studies. I examined him today and he has no major problems with policy essays and classical texts, but he is still lacking in poetry and prose. Whether he can pass the provincial examination may depend on luck,” Master Chen said frankly. “Poetry and prose are your forte, and I am far inferior to you in this aspect.”
Dr. Xu frowned. "You value him so much? What's in it for you?"
"I want to be reinstated to my original position, or even promoted, in three years. I need Du Min to pass the provincial examination and go to Chang'an with me in the same year. I need to borrow his pen to make the paper effigies of funerary objects appear in the court and before the emperor in a legitimate way, so that I can be promoted through this matter." Master Chen confessed frankly, leaning forward and pleading, "Senior brother, please help me one more time."
Dr. Xu slammed down his teacup, his face full of helplessness: "Since you've put it that way, how can I refuse?"
Master Chen knew he wouldn't refuse, but he still breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving an affirmative answer. He got up, picked up the teapot, poured tea for him, and said, "Du Min is your student. If he passes the imperial examination in the future, you will be proud, and your prefectural school will also benefit."
"The prefectural school has long been a stagnant pool, not producing a single Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) for many years. It has degenerated into a place for the sons of officials to socialize, and you have also been reduced to instructors who discipline the纨绔 (spoiled brats) of these officials' families. When I let Du Min in, I had this in mind. I wanted to see if letting a wild duck in would arouse the fighting spirit of these geese. But they didn't want to compete with the wild duck for food; instead, they wanted to drive him out of their territory. You see, they have already treated the prefectural school as their own territory." Master Chen stood with his hands behind his back, looking in the direction of the prefectural school.
Dr. Xu looked unwell.
“This situation is my father’s doing. In his later years, his mind was not in good condition, and he became lazy. He had no interest in managing the school and let it develop unchecked, which led to the current situation. You have the will to turn the tide, but you are powerless to do so.” Master Chen did not exonerate his father. Dr. Xu did not hold an official position, and his backer was his superior. He could not manage the school by going beyond his superior, and the students of the school did not fear him. He was simply willing but unable to do so.
"I plan to use Du Min and Li Wei as a starting point to recruit some commoner students to study at the prefectural academy. If anyone causes me trouble, you'll have to take care of it for me," Dr. Xu said, seizing the opportunity to make his demands.
“Alright.” Master Chen readily agreed. Even if the prefectural school only admitted a portion of the commoner students, or even if it admitted all commoner students, he would have no objection. His children and grandchildren would not be studying here, so it wouldn’t affect him.
"I guarantee Du Min will pass the provincial examination within two years," Dr. Xu promised.
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