Chapter 8: Conversation between Uncle and Sister-in-law
“Father, a man should not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. The imperial examination tests each student’s knowledge, not luck or fate.” Du Min’s face was not good. He bowed to Huiming and said apologetically, “Master, please forgive me. My father does not understand the principles. I have disturbed you.”
“What Scholar Du says is absolutely right,” Huiming replied. He looked at Du’s father and said, “Elder Du, the imperial examination is related to the fate of the nation. Those who can enter the court are blessed people. How can this humble monk say more?”
Father Du's expression changed drastically, his pale and frightened face quickly warming up. "I was attached to appearances, I was confused. Master, junior monks, please follow me, the food and wine are ready."
That's what they said. After all the guests were seated, Du Laoding found Meng Qing and said, "Second wife, I don't understand the master's rules. Is it because I didn't give him incense money that he won't give me a definite answer? Go and ask him. If it's because of this, I'll take Amin to Ruiguang Temple tomorrow to add incense money to Buddha."
“Master Huiming explained that the imperial examination was related to the fate of the nation, so he dared not calculate it,” Meng Qing said.
"He predicted that Wang Zhou would achieve great things in the future. Could it be that he wasn't referring to his official career?" Old Ding Du thought to himself, annoyed. He stubbornly believed that the problem was the lack of money.
Meng Qing thought to herself, how could she know? She had no idea that Huiming had this ability. If she had known that he could predict the future, she would have asked him to help her choose before marrying Du Li.
"Okay, I'll go ask." She was quite curious too.
The feast for the monks was set up in the ancestral hall of Dujiawan. Most of the seventeen households in Dujiawan share the same surname and have the same ancestor seven generations back.
Meng Qing and the others had almost finished eating when she rushed over with tea before Huiming led the young monks in their afternoon prayers.
"Senior brother, when you came over, did Master Konghui tell you to pass on any message to me?" She made an excuse to go in and start a conversation.
"You asked me to help you out," Huiming chuckled.
"Huh? So, is your face reading true or false?" Meng Qing inquired.
"Monks do not lie."
Meng Qing was overjoyed. She quickly and carefully picked up the teapot she had been holding and poured a cup for Huiming. "Then my brother-in-law..."
"A monk does not lie." Huiming repeated the same statement, and said nothing more.
Meng Qing wisely stopped asking questions and left without further disturbance, putting down the teapot and making her leave.
"Second daughter-in-law, what did the master say?" Father Du anxiously waited outside the ancestral hall.
“It’s not a matter of money. Master Huiming really can’t be consulted. Didn’t Third Brother say before that he went with Master Yikong to listen to his lectures twice? Master Yikong is Master Huiming’s grandmaster, and his Buddhist teachings are profound. If he could be consulted, Third Brother should have asked Master Yikong to do so.” Meng Qing didn’t lie to him about this matter. She advised him, “Third Brother also said that the imperial examination is to test the knowledge of many students, not their fate. If one could choose officials by reading faces, there would be no such path as the imperial examination. Third Brother entered the most famous academy in Wu County before he was even sixteen years old, and he has repeatedly won first place in Chongwen Academy. It’s only a matter of time before he becomes a Jinshi.”
For the first time, Du Laoding appreciated the pleasantness of her eloquence. How pleasing her words were! He calmed down and said, "I was too anxious. I don't know if I will make Amin lose face in front of his classmates."
"I think your third brother's good friend can understand your deep love for your son."
Du Laoding lifted his droopy eyelids to look at her, and he couldn't help but say, "Second wife, you're quite good at talking."
"I've said it before, whether you want to live a good life depends on how you treat me. I married into this family hoping for a good life, not because I have a grudge against your Du family and am deliberately causing chaos in the household." Meng Qing emphasized again that they were in the wrong first.
“Your mother-in-law went too far the other day, I will talk to her about it,” Du Laoding said.
Meng Qing gave a sarcastic smile and said, "And what good are you?"
Back at the Du family home, Meng Qing put the matter out of her mind and went to chat with her family.
At the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), Huiming sent a young novice monk to say that it was getting late and it was time to return to the city.
Meng's father, mother, and uncles got up and left.
The Du family didn't have any extra guest rooms, so Du Min's classmates and friends who had brought him back couldn't stay overnight and left as well.
The entire Du family escorted the guests to the ferry. Gu Wuxia stood at the stern of the boat watching Du Min's second sister-in-law casually bid farewell to Huiming. He turned to Du Min on the shore and said, "Brother Min, are you really not coming with us for Buddha's birthday on the eighth day? Or are you going alone?"
“I’m not going. I need to write a policy essay in the next few days, and I want to focus on refining it,” Du Min replied. “Brother Wuxia, you go ahead. We’ll meet again later.”
"Alright." Seeing the boat carrying the monks leave, Gu Wuxia quickly instructed the boatman to follow them.
"Qingniang, bring the children to our house for a visit when you have time," Meng Qing's third uncle instructed as he boarded the boat.
"I'll definitely go." Meng Qing waved goodbye from the stone steps.
After all the boats had left, the Du family headed back.
When Du Li got home, he saw Du Min and asked in confusion, "Third brother, didn't you go back to the academy with your classmates?"
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Du Min replied.
"Is there anything else?" Du Li asked warily. "The academy only has one day off every ten days. If you take a day off today, you won't have a day off tomorrow. Will you be able to catch the teacher's class if you leave tomorrow?"
“We don’t have to attend classes every day. The teacher assigns essays, and we just need to hand them in on the designated days. The teacher doesn’t restrict our actions on the rest of the days,” Du Min explained.
"Is that even possible? Your teachers must have it so easy." Madam Du said unhappily.
Father Du glanced at Du Min a few times and asked, "Will it be the same next year? Will the tuition fee he receives be the same as before?"
Du Min sighed helplessly and patiently explained, "Master Xie's revision of policy essays is no less leisurely than his teaching. He doesn't just decide what essays to write on a whim. Many things, like political treatises, commentaries, the Tongdian, and the shifts in the court's political winds, are things I don't have access to; I only know about them through Master Xie. On days when we don't have classes, Master Xie doesn't rest or play. He meets with friends, listens to debates, and then takes us to visit the people he's cultivated. These things are far more valuable than his teaching us to recite scriptures. Father, do you think I should give him less money for his studies?"
"It's because I don't know the ins and outs of this, I won't go into it. There's a leg of lamb left from today's feast, take it to the teacher when you leave tomorrow." Father Du hurriedly changed his tune like a grandson.
"No need," Du Min refused curtly. "I'm going back to my room."
"Alright, alright, go to your study to read. The front yard is messy, so it won't bother you." Father Du wasn't annoyed at all. He turned to his mother and said, "His mother, you and Jinshu's mother go and remove the mat from Amin's room and clean it up. Don't let the rats come and gnaw on his books."
Meng Qing watched Du Min's figure disappear. She then looked away and went inside. The cook had already removed the tables, chairs, and mats, but there was still oil, bone fragments, and fish bones on the floor. She picked up a broom and swept it carefully again.
At the end of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the house was cleaned inside and out, and the cook had prepared the stove and chairs they had brought. Du Li gave them the remaining money and, together with his uncles and brothers, helped to deliver the stove and chairs to the ferry.
With the chef's departure, the full moon celebration came to an end.
*
There was still more than an hour before dark, so Du's father called his family to go to work in the fields. Meng Qing stayed home to tidy up the silkworm rearing room because she had a young child to take care of.
The Du family raised about 11,000 silkworms in spring. In the silkworm room, there were two wooden frames that took three people to hug. Each frame had three silkworm trays, which were densely packed with white silkworms about the length of a finger. The mulberry leaves inside had already been eaten up.
Meng Qing lifted the soft bamboo cloth lining the silkworm tray. Black silkworm excrement mixed with mulberry leaf scraps and broken stems fell through the gaps in the bamboo cloth. She swept the silkworm excrement into a pile and shoveled it into a bucket. Then she spread the bamboo cloth back into the silkworm tray and sprinkled mulberry leaves from the basket onto it.
"Second sister-in-law, do you need any help?" Du Min's voice rang out from outside the silkworm room.
Meng Qing didn't turn her head and said, "No need, go read your book. Feeding silkworms is an easy job, I can do it by myself."
Du Min responded but did not move.
"Third brother, is there anything else?" Meng Qing asked knowingly.
"Yes, I want to discuss something with my second sister-in-law."
"Then wait a moment, I'll feed the silkworms and then go out."
The two were uncle and aunt, and Du Li was not at home. To avoid suspicion, Meng Qing left the silkworm room and chose to talk in the courtyard.
"Third brother, what do you want to discuss?" Meng Qing asked, staring at him.
Du Min led her toward the front of the main hall to avoid being overheard by passersby.
"It's about the matter we discussed before. Second Sister-in-law, have you reconsidered? Today I brought back six classmates: one is the young master of the county magistrate's family, one is the nephew of the county magistrate, two are from branches of the Lu family of Fanyang through marriage, and the other two are sons of local gentry in Wu County. They are all from wealthy families. If Second Sister-in-law agrees, I can make them regular customers of the Meng family's paper horse shop." Du Min offered enticement.
Meng Qing asked doubtfully, "You seem to trust me too much. Are you sure I can make a paper offering that will satisfy you and your classmates?"
"Ten years ago, Meng Family Paper Horse Shop was not called this, or even had a name. Like any ordinary street vendor, it just had a sign that read 'fierce and ruthless.' The shop sold cheap coffins, paper money, and incense. The shop's revenue mainly came from selling paper money and incense to Ruiguang Temple, with meager profits."
"When you were nine, your parents were persuaded by you to learn bamboo weaving from a craftsman for a year, and then they changed the name of their shop to Meng Family Paper Horse Shop. They abandoned selling coffins and started selling wreaths, paper figures, paper horses, paper sedan chairs, etc. You were the one who colored and outlined the designs for the paper figures, paper horses, paper sedan chairs, and even the deities on the paper money were drawn by you. Three years after the Paper Horse Shop changed its business, you finally saved up enough money to buy a two-courtyard house in Jiayufang, and the four of you moved out of the Paper Horse Shop for good." Du Min spoke crisply and clearly, he had thoroughly investigated the background of the Meng family and even Meng Qing.
Meng Qing's expression changed. "You're investigating me?"
“No, your family has lived at the foot of Ruiguang Temple for over ten years, so it would be easy for them to find out about your past. Second sister-in-law, don’t be defensive. Brother Meng mentioned that you are better at paper crafts than your father, and I need to verify the truth of that statement. After all, old ginger is spicier, and aged wine is more fragrant. Uncle Meng has the advantage in terms of age. But in your case, talent has overcome the advantage brought by age.” Du Min did not hold back his praise.
He said sincerely, “I admire my second sister-in-law for helping the paper horse shop stand out among all the funerary objects shops at the young age of ten. The fact that the Meng family's paper horse shop has been able to gain a foothold in the funeral industry is definitely due to your efforts. But with your efforts alone, the paper horse shop can only develop in this way for ten years. Influenced by the extravagant burial customs left over from the previous dynasty, the rich and noble people look down on paper horses and paper sedan chairs; affected by the price of straw paper, the poor cannot afford paper funerary objects; among the remaining group of people, those who can accept paper horses and paper figures to replace pottery figurines and pottery as funerary objects are still Buddhists.”
Du Min elaborated on his analysis, and then said: "In recent years, the sage has advocated simple burials and cracked down on the trend of extravagant burials, but the implementation of the policy has had little effect. One of the reasons is that there are no substitutes for funerary objects. I studied at the largest academy in Wu County and have repeatedly won the top prize in the examinations. If I write a few more essays on the issue of simple burials and vigorously promote the sage's policy, the students in the academy will all be customers of the paper horse shop, and the predicament of the Meng family's paper horse shop can be broken."
During the Tang Dynasty, elaborate burials were prevalent, with tombs containing numerous objects and exquisite pottery. Paper figurines, horses, and sedan chairs, which became common in later generations, had not yet appeared; only paper money was widely used. However, the Buddhist tradition of burning paper clothes for the cold season during the Ullambana Festival led Meng Qing to discover this business opportunity at a young age. He persuaded his parents to switch to the paper craft business and, with the help of Buddhist teachings, established a foothold for their paper horse shop.
Ten years ago, Meng Qing was only nine years old and came from a merchant family. Her abilities were limited, and this was all she could do. Ten years later, she was deeply moved by Du Min's business acumen and firmly believed that his actions would definitely be effective.
The Meng family's paper horse shop's business opened up sales channels, Du Min made a profit, and she was also able to save money for Wang Zhou's schooling, achieving a win-win-win situation.
"Second sister-in-law, how is it?" Du Min asked.
"Third brother, I firmly believe you will pass the imperial examination." Meng Qing no longer doubted it; her dream had come true.
"Thank you for your kind words, Second Sister-in-law." Du Min smiled knowingly. "So you agreed?"
"Give me a written statement, so that your parents won't falsely accuse me of abducting you into business later," Meng Qing demanded as leverage.
Du Min hesitated, "I hope my second sister-in-law will keep this a secret. I don't want my parents to know, and they won't know about it in the future."
If it weren't for that dream, Meng Qing would definitely have agreed by now, and things would have unfolded just like in the dream. Someone would have leaked the information at some point, and after the incident, she would have been the one to bear all the blame.
"I only have this one request, please consider it." Meng Qing's attitude was firm, and she refused to back down.
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