Chapter 126: Moving Forward
After four or five days, Sister-in-law Lu brought four bolts of cloth again and asked Li Xiaonan if she could extend credit for two more looms.
The next day, Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan took a hired cart, with A Wu riding his horse beside it, to Sister-in-law Lu’s home in Hejia Village.
Sister-in-law Lu met them at the courtyard entrance and was so surprised to see that the head shopkeeper was a young wife in her early twenties that she couldn’t hide it.
“This is my eldest sister,” Li Xiaonan introduced.
“Sister-in-law Li?” Sister-in-law Lu tentatively addressed her.
“Sister-in-law, please call me Madam. I am self-combed,” Li Jinzhu said with a generous smile.
“When our parents passed away, we were very young. Eldest Sister raised us. Eldest Sister also supported my brother to become a Xiucai Scholar. My brother is only eighteen this year and became a Xiucai Scholar last year,” Li Xiaonan quickly added in introduction.
“That’s truly remarkable! Madam, please come in and sit. So you’re from a Xiucai Scholar’s family. So your brother was only seventeen when he became a Xiucai Scholar? Oh my, what a prodigy, he might even become the top scholar!” Sister-in-law Lu became much more respectful.
“You flatter me, Sister-in-law,” Li Jinzhu bowed slightly.
Having been the head shopkeeper for over half a year, Li Jinzhu was no longer the same person as before. She handled the situation with poise and great propriety.
The owners of the two newly added looms were not Sister-in-law Lu. Sister-in-law Lu, along with Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan, went to see the half-room hall where the two families planned to place the looms, and then returned to Sister-in-law Lu’s home with Fifth Aunt and Sister-in-law Jiang, who were going to buy looms on credit.
As they sat down, Li Jinzhu said to Fifth Aunt and Sister-in-law Jiang with a smile, “The rules for buying looms on credit are the same as Sister-in-law Lu’s loom. You pay it back within a year, deducted from the cloth payment. For the first ten months, no interest will be charged. For the last two months, one percent interest will be charged on the remaining balance.”
Fifth Aunt and Sister-in-law Jiang looked at Sister-in-law Lu together.
Sister-in-law Lu quickly smiled and said, “It’s about half the interest. According to Madam’s calculation, it’s less than half. Sister-in-law Jiang is the fastest weaver, producing almost two bolts of cloth every three days. If half the profit from each bolt is used to pay for the loom, it will be paid off in less than ten months.”
Fifth Aunt and Sister-in-law Jiang looked back at Li Jinzhu and nodded in unison.
“Here are the contracts. Who among you is literate?” Li Xiaonan took out two contracts and asked with a smile.
“Er Ya’er, go invite your Old Lady Guo! Hurry!” Sister-in-law Lu called out loudly, then explained to Li Jinzhu with a smile, “Aunt Guo attended a girls’ school and can read, write, and calculate.”
“Girls’ school?” Li Xiaonan asked in surprise.
“Not anymore. Aunt Guo says when she was a child, there were many girls’ schools that only accepted girls. They taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and crafts. Aunt Guo always talks about how happy she was when she attended girls’ school,” Sister-in-law Lu said with a smile.
“How come I’ve never heard of girls’ schools? Did none of you attend girls’ school?” Li Xiaonan was even more surprised.
“They disappeared later. They were gone by the time I was a child,” Sister-in-law Lu replied casually, craning her neck to look at the courtyard gate.
“When I was little, I heard people say that the Taiping School in town used to be a girls’ school,” the older Fifth Aunt said with a smile.
“Then why did they disappear?” Li Xiaonan asked again.
“I don’t know about that,” Fifth Aunt said with a smile.
In just a few words, Er Ya’er shouted from outside the courtyard gate, “Old Lady Guo is here!”
Sister-in-law Lu hurried out to meet her. Before long, an old woman in her sixties or seventies, leaning on a crutch, entered the courtyard, talking with Sister-in-law Lu.
Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan quickly stood up.
“Sit, sit,” Old Lady Guo said, with half her teeth missing, her mouth puckered as she smiled and gestured for Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan to sit down.
“Old Lady Guo, please sit here,” Sister-in-law Jiang brought a chair and helped Old Lady Guo to sit down.
Sister-in-law Lu mixed a bowl of brown sugar water and offered it to Old Lady Guo.
Li Xiaonan watched Old Lady Guo drink the brown sugar water and handed the contract to her.
Old Lady Guo held the contract far away, squinting and reading it with effort, explaining a sentence here and there.
After reading, Old Lady Guo handed the contract back to Li Xiaonan and said to Sister-in-law Lu with a smile, “This contract is fair.”
“Both these owners are kind people! I still have half a bolt of fine cloth at home. When I have some free time in a few days, I’ll make you a set of clothes,” Sister-in-law Lu said, helping Old Lady Guo up and smiling at her.
“Alright, you are kind too. My legs are fine, don’t worry about me. You go ahead and be busy,” Old Lady Guo said, leaning on her crutch as she left.
After the contract was reviewed, Sister-in-law Jiang stood up and said with a smile, “I’ll go call my husband to press his handprint.”
“No need to call him,” Li Xiaonan stopped Sister-in-law Jiang, “This loom is on credit to you. This transaction is between us. Your husband’s handprint is not necessary. You press it, and Sister-in-law Lu will be the mediator.”
“That’s true. Both owners are women, so it would be awkward if your husband came,” Sister-in-law Lu said with a smile.
“I’ve never pressed such a valuable handprint before!” Sister-in-law Jiang was both excited and uneasy. She carefully dipped her finger in the ink pad in Li Xiaonan’s hand and pressed it down carefully.
After seeing Fifth Aunt and Sister-in-law Jiang off, Li Xiaonan took out a half-tael silver coin and put it into Sister-in-law Lu’s hand, saying with a smile, “In the future, please take care of setting up the looms and other matters.”
“Young Shopkeeper, you are too polite. We are all relatives, it’s what we should do,” Sister-in-law Lu tried to push it back.
“Sister-in-law, please don’t be polite. This is what you deserve. If there are any more looms to be bought on credit in the future, please trouble Sister-in-law to take care of it,” Li Xiaonan pushed it back again.
“Young Shopkeeper, you are truly too kind.” Sister-in-law Lu hesitated for a moment, then held the silver coin in her hand and said to Li Jinzhu with a smile, “Then I won’t be polite. There’s one more thing. I have a cousin. I learned to weave this fine cloth from my aunt. This cousin is my aunt’s daughter.”
Sister-in-law Lu sighed.
“In the past, there were many weaving workshops in our Pingjiang City. My aunt’s maiden family and her husband’s family both ran weaving workshops. My aunt learned excellent skills from a young age. Later, the taxes on weaving workshops increased heavily, and the workshops could no longer operate.
“My aunt’s maiden family declined, and her husband’s family declined even more. Then my aunt’s husband fell ill and passed away. There was nothing she could do, so my aunt remarried with her cousin to a family. Because of this, the cousin’s marriage was not very good. Fortunately.”
Sister-in-law Lu paused, then gave a dry laugh. “Her in-laws passed away, and her husband also fell ill and passed away. Now, in the family, there are only her, her son and daughter-in-law, and two daughters. Her two daughters are very skillful. Although they haven’t woven fine cloth, they will surely learn it quickly. The three of them can weave fine cloth. It’s just that their home is a bit far from us. Their home is in Wujiang County.”
“That’s not far. Can you give us a token, and we’ll go see her?” Li Xiaonan looked at Li Jinzhu, saw her nod, and then looked at Sister-in-law Lu and said with a smile.
“Yes, yes!” Sister-in-law Lu’s face lit up with joy.
………………………………
Prefect Liu received the news that Huang Xianzhou, the County Magistrate of Kunshan, had resigned and left. He was startled and immediately sent someone to Linhai Town. Upon hearing that Huang Xianzhou had already reported to the Maritime Tax Bureau and was inspecting goods at the wharf, he breathed a sigh of relief, but was also furious.
He had thought Huang Xianzhou had resigned and left his post. If that were the case, he, as his superior, would surely be implicated. But he had reported to the Maritime Tax Bureau in good health, so why resign?
This person not only spoke sarcastically but also acted so erratically!
Never mind, never mind. As long as he honestly reported to the Maritime Tax Bureau, he wouldn’t bother with anything else.
Prefect Liu drank a cup of tea to calm his shock and annoyance, changed into casual clothes, mounted his horse, and headed towards the Prince’s Estate.
Shi Gun had come to complain. Whether this complaint was Shi Gun’s own initiative or at the Young Lord’s instruction, he had to inform the Young Lord in person about Huang Xianzhou’s move from Kunshan County to the Maritime Tax Bureau. On the surface, it was to report official business to the Young Lord, who was an Imperial Inspector. Beneath the surface, it was a response to Shi Gun’s complaint.
The Young Lord was not there, and he didn’t know when he would return. Prefect Liu hesitated for a moment, left a message with the doorman, and as he exited the main gate of the villa, he bumped into Second Madam Pan, who was returning with Miss Shi and a group of young ladies, their many carts blocking the entrance.
Prefect Liu quickly moved aside.
As soon as Miss Shi got out of the cart, she saw Prefect Liu. She went forward, supported Second Madam Pan, and whispered to her, “That’s Prefect Liu of Pingjiang Prefecture. What is he doing here?”
“Hmm?” Second Madam Pan looked at Prefect Liu.
Prefect Liu quickly bowed in greeting.
“Came to see the Young Lord? Is he not here?” Second Madam Pan asked with a smile.
“Yes,” Prefect Liu replied respectfully.
“Is there something important? Would you like me to relay a message?” Miss Shi continued with a smile.
“It’s nothing major. Huang Xianzhou, the County Magistrate of Kunshan, has been transferred to the Maritime Tax Bureau to assist with wharf inspection matters. I came to report it to the Young Lord,” Prefect Liu said with a quick bow and smile.
“Wharf inspection?” Miss Shi frowned slightly. “Aren’t subordinate officials usually assigned to such leisurely posts? I’ve never heard of a substantive county magistrate being sent there.”
“Yes, Huang Xianzhou was quite ordinary in his post,” Prefect Liu mumbled, “He came to report to the Young Lord.”
“Mm, I’ll tell my cousin,” Miss Shi said with a knowing hum.
“Yes, yes, thank you, thank you,” Prefect Liu said, bowing as he retreated.
He wasn’t sure which of the old woman and the young ladies was who, so he could only thank them vaguely.
Miss Shi helped Second Madam Pan into the second gate and walked slowly inside.
“What’s wrong?” Second Madam Pan asked gently, looking at Miss Shi, who had been frowning.
“Transferring a substantive county magistrate to the Maritime Tax Bureau to assist with investigations is unheard of. Prefect Liu specifically came to report to my cousin, I’m afraid that Magistrate Huang must have offended my cousin to be transferred. I wonder what he did to offend my cousin,” Miss Shi said in a low voice.
“The Young Lord has a temper,” Second Madam Pan sighed.
“Mm, Second Aunt should advise my cousin. This is going too far,” Miss Shi said, lowering her eyes.
Second Madam Pan looked at Miss Shi, “Do you really want to advise him?”
Miss Shi looked up at Second Madam Pan, “If I didn’t know, it would be one thing. But since I do know…” Miss Shi lowered her eyelids, not finishing her sentence.
“Mm, alas, you child, you are just too virtuous and proper. You are doing it for his own good, but men, alas, perhaps he just doesn’t like you constantly advising him. Alas,” Second Madam Pan sighed repeatedly.
Right now, her biggest worry was why the Young Lord had suddenly become displeased with their Sister Qi. She couldn’t figure it out no matter how much she thought about it.
Miss Shi lowered her eyes, remaining silent.
Alright, adding a debt, will repay it tomorrow.
