Chapter 164: Joyful Events Abound
In the entire Hejia Village, only two families gave their looms to Li Xiaonan.
A Wu had the looms temporarily stored at Sister-in-law Gu’s loom shop. Before dawn the next day, he left in a hurry to handle matters in several villages, then galloped straight to Hejia Village.
The day after Li Xiaonan took the looms, Da Lang Yu received the news. That afternoon, he arrived at Hejia Village with his accountant, shop assistants, and two or three yamen runners. They took the woven cloth, the remaining thread, and all valuables. Then, with a chain, they locked up the men from several families who had pressed their fingerprints.
The next day at noon, A Wu returned, sweating profusely. He rushed into the Small Courtyard in Cai Lian Lane and, upon seeing Li Xiaonan, let out a long sigh of relief.
“It’s a blessing from the Bodhisattva that you’re home!”
Li Xiaonan was calculating on her abacus. She looked up at A Wu and said nothing.
“Sister-in-law Lu wants to see you and asked if you could go over. She’s waiting for you at that Tea House in town, right now,” A Wu squatted beside Li Xiaonan.
“Why does she want to see me?” Li Xiaonan’s head didn’t lift, and her hands didn’t stop.
“What else could it be! What happened yesterday, I told you last night, it’s about that!
“I came around from the Yamen. They’ve put a row of fifty jin cangues in front of the eight-character wall! In this hot weather, tsk!”
A Wu’s “tsk” carried an indescribable meaning, not entirely sympathy, nor entirely schadenfreude, but rather a complex emotion.
Li Xiaonan glanced at her sideways.
“Why are you still calculating? This is such a big deal!” Seeing Li Xiaonan’s fingers still moving, A Wu urged her.
“Why does Sister-in-law Lu want to see me? To ask me to beg for mercy at the Yamen?” Li Xiaonan’s fingers continued to move the abacus, and her other hand turned a page.
“It’s not about begging for mercy. This morning, no, Sister-in-law Lu said that yesterday evening, when the men were locked up, two families brought their children and knelt at her door. When I arrived this morning, her courtyard was full of people kneeling, all asking to borrow money from her!”
A Wu emphasized the words “borrow money” and then let out a “heh.”
Li Xiaonan glanced at A Wu again.
“Sister-in-law Lu said she really doesn’t have that much Silver. Since you’re here, she wanted to discuss with me if you could be a bit lenient and sign a contract to give them the looms, or lend them some Silver. Sister-in-law Lu said it would be as if she borrowed it,” A Wu continued.
“So you agreed on my behalf first?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“Do I not know you? How could I dare to agree!” A Wu puffed out his chest with pride, dusting off his clothing placket.
She still possessed considerable insight and foresight.
“Go tell Sister-in-law Lu that I don’t want to deal with this. There’s a saying that Sister Mei used: ‘Spoiling a child is like killing a child.’ It’s quite fitting for these families in their village. They are all the heads of their households; they must bear their responsibilities,” Li Xiaonan turned another page.
A Wu frowned, then sighed after a moment.
Her Father had taught her this way before; the first rule of being a person is responsibility. A Nan’s words were absolutely correct.
“They owe a lot of Silver, and they said they’ll be in cangues for a month,” A Wu said after a pause.
“Mm,” Li Xiaonan replied with a noncommittal hum. “The weather is hot. Tell Sister-in-law Lu to remind them to send water and food.”
A Wu hummed in response, then sighed after a moment and stood up to leave.
Around dinner time, Sister-in-law Yin entered the Courtyard Gate carrying a large, bright red Mud Gold Invitation.
The Li Family was eating dinner. Li Yuzhu handed Sister-in-law Yin a Small Bamboo Chair, and Mei Jie poured her some cool tea.
“Whose is it?” Li Jinzhu looked at the overly conspicuous bright red invitation.
“It’s an invitation for the wedding of Wu Family Third Sister and Da Lang Yu, for your family,” Sister-in-law Yin slammed the invitation onto a nearby Stool.
“You have one too?” Li Xiaonan asked with a smile.
“Yes, everyone on our alley has one, not a single family was missed. They’re shameless!” Sister-in-law Yin spat.
“Were the two daughters married off like this before?” Li Xiaonan continued to ask.
“When the Eldest Sister got married, she still had some shame. Now she’s getting more and more shameless,” Sister-in-law Yin spat again.
“Did the Yu Family Shop open?” Li Jinzhu asked.
“The eighth day of the month. They asked the Master of the Prefectural Yamen’s Yin-Yang room to pick an auspicious date,” Sister-in-law Yin said even more irritably.
The Yu Family Cloth Shop is diagonally opposite their Yueyang Cloth Shop. Like their Yueyang Cloth Shop, it has five storefronts. One is used to sell their Yu Family’s incense prints, incense plates, and incense powder. The other four are divided into two for displaying Fine Cloth and two for Silk and embroidered goods.
“How much is the gift?” Li Xiaonan picked up the invitation and glanced at it.
“Ninety-nine Copper Coins, for long-lasting happiness,” Sister-in-law Yin sighed.
This was what Matchmaker Miao had said when delivering the invitation.
“Do all families who receive an invitation have to go? There are families without young children,” Li Yuzhu asked.
“They don’t invite families like that. For ordinary middle-class families, they go door-to-door to collect Copper Coins, not invitations. Later, they send a half-inch long red cloth strip, saying it’s for good luck and prosperity at the door, and promise a good marriage.”
“We are a distinguished family, so we get a large red Mud Gold Invitation, and you get to eat a banquet meal. But for the gift money, they said it must be at least ninety-nine Copper Coins!” Sister-in-law Yin spat again.
“Is it okay if I go? This doesn’t require Eldest Sister and Second Sister to trouble themselves,” Li Xiaonan asked with a smile.
“Yes, why not! You and I will go, I want to see the excitement,” Sister-in-law Yin said with a smile.
The Yu Family’s great joy of marrying a bride coincided with the small joy of opening their shop. Li Xiaonan and Sister-in-law Yin, carrying ninety-nine Copper Coins, watched the excitement of a wedding, and then stood at the entrance of Yueyang Cloth Shop, watching the grand opening of Yu Family Cloth Shop.
The Wu Family Third Sister from back then, now the Yu Family First Madam, was adorned in silk brocade, with a gold hairpin, gold hairpin, gold forehead ornament, and gold sideburn ornaments in her hair. She stood at the entrance of the Wu Family Cloth Shop, beaming.
“Pah!” Sister-in-law Yin spat and turned to go inside.
Li Xiaonan stood inside the threshold, watching for a while longer, then sat down next to Sister-in-law Yin. She leaned forward and asked, “Is Matchmaker Miao related to the Wu Family?”
“No! Who knows what their deal is!” Sister-in-law Yin also leaned forward. “When I got married, Matchmaker Miao was already closer to the Wu Family than to herself.”
“My old Madam said that Matchmaker Miao’s position as an Official Matchmaker is passed down from master to disciple. Matchmaker Miao was picked up by her Master, Matchmaker Zhang, outside the city. When Matchmaker Zhang found Matchmaker Miao, she was almost forty. Matchmaker Miao was in her twenties, and Matchmaker Zhang had already died. Matchmaker Miao then took over as the Official Matchmaker.”
“The Wu Family came here fleeing famine, about seventeen or eighteen years ago. For some reason, the two families became close.”
“My old Madam said that when Wu Family Eldest Sister was young, Matchmaker Miao doted on her more than her own daughter. When Wu Family Eldest Sister was seven or eight, Matchmaker Miao still held her tightly, saying that the girl’s arms and legs were tender, and walking too much would make them rough.”
“For these seventeen or eighteen years, Matchmaker Miao has worked tirelessly for the Wu Family without complaint. If you didn’t know better, you’d think she was the biological mother of the Wu sisters.”
Sister-in-law Yin glanced at the Yu Family First Madam at the entrance of the Yu Family Shop opposite them.
“On the day the First Madam opposite got married, did no one from her Eldest Sister’s family attend?” Li Xiaonan rested her chin on her hand and also looked at the Yu Family First Madam opposite.
“They are a Recommended Scholar family. Although the Recommended Scholar is long dead, they still maintain airs! Wu Family Eldest Sister rarely returns to her maternal home, saying her husband’s family forbids it!” Sister-in-law Yin’s mouth turned down, and she let out a dry laugh.
“The ‘three aunts and six mothers’ are lowly professions. Merchants, boatmen, inns, and porters, even if innocent, deserve to be killed. If it weren’t for that matchmaker, how noble the Wu Family would be, wouldn’t they?” Li Xiaonan looked at Sister-in-law Yin and said slowly with a smile.
Sister-in-law Yin raised her eyebrows very high, then after a moment, let out an “Oh dear,” “Isn’t that the truth! With a Recommended Scholar and the Yamen, that’s truly noble. I’m going to go and have a chat with that noble Madam.”
Sister-in-law Yin stood up, smoothed her clothing placket, and walked out of Yueyang Cloth Shop, smiling as she approached the Yu Family First Madam.
