Chapter 88: Pathetic
Li Xiaonan followed Gu Yan, watching the brocade and jacquard fine cotton cloth weaving workshops with her mouth agape. She asked Steward Zhou a barrage of questions and was thoroughly satisfied.
“What time is it?” Gu Yan asked casually, looking bored.
“Three quarters past noon,” Shi Gun quickly bowed and replied.
“It’s time to eat, what do you want to eat?” Gu Yan turned to ask Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan was taken aback by Gu Yan’s question, then said, “I’ll eat at home, Sister Mei should have finished cooking.”
“It takes half an hour to get to your house from here!” Gu Yan glared at Li Xiaonan in disdain, then looked at Steward Zhou and asked with a frown, “Are there any famous restaurants nearby? Oh, right!”
Gu Yan snapped his folding fan against his palm.
“I’ve heard for a long time that the food in your Pingjiang weaving bureau is excellent, so let’s try it. Which kitchen is closest to here?” Gu Yan seemed very interested.
“The third kitchen, Young Lord, perhaps the small kitchen…” Steward Zhou’s mouth was full of bitterness.
The Young Lord wanted to have lunch at their weaving bureau, why didn’t he say so earlier!
It was now three quarters past noon, and the food in all the kitchens had been served. With seventeen large and small kitchens in their weaving bureau, which kitchen’s food could be presented to this Young Lord?
The legendary excellence was all in food prepared days, even months, in advance!
This Young Lord’s capriciousness was truly genuine, without a shred of pretense!
“Shall we go to the third kitchen?” Gu Yan seemed not to hear Steward Zhou’s suggestion and smiled at Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan nodded repeatedly.
The weaving workshops, as spacious and tall as the large factories of later generations, the impressive large jacquard looms, comparable to the assembly lines of later generations, filled her with anticipation for the weaving bureau’s mess hall.
Li Xiaonan nodded, and Gu Yan strode out.
Steward Zhou had no choice but to follow, making his greatest effort. “Young Lord, the third kitchen is crowded and has a mixed smell. Young Lord, you should go to the small kitchen, Young Lord…”
Young Lord Gu Yan paid no attention to Steward Zhou and followed the attendant who was leading the way, heading straight for the third kitchen.
From dozens of steps away, a strong smell of stewed cabbage wafted towards them.
Gu Yan frowned. Li Xiaonan twitched her nose, turned to Wan Jing, and said with a smile, “It smells like smoked fish, do you smell it?”
Wan Jing lowered her eyes and pretended not to hear.
“Young Lord, you should still go to the small kitchen…” Steward Zhou was making his final effort.
The third kitchen was vast and lively. The weaving women, in groups of three or five, held large bowls and sat at long tables, eating and chatting.
Gu Yan went straight to the large table where food was being served.
The large table was piled with coarse porcelain bowls. Beside them stood three large barrels: one contained slightly dark and yellow coarse rice, another contained stewed cabbage, and the third was filled with large pieces of smoked fish.
The weaving women took their bowls and received a portion of rice, a ladle of cabbage, and two pieces of smoked fish in turn.
Seeing Gu Yan, dressed in fine clothes and with an extraordinary bearing, charging forward, followed by Steward Zhou, the supervisor of their weaving bureau, the several sturdy old women serving food froze in shock, like wooden puppets.
Gu Yan carefully examined the rice and then sniffed the cabbage. Unable to bear it any longer, he took half a step back.
Li Xiaonan stretched her neck, looking at the large barrel of smoked fish, and twitched her nose.
The smoked fish smelled so delicious!
Gu Yan was already standing in front of the stewed cabbage, with no room for rescue. Steward Zhou steeled himself and, with a forced smile, said, “Young Lord, would you like to… try some?”
“Smoked fish is best eaten in such large barrels, do you want to try some?” Li Xiaonan turned to ask Wan Jing.
She was a little hungry, and the smoked fish smelled so good!
Wan Jing lowered her eyes and paid no attention.
Gu Yan turned his head to look at Li Xiaonan, and after a moment, extended his folding fan and nudged her outwards, “Let’s go see their small kitchen.”
“That smoked fish!” Li Xiaonan looked back at the barrel of smoked fish.
She hadn’t eaten smoked fish from the mess hall in years!
Gu Yan resolutely pushed Li Xiaonan outwards.
Shi Gun winked at a servant beside him. The servant immediately lagged a step behind, grabbed Steward Zhou, pointed at the smoked fish, and Steward Zhou understood. He hurried over and quietly instructed a servant to pack a large bowl of smoked fish and send it ahead.
Li Xiaonan followed Gu Yan to see the weaving workshops, asked all the questions she could think of until they were clear, and then ate a meal prepared specially by the weaving bureau. When she got off the carriage at the Cai Lian Lane Entrance, Shi Gun secretly stuffed her with a small bundle containing a large bowl of smoked fish. She was completely satisfied for the day.
………………………………
Gu Yan dismounted at the entrance of the villa, and Wang Gui rushed out from the doorman’s room.
“What happened?” Gu Yan asked as he walked inside.
Around the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) yesterday, a brother of Yao Wu arrived at the villa on horseback, sweating profusely, asking the Young Lord to go to Linhai Town immediately, saying something major had happened.
Gu Yan did not see him, but had Wang Gui follow him to Linhai Town.
“The day before yesterday, Yao Wu and his men took on the job of unloading cargo for a fleet, all of it silk. Yao Wu discovered that the quantity of silk unloaded did not match the manifest from the Hangcheng Weaving Bureau. Yao Wu said that based on his estimation, the silk on the ship was worth over a hundred thousand silver more than the manifest.”
“Yao Wu then found an excuse to delay the unloading, had people watch the silk, and immediately sent someone to report the news,” Wang Gui replied with his hands clasped behind his back.
Although he wasn’t entirely clear about the purpose of his Young Lord placing Yao Wu and his men in Linhai Town, Yao Wu directly intercepting this silk and sending someone to the villa to report the news was definitely inappropriate.
Gu Yan suddenly stopped in his tracks, looked at Wang Gui, opened his mouth, but couldn’t speak, only letting out a heavy sigh.
A hundred thousand silver, and this Yao Wu was lured out!
What an idiot!
Gu Yan stood still, taking a few deep breaths.
It wasn’t entirely Yao Wu’s fault; he had been careless. That girl A Nan could drool over a barrel of smoked fish mixed with sweat and dirt, so how could the poor escort Yao Wu be any different?
A hundred thousand silver!
Now, all he could do was play along with the plan and act like someone who had never seen the world before.
“Go to Linhai Town,” Gu Yan ordered, then turned to leave.
………………………………
In the quiet of the night, in the stone courtyard next to the Maritime Tax Bureau in Linhai Town.
Only one oil lamp was lit in the main house. He Chengzhe, the head of He Ji Old Brand, sat cross-legged under the oil lamp, looking at an account book and slowly moving the beads of his abacus to tally the accounts.
A sound of hurried footsteps reached the door. The curtain was lifted, and He Ruiming called out “Father” and entered the room.
“They’ve left?” He Chengzhe closed the account book.
“Just now,” He Ruiming sat opposite his father, He Chengzhe. “He threw a big tantrum, said he would deal with it severely, and also said he was going to Hangcheng to thoroughly investigate the Hangcheng Weaving Bureau. He rewarded that Yao Wu with a hundred taels of silver.”
He Chengzhe frowned, and after a moment, sighed heavily.
“Father?” He Ruiming looked at his father, hesitated, and asked, “What do you want to see, Father?”
“I want to see the magnanimity and bearing of our young master. Alas.” He Chengzhe sighed again.
He Ruiming frowned, looking confused. “Isn’t this good? The Young Lord isn’t someone with deep schemes. It’s good that we can understand him, isn’t it?”
He Chengzhe gave a noncommittal “Mm,” lost in thought for a while, and sighed again. With some weariness, he ordered, “Go pick out a few jars of good wine, and seal up fifty taels of silver to send to that A Wu.”
“Okay.” He Ruiming stood up, took two steps back, and stopped, looking at his father with concern. “Father, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, you go ahead,” He Chengzhe said gently.
