Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Back in her small courtyard, Meng Die took out Zhuang Ming's manuscript and read it carefully once more, finally grasping a clear direction for her own writing. She began to pen down her thoughts.

Uncle's essay on commerce as a means of enriching both the nation and its people is indeed captivating. The exchange of goods between regions, filling shortages with surplus, allows citizens to accumulate wealth swiftly, and only when the people prosper does the country truly flourish – this is an eternal truth.

However, has Uncle considered one crucial aspect of trade: the source of goods? If Region A abundantly produces vegetables, selling them to Region B where they are scarce is excellent; but if vegetables in Region A barely suffice for its own needs, what then? Would merchants forcefully buy or inflate prices? Whichever approach, the outcome might not prove satisfactory.

Therefore, to make commerce beneficial to both nation and people, the key lies in ensuring the source of goods comes from abundant regions. From Uncle's numerous essays, I observe that you often discuss the pros and cons of matters. But every issue has two sides, and the line between benefits and drawbacks can be blurry. These subtle details can sway the course of events. Uncle might wish to ponder more on this aspect...

Having finished the letter, Meng Die let out a sigh of relief and carefully sealed it. "Lu Wei, make sure to arrange for someone to deliver this to Uncle's place tomorrow morning."

Lu Wei replied assuredly, "It will be delivered to the estate first thing in the dawn."

Meanwhile, upon receiving Meng Die's letter, Zhuang Ming was struck with a sudden realization. He hastily searched for his previous writings and immediately identified the flaws in his work.

In fact, Meng Tingyi had noticed the same issue and had tried to teach him. However, what kind of genius was Meng Tingyi when it came to studying? He was practically a scholarly deity. Otherwise, how could he have ranked fourth in the national examinations without any prominent teachers guiding him, growing up in a family that didn't prioritize education?

Among Meng Tingyi's sons, Meng Changsheng, Meng Die's father, had been a top-ranked champion in the imperial examination, while his second son was a second-class jinshi, the third son was the runner-up, and the fourth son was also a second-class jinshi. Undoubtedly, they were a family of academic prodigies.

Zhuang Ming did possess a talent for learning, but that was only relative; when compared to the Meng father and son, he was quite the academic underachiever. The most vexing part was that while a genius's teaching methods might be comprehensible to a straight-A student, how could an underachiever grasp them? Consequently, Meng Tingyi's guidance fell on deaf ears, and Zhuang Ming remained stubbornly unenlightened.

Zhuang Ming hailed from a family of merchants. His mentor, though not renowned, could discern the flaws in his writings but found it challenging to pinpoint the exact issues. It was Meng Die who, using the language of commerce that Zhuang Ming was most familiar with, illuminated the crux of his problems.

Not two days later, Lady Zhuang arrived at the Marquis's residence once more, cradling a box in her arms. Her eyes and brows brimmed with delight as she said, "The day before yesterday, your uncle received your letter. After reading it, he remained silent for a long while, his expression so ineffable that I hardly knew how to describe it. For a moment, I almost thought he had fallen under some sort of spell."

"Without waiting for me to react, despite her age, she leapt with an energy that seemed to defy gravity, rummaging through chests and cabinets to retrieve her old writings." Mrs. Zhuang placed the box on the kang table and said, "Here, after numerous revisions and edits, they're all within. Allow me to show them to you."

Meng Die: "Very well, I'll make sure to finish reading it promptly and reply to my uncle."

Madam Zhuang: "There are so many letters to go through; take your time and don't exhaust yourself."

"Mmm." Meng Die smiled and asked, "I heard that there's some progress in Cousin Zhou's marriage?"

Madam Zhuang became even more delighted when she mentioned this: "Yes, indeed. Brother Hu has an old friend named He who has three sons. The youngest, at sixteen, is yet to be engaged. He's currently studying and said to have quite a talent. Both families have shown interest and plan to secretly match their horoscopes first. If there are no adverse influences, the He family will choose an auspicious day to send a matchmaker to propose."

Meng Die was familiar with this process, as it was the same one that had been followed for her own engagement to Li Mao. In fact, it was a common practice among reputable families in the Great Yi Dynasty.

From the bottom of her heart, Meng Die was genuinely happy for Cousin Hu Zhiyun: "Uncle Hu and Aunt Hu can finally put their minds at ease. With the new year approaching, the capital city will be bustling with excitement. They can certainly venture out and enjoy themselves."

Madam Zhuang: "Indeed, tomorrow your Uncle Hu is planning to take your Aunt to visit this Hu merchant. They're preparing for it today."

"Hu merchant?" Meng Die asked curiously. "Although Hu merchants don't have a fixed schedule like sea merchants, they've never come before or after the Spring Festival. Usually, they arrive between April and September, right? It's now early winter, so is he coming earlier or later than usual?"

Madam Zhuang: "Later. This particular Hu merchant fell seriously ill on his journey, which delayed him until now. Due to the delay, the business partners he was supposed to work with sourced goods from elsewhere. Moreover, some of his merchandise got damaged during the trip and didn't sell well. Otherwise, why would he wait for people to visit?"

Meng Die's heart stirred. "In that case, I'd like Lu Wei to accompany your Uncle Hu and Aunt tomorrow, to broaden her horizons."

Madam Zhuang paused. "Is that appropriate? Can ladies from noble families engage in commerce?"

Meng Die smiled and said, "Aunt, you can rest assured. The court's suppression of officials engaging in commerce is primarily to prevent collusion between officials and merchants to exploit the common people and to suppress the goods in the hands of the populace. The goods of Hu merchants and sea merchants are all transported from other countries, so it is impossible for there to be collusion between officials and merchants to exploit the common people. To put it another way, even if there were exploitation, it would not be of the people of our own country."

Mrs. Zhuang suddenly understood, "So that's how it was."

Madame Zhuang took her leave after having lunch with Meng Die, and also took Lu Wei with her.

Meng Die dispatched Lu Wei with confidence, knowing that with Uncle Hu and Aunt Hu's support, nothing untoward would happen. Now, the key was how much insight she would gain from this experience.