Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Early the next morning, Ma Qianzi rushed back excitedly. "Boss, you're definitely going to love this shop!"

Wang Ying put down his pen, looked up, and asked, "Oh? Which shop is it?"

"The steamed bun shop across from Yang's Trading Company. I heard the owner passed away from an illness, and the proprietress can't manage it alone, so she's returning to her hometown."

The location was indeed excellent, right in the heart of the commercial district, with restaurants, eateries, and inns to the left, and various trading firms to the right.

"Did you ask about the rent?"

Ma Qianzi nodded. "Yes, I did. There are eight months left on the lease, and it's 240 taels of silver. We might still be able to negotiate the price. When the lease expires, we can renew with the landlord."

That worked out to an average of 30 taels per month, which was quite reasonable for such a prime location. "Let's go take a look!"

Wang Ying quickly went back to his room to get the silver. Money in hand, the two headed straight to Zhengyang Street.

When they arrived, the proprietress of the steamed bun shop was packing her belongings. She looked quite elderly, probably in her fifties, a little stout, with her hair wrapped in a cloth scarf.

"Were you the one who came earlier to ask about renting?"

"Yes, Auntie, you remember me." Ma Qianzi stepped forward to help her move things out.

"Thank you, young man." The old woman wiped her hands and walked over. "The landlord will be here soon. We can discuss it together."

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the landlord arrived. He was also an elderly man, not very tall, with a slender build and a slight limp. He wore a plain hat and had a handlebar mustache. Upon seeing the proprietress, he sighed and said, "I didn’t expect your husband to pass so suddenly. My condolences..."

"Life and death are fated; there’s nothing we can do. It’s a pity both our sons died before us, otherwise we wouldn’t have had to close the shop."

From their conversation, it was clear the woman had two sons. The eldest had died of an illness at seventeen, and the younger had passed away from tuberculosis a few years ago, leaving behind a wife and child whom the old couple had been caring for.

Now that her husband had passed, she couldn’t manage alone, so she decided to close the shop and take her daughter-in-law and grandson back to their hometown.

"I already told these two young men that the lease expires next June, with eight months left. I’m transferring the lease to them for 240 taels of silver. When the lease is up, they can discuss the rent with you."

Wang Ying greeted the landlord. "Uncle, we’d like to rent this shop."

"What kind of business will you run?"

Wang Ying shared the story he had prepared. "We plan to sell fresh vegetables. My relative is a merchant who can transport fresh produce from other regions during the winter."

The landlord was intrigued. "What kinds of vegetables?"

"Cucumbers, green beans, leafy greens, eggplants... you name it, we’ll have it."

"That sounds like a good business. Nowadays, with the cold weather, the gardens only have cabbage and radishes left. It would be nice to have some fresh vegetables. Alright, I won’t raise the rent for now. If you renew the lease when it expires, it’ll still be 350 taels per year."

Wang Ying was inwardly delighted. 350 taels was definitely not expensive. Many of the shops he had seen earlier were inferior to this one yet cost over 400 taels. Slightly better ones were over 600 taels, meaning a year’s earnings might not even cover the rent.

"Thank you, Uncle."

The old man waved his hand. "Just give me a copy of the contract once you’ve agreed."

Wang Ying negotiated further with the old woman. Seeing that they seemed kind and knowing she was eager to transfer the lease, she finally agreed to a price of 200 taels.

Ma Qianzi brought paper and a brush, and Wang Ying began drafting the lease agreement.

The old woman couldn’t read, so she asked the landlord to review it. Once he confirmed it was correct, the silver was handed over, and both parties affixed their fingerprints to the document.

The lease agreement was made in three copies, one for each of the three parties. The old woman took the silver and prepared to leave. The tables, chairs, and benches in the room had already been sold to a nearby noodle stall, and they would be picked up that afternoon.

Before departing, the landlord reminded them not to damage the house or engage in any illegal activities.

The two nodded repeatedly in agreement. Finally having rented a suitable shop, Wang Ying was overjoyed and quickly asked Ma Qianzi to return and bring people to help clean up the place, eager to open for business as soon as possible!

*

Meanwhile, Chen Qingyan and his companions finally arrived in Yangzhou by boat.

Originally, they had planned to set sail south at the end of August, but plans changed. Recently, Japanese pirates (wokou) in Laizhou had become rampant, with several ships being hijacked, causing widespread panic and making merchant ships afraid to set sail.

The newly appointed Prefect of Laizhou, Xu Dabin, formerly the naval admiral of Chengzhou and an expert in naval warfare, led his troops in a month-long campaign at sea, severely crippling the pirates and restoring peace to the waters.

In late September, Liang Boqing and the three others boarded a southbound ship. They switched to a carriage at the Suzhou ferry and finally arrived in Yangzhou on the ninth day of the tenth month.

Sitting in the carriage, Old Liang began to introduce the city to them.

"An ancient poem says: 'With a fortune of a hundred thousand strings, one rides a crane to Yangzhou.' Just from these lines, one can glimpse the prosperity of Yangzhou. Another verse goes: 'The spring breeze blows for ten miles along the road to Yangzhou, yet even behind beaded curtains, none can compare.' The beauties of Yangzhou are also world-renowned."

"The so-called 'Yangzhou Thin Horses' are particularly famous. Wealthy merchants would take in young children, teaching them music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from an early age. By the time they turned twelve or thirteen, the most outstanding in appearance and figure would be selected and sent to high-ranking officials and nobles for their entertainment."

It was precisely because of Yangzhou's reputation for beauties that the city had many brothels and pleasure quarters. There were also painted boats and pleasure cruises on the river, making the courtesan culture nationally famous. Many romantic literati, eager to witness the charm of these beauties, came specifically to this place and left behind countless timeless verses.

After hearing this, Chen Qingyan felt no yearning but instead a strong sense of aversion. He thought of his sister, who at twelve was still an innocent child, while these young girls had to entertain men, which he found utterly repulsive.

Qing Huai and Qing Song, however, were quite curious. Both unmarried and relatively naive in their thinking, they simply wanted to see how beautiful the "Yangzhou Thin Horses" really were.

When entering the city, Liang An presented an identification token, and the guards barely conducted any checks, directly allowing the group to enter.

The Liang family was a prominent household in Yangzhou. Although they had declined somewhat, Liang Boqing still had three brothers serving as local officials, and his nephews also held official positions. As the saying goes, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.

Liang Boqing had not returned to his hometown for over a decade. The ancestral home had been managed by his third younger brother.

The carriage entered an alley and traveled for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before Liang An said, "We’re almost there. This alley leads to the master’s house."

"Ah?" The three were astonished. They had known their master came from a well-off family but never imagined such wealth!

No wonder—it’s hard for a poor family to produce a noble son. Old Liang was born into a family of scholars. His grandfather, Liang Qiushi, once served as the Chief Secretary of Yangzhou, and his father was the Sima of Yangzhou. It was only in his generation that no one held an official post.

The wealth accumulated over generations was naturally beyond comparison with ordinary families.

The carriage passed through the alley and arrived at the main street, finally reaching the entrance. From afar, they could see two stone lions, and above the gate hung a large plaque inscribed with the characters "Liang Residence."

Liang An stepped forward and knocked on the door. Shortly after, the gatekeeper came out and asked whom he was looking for.

Liang An presented Liang Boqing’s personal token and said, "The eldest master has returned."

The gatekeeper was startled upon hearing this, quickly bowed in respect, and then called for someone to respectfully open the main gate and remove the threshold to welcome Liang Boqing into the courtyard.

In the main room, a servant had already run in to deliver the message: "The eldest master has returned!"

Liang Bozhan was taken aback upon hearing this, his brow slightly furrowed. "Why has he returned?" he said, then stood up and went out to greet him.

"Elder brother, you’ve returned. Why didn’t you send a letter in advance? We could have prepared for your arrival."

"Prepare for what? I’m just staying here with them for a while and will return to Jizhou before the New Year."

Hearing this, Liang Bozhan breathed a slight sigh of relief. "You must be exhausted from the long journey. Elder brother and esteemed guests, please come inside and rest. I’ll have a banquet prepared to welcome you and wash away the dust of your travels."

Liang Boqing waved his hand impatiently. "No need for anything too elaborate. A simple meal will suffice. I’m too tired from the journey to bother with formalities."

"Yes..."

Liang Boqing led the three to his courtyard and selected three rooms for them to settle in.

Chen Qingyan asked quietly, "Why does it feel like your master's brother is a little intimidated by you?"

Liang Boqing replied, "We have different mothers. His mother was my father’s concubine, making him my half-brother, so we are not close."

In prominent families, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is strictly observed. From a young age, Liang Boqing was raised to be the family heir.

As an illegitimate son, Liang Bozhan had no inheritance rights. Although he currently manages the family business, the ownership still belongs to Liang Boqing.

Even if Old Liang passed away, the property would not be inherited by him but by Old Liang’s eldest son, Liang Shuo.

Moreover, since childhood, their father had always favored his eldest son the most, and Liang Boqing met expectations, consistently outperforming his younger brothers in every aspect.

His half-brothers looked up to him in a way, but there was also jealousy. Now, while they appear respectful on the surface, it’s hard to say what they truly think behind his back.

Even within the Chen family, uncles could fight among themselves to seize family assets, let alone in such a prominent clan, where complexities abound.

Therefore, after his parents passed away, Liang Boqing no longer returned home, choosing instead to travel widely—just to avoid the scheming and infighting within the household.

"Get some rest these next few days. I’ll take you out for some sightseeing soon, and then we’ll visit an old friend of mine."

"Yes," everyone replied before returning to their respective rooms to rest.

Once inside, they were once again rendered speechless. The furnishings in the room were exceptionally exquisite. Even having traveled around in Jizhou and Laizhou, they were still astonished by the extravagance of the Liang family.

The entire room was furnished with rosewood furniture—just the tables, chairs, and beds alone were worth enough to buy a house in town, yet every room in the Liang residence was similarly furnished.

The bed was adorned with silk bedding, with each bolt costing dozens of strings of cash. The display shelf's decorative screen was made of precious Ru kiln porcelain, with a single vase worth over a hundred strings of cash. The screen featured a Su embroidery of "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," and the walls were adorned with paintings by Wu Daozi… Today, they truly got an eye-opening experience.

The reason the Liang family was so wealthy was that Liang Boqing’s grandmother was the daughter of a salt merchant, with a fortune totaling millions of strings of cash, which was how they could afford to maintain such a large household.

Lying on the soft couch, Chen Qingyan couldn’t help but sigh. For his teacher to give up such a comfortable life and come to their remote, impoverished village to teach the three of them was truly a sacrifice. If it were him, he might not have been able to make such a choice.

Finding a moment, he entered the experimental field and left a note for Wang Ying.

He had been too busy traveling these past few days to check the experimental field, and today he found several notes left inside.

Chen Qingyan unfolded and read them. The first one was from a few days earlier.

"Jizhou has had two rains recently. The autumn weather has turned chilly, and the weather has turned cold all of a sudden. I wonder how far you’ve traveled and whether you’re feeling cold? The letters we sent to Uncle and Fourth Uncle in August have been replied to. Fourth Uncle was very happy to hear we moved to the prefectural city and even wrote letters to several colleagues in Jizhou, hoping they could look out for us.

Uncle also replied. Tianyang County was also affected by the disaster, though not as severely as Qingshui Town. Later, he brought our eldest cousin to look for us, but when they arrived in Qingshui Town, they couldn’t find us. He fell ill after returning. Fortunately, we wrote to him in time, or else he might have thought we had drowned in the flood."

Chen Qingyan sighed and unfolded the second note.

"I’ve rented a shop in the prefectural city and plan to continue selling fresh vegetables in winter and ice treats in summer. Living in the prefectural city is not easy, and without some means of income, life would indeed be difficult."

The third note contained only a few short words, but they made Chen Qingyan’s eyes well up.

"Qing Yan, I’ve missed you very much these past few days. I wonder when you will return."