Chapter 174 A Yan’s First Birthday

Chapter 174: A Yan's First Birthday

The interior of the various workshops at the sugar mill couldn't give them a detailed tour. Bi Yun met up with Tao Jiu. "Yun Geer, these are merchants from Yangzhou and Jianping Prefecture. Meng Fulang instructed you to show them the sugar."

Bi Yun steadied himself, feeling quite nervous inside, but he knew he couldn't show weakness in front of outsiders. He gave Tao Jiu a gentle smile and said, "Then get back to work. I'll take the three proprietors to the warehouse."

Tao Jiu's gaze lingered on his own husband, feeling that he seemed different from how he was at home. He couldn't help but look a while longer before saying, "The magistrate gave me half the day off; I'll just hang around here. Don't mind me."

Since he said that, Bi Yun truly ignored him. Standing up straight, he led them to the warehouse to see the finished sugar products. Along the way, he spoke to the visiting merchants in an orderly manner, neither too modest nor too aggressive.

The small batch of sugar remaining in the warehouse was purposely kept by Meng Wan for merchants visiting Heshan to inspect.

Even though they still had doubts about the sugar mill's origins, Wang and Zhao had already put away their contempt and began to take things seriously. Even if they were received by a young man, after being immunized by Meng Wan and the sugar mill, aside from slight initial discomfort, they were not overly surprised.

When looking at the sugar, Grain Merchant Wang remained silent. Sugar Merchant Zhao was the expert in this field. He kept his expression unreadable, either asking about last year's sugarcane yield, estimating how much sugar the mill could produce this year, or tasting the sweetness of the sugar.

Seeing that Zhao seemed confident, Wang frowned inwardly, worried that he might be colluding with Third Master Zhu to cheat him.

However, both men's thoughts were more or less aligned: they still needed to discuss the price with Meng Fulang. Bi Yun might have sensed their thoughts, so he kept quiet about the mill's cost price. Third Master Zhu got a friends-and-family price, so he naturally wouldn't bring it up either.

Wang and Zhao thought well, but seeing Meng Fulang again would not be easy. He had gone to the countryside with Song Tingzhou.

Third Master Zhu was in no hurry. He needed to stay in Heshan County until November. Since he had made money last year and opened up sales channels, as long as Meng Wan still let him purchase at last year's price, he planned to buy another batch before leaving.

During this time, he didn't intend to be idle. He bought three shop fronts in the county town. One was a grain store, as Meng Wan suggested, where he could sell the rice and flour he had collected along the way.

Heshan County had mostly mountainous terrain and insufficient grain production. Most grain stores bought grain from the countryside in Xiwu Prefecture or other prefectures and sold it in Heshan at a higher price.

Third Master Zhu bought grain along the way and shipped it here. Since it was last year's old grain, the price was slightly cheaper. Even after accounting for transportation losses, it was still cheaper than locally sold grain, so the store did good business after opening.

He leisurely did business, and seeing that Heshan Sugar Mill seemed not to lack their business, Wang and Zhao grew anxious. They had come all this way, not to return empty-handed. Unable to see Meng Wan, they had to seek out Bi Yun again and openly ask about the price.

"Forty wen for regular brown sugar, and seventy wen for high-purity brown sugar?" Sugar Merchant Zhao calculated in his mind. The regular brown sugar was only three wen cheaper than what he got from Yangzhou, but the high-purity sugar was a full seven wen cheaper than Yangzhou's sugar mills.

Although Heshan was far away, after accounting for transportation costs, it was still profitable, and the more he bought, the more he earned.

Sugar Merchant Zhao felt tempted, but business was about negotiation. Even if he could push the price down by one wen, that was extra profit. Who would dislike more money?

Seeing him haggling with Bi Yun, Grain Merchant Wang understood. He also had some knowledge of sugar purchasing prices, but the large sugar mills in Yangzhou were already monopolized. The small mills' output wasn't enough to make more profit than his grain business, so he, a mid-tier merchant in Yangzhou, didn't bother with them.

Sugar Merchant Zhao had been dealing in sugar for years. If he was so tempted despite the distance, there must be profit to be made. This deal was feasible!

Bi Yun hadn't been in business long and had never personally negotiated with big merchants. This time, Meng Wan assigned this task to him, and he couldn't help being nervous. But he had experienced the world with Meng Wan, and Meng Wan had told him the bottom line. So he held firm, refusing to go below thirty-eight wen for regular sugar and sixty-eight wen for high-purity sugar.

If Wang and Zhao were dealing with an ordinary male merchant, they could invite him to a banquet, have a few drinks, and perhaps get the price down. But Bi Yun was a young man with a tight lip, making it difficult.

In the end, they couldn't negotiate a single wen lower and settled on thirty-eight wen for regular sugar and sixty-eight wen for high-purity sugar.

Although the price was settled, they wouldn't sign any contract or pay a deposit until they saw the sugar mill in operation. So, like Third Master Zhu, they waited in the county town.

Both had plenty of money. They each bought a small courtyard near Third Master Zhu's place. Seeing that Third Master Zhu's grain store was thriving, Grain Merchant Wang found it promising. He thought that once the sugarcane matter was settled, he might buy a shop to open a grain store too.

Merchants chase profits. Since the journey was long, anything they could bring from the north to sell here would at least cover their travel expenses.

—

Lately, Meng Wan was indeed not home often, but he wasn't particularly busy either. Mainly, he was trying to avoid those two merchants while also giving Bi Yun some practice.

"Brother Li, the ash you burned, when spread alone on the ground, is quite hard. But after mixing in sand, it doesn't set well; it crumbles. Forget about using it for road repair; even a wooden cart wheel would break it," Meng Wan said, looking at the cement-like substance on the ground with some worry. This stuff was really difficult; it might not succeed.

Old Li, the tile kiln worker, and Old Sun, the pottery kiln worker, had been called to the kiln outside the city for several months. Old Li, who had been firing tiles his whole life, was quite frustrated. If not for the County Magistrate paying him daily to study limestone, he would have given up long ago.

Compared to Meng Wan, who came occasionally, Song Tingzhou spent longer hours here. Whenever there were no official duties at the county office, he would come to the outskirts to check.

Seeing Meng Wan look a bit downcast, Song Tingzhou pulled him up from the ground and gently wiped the mud from his hands with a damp cloth. "A thousand-zhang peak is not built from a single stone; a ten-thousand-li river gathers from hundreds of streams. We just need to wait patiently. If good news comes, we'll be delighted; if not, we'll have no regrets, and look forward to the future."

Meng Wan wasn't one to dwell on things. He quickly adjusted his mindset. "You're right. This can't be rushed, and I can't spend all my days on it. Just now, I saw grapes being sold at the city gate. They look big and have good color. Shall we buy some to take home?"

Song Tingzhou put away the dirty cloth and took Meng Wan's hand, walking toward the city gate. "The lychees in Liye County are already ripe. Tomorrow, have Xue Sheng go buy a few baskets."

"You mentioning that reminds me." Now that Song had brought it up, Meng Wan wanted to eat them too. Liye County didn't grow many lychees, and the variety was mediocre, not good enough to be offered to the imperial family. But the price was quite friendly for locals, and even common people could afford them. They had bought some back in early July, and Chang Jinhua loved them. This should be the last batch of the season.

Xue Sheng went to the neighboring county and bought back five baskets of lychees. Meng Wan sent one basket to Third Master Zhu, one to the Miao family next door, and half a basket to each of the two merchants.

They couldn't finish them all at home. Chang Jinhua gave some to the neighbors, and the rest were stored in the cellar to keep for a few more days.

"A Yan still wants to eat? No, you can't. You're too young; you can only have one small piece a day. Otherwise, you'll get a 'deficiency fire,' understand?" A Xun had some free time these days and came to play with Chu Ci, teasing A Yan with peeled lychees.

A Yan was lying on the bamboo mat, propping himself up on all fours, his little head raised high. His round eyes were fixed on the half-peeled lychee in A Xun's hand, saliva flowing like a waterfall, soaking the mat.

"Ah, ah, ah... Daddy!"

As soon as Meng Wan entered the door, he heard A Yan calling him. Seeing the scene, he burst out laughing.

"I wasn't as greedy as A Yan when I was little. He must take after you," he teased Song Tingzhou.

Song Tingzhou had just returned from the county office. He took off his official hat and helplessly accepted the blame. "He takes after me." He went to change into casual clothes and wash his hands, then came to pick up A Yan. "A Yan, call me 'Dad.'"

A Yan didn't like being held anymore; he preferred to stand on his own. He perfunctorily called out "Dad," his eyes still fixed on the lychees in A Xun and Chu Ci's hands.

Afraid that A Yan would cry from craving, Chu Ci simply carried the whole plate of lychees out. As he passed Meng Wan, Meng Wan took one, peeled it, and ate it. The sweet juice and flesh went down easily; no wonder A Yan loved them.

"It's a pity we don't have good preservation methods; otherwise, selling these up north would certainly make money," Meng Wan remarked.

Fresh lychees are rare, and canning them could delay spoilage. Unfortunately, the Guanyu Bureau, which produced glass, was controlled by the imperial family, making glass products hard to come by for ordinary people. Moreover, the sealing conditions for jars were insufficient to transport canned goods to the north.

In early September, the Ministry of Justice's verdict came down. The old Daoist was sentenced to beheading, while Tong Laoda was to be exiled five hundred li. Compared to the death penalty, this was considered light. The Tong family had money, and with some bribes along the way, Tong Laoda could survive.

In contrast, his two younger brothers were less fortunate; they were sentenced to military service along the eastern coastal border. Whether they would return was uncertain.

The lands donated by the Tong family and other country gentry were confiscated as official lands. To ease the burden on the villagers, farmers could purchase the land at half the market price.

This was only because the court didn't yet know that the villagers of Hongshan Village had earned money; otherwise, not to mention others, the Minister of Revenue, Kou Wen, would not have agreed.

The biggest surprise this time was that Song Tingzhou's proposal was actually approved by the current emperor. He had thought it would take a few more years of lobbying.

The imperial decree was clear: for the entire county of Heshan, for the next three years, the poll tax and land tax could be combined into a single payment. Regardless of the population size, the more land one owned, the more tax one paid.

Heshan was remote, and during the year and a half that Song Tingzhou had been in office, he had uncovered large-scale land hoarding by local gentry, leaving the common people with no land to cultivate. This regulation was reasonable. The censors in the Censorate kept silent, and others had no grounds to refute it.

Those who sensed something wrong barely had time to speak before they were rebutted by other officials.

Minister of Rites Wu Wei deliberately opposed Song Tingzhou but was publicly reprimanded by the emperor and ordered to reflect on his mistakes at home.

If news from Heshan County later spread, virtuous and diligent officials would likely follow suit. They would submit memorials to the court, and since poor areas had little to offer, the powerful clans generally wouldn't bother obstructing.

Once the reform of combining poll tax and land tax was implemented in more places, it would be too late for them to interfere. The emperor and the crown prince intended to rein in the powerful families. Song Tingzhou's memorial, though unexpected, came at just the right moment and pleased His Majesty.

This was the most heartening news for Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan after their repeated failures to make cement.

When the hottest part of summer had passed, A Yan grew older, not only able to call out "Dad" and "Grandma," but also learning to say "eat."

His dad, Meng Wan, was speechless.

Despite this, Meng Wan still had to prepare A Yan's first birthday "grasping ceremony." The Miao family closed their medical clinic and came as a whole to watch the ceremony. Third Master Zhu also arrived early. Bi Yun, Tao Jiu, Chief Clerk Qiao and his family, the newly arrived County Magistrate Dong and his family, Instructor Huang Xun and the county school's instructor—altogether, they filled five tables of lively guests.

On their own turf, there was no need to fuss about inner and outer courtyards like in Shengjing. Meng Wan had everyone sit together with their families. Since most were already acquainted, nobody felt offended.

It was a perfect, cloudless day. A Yan wore a brand-new pomegranate-red outfit. Song Tingzhou carried him to the large table in the middle of the courtyard. On it were placed writing brushes, ink sticks, paper, inkstones, jewelry and jade, blunt daggers and short swords, books, toys, pastries and snacks—everything one could think of.

A Yan looked curiously at the items on the table, then turned his head to glance at Meng Wan, who was sitting nearby with a paintbrush in hand, sketching. "Ah... Dad?"

Meng Wan popped his head out from behind the easel and said with a smile, "Dad's right here. Go ahead, pick whichever you want."

In case A Yan hadn't understood, Song Tingzhou also coaxed him gently, "Crawl over, A Yan. What do you like?"

A Yan sat on the table and looked around. Spotting a chicken leg wrapped in oil paper, he scrambled over without hesitation and started gnawing on it.

Song Tingzhou, amused and exasperated at the same time, snatched the chicken leg from his hands, making A Yan, with his tiny rice-grain-sized teeth, burst into loud crying.

Children act innocent and endearingly clumsy, which naturally drew laughter from everyone. Yet they didn't forget to offer a few auspicious blessings.

The simple "grasping" ceremony came to an end. Meng Wan outlined the rough lines on his painting paper; the remaining details could be filled in later.

After the ceremony came the feast. Both Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua were good cooks, and even Huang Ye, whom they had trained, could hold his own. Since there were many guests and one person couldn’t handle the workload, Meng Wan hired outside chefs to help at the residence. Besides the usual banquet dishes, they also served fried chicken and grilled skewers from the roasted meat shop.

The food on the table was delicious, and the Song family didn't put on official airs. Glasses were raised, and everyone had a great time.

Only after A Yan's full-moon celebration did Mount He finally cool down. At the kiln outside the city, cement production still showed little progress. However, the test road had been laid from the kiln all the way into town—though in a spotty, patchwork manner, with different materials and inconsistent hardness. Every time Meng Wan saw it, he felt it looked like building blocks.

After the autumn harvest, business at Meng Wan's roasted meat shop picked up slightly. He had basically stopped running it, leaving everything to Chang Jinhua. He spent time at home taking care of A Yan, and occasionally visited the back street to play with the Wei family's children.