The Heir

Сhарtеr 105: Оpening Dау

Оn thе еighteenth daу оf the third month, in thе earlу hоurs bеfоrе dаwn, the sky wаs still pitch black. The rооsters hаd not уеt сrоwed, аnd thе drums frоm thе drum tоwer hаd not yet sоundеd, but evеryone аt the Ink Workshоp was аlrеаdу uр—оr рerhaрs mаny hаd nоt slеpt аt all thе рrevious night.

Тhеy wеre all bustling abоut in the Ink Workshoр аnd thе front shоp of Ink Mаnоr.

Zhеn Niang, tоо, соuld nоt slеeр. Тhe night bеforе, she had gоne tо bеd vеry lаtе, but аs sоon as she lаy down, her mind was floоded with countlеss thoughts. She hаd onlу dоzed оff for a short while before jolting awake again. Now, she threw on her clothes and got up. Through the window, she could see the bright lights shining from the Ink Workshop in the backyard.

Next door, the voices of Huang Shi and Seventh Grandmother drifted over.

It seemed she was not the only one unable to sleep.

Today was an important day for the Li Family Ink Manor in Nanjing.

It was also an important day for everyone at the manor. The Li Family Ink Manor in Nanjing was about to open for business—a new beginning.

A person’s life is filled with countless beginnings. Perhaps not every beginning leads to a perfect ending, but a good start is half the battle. The outcome may not always be as one wishes, often beyond one’s control. Yet, striving to make every beginning as good as possible is something one can do. What one can do, one should put forth one hundred percent effort into, striving to do one’s best. This was Zhen Niang’s creed.

Just as when she first arrived in this era, she had worked hard to adapt to the life of this time.

And just as when Ninth Uncle had encountered trouble and Seventh Grandmother had nearly suffered a stroke, entrusting the Ink Workshop to her hands, she had done her utmost, exhausting every means to do it well.

Now, with the Ink Manor in Nanjing, she was striving just as hard.

“Yun San’s wife, there’s still some dust here. Quickly, quickly, bring a cloth to wipe it off.” Inside the Ink Workshop, Ma Sao was acting like a supervisor, leaving no corner unchecked.

“Er Gou, didn’t I ask you to go to the printing house yesterday to collect the printed ink order forms? Where did you put them?” At the front shop, Zheng Fuli was also meticulously inspecting everything, afraid of the slightest oversight.

Li Jingming was calling for Li Zhengping to arrange for some carriages to be on standby. After all, once the banquet was over, there would need to be carriages to send off the guests.

In the kitchen, the chefs and helpers from Shi Wei Tian had arrived the night before and were now busily preparing for the banquet.

Tables had been set up in both the front and back courtyards of the residence to entertain congratulatory guests. Of course, the most important guests would be invited to the tables in the main hall.

A stage had also been set up in the backyard, where a well-known Nanjing opera troupe specializing in legendary plays had been hired to perform Wang Ji’s The Interlocking Stratagem, which tells the story of Diaochan driving a wedge between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu during the Three Kingdoms period.

It was the most popular play of the time. The troupe had already been invited to perform a segment the day before, and Xiao Ya and Hua’er had been utterly captivated.

Having grown accustomed to later adaptations of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhen Niang was not particularly interested in the plot of the play. Instead, she found the performance itself—the singing, recitation, postures, and martial arts—quite fascinating.

“Miss Zhen…”

“Good morning, Miss Zhen.”

As Zhen Niang entered the Ink Workshop, everyone greeted her, their faces beaming with joy.

The masters from Huizhou had long since arrived and had already begun selecting their apprentices from the newly recruited workers. They were now busy in their respective workshops.

Seeing that everything was in order, Zhen Niang made her way to the front shop.The ink brought from Huizhou had already been arranged on the shelves, with the most eye-catching items being the rows of white porcelain bottles containing liquid ink. Ink lists written on bamboo slips were also hung on the wall behind the counter.

The entire layout exuded an air of elegance.

Additionally, Zhen Niang had prepared some printed ink lists to make introductions more convenient.

"Miss Zhen." Seeing Zhen Niang approach, Zheng Fuli eagerly came forward to greet her.

"Is everything ready?" Zhen Niang asked. Today, many situations would still require Zheng Fuli to take the lead in receiving guests.

"Everything is ready, and there won’t be any mistakes," Zheng Fuli assured confidently.

Zhen Niang nodded, then walked over to the partitioned elegant room. The most prominent feature was a display cabinet showcasing the finest ink accumulated by the Li family over the years, the re-blended ink Zhen Niang had prepared last year, and the newly completed Han Xizai's Night Revels Collection Ink.

After walking around once more, she realized that, overall, everything was as it should be. What needed to be checked had already been inspected over eighteen times, and there was truly nothing left to review. If any issues still arose, they would fall under the realm of fate. Finally, Zhen Niang exchanged a few words with Zheng Fuli and returned to the wooden building in the rear courtyard. She first paid her respects to Old Madam Li and Huang Shi, then changed into her newly made clothes.

After a while of busy preparations, it was Chen hour—an auspicious day and time. With a string of opening firecrackers, the doors of Li’s Ink Manor swung open.

"Congratulations, congratulations!" Neighbors from all around clasped their hands in greeting to the people of the ink manor. They also marveled at the novel layout of Li’s Ink Manor, finding it quite intriguing as they wandered inside to explore.

The people at the ink manor cheerfully replied, "Mutual joy, mutual joy! May your business prosper and wealth flow abundantly!"

Zhen Niang then helped the old madam to the entrance, while Li Jingming and Zheng Fuli stood on the other side to welcome guests. Li Zhengping remained inside to attend to visitors.

Of course, the old madam would not stand for long; she had only come out to take a look.

Soon after, Zhen Niang escorted the old madam and Huang Shi to sit inside. In this era, age was revered, and with the old madam’s advanced years, even if the prefect arrived, it would not be considered impolite not to greet him. If they encountered a particularly upright prefect, he might even pay his respects to Old Madam Li first.

Zhen Niang chatted with the old madam and Huang Shi for a while. Seeing that the time was about right, she stood up and walked to the entrance. As the head of the Nanjing ink manor, she naturally had to stand at the door to welcome guests as a sign of respect.

Before long, her eldest cousin, Han Song, arrived with several friends from the business world. After exchanging pleasantries, they were ushered inside by Zheng Fuli.

Not long after, her second cousin, Han Bai, strolled over with a few classmates. They also offered their congratulations, and the group, being naturally sociable and genuinely fond of ink, needed no further invitation. They immediately immersed themselves in the shop, appreciating the ink.

They even improvised a few poems on the spot. Meanwhile, Hua’er, quick-witted as ever, promptly prepared paper and ink, had the poems written down, and brought them to Zhen Niang. Zhen Niang knew nothing about poetry, but as the saying goes in later times, "Read three hundred Tang poems, and even if you can’t compose, you can recite."Thus, in the end, some quality could still be discerned. These few poems appeared quite elegant, so she quietly called over her second cousin again, intending to purchase these poems and have someone copy them onto the outer wall. On one hand, this was an elegant affair; on the other, it provided an opportunity to promote Liquid Ink—truly killing two birds with one stone.

As for the wall, they could simply repaint it in a couple of days if needed.

Of course, this required the consent of her second cousin’s classmates.

Regarding the purchase of the poems, her second cousin’s classmates were somewhat dismissive, largely due to the pride of scholars unwilling to taint themselves with the smell of money. However, they were somewhat tempted by the idea of having their poems copied onto the wall at the entrance for public appreciation.

The modest ones feigned humility with an air of trepidation, while the more flamboyant ones wished they could immediately write a few more poems, only to lament that inspiration had not struck.

In any case, with the consent of several individuals, two newly hired workers from the Ink Workshop carried out a small table. Instead of an inkstone, the table held several bottles of Liquid Ink. Zheng Fuli then personally took up the brush, writing the poems on the wall and indicating their origins.

This immediately drew a crowd of onlookers and murmurs of admiration. However, most of the spectators were shopkeepers from the street, few of whom truly understood poetry—they were simply there for the spectacle. Indeed, many found the ink in the porcelain bottles quite novel and began inquiring with the two workers. Following Zhen Niang’s instructions, the workers seized the opportunity to vigorously promote Liquid Ink.

Upon hearing that this was ink ready to use without grinding, affordable in price, and packaged in elegant porcelain bottles, interest in Liquid Ink quickly grew. Several neighboring shops each bought a few bottles to try, and thus, almost inadvertently, the business opened its doors.

Next came friends of Li Jingming and Li Zhengping, some of whom offered congratulations before leaving due to other commitments, while others followed Li Zhengping into the front courtyard, where he entertained them.

The auspicious hour for the opening was set for the end of the Si hour, which in modern terms would be around 10:45.

However, as the time drew nearer, Zheng Fuli couldn’t help but frown. Not a single person from the guild had arrived, and none of the merchants who had previously done business with the Li family had shown up either. Even those who came merely greeted them briefly before leaving. The situation was beginning to look rather grim.

"Miss Zhen, what’s going on? This doesn’t look right," Zheng Fuli turned to Zhen Niang and said.

"It’s fine. The auspicious hour hasn’t arrived yet, has it?" Zhen Niang replied with an air of calm indifference.

She understood the situation perfectly. Regarding the guild, due to the recent land dispute, Wang Sifang had clashed bitterly with her aunt and uncle-in-law. Moreover, her insistence on paying respects to Hu Zonglin had long since earned Wang Sifang’s displeasure. It would be strange if he weren’t up to some mischief.

As for the others, naturally, they preferred to wait and observe first. Thus, it was no surprise that the guild members hadn’t shown up.

As for fellow merchants in the trade, it went without saying—the Tian family was surely behind this. If the Tian family spread the word that any merchant attending the opening of Li’s Ink Manor would be cut off from their supply, those merchants would have no choice. After all, with the Tian family holding the status of Tribute Ink producers, merchants relying on their goods dared not offend them."Oh, Miss Li, I'm not too late, am I? Why are there so few customers in the shop? It's too quiet for an opening day. Should I go to my own shop and call over some of my clerks to liven things up a bit?" At that moment, a voice dripping with sarcasm rang out.

Zhen Niang looked over—speak of the devil, it was Tian Rongchang.

As fellow townsmen, in the same trade, and both members of the Huizhou Chamber of Commerce, the Li family had naturally sent an invitation to the Tian family for their opening. Having repeatedly suffered setbacks at Zhen Niang’s hands, Tian Rongchang couldn’t resist taking a few jabs at her upon seeing her, and his words were far from pleasant.

"Second Young Master, you’re not late at all. The auspicious hour hasn’t arrived yet. Thank you for your kind thoughts. Please, come inside and take a seat." Zhen Niang gestured politely, while Li Zhengping stepped forward to escort him inside.

Tian Rongchang laughed heartily, fanning himself as he entered the room, a smug expression on his face as if anticipating a good show. Beside him, Zheng Fuli gritted his teeth in anger.

Zhen Niang’s expression remained as calm as still water.

"Ah, Steward Qin, you’ve come." Just then, another guest arrived, and Zheng Fuli hurried forward to greet him. It was none other than Vice President Qin, who had once taken Li Jingfu under his wing. Now serving as a steward in the Nanjing Chamber of Commerce, he was the first representative from the chamber to arrive.

"Congratulations, congratulations." Steward Qin clasped his hands in greeting. When he reached Zhen Niang, however, he lowered his voice with concern. "Miss Li, President Wang and the Tian family are up to no good. Most of the merchants in the chamber, along with several sellers of the Four Treasures of the Study, likely won’t be coming."

"It’s fine. I’ve anticipated this. Uncle Qin, please don’t worry. Just enjoy the food and drinks." Zhen Niang thanked him. To be honest, Steward Qin’s presence was unexpected. By coming, he had effectively offended Wang Sifang, and his days in the chamber might not be easy from now on.

However, this also meant that Hu Zonglin would likely value him more highly. The gains and losses in this situation were hard to weigh at the moment.

"As long as you’re prepared, that’s what matters. This is just an opening, after all. The real battle is still ahead. Don’t take it too seriously." Steward Qin offered another word of comfort before allowing Zheng Fuli to lead him inside, where he found a seat and settled in.