The Heir

Сhарtеr 125: Firе

Аfter a simрlе wаsh аnd lunсh, Zhen Niang went tо thе front Ink Mаnor.

Thе shорkеерer currеntly guarding the Ink Manor wаs а yоung clеrk nаmеd А Tаng, fiftееn уеars оld. In this era, he wаs аlreаdy considеred an аdult, but in later timеs, hе wоuld рrоbаblу be cоnsidеred сhild lаbоr.

Hоwevеr, in this аge, thirteеn оr fourtеen was the right timе to start leаrning а trаde. Мoreovеr, А Тang hаd аttеndеd а рrivatе sсhoоl for а while and knеw a fеw сhаraсtеrs, sо Zhеn Niang had Zheng Fuli tаke him under his wing. He first workеd as a clеrk in the Ink Mаnor, lеаrning to idеntify and recognize ink. Of course, in his spare time, he could also go to the smoke generation workshop to study, though learning smoke generation was not mandatory.

But this boy was not foolish; he had some wit and knew that getting into the Li Family Ink Manor was a rare opportunity. So, even though there were many daily chores in the Ink Manor, whenever he had free time, he would still run to the smoke generation room in the backyard workshop, helping with rough work or tasks like adding oil and other miscellaneous duties. This earned him the attention of Uncle Quan, the smoke generation master.

Uncle Quan was considered the top figure in smoke generation at the Li Family Ink Workshop. Back when Zhen Niang first took charge of the workshop, Er Gou had instigated him to try and put Zhen Niang in her place. Instead, Zhen Niang ended up putting them in their place.

When Old Madam Li came to the Nanjing Ink Manor this time, she brought Uncle Quan along to oversee the smoke generation room.

For A Tang to catch his eye was indeed a stroke of luck.

So, whenever he had free time, A Tang would learn smoke generation from Uncle Quan. All in all, this boy had a good reputation among everyone in the Ink Manor.

Today, because several managers and masters at the Ink Manor had stayed up late last night, Huang Shi had A Tang guard the shop and attend to customers. Though young, he was meticulous in his work. As soon as he got up in the morning, he had the entire Ink Manor in perfect order.

"Chief Manager," A Tang greeted promptly when he saw Zhen Niang enter. Those who came from Huizhou preferred to call her Miss Zhen, while those recruited in Nanjing mostly called her Chief Manager.

"Was it busy this morning?" Zhen Niang asked.

"Not much. Just a few customers came to pick up goods. I handled the deliveries according to the invoices," A Tang said, bringing over the morning accounts for Zhen Niang to review.

"Mm. Good," Zhen Niang nodded after checking the delivery slips.

They chatted for a bit more, mostly about business-related pointers. A Tang had long heard from Uncle Quan that the Chief Manager's smoke generation skills were truly miraculous, so he took this opportunity to ask a few questions he didn’t understand.

After getting the answers, he treasured them like precious gems, even jotting them down with a pen.

After chatting for a while and seeing that nothing was amiss at the Ink Manor, Zhen Niang stepped out again. It was noon, and the weather was scorching hot. There were few customers, and the shopkeepers of various stores were dozing off in their shops. The clerks were also half-asleep, occasionally using feather dusters to sweep away dust. Meanwhile, some gossipy shopkeepers' wives stood in the shade of their houses, chatting idly.

Of course, last night’s incident of Ge Qiu Jie catching someone in the act did not escape everyone’s lips.

"Haha, what kind of person is Ge Dana? Cao Shi is probably in trouble this time," someone said.

"If she’s in trouble, she deserves it. If you dare to do such things, you must dare to face the consequences," another person nearby replied.Zhen Niang had no interest in such idle gossip. She had originally planned to return to the Ink Workshop for smoke generation, but having been cooped up there for several days and staying up all night last night, even though she had slept through the morning, her head still felt somewhat groggy. So, she said goodbye to A Tang and went for a walk along the riverbank opposite.

Leaning against a century-old willow tree by the embankment, Zhen Niang squinted her eyes. The breeze by the Qinhuai River always carried a hint of sweetness, and today the weather was particularly fine. Under the sunlight, the river water shimmered with specks of golden light.

The green willows along the shore, the verdant embankment, the blue sky, and the white clouds, combined with the bustling scenes on the official street reminiscent of the Along the River During the Qingming Festival painting, made Zhen Niang’s mind wander. She thought that if, in the future, technology advanced enough to offer ancient-themed tours, this would surely be the most popular tourist route.

The thought amused her.

"Stealing a moment of leisure in a busy life—Miss Li, you’re in quite the mood," a lazy voice suddenly remarked. Zhen Niang opened her eyes and turned her head to see Luo Jiu. The man was carrying a small stool, a wooden bucket, a fishing rod, and a small hoe, with a bamboo hat on his head—the standard attire of a fishing enthusiast.

"Isn’t fishing at noon a bit of a bad time?" Zhen Niang looked up at the sky. The sun was directly overhead.

"Who cares about such details? If you feel like fishing, you just fish," Luo Jiu replied casually, squatting down to dig for earthworms in the muddy soil nearby.

Zhen Niang actually wanted to ask him about lending money to the Tian family this time, but after a moment’s thought, she decided it wasn’t worth bringing up and remained silent, turning her gaze back to the river in a daze.

"Here, lend me a hand and hold this," Luo Jiu’s voice came from beside her.

Lost in thought, Zhen Niang instinctively reached out her hand, only to feel something cool and slippery wriggling in her palm. When she snapped back to reality, she realized it was an earthworm. Her face paled, but being strong-willed by nature, she took a deep breath and calmly pinched the earthworm between two fingers, tossing it into the water. Out of nowhere, a large black fish darted up and swallowed it whole.

Only then did Zhen Niang turn her head and glare at Luo Jiu. Last time, with the steamed buns, he had tried to make a fool of her, and now with the earthworm—it was the same trick. Where was the maturity he supposedly had? He was still just as mischievous as when he was the young master back in Huizhou.

Luo Jiu had been waiting for Zhen Niang to scream, but to his surprise, the girl was truly extraordinary. When she glared at him again, he couldn’t help but rub his nose. "Sorry, I didn’t realize most women seem to be afraid of these."

"You seem quite experienced with women," Zhen Niang retorted sarcastically, her irritation getting the better of her. But as soon as the words left her mouth, they carried a hint of bitterness—something she hadn’t intended at all.

"Thank you for the compliment. Actually, it’s precisely because I lack experience that I make such mistakes," Luo Jiu replied with a straight face.

Seeing how serious he looked, Zhen Niang couldn’t tell whether he had done it on purpose as a prank or genuinely hadn’t thought it through. She gave him a suspicious glance.

Just then, Luo Jiu stared intently at the street not far ahead, frowning suddenly. "Not good, there’s a fire."

Zhen Niang followed his gaze and saw a plume of black smoke rising into the sky near the Yi Hou Sheng Branch No. 2, with faint flames flickering within the smoke."Is it your money shop that's on fire?" Zhen Niang couldn't help but ask, pushing aside the matter of the earthworm.

"Seems not, it should be the raw silk shop not far next door," Luo Jiu frowned.

So the two quickened their pace, hurrying back in a rush.

There were already many idlers on the street, and upon seeing this situation, they all shouted, "Oh no, the Ge family's raw silk shop is on fire!"

It was indeed the Ge family's raw silk shop on fire, but how could it suddenly catch fire in broad daylight like this?

When Zhen Niang arrived at the scene, she saw people from various households carrying buckets, wooden basins, and such to fight the fire.

In this era, most shopfronts were made of wood. Coupled with the strong winds by the Qinhuai River, if the flames couldn't be suppressed, this entire stretch of shops might be burned down. Naturally, everyone was anxious, and even the clerks and workers from the Li family's Ink Manor were helping to fight the fire.

Additionally, someone had gone to report to the yamen, as the yamen had water pumps—those were the real tools for firefighting.

Fortunately today, the yamen personnel arrived quickly; almost as soon as the fire started, the yamen officers were there.

After what happened at the Ge family last night, the shop hadn't opened today. The fire had started in the warehouse behind the shop.

The yamen officers directly used a battering ram to break open the door of the raw silk shop, then rushed to the backyard warehouse. Everyone carried water to fight the fire, and Zhen Niang also helped by passing buckets nearby.

At this point, the flames weren't too large, but thick smoke billowed everywhere, choking people and making their eyes water.

Just then, Ge Qiu Jie arrived upon hearing the news. Seeing the raw silk burned black, her face turned pale: "My raw silk, my raw silk!" She then sat on the ground, wailing loudly.

"What's the use of crying now? Hurry and salvage what you can," Zhen Niang couldn't bear to watch her like this. Remembering how Ge Qiu Jie had once warned her about someone coming to the Li family to return ink, Zhen Niang returned the favor by offering a reminder.

Seeing this, the surrounding people also tried to console her. Faced with such a situation, there was nothing to be done except try to minimize the losses.

At that moment, two middle-aged men who looked like shopkeepers stumbled out of the crowd. Seeing the scene, they stomped their feet in frustration.

"My grain!"

"My Songjiang cloth!"

The two spoke, their eyes nearly bulging with anxiety.

Zhen Niang looked at these two men; they seemed very familiar. Squinting her eyes for a closer look, she recognized them—weren't they the owners of the grain shop and the goods store that had once rented her family's shop?

Recalling how the Ge family had stored their goods in their own warehouse to evade warehouse taxes, with Ge Dana naturally benefiting from it.

Indeed, a dog travels a thousand miles to eat dung, a wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat—Ge Dana was still using this method to make money. This time, these two were likely to suffer some losses, and they would probably have to argue with the Ge family afterward.

At this moment, everyone worked together, and the flames were suppressed, leaving only thick, billowing smoke that blackened half the sky.

Those who had come to help fight the fire now dispersed, as the Ge family had so many goods piled in the yard, and everyone had to avoid suspicion. Thus, they all watched from a distance.

Zhen Niang also stood far away, but as she watched the yamen officers surround the goods from the grain shop and the goods store, and thought about Ge Qiu Jie's "catching the adulterers" last night, she couldn't help but feel that something about this situation seemed rather strange.At that moment, the two shopkeepers, seeing their goods piled outside and fearing losses, quickly called for carts and had their clerks start loading the goods.

"Hey, hey! What are you two doing? Trying to take advantage of the chaos to loot?" A yamen runner stepped forward, swinging his short club toward the clerk who was moving the goods.

"Sir, no, how could we? These are our own goods," the two shopkeepers replied.

"Nonsense! This is the Ge family's raw silk warehouse. How could your goods be stored here?" The yamen runner glared at them.

Hearing this, the two owners realized something was amiss. They smacked their lips, trying to figure out how to explain.

"Old Sun, Old Liu, what's going on? These goods were bought from you just a few days ago. Although I haven't paid yet, we agreed that once I sell them, the money will naturally be paid to you. What? Don't you trust me, Ge Dana? Are you trying to back out now?" At that moment, Ge Dana hurried over. Seeing the situation, he quickly interjected.

"Yes, yes, it's just that I saw your place on fire and panicked. I was just being overly cautious, worried you might not have the money on hand. Having the goods in our possession would give us some peace of mind." Upon hearing Ge Dana's words, the two owners, surnamed Sun and Liu, understood that any losses from this matter would have to be settled privately between them. They couldn't let the yamen get involved—that would only make things worse.

Although Ge Dana was guilty of using the warehouse to store their goods privately, they were equally guilty of tax evasion. If nothing else, at least half of the goods would be confiscated, a loss they couldn't afford.

"Trying to change your story now? Too late. Let me tell you, someone reported you for evading the 'warehouse tax.' Regardless of anything else, we're taking this rice and Songjiang cloth with us. You two come with us to the tax office to clarify things. If these goods are yours, show us the warehouse tax receipts. If they belong to Ge Xunlan, he'll need to provide transaction records and tax receipts." The lead yamen runner declared.

Immediately, several yamen runners surrounded Ge Xunlan and the two owners, Sun and Liu.