The Heir

Rеturning hоmе, Zhen Niang went strаight tо her grandрarents’ rооm with а роt оf hot watеr. Outside the door, she соuld heаr them tаlking insidе.

“Аh, Jingfu hаs reаllу suffеrеd а greаt deal,” Grandmоthеr Wu Shi said, hеr voice сhoked with еmotion.

“А mаn stаnding in this wоrld must еndurе thе hardest оf hаrdships. It wаs аll bеcаuse уоu spoilеd him tоo muсh before, lеtting our fine familу fоrtunе go tо ruin. What’s a little suffеring nоw? I think hе, as а fаthеr, саn’t еven соmpаre tо Zhen Niang. Zhеn Niang is trulу оnе who саn еndurе hardship,” cаme Grandfather’s gruff voiсe.

“You blamе me for sрoiling him? Ваck whеn our eldest, Jingkui, was alive, I didn’t spoil him. He followed you, running through mountains and valleys, neglecting his health until he fell ill and passed away. Compared to Jingkui, even if Jingfu is unfilial, at least he’s alive and well—that’s better than nothing.” Hearing Old Shopkeeper Li’s complaint that she had spoiled their son, Wu Shi retorted angrily.

Hearing this, Zhen Niang recalled that her eldest brother had once mentioned they originally had an uncle. From a young age, he had followed Grandfather to learn ink-making. Later, while searching for pine in the mountains, whether he encountered some miasma or evil spirits, he fell ill and never recovered, passing away just three days before his wedding. The aunt who never had the chance to marry him thus became a widow before even entering the family, remaining alone to this day.

It was strikingly similar to Zhen Niang’s own previous situation.

And because of her uncle’s early death, Grandmother had doted all the more on her own father. Little did she expect that this doting would lead her father astray.

Lost in thought, she was about to enter the room when she heard Grandmother say, “Ah, Zhen Niang has been wronged this time. Those managers at the Ink Workshop are becoming more and more unruly.”

Grandmother muttered on for a while.

“Zhen Niang was indeed wronged, but she handled it very well this time,” said Old Shopkeeper Li.

“Hmm, she’s a filial girl. Today, she managed to earn a little money and eagerly bought us pear syrup candy. But Zhen Niang is, after all, a girl. Smoke generation is really not something a young woman should be doing. The other day, seeing her face covered in soot broke my heart. I’m thinking, should we find Matchmaker Zhang and arrange a good marriage for Zhen Niang? With someone to rely on, she wouldn’t have to suffer like this,” Wu Shi said.

“A good marriage—we should naturally keep an eye out for one. But this girl has a real talent for ink-making. It would be a shame to waste it. Besides, have you forgotten the daughter of the Zheng family that Jingkui was engaged to? After Jingkui passed, her life was ruined too. A few days ago, Old Zheng passed away, and I heard that girl is not doing well. Although Zhen Niang saved the young master of the Tian family this time, that young master nearly died and is still bedridden. Zhen Niang is still associated with the word ‘jinx,’ and with the Tian family breaking off the engagement, her situation isn’t much better than that Zheng girl’s back then. Who knows what the future holds? Rather than thinking about relying on others, it’s better to secure her a skill that can support her for life.”

Listening outside, Zhen Niang felt her grandfather’s words struck a chord in her heart. That was exactly how she felt.

As she lifted the door curtain to enter, she heard her grandfather add, “But smoke generation really isn’t suitable for a young woman. I think tomorrow I’ll go find Ninth Brother and have Zhen Niang work at the Ink Pavilion, helping with appraisal.”

“Grandfather, you don’t need to go find Ninth Uncle. Even if your granddaughter were to work at the Ink Pavilion, it should be the people from the Ink Pavilion who come to invite her,” Zhen Niang said as she entered the room. She picked up a wooden basin, poured in the hot water, wrung out a towel, and began wiping her grandfather’s face.Meanwhile, Wu Shi watched with a beaming smile.

“Hah, quite the bold claim. Do you think the Ink Pavilion would invite you based solely on the smoke material you delivered today? Let me tell you, it’s likely that the people at the Ink Workshop still believe the smoke material you sent today was produced by your grandfather here.” Old Shopkeeper Li spoke half in jest, yet half in earnest.

“Your granddaughter knows that, at present, I’m afraid ninety-nine out of a hundred people believe that smoke material was produced by Grandfather behind the scenes.” As she spoke, Zhen Niang helped her grandfather change the foot basin and prepared his foot soak. She continued, “In truth, even if everyone knew I produced that smoke material, they still wouldn’t invite me. At most, they’d send some materials for me to produce at home and then purchase it from me. After all, your granddaughter is a woman and cannot integrate into the workshop to work.”

“Since you know all this, why do you insist on going to the Ink Pavilion only if they invite you? You must understand, the likelihood of that is very low.” Old Shopkeeper Li soaked his feet comfortably, now fully engaged in conversation with his granddaughter.

“Grandfather, isn’t the formula the foremost priority in ink-making?” Zhen Niang turned her head to ask.

“That’s correct.” Old Shopkeeper Li nodded.

“Does this formula refer specifically to the Ink Mixing formula?” Zhen Niang pressed on. Ink Mixing was the process of combining smoke material, glue, and other ingredients into ink paste.

Old Shopkeeper Li nodded again.

“But doesn’t smoke material also have its own formula?” Zhen Niang countered.

Hearing this, Old Shopkeeper Li’s half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open, fixing on Zhen Niang. His expression clearly urged her to continue.

“As far as your granddaughter knows, Song He’s Ink Records: Lacquer Soot and Glue Pairing records that during the Song Dynasty, the ink artisan Shen Gui mixed pine soot with lacquer residue to produce smoke, thereby obtaining ‘lacquer soot.’ Isn’t that a formula for smoke material?” Zhen Niang said with a smile.

“So, do you have a new formula for smoke material?” Old Shopkeeper Li stared intently at Zhen Niang.

“Well, around the year before last, during a heavy snowfall, several traveling scholars were stranded outside the city and took shelter at Uncle Shui’s ‘Tiger Stove.’ When I went to fetch water, I overheard them chatting expansively and was utterly captivated. Later, I heard them discussing Huizhou ink. Among them was an ink enthusiast who mentioned that when discussing ancient smoke materials, raw lacquer mixed with tung oil yielded even better results for smoke production. That day, I had just read Grandfather’s ink-making notes. Out of curiosity, I tried it at home and later added lard. The smoke generation effect was excellent.” Zhen Niang explained. In truth, what she described was the smoke material for the ultra-top-grade lacquer soot ink of later generations.

Although she had previously used Old Shopkeeper Li’s notes as an excuse, claiming such a smoke material formula as her own invention would be too far-fetched. Thus, she attributed it to the traveling scholars.

Since ancient times, scholars have always had a fondness for ink. For instance, Han Xizai of the Southern Tang Dynasty created ‘Musk Moon’ ink, and Su Shi crafted ‘Snow Hall Righteousness’ ink—both were inks personally made by literati.

Therefore, attributing this matter to scholars would not be mistaken.

“How does it compare to the smoke material you delivered today?” Old Shopkeeper Li asked, his eyes gleaming.

“Even better.” Zhen Niang replied cheerfully.

At this, Old Shopkeeper Li could no longer contain himself. He stepped out of the foot basin, barefoot, and paced around the room, his expression brimming with excitement. He yearned to test it immediately but ultimately remembered his vow never to touch ink again and heaved a long sigh.

“You old fool, have you lost your mind? Walking around without shoes—what if you catch a chill?” Wu Shi fretted anxiously, while Zhen Niang hurriedly helped her grandfather back to his seat.

Grandfather and granddaughter exchanged a knowing smile."I just don't know where to find raw lacquer. The previous batch was obtained from a passing lacquer craftsman, but now that craftsman is nowhere to be found," said Zhen Niang.

"Your Sixth Grandfather has a forested mountain area with a fine grove of lacquer trees. You can go ask him for some," replied Old Shopkeeper Li.

Zhen Niang hadn't known about this before, but upon hearing her grandfather say so, she nodded eagerly. "Then I'll go find Sixth Grandfather tomorrow."

Sixth Master Li lived in the manor outside the city.