The Heir

Сhарtеr 161: Reputаtiоn

"Тhе Вai family is bесoming morе and morе rесklеss..." Аftеr the banquеt, Madam Xi recоuntеd the еvents оf thе fеаst to Маstеr Хi with а displеased eхрressiоn. She added, "I think this mаtter of lifting thе Maritimе Рrоhibitiоn is unrеliаblе. If the priсе of tung оil dоеsn’t rise, уou shоuld tаke ovеr thе tung oil frоm Miss Li. She cаme todaу tо сelеbrate my birthdау—wе cаn’t lеt hеr suffеr а lоss." As shе sрokе, Mаdam Xi hеlpеd Маster Хi rеmоvе his outer robе.

"I don’t think that will be necеssary," Mаster Xi rеpliеd thоughtfully.

"Whу do you say that?" Madam Xi stopped what she was doing and asked curiously.

"It’s simple. This time, it might actually happen—the Maritime Prohibition could be lifted. I was planning to make a move myself, but Miss Li beat me to it. The Li family is likely to make a huge profit this time." Master Xi held Madam Xi by the waist and pulled her down to sit beside him, smiling.

"Really? This has been talked about for years, but it’s always been all thunder and no rain," Madam Xi said, surprised.

"Just wait and see. In less than two months—maybe even just over a month—the news will be confirmed. I was planning to tell the Bai family in a few days that I’d take all their stock. It’s a shame Madam Bai is just a woman—she can’t get things done." Master Xi shook his head.

"What’s wrong with being a woman? Are you looking down on women? I’m a woman too, and Miss Li is also a woman..." Madam Xi glared at him.

"Alright, I misspoke. Please forgive me, my dear," Master Xi said playfully.

"You fool..." Madam Xi chided him affectionately.

The old couple seemed to grow sweeter with age.

...

In this world, gossip and idle talk among women spread the fastest.

No sooner had the events at Madam Xi’s birthday banquet concluded than Zhen Niang returned to Official Street, where everyone already knew about the contract she had signed with Madam Bai.

It was said that the Bai family had an entire half-warehouse of tung oil. The transaction must have involved thousands, if not tens of thousands, of taels of silver. The merchants on Official Street were in an uproar, all saying that Li Zhenniang must have lost her mind.

Even the workers at the Ink Workshop seemed preoccupied. After all, if the master’s family prospered, so would they. The Li family had always treated their workers generously, so they couldn’t help but worry about their master’s affairs.

Even Zhao Shi and Li Jingfu were frowning. Although the tung oil was still stored in the Bai family’s warehouse, the contract had been signed under such circumstances, and there was no going back.

"That girl has always been a bit impulsive since she was little. When people egg her on, she loses her head," Zhao Shi said, frustrated.

Still, Zhao Shi had her own philosophy for dealing with the world. Although she and her husband were worried, they knew many on Official Street were waiting to see the Li family’s Ink Manor become a laughingstock. So, to save face, they maintained an outward appearance of calm and composure. Both wore cheerful smiles, as if they had stumbled upon a gold ingot.

As a result, their demeanor left the workers at the Ink Workshop puzzled. Could it be that the Maritime Prohibition was really going to be lifted? Would tung oil prices actually rise? Questions abounded, but regardless, their attitude helped stabilize the morale in the workshop. Everyone went about their business as usual.

There were murmurs and whispers, but their foreman swatted them away like flies.

Of course, Luo Jiu would never think that Li Zhenniang had lost her mind."Honestly, I think this Miss Li truly has a knack for fortune. We've been toiling away, everyone bustling about, and though we've gathered quite a lot of goods, it's been truly exhausting. Not like this Miss Li—almost sitting at home while wealth falls from the sky. Why don't I run into a few strokes of luck like that?" Yan Xilai, the manager of Yi Hou Sheng, spoke with a hint of sourness. During this period, he had to both collect goods and find ships, all while dealing with the Maritime Trade Office. And to top it off, Luo Jiu, that unscrupulous boss, was only concerned with his own leisure. He wished he could split himself into three to handle everything.

"Envious, aren't you? That's fate—envy won't get you anywhere," Luo Jiu teased Yan Xilai, then continued sipping his tea leisurely.

And so, in the blink of an eye, it was mid-April. A month had passed since Zhen Niang's agreement with Madam Bai, and rumors about lifting the Maritime Prohibition were growing more frequent. More and more people began visiting the Maritime Trade Office to gather information.

By the end of April, the official news came out: the Maritime Prohibition was indeed going to be lifted. Among the first batch of merchants granted the right to sail overseas was Wang Cuiqiao.

This left the major merchants who had been secretly vying for the right to sail overseas dumbfounded. Upon closer inquiry, they couldn't help but admit defeat. These merchants had only started their efforts in the past two months, while Wang Cuiqiao had already begun cleaning up her fleet two years ago and had established connections with the Maritime Trade Office a year ago. They had to concede.

As the official announcement of the Maritime Prohibition's lifting spread, prices of various goods skyrocketed. Especially the price of tung oil, which had been stagnant for some time, shot up like a rocket.

Now, everyone knew that the Li family's Ink Manor had made a hefty profit.

Of course, the one suffering the most at the moment was Madam Bai from the Bai family's tung oil workshop.

"You fool! When they had no funds, you actually took the initiative to extend them credit," the Bai shopkeeper glared at his wife with bloodshot eyes. She was truly a spendthrift.

"You said it was a good move back then," Madam Bai retorted resentfully. At the time, the price of tung oil had been dropping day by day, and what she sold to the Bai family was considered high. Then she widened her eyes and said, "Anyway, the tung oil is still in our warehouse. We don't have to honor that agreement."

Back then, because Zhen Niang's family had no place to store the goods and it was purchased on credit, this batch of tung oil remained in the Bai family's warehouse.

The Bai shopkeeper furrowed his brows, squatting down with sweat beading on his forehead, clearly struggling internally. After a while, he wiped the sweat from his brow heavily and said to Madam Bai, "Send someone to notify the Li family. They can come collect the goods, and the price will remain as originally agreed."

"Husband!!! We can't take this loss," Madam Bai stamped her foot in protest.

"Silly woman, what do you know? In business, integrity is paramount. Losing money in business is nothing—who in this world doesn't suffer losses in business? Besides, this deal isn't a loss for us; we just didn't earn as much. But remember, if we lose our credibility, then business truly becomes impossible. Hurry and send someone to notify the Li family," the Bai shopkeeper said loudly.

"Oh," hearing her husband's words, Madam Bai had nothing more to say. She turned and instructed a clerk to go to the Li family and ask Li Zhenniang to send someone to collect the goods.

The clerk, having received the order, dashed off toward the Li family.At this moment, Zhen Niang was at Ink Manor speaking with Wang Cuiqiao. Wang Cuiqiao had been the first to obtain the maritime trade rights this time. It could be said that taking the lead in one step meant leading in every step. Moreover, with her established foundation in the Two Oceans region, her future development was undoubtedly assured.

The Bai family’s clerk was led into Ink Manor and addressed Zhen Niang, saying, "Manager Li, our master asks you to bring the contract to collect the goods."

"Oh, alright. I’ll go deliver the message first and head over immediately," Zhen Niang replied, instructing Hua'er to give the clerk a tip for his trouble. The clerk then left to report back.

"The Bai family is quite honorable when it comes to keeping their word," Wang Cuiqiao remarked, having heard about the earlier incident.

Originally, Wang Cuiqiao had also been interested in this batch of tung oil. However, she knew that the Li family’s tung oil had always been handled by Boss Xi as their agent. Therefore, when the Bai family came to notify Zhen Niang to collect the tung oil, she did not intervene. Instead, she discussed with Zhen Niang the future arrangements for Li Mo’s maritime trade.

This matter had been agreed upon years ago, so there was no need to elaborate further.

"Mhm," Zhen Niang nodded. The Bai family’s actions had surprised her, but she also held them in higher regard because of it.

In truth, when Li Zhenniang had left the tung oil with the Bai family, she had some intentions behind it. As fellow merchants who frequently crossed paths, unnecessary disputes over pride were pointless. Moreover, the lifting of the Maritime Prohibition was something she had long known would happen. For the Bai family—or for people of this era—it was somewhat unfair. For this reason, Zhen Niang had never truly intended to claim this batch of tung oil. Leaving it with the Bai family meant that if the Maritime Prohibition were lifted and the Bai family refused to acknowledge it, she would simply treat it as if nothing had happened.

However, she had not expected the Bai family to handle the situation with such grace and decisiveness.

Shortly after, Wang Cuiqiao took her leave, and Zhen Niang followed the Bai family’s people to their residence. She first settled the payment, then hired workers to transport the goods directly to the Xi family. This time, the Xi family had secured the tung oil export rights from the Maritime Trade Office. Combined with the local demand for tung oil across various industries, they could essentially "absorb" any amount of tung oil.

In the evening, Boss Xi mentioned the Bai family’s delivery of the Li family’s tung oil.

"The Bai family delivered the goods?" Madam Xi asked in surprise.

"Yes, they didn’t disappoint me. The Bai family is, after all, a prominent clan in Yunnan. They still uphold the principles of commerce. Now that the Maritime Prohibition has been lifted, the share of the tung oil business has expanded. From now on, I will take all of the Bai family’s tung oil," Boss Xi declared.

"What would you have done if the Bai family hadn’t delivered the goods this time?" Madam Xi couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"Simple. A merchant who doesn’t keep their word is not worth doing business with," Boss Xi replied firmly.

What is lost in the east may be gained in the west. Gains and losses cannot be judged by a single moment. Ultimately, one must uphold the principle of integrity.

Of course, this lifting of the Maritime Prohibition brought success to Luo Jiu and Li Zhenniang.

However, apart from his initial arrogance when opening the money exchange, Luo Jiu had mostly kept a low profile while quietly amassing wealth. In contrast, Li Zhenniang, who had also been quietly prospering, drew considerable attention due to her involvement with Madam Bai.

At the Xu Second Residence.

Madam Xuan, the proprietress of Zhenyu Pavilion, was speaking with Second Madam Xu.

"Has Madam Han Li been keeping to herself lately?" Madam Xuan complained somewhat."She hasn't had the time lately. Her second son is taking the provincial examination this year, so she must be busy with all the preparations." Second Madam Xu said, narrowing her eyes. In truth, she understood perfectly well that ever since last year's land dispute, Madam Han Li had been keeping her distance. After all, she came from a small place and lacked any breadth of mind or courage. Keeping her distance was fine—in the end, Han Yigui even lost the raw silk business. Now he's dealing in mountain goods, and the profits can't compare to raw silk at all. It's their own loss.

"By the way, isn't Miss Zhen from the Li family's Ink Manor on Official Street the niece of Madam Han?" Madam Xuan asked again. "That's right. What about it? Have you taken a liking to her and want to arrange a match for someone?" Second Madam Xu raised an eyebrow.

"Not exactly. I was just curious. I heard this young lady is quite remarkable..." Madam Xuan began, starting from the events at Madam Xi's birthday banquet all the way to the Bai family's delivery.

She narrated the entire incident with such dramatic flair that it took on an almost legendary quality. She added, "Nowadays, quite a few household matrons are inquiring about her."

Listening, Second Madam Xu seemed lost in thought.