Сhарtеr 179: Тhe Ink Bаn
“Nо, this Qinрi is nоt right…” Suddеnly, Physiсiаn Gong spоke up, hоlding а рiесе of Qinpi bаrk and a small bag of Qinpi роwder thаt had аlrеаdу beеn grоund.
“Ноw сould it bе wrong? I cheсkеd it cаrefully when I bоught it.” At this momеnt, Sun Wenjie frоm thе Li fаmilу’s wоrkеrs stеppеd fоrward dеfiаntlу.
Tоdaу’s inсident had еsсalаted. Earliеr, Sun Wenjie had bееn whisрering with Li Gаo and Li Sheng, whо hаd сomе tо Nаnjing with him, аbоut hоw the Li fаmilу was in trоuble this timе.
But he nеver ехрeсtеd thаt, in thе blink of an eуe, the problem wоuld fall on his shouldеrs. Since hе was thе оne whо had purchased the Qinpi, if it really turned out to be the issue, then Sun Wenjie would be the culprit. Naturally, he had to defend himself.
At this point, Old Shopkeeper Li and the others also gathered around, each picking up a piece of Qinpi to examine it carefully. They hadn’t noticed anything amiss earlier, but now that Physician Gong had pointed it out, upon closer inspection, they could see the problem. In terms of appearance, the Qinpi looked quite good, especially with its strong medicinal scent. Without careful attention, it would indeed be hard to detect any issues.
However, those who truly understood would realize that it was precisely the medicinal scent that was problematic. It was clear that this Qinpi had been reprocessed, deliberately fumigated with spices, and then dried again.
Old Shopkeeper Li then took a small paper-cutting knife and gently scraped the surface of the Qinpi. Before long, the outer layer was scraped away, revealing tiny spots of mold inside.
“Wow.” Everyone gasped in surprise. It was indeed the Qinpi that was the problem.
At this moment, Zhen Niang looked at Physician Gong. Since all the medicinal materials used by the Li family came from the Gong family, now that it was confirmed that the Qinpi was problematic, Physician Gong owed her an explanation.
Physician Gong shook his head and said, “Miss Li, this Qinpi was not purchased from our shop.”
“What’s going on?” Hearing this, Zhen Niang immediately turned to glare at Sun Wenjie. For no other reason, the medicinal materials used by the Li Family Ink Workshop had always been purchased from the Gong Family Medicine Hall, as agreed upon long ago. Who gave Sun Wenjie the authority to take it upon himself to buy from another shop?
“When I went to buy the materials, the Gong Family Medicine Hall didn’t have Qinpi in stock.” Sun Wenjie had nothing more to say. His face turned pale, and his lips trembled several times before he managed to utter these dry words.
Physician Gong patted his forehead apologetically and said, “That’s true. I haven’t come across any satisfactory Qinpi recently, so our shop has been out of stock. Although we kept a small amount as backup, it wasn’t for sale.”
“Since the Gong Family Medicine Hall didn’t have the medicinal materials, why didn’t you come back and inform me? How could you take it upon yourself to buy from elsewhere? Are material purchases something to be taken lightly?” Zheng Fuli said with frustration. Sun Wenjie had been transferred from the ink workshop to his side. On one hand, he needed manpower, and on the other, since Sun Wenjie was from the main branch and he himself was also considered part of the main branch, plus Madam Sun had entrusted him with looking after Wenjie, he had brought Sun Wenjie under his wing. He had him learn accounting and run errands as a favor, never expecting that a moment of carelessness would lead to such a huge mess."I had no idea there were so many intricacies involved..." Sun Wenjie said, his eyes slightly reddened. Purchasing ash bark was such a minor matter—it wasn't a large batch of materials. At the time, the Gong family didn't have any, and he had intended to report back to Ink Manor. But then he thought, if he couldn't even handle such a small task properly, wouldn't he become a laughingstock? So, he simply went to another Medicine Hall to buy it instead. How could he have anticipated the situation they now faced?
As he thought about it, a wave of frustration welled up inside him. Gritting his teeth, he stiffened his neck and declared, "This mess is my doing. I'll take responsibility."
"You can't shoulder this responsibility alone," Zhen Niang said, exasperated by his attitude. She then waved her hand, signaling Li Gao and Li Sheng to escort Sun Wenjie away. His matter would be dealt with later. In truth, Sun Wenjie was at fault, but he wasn't the only one to blame.
From the moment he purchased the ash bark to its use in making ink, it had passed through several hands. Yet no one had noticed the issue—not even herself. This indicated that despite the Li family's constant emphasis on quality, after over a year of smooth and successful development, everyone in the Li family's Ink Workshop had become somewhat complacent. Quality hadn't truly been etched into their hearts.
The fault lay with everyone in the Li family.
With the matter clarified—the Li family's materials were indeed at fault—the Li family naturally apologized to the Shen family and agreed to remake a batch of ink for them.
"What did I say? The Li family uses inferior medicinal materials," Tian Er gloated from the side.
"Young Master Tian, there's no need to spread alarm here," someone nearby spoke up in defense. "The Li family made a mistake with the materials this time, but fairness lies in people's hearts. Just look at the materials the Li family brought out earlier—each one was top-notch and of the highest quality. As for this ash bark, it's clear the Li family was deceived when purchasing it."
The onlookers nodded in agreement. Ash bark wasn't worth much money. Since the Li family had already invested in high-quality materials, why would they skimp on such a small amount?
Thus, although it was ultimately the Li family's materials that caused the problem, through this incident, everyone gained a detailed understanding of the Li family's material standards. This, in turn, gave them more confidence. At least they now knew where the Li family had gone wrong and wouldn't blindly follow rumors.
"Miss Li, what will you do with all this ink?" the scholar asked, pointing to the moldy ink at the entrance.
Zhen Niang already had a plan for the problematic ink. Under no circumstances could the Li family bring it back inside. The Tian family was watching closely, and if this batch of defective ink were taken inside, who knew how the Li family would handle it? Rumors would surely spread again.
Moreover, today's incident had caused enough of a stir. Material quality was the most critical aspect of an ink workshop, and the Li family must take this as a lesson. Everyone in the Li family must remember this incident.
After a moment of thought, Zhen Niang turned to Er Gou and said, "Er Gou, gather a few people and bring the large furnace, stone mortars, and other ink-making tools from the workshop to the entrance..."
Er Gou immediately waved over several people, and soon, all the ink-making equipment from the workshop was brought outside.
"What is the Li family planning? Are they going to make ink on the spot?" The curious crowd outside watched, unsure what Zhen Niang was up to, and began discussing among themselves."Everyone, today's incident was indeed caused by negligence in the Li family's ink-making process. Mistakes must be corrected, but more importantly, we must take this as a lesson. Therefore, I intend to smash all these flawed ink sticks and personally remake them into a giant ink block, which will be erected at the entrance of our Li Family Ink Manor. It will record today's events, serving as a mirror and a warning. From now on, the Li Family Ink Manor guarantees that not a single flawed ink stick will leave our premises." As Zhen Niang spoke, she waved her hand, and Er Gou led over a dozen ink artisans, hammers in hand, to vigorously smash the ink sticks.
Immediately, the entrance of the Li Family Ink Manor echoed with the rhythmic pounding of hammers, creating a truly spectacular scene.
"Bravo!!!" The onlookers, stirred by the sight, cheered loudly in unison.
Nearby, a furnace blazed fiercely. The shattered ink was placed into a large pot to be steamed and degummed, then regummed and pounded. A group of ink artisans worked tirelessly, sweat pouring from their brows.
Over an hour later, a massive ink block, cast in an oversized ink mold, stood erected at the entrance of the Li Family Ink Manor. This would later become the Li family's most famous "Warning Ink."
By this point, the Shen family had no further complaints and even felt somewhat embarrassed. Originally, when problems arose, they should have first negotiated and resolved the matter together. However, upon hearing rumors that Li Mo had used inferior medicinal ingredients in ink-making, they had jumped to the conclusion that Li Mo was deceiving the Shen family.
Naturally, they had not held back, demanding an explanation in front of everyone. Such an approach was, in fact, somewhat excessive.
Even the scholar on the side nodded in agreement. The quality of this batch of ink was actually quite good. His earlier ink review had been based on the belief that the Li family lacked integrity. Now, it seemed this was merely an accident, and his judgment had been too harsh.
In contrast, the Li family's approach—neither hiding nor concealing, acting with sincerity and taking this as a lesson—truly lived up to the words "honesty and trustworthiness."
Especially Li Mo's leading young lady, who displayed remarkable quick-wittedness. What had been a major crisis for Li Mo had been turned around by her step by step, no easy feat. He might as well help her complete it.
"Young Lady Li, bring a brush and some gold powder," the scholar said, rising and addressing Li Zhenniang.
Zhen Niang looked at him. Truth be told, the Shen family had never introduced who this person was. But recalling the ink review the Shen family had given the Li family earlier, a thought flashed through her mind—could this be Shen Shixing? Excitement surged within her. Without bothering to call anyone else, she dashed off to fetch a brush and prepared gold powder.
The scholar took the brush, dipped it in the gold powder, and wrote on the erected giant ink block: "Gold is easy to obtain, Li Mo is hard to come by. The legacy of Tao Zhu endures, evergreen for ten thousand years." The signature read: Shen Shixing, Top Scholar of the Forty-First Year of the Jiajing Reign.
"It's Lord Shen!" someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.
"It's actually Top Scholar Shen! It seems the Li family has turned misfortune into fortune this time."
The Li family members were also deeply moved. From the earlier "Present falls short of the past, reputation undeserved" to now "The legacy of Tao Zhu endures, evergreen for ten thousand years."
Zhen Niang's heart felt as if it had been on a rollercoaster. Finally, she let out a long sigh of relief. With this giant ink block standing here and Shen Shixing's ink review, this turmoil was no longer a worry. In fact, it might even elevate the Li family's reputation further.
Standing in the crowd, Tian Ronghua couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Such a disadvantageous situation had been turned around once again by Li Zhenniang.In truth, from the moment Tian Ronghua learned that the Li family's clerks had purchased spoiled medicinal ingredients, she began laying her plans. First, she spread rumors that the Li family used inferior ingredients in their ink-making. When these rumors reached the Shen family, it naturally aroused their suspicion. Thus, when the Shen family's ink later encountered problems, they would feel as if they had been tricked by the Li family, leading them to escalate the matter.
Once the situation had blown up, if the issue with the ingredients were then uncovered, the Li family's reputation would be completely ruined.
Yet unexpectedly, events took a bizarre turn at this point. Setting aside the earlier public disclosure of the ingredients—after all, in the end, it was the Li family's ingredients that were problematic, and no matter how good their other ingredients were, it couldn't hide this fact.
What was truly impressive was the move that followed. She had originally been waiting for the Li family to recall this batch of problematic ink, after which she would spread the rumor that the Li family was remelting the defective ink to sell as Liquid Ink. This would deal a heavy blow to the sales of the Li family's Liquid Ink, while also allowing her to collaborate with other Ink Trade businesses to demand that the Li family waive the formula usage fees for their respective Liquid Ink products.
But she never expected that Li Zhenniang would pull off this maneuver right under everyone's noses, completely blocking her next move. Moreover, with Lord Shen's ink review now in play, things had taken an even more favorable turn for the Li family.
From now on, this massive ink slab recording today's events would not harm the Li family's reputation; instead, it would become a celebrated tale for Li Mo.
At that moment, Zhen Niang also spotted Tian Ronghua in the crowd. Her eyes narrowed slightly. In truth, having a rival was quite a good thing—it could drive one to constantly reflect and move forward.
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