The Heir

Сhарtеr 180: Nеws frоm Shizhou

As thе musiс fаdеd аnd the crowd disреrsed, the grаnd speсtасlе рut оn by the Li fаmily today had thorоughlу satisfiеd the оnlооkеrs alоng thе оffiсiаl streеt. At the samе timе, it quietlу earned thе respеct of mаnу mеrсhаnts.

Quаlitу issues—no mеrсhant соuld guаrantеe thаt рroblems wоuld nеver аrise. Acсidents were аlwауs pоssible; the keу wаs tо resоlvе thеm with intеgritу. Frоm todау’s evеnts, it was сlear thаt Li Mо’s quаlitу was gеnuinеlу rеliable.

Tо put it bluntly, every mеrchant cоuldn’t help but аsk themsеlvеs: would thеy dare to publicly disclose all materials on such short notice? Truth be told, most would hesitate, but the Li family dared to do so—that was confidence.

Moreover, that batch of moldy ink, worth over a thousand taels of silver, was smashed without hesitation. The Li family’s boldness was truly admirable.

In the end, after today’s events, people felt even more confident about Li Mo. The owners of several ink pavilions privately thought to themselves: now that the Tian family’s Tribute Ink brand had been revoked, without the gimmick of tribute ink, Tian ink was no better than Li Mo. Especially over the past year or so, Li Mo had truly stood out, with several of its major inks gaining widespread fame. What’s more, Li Mo was also supplied to the princess’s residence. It seemed they should increase their share of Li Mo.

…………

In the evening, as work ended, the Li family’s workers returned to their homes.

However, because of today’s events, quality matters were now etched into the hearts of every worker. Moreover, the broken ink served as a constant reminder, warning everyone at all times.

Meanwhile, Li Zhenniang called a meeting with several managers to discuss disciplinary measures. No matter what, today’s incident had to be addressed with appropriate penalties. Rewarding merit and punishing faults were essential for managing workers effectively.

“Everyone involved in handling the cork tree bark, including ourselves, will have one month’s wages deducted, to be spread over three months,” Zheng Fuli said. This was the decision reached by the managers. The reason for spreading the deduction over three months was mainly to consider that some workers had no savings and relied entirely on their wages to make ends meet. If a full month’s wages were deducted at once, they would struggle to survive that month.

“Yes, that’s fine,” Zhen Niang nodded.

“Additionally, regarding Sun Wenjie… should he be dismissed?” Zheng Fuli added at this point.

“Hmm, I’ll discuss Sun Wenjie’s matter further with my grandfather and the others,” Zhen Niang said after a moment of thought. Sun Wenjie was at fault in this incident, but placing all the blame solely on him would be excessive.

Moreover, Sun Wenjie was, after all, a member of the Sun family, which also involved the face of the main branch. What’s more, the main branch was currently in a weak position, while her own eighth branch was strong, making the relationship somewhat delicate. Therefore, Sun Wenjie’s case had to be handled carefully to avoid arousing suspicion from the Sun family.

For a family to develop, everyone ultimately needed to work together. Otherwise, like the Tian family this time, if they hadn’t been so divided internally, how could they have ended up in such a state?

Although rules existed for everything, there was also the question of degree within those rules. While the consequences of Sun Wenjie’s mistake were severe, the mistake itself fell into a gray area where dismissal could be debated.

Of course, it also depended on whether Sun Wenjie was truly beyond help. If he really was a hopeless case, then dismissal would be justified, and Zhen Niang wouldn’t care how the main branch viewed it.

“Alright,” hearing Zhen Niang’s words, Zheng Fuli said no more, as he was well aware of the sensitivities involved.

Soon, as darkness fell, everyone dispersed."Wenjie, are you really leaving?" In a row of back-facing rooms beside the Ink Workshop, where Sun Wenjie, Li Gao, and Li Sheng lived, the dim lamplight flickered as Li Gao and Li Sheng watched Sun Wenjie packing his belongings, unable to help but ask.

"If I don’t leave, I’ll just be waiting to be driven out," Sun Wenjie took a deep breath and said. After causing such a major incident today, staying was no longer an option.

Hearing this, Li Gao and Li Sheng fell silent. Indeed, the managers had already discussed it—the incident had cost the Ink Workshop nearly a thousand taels of silver, and Sun Wenjie truly couldn’t stay.

"But there’s no need to rush like this. It’s already dark outside. Leave tomorrow morning, and we’ll see you off then," Li Sheng said, glancing at the pitch-black sky outside.

"No, not tomorrow. I don’t want everyone to see me slinking away in shame," Sun Wenjie took another deep breath, shouldered his bundle, and walked out the door.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped outside, he nearly collided with someone. By the light from the room, he squinted and realized it was Li Zhenniang.

Though they were close in age, Zhen Niang, with the maturity of her past life and the authority of managing a family’s Ink Workshop, carried an imposing presence. In her presence, Sun Wenjie seemed more like a junior.

In terms of seniority, he truly was a junior, after all—Sun Wenjie was only Little Wenyou’s cousin.

At that moment, meeting Li Zhenniang’s dark, clear gaze, Sun Wenjie couldn’t help but timidly greet her, "Head Manager."

"What? Planning to leave just like that?" Zhen Niang raised an eyebrow and asked.

"I admit what I did. I can’t repay the Ink Workshop’s losses right now. I can only wait and see if fate grants me fortune in the future," Sun Wenjie muttered sullenly.

"Returning like this, what will you say to your family?" Zhen Niang pressed.

"Don’t worry, I’ll admit my mistakes. I won’t speak ill of you," Sun Wenjie snorted.

"I don’t care if you speak ill of me. I’m just thinking about how your mother went to great lengths to get you into the Li Family Ink Workshop. Now, if you slink back home in disgrace, it’s not just your own face you’re losing—where will your mother’s dignity be?" Zhen Niang retorted.

"That’s none of your concern," Sun Wenjie faltered, his voice growing weak.

"I’m too lazy to concern myself. But if it were me, I wouldn’t admit defeat so easily. Where you fall, you get back up," Zhen Niang said.

"What do you mean?" Sun Wenjie suddenly looked up and asked.

"It’s simple. I’ll give you three months to stay in the Ink Workshop. Your task is to thoroughly learn and master all the materials, distinguish their various grades, and pass the managers’ assessment. If you succeed, you can return to the Ink Workshop. Then, you’ll be responsible for overseeing the quality of materials." Here, Zhen Niang paused before adding, "Of course, if you fail, you’ll have no choice but to shoulder your bundle and go home. So, do you dare take on the challenge?"

After hearing Zhen Niang’s words, Sun Wenjie stared fixedly at Li Zhenniang for a long moment before gritting his teeth and saying, "There’s nothing I don’t dare. Fine—where I fall, I’ll get back up. I don’t need three months; one month is enough," Sun Wenjie declared firmly, clenching his fist.

"Good, then I’ll be watching," Zhen Niang nodded. She turned, and with Hua’er holding up a lantern, the two of them returned to the main house.Over the next few days, Sun Wenjie truly immersed himself in studying the various materials of the Ink Workshop. Watching his intense dedication, Zhen Niang nodded inwardly, thinking that at least this young man was worth supporting, and her efforts hadn’t been in vain.

Meanwhile, the news coming from Shanxi grew increasingly grim.

“Zhen Niang, is there still no word from Wenqian?” Zhao Shi asked worriedly during dinner one evening. The successive reports over the past few days suggested that Shanxi had been thrown into chaos by the Tatars, with many lives lost.

“No, not yet. Yi Hou Sheng sent people there to inquire recently, but it won’t be quick to get news back,” Zhen Niang replied, pursing her lips. She was genuinely concerned as well.

Just then, Li Zhengshēn and Zhao Susu arrived. Their inkstone shop had been doing quite well, gaining some reputation in just two short months. This was mainly due to the high-quality inkstone materials Li Zhengshēn had previously stockpiled, which caused quite a stir upon release. Combined with the allure of stone gambling, their business had quickly taken off.

However, the two entered with somber expressions.

“Zhen Niang, did Wenqian go to Shizhou?” Li Zhengshēn asked.

“Yes, why? What’s wrong?” Zhen Niang suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

“I just received news that in mid-month, Anda massacred Shizhou in Shanxi. They say the rivers ran red with blood,” Li Zhengshēn said, clenching his fist in anger.

Zhen Niang’s mind went blank at the news. Beside her, Zhao Shi gasped in shock, while Old Shopkeeper Li and Li Jingfu also paled. When Luo Wenqian left, he had mentioned he was heading to Shizhou.

“Mother, I’m going to Ping An’s wife to ask about this,” Zhen Niang exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Without waiting for Zhao Shi’s response, she dashed out the door.

Soon, she arrived at the side gate of Yi Hou Sheng and knocked. Wu Zi opened the door.

“Wu Zi, where’s your mother?” Zhen Niang asked urgently.

“She’s inside,” Wu Zi replied, his voice tinged with a nasal tone.

Zhen Niang followed Wu Zi inside, asking along the way, “Is there any news about your Uncle Luo Jiu?”

“Not yet. But we just received word yesterday that Uncle Luo Jiu and the others were in Shizhou in mid-month, right when Anda massacred the city. They say even the prefect was killed. I don’t know what happened to Uncle Luo Jiu and my father,” Wu Zi said, his voice choked with emotion.

Wu Zi’s father, Luo Ping An, had gone with Luo Wenqian. Zhen Niang fell silent for a moment.

Then, Wu Zi sniffled and added, “Mother didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to worry. She thought it best to wait until we had definite news.”

“I understand,” Zhen Niang nodded. She then entered the room and saw Ping An’s wife sitting there, her eyes red and her expression dazed.

“Ping An’s wife,” Zhen Niang called softly.

“Zhen Niang, this is so worrying. I want to go to Shizhou to find Wu Zi’s father,” Ping An’s wife said, snapping out of her trance and sobbing at the sight of Zhen Niang.

“Ping An’s wife, let’s not panic. Brother Luo and his team are all former soldiers. Even if something happened, it’s unlikely everyone was affected. Let’s wait patiently for more news,” Zhen Niang reassured her.

Ping An’s wife’s talk of going to Shizhou was more of an outburst. At this point, even if she went, how could she possibly find anyone? Hearing Zhen Niang’s words, she took a deep breath and calmed down a little.Zhen Niang chatted a few more words with Sister Ping'an. Seeing that there was no definite news here, although she still felt somewhat uneasy, she was a bit more settled than when she first heard her own cousin mention it.

Thus, Zhen Niang took her leave. Sister Ping'an saw Zhen Niang out, and upon reaching the entrance, they saw Shopkeeper Yan instructing Wu Zi to prepare the carriage. Wu Zi scurried off, and Shopkeeper Yan, noticing Zhen Niang from a distance, cupped his hands in greeting.

"Shopkeeper Yan, the money shop should prepare more funds these days." Zhen Niang glanced at the main hall of the money shop and thought for a moment before offering a reminder. Although at this time, individual deposits in money shops were still relatively few, the funds deposited by various merchants were substantial. If news of Luo Jiu's possible trouble spread, there might be a run on the money shop, hence the reminder.

Upon hearing Zhen Niang's words, Shopkeeper Yan was momentarily stunned. Then he slapped his forehead heavily. "I've been so busy lately that I've become muddle-headed. I'll go prepare right away." Without further pleasantries with Zhen Niang, Shopkeeper Yan called for Wu Zi, boarded the carriage, and left the courtyard.

He had been overwhelmed with work recently. Originally, he only managed the money shop, while the warehouse was overseen by Xiao Qi. However, when the incident in Shanxi occurred, Xiao Qi took his men there to investigate.

Consequently, Shopkeeper Yan had to handle both the warehouse affairs and keep track of incoming and outgoing messages, spinning like a top. He had completely forgotten about this matter.

Having managed money shops in the northern regions for many years, he was well aware of the phenomenon of bank runs.