The Heir

Сhapter Тwеnty-Thrеe: Bеаn Yеllоw Саkes, Blоws, and Women

Early mоrning, thе tail еnd of thе Сhоu hоur, the bеginning оf thе Yin hоur.

Zhеn Niang wаs awakenеd bу her mоther’s bustling noises. Оpening hеr eyеs, shе sаw thе оil lаmр lit, and her mоthеr rummaging thrоugh сhеsts and сabinеts in thе room.

“Моther, whаt are yоu doing so eаrlу in thе morning?” Zhеn Niang asked with а уаwn. Last night’s drеаms hаd bееn fillеd with Aunt Jinhuа’s sоbbing, leаving her hаlf-asleеp аnd hаlf-аwakе, hеr rеst unsеttled. Now she fеlt particularly еxhausted.

“I’m рacking sоme things fоr уour fаther. The weather is about to turn hot, so I’m sending him the two sets of summer clothes we have at home.” Zhao Shi spoke while continuing her tasks without pause.

“Who’s going to Suzhou?” Zhen Niang asked curiously. The aroma of bean yellow cakes reached her nose, and her stomach immediately began to rumble.

She couldn’t help but glance outside. The oil lamp in the kitchen was also lit, and Du Shi was busy at the stove.

These bean yellow cakes were made by mixing oil with flour, wrapping them around bean paste and dried pickled mustard greens, and then frying them in oil until cooked. For people from Huizhou traveling afar, these cakes often served as provisions. In this kind of weather, they could last for half a month.

But who was going on a long journey?

“Mother, are we making bean yellow cakes at home?” Xi Ge’er, lying on the upper bunk, opened his eyes, still crusted with sleep, and swallowed his saliva as he spoke.

“Your eldest brother and Aunt Jinhua are going to Suzhou in a while. I’m having them take the things along.” Zhao Shi said, then glared at Xi Ge’er. “All you think about is eating. Go back to sleep. I’ll save some for you later.”

Only then did Xi Ge’er utter an “oh” and lie back down. But with the scent of bean yellow cakes lingering, how could he possibly fall asleep again? He began tossing and turning on his bunk, as if roasting pancakes, which earned him another scolding from Zhao Shi before he finally quieted down.

Hearing Zhao Shi’s words, Zhen Niang understood that her eldest brother and Zhengshen Ge were accompanying Aunt Jinhua to Suzhou to seek justice for her.

She had no idea how things would ultimately be resolved. They would have to wait until her eldest brother and the others returned from Suzhou to find out.

Zhen Niang couldn’t sleep any longer either. She got out of bed. The coal stove in the kitchen was burning, and a copper kettle beside it was filled with hot water. After washing up, she heard coughing from her grandfather’s room and her grandmother’s nagging, realizing that her grandparents were already awake. Elderly people woke early, so she fetched a basin of hot water and entered her grandparents’ room.

She attended to her grandparents as they washed up.

“Zhen Niang, I heard from your grandmother that you don’t want to go to the Ink Workshop and instead want to make your own ink at home?” Old Shopkeeper Li asked after wiping his face.

“Yes, I want to make ink myself.” Zhen Niang nodded.

“That’s fine too. I’ve already asked your grandmother to sort out the ink molds, carving boards, and other ink-making tools I used when I made ink myself before. I’ve cleared out the room next door. You can still do the smoke generation in the firewood shed, but this room next door will serve as your ink-making workshop.” Li Jinshui said.

Zhen Niang’s decision actually aligned with his own wishes. During this period, whenever he chatted with Zhen Niang, he increasingly felt that she had a natural talent for ink-making. For example, she had even extended several new formulas from the ink blending formulas he had left behind. Although some were still immature, a few ink formulas were quite worth trying.

For someone who had spent his entire life treating ink-making as his life’s purpose, this was an irresistible temptation.

Li Jinshui was eager to see these formulas come to life as ink in Zhen Niang’s hands. What he valued even more was Zhen Niang’s innate talent for ink-making, and he wanted to pass down his own ink-making skills to her in greater detail.To have a worthy successor is the ultimate wish of every craftsman.

Of course, this was also what Zhen Niang thought. Li Mo enjoyed great fame, yet in her previous life, due to the disappearance of Li Mo, there were no genuine pieces left in later times. Whenever she recalled how her grandfather in her previous life would sigh deeply at the thought...

"Thank you, Grandfather. By the way, won’t this affect your promise?" Zhen Niang couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s you making the ink, not Grandfather. What does it matter? It’s just like the smoke generation now." Li Jinshui said calmly. He knew how to make such adjustments.

"Understood. Everyone knows but doesn’t speak of it." Zhen Niang said with a smile, just like now—everyone thought the soot pigment she made a few days ago was her grandfather’s work. As long as it was under her name, no one could say anything. Besides, because of the soot pigment formula, their relationship with the main branch had eased considerably, so this mattered even less.

Grandfather had only sworn not to touch ink-making himself, not that he couldn’t take on a disciple. So even if the ink was made by Grandfather, as long as it was under her name, everyone would simply turn a blind eye. Moreover, the one actually making the ink was genuinely her, so naturally, there was no problem at all.

Afterward, Zhen Niang went to the neighboring room and organized the ink molds, carving boards, drying boards, pestles, mortars, Ink Mixing tables, and so on.

Her heart was quite excited.

After breakfast, Li Zhengshēn and Li Zhengyan from the Ninth Branch arrived. They joined Li Zhenliang and Aunt Jinhua, and everyone set off together for Suzhou. Over there, the Second Uncle-in-law from the Sixth Branch and Li Jingfu would receive them.

Thus, the Li family group set off with great vigor and high spirits.

Zhen Niang also went out—she needed to buy materials for Glue Boiling.

"Zhen Niang, Zhen Niang." Not long after leaving the city gate, she heard Sun Yuejuan’s hushed call. Sun Yuejuan used to visit her frequently, but ever since Sun Yuejuan’s mother’s marriage proposal was rejected last time, Sun Yuejuan hadn’t come by again.

Now, the relationship between the two families was somewhat awkward.

"Yuejuan, what are you doing here?" Zhen Niang asked curiously, seeing her sneakily hiding by the corner of a house.

"Shh..." Sun Yuejuan made a gesture for silence, then craned her neck to look toward a small street nearby.

Out of curiosity, Zhen Niang also leaned over to look. She saw Sun Yuejuan’s elder brother, Sun Baiyi, standing at the doorstep of a house, talking to someone inside. Clearly, the person inside was a woman, half of her face visible, looking quite pretty.

"Is that your future sister-in-law?" Zhen Niang asked with a smile.

"Ugh, what future sister-in-law? She’s a shameless woman, a half-open door." Sun Yuejuan’s face flushed red as she said irritably.

"Half-open door" actually meant a secret prostitute.

So that’s what it was. Zhen Niang understood—Sun Yuejuan’s mother must have sent her to keep watch.

Just then, Sun Baiyi had already left from the other end of the alley.

"I have to go. My mother is waiting for me. I’ll come find you to play in a few days." Sun Yuejuan said hurriedly.

"Alright." Zhen Niang nodded, watching Sun Yuejuan dash away.

Naturally, Zhen Niang didn’t need to worry about the Sun family’s affairs. She went to the Medicine Hall and bought some spices, as well as ash bark, scouring rush, angelica, and other ingredients. These could be used to make Medicinal Ink. Of course, when making Medicinal Ink, one couldn’t use oil soot pigment; it had to be made with century-old pine soot.There was another type of Medicinal Ink that Zhen Niang intended to make as well—the Eight Treasures Five Gallbladders Medicinal Ink. When Empress Dowager Cixi fled westward and suffered from a Back Sore, it was this ink that cured her. Moreover, the Eight Treasures Five Gallbladders Medicinal Ink was hailed as one of China's three miraculous medicines.

Unfortunately, the materials for this Medicinal Ink were far too precious. Zhen Niang currently lacked the funds to make it and would have to proceed slowly.

Afterward, Zhen Niang went to Four Treasures Street to purchase ox glue for ink-making. Just as she was about to head home and passed a corner, she heard a sudden "Ouch!" followed by a "thud" behind her.

Turning around, Zhen Niang saw the Luo Family's young master, Luo Wenqian, clutching his head and rubbing the back of it. He turned angrily toward a middle-aged woman behind him, who was holding a wooden stick, and shouted, "You woman, why are you hitting people for no reason?"

The woman appeared to be around forty years old, dressed in old clothes with several patches, her face pale with a sickly hue.

"You scoundrel, sneaking after a young lady with ill intentions," the woman retorted timidly, though she tried to sound defiant.