The Heir

Сhарtеr 56: Whо Will Havе thе Lаst Lаugh?

Surе enough, aftеr thе meal, Аunt Jinhua brought uр thе mаttеr with Zhеn Niаng.

Since Аunt Jinhua had spoken, and Unсlе Jingdong wаs impаtiеnt with suсh аffairs, Zhеn Niаng nоddеd in аgreеment.

Li Jincai, hаving rеcеived the prоmise, joуfully went tо расk his bеlоngings аnd sent somеоne tо tidу uр the hоuse in thе сity—no nееd to еlaboratе further.

"Uncle Jingdоng, dо wе still havе mourning clothеs аt hоme?" Zhеn Niаng аskеd Li Jingdоng аs theу rоde bаck tо the citу in the саrriаge.

"Оf соursе we do. Doеs your family neеd them?" Li Jingdong inquired.

"Nоt my familу—we hаvе our оwn. I was thinking that tomorrow, the Tian family will surely send someone to transport that batch of pine wood. Let everyone in the Ink Workshop wear mourning clothes to see them off. After all, it was Ninth Uncle who paid with his life for it. I want everyone to remember tomorrow clearly," Zhen Niang said.

Of course, her actions had another deeper meaning. Although most of the people in the Ink Workshop had been persuaded to stay, it was inevitable that their hearts remained scattered. She intended to use this gesture to rally their spirits. "A grieving army is sure to win"—she wanted to ignite the determination to triumph among everyone in the Ink Workshop.

Only then could the Ink Workshop unite as one.

"Good," Li Jingdong nodded. This girl Zhen Niang had a sharp mind.

Upon returning to the Ink Workshop, they called for Steward Shao to discuss the Tian family's visit tomorrow to claim the pine wood.

Hearing Zhen Niang's demand that the Tian family exchange ten years of usage rights to the Luo Family's pine plantation for it.

Regarding this, Steward Shao knew a little, but previously he thought Zhen Niang was joking at the time. Now, hearing her speak so seriously, he couldn't help but consider it carefully.

"No, under normal circumstances, we would definitely have the advantage, but the Tian family simply won't agree to this demand. However, during this Pine Blight, even if the Tian family agrees, the Li family might not necessarily benefit. Currently, every pine plantation is severely affected, with about eighty percent of the yield essentially ruined. Even if we obtain the Luo Family's pine plantation, it's hard to say how much usable pine remains there," Steward Shao shook his head.

"I want the Luo Family's pine plantation. What I seek isn't pine—I plan to use it to plant tung oil trees," Zhen Niang said. With so many people in the Ink Workshop and loose tongues, she certainly couldn't explain the matter of Pine Resin Oil openly.

Planting tung oil trees was another plan of Zhen Niang's. To control the Pine Blight, extensive logging was inevitable. For the pine plantations on Huang Mountain, she would only extract Pine Resin Oil.

But for the pine plantations on flat land, after cutting down the pines, Zhen Niang intended to plant tung oil trees. Firstly, extracting Pine Resin Oil couldn't be done by just a few of them personally; they would surely need to hire farmers. This way, the matter of Pine Resin Oil would be exposed too early. However, if they collected Pine Resin Oil under the guise of planting tung oil trees, others wouldn't pay much attention.

Thus, the secret of Pine Resin Oil could be kept longer.

Secondly, tung oil itself is a raw material for soot pigment. At the same time, with the Longqing opening, the shipbuilding industry would develop rapidly, and tung oil is an indispensable material for shipbuilding. The price of tung oil would soar directly.

Moreover, tung oil trees grow quickly, generally yielding harvests in nine to twelve months, with peak production after three years. Ten years from now, the situation would be hard to predict.

By then, just the tung oil alone would bring significant profits to the Li family.

Of course, others couldn't see this.

"No, although tung oil prices are high now, they will drop after some time. For the Ink Workshop's limited usage, planting tung oil trees on a large scale isn't cost-effective," Steward Shao added.

"I agree," Li Jingdong said. Although he didn't know about Zhen Niang's plan to plant tung oil trees, regarding the Pine Resin Oil matter previously agreed upon, he naturally supported Zhen Niang now.Upon hearing Li Jingdong's support, Steward Shao fell silent with a grim expression. Since both Miss Li and Li Jingdong agreed, there was no use in him saying anything more.

To Steward Shao, Zhen Niang could only offer her apologies for now, planning to explain things to him afterward. This was for the sake of commercial confidentiality, and she believed Steward Shao would understand.

...

The next day, at the hour of Chen.

When Tian Benchang arrived at the Li Family Ink Workshop with his men.

"Congratulations, Miss Li, on inheriting the Li Family Ink Workshop," Tian Benchang said, cupping his hands in congratulations as soon as he arrived.

"What is there to congratulate? It's merely a case of forcing a duck onto the perch. I’ve only just taken over, and already I’ve been pushed to such a point. I have no face to see Ninth Uncle, nor to face the old lady when she awakens someday," Zhen Niang replied lightly, also taking the opportunity to jab back.

Inwardly, she couldn’t help but think, This fellow has no genuine congratulatory intentions. At most, he’s here to watch the show. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoken such words at a time like this.

"Miss Li, you jest," Tian Benchang said, his face slightly flushed with embarrassment.

"No need for idle talk. Let’s get straight to the point," Li Jingdong interjected coldly from the side. "If Young Master Tian wishes to take away that batch of pinewood today, you may do so—in exchange for ten years’ usage rights to the Luo Family Pine Plantation."

His usual style was to cut straight to the chase.

"Impossible," Tian Benchang said. The Luo Family Pine Plantation was the largest in Huizhou, benefiting from the advantageous terrain of Mount Huang. Its pine trees were the finest Huangshan pines, and Tian Benchang was naturally unwilling to part with it.

"Then there’s nothing more to discuss. You may leave. As for the Ink Affairs Bureau, if it truly comes down to it, it’s your Tian family’s unwillingness to exchange, not our Li family’s fault. I doubt Magistrate Huang has any reason to seal our Li Family Ink Workshop," Li Jingdong continued coldly.

With a deft touch, he shifted the blame onto the Tian family.

"You’re forcing my hand," Tian Benchang said angrily. The Li family was clearly being unreasonable.

"Who is forcing whom? Young Master Tian, you’d better understand the situation clearly. Don’t forget, this is the Pine Blight period. How much usable pine remains in the Luo Family Pine Plantation, you should know well. Whether it’s worth the exchange, you should have a clear idea. In any case, this is the condition our Li family has set. If Young Master Tian intends to rely on the Tribute Ink Privilege to force the issue, then the Li family will have no choice but to take desperate measures," Zhen Niang added coldly, her gaze turning toward the nearby east warehouse.

"Young Master, look over there," Steward Fang, who had come with Tian Benchang, hurried in from outside, pointing toward the east warehouse of the Li Family Ink Workshop.

Tian Benchang turned to look and saw a group of people standing quietly around the batch of pinewood. Each of them wore mourning attire, their faces filled with sorrow, guarding the pinewood.

Tian Benchang’s expression darkened. What was the Li family up to?

"Allow us to discuss this," Tian Benchang said, forced to stall for time.

"Young Master Tian, please take your time," Zhen Niang said, then left with Uncle Jingdong and Steward Shao, leaving Madam Tian and the others to discuss in the side hall."Young master, it's better to settle this quickly to avoid unnecessary trouble. Our family's focus is on oil soot ink; pine wood isn't our main material. Besides, with the current Pine Blight, the Luo Family's pine fields don't have much usable pine left. The century-old pines have long been cut down. Why not just make the exchange? At worst, before the handover, we can cut down the remaining pine in the current fields and leave them a bare mountain. Even if the Li Family plants pine saplings now, ten-year-old pine wood won't meet the requirements for Li Mo ink—it would be completely useless to the Li Family." The steward on the side advised.

Tian Benchang, however, remained deep in thought. Steward Fang's analysis made sense, but would Li Zhenniang perhaps fail to see this point? Would Steward Shao and Li Jingdong also be unable to see it?

He always felt there was something else behind this, but he couldn't quite figure it out.

"Uncle Fang, did you find out anything outside just now?" Tian Benchang lowered his voice and asked the steward beside him.

"I learned a bit. This demand was raised by Miss Li. Steward Shao didn't agree. His view is the same as what I just said—he believes this exchange won't benefit the Li Family at all. It would be better to just take the money and then look for pine wood elsewhere. However, Miss Li is very stubborn and insists on this." At this point, the steward chuckled softly. "I heard Miss Li plans to plant tung oil trees in the pine fields."

"Really?" Tian Benchang looked at the steward.

"Really. Yesterday, Old Shopkeeper Li went to see Li Jingdong. Now Miss Li has gained Li Jingdong's support. Steward Shao is fighting a lone battle," Steward Fang said.

"Truly wishful thinking. With the Li Family's limited tung oil usage, is it necessary to plant an entire mountain field with tung oil trees? And from what I know, the price of tung oil is about to drop soon." Tian Benchang laughed. Women will be women.

In Tian Benchang's view, Zhen Niang's decision fit the way women did things: if they wanted to eat eggs, they'd definitely raise their own chickens to lay them; if they wanted to eat pork, they'd try every means to raise their own pigs. After this Pine Blight, it was inevitable that the Li Family would vigorously develop oil soot ink. So, this Miss Li thought of planting tung oil trees.

"Haha, who knows? Maybe in a couple of years, tung oil prices will soar. We should agree to her. In the future, we might even have to get tung oil from the Li Family's hands." Tian Benchang joked.

Steward Fang beside him also laughed.

"Alright, we agree." After settling the discussion, Tian Benchang came out with Steward Fang and announced to Li Jingdong, Zhen Niang, and the others.

Then, both sides sat down to sign the contract and invited the magistrate's clerk to stamp it with the official seal. The matter was now set in stone, and neither party could back out.

Afterward, Tian Benchang gathered people to transport the pine wood.

Cart after cart of pine wood was moved out of the Li Family Ink Workshop.

"You can't move it! This is Ninth Master's life, it's Ninth Master's life!" At this moment, some of the old workers of the Li Family Ink Workshop wailed loudly.

"There's no other way, no other way," other elders also wept, tears streaming down their faces.

"Brothers, let's all go to the entrance to see Ninth Master off." At this, Master Qin waved his hand, and immediately, workers wearing mourning clothes filed out of the ink workshop, quietly standing on both sides of the workshop. Everyone's eyes were red and swollen.

Originally, the Tian Family's requisition of pine wood had nothing to do with everyone, and many naturally kept their distance.But at this very moment, as they stood by the roadside, watching the Tian family members cheerfully load that batch of pine wood onto the cart, thinking that this was what Ninth Master Li had exchanged with his life—

At this moment, as members of the Li family, especially those workers who had been there for over ten years, they all clenched their fists and gritted their teeth. Each one of them held back a surge of anger, vowing to remember this moment forever—this debt must be repaid.

And it was at this very moment that the scattered morale of the Li Family Ink Workshop was once again united.

The onlookers around could feel the resolute determination of the Li family.

"Ah, the Tian family is truly going too far. Ninth Master Li’s body isn’t even cold yet, and they’ve already done something like this," whispered the bystanders.

"Exactly, the Tian family is no good. From now on, we must be extra cautious when dealing with them," someone echoed in response.

Tian Benchang’s face was now dark and gloomy. He hadn’t expected the Li family to pull such a move at the last moment.

A grieving army—ever since Ninth Master Li’s passing, and with Old Madam Li’s accident, the Li Family Ink Workshop had practically fallen apart. Yet, he never imagined that his own actions would unite the Li family’s hearts once more.

The Li family was truly cunning. He wondered whether this idea came from Li Jingdong, Steward Shao, or perhaps Li Zhenniang?

Tian Benchang suddenly felt that he had acted too hastily in this matter.

"Steward Fang, go back and gather the men. Head to the pine forest and cut down all the usable pine wood to bring back to the Ink Workshop. Don’t leave even the slightest advantage for the Li family," Tian Benchang said with a grim expression.

Since they were already at odds, they might as well go all the way.

"Yes, I’ll go gather the men right away," Steward Fang nodded.