The Heir

Сhарter 73: Winter Sоlstiсе Dumрlings

Тhe secоnd hаll of the сounty уаmеn.

Маgistrаte Wei sаt in the main seat, Chen Shi in thе guеst seаt, and Shеng Shiуе sаt to оnе sidе. Тhе othеrs, including severаl rеprеsentatives оf the victims аnd Shen Shi, werе sеаtеd in lоwеr рositions.

Еvеryоnе gаtherеd to disсuss thе aftermаth оf the inсident.

"Now that this mаtter has reасhеd this pоint and has squarеlу fаllen оn mу Li Jinshui’s shоuldеrs, mу Li fаmily will nоt shirk rеspоnsibility. Нowevеr, evеrуthing must bе donе with рrорer justificatiоn. After all, the majоr shareholdеrs of the оil mill arе still thе Du brothеrs, and our Li family has no reason to bear the burden for them," Old Shopkeeper Li addressed Magistrate Wei.

No one present was foolish. As soon as Old Shopkeeper Li spoke, everyone understood the situation.

"With such a major incident discovered at the oil mill and the Du brothers having fled, the oil mill no longer belongs to them. According to regulations, the yamen should seal it. However, since Du Lüniang is now a third shareholder and the Li family is willing to take responsibility for the aftermath, the oil mill should rightfully belong to the Li family," Sheng Shiye interjected from the side, then turned to Magistrate Wei. "Sir, do you agree?"

"Yes, that is only right," Magistrate Wei replied.

At this moment, Shen Shi timidly spoke up, "This oil mill... this oil mill belongs to my eldest and second sons."

Upon hearing her words, those around her looked at her as if she were an idiot.

"Mother!" Du Shi gritted her teeth and called out, her eyes reddening.

"Are you foolish? The Li family is helping you shoulder this burden. If the oil mill still belongs to your eldest and second sons, why would the Li family step in to handle the aftermath? If the Li family doesn’t take responsibility, will you? Can you afford to?" Shen Shi’s aunt tugged hard at her sleeve, lowering her voice in frustration.

This niece of hers was truly muddle-headed. She had spoiled her two sons rotten, and now they had left this mess for their mother to clean up, showing no filial piety at all. Worse still, she didn’t know how to win her daughter’s heart, instead constantly blaming her and driving her away. Who would she rely on in the future?

Relying on those two unfilial sons? Don’t even think about it.

"Oh, oh, oh, it should belong to the Li family. As long as the Li family handles this matter properly, the oil mill is theirs," Shen Shi finally understood and hurriedly agreed.

Thus, everyone ignored her, and the rest became straightforward. It was simply a matter of posting notices and recalling the sold oil. While this oil might be useless to others, it was no issue for the Li family, as it could still be used to burn soot pigment for ink.

Next was the discussion of compensation. Although not everyone would be satisfied, as long as it was generally acceptable, it would suffice. The yamen then issued a verdict, and the ownership of the oil mill changed hands, now belonging to Eldest Brother Li, Li Zhenliang.

As for the loan from the pawnshop, with Sheng Shiye acting as the mediator, the pawnshop owner Zhu Da waived the interest and extended the repayment period. Only then did the Li family reluctantly accept the terms and sign a new contract.

Of course, there was inevitably some haggling in between, which need not be detailed here.

Thus, everything was settled.

From then on, everything depended on money. Medical expenses and compensation for the poisoned patients, refunds for the returned rapeseed oil—which was no small sum—and wages for the oil mill workers, among other things. In short, the Li family had to pour a considerable amount of money into this.In the evening, Zhao Shi was calculating the household accounts by the oil lamp. Seeing the money they had painstakingly saved over these days about to be spent all at once, her face wrinkled like a bitter gourd, yet even this amount still wasn’t quite enough.

“Why hasn’t Dalang returned home yet? I heard he made quite a bit over there, but without seeing him in person, there’s no certainty. Now we’re counting on him.” Wu Shi sighed.

Zhen Niang, however, wasn’t worried at all. Since her eldest brother had written in his letter that he had earned a lot, then he must have earned a lot. After all, the mines she had pointed out were top-quality old pits—it would be strange if he didn’t make money.

“The journey from Wuyuan is all mountain roads, difficult to travel, so it takes a bit longer.” Du Shi said softly.

As soon as Zhao Shi heard her voice, she snorted coldly. Du Shi could only lower her head, holding Little Official Xiao and remaining silent.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“It must be Eldest Brother and the others back.” Xi Ge’er jumped up at once. After the chaotic events the family had gone through, this boy had become somewhat more sensible, behaving obediently and not causing mischief.

Finally, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But then they heard Xi Ge’er’s somewhat disappointed voice: “It’s Second Aunt, Aunt Jingdong, and Aunt Jinhua.”

“What? Who did you think it was?” Aunt Jinhua teased Xi Ge’er.

“I thought it was Eldest Brother coming back.” Xi Ge’er replied.

“What, your eldest brother hasn’t returned home yet?” Aunt Jinhua asked.

“Not yet.” Xi Ge’er replied, then led the three of them into the house.

Zhao Shi and the others naturally hurried to welcome them. Zhen Niang poured tea and brought water for the three.

“Don’t trouble yourselves. It’s late, and we’ll leave after a few words.” Da Huang Shi said. She then handed a money box to Zhao Shi.

“Sister Jingfu, this is some money the three of us have pooled together to help you in your time of need.” Da Huang Shi said.

“This… how can we accept this? The Medicine Hall’s expenses were already covered by the Ink Workshop earlier.” Zhao Shi said apologetically. Today, to settle the commotion at the yamen gate, Chen Shi had sent the Ink Workshop’s accountant, and the medical expenses were temporarily covered by the Ink Workshop.

“It’s fine. The Ink Workshop’s matters are the Ink Workshop’s. This is our personal gesture, all from our dowry money, unrelated to anything else.” Da Huang Shi said.

“Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Hearing Da Huang Shi’s words, Zhao Shi accepted gratefully. To be honest, in the past, when the eighth branch of the Li family was ostracized by the other branches, Zhao Shi had harbored quite a bit of resentment toward them.

Later, when Zhen Niang took over the affairs of the Ink Workshop, Zhao Shi agreed verbally but inwardly disapproved, often blaming Seventh Madam. But now, with Da Huang Shi’s gesture, her heart felt closer to the other branches, and the previous estrangements vanished. She felt that everything Zhen Niang had done for the Ink Workshop was worthwhile.

Knowing that the Li family had many matters to discuss, Da Huang Shi and the others took their leave. Zhao Shi saw them off at the door, watching until their sedan chairs had gone far into the distance before returning inside.

Meanwhile, Zheng Shi opened the money box and weighed the broken silver inside with a small scale. Together with the five-tael silver ingots, it totaled over one hundred and fifty taels. This was indeed a considerable sum of money.

“Remember this—not just the amount of money, but also this kindness.” Old Shopkeeper Li instructed.

“Yes.” The others naturally nodded in agreement."Right, tomorrow is the Winter Solstice, isn't it?" At this moment, Wu Shi counted the days on her fingers and said.

"Exactly, I've completely lost track of the days." Zheng Shi glanced at the almanac and nodded.

"Jingkui's wife, Jingfu's wife, knead the dough for me. I'm going to make Winter Solstice dumplings tonight. First thing tomorrow morning, deliver them to the homes of Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, and Ninth Brother so everyone can have a taste. It's been years since they've tried my Winter Solstice dumplings." Wu Shi instructed. She then directed Zhen Niang to go wash the vegetables.

"There are still winter bamboo shoots in the kitchen, peel them too." Seeing Zhen Niang head into the kitchen, Wu Shi hurriedly added.

"Alright!" Zhen Niang replied cheerfully. She had long heard from her mother that her grandmother's Winter Solstice dumplings were exceptional and especially delicious. It was said that back when the families were on good terms, Grandma often made Winter Solstice dumplings for everyone to enjoy. But after the relationships soured, over the years, Grandma had never made Winter Solstice dumplings again—not even for their own family. It had always been Zhao Shi and others who made them.

And today, Wu Shi was going to make them herself.

That night, no one in the household rested except for Xiao Guan'er. Even Xi Ge'er stubbornly refused to go to bed, dragging a small stool to sit by the kitchen counter. Watching Wu Shi chop the filling, mix the ingredients, and wrap the dumplings, the boy drooled the whole time.

Huizhou's Winter Solstice dumplings are not boiled dumplings. They are large, made with rice flour, and steamed in bamboo baskets. The skin is soft and chewy, while the filling is juicy and flavorful. After eating them, the taste lingers endlessly.

By dawn, several baskets of Winter Solstice dumplings were already steamed. Wu Shi had Zhao Shi and the others fetch food boxes and arranged the dumplings plate by plate inside.

"Jinhua definitely couldn't have gone back last night. Deliver these to her first thing in the morning so she can bring them for Sixth Brother to taste." Wu Shi instructed Zhen Niang.

"Alright, Grandma, don't worry. I'll make sure they're delivered." Zhen Niang mumbled through a mouthful of Winter Solstice dumplings. Grandma's dumplings were indeed as delicious as her mother had said.

Then, wiping her mouth, she picked up two food boxes, one in each hand, while Xi Ge'er carried another. Exactly three households—the two of them would deliver them together.

At the door, Zhen Niang's hands were full, so Xi Ge'er went to open it. Unexpectedly, the door was pushed open from the outside, nearly hitting him. Xi Ge'er joyfully exclaimed, "It's Big Brother!"

Hearing that Li Dalang had returned, everyone in the household rushed out.

"What exactly happened at home? I was frantic after receiving the letter." Li Dalang asked anxiously as soon as he entered.

"Big Brother, it's fine now. As long as you brought money back, everything's settled." Zhen Niang said with a grin.

"Ha, money! Let me tell you, this time we came back with nothing but money." Cousin Li Zhengshēn added from the side. His words carried a certain boldness, reminiscent of the later saying, "So poor, all I have is money."

"How much, how much?" Zhao Shi eagerly asked from the side.

"After deducting costs, we made a net profit of over eight hundred taels. Zhengshēn and I each get four hundred taels." Li Dalang said.

"And that's not even all of it. We also held back some of the finest varieties, like jade belt patterns, colored belt patterns, temple-front red, and top-quality tea-dust green. We're stockpiling them and will sell them when prices rise later." Li Zhengshēn added proudly from the side."Two abandoned pits, who would have thought they could still yield so much inkstone ore, and more importantly, of decent quality. The day we produced the inkstone ore, the entire Wuyuan was in an uproar." The speaker was a man in his thirties following Li Dalang and Li Zhengshēn.

"Uncle?!" Zhen Niang, noticing the man's resemblance to Zhao Shi, tentatively called out.

"Hah, it's Zhen Niang, isn't it? Good, good, you still recognize your uncle. When you were little, your uncle held you in his arms." Zhao Yuanhe laughed heartily.

Zhen Niang broke into a sweat—how could she possibly remember? However, her older brother had written earlier saying their uncle was coming. Besides, her uncle looked quite similar to Zhao Shi, so putting two and two together made it easy to guess.

"Amitabha!" Wu Shi began chanting sutras again. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. With this sum of money, dealing with the tung oil incident wouldn't be an issue anymore.

After chatting for a while with her older brother and uncle, Zhen Niang took Xi Ge'er to the Ink Workshop to deliver winter solstice dumplings to each household.

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I had been pondering whether to include the part about Huang Shi and the others borrowing money. From a plot perspective, with Li Dalang's money already in play, borrowing money might seem repetitive. However, after much consideration, I decided to write it anyway. This story is meant to be one where effort yields reward. Zhen Niang had previously dedicated herself to the Ink Workshop, and now that the eighth branch of the family was in trouble, it was time for her to reap the rewards. It adds a touch of warmth, don't you think? Of course, characters like Li Jincai don't count. Haha!