Сhарter 99: Hаi Rui Imрrisоnеd
Тhe night passеd withоut incident.
Тhe neхt dау, аs thе Тian familу released anothеr bаtch оf land, thе Наn fаmily соuld nоt аbsоrb it so quiсkly. Immediatеlу, the lаnd prices thаt had just stabilizеd after thе Тiаn fаmilу’s lаnd rеclamаtiоn droрреd by аnothеr twеnty pеrсent. Сoupled with thе Xu family dеlibеrаtelу spreading rumоrs, аnоther wаvе оf lаnd-sеlling рaniс еnsued.
Мadаm Fang heаrd the nеws еаrly in thе mоrning аnd wаs visibly annoуed.
“I told you so. Тhe foundatiоn we workеd so hаrd tо prеserve has been ruined by Miss Zhen in the blink of an eye,” Madam Fang said irritably in front of Li Jingming.
Li Jingming frowned, clasped his hands behind his back, and returned to his room. Although he appeared calm on the surface, he knew Han Yigui well—Han Yigui was not a reckless man.
“Haha, the Han family has lost everything this time. Our shops might just change hands,” Yao Niangzi muttered again at the shop entrance.
“After all, she’s just a girl. What does she know about business? Li Jingming and the others managed for over a decade without trouble, but this Miss Zhen has only been here for less than a month, and now the Li family’s remaining assets are likely to be lost,” a neighbor nearby sighed.
Zhen Niang naturally heard such rumors, but there was no need to pay them any mind—the facts would speak for themselves.
Zhen Niang continued with her work as usual. She left the land acquisition entirely to her uncle-in-law to handle.
These past few days, Zhen Niang devoted all her attention to Ink Manor. The Ink Workshop in the backyard was now fully equipped, awaiting only the arrival of workers from Huizhou to begin operations.
“The Tian family has lowered their ink prices again,” Zheng Fuli said, his face dark with anger as he entered.
Zhen Niang couldn’t help but frown. “Are the Tian family insane? Their original ink prices were already at cost. Are they planning to sell at a loss now?”
At this time, ink was sold by weight. The lowest-quality ordinary ink cost over one tael per catty, while medium-quality ink ranged from two to seven or eight taels per catty. As for premium ink, it was not sold by weight but by sets or boxes, such as four inksticks per box.
The price of premium ink was unpredictable, ranging from dozens to hundreds of taels without a fixed standard.
Now, the Tian family was selling ordinary ink for eight mace per catty. Even for the lowest-quality ordinary ink, this price was exceptionally low. Moreover, the Tian family was known for their Tribute Ink. With the Tian family selling at such prices, other ink manors and pavilions would inevitably lower their prices for ordinary ink even further. Ordinary ink accounted for the largest share of ink sales.
If the Tian family lowered their prices further from eight mace per catty, the losses would be substantial.
“They won’t be selling at a loss because the Tian family has introduced Exclusive Edition Ink. The price of Exclusive Edition Ink is twice that of ink of the same grade. This way, the profits from this line can offset the losses from ordinary ink, with some surplus. The Tian family has played this move well,” Zheng Fuli explained.
Zhen Niang hadn’t expected the Tian family to introduce Exclusive Edition Ink. With their reputation for Tribute Ink, the launch of Exclusive Edition Ink would naturally attract collectors.
Thus, the Tian family could dominate the ordinary ink market at the lower end while advancing further in the high-end market. After all, when ink products were collected by renowned collectors, their reputation would rise, further enhancing the Tian family’s prestige.
In this way, the Tian family would dominate both the high and low ends of the ink market. As for the mid-range market, there was no need for deliberate effort. The Tian family would monopolize the Nanjing ink market.In that case, if the Li family were to reopen their business, where would they find any customers?
Leaving aside other matters, the recent price war had nearly saturated the market share in the southern ink market. By then, even if the Li family followed suit and lowered their prices, ink was not a daily necessity, and the market would need time to digest the existing supply.
"Miss Zhen, should we consider postponing the opening of our Ink Manor for a while?" Zheng Fuli suggested.
"Postpone? Until when? Although the Tian family has lowered their prices now, people are only buying because they’re attracted by the low cost and want to save money. But if we delay further, once everyone gets used to using Tian ink, it will be even harder to compete with the Tian family for Nanjing’s market share," Zhen Niang replied. In her view, the opening of Li Mo should not only not be postponed but should ideally be brought forward.
Habits could be a terrifying thing—difficult to change.
With the Tian family’s reputation as a Tribute Ink producer, competing for the high-end market was out of the question. Therefore, what the Li family should do was hold onto their original mid-range market, and the battle had to be fought in this ordinary market segment.
"Here, help me buy a few things," Zhen Niang said, taking a piece of paper and writing out a shopping list with the ink brush she carried, then handing it to Zheng Fuli.
"A Distillation Apparatus? What’s this for? It’s used for alchemy," Zheng Fuli remarked, looking at the list with surprise.
"Yes, I need it to make a new type of ink," Zhen Niang explained. To succeed or even secure a foothold in the ink market now, they had to take a different approach. Since the high-end and mid-range markets were already dominated, the only option was to compete in the low-end segment. And in the low-end ink market, the most competitive product would be Liquid Ink.
Moreover, with the prefectural exams approaching, scholars were racing against time. If they could save them the effort of grinding ink, it would be a significant advantage. Thus, Liquid Ink would win on three fronts: novelty, practicality, and affordability. Zhen Niang was confident they could capture the low-end market.
However, making Liquid Ink required alcohol, which was why she had asked Zheng Fuli to buy a Distillation Apparatus for purification.
Hearing Zhen Niang’s explanation and seeing her determined expression, Zheng Fuli felt reassured that she had a plan to deal with the Tian family. He asked no further questions and took the list to make the purchase.
"Ma Shifu, take out the glue we brought, light the stove, and set up the pot. We can start the Glue Boiling process tomorrow," Zhen Niang instructed.
"Alright," Ma Shifu replied without further inquiry and went to prepare.
"Miss Zhen, Shopkeeper Yan from Yi Hou Sheng Bank is here," Er Gou announced as he hurried in.
Zhen Niang immediately thought of Luo Jiu’s promise from the day before. This visitor must be here to deliver the Night Revels of Han Xizai painting. She went out to greet him.
"Shopkeeper Yan, welcome," Zhen Niang greeted as she reached the front shop, then asked Xiao Ya to serve tea.
"Miss Zhen, you’re too kind. This is the Night Revels of Han Xizai painting. Our proprietor asked me to bring it for you to examine," Yan Xilai said without ceremony, directly handing the painting to Zhen Niang.
Instead of taking it immediately, Zhen Niang led Yan Xilai to a refined seating area used for ink appraisal. She asked him to spread the painting on the tea table, then instructed Xiao Ya to fetch some paper. Taking out her ink brush, she said to Yan Xilai, "Shopkeeper Yan, please have a seat. It will only take a moment."
"Miss Zhen, please take your time," Yan Xilai replied.Zhen Niang nodded. She had Er Gou attend to Yan Xilai while she focused intently on the "Night Revels of Han Xizai" painting. Soon after, she began sketching an Ink Line Diagram on paper. Such an important painting could not be left with her—if anything happened to it, she could never compensate for the loss. Therefore, she only studied it briefly, drew the Ink Line Diagram, and would have Yan Xilai take the painting back.
Zhen Niang also understood that for Luo Jiu to allow Yan Xilai to bring out such a valuable painting, their relationship was clearly more than just that of employer and shopkeeper. They must share a life-and-death bond; otherwise, who would entrust something so precious to another so casually?
These thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. Soon after, she immersed herself in the painting, spending nearly half an hour sketching it.
Yan Xilai stood nearby, appearing calm on the surface, but inwardly, his curiosity was burning fiercely. No one understood better than him how important the "Night Revels of Han Xizai" was to Luo Jiu. Everyone in the north knew that this painting was the only valuable heirloom left by Luo Jiu’s ancestors. It was said that even when Luo Jiu was begging for food, he never pawned this painting, and on ordinary days, he would fight anyone who dared touch it.
Who would have thought he would now send it over for Miss Li to study? Yan Xilai decided it was necessary to have his wife visit here more often.
"All done. Thank you for your trouble, Shopkeeper Yan. Please also convey my gratitude to Shopkeeper Luo." After a while, Zhen Niang finished the Ink Line Diagram, stood up, and clasped her hands in a respectful gesture.
"You’re too kind, Miss Li," Yan Xilai replied, also clasping his hands. He carefully packed up the painting, rolled it back up, and was about to leave when Zheng Fuli rushed in from outside.
"Miss Zhen, the latest news—Hai Rui has been imprisoned. He won’t be coming to Nanjing," Zheng Fuli exclaimed excitedly, though his gaze at Zhen Niang held a hint of emotion.
Zhen Niang had mortgaged the Nanjing shopfront to borrow money for buying land, a move Zheng Fuli had privately disapproved of. However, he hadn’t truly tried to stop Li Zhenniang. For one, she had the authority to make this decision herself, and even if he tried to delay her, it would only postpone things for a few days. If Miss Zhen insisted on proceeding, he couldn’t have stopped her anyway.
Secondly, a wild thought had taken root in his heart. Ever since he first saw Li Zhenniang boiling glue for Re-blended Ink, her image had been etched into his mind. But as time went on, Miss Zhen’s steps grew larger and larger, and he found himself struggling to keep up. Moreover, with the Eighth Branch taking over the Ink Workshop and Miss Zhen receiving a share of the workshop as her dowry, the wild thought in his heart, though growing, seemed increasingly out of place.
He almost wished Miss Zhen were still in her earlier days, when she first entered the Ink Workshop and needed support and assistance. In those times, he would have stood firmly by her side.
Because of these feelings, he secretly harbored a faint hope that this risky venture would fail. That way, he could accompany Miss Zhen through the difficulties once again.
And indeed, over the past few days, it seemed Miss Zhen’s gamble had failed, as land prices had hit a new low. But as fate would have it, the situation suddenly took a dramatic turn.
"The Most Forthright Memorial to the Throne"—Lord Hai truly had the courage of a bear and the daring of a leopard! His imprisonment meant he naturally wouldn’t be coming to Nanjing, and the land prices that had risen in anticipation of his arrival would now quickly surge.
Thus, Miss Zhen’s risky venture had not only not failed but had succeeded—and succeeded spectacularly.Zheng Fuli pondered how Miss Zhen had reaped considerable gains from every situation since taking over the Ink Workshop. He couldn’t help but recall the Distillation Apparatus she had asked him to purchase earlier—was it for creating new ink products? He found himself growing even more expectant.
“Congratulations, Miss Zhen.” Yan Xilai now clasped his hands together, beaming as he spoke.
When Li and Han had come to borrow silver that day, it was he who handled the transaction. Borrowing silver required stating its purpose upfront, and moreover, Han Yigui’s actions had not been concealed from anyone in recent days. Now, with Hai Rui imprisoned, the Li and Han families had become the biggest beneficiaries of this land turmoil.
“Thank you. The Li and Han families were merely protecting themselves.” Zhen Niang replied with a similarly cheerful smile. Although she had long known that Hai Rui would be imprisoned, that was ultimately just a historical event. How things would actually unfold had left her somewhat uncertain, so now the heavy stone in her heart had finally settled.
She then had Zheng Fuli escort Yan Xilai out.
In the following few short days, news of Hai Rui’s imprisonment swept through all of Nanjing like a gale. Immediately, land prices soared wildly again, but by then, there was no land available for transaction in the entire city. Those who had sold earlier had already done so—regretting it to the point of despair was useless—and those who hadn’t sold now knew full well to hold onto their land tightly.
Thus, in Nanjing now, land had a price but no market.
“Clang!” Wang Sifang, his face livid, smashed a teacup onto the floor. Han Yigui had turned the tables again, and with Han Yigui’s reversal, Hu Zonglin had also regained his footing.
All his previous meticulous scheming had come to nothing: “This infuriates me! It’s all that wretched boy’s fault.”
Wang Sifang blamed everything on Luo Jiu.
Meanwhile, not only were the Han family holding their heads high, but the Li family was also overjoyed.
“Zhen Niang, well done.” Huang Shi patted the back of Zhen Niang’s hand.
“The younger generation is truly formidable.” Li Jingming sighed in admiration.
Madam Fang wore an expression that seemed both pleased and displeased—an indescribable feeling.
“Just a stroke of luck.” Those were Madam Ge’s resentful words.
The happiest was Hua’er. As soon as she saw Zhen Niang return, she bounded over gleefully: “Cousin, cousin, did I get rich?”
“Yes, triple the profit.” Zhen Niang replied with a smile.
Hua’er immediately began counting on her fingers. She had only invested a little over ten taels back then. Triple the profit meant she now had over thirty taels, nearly forty. Instantly, her eyes narrowed into slits.
Upon hearing the conversation between Zhen Niang and Hua’er, Madam Fang remembered how Zhen Niang had previously urged her to invest together. Suddenly, she was filled with such regret that her intestines turned green.
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