A few days later, two men arrived from Fuzhou with a map, saying they had been sent by their master to invite Lin Hong to design and construct a garden for him in Fuzhou.
Since the Southern Song court moved south, scholar-officials had all taken a liking to building gardens and ponds, using them to serve their parents, entertain themselves, host gatherings, compose poetry, and enjoy the pleasures of forests and springs. The gardens of high-ranking officials invariably featured piled rocks and managed waters, with cool pavilions, painted halls, high terraces, and elegant towers, planted with exotic flowers, rare herbs, fine trees, and auspicious grasses—all to create a space suitable for living, wandering, and hosting song and dance. To secure an ideal garden designer, they spared no expense in hiring. It was only then that Zhenzhen learned that Lin Hong did not spend his days merely savoring the wind and drinking dew, detached from worldly affairs. A significant portion of the daily expenses for him and the people in the garden came from his garden design work.
"Though the young master comes from a family of scholars and officials, his parents passed away early, leaving little inheritance. He passed the imperial examination and became a presented scholar at eighteen, but he had no interest in an official career. He resigned and retreated to Wuyi Mountain, and it has been five years since then," A Che told Zhenzhen.
Zhenzhen understood completely: "Teacher Lin has a noble and pure character, indifferent to fame and fortune. I imagine he couldn’t stand the affairs and people in official circles."
A Che continued, "He built this garden in Wuyi Mountain for himself to live in, but when friends visited, they all praised it endlessly and invited him to design gardens for their own homes. The young master found it hard to refuse, so he designed two. Unexpectedly, more and more people came asking him to design gardens. Seeing that he was skilled at this and could also support himself, he decided to take on two projects a year. But only two—the young master is naturally indifferent to worldly gains and doesn’t chase excessive profits. Moreover, he strives for perfection in everything he does. Each project requires careful deliberation and repeated refinement to achieve perfection, which is extremely taxing. So, two projects a year is already his limit. Even though the quantity is small, the income is enough to support all of us."
Fuzhou was not close to Wuyi Mountain, and Lin Hong initially intended to decline. But the messengers pleaded earnestly, saying, "Our master believes that you, sir, have a landscape in your heart, which is why you can create such ingenious designs that others cannot match or replace. Therefore, our master specifically instructed us to invite you. If you refuse, there’s no need for us to return—our master will no longer keep such incapable people like us."
Seeing their sincerity and knowing that their master was a renowned scholar who had once interacted with his father, Lin Hong finally agreed. However, he explained that supervising the construction from afar would be difficult, so he would only go to Fuzhou for a few days to survey the terrain, draft designs, and provide a rough estimate. The actual construction would need to be arranged separately by the master.
After taking on this task, Lin Hong spent his afternoons on additional preparations and calculations, often in his study, sketching on maps or estimating the materials needed. Once, when Zhenzhen saw him looking exhausted from writing, she offered to take notes while he dictated. Lin Hong hesitated for a moment but surprisingly agreed.
Zhenzhen had been writing for a short while when she suddenly heard Lin Hong mention the term "rafters and purlins". Unsure how to write it, she asked him. Lin Hong stood up and came over, intending to take the brush from her hand to write it for her. Unexpectedly, Zhenzhen was raising her hand at that moment, and his outstretched hand suddenly covered her uplifted one.
This was the first direct skin-to-skin contact between them. Zhenzhen felt that Teacher Lin’s hand was very cold. She turned to look at him, and he quickly withdrew his hand. Subconsciously, Zhenzhen glanced at his retracted hand and noticed something strange.
"His wrist and above actually had goosebumps," Zhenzhen recounted to A Che later, puzzled. "Was my hand very cold? It shouldn’t have been—I thought his hand was colder than mine."A Che laughed until she doubled over. "I think the young master feels about the same when he touches your hand as he would touching a rat."
After dodging Zhenzhen's pursuit, A Che said seriously, "Honestly, the young master's obsession with cleanliness surpasses that of ordinary people. It's not just with you—he avoids physical contact with everyone. If he accidentally touches someone, he washes his hands repeatedly. We're used to it, so we usually keep our distance when interacting with him. You should be mindful of that in the future."
Zhenzhen agreed, somewhat understanding why Lin Hong had passed the age of twenty without marrying. His extreme fastidiousness meant he never shared personal items or utensils with others. During meals, he would sit alone in a room, upright and solemn, quietly savoring each dish. And with such a fear of physical contact... Zhenzhen sighed inwardly. With such a temperament, he was probably destined to grow old alone.
After several days of preparation, Lin Hong took A Che to Fuzhou, saying he would return after completing the survey. Before leaving, he carefully arranged practice tasks for Zhenzhen, specifying which ingredients to use for knife skills and which techniques to practice for cooking each day. For every meal, he designated one dish she must prepare, leaving the rest for her to decide. He also made sure Xin Sanniang would supervise.
Xin Sanniang secretly rejoiced, not only assigning cooking tasks but also making Zhenzhen handle other household chores. Knowing Xin Sanniang held a grudge against her, Zhenzhen didn’t argue. She did what she could manage and resorted to tricks when the workload became too much. Whenever Xin Sanniang discovered this, she would scold loudly, "The young master kindly took you in, taught you culinary skills without charging tuition, and provided you with good food and shelter. Isn’t it only right that you do more household chores for him? Yet you shirk even these small tasks—clearly, you’re used to being lazy and indulgent. If you were in another household, you might have become a concubine, but our young master is principled and upright. Keeping you here feels like we’re worshipping a Buddha statue."
Zhenzhen never argued back when she heard these words, but the two old gardeners couldn’t bear it and often advised Xin Sanniang, "She’s just a young girl, and the young master treats her politely. You should speak more kindly and not hurt her feelings so much. After all, we see each other every day."
One night, Zhenzhen woke up choking on smoke and saw flickering flames outside the window, accompanied by occasional cries of alarm.
She quickly threw on her clothes and got up. In the distance outside the garden, flames soared into the sky, and the thatched shed in the backyard where livestock were kept had also caught fire, likely from embers blown onto the roof by the wind. Zhenzhen hurried to fetch water with the old gardeners to fight the fire. Fortunately, the fire in the shed wasn’t too severe and was soon extinguished.
Only after the flames were put out did Xin Sanniang emerge from Lin Hong’s room, clutching a bundle filled with gold, silver, and valuables. Seeing Zhenzhen and the others, she exclaimed, "Thank goodness the young master gave me the key before he left. Otherwise, if the fire had spread, all this wealth would have been burned to ashes."
Though the flames were gone, thick smoke still billowed from the shed. Xin Sanniang coughed violently from the smoke before suddenly realizing, "Oh no, the young master’s painting! I hope it hasn’t been stained by the smoke."
With that, she rushed to the study. Zhenzhen followed her inside. Seeing that the painting of Luo Shen was still unharmed for the moment but smoke continued to seep in, Xin Sanniang shoved the bundle into Zhenzhen’s hands and reached out to take down the hanging painting.Zhenzhen glanced at the heavy bundle, stepped outside to observe the direction of the fire, pondered briefly, then suddenly hurried to the backyard. She led out the donkey kept there, mounted it herself, and trotted downhill with the bundle.
Hearing the commotion, Xin Sanniang turned and saw Zhenzhen leaving with the bundle. She chased after her for a stretch, but Zhenzhen had already vanished from sight. Furious, Xin Sanniang beat her chest and stamped her feet, crying and cursing, "That wretched girl! I always knew she was no good. Now she’s run off with the young master’s belongings…"
Xin Sanniang ordered the gardeners to go down the mountain overnight to report the incident. However, seeing the fire outside the garden still raging and fearing it might spread back inside, the gardeners dared not leave their posts. One stayed to guard the garden, while the other went out to fight the nearby flames. Fortunately, the next day brought rain and snow, and by noon, the fire outside had been brought under control, giving them a moment to catch their breath. Xin Sanniang was still urging the exhausted men to hurry to town to report the case and apprehend Zhenzhen when she saw Zhenzhen riding the little donkey back, carrying the bundle, calm and unhurried.
Xin Sanniang rushed forward, snatched the bundle from Zhenzhen’s hands, and immediately felt it was much lighter. Opening it, she confirmed that most of the money was gone. Her blood boiling with rage, she shouted, "You reckless girl! While we were busy fighting the fire, you stole the money to go off and enjoy yourself!"
She raised her hand to strike Zhenzhen, but the gardeners stopped her, advising, "No one who brazenly steals money and spends it would dare return like this. Let’s hear what she has to say first."
Zhenzhen dismounted from the donkey, clasped her hands in gratitude to the gardeners, then turned to Xin Sanniang and said, "I went to town to buy materials for rebuilding the garden and also hired over a dozen craftsmen for a six-month contract."
Xin Sanniang scolded, "Our thatched cottage only caught fire. We need very few materials for repairs, and why would we need over a dozen craftsmen for half a year?"
Zhenzhen replied, "I noticed the fire spread from the gardens of several nearby scholar-officials. This area is scenic and has excellent feng shui. After the fire, they won’t let their gardens fall into ruin. They likely have the means and will rebuild quickly. However, materials like bricks, tiles, rafters, and beams must be purchased in town, and supplies are limited. Several gardens were damaged, some severely, and if they all rebuild at once, there will be shortages of materials, carpenters, masons, and plasterers. So, I went down the mountain overnight, quickly bought a large quantity of materials, negotiated contracts with craftsmen, and paid deposits. Because of the large volume and long duration, the prices they offered were very reasonable."
Turning to the two gardeners, Zhenzhen added, "You’ve both worked with Teacher Lin for many years and often do carpentry, so you’re familiar with construction projects. I hope you can discuss with me to finalize the repair plans and pricing. If anyone comes seeking help, we can take on the work, providing both labor and materials. For rebuilding and repairs, the owners will have their own blueprints, so there’s no need to trouble Teacher Lin. If he has time, it would be great if he could offer some guidance. If he prefers not to get involved, the craftsmen can work on their own, and I’d just ask you two to supervise a bit."
The gardeners were astonished and asked Zhenzhen, "Young lady, how do you know so much about construction projects and business matters at such a young age?"Zhenzhen said, "I learned management from my mother. Whenever there was a change in circumstances, she would quickly judge which ingredients would become scarce next, and then prepare them in advance before others acted, so we always had the advantage. As for construction, I helped Teacher Lin prepare for the garden project a few days ago and heard him mention some things, so I knew where to find building materials and craftsmen. When negotiating with the craftsmen this time, they were all very willing upon hearing it was for Teacher Lin. They said they had worked with Mr. Wenqiao many times, that he was kind and generous, and they had learned skills from him that couldn’t be acquired elsewhere. So, we quickly reached an agreement, signed the documents, and received the deposit."
The gardeners all approved of Zhenzhen’s decision, but Xin Sanniang was still dissatisfied and questioned Zhenzhen, "What if those affected scholars and officials find other building materials and craftsmen? Wouldn’t we suffer a loss?"
"No," Zhenzhen replied. "We must set fair prices. Even if they calculate and try to buy materials or hire craftsmen from farther away, their expenses will only be higher."
Sure enough, not long after, people came to inquire about rebuilding their gardens, saying that when they went to the town to find craftsmen, they were all directed to the Woodcutter Inquiry Post. Zhenzhen and the gardeners estimated the plans and prices, and the visitors quickly accepted. Two families initially wanted to find other materials and craftsmen, but after inquiring and calculating, they realized the costs would indeed be higher, and eventually placed their orders at the Woodcutter Inquiry Post.
Zhenzhen then asked the craftsmen to investigate the cause of the fire and learned that it was due to one garden owner’s attempt to imitate Lin Hong by installing an underfloor stove to heat the bedroom. The construction was improper, with the stove placed inside the bedroom, which ignited the curtains and furniture. Fortunately, the occupants escaped in time, and the surrounding affected gardens were mostly villas with few permanent residents, so there were no casualties.
Zhenzhen examined the structure beneath the bedroom floor tiles and saw a crisscrossing network of brick flues, with the floor tiles laid on top. The stove opening was located outside the kitchen, and the flues led into the bedroom. When charcoal was burned, the heat would travel through the flues into the bedroom and then exit through a chimney hidden in a corner.
Zhenzhen said to the gardeners, "Then we can also take on the work of building underfloor stoves. Letting inexperienced people build them haphazardly poses a great risk."
Nearby wealthy families heard the news and, regardless of whether they had experienced a fire, came to the Woodcutter Inquiry Post to commission underfloor stoves. After calculating, Zhenzhen found that with these new orders, the hired craftsmen’s schedules were already fully booked, and they might even need to hire additional workers.
Xin Sanniang had already received so many deposits for these projects that her hands were tired. Looking at the large sums on the orders, she finally smiled at Zhenzhen and said, "You clever girl, you’re quite resourceful. The earnings from this will cover our garden’s expenses for a year or two. When the young master returns, I’ll tell him to give you a ten to twenty percent share."
Zhenzhen put an arm around her shoulder and said, "San Niang, you’re being too formal. If we can earn some money this time, consider it my gratitude fee for my teacher. There’s no need to give me a share. As long as my teacher continues to teach me, and you smile at me every day, I’ll be perfectly content."
Xin Sanniang added, "Although you did well, this was a significant matter. You should have discussed it with me first instead of quietly taking the money and running off, almost making me report you to the authorities."
Zhenzhen retorted, "If I had discussed it with you first, would you have agreed?"
Xin Sanniang thought for a moment and answered truthfully with a smile, "No."After completing the survey of the gardens in Fuzhou, Lin Hong returned to the Woodcutter Inquiry Post. Zhenzhen went to greet him and on the way, she recounted what had happened during his absence, taking the initiative to admit her fault for acting without authorization. Upon entering the mountains, Lin Hong had already noticed traces of the fire, and his brows furrowed slightly. Hearing Zhenzhen's words, he neither praised nor reprimanded her, but instead quickened his pace and headed straight for the study. Only when he pushed open the door and saw the portrait of Luo Shen hanging intact in its original place did he quietly let out a sigh of relief.
(To be continued)
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