Chapter 31 You're not going to do it, huh? Then don't do it at all...

Chapter 31 You're not going to do it, huh? Then don't do it at all...

Meng Qing and Meng Chun stood in the front yard, and the servants responsible for sweeping the front yard gathered around them, craning their necks to look at the paper house on the donkey cart.

"What is the roof made of? Is it made of glazed tiles? It even looks translucent."

"Look at these paper figures in the courtyard. If this were in the past, when people were buried alive as funerary sacrifices, would they continue to do the things they did in life, just like these paper figures, after they die?"

"Shut up, the master is here."

Upon hearing this, the servants scattered like birds startled by a pebble.

Meng Qing looked over and saw Master Chen and a middle-aged man dressed in silk clothes strolling towards them. Perhaps because they were in mourning, Master Chen was dressed in hemp clothing, his half-face covered with an unshaven beard, and his hair was hanging down his back, giving him a carefree and unconventional look. The other man also had a long beard, which was neatly trimmed and had the air of a refined and elegant gentleman. She couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.

As the two approached, Meng Qing greeted them, saying, "Greetings, sir. Greetings, teacher."

"Greetings, sir. Greetings, teacher." Meng Chun imitated him.

"This is Dr. Xu from the state academy," Master Chen introduced.

Meng Qing was surprised; this person looked more respectable than she had imagined.

"Greetings, Dr. Xu. I am Du Min's second sister-in-law. He is studying at the prefectural school," Meng Qing greeted again.

Dr. Xu nodded. He looked at the paper house on the donkey cart. With just one glance, most of his contempt vanished. Putting aside whether paper effigies could be used as funerary objects, the craftsmanship alone was astonishing.

Master Chen walked around the donkey cart and said, "Du Min was right. Leaving this to you to decide is indeed far beyond my expectations. This roof..." He reached out and touched it; it felt rough and wasn't glass.

“It’s coated with three layers of cow glue, which might be called yellow gelatin in books. Adults may not have seen it before; it’s not common. Some carpenters use cow glue to glue together wooden boards,” Meng Qing continued.

Master Chen had indeed never seen this before. He asked Dr. Xu to take a look, "Senior brother, doesn't this color look like amber?"

Dr. Xu nodded. "Very ingenious."

He reached out and touched and pinched them. When he looked closely, the light falling on them revealed variations in color in the innermost layer of tiles.

"Are the tiles made of paper? Or are they made from ground-up pieces?" Dr. Xu asked.

"They are paper tiles, made by folding individual pieces of paper soaked in ink, pressing them firmly, shaping them into the curves of the tiles, letting them air dry in a well-ventilated place, and finally gluing them to bamboo frames with bone glue. After the roof is laid, it is outlined with ink marks, and only after the ink dries can it be coated with ox glue," Meng Qing explained one by one.

"Aren't bone glue and cow glue the same thing?" Dr. Xu asked again.

"No, bone glue is made by boiling pork bones, sheep bones, and chicken bones. It's dark in color and contains many impurities; cow glue is made by boiling cowhide. It's clean and has a clear color," Meng Qing replied.

"It's quite elaborate, and the procedures are complicated," Master Chen added.

Dr. Xu did not refute. He then looked at the other things. The paper figures and horses in the paper house were all about the size of a hand. Their small size made them more exquisite. The horse skin of the paper horses in the stable was similar to that of the two paper horses that the Gu family sent at the funeral. They did not cut corners just because they were supporting characters.

"Go and fetch thirty strings of cash for Miss Meng," Master Chen ordered. Then, he turned to look at Meng Qing and said, "Miss Meng's craftsmanship is exquisite. Whether it was the paper horse from before or the paper house now, they are all lifelike and possess the solemnity and dignity of funerary objects. It's a pity you are a woman. If you were a man, I would definitely recommend you to be a royal craftsman. With your skills, you could make great contributions to palace construction."

"My lord, you flatter me. I only have a few clever ideas and can make some simple paper houses by imitation. I can't even recreate the tall pagoda in the Buddhist temple with bamboo strips and paper, let alone dare to climb the palace." Meng Qing thought to himself, "You really know how to repay kindness with enmity. Adding 'royal' before 'craftsman' can't hide the fact that artisans are even lower than merchants. Artisans are hereditary craftsmen, generation after generation. To get rid of this status, one has to achieve military merit, which is harder than shedding a layer of skin."

Master Chen shook his head and said with a sigh of regret, "You've been to school?"

"I wouldn't say that. Thanks to Master Konghui, I was able to attend morning classes with the young monks at the temple when I was young, and I learned some characters," Meng Qing replied.

"Master Konghui? What is your connection with him?" Dr. Xu asked, puzzled.

"She is the lay niece of Master Konghui," Master Chen introduced.

Dr. Xu suddenly realized, and his attitude immediately became much kinder. "So you are a descendant of Master Konghui. No wonder you have such extraordinary skills."

"Sir, the money is here." Butler Chen brought over a heavy bundle.

Master Chen nodded, and without further pleasantries, said, "See Miss Meng and the young master off on my behalf."

Steward Chen instructed the servants to carry the paper house down. He placed the bundle of money on the donkey cart and said, "Miss Meng, young master, please come with me."

Meng Qing and Meng Chun drove the donkey cart away from the Chen residence.

Master Chen took Dr. Xu back to the backyard, jokingly saying on the way, "Now do you believe me? After you pass away, would you like your descendants to burn paper money and make funerary objects when they worship you?"

Dr. Xu couldn't refuse, so he said, "If paper effigies can really be used as funerary objects, then when the teacher receives this paper house, he can still teach and nurture talents in the underworld, and live in a mansion with servants without illness or pain. Thinking about it this way makes me feel much better."

“Yes.” Master Chen nodded sadly. “Paper money can be sent to the underworld, so paper figures, paper horses, and paper houses should be able to too. Alas, if only he could appear in my dreams.”

After the two brothers finished their undecided game of chess, Dr. Xu left the Chen residence and returned to the prefectural school. His page was about to go out to look for him when he saw him and hurriedly stepped forward to report, "Dr. Xu, people from the Shi family have arrived."

“I’ll go meet with him,” Dr. Xu said calmly. “By the way, go to Du Min’s place and bring me his previous policy essay on paper-made funerary objects.”

"Okay, I'll go right away."

"There's one more thing. If Du Min's brother and sister-in-law come looking for him again, let them in," Dr. Xu instructed.

"Hey, hey?" The page boy looked puzzled. What happened? He was furious this morning because Du Min's second brother had forced his way into the prefectural school, but now he was being allowed to come and go as he pleased?

*

On the other side, Du Li was fanning himself with a palm leaf fan while stewing chicken in the kitchen. He said worriedly, "The people from the prefectural school won't let me in to see him. Do you think they might take advantage of his serious injuries to kill him and then report him as dead after a while?"

"It shouldn't be. I saw Dr. Xu at the Chen residence and mentioned Du Min to his face, but he didn't react at all. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would treat human life lightly," Meng Qing said. "If you're worried, you can ask the apprentice to tell Du Min to come out for dinner by himself this evening. The doctor also said that his head injury isn't serious and he should be able to walk slowly."

Du Li nodded, "I'll ask him if he wants to tell his family what happened to him. Only after he tells his family can I catch the chicken from home."

Voices came from the front yard. It was Meng's parents and Meng Chun returning with Wang Zhou. Meng Qing and Du Li fell silent upon hearing the noise and stopped talking about Du Min.

"Qingniang, your little brother said that Master Chen paid thirty strings of cash?" Mother Meng smiled from ear to ear.

"Would I lie to you?" Meng Chun complained unhappily as she followed behind.

Meng Qing laughed, "My little brother wasn't lying, it's thirty strings of cash, and after deducting costs, the profit is twenty-seven strings of cash."

The bamboo strips and paper used to make the paper house were far less than those used for paper oxen and horses. No more than two hundred sheets of paper were used, and no silk or hemp cloth was used. The ink used most often was leftover from before, and the most expensive ingredient was ox glue. Therefore, the cost was low, and the fact that it could be sold for thirty strings of cash was purely due to Meng Qing's excellent craftsmanship.

"My daughter is really capable. She earned the entire profit of the Paper Horse Shop last year in one order." Meng's mother laughed heartily. She patted Meng Chun and said, "You can't get a share of this business. Your sister didn't charge you tuition for teaching you this skill."

Meng Chun paused for a moment, then nodded readily: "Yes, this business is for me to learn the craft, so we can't split the profits."

"What's going on? We agreed to split it 50/50 before, why did you change your mind today? We should split it the way it was supposed to be." Meng Qing was unhappy. "Not only will my younger brother get a share, but you and my dad will too. My dad helped me, and you helped me take care of the child, so you both deserve credit."

"I don't want it, I don't need your little bit of money." Meng's father came over with Wangzhou in his arms and said, "Meng Chun can't take it either. You should save this money yourself. Isn't your son-in-law planning to buy citrus saplings to plant after autumn? This money will come in handy. He doesn't want to buy small saplings, which will take three to five years to bear fruit. He might as well spend more money to buy mature trees, which will bear fruit next year."

Meng Qing understood; her parents had already discussed it and were determined to help her family.

Du Li wiped her sweat as she came out and asked, "Dad, Mom, do you think this money is too much, and are you worried that I'll object if Chun Di takes half? You're overthinking it. I have no objection at all. Let the two siblings discuss their own affairs. I won't interfere, and neither should you."

"As for my planting of citrus trees, I won't use Qingniang's money; she and Wangzhou will use hers. We don't have any major expenses right now, and even if Wangzhou wants to go to elementary school, that's five or six years from now. I don't have the pressure to make money, and it's not too late for the citrus trees to bear fruit in three to five years," he stated.

"Did you hear that?" Meng Qing asked. "Don't meddle in other people's business. We'll handle my brother's and my own affairs."

Meng's mother laughed in exasperation. Had she and the old man become meddlesome meddlesome people?

"Can I speak? My opinion is that I won't take a cut of this deal. I've learned a lot from helping you..."

"Stop." Meng Qing interrupted Meng Chun. "If you keep acting all coy like this, we'll each do our own thing from now on, and keep things clear. I don't need your help, and you shouldn't come to me for advice."

Meng Chun has become mute.

Meng's mother glanced at Du Li a few times, then hesitated and said, "Qingniang, you're going to say I'm meddling again, but I still have to ask one more question. Du Min is not doing well at the prefectural school, and he's short of money. Do you want to give him more money so that he can have an easier time?"

Meng Qing exclaimed, "You're not only raising your son-in-law like a son, but you also want to bring another son back to raise? This is his parents' problem. It's not like his parents are poor and need your 'kindness' to help them out."

"You brat! What awful things you said!" Mother Meng pointed at her angrily.

Meng Qing turned her back on him, went back into the house to get the money, and immediately gave one string of cash each to her father and mother. She then split the remaining twenty-five strings of cash equally with Meng Chun.

When Meng Qing got angry, none of the three members of the Meng family dared to speak. They obediently accepted whatever she offered.

Seeing that there was nothing more for him to do, Du Li went back to the kitchen to get some chicken soup.

Meng Qing took Wang Zhou back to the house to breastfeed. Only after she left did Meng's mother dare to mutter, "That little devil, she doesn't appreciate it even though I'm doing it for her own good."

"You guys are just too idle, worrying about the Du family's affairs." Meng Chun immediately rejoined Meng Qing's team, and he said indignantly.

Mencius' mother glanced at him and said, "What do you know?"

Meng's father glanced at the strings of money hanging from his arms and reminded him, "Now that you're rich, you'd better behave yourself. Stay away from things you shouldn't touch."

Meng Chun asked in confusion, "What shouldn't I touch or get involved in?"

“Gambling and whoring,” Meng’s father said.

Upon hearing this, Meng Chun's face immediately fell, and he shouted angrily, "What do you take me for?!"

Du Li peeked out, and oh dear, another one ran away in anger.

"Dad, Mom, dinner is ready. I'll go take my third brother's food first. You eat first, don't wait for me," Du Li said.

"Won't you eat it or send it back?" Mencius' mother asked.

"It's late today, I'll go deliver it to him first. I'll cook earlier next time, eat at home before going out." Du Li untied his apron, rolled up his sleeves to wash his face, picked up the food box and left.

It was really late, so Du Li gave up walking and went to the ferry to take a boat. He paid three coins for the fare and arrived at the ferry in front of the prefectural school in the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

Inside the prefectural school, Dr. Xu arrived at the classroom. The teacher who taught classics nodded to him in greeting, picked up his desk, and left.

"You are well-informed and must have heard that the Shi family is coming. You don't need to ask any more questions. I just saw the guests off a short while ago. From now on, there will be no student named Shi Zhengli at the prefectural school," Dr. Xu announced.

The room was completely silent.

"Everyone here contributed to forcing Du Min to withdraw from school, and I even know who contributed the most. Those of you who called him unfilial and hypocritical are not loyal or righteous people either, and you can't even distinguish between public and private matters. You all know how much of your desire to kick him out stems from your disdain for his character, so I won't spell it out. Since you're so resistant to commoners studying at the prefectural school, to help you adapt, I will enroll another talented commoner in the vacant spot that opened up after Shi Zhengli's departure," Dr. Xu said maliciously. "If anyone here is dissatisfied, feel free to come to me anytime to withdraw from school."

The students below the hall all looked up at him.

Dr. Xu ignored all of this and continued, "I forgive Du Min for going astray, and I will also forgive those who deliberately did evil. I will not pursue this matter further, and let it go. If anyone deliberately brings it up again in the future, disturbing the peace of the prefectural school, do not blame me for expelling you from my school."

"Alright, class dismissed." Dr. Xu was the first to walk out of the classroom.

The remaining students looked at each other in bewilderment. After a few moments, some got up, packed their things, and left. The others followed suit.

“Dr. Xu’s academic methods are more rigorous than Dr. Chen’s. With one less bad apple around, we can finally study in peace,” Ning Jishi said to Xing Shu.

Ning Jishi originally lived next door to Du Min, and Xing Shu lived next door to him. The two lived close by and were therefore quite familiar with each other. Thus, Xing Shu knew that the books in Du Min's room were soaked by him while he was messing around, and others probably thought that Shi Anlin had done it casually while emptying the slop buckets.

Xing Shu nodded, then made an excuse to leave: "I'm going to visit Du Xuezi, do you want to come with me?"

"Visit him? No way. What would you do there? He wouldn't appreciate it even if you did," Ning Jishi instigated.

“He has difficulty moving around, so I’ll go check on him. If he needs anything, my page can bring him some food when he goes to get his meals,” Xing Shu said.

“We don’t need you anymore. Look who’s over there.” Ning Jishi pointed ahead.

Du Li carried a lunchbox and hurried through the academy. He came to the back dormitory and saw a child brewing medicine outside Du Min's new residence.

"Who are you?" the medicine boy asked.

“Du Xuezi’s second brother. I came to deliver the food, and the gatekeeper allowed me in again. You don’t need to go to the gate to get your food anymore,” Du Li said.

Du Min heard his voice from inside the house and called out, "Second Brother, is that you?"

The door was open, and Du Li walked straight in, saying, "The people at your academy are so capricious. They stopped me from coming in this morning, but let me in at noon. Can you get out of bed? Come and eat, I made you some chicken soup."

Du Min got up and went over, saying, "It's not that serious. I'll rest for another half day and then go to class tomorrow."

Du Li ignored him and said, "You eat, I'm going back, I haven't eaten yet."

"Next time you bring food, eat it first and then come over. I'm not in a hurry," Du Min instructed.

Du Li grunted twice, packed up the food box and left, but then turned back in after walking out the door.

"Is there anything else?" Du Min asked.

Seeing that he was in a good mood, Du Li swallowed the words he was about to say and changed his words to "It's nothing" so as not to spoil his appetite.

"Don't tell my family about my affairs." Du Min had already guessed. "Whether they know or not, it's the same. At most, they'll scold me a few times, and I'll have to comfort them in return. If my parents keep coming to see me, it will only cause me trouble. I've already overcome the most difficult hurdle. This matter will heal and scab over as the wound on my head heals. I don't want to hear others bring it up repeatedly."

"Second brother, you might scold me for being unfilial, but I really don't want to waste my energy dealing with family matters," Du Min said earnestly. "I don't need to mend my relationship with our parents. For me right now, it's best if we don't bother each other."

"If you're going to keep it a secret, then keep it a secret. Don't make me and your second sister-in-law the bad guys inside," Du Li warned him.

Du Min nodded.

“I’ll use your money to buy the ingredients for your cooking. I originally planned to go back home and catch a chicken to nourish you, but you wouldn’t let me say so, so I had to use my money to buy them,” Du Li said.

“Alright. Second Brother, has Master Chen taken the paper house he ordered?” Du Min asked.

"Your second sister-in-law delivered it this morning." Du Li held up three fingers at him. "This is the cost price, and this is the selling price."

"Three and thirty?" Du Min was overjoyed; he could at least get five strings of cash.

Du Li nodded. "I'm leaving."

“Bedding,” Du Min reminded him.

"I'll bring it to you this evening," Du Li said, then walked away without looking back.

At this moment, the Meng family welcomed a returning customer. When Meng Qing saw Gu Wuxia, she said in surprise, "Student Gu, it's been a long time since I've seen you."

"Your brother-in-law left Chongwen Academy for the prefectural school. He climbed the social ladder and stopped associating with me, so of course you can't see me anymore," Gu Wuxia mocked without any restraint.

Renfengfang is a gathering place for the powerful and wealthy. There must be many students from the state academy living in that area. Meng Qing did not believe that Gu Wuxia did not know about Du Min. She smiled and said, "He is struggling to take care of himself and is being held back by both sides. He has no energy to contact old friends."

Gu Wuxia chuckled, "Forget it, let's not talk about him. I came here today to order a funerary object. My father saw you delivering paper houses to the Chen family today, and he sent me here to order one as well."

Meng Qing pondered.

"Sister, let me handle the reception," Meng Chun interjected. He said to Gu Wuxia, "I'll take care of the business matters. You want to order a paper house? What are your requirements?"

"Student Gu, if I remember correctly, your grandfather's death anniversary is June 13th?" Meng Qing asked.

“Yes, it’s only a couple of days left. Your whole family should pitch in and work hard to finish the job. I can pay you extra so you don’t work for nothing,” Gu Wuxia said.

“No, time is too tight.” Meng Chun was the first to refuse. “Making paper houses is delicate work, it can’t be done in less than half a month. Why don’t you take a look at paper figures and wreaths? We have those ready-made, you can pay and take them away on the spot.”

Gu Wuxia frowned and said to himself, "Name your price, just work hard for two days to make it for me."

"It's not about the price; we couldn't make it even if we worked all night," Meng Qing said.

"A few days later is fine too," Gu Wuxia changed her mind.

"If you wait a few days until the mourning period is over, will you go to pay your respects?" Meng Qing vaguely felt something was wrong. Matters related to funerals are not like other things; they are not done casually. For most people, if the offerings for the anniversary memorial are insufficient, they will wait until Qingming Festival or Zhongyuan Festival to make up for it, rather than choosing another day to pay their respects.

"At the end of April, outside the Chen residence, you told me that you wanted to order two more paper horses after the funeral at the Chen residence. Why didn't you come back after that?" Meng Qing inquired.

She suddenly remembered what Du Min had said that day. He had used any means necessary to snatch the enrollment spot for the prefectural school and had even been beaten up with a sack over his head. Could it be that he had snatched the spot from Gu Wuxia?

"Why are you talking so much? Are you even going to do business?" Gu Wuxia asked impatiently.

“No.” Meng Qing refused. “My in-laws are sick, and I need to go back to the countryside to take care of them these two days. I don’t have time to rush to finish this project.”

Gu Wuxia stared at her menacingly, "Really not going to do it?"

"I'm not doing it, that's fine. What do you mean? Are you trying to force me to buy it?" Meng Chun stood in front of Meng Qing.

"Fine, you don't want to do it, huh? Then don't do it at all." Gu Wuxia said harshly before turning and leaving.

Meng Qing's heart pounded. "What does he mean?"

"Ignore him, he's acting crazy," Meng Chun said angrily.

Meng Qing thought about it, but she still felt uneasy. So, without waiting for Du Li to return, she took Wang Zhou to the paper horse shop to check the accounts. All the sales she had made were recorded in the accounts, and there were no abnormalities. She felt a little more at ease.

"This is it." Two men dressed in mourning walked into the shop. When they saw Meng Qing standing behind the counter holding a child, one of them hesitated and asked, "Are you the owner of the Paper Horse Shop?"

"No, wait a moment, I'll go get someone." Meng Qing went to call her father.

"We saw a donkey cart carrying a paper house today. We heard it's a funerary object. Did your shop make it? How much does that paper house cost?"

"Thirty strings of cash," Meng's father quoted the price given by the Chen family. "The price varies depending on the type of paper house you want. However, this type of funerary object is complex to make, and we don't have any in stock right now. If you order today, you'll have to wait at least half a month. If you need it urgently, you can look at other options."

"what else?"

"Come with me, they're all displayed in the warehouse." Father Meng led the people to the backyard.

Meng Qing breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed to be just a business opportunity.