Chapter 73: The Pretense of Fame—Paralyzing Goods Through the Streets…

Chapter 73: The Pretense of Fame—Paralyzing Goods Through the Streets…

"Did I wake you?" Du Min's hands were clean. He went over and picked up Wang Zhou. "Are you still sleeping? Can I put your shoes on for you?"

Wang Zhou squinted, looking sullen, and wouldn't utter a sound no matter who asked.

This was the first time Du Min had ever put shoes on a child. He held the shoes but couldn't get them on no matter what he tried. After fiddling with them for a long time, he finally realized that Wang Zhou was the culprit.

"Loosen your legs." Du Min patted his heel. "If you keep twisting your ankles, I won't take care of you anymore. Don't be ungrateful. Right now, you're the only one your third uncle can kneel down to serve. If you push your luck, today will be the last time."

He wouldn't listen to the boat's directions and insisted on twisting his ankle.

Du Min didn't have much patience, so he immediately got up and replaced Du Li with Du Li to serve this young master.

"Who did he take after? So stubborn," Du Min muttered.

“Not sleeping well and feeling unhappy isn’t being stubborn. The truly stubborn one is you; that’s what being stubborn is,” Meng Qing said.

Du Min was a little pleased. He looked at Wang Zhou, who was still in his father's arms with a sour face, looking like he didn't recognize his own family. He smiled and said, "It seems that Wang Zhou is a bit like me. People with tempers are the ones with great talents. People with mild tempers often just swallow their anger."

Du Li hissed. Why did those words sound like they were stepping on him? But upon closer inspection, they weren't wrong, and he couldn't refute them.

Meng Qing wrung out all the family's clean undergarments and hung them outside, saying, "I'm going to help Aunt Li cook. You two take Wangzhou for a walk outside the post station."

Wang Zhou went out for a walk, and the pent-up frustration from not sleeping well disappeared. He was in high spirits again at dinner that night, and even told Meng Qing that he had seen a live, large black horse.

Meng Qing talked to him and coaxed him to sleep. After he fell asleep, she asked Du Li to take her to the servants' quarters. He would go back after she arrived.

After a good night's sleep, I had a meal and then loaded my luggage onto the ship, which set sail again.

On October 21, they left Bianzhou and entered the Yellow River via the Tongji Canal. The laborers dredging the Yellow River section were thinner and more emaciated than those dredging the Huai River section, and they became even thinner as they went northwest.

The boat was traveling against the current, so it was slow and it took eight days to reach Luoyang.

“This is Beiman Mountain.” Du Min pointed to the mountains south of the Yellow River and said, “Beyond Beiman Mountain is the imperial city. Chang’an has Zhuque Avenue, and Luoyang has Tianjie Street. The starting point of Tianjie Street is Cuiyun Peak on Beiman Mountain.”

However, the ship did not stop in Luoyang, so Meng Qing could only miss the opportunity to visit the imperial city of Luoyang.

After crossing the Yellow River and entering the Guangtong Canal, they traveled for more than half a month, finally arriving in Chang'an, the Western Capital, on November 20th. It was already afternoon when the boat approached the ferry. While Du Min, Du Li, and Meng Qing were still gazing at the splendor of Chang'an, Master Chen urgently sent someone to hire a carriage.

“There is a curfew in Chang’an. After the first watch, pedestrians are not allowed to walk outside. There is no time to find you a place to stay today, so you can stay at my house tonight,” Master Chen said to Du Min.

"I will do as you say, sir. Thank you for taking care of me along the way. I am very lucky to have met you." Du Min had to admit that no matter how much Master Chen planned, he would not have been able to reach Chang'an so easily without his guidance and assistance.

Master Chen glanced at him a few times, and he said sincerely, "It wasn't easy for you to get to where you are today. You can't let this trip to Chang'an be in vain. If you don't pass the exam this year, it will be difficult in the future."

He was almost certain that if Du Min didn't make the list this year, he would never have a chance in officialdom. It was truly Du Min's good fortune to have met him and receive his help.

Du Min was also aware that if he missed out on the benefactor Chen Yuanwai, he didn't know when he would meet the next benefactor.

"Sir, the carriage has arrived," reported Chen's servant.

“His surname is Zhao, and he’s my servant. You two can recognize each other. If I need to find you in Chang’an, I’ll send him to run errands,” said Master Chen.

“Brother Zhao, my name is Du Min.” Du Min immediately recognized him as his brother.

"I don't deserve such praise. I'm the fifth child in my family, so I'm called Xiao Wu. My parents gave me the name Wu, which means martial arts, so I changed my name to Zhao Xingwu. You can call me Xiao Wu or Xingwu, it's fine," Zhao Xingwu said.

Du Min immediately understood that the steward Chen, who had been granted the surname, was a confidant of Old Master Chen, and the one who had been given the name Zhao Xingwu was a confidant of Master Chen. He respectfully called out, "Brother Xingwu, we need your help to take care of our family in Chang'an."

"Alright, I'm leaving now. You two wait a little longer." Master Chen interrupted them and instructed, "Xingwu, you stay and travel with them. Make sure they don't cause any trouble."

"yes."

At first, Du Min didn't understand. After a while, he saw that Master Chen had taken all the servants off the ship, and the luggage had been unloaded and loaded onto carts, while he, his brother, and sister-in-law were still on the ship. He gradually realized something was wrong. Why couldn't his family go with the servants?

"Brother Xingwu, is it that you don't have enough donkey carts? Or is there another arrangement for our family?" Du Min asked Zhao Xingwu.

“Oh, didn’t the adults tell you? You’re going to go with the paper effigies on that ship,” Zhao Xingwu said casually.

Du Min felt inexplicably flustered, unsure of how to react.

"The adults want to help you build momentum. Since you want to make a name for yourself by using paper-made funerary objects, you have to make a big fuss from the beginning," Zhao Xingwu explained.

Du Min nodded slowly, "You're right."

He turned around and walked to Meng Qing and Du Li's side, his face looking rather grim.

“We’ve come this far, so let’s not worry about saving face. Our face is worthless.” Meng Qing had also heard their conversation, and she comforted them, “You also took a pleasure boat trip on the river in Wu County. It’s all for the same purpose. As long as we achieve our goal, that’s all that matters.”

“How can it be the same? We’re not goods.” Du Min looked at the donkey cart carrying paper effigies and said nervously, “I’m worried that after this, my reputation will be ruined. Other scholars make a name for themselves through poetry, prose, and talent, but I make a name for myself through paper effigies. After this, any outstanding talent I have in the examination hall will be overshadowed.”

"You're overthinking it. You come from a poor farming family. As long as the crops grow and there's a good harvest, who cares how much manure or urine was used?" Du Li thought he was too greedy.

Du Min was disgusted by him. "You, you...you're disgusting."

Meng Qing laughed out loud, "Your second brother may be rough, but he's right. Let's pick the fruit first. Whether it's sweet or sour is another matter. It's better to eat sour fruit with sugar than to have nothing to eat and be drooling over the fruit in other people's hands."

Du Min punched his chest twice, annoyed, and chuckled helplessly, "He's rough, but you're not much better."

“Du Xuezi, it’s time to go,” Zhao Xingwu called out.

"Alright, I'm coming." Du Min replied with a smile, "Second sister-in-law, second brother, let's go, let's parade through the streets together, you can embarrass yourselves with me."

There were thirteen donkey carts carrying paper offerings for the funerary objects, plus two empty carts. One cart carried people, and the other carried luggage and four geese.

Du Min saw the goose stretching its neck and honking loudly, and he was silent for a moment. "It's kind of you, Master, to think of everything so thoroughly."

The geese call all the way back, without needing anyone to call them or worrying that passersby won't notice them.

Once the man was on the donkey cart, Zhao Xingwu cracked his whip, the donkey brayed, and slowly pulled the cart away.

"Quack quack quack—" the goose cried out.

Wang Zhou turned around and looked back. Meng Qing straightened his head.

“He’s hitting my goose,” Wang Zhou complained.

“Look at that little girl, she has red hair,” Meng Qing said, trying to distract him.

Wang Zhou immediately went to see what was going on. He was looking at the red-haired Hu girl, who in turn was looking at the brass paper horse being pulled on the donkey cart.

The boat was moored at Chunmingmen Wharf, near the East Market. Goods and goods from the East Market were transported through this place. At this time, the East Market was open for business, and the streets were bustling with people. Donkey carts, mule carts, ox carts, and horse carts came and went in an endless stream. There were also quarrels and shouts in the streets, which were especially lively amidst the hawking.

But when the convoy carrying paper effigies of funerary objects passed by, everything fell silent. People standing on the ground looked up to watch, while those on the upper floors looked down to examine them.

"What's this?"

"What kind of horse is this? Is it made of brass? No, if it's a brass horse, even ten donkeys couldn't pull it."

"Another novelty brought by the Hu people?"

"Oh, it's not us. I've never seen that in the Western Regions either. It's Han Chinese. There are Han Chinese people sitting on the lead donkey cart."

"Hey! You drivers, what are you carrying?" someone shouted from the second floor of the tavern.

“These are paper-made funerary objects, which are very popular in the Jiangnan region,” Zhao Xingwu said loudly. “They were brought by Du Min, a student from Wuxian County, Suzhou, Jiangnan.”

Du Min sat up straight, his face flushed, and nodded to the passersby in all directions.

“Mingqi? That’s strange. Are these kinds of mingqi popular in Jiangnan?” someone said.

Within an hour, the news spread, and the other students from Jiangnan were completely bewildered. They had no idea what paper-made funerary objects were and refuted the rumors that such things did not exist in Jiangnan.

At this time, Master Chen had arrived home. He immediately sent his servants to take Steward Chen and his family out to spread the word about the origin and uses of paper-made funerary objects, hoping to take advantage of this trend to introduce them to the world.

At the beginning of the hour of You (5-7 PM), the motorcade left the crowded East Market and slowly passed through Shengye Ward, where the three dukes and nine ministers lived. Just then, the officials finished their shifts, and the paper-made funerary objects caused another wave of excitement.

A honking goose, paper offerings related to funerary objects, a student from Wu County in Jiangnan, and a wealthy man named Chen returning from a state visit—four unrelated people, poultry, and objects have somehow come together, which seems absurd and inexplicable.

Zhao Xingwu walked and stopped along the way, finally arriving at Chongrenfang under the cover of night, leading a group of onlookers to the Chen residence.

"We're here, get down." Zhao Xingwu said wearily, covered in sweat.

Du Min was already stiff from sitting, his face was stiff too. When he got out of the carriage and saw Master Chen come out, he stood there stiffly for a long time before he finally called out "Sir".

"Come in," Master Chen said without explanation. "Have Zhao Xingwu take you to your accommodations."

Du Min picked up two bundles, led Wang Zhou inside first.

Du Li picked up two baskets of geese, worried that if he didn't take them with him, the servants of the Chen family would slaughter them.

Meng Qing stayed behind. She saw the Chen family returning from the other side and asked him to find some servants to help carry the luggage in the car.

After that, Meng Qing and Du Min knew nothing. Their family was sent away early the next morning, and Master Chen rented a small courtyard for them to live in in Anyifang, near the East Market.

Meanwhile, Master Chen greeted his guests with a beaming smile at home, and the banquets at his house lasted for seven days without stopping, but no one from the Dugu family came.