Chapter 162 Turning Against Each Other

Chapter 162 Turning Against Each Other

Upon receiving the letter, Meng Qing and Du Min immediately packed their things and prepared to leave. Wang Chuan needed to be breastfed, so he had to go with Meng Qing. Du Li, as the main caregiver of the child, also had to go along. Seeing this, Yin Caiwei also wanted to go back to Luoyang to visit her parents' home.

Finally, only Wangzhou was left behind. He had been eager to learn lately and didn't react much to the departure of his parents and aunts. After seeing the carriages off, he immediately turned around and went back to his study to recite his lessons.

With a small baby in tow, and the weather being hot, Meng Qing dared not rush on the road, traveling slowly and stopping frequently. They finally arrived in Luoyang on the evening of the fourth day, and the five of them went directly to the Luoyang County Government Office.

Upon learning of the situation, Prefect Yin sent his servants to the governor's mansion to deliver a visiting card.

The next day, Du Min and Meng Qing went to the governor's mansion, where Governor Zheng was already waiting.

"This is Mr. Hu, he is a staff member of the Minister's office." Governor Zheng introduced another person in the study. "Mr. Hu came from Chang'an on the orders of Minister Zheng, and only arrived in Luoyang yesterday evening."

"Mr. Hu, did you take the land route?" Du Min asked. "I only received a letter from Minister Zheng four days ago, delivered by carrier pigeon. If you set off at the same time as the carrier pigeon, you would have to ride at full speed all the way."

Mr. Hu nodded, "I set off three days earlier than the carrier pigeon. Fearing I might miss something, I worked day and night and finally arrived yesterday evening."

Du Min said, "You've worked hard."

"I received Minister Zheng's letter, and your two letters were also included. I have already learned the reason for the matter, and Minister Zheng has adopted your plan. He entrusted me to be in charge of liaising with you. Enough of the small talk, Madam Meng, what are the two methods you mentioned in your letter? What method can make the profits of paper-made funerary objects double within half a year?" Governor Zheng interrupted the casual conversation and looked at Meng Qing.

"Firstly, the free school joined forces with a local Buddhist temple, inviting eminent monks from the temple to teach the students at the free school to recite the Rebirth Sutra..."

“I know that. A monk from out of town has been holding religious ceremonies at Baima Temple every few days for the past few months. The believers are students from four free schools in Luoyang County and Henan County.” Governor Zheng interrupted her. This method was indeed effective. The old Marquis who passed away some time ago was a Buddhist. Many paper effigies appeared at his funeral. All the guests who came to pay their respects were Buddhists and brought paper effigies to the mourning hall to worship.

“Yes, that monk’s Dharma name is Konghui. He also comes from Wu County and is a high-ranking monk from Ruiguang Temple in Wu County. He was chosen by a monk because he looked like he had a connection with Buddhism when he was young, and he entered the Buddhist order at the age of three.” Meng Qing took the opportunity to introduce him.

Governor Zheng understood immediately, "You know him?"

“My father is his lay brother,” Meng Qing replied.

Governor Zheng was surprised, "Brothers?"

“Yes, but the two are not alike. If you had met Master Konghui, you would understand. He was born with a pair of Buddha ears, unlike ordinary people,” Meng Qing said.

"I'll visit the White Horse Temple another day," Governor Zheng noted. "Back to the main point, what's the other method?"

"To build momentum," Meng Qing replied. She looked at Mr. Hu and asked, "What are your plans, Mr. Hu? Will you personally go to Jingzhou, Ezhou, and other places, or will you send messages by carrier pigeon to notify your disciples and clansmen scattered throughout the country to help promote the business?"

"The latter," Mr. Hu replied, "How do we create momentum?"

“One day, a man donated money to a charity school and received a paper ox as a gift. He immediately burned it for his deceased mother. A few days later, his deceased mother appeared in his dream, crying about the hardships of herding cattle every day. After waking up, he went to the charity school again and donated money, specifically asking for a cowherd. The cowherd was burned, and that night he had another dream. In the dream, his deceased mother scolded him for burning a lame man for her. She had to herd cattle during the day and cook for the lame man at night, making her even more tired. He then remembered that he had accidentally broken the cowherd's leg on the way to his grave. At dawn, he went to the charity school again and donated money, this time specifically asking for a cook, a doctor, and a hairdresser. His deceased mother did not appear in his dream that night. Three days later, he dreamed that his deceased mother got up to eat breakfast with the help of the hairdresser, the cowherd's leg was healed, and he was leading the cattle out to herd them. The doctor was riding on the back of the ox, about to go out to practice medicine and earn money.” Meng Qing said. [1]

The room fell silent upon hearing this.

“Second sister-in-law, you should have come up with this idea sooner. Once this rumor spreads, and with the blessing of the Buddhist Rebirth Sutra, how could the free school not gain a foothold in other places?” Du Min said.

“It’s not too late now.” Meng Qing had never considered using such unorthodox methods before. “Your Excellency, Mr. Hu, is this method feasible?”

“Alright.” Mr. Hu nodded. “I will send someone to contact people in the prefectures and counties near the Eastern Capital. For other places, we will have to rely on messengers. I will also be going there myself. Madam Meng, give me a list of the locations where the free schools are currently scattered and who is in charge. Do you have any code words for communication? How can we make them believe the people I sent?”

Meng Qing thought for a moment and said, "I made an agreement with them that the school would hold a winter fair competition every year, with profits as the standard. The top three would receive prizes of 300, 200, and 100 strings of cash respectively. Although this is not a secret, not many people know about it."

"Okay, I understand." Mr. Hu got up and left.

Meng Qing breathed a sigh of relief. Someone had taken over the follow-up matters, so she no longer had to worry about them, and she felt much lighter.

"You guys are quite capable!" Governor Zheng's face darkened. He hadn't slept well all night after reading the letter from Minister Zheng, and he had no appetite this morning. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted it. He should have just taken Du Min as his son-in-law.

Du Min sighed, "Sometimes being capable isn't a good thing. I was transferred by the governor to Huaizhou as the chief clerk. Isn't that a consequence of my ability? My lord, I'm so worried. What kind of situation is Huaizhou? Even a mud dragon would get stuck if it landed there, let alone a small worm like me. I had already decided to work under the Minister, and then this sudden change happened! It's like a bolt from the blue!"

“I didn’t expect it either. I was thinking of transferring you to be my chief secretary after your term was over, but someone made the first move.” Governor Zheng shook his head. He glanced at Du Min and instigated, “The governor is also a menace. You are the one with the smoothest official career I have ever seen among scholars from humble backgrounds. Even your father-in-law is not as good as you. It’s a pity that he cut you down with a single stroke. It’s hard to say what will happen in the future.”

Du Min lowered his eyes, feigning an angry, helpless, and resigned expression, while inwardly he muttered that he had a brighter path. If Empress Wu could succeed, in a hundred years, his Du family would also become a prominent family.

Meng Qing glanced around, then lowered her eyes and remained silent.

"Alright, alright, I won't rub salt in your wounds." Governor Zheng planted a thorn and then tempted, "If you have any trouble in the future, go to your Minister. Don't keep your head down and stubbornly bear it. If one path doesn't work, try another."

Du Min glanced at him twice and replied in a low voice.

"Go out, I have official business to attend to." Governor Zheng served tea to see the guest out.

Du Min and Meng Qing walked out of the governor's mansion. Once they were a distance away, he looked back. "Second sister-in-law," he said, "I understand now. The powerful families look down on officials from humble backgrounds, but they also can't stand seeing them used by the emperor. So, the powerful families suppress those from humble backgrounds. I stumbled into the powerful families' door by chance. First, I made paper offerings, then I handed Minister Zheng the knife to bring down Prime Minister Lu. The benefit was for the Zheng family, so I unwittingly became a humble official protected by the powerful families. It seems the emperor noticed me long ago. I suspect the governor's visit to Heqing County wasn't because he heard about me from Xiang Yezhe; it was premeditated. Alas! Sooner or later, I, a humble official, will have to separate myself from the powerful families. The emperor opened the imperial examinations to select supporters for the imperial power. If those supporters turn against the powerful families, they'd rather be dead."

"That's right." Meng Qing also came to her senses. "I hadn't thought of this aspect before."

"Is there anything else you haven't thought of?" Du Min joked.

“You were born in the countryside, and I was born in the city. We’re the same. No matter how smart we are, how can we have a clear understanding of things we haven’t seen before? I can’t see the power dynamics in the court either.” Meng Qing spread his hands helplessly. “Fortunately, we’ve stumbled along without any major problems. Every path we’ve chosen has been the right one, and they’ve all been beneficial to you. I doubt you can find another official in the court who is as well-connected with aristocratic families as you are. With the achievements of the charity school, Minister Zheng has benefited greatly. He won’t target you after he becomes prime minister. Let them fight it out in the court, and you can climb up the ranks step by step in the provinces.”

“Once the people above have been defeated, it will be my turn to go in and speak,” Du Min laughed.

Meng Qing nodded with a smile, "Our future is bright!"

Back at the county office, Meng Qing breastfed Wang Chuan, while Du Li sat beside her fanning her, saying, "Auntie suggested hiring a wet nurse for Wang Chuan. I've been thinking about it, why don't we hire one? With a wet nurse, you'll be much more comfortable walking, sitting, and lying down."

“Let’s wait a little longer. I’ll hire a wet nurse when I go to the capital with the money transport team.” Meng Qing had her own considerations. “Wangchuan and Wangzhou were born in different years. Right now, I only have part of my mind on the family. If I don’t breastfeed the children soon, I’m worried that I will neglect Wangchuan. This is a pair of reins for you and me. I will be responsible for feeding, and you will be responsible for raising them.”

“You took care of Wangzhou a lot when he was little, so it’s my turn to do more for Wangchuan. Don’t feel bad for Wangchuan. From this perspective, it’s fair that we each take care of one of them,” Du Li said.

Meng Qing smiled and said, "It's fair to you and me, but not to the child. I have to do what I'm supposed to do. Let's not talk about this anymore. Go find He Bian and have him bring me the account books. Also, go and inspect the paper horse shop, the dye shop, and the bamboo shop, and bring me their account books as well."

Yin Caiwei wanted to stay at her parents' home for a few more days, and Du Min wasn't in a hurry to return to Heqing County. Meng Qing took the opportunity to stay in Luoyang for a few more days. She was busy looking at the account books and didn't let Du Min be idle either. Du Li also came to help her look at the account books whenever he had free time.

Meng Qing left Luoyang in early March. At that time, two free schools in Henan County had just opened, and the combined profits of the four schools amounted to only 8,000 strings of cash. Five months later, the combined profits in the accounts reached over 44,700 strings of cash.

"This is incredible!" Du Min exclaimed in shock. "By the end of the year, the combined profits of these twenty-odd free schools will probably reach 500,000 strings of cash, right?"

Meng Qing shook his head. "The free schools in other places don't make as much profit, especially those far from the capital. Without colorful paper effigies as bait, the sales won't be very good. Next, we'll see if the Zheng family of Xingyang can step up their efforts. If their students and relatives by marriage are willing to donate more money, they might actually be able to raise 500,000 strings of cash."

Du Min rubbed his chin and said with ill intent, "Second sister-in-law, should we give the Empress a heads-up? She's trying to trip up Minister Zheng in court, giving him a formidable rival. Minister Zheng will definitely have to spend more money to get that position."

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Author's Note: [1] The plot for building momentum is borrowed from stories in short videos.