CH 30

Chapter 30: The Business of Clay

Miantang smiled and said, “I’m feeling happy from my heart, and I can’t help it!”

Servant Li took another deep look at her and felt a little puzzled. Isn’t she has enough of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce head-on blow earlier on? Why is she feeling happy in her heart?

Miantang’s mood remained unabated, she said with a smile, “Servant Li, you have also heard those people just said that the amount of Royal tribute this year is large, But to use the best-graded clay for porcelain making, it needed to be dug from the Kaolin 50 miles away. I thought of one thing. The road for transporting the clay is not far, and it was originally unimpeded. But because Prince Huaiyang built a new water conservancy and dug a river, the ship is temporarily impassable, so it has to detour… This detour can be two mountains long. Originally, it was transported by cart, but now they have to use ships… ”

Servant Li didn’t understand the meaning of it, and wondered, “What’s so happy about it?”

Miantang said with a smile, “There are many ways to use for transport. Originally, the river excavation work was tight, and there were not enough boats, so the folk fishing boats were deployed to corvee. If I manage to get a large number of boats… Or import a large amount of clay, will those old men compete to flatter me?”

After hearing this, Servant Li felt that it made some sense. After all, when she went to buy fish yesterday, she found that the price of fish was expensive. After inquiring, she learned that many fishing boats had been levied into corvee. There was not much fish, so it was naturally sold at a high price.

But Lady Liu’s thought of getting the fleet was also a fanciful illusion. There are only that many ships on the ground of the State of Zhen. She is not exceptionally adept in trickery, and her hands only have those silver money that she hasn’t possessed for long. She might be just thinking for fun.

However, Miantang didn’t think about it casually. After returning to the shop, she immediately asked the shop assistant to set up a donkey cart and go for a trip on the side of the canal built.

Servant Li has been used to Miantang doing something suddenly by the thought of it and has specially brought convenient marinated eggs and meat buns, so as not to delay the meal as she did during her last visit to the countryside.

Miantang saw that Servant Li had also prepared a small warm stove for her to simmer and heat the kettle and took it with her on the donkey cart, so she teased, “Servant Li has been so attentive lately, is it because of the raise of your monthly wages.”

Servant Li quickly put a snack box in her hands, and said, “Madam, you are too generous. You had just made some money in the shop, and here you gave us three times the monthly wages. But if you happen to not make money in the future, you will be left with no reason to reduce it? Being the hostess of the household can’t be like the leader of mountain outlaws giving rewards according to your temperant. You have to be methodical when doing things!”

Although Miantang gave a lot of monthly wages, Servant Li with high vision didn’t take it to heart seriously. She got more rewards in The Prince Residence, and her hometown also had farmland. But she just thought about the days Miantang was living that she didn’t know before, and had stomach coldness, she just prepared attentively.

However, she thought that Liu Miantang would always marry someone in the future. If The Prince was kind, he would give her a house and some money, and in addition to her good appearance, someone would have rushed up to propose marriage!

If she meets an honest man, that would be great. But if she encounters a dishonest one, with her uncontrolled behavior now, even with a mountain of gold, it wouldn’t be enough for her to spend. It’s necessary for this old servant to teach her now so that she can avoid detours in the future.

Miantang was drinking the tremella red jujube tea cooked by Servant Li. Seeing that Servant Li was chattering about her regardless of their master and servant relationship, she only smiled and listened, without saying anything to refute.

Now she can see that although Servant Li always puts on a black face, she is hard-spoken and soft-hearted.

And Servant Li is old, no more than those little servant girls who don’t know the rules. She can go her way by listening to her naggings for some insignificant matters.

Moreover, what she said is not unreasonable. Miantang was seriously ill. She doesn’t remember how she took charge of the family after she got married. The house matters were no less than that in business. She had to start from scratch, so she carefully wrote down what Servant Li said.

However, it takes some effort to go out, because Miantang locked her room door again, and Servant Li doesn’t know what she is doing in the house.

After leaving the mansion, Miantang walked through almost all the highroads and bridges leading to Kaolin.

And this time, it was two days in a row. But the next day, Miantang seemed to have an idea in her heart and went straight to Shuangling village. When she got there, she looked for the Chief of the village and finally settled down in a few words.

Servant Li was awed that she couldn’t speak to see that she bought a large sloping field and a fishpond. These fields are worthless in the view of crops… But Miantang bought them at a high price without blinking.

It seems that she didn’t listen to her advice in earnest words and with good intentions. Servant Li shook her head in anger, but she was too lazy to say anything.

When they came back from buying the land, they didn’t have a smooth trip back, because the roads beside the river bank were muddy after digging. They weren’t careful enough and the donkey cart wheels fell into the mud.

Servant Li helped Miantang to the side of the slope, while the cart driver was busy pushing the cart.

It’s also a coincidence. When walking to the middle of the canal, Miantang saw a familiar figure standing on the bank of the river from a distance…

“Husband!” She looked up and shouted at the figure.

Prince Huaiyang was standing on the river bank and looked out at the river being dug. Unexpectedly, he heard the call of Miantang.

When he looked back, it was Liu Miantang!

Today, he was visiting privately with several confidants in normal clothes, and he was not wearing official clothes, so Miantang didn’t see anything wrong, but was curious about a large group of people surrounding her husband.

Prince Huaiyang looked at several military men and Water Conservancy Officials who followed him, motioned them to stand in place and wait, and then walked over to the donkey cart so that she wouldn’t come over to greet those people with him.

Miantang crossed over his shoulder, looked curiously at those individuals standing in the distance, and then asked, “Husband, what are you doing here?”

Cui Xingzhou frowned slightly and said casually, “I’m collecting manifestations of local culture with some friends by the river… What are you doing here?”

“I brought Servant Li here to see the river, thinking of transporting some clay…” Miantang was still curious and asked, “Collecting manifestations of the local culture? Does husband want to paint or recite poetry?”

Cui Xingzhou didn’t have the mood to lie to her, and said expressionless, “There are a lot of workers here to build canals. It’s inconvenient for you to walk as a woman. If you have nothing important, hurry back!”

In fact, Prince Huaiyang didn’t have a good time today. Early in the morning, the following Water Conservancy Project Officials submitted the progress report, as well as the account forms, plus the dead and injured corvee on the other side of the canal these two days, which made him angry.

After the construction of this canal, the storing of his army provisions of the State of Zhen will no longer be constrained by the Imperial Court, and the deployment of troops will be much easier, so it is of great importance.

However, after the canal was dug, there were many unexpected expenses, and the progress was so busy that it was infuriating. Many of these bureaucrats in the State of Zhen are old subordinates of his father. They claim credit for themselves and become arrogant and capitalize on being advanced in age. There are also situations where they deceive their superiors and subordinates.

So Cui Xingzhou didn’t say anything but took a few confidants to check it in person making sure he knows the truth before dealing with the matter.

Miantang saw that her husband was a little unhappy and because she had that Young Master Ziyu’s as her past criminal record, she also felt that she should reshape the image of a chaste and virtuous woman in front of her husband. Thus, she didn’t refute him and agreed obediently.

However, before leaving, Miantang kindly reminded her husband, “Husband, you should also be careful. Those workers excavate the river bank by rock blasting method, which is very dangerous. Don’t get too close.”

Cui Xingzhou glanced at Miantang surprisingly. He didn’t expect that a woman like her could tell the knack of Water Conservancy Projects, so she asked, “Do you know water conservancy?”

Miantang shook her head and said, “My uncle likes these. He contracted water transportation and studied the way to build the river by himself. I once heard him say that this rock blasting method is a convenient trick used by brainless people. It seems to save time, but it takes more effort to clean up the sand and stones afterward, and there will be a danger if it is not done well.”

Cui Xingzhou got her point and asked, “What method should I use?”

Miantang shook her head and said, “When my uncle told me, I was still young and couldn’t remember clearly. If you’re interested, I’ll write to my uncle…”

Speaking of this, Miantang paused again. She suddenly found that she couldn’t remember where her grandparents were now. She only vaguely remembers that when she married, her grandpa’s escort agency seemed to be poorly managed, and moved to other provinces. Since then, she hasn’t received a letter from her grandfather since she was ill for a year…

Thinking of this, she had another bursting headache. Before she was able to ask, she fell obliquely in Cui Jiu’s arms. Cui Xingzhou saw that her face suddenly turned pale. His intuition reached out to hold her, and then lowered his head and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Miantang’s scalp was so tight that she couldn’t open her eyes. She only replied weakly, “I’m having a bad headache…”

Cui Jiu looked at the donkey cart trapped in the mud, thought a little, and looked at several carriages of him and his aides and staff. Then, he casually carried Miantang onto one of them and asked Servant Li to send her back to North Street.

He has seen Miantang have a headache. When it hurts, she is unable to eat for a day. Her face is so white that it hurts to see it. He doesn’t know how Zhao Quan diagnosed and treated her. Doesn’t he say by drinking the medicine will relieve her symptoms?

Miantang was in great pain until she returned to the North Mansion and lay on her bed, which eased her symptoms slightly.

When Servant Li brought her soup, she hesitated and asked, “Servant Li, did my grandfather write to me after I got married?”

Servant Li didn’t know this and only said to her, “Madam never did show me when you had received a letter. Drink the medicine while it’s hot. When Master is back, Madam can ask him yourself directly.”

So when Cui Xingzhou came back, Miantang asked him.

Because he had gotten the information from Servant Li earlier on, Cui Jiu was prepared and said, “The entire family of your grandfather moved far away, and communication was not easy. In addition, at that time, the case of your father and brother was so big that everyone in the countryside scolded them whenever they can. They may have been out of touch to avoid suspicion.”

Miantang was silent for a while. She said to Cui Jiu again, “Do you know where they moved?”

Cui Xingzhou was holding the sketch on her desk and said perfunctorily, “I will send a message to your hometown to see if I can inquire about their whereabouts… What are these paintings?”

Miantang was a little dispirited after hearing Cui Jiu’s words, and wearily said, “A convenient road map for transporting clay…”

Cui Xingzhou heard Servant Li talk about Miantang’s decision to return a head-on blow to those Masters of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce, and she would follow the drawings she drew. These clays can be transported by land through mountains without water!

Miantang seldom let herself fall into a low mood, so after being sad for a while, she had straightened out her mood a little. Hearing Cui Xingzhou asks, she nodded and said, “Husband, look, under the mountain ridge here is a large area of cultivated land and fishponds. If you fill the cultivated land and fish ponds with the road, it is a shortcut.”

Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows and said, “Since it’s a shortcut, why didn’t others think of it before?”

Miantang smiled, “Because when the canal was not built before, it was naturally nearer and convenient to take by the waterway, and the ship could also be loaded. Who would want to take the land route? But now the canal work is still under construction, and the ships have only recently begun to not be enough. This shortcut is just unexpected.”

Cui Jiu felt that the woman was trying to give the Masters a heads-on, and she was really very vindictive, so he couldn’t help teasing, “But this is farmland, even if you think of it, people won’t let you pass through…”

Speaking of this, Miantang felt a little guilty. Looking at her husband, she said carefully, “Husband, I have used a huge amount of money from home today. Will you blame me?”

Cui Jiu squinted and looked under the bed, and it seemed to have been touched again. He immediately guessed it, and tentatively asked, “You dug out the buried silver money… Bought the farmland and the fishpond?”

Miantang nodded and looked at her husband with admiration, “Husband, you’re really smart. You’ve guessed it all at once!”

After checking the route recently, she immediately ran under the mountain ridge and bought the land at twice the high price.

Because of the high price, the owner of the land immediately found the guarantor and signed the land lease with Miantang.

From then on, the shortcut to transport clay is “This road is blocked by me, if you want to pass it, you have to pay for the entry.”!

After Cui Xingzhou heard her, he took a deep look at Miantang.

In his view, women are either like his mother or cousin Lian Binglan who is gentle, soft, and virtuous. Or like his father’s concubines, specialize in getting the favor of their men’s love all day and are used to using the venomous scheme to harm people.

But Miantang doesn’t belong to these two kinds. She looks like a delicate flower, but she has thorns and tough roots like weeds.

There is also a stubborn spirit that women should not have.

Cui Xingzhou had never been in contact with such a woman before nor had he looked any woman directly in his eye, so he couldn’t help looking at her deeply thinking, if she remarried in the future, what kind of man would she find to be worthy of her?

Prince Huaiyang seldom had time to think about these womanishly fussy things, but when he thought about it deeply, he felt a little uncomfortable. He just felt that the woman had been in the bandit’s nest before, and she must be bad at choosing men.

Since she misses her grandfather, he might as well ask someone to look for them carefully. At least, she will be supported by her mother’s family in the future, and will not be easily cheated by the rhetoric of any man…

Thinking so, Prince Huaiyang decided on his mind to find Miantang’s relatives for her.

Miantang said nervously that she had spent all the money she had earned. Unexpectedly, her husband did not even twitch his eyebrows and eyes. After a faint hum, he sat at the table with a calm look.

His appearance was originally rarely handsome, and his demeanor was also naturally good. He shook the tea cup with one hand, stared at the tea deeply, pursed his thin lips slightly under his nose, and was leisurely lost in thought. She didn’t know what kind of advanced chess moves he was thinking.

Compared with the customs of the married couple who often quarrel with each other because of daily necessities in the mansion next door, her house is rarely harmonious, because of the gentleman’s style of her husband, which is different from the tolerant grace of vulgar men!

Thinking of this, her respect and love for her husband surged like a rolling river beating in her heart, walked over and snuggled up on his lap and said, “Don’t worry, husband, I’ll double the money I spent, and I won’t let the pit dug by you be idle…”

Hearing the words, Cui Xingzhou silently added, “In addition to being like thorny flowers and weeds, sometimes she’s like a clingy cat…”

Just like now, she didn’t have shrewdness like she was outside. Only her black hair is scattered behind her thin back. Leaning against his face, she is soft and fragrant, and the sweetness of honey peach is filling his nose again…

He raised his hand, almost touching Miantang’s hair, but he withdrew it and said gently, “You haven’t eaten dinner yet, let’s eat first!”

When Cui Xingzhou came, he was in a good mood. Because Miantang’s unintentional sentence gave him a breakthrough in examining the river.

Most of the bureaucrats in the State of Zhen are laymen in building water conservancies. Therefore, those seniors who presided over the water conservancy project this time also took advantage of this. During the construction, they deliberately used some outdated and laborious methods, so that they had the excuses to create ingenious titles for padding the money for themselves and fill their pockets everywhere and earn money.

For the bureaucrat’s corruption, Cui Xingzhou has always adhered to the principle of “One should not be too faultfinding.”. If he overdoes in rectifying behavior, it is difficult to win over the heart of the old military officers. In some sections, Prince Huaiyang turned a blind eye. This is the way of checks and balances for those in high positions.

But he can’t let them indulge too much and be carried away.

For example, this time, the officials delayed the progress of the project to corruption and even caused human lives, which must not be toleratable.

Cui Xingzhou found many of the sources of the problems and had the idea of what to do next in his heart, so when he came to the Mansion on North Street, he was very relaxed.

Servant Li felt that The Prince and Lady Liu seemed to have walked a lot today. They must be hungry, so the dinner prepared is also very rich…

A boneless pork knuckle that was seasoned with fruit wine and seasoning, and it was stewed till it is soft and rotten with single firewood, glowing bright red. Wild bird eggs were bought from the hunters who set up stalls on the street, boiled into hard-boil eggs, then seasoned with sweet onions and wild vegetables and mixed into cold dishes. There are also crispy sesame cakes, with sweet and spicy soup, which is very appetizing.

After Miantang’s headache eased, her stomach began to growl, so she was eating deliciously.

She doesn’t know where Servant Li learned her cooking skills. Whenever the family has no shortage of silver money and is rich in ingredients, she can always create dishes in fanciful ways. This sauced pork knuckle is so delicious that it makes people constantly swallow their saliva. It’s a taste she has never eaten before.

At this time, Miantang always regretted her serious illness, which made her forget many good tastes she had eaten before.

Hearing what Miantang said, Cui Jiu said faintly, “It doesn’t matter if you forget. It’s not that you can’t eat in the future. What do you like? Ask Servant Li to cook it for you.”

Miantang smiled sweetly and quickly picked a skinned knuckle on her chopsticks to her husband’s mouth. Cui Xingzhou was stunned for a moment and was rubbed against his lips by the skin of the pork knuckle. He then slowly opened his mouth and ate the meat…

On the other hand, the Masters of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce in Lingquan Town have been too anxious to have meat lately.

The Imperial Court’s customized porcelain list can’t be delayed. This year is the year of The Emperor’s wedding. Customized porcelain is particularly important, and they have to rush to make it.

Although normally, each workshop also uses high-graded clay, each workshop does not use much, and they have formed the habit of using and storing only when they have the supplies. For a time, no one cares about this issue.

But when the Masters of the Porcelain Chamber of Commerce divided the quota, and the workshops began to work day and night, they found that the clay supply could not accommodate their work.

When the foreman of the workshop reported the problem to the Second Master He, he still felt that the problem was not serious. These are the offerings for the Imperial Court! Who dares to delay? Don’t the water conservancy project have to make way for The Emperor even if they were building the canal? So he ordered the shopkeeper to write a plead to the Water Department of the State of Zhen and asked The Officials there to be accommodating and lend ships to deliver clay to the workshops.

But who would have thought that they were just in time for Prince Huaiyang to rectify the Water Department, dozens of corruption big cases were found in three days. A Military General who had followed The Prince for many years was disposed of by Prince Huaiyang under the military law, immediately beheaded outside his tent, and all his family’s property was confiscated.

For a period, The Officials of the Water Department feels insecure, and they all worked hard diligently. The He family business felt that they were in charge of the Royal offering, so they casually came to borrow the ship.

But the head of the Water Department frowned, if he borrowed it, the He family business could be able to deliver to The Emperor in time, but who can they plead with if their Water Department Officials’ construction period was delayed?

So after reading the He family’s plead, The Official didn’t even ask for a face-to-face meeting, and only let the Yamen Servant relay to the He family’s Manager, “Although your shop handles The Emperor’s job and it should be paid attention to, but this is not related to our Water Department! I haven’t heard of any examples of why The Officials should help for the business of the Imperial Merchants.”

The Manager of the He family was also anxious, “If there is no ship for the transportation of clay, don’t we have to use low-graded clay instead? If the Palace were to blame us because of this, how will you Officials afford the consequences?”

The Yamen Servant was told by the Head of the Water Department, and he was full of confidence. He squinted and said, “Our Lord didn’t undertake the errands in The Palace, let alone earn half of the official silver money. What does it have to do with Our Lord if you failed to do the errands? Is it possible that Your Master of the He family is going to blame My Lord too for not helping because he cannot give birth to a son?”

“You… You…” the Manager of the shop was so angry that he curled his neck, but he couldn’t help dealing with these Yamen Servants. He had to go back and report it to the Second Master He.

The Second Master He was also very angry, so he discussed it with his Third Daughter.

He Zhen thought it was because The Official of the Water Department didn’t get benefits. So after discussing it with her father, she gave him a red envelope with money and sent it to the Head of the Water Department’s Mansion when there was no one at night.

Unexpectedly, the large amount of silver money was returned by The Official with a righteous face.

Now the Water Conservancy Yamen in the State of Zhen apprehend danger in every sound. These days, several officials have been investigated and dealt with in succession. Who dares to resist and covet the money?

When the Second Master He found that the way of borrowing the boat was not feasible, he found himself in a dilemma and was in a hurry. At this time, someone told him that the Jade Porcelain Workshop had transported a large number of clays and stored it in its store.

He Zhen hurriedly sent someone to inquire, only to know that Lady Cui had split a land route.

If they don’t need a boat, that’s great! The He family hurriedly sent people to explore a way but found that this road was very tricky. It turned out to be a smooth road found between the cliffs of Shuangling Village, straight to a large area of land newly bought by the Cui family. If they choose this way and reach the boundary of the Cui family, there will be several strong men who will not let them pass. It is said that Lady Cui hired them to look after her “Manor”.

Hearing this, the Second Master He slammed the table angrily. What does that woman mean? Does she want to monopolize Kaolin Clay?