Chapter 319: Talking About Prestigious Families by the Warm Fire

Songjiang Prefecture is located in the south of the Yangtze River, so it’s naturally not as cold as the north. Yet, when people from the north, where stoves and heated beds are common, suddenly come to this southern region in the dead of winter, it takes them some time to adjust to the bone-chilling cold. As a result, during winter, business among merchants from various places drops by at least 90%, which puts those inns that rely on guest traffic in a difficult situation.

Since merchants who buy cotton and cloth in Songjiang Prefecture often stay in Wuxiang Old Street, southeast of Shanghai County, there are more than a dozen inns along this street. When business was good, every room, from the most expensive to the cheapest, was packed with guests. But now, all of them are struggling to survive. The Xilai Inn, which used to be the busiest on the street, is in the worst condition—there hasn’t been a single guest there for ten days. Seeing the frugal owner, Chu Yun, constantly clicking the abacus beads loudly, the young clerks began to worry about their jobs.

Even though there was no business, the rules of the inn remained unchanged. Early one morning, the clerk Fan Gou’er got up as usual and went outside to prepare for business. As soon as he opened the door, he heard the sound of horse hooves and wheel rolls in the distance. Still half-asleep, he peeked outside and saw a carriage, followed by several riders. He immediately woke up, startled. Before he could even call out to the owner inside, he rushed outside and eagerly tried to attract customers.

“Sir, do you need a room? Our Xilai Inn is a well-established establishment with fair prices and clean rooms.”

Hearing this, the carriage stopped in front of the inn. A slit was opened in the curtain, and a delicate voice came through: “It’s such a cold day—even with a stove in the carriage, it’s no use… Since your inn is said to be well-established, are the bedding and stoves in good condition? And what about food and drinks?”

Fan Gou’er realized it was a woman speaking in a coquettish tone and knew he had a valuable customer. He quickly bowed and said, “Sir, rest assured. Our inn has rooms of the highest quality, along with a separate courtyard. Everything is available to ensure your comfort. Our chef is the best in the whole street, and if that’s not enough, we can order more from outside. And right now, there are no other guests, so it’s very quiet…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately regretted it deeply—wasn’t this clearly telling others that his shop was not busy? While he was anxious, he suddenly heard a man’s voice from the carriage: “This is your place. Hurry back and tidy up that separate courtyard. Prepare charcoal stoves in all the rooms, and have hot water and food ready.”
“Sure, sir! Please wait a moment!”
Having secured such a big deal, Fan Gou was overjoyed and rushed back at top speed. With his loud calls, two middle-aged workers quickly came out of the Xilei Inn—one to help tie the horse, the other to carry the luggage. Seeing three beautiful young girls get off the carriage first, followed by a young man dressed in thick furs, both of them were stunned and filled with envy.
This rare big deal soon caught the attention of the owner, Chu Yun. Though annoyed to have his peaceful sleep disturbed early in the morning, he soon smiled broadly when he saw so many guests filling his otherwise empty inn. He personally took care of settling them in before going to the kitchen to instruct the cooks to prepare food. Realizing there wasn’t enough, he sent Fan Gou outside to buy some mutton and other ready-to-eat foods.
By the time Zhang Yue, Lingxi Amber, and Qiu Hen sat down at the dining table, it was already filled with a variety of dishes, along with a stove for warming wine—offering a hot and varied meal of meat and vegetables. Since traveling by boat to Songjiang Prefecture in winter would draw too much attention, they had to take a carriage. The hurried journey had nearly dislocated their bones, and they were almost frozen solid. After drinking a bowl of hot yellow wine, they finally regained their senses. They tried a few more dishes, which, though not exquisite, had their own unique flavor.
Chu Yun cheerfully brought the dishes to their room but noticed that Zhang Yue only took small bites, and the three girls seemed picky too. He was puzzled. Yet, knowing how to handle people, he didn’t rashly probe but answered whatever they asked, sharing everything he knew, fearing he might have overlooked anything.
With this deal, not only would all their expenses for the winter be covered, but they would even have some surplus. What did it matter to him what their backgrounds were?

Hearing Zhang Yue ask about the wealth of Suzhou and Songjiang, he smiled and said, “That’s certainly true. It’s said that Suzhou and Songjiang account for half of the country’s wealth. Although our Songjiang Prefecture is not half as large as Suzhou Prefecture, its tax revenue is still half of theirs. When the harvest is poor, food shortages will hit the whole country! Moreover, some dry lands are not suitable for growing rice, so cotton is planted there instead. As a result, except during winter, merchants selling cotton cloth can fill our streets to capacity.”

Zhang Yue also knew that Songjiang Prefecture had been growing cotton extensively since the Yuan Dynasty, and cotton cloth was a local specialty. But he wasn’t here for that, so he simply asked casually before shifting the topic to the local wealthy families. As the shop owner Chu Yun listed them one by one, he heard two familiar surnames.

“Among the local wealthy families, many have members in government positions. One is the Shen family from Zhangyan. The Shens, including the senior and junior scholars, are highly favored by the emperor. It’s a family of scholars, and even the younger generation are all outstanding. The other is the Du family. Although they’re also a prominent family, they used to be wealthy but didn’t produce many officials—only one scholar, Du, who is currently in the court. This man is quite remarkable; he led a crackdown on the White Lotus cult in Shandong, was imprisoned by the Jinyiwei, but later released. His only daughter married one of his students as her son-in-law. Tsk tsk, though there are a few unworthy members in the Du family who might hinder Du’s career someday.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yue felt a sudden jolt. Noticing Qiu Hen’s gaze fixed on him, he pretended to be indifferent and said with a smile, “In a big forest, all kinds of birds exist. That scholar Du is far away in Beijing and can’t control his family members.”

“Exactly! I heard that to prepare for his daughter’s marriage, several members of the Du family went to Beijing to bring generous gifts. These days, they’re sending their relatives to study there too. Anyway, they have money, so they don’t mind spending a little. Well, although the Du and Shen families are prominent, the most influential is the Wu family. The He family is best at medicine, while the Yang family is the richest. It’s said that the Yang family was the richest family here back in the Tang Dynasty. Though they’ve had ups and downs, they’ve prospered again in recent generations and are extremely wealthy. Recently, the third daughter of the Yang family and her son-in-law returned home for a visit, and the grandeur of their arrival was astonishing.”

At the moment of pride, Chu Yun acted as if she were the protagonist herself, so excited that she even licked her lips: “The third daughter of the Yang family married into the Fang family in Shandong. Her husband is not only a successful scholar but is also said to be the current head of the Fang family there. The Yang family’s patriarch is ill, and his two sons are in fierce conflict over the family wealth. Now that the third daughter and her husband have returned, it should help ease the situation a bit.”

The name “Fang family in Shandong” was often ignored by others, but Zhang Yue immediately thought of Fang Qing. Although he and Du Zhen had both been transferred back, the imperial court strongly supported the reclamation efforts and mutual aid among farmers in Shandong. Moreover, more than half of his proposals regarding salt management had been adopted. As a result, farmers were thriving, and merchants were also benefiting. When he got married earlier, the Fang family had even sent generous gifts. The fact that Fang Qing could accompany his wife back to her family’s home at this time showed that their life was fairly comfortable.

Although she had gone to Shandong with Zhang Yue before, this was the first time Qiu Hen had gone out like this. Earlier, in the carriage, Zhang Yue had hinted at her acting flirtatiously. Now, seeing him give her a wink, she couldn’t help but wonder, but she could only feign curiosity and ask, “Is the Yang family really the richest family here? How did they become wealthy?”

Hearing this question, Chu Yun, who usually answered ten times for every question asked, suddenly chuckled and said, “Miss, the Yang family was on the verge of collapse. But who would have thought that during the renovation of their ancestral home, they found three jars of gold left by their ancestors? Their luck was truly incredible. The Yang family’s patriarch was good at business, and using that money, they started a business that grew rapidly each year… You two, go ahead and eat and drink. I’ll go check how the desserts are coming along. Those are sweet wine balls—perfect to drink in this cold weather.”

Although Zhang Yue knew quite a bit about Songjiang Prefecture, it still couldn’t compare to the local people’s knowledge, so he simply nodded indifferently. As he analyzed the relationships between various families, an idea gradually formed in his mind. When the sweet wine balls were served, he and the three maids each took a bowl and then went straight back to their room to rest. Hu Qi, seeing that the four guards sent by Zhu Zhanji left quietly after eating, followed them to protect the courtyard, while he simply took a table for himself to eat slowly.

In the eyes of Chu Yun, Fan Gouer, and the others, those men who devoured their food so quickly were truly astonishing. They ate as if they hadn’t eaten in eight lifetimes. Even Chu Yun, who wanted to get information from them, felt a bit intimidated by their indifferent expressions.

The man who seemed to be the master was gentle and kind, and the three girls accompanying him were also delicate and charming. The questions they asked were just like those of ordinary outsiders. Yet those guards exuded an air of aloofness, though they were well-trained… Where did these people come from, and what did they plan to do here? If he waited until the last day to settle the bill, might he have spent a great deal of effort and money only to get nothing in return?

Just as Chu Yun was filled with anxiety, the last man to finish eating stood up and walked straight toward him, taking out something from his bosom. Seeing that it wasn’t some unpopular currency but a genuine piece of silver, he immediately set aside all his worries and smiled broadly as he reached out to take it.

After giving him the silver, Hu Qi ordered in a stern voice, “We won’t stay here for long. This is an advance for your lodging and food. Our young master was sent by the old master to Songjiang Prefecture to prepare things ahead. There are major business deals to be handled later, and those three ladies are part of the young master’s household—don’t disturb them. In short, don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. Understand?”