Chapter 86 – Before the New Year
His intention was for both families to start a rivalry.
Pei Man understood. He smilingly complied and turned the page to where Ah Ming had stopped, ready to continue reading the gift list to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan raised his hand signalling his refusal, saying “That’s the gift list from the Wu family. Just look at it and prepare the appropriate return gifts. Thereafter, see if there’s anything else interesting.”
Knowing his preferences, Pei Man respectfully obeyed and withdrew.
Pei Yan was a little bored. He carelessly picked up the beast door ring, and went to his second elder brother’s place to discuss about the New Year’s plans. Thereafter, he visited his mother to say his greetings. After some contemplation, he turned around and returned to the study in the outer courtyard.
It was the place where he had met Yu Wen and his daughter. Currently, except for Pei Yan’s private study, all the rooms were brightly illuminated, various people like the accountants, stewards, clerks and attendants were all incredibly busy working with no time for rest. Although everyone were speaking with shushed tones, it was still noisier than other places, and the warm air that blew towards Pei Yan made him frown in disapproval.
“Third Master!” The people heard some movement and saw that it was Pei Yan who came in, and they all came forward and respectfully bowed.
Pei Yan nodded and his gaze fell on Pei Man.
Pei Man hurriedly spoke up, “The gift list from the Wu family’s side is done, and we were just discussing the preparations for the return gifts.” He paused before continuing, “If you haven’t come over, I would have gone to find you. The Wu family sent many expensive things. I’ve asked the accountant to calculate the amount and it is at least worth 10,000 silver taels. Out of the 10,000 taels, around 7,000 taels was specifically mentioned to be reserved for you.”
Obviously, they had something to request of him.
But nobody else apart from Pei Man knew the reason, so they all looked at Pei Yan with great admiration, as if they’ve only come to know him for the first time.
Pei Yan curled his lip in displeasure. He fiddled with the door ring in his hand, recalling how the Yu family proposed to share 70% of the earnings with him.
If they knew that he had received so many gifts in just two days, would the father and daughter be overwhelmed with shock?
“Just keep it.” Ever since Pei Yan had a disagreement with his second senior brother, he didn’t treat the people and things of his second senior brother with that much care anymore. “If I don’t accept it, they won’t feel secure.”
Pei Man answered Yes with a smile. Just then, another young attendant ran in, gasping for breath, “Third Master, Imperial Historian Deng Xuesong, Master Deng, came to visit.”
Pei Yan was perplexed.
It was already evening, and although he and Deng Xuesong were contemporaries, but Deng Xuesong came from a poor family and was highly arrogant, and their relationship was only average at best. So why would he come at this hour?
Could it be related to the nautical chart?
Pei Yan stroked his chin and went to the heated pavilion to meet him.
Deng Xuesong was in his forties, tall and thin, with a goatee. He sat on the tai shi chair with his eyes partially closed. Hu Xing was beside him serving attentively, and there was no way to tell what he was thinking.
Upon seeing Pei Yan, he nodded haughtily towards him.
Deng Xuesong didn’t care for Pei Yan either. Although Pei Yan was highly intelligent but he was also capricious and reckless. His brilliance and talent that many people sought after but couldn’t have was taken for granted by the person himself. However, they belonged to the same division. Even if he dislikes Pei Yan, he can’t do anything. Fortunately, he helped Pei Yan once before, which allowed for him to have a slight upper hand.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Deng Xuesong directly stated his purpose: “I heard that the grand elder of Huzhou’s Wu family is here with you. Do you know what the Wu family first started their business in?”
Pei Yan sighed internally. It’s now for a certainty that Deng Xuesong came for the nautical chart. Which family is he helping? To speak so casually of the in-laws of Jiang Hua, it was obvious that the one who entrusted him with this task was not from just any average noble family. But why didn’t they come to him directly, and asked Deng Xuesong to be the intermediary instead?
PeiYan feigned ignorance and chuckled, “They are my second brother’s in-laws, so how could I not know?”
Once he spoke these words, Pei Yan’s mind turned.
Even Zhou Zijin heard that he and his second senior brother had a falling out, so maybe these people thought of the same thing too?
This was becoming interesting!
As Pei Yan contemplated, he pushed the plate in his hand towards Deng Xuesong and said, “Try it, Tao Ziran had someone bring me fortune cookies from Guangzhou, I tasted it, and it really lives up to its fame.”
Tao An’s Zi Name was Ziran. When he served as chief registrar in the Ministry of Public works, Deng Xuesong was his subordinate.
Deng Xuesong listened with a slightly stiff expression. He was clearly aware of the Tao family’s actions.
Pei Yan laughed as he took a piece of fortune cookie and gave it to Deng Xuesong, “Try a piece.”
Deng Xuesong reluctantly ate one and praised its deliciousness. After thinking for a while, he felt that he could not beat Pei Yan and Tao An’s eloquence and wit, so he simply stated, “I will not beat around the bush then. Quanzhou’s Yin family has shown great kindness to me, and asked me to be an intermediary for them. They would like to have a meeting with you.”
Quanzhou’s Yin family, Fuzhou’s Peng family and Longyan’s Li family were known as the three major families in Fujian. Quanzhou’s Yin family started their business with tea, but was later suppressed by Longyan’s Li family and thus switched to maritime trade. Presently in Fujian, apart from the Peng family’s fleet, the majority of the remainder belongs to the Yin family. The Yin family was not as united as the Li family, and not as powerful as the Peng family, but they have developed their own strength over the years. They were committed to educating their clan and helped many people become scholars. Among the three major families, they were the most well-informed, versatile, and resourceful.
Pei Yan had previously contemplated having the Yin Family come over as well.
Now it was just as well, there was no need for him to find them; they themselves found him instead.
Pei Yan didn’t want to play mind games with Deng Xuesong, so he said straightforwardly: “We are not strangers, so I’ll be frank. If there is a problem with what I say, you’ll have to back me up as well. The authenticity of nautical chart is yet to be verified, so I have not disclosed this to the public. However, I happen to have something to ask of the Yin family. If this matter is completed, I will definitely include them in the share of the nautical chart.”
Deng Xuesong’s heart jumped as he listened and he asked, “A share?”
Pei Yan chuckled, “You can’t possibly think that such a good deal, only a few of us alone will be able to take all of it, right?”
Deng Xuesong was more of a scholarly type, who didn’t care much about business matters. He said somewhat embarrassedly, “You already said we are no strangers, so just tell me, what do you want me to do?”
PeiYan wasn’t polite either as he stated his request “I have something I want to ask the Yin family to help with, so please have someone of authority from their family to come over.”
If this matter required Pei Yan’s help and he even use the maritime business as a lure, Deng Xuesong knew that this was no simple matter.
He had already done all that he could, and he didn’t want to tread further into this murky waters.
“Agreed. It’s settled then.” He stood up and said, “It’s getting late and I have to rush back to Hangzhou City tonight. There’s no need to keep me out of politeness, I have many things still left to do before the New Year which cannot be delayed.”
PeiYan did not force him to stay. He personally sent Deng XueSong out, and only mentioned YuWen’s matter on the way out, “although he’s only a scholar, and the yearly examination is not in your area, but you can at least send your greetings, and look after him as much as you can.”
Every year, scholars have to undergo an examination, if they fail, it is possible for their scholar title to be revoked.
Deng Xuesong did not ask further. Besides, this request came from PeiYan, so he replied: “Don’t worry, I know what to do. When the time comes, I’ll send someone to inform you.”
Pei Yan thought that this was considered a gift of thanks for that beast door ring. Looking at Deng Xuesong’s carriage moving out from little plum lane in the cold wind, Pei Yan then went to the outer study to deal with some general affairs.
It was still busy as usual everywhere, but several stewards were gathered in front of the desk where he had left the beast door ring on the accounting ledger. They were discussing about the beast door ring. “I didn’t expect that the third master would have one. If I had known that, I would have sent the one I have in the store, or asked the third master to collect it. As a pair, it will be worth much more.”
Pei Yan asked curiously, “Where is the other beast door ring?”
The steward laughed and said, “There is a beast door ring exactly like this one in my antique store, but it was sold a few days ago, so it’s already too late.”
Pei Yan’s expression got a little strange as he listened. He asked “When was it sold? How much was it sold for?”
The steward chortled. “It happened just recently. As you know, this thing is not worth much, and it is only one piece, so it is even less valuable. We only sold it for two taels of silver. If I had known you had one here, I could have sold it for at least a hundred taels of silver.”
“Oh!” Pei Yan responded expressionlessly and remarked, “I’ll leave you all to it. I’ll go back and rest.”
These stewards were people who had to act depending on his every whim and fancy, so they were all very good at reading people’s faces, and they immediately realized that he was very unhappy.
They all exchanged glances, wondering what had happened to cause him such displeasure.
They only could look amongst each other, and didn’t know what to say in reply.
They anxiously waited on pins and needles for Pei Yan to leave. Pei Man couldn’t help but hit one of them and scolded, “Why are you still loitering around for? Do you want to stay up doing accounts for the next couple of days and nights?”
The steward who had spoken about the matter gave a whimper and held his head. He put down the beast door ring and went to manage the accounts.
Pei Man looked at the beast door ring and felt like it was a hot potato, and didn’t know what to do with it.
But he can’t just leave it here without doing anything!
He thought for a while, and beckoned Ah Ming to come over and quietly instructed him, “Find an opportunity to quietly put it on the Third Master’s bookshelf.”
If third master found it while reading, that means it was fate. Even if he didn’t, it will still be there.
Ah Ming did as instructed.
The people of the Yin family arrived in Lin’an City by noon the next day.
He was the son of the patriarch of the Yin family and the next patriarch of the Yin family. Before coming, the family had carefully inquired about Pei Yan. Knowing that this was the first Spring Festival for Pei Yan as the patriarch, they thought of the same thing as the Wu family and felt that Pei Yan needed to establish his authority. Thus, they pulled almost ten carts worth of things to pay their respects to Pei Yan.
That day, Yu Tang happened to accompany her mother to send New Year’s gifts to Mrs. Ma’s family. She was sitting in the carriage and she was able to watch the entire thing by lifting the curtain. On the way home, Madam Chen even said to Yu Wen: “No wonder Grand Elder Pei wanted to pass the patriarch’s position to Third Master, this year’s New Year’s gifts is a hundred times more luxurious than previous years. In the future, the Pei family will only become more and more prosperous. Do you think that the Pei family will move to Hangzhou City?”
The problem with the map is solved, his wife’s illness is being treated by a renowned physician, his daughter is becoming more and more obedient, even helping out with the family matters. Yu Wen’s life has never been more comfortable. He began to stay in the study to carve seals and read books in his spare time. He thought that when Yu Yuan got married in the spring, Yu Tang’s marriage could also be decided then, so he had to carve a seal for his daughter, so that in the future, his daughter could take charge of the family and pay silver or collect accounts with her seal.
“No!” He looked at the seal and said offhandedly, “If the Pei family wanted to move, they would have moved away long ago. Besides, Hangzhou City is not that easy to establish their roots in.”
While the two of them were talking leisurely, Yu Tang was a little anxious in her heart.
It seems that the auction will be delayed until after the New Year.
Would these people who came to give New Year’s gifts have anything to do with the auction of nautical chart?
She sighed softly.
Chapter 86 – Before the New Year
His intention was for both families to start a rivalry.
Pei Man understood. He smilingly complied and turned the page to where Ah Ming had stopped, ready to continue reading the gift list to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan raised his hand signalling his refusal, saying “That’s the gift list from the Wu family. Just look at it and prepare the appropriate return gifts. Thereafter, see if there’s anything else interesting.”
Knowing his preferences, Pei Man respectfully obeyed and withdrew.
Pei Yan was a little bored. He carelessly picked up the beast door ring, and went to his second elder brother’s place to discuss about the New Year’s plans. Thereafter, he visited his mother to say his greetings. After some contemplation, he turned around and returned to the study in the outer courtyard.
It was the place where he had met Yu Wen and his daughter. Currently, except for Pei Yan’s private study, all the rooms were brightly illuminated, various people like the accountants, stewards, clerks and attendants were all incredibly busy working with no time for rest. Although everyone were speaking with shushed tones, it was still noisier than other places, and the warm air that blew towards Pei Yan made him frown in disapproval.
“Third Master!” The people heard some movement and saw that it was Pei Yan who came in, and they all came forward and respectfully bowed.
Pei Yan nodded and his gaze fell on Pei Man.
Pei Man hurriedly spoke up, “The gift list from the Wu family’s side is done, and we were just discussing the preparations for the return gifts.” He paused before continuing, “If you haven’t come over, I would have gone to find you. The Wu family sent many expensive things. I’ve asked the accountant to calculate the amount and it is at least worth 10,000 silver taels. Out of the 10,000 taels, around 7,000 taels was specifically mentioned to be reserved for you.”
Obviously, they had something to request of him.
But nobody else apart from Pei Man knew the reason, so they all looked at Pei Yan with great admiration, as if they’ve only come to know him for the first time.
Pei Yan curled his lip in displeasure. He fiddled with the door ring in his hand, recalling how the Yu family proposed to share 70% of the earnings with him.
If they knew that he had received so many gifts in just two days, would the father and daughter be overwhelmed with shock?
“Just keep it.” Ever since Pei Yan had a disagreement with his second senior brother, he didn’t treat the people and things of his second senior brother with that much care anymore. “If I don’t accept it, they won’t feel secure.”
Pei Man answered Yes with a smile. Just then, another young attendant ran in, gasping for breath, “Third Master, Imperial Historian Deng Xuesong, Master Deng, came to visit.”
Pei Yan was perplexed.
It was already evening, and although he and Deng Xuesong were contemporaries, but Deng Xuesong came from a poor family and was highly arrogant, and their relationship was only average at best. So why would he come at this hour?
Could it be related to the nautical chart?
Pei Yan stroked his chin and went to the heated pavilion to meet him.
Deng Xuesong was in his forties, tall and thin, with a goatee. He sat on the tai shi chair with his eyes partially closed. Hu Xing was beside him serving attentively, and there was no way to tell what he was thinking.
Upon seeing Pei Yan, he nodded haughtily towards him.
Deng Xuesong didn’t care for Pei Yan either. Although Pei Yan was highly intelligent but he was also capricious and reckless. His brilliance and talent that many people sought after but couldn’t have was taken for granted by the person himself. However, they belonged to the same division. Even if he dislikes Pei Yan, he can’t do anything. Fortunately, he helped Pei Yan once before, which allowed for him to have a slight upper hand.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Deng Xuesong directly stated his purpose: “I heard that the grand elder of Huzhou’s Wu family is here with you. Do you know what the Wu family first started their business in?”
Pei Yan sighed internally. It’s now for a certainty that Deng Xuesong came for the nautical chart. Which family is he helping? To speak so casually of the in-laws of Jiang Hua, it was obvious that the one who entrusted him with this task was not from just any average noble family. But why didn’t they come to him directly, and asked Deng Xuesong to be the intermediary instead?
PeiYan feigned ignorance and chuckled, “They are my second brother’s in-laws, so how could I not know?”
Once he spoke these words, Pei Yan’s mind turned.
Even Zhou Zijin heard that he and his second senior brother had a falling out, so maybe these people thought of the same thing too?
This was becoming interesting!
As Pei Yan contemplated, he pushed the plate in his hand towards Deng Xuesong and said, “Try it, Tao Ziran had someone bring me fortune cookies from Guangzhou, I tasted it, and it really lives up to its fame.”
Tao An’s Zi Name was Ziran. When he served as chief registrar in the Ministry of Public works, Deng Xuesong was his subordinate.
Deng Xuesong listened with a slightly stiff expression. He was clearly aware of the Tao family’s actions.
Pei Yan laughed as he took a piece of fortune cookie and gave it to Deng Xuesong, “Try a piece.”
Deng Xuesong reluctantly ate one and praised its deliciousness. After thinking for a while, he felt that he could not beat Pei Yan and Tao An’s eloquence and wit, so he simply stated, “I will not beat around the bush then. Quanzhou’s Yin family has shown great kindness to me, and asked me to be an intermediary for them. They would like to have a meeting with you.”
Quanzhou’s Yin family, Fuzhou’s Peng family and Longyan’s Li family were known as the three major families in Fujian. Quanzhou’s Yin family started their business with tea, but was later suppressed by Longyan’s Li family and thus switched to maritime trade. Presently in Fujian, apart from the Peng family’s fleet, the majority of the remainder belongs to the Yin family. The Yin family was not as united as the Li family, and not as powerful as the Peng family, but they have developed their own strength over the years. They were committed to educating their clan and helped many people become scholars. Among the three major families, they were the most well-informed, versatile, and resourceful.
Pei Yan had previously contemplated having the Yin Family come over as well.
Now it was just as well, there was no need for him to find them; they themselves found him instead.
Pei Yan didn’t want to play mind games with Deng Xuesong, so he said straightforwardly: “We are not strangers, so I’ll be frank. If there is a problem with what I say, you’ll have to back me up as well. The authenticity of nautical chart is yet to be verified, so I have not disclosed this to the public. However, I happen to have something to ask of the Yin family. If this matter is completed, I will definitely include them in the share of the nautical chart.”
Deng Xuesong’s heart jumped as he listened and he asked, “A share?”
Pei Yan chuckled, “You can’t possibly think that such a good deal, only a few of us alone will be able to take all of it, right?”
Deng Xuesong was more of a scholarly type, who didn’t care much about business matters. He said somewhat embarrassedly, “You already said we are no strangers, so just tell me, what do you want me to do?”
PeiYan wasn’t polite either as he stated his request “I have something I want to ask the Yin family to help with, so please have someone of authority from their family to come over.”
If this matter required Pei Yan’s help and he even use the maritime business as a lure, Deng Xuesong knew that this was no simple matter.
He had already done all that he could, and he didn’t want to tread further into this murky waters.
“Agreed. It’s settled then.” He stood up and said, “It’s getting late and I have to rush back to Hangzhou City tonight. There’s no need to keep me out of politeness, I have many things still left to do before the New Year which cannot be delayed.”
PeiYan did not force him to stay. He personally sent Deng XueSong out, and only mentioned YuWen’s matter on the way out, “although he’s only a scholar, and the yearly examination is not in your area, but you can at least send your greetings, and look after him as much as you can.”
Every year, scholars have to undergo an examination, if they fail, it is possible for their scholar title to be revoked.
Deng Xuesong did not ask further. Besides, this request came from PeiYan, so he replied: “Don’t worry, I know what to do. When the time comes, I’ll send someone to inform you.”
Pei Yan thought that this was considered a gift of thanks for that beast door ring. Looking at Deng Xuesong’s carriage moving out from little plum lane in the cold wind, Pei Yan then went to the outer study to deal with some general affairs.
It was still busy as usual everywhere, but several stewards were gathered in front of the desk where he had left the beast door ring on the accounting ledger. They were discussing about the beast door ring. “I didn’t expect that the third master would have one. If I had known that, I would have sent the one I have in the store, or asked the third master to collect it. As a pair, it will be worth much more.”
Pei Yan asked curiously, “Where is the other beast door ring?”
The steward laughed and said, “There is a beast door ring exactly like this one in my antique store, but it was sold a few days ago, so it’s already too late.”
Pei Yan’s expression got a little strange as he listened. He asked “When was it sold? How much was it sold for?”
The steward chortled. “It happened just recently. As you know, this thing is not worth much, and it is only one piece, so it is even less valuable. We only sold it for two taels of silver. If I had known you had one here, I could have sold it for at least a hundred taels of silver.”
“Oh!” Pei Yan responded expressionlessly and remarked, “I’ll leave you all to it. I’ll go back and rest.”
These stewards were people who had to act depending on his every whim and fancy, so they were all very good at reading people’s faces, and they immediately realized that he was very unhappy.
They all exchanged glances, wondering what had happened to cause him such displeasure.
They only could look amongst each other, and didn’t know what to say in reply.
They anxiously waited on pins and needles for Pei Yan to leave. Pei Man couldn’t help but hit one of them and scolded, “Why are you still loitering around for? Do you want to stay up doing accounts for the next couple of days and nights?”
The steward who had spoken about the matter gave a whimper and held his head. He put down the beast door ring and went to manage the accounts.
Pei Man looked at the beast door ring and felt like it was a hot potato, and didn’t know what to do with it.
But he can’t just leave it here without doing anything!
He thought for a while, and beckoned Ah Ming to come over and quietly instructed him, “Find an opportunity to quietly put it on the Third Master’s bookshelf.”
If third master found it while reading, that means it was fate. Even if he didn’t, it will still be there.
Ah Ming did as instructed.
The people of the Yin family arrived in Lin’an City by noon the next day.
He was the son of the patriarch of the Yin family and the next patriarch of the Yin family. Before coming, the family had carefully inquired about Pei Yan. Knowing that this was the first Spring Festival for Pei Yan as the patriarch, they thought of the same thing as the Wu family and felt that Pei Yan needed to establish his authority. Thus, they pulled almost ten carts worth of things to pay their respects to Pei Yan.
That day, Yu Tang happened to accompany her mother to send New Year’s gifts to Mrs. Ma’s family. She was sitting in the carriage and she was able to watch the entire thing by lifting the curtain. On the way home, Madam Chen even said to Yu Wen: “No wonder Grand Elder Pei wanted to pass the patriarch’s position to Third Master, this year’s New Year’s gifts is a hundred times more luxurious than previous years. In the future, the Pei family will only become more and more prosperous. Do you think that the Pei family will move to Hangzhou City?”
The problem with the map is solved, his wife’s illness is being treated by a renowned physician, his daughter is becoming more and more obedient, even helping out with the family matters. Yu Wen’s life has never been more comfortable. He began to stay in the study to carve seals and read books in his spare time. He thought that when Yu Yuan got married in the spring, Yu Tang’s marriage could also be decided then, so he had to carve a seal for his daughter, so that in the future, his daughter could take charge of the family and pay silver or collect accounts with her seal.
“No!” He looked at the seal and said offhandedly, “If the Pei family wanted to move, they would have moved away long ago. Besides, Hangzhou City is not that easy to establish their roots in.”
While the two of them were talking leisurely, Yu Tang was a little anxious in her heart.
It seems that the auction will be delayed until after the New Year.
Would these people who came to give New Year’s gifts have anything to do with the auction of nautical chart?
She sighed softly.
