“I’m glad you like it, kind customer. The Lantern Festival is coming soon. You can buy it and hang it up at home or use it daily.” Lu Dongqing said with a faint smile.
The scholar, clearly from a wealthy family, found the carved lantern to his liking and asked directly, “How much is it?”
“The sheepskin parchment lanterns are two mace and fifty wen each.” Lu Dongqing quoted the price previously set by the old bamboo craftsman.
“Fifty wen extra? I don’t have any copper coins on me,” The wealthy scholar continued, “Never mind, never mind. Since the lantern is so beautiful, I’ll give you a little extra.”
He then had his attendant fetch three mace of silver and handed them to Lu Dongqing without hesitation.
Qiao Suiman’s eyes widened. Fifty wen given away just like that! What a wealthy family they must be! He hurriedly took the silver from Lu Dongqing’s hand and said, “Thank you, kind customer.”
The other scholar was not so decisive. After browsing for a long time, he finally chose one depicting towering mountains. “This one’s unique. My master often says a man should stand tall like a mountain, standing tall and firm. I’ll take this.”
He then pulled out a purse from his chest, counted out fifty wen, and added two mace of silver. “Here, count it. I should’ve calculated correctly.”
Lu Dongqing placed the copper coins in a wooden bowl with a sunken middle and handed it to Qiao Suiman to count. He used a small scale to verify the silver’s weight before letting Qiao Suiman put it away.
Scholars were good customers. In less than an hour, they already sold seven sheepskin parchment lanterns, earning nearly two taels of silver. Qiao Suiman’s eyes crinkled with joy, and when no one was around, he leaned close to Lu Dongqing’s ear and whispered, “We’re going to make so much money today!”
Each palace lantern required two sheets of sheepskin parchment paper. Lu Dongqing and Lu Huaqing bought eighty sheets. Since he was careful while pasting, not a single sheet was damaged, so he was able to make exactly forty lanterns. Bamboo lanterns required more paper, with each one requiring three pieces of rough paper, but fortunately, rough paper was cheap. And since they were intended for sale to ordinary households, they set the price at forty-five wen.
A flatbread vendor noticed that there were many people gathered around and came over to take a look. He could tell that the lanterns on Lu Dongqing’s stall were tightly woven and the paper firmly pasted so he bought one. It would be more eye-catching once he hung it infront of his stall in the evening, when it was no longer bright.
By chenshi[mfn]辰时 : 7-9 AM[/mfn], it was the usual time for most scholars to return home. Suddenly, eight or nine scholars gathered around the stall. Qiao Suiman stood behind Lu Dongqing, his back against the academy’s thick wall, focusing solely on counting money while leaving the sales to Lu Dongqing.
Twelve palace lanterns and three bamboo lanterns were sold at once. Qiao Suiman was amazed. He couldn’t imagine how rich these people must be to be able to buy two or three palace lanterns at once.
As the stall owner’s fulang, he finally got to experience the feeling of counting coins until his hands grew tired.
Two scholars didn’t have copper coins, so Qiao Suiman initially intended to give them change. But since they knew each other, one paid three mace while the other paid two. The one who paid two mace invited the one who paid three mace to eat at the flatbread stall beside, which made the flatbread stall owner very happy. He decided to stay by the lantern stall for the rest of the day!
Qiao Suiman smiled and weighed the money pouch in his hand. The weight alone was enough to bring joy.
Customers came one after another, and the palace lanterns were sold one by one. By wushi[mfn]午时 : 11AM – 1PM[/mfn], there were only eight palace lanterns left. Even Lu Dongqing had not expected this speed.
“Yours are well-made, so they sell fast if people like them,” Qiao Suiman grinned as he chewed on some flatbread. He held the bread in one hand and clutched the money pouch in the other. There were some crumbs at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were bright and clear, which immediately touched Lu Dongqing’s heart.
Lu Dongqing finished his flatbread in a few bites and drank some water to moisten his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed several times before he said, “I noticed the wooden boxes at that stall over there are plain. We could make carved wooden boxes to sell in the future.”
Qiao Suiman followed his gaze and saw that the stall owner was selling the most ordinary wooden boxes without any decorations.
“Mm, his are cheaper. Yours would take more time with the carvings, so they would be pricier. It wouldn’t affect his business.”
Lu Dongqing nodded and resumed his calls: “Sheepskin parchment lanterns! Only eight left! There are paintings of Confucius and Mencius, as well as Zhong Kui, and even landscape paintings of mountains and flowing water. Come and take a look.”
While drinking water, Qiao Suiman glanced around and suddenly spotted a scholar in a blue robe approaching.
The scholar didn’t recognize him at first. After examining the palace lanterns on the cart, he found the craftsmanship oddly familiar and asked Lu Dongqing, “Did you carve bamboo tubes for a fragrant drink shop before?”
Lu Dongqing’s eyes showed a hint of surprise, but he concealed it and replied, “Yes, kind customer. Have you purchased it before?”
A sudden realization struck Qiao Suiman, and he smiled. “Kind customer, was it during the Dragon Boat Festival? I remember you. Are you Scholar Yuan, who was with Huaqing-ge at the time?”
Now Lu Dongqing understood too and quickly cupped his hands. “So it’s Scholar Yuan. We owe you thanks for the shop matter at the end of the year.”
Yuan Shan’an was only mildly suspicious, but their quick recognition made him laugh. “I just thought your carving style resembled the bamboo tubes I bought before and the brush hanger Lu-xiong gifted me. I never imagined it was you. Don’t worry about the shop. Even if Lu-xiong didn’t mention it, I wouldn’t sell it to that distant relative.”
So it seemed they had stumbled upon a bargain. Shopkeeper Hu likely didn’t know the full story. Qiao Suiman smiled secretly. Anyway, Shopkeeper Hu didn’t lose anything. He probably didn’t even need forty taels when he bought the shop.
Lu Dongqing also thought of this, “Now it seems like a coincidence. I didn’t have time to thank you in person at that time. If you like this palace lantern, just take it as our token of gratitude.”
Yuan Shan’an waved his hand. “No need, no need. Your craftsmanship has improved greatly. It’s much more exquisite than the brush hanger. How much is it? I’ll pay the full price. As I heard from Lu-xiong, you’re planning to open a drink shop and a bambooware shop on Beide Road, right? If you make any other bamboo carvings in the future, be sure to let me know. I love collecting such pieces. And as for that drink, I heard that the drink from Laifu Wine House was made by you. The taste is truly excellent. I’ve been drinking it for several days straight. When the shop opens, remember to have Lu-xiong let me know. I’ll definitely come to support you!”
Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing quickly agreed.
After seeing off Yuan Shan’an, Qiao Suiman held the silver in her hands, still somewhat at a loss. After a while, he said to Lu Dongqing, “Shopkeeper Hu said he might become a juren and an official in the future. I just did business with a future official!”
Lu Dongqing chuckled and said, “The provincial examination hasn’t started yet, so you can’t say that. Otherwise, others might hear it and think that he cheated and is confident that he will become an official.”
Qiao Suiman fell silent for a moment, then whispered, “What are the provincial exams?”
Lu Dongqing explained, “Take Scholar Yuan, for example. He’s already a xiucai. In the eighth month this year, he’ll go to the prefectural city to take the provincial exams. If he scores well and ranks high in the list, he’ll become a juren.”[mfn]A refresher: 秀才 (xiùcai) passed the county/prefecture-level exams and has minor privileges; 舉人 (jǔrén) passed provincial exams and could become officials. So it’s going to be: 童生 (tóngshēng, student) → 秀才 (xiùcai) → 舉人 (jǔrén) → 進士 (jìnshì, highest degree)[/mfn]
Qiao Suiman’s eyes widened in understanding. “So that’s how it works.”
Thanks to their good location, the remaining palace lanterns sold out quickly. They only brought ten bamboo lanterns, and now there are only six left. Since scholars showed little interest in them, Lu Dongqing didn’t linger. He and Qiao Suiman pulled the cart home together.
The academy often had breaks, and since Lu Xiang wasn’t around, they didn’t go to the Lu family. On the second day of the new year, they already gifted two carp lanterns and two bamboo lanterns to them. Yangyang giggled with joy upon seeing the little fish, hugging it tightly and refusing to let go.
Excluding the gifts and today’s sales, they still have thirty-six bamboo lanterns left. The small fish lanterns didn’t use much paper, and the remaining rough paper was used to make sixty-five of them. These were small and simple, more for festive decoration than illumination. Though they required dye, the cost was minimal, so they planned to sell them for twenty wen each, and customers could choose any they liked.
About a dozen small fish lanterns still needed coloring, which they could finish that evening. Over the next few days, they would sell them along the streets of the town. By the fifteenth, they should sell out.
Coincidentally, after the fifteenth, Shopkeeper Hu’s new pastry shop in the East Market would be cleared out. Once he moved his belongings from the Beide Road shop, they could finalize the deed at the yamen.
Back home, Qiao Suiman first retreated to their room to organize the day’s earnings, stringing the copper coins together. It amounted to one string of copper coin[mfn]貫 guàn – a string of 1000 wen[/mfn] and an extra five hundred eighty-five wen. The loose silver added up to eight taels and six mace.
He was so happy that he hugged Lu Dongqing and kissed him on the corner of his mouth, “Over ten taels in just one day!”
Lu Dongqing hugged him back, returning the kiss on the lips, his eyes reflecting Qiao Suiman’s image, shimmering faintly. “It was worth getting up early and staying up late for this.”
After saying that, he let go of his fulang and continued, “I’ll finish coloring the remaining small fish lanterns. You put the silver away. Once everything’s sold, we’ll buy the shop.”
“Mm!” Qiao Suiman nodded vigorously.
Shuiqing Town is actually quite large. Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing have been walking around the streets and alleys for the past few days, and especially went to the alleys of those families whose lives are doing well to sell lanterns. The Lantern Festival is approaching, and there are many people selling lanterns along the street. It is not like the time when they sold lanterns at the academy and sold quickly. They have been selling for several days, but there are still nine bamboo lanterns and twenty-five small fish lanterns left unsold.
Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing had anticipated this, so on the day of the Lantern Festival, they secured a spot early on the Flower Street and called out tirelessly. In addition, their lanterns were more beautiful than those of other shops, so they eventually sold all of them when the crowds began to gather.
At the end, only two small fish lanterns remained, and several people wanted them. One even offered forty wen each, leaving the others grumbling in disappointment.
These past few days, while selling lanterns, they repeatedly told customers that they also make other bamboo crafts and will open a shop on Beide Road in the future. Although they don’t know how much the passersby heard it, even if only one person remembers, that’s good enough.
Qiao Suiman was very happy. He earned a large sum of money selling lanterns at the beginning of the year. When he was strolling through the Flower Street with Lu Dongqing, he was jumping up and down with excitement. Lu Dongqing followed closely behind him to prevent him from bumping into anything.
Today, the wealthy landowner He of Hexi Village hired performers for an opera. Miao Lianhua, Lu Xuesong, Qiao Ruifeng, Qin Yu, and the others had all gone to watch nearby and didn’t go to town. So Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing didn’t stay out too late. They watched the fireworks for a while and then went home.
After washing up, Qiao Suiman lit a candle and laid out all their savings. Forty-seven taels were from their previous savings and the drink sales on the third day of the new year. The other pile was from the lantern sales these past few days, along with fifty loose copper coins set aside for household expenses.
Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing counted separately. They earned a total of thirteen taels, one mace, and fourteen wen from selling lanterns. As a result, they now have sixty taels, one mace, and sixty-four wen.
Qiao Suiman set aside one hundred forty wen. “Keep these for household expenses, and save the rest. That way, after we buy the shop, we’ll still have twenty taels left.”
After a moment’s thought, he took out one string of coins. “We’ll drop this off at the village chief tomorrow on the way. It’s for the bamboo we’ve cut these past two years.”
Lu Dongqing nodded. “Mm. That leaves us with nineteen taels. The mountain flowers and fruits haven’t bloomed yet, and the peaches and green plums at home won’t bear fruit so soon. We’ll have to buy ingredients from others for the drinks.”
“First, we’ll make the cabinets needed for the shop and buy some pots. In the meantime, we’ll ask around to find affordable sources for dried flowers and fruits.”
With so many expenses before the shop’s official opening, they would still need to spend quite a bit. But they’ll earn it back eventually. Besides, the shop would be theirs, so the money wouldn’t be wasted. The thought kept them both excited, chatting late into the night before finally falling asleep.
—
If you enjoy my translations, consider buying me a coffee ☕
