Qiao Suiman practiced holding the brush a little longer. When Lu Dongqing felt it was enough, he opened the first page of the Three Character Classic and pointed to the first line of characters: “‘人之初，性本善 (rén zhī chū, xìng běn shàn).’ It means that when people are first born, their nature is inherently good.”
Qiao Suiman silently repeated the words. So a stroke to the left and another to the right formed the character for “person” (人, rén).
Following Lu Dongqing’s instructions, he added a bit of water to the inkstone and ground the inkstick in circles. Soon, the water turned into a thick black ink. He had only seen Aunt Qian do this before when they asked the village chief to write the signboard for their drinks.
Since they were only learning to recognize characters, they didn’t purchase expensive brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones, but instead used the cheapest available. Even so, it cost nearly three mace of silver. It really showed how difficult it was to support a scholar.
Lu Dongqing first held Qiao Suiman’s hand and guided him through writing the characters a few times on rough paper. Qiao Suiman was eager to try, so Lu Dongqing let go of his hand and let him try writing on his own.
What had seemed simple with Lu Dongqing’s guidance now felt entirely different. He had to rely solely on his own sense for how much strength to apply and where to turn the brush. When he finished writing one character, he sighed. “It doesn’t look good.”
Lu Dongqing patted him on the head and smiled gently, saying, “It’s much better than when I first learned to write. Just keep practicing. Besides, you’re not writing essays. As long as people can recognize your writing, that’s good enough.”
He was probably only a few years old when he learned to write.
Qiao Suiman knew he was just comforting him, but still curled his lips. “I know. I’ve only just started. I’ll practice more.”
Lu Dongqing watched as he wrote a few more times, occasionally correcting the pressure of his strokes or the timing of his turns. After a while, Qiao Suiman’s writing was much better than the first time.
Lu Dongqing smiled and said, “Shall we learn another one?”
Qiao Suiman’s eyes curved. “Mm!”
For today, Qiao Suiman only learned “人” (person, rén) and “之” (of, zhī). These two characters were simple, so after watching him practice for a while, Lu Dongqing didn’t hover. Instead, he turned to work on carving book boxes.
Lately, scholars often came to him for book boxes. Two even brought their own drawings for him to carve. The designs weren’t difficult, so he accepted them. Counting them up, he still has seven boxes left to carve, and time wasn’t exactly plentiful.
Knowing he was busy, Qiao Suiman sat diligently at the bamboo table, filling the paper densely with characters without wasting a single spot. It wasn’t until his neck ached that he finally stood up to stretch, rubbing his shoulders and arms.
“Continue practicing later. There’s no need to rush.” Lu Dongqing said, glancing up from where he was smoothing a book box with a small iron chisel.
“I know.” After resting for a bit, Qiao Suiman grabbed a feather duster to wipe the dust off the table and swept the floor at the same time.
Checking the sky, he saw it was still early for dinner. Just as he was about to wipe the door, Qin Xiaoyao arrived.
The noodle shop was closed for dinner, so after cleaning up, Qin Xiaoyao had nothing to do and came over to visit. The moment he stepped into the shop, he spotted the rough paper Qiao Suiman had left on the bamboo table and exclaimed, “Xiao Man, you’re learning to write?”
Qiao Suiman smiled shyly. “Yes. It’s always good to learn more. But I’ve only just started, and I only know two characters so far.”
“I only know two characters too, Xiaoyao (小么)[mfn]The character 么 (ma, me, yāo) is a simplified form of “麽” when used as a grammatical particle (ma/me), but it also functions as a variant of “幺” (yāo, meaning “tiny” or “youngest”). These are homographs, which means they are identical in form but distinct in origin and meaning. (Baidu)[/mfn], the ones in my name. The character ‘Qin’ (秦) is too hard, I can’t remember it.”
“My name is also difficult.” Qiao Suiman said, thinking of how his name had looked on the deed. If it took him so long to learn two characters with just a few strokes, who knew how long it would take before he could write his full name.
Qin Xiaoyao chattered on, “Then study hard! Hmph, didn’t that petty fellow say you couldn’t write? All the more reason to write just to show him.”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “But don’t rush. The county office has scribes anyway. When it’s time to register, they’ll be the ones writing. That Liu fellow was just trying to scare you.”
“I know. I’ll practice when I have time.”
“That’s right. You-jie asked me earlier if I wanted to go to the fabric market. There’s even a fire-breathing acrobat show. You weren’t here this morning, so she told me to ask you too.”
You-jie is the proprietress of the paper goods shop in the alley up ahead. Her full name is You Xingxing, and Qiao Suiman remembered it after hearing it just once. She was bold and straightforward, speaking her mind when necessary. Qiao Suiman found her easy to get along with, so he agreed, “Sure, when shall we go?”
“In about a quarter of an hour. I’ll go back and get some silver first.” With that, Qin Xiaoyao dashed off again. Qiao Suiman shook his head with a laugh. His manner was truly like Xuesheng’s.
Thinking of Xuesheng, Qiao Suiman remembered he could go home early next month. He would need to bring a few packs of pastries for him. After all, he helped so much on the shop’s opening day.
He had already discussed it with Lu Dongqing. They could not possibly keep the shop open every day. Aside from the second month, from then on, they would close on the twelfth, thirteenth, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth of each month. Lu Dongqing needed to return to the village to chop bamboo, while Qiao Suiman wanted to visit Miao Lianhua and Qiao Ruifeng.
They posted the closing days at the entrance and informed their customers to avoid anyone showing up on those days to find the shop closed.
Since they will need to transport bamboo, relying on Lu Dongqing alone to pull the cart wouldn’t do. They are also thinking of buying a donkey to make transporting things easier. But since their trip back to the village was still some time away, they hadn’t gone to the livestock market to pick one yet. Besides, they didn’t have enough money to buy one right now, so they would have to wait until the Liu family settled the accounts.
Qiao Suiman thought for a moment before saying to Lu Dongqing, “I’ll go pick out some fabric later. I’ll get some for Mother, Xuesong, Da-ge, and Qin Yu-ge. Spring’s coming, so it’s time to get new clothes.”
When Qiao Suiman and Qin Xiaoyao were talking, Lu Dongqing did not interrupt them. Now, he nodded with a smile. “Alright. Get some for yourself too if you see something you like.”
“I don’t need any. I still have fabric left from my dowry, and I’ve only worn my new clothes a few times.”
Seeing that he was reluctant, Lu Dongqing did not insist, but simply reminded him, “Be careful. I’ll cook some porridge for dinner, so don’t stay out too late.”
“Alright.”
After putting the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone back into the room, and taking some broken silver with him, Qiao Suiman went next door to find Qin Xiaoyao.
The fabric market was actually just one street, but every shop there sold fabrics like ready-made clothes, bolts of fabric, shoe fabrics, bed sheets, quilts, and everything one might need. Over time, people had simply started calling it the fabric market.
The shops here has far more variety than the one he had gone to with Qin Yu in the East Market. Some stores had absurdly high prices. After visiting a few, You Xingxing directly led them to the large two-story shop at the far end.
“Those shops at the entrance are just for novelty. Only wealthy families can afford those prices. If you want something affordable, this is the place. I know all the ins and outs.”
The moment they stepped inside, You Xingxing called out, “Wu Qing, where are you?”
“Coming, coming! Is that Xingxing-jie?”
A voice came from the staircase, followed by a ge’r in a brick-red short robe. Qiao Suiman noticed that his shoes and hair ribbon were made from the same fabric, giving him a bright and refined look.
“I brought two handsome young ge’r with me. Hurry up and greet them,” You Xingxing said bluntly.
“Xiaoyao,” Wu-ge’r first greeted Qin Xiaoyao. “I recognize him too. You’re Shopkeeper Qiao. I drank your Persimmons of Good Fortune three days in a row! I even tried making it myself afterward, but it didn’t taste right, so I ended up sending someone to buy from you again.”
Qiao Suiman smiled and said: “Just call me Man-ge’r or Xiao Man. I’m glad you liked it. I was wondering why the shop assistant looked familiar.”
The shop assistant, tidying the fabric bolts, greeted him with a smile.
Wu Qing was a talkative and honest person, so even though his shop was located at the back of the market, it did better than many of the shops at the front. Qiao Suiman chatted and laughed with them, and before he knew it, half an hour had passed.
In the end, he chose a bolt each of deep green mixed with misty gray and dark gray-brown fabric, and also asked for two chi[mfn]尺 : ~33 cm (about 1 ft.)[/mfn] of coarse brown hemp cloth. Altogether, it cost six mace and seventy wen, which is very affordable.
As the sky darkened, they bid Wu Qing farewell and headed back to their shops with their purchases.
The shop door was locked by Lu Dongqing. When Qiao Suiman pushed it open, the door creaked open. From inside, Lu Dongqing called, “Xiao Man, you’re back?”
“Yes, I bought some fabric, and I bought some for you too. I’ll make you a new outfit.”
Qiao Suiman’s skills at making tassels and sewing clothes had improved a lot. During the winter, he even sewn a set of undergarments for himself, which turned out well, so he was feeling more confident in his craftsmanship.
Lu Dongqing’s laughter drifted from the kitchen. “Sounds good.”
After storing the fabric in their room, Qiao Suiman went to the shop to eat porridge. It has minced meat and dried vegetables, with a few drops of sesame oil. Qiao Suiman ate it with great relish while he talked to Lu Dongqing about his interesting experience of buying fabric.
Lu Dongqing listened with a gentle expression, nodding occasionally, his eyes tender and smiling as if he could never tire of hearing his fulang’s voice.
After two more days of hard work, the banquet at the Liu residence was completed. The steward of the Liu family said that Madam Liu was very pleased with their Persimmons of Good Fortune. Not only was the name auspicious, but the taste was excellent too. The guests who were served at the wine house that day praised her for her thoughtfulness, as she had prepared not only wine but also many other kinds of drinks.
Qiao Suiman knew that included the drinks he supplied to the wine house. Since they all came from him, Madam Liu rewarded them with an extra tael of silver. At settlement, they received a total of six taels.
Qiao Suiman was so delighted, that when Lu Dongqing insisted on having another round that night, he didn’t refuse. Afterward, Qiao Suiman lay catching his breath and murmured, “Once the shed in the backyard is set up, we’ll buy a donkey. That way, it’ll be much easier to travel back and forth between home and town, and it’ll also be convenient for delivering other goods in the future. During harvest season, we can leave it at home to help with threshing. Da-ge will have his hands full this year with Qin Yu-ge being pregnant.”
Qiao Suiman always considered both families in his plans. Lu Dongqing saw nothing wrong with it, and neither did Miao Lianhua. Both families have few members and faced similar difficulties, so it was only natural for them to help each other out.
Lu Dongqing stroked Qiao Suiman’s flat stomach before kissing his neck. “The lumber and straw have already been delivered. The shed should be up in about ten days. We’ll set up the front too so if the drink shop gets too crowded, customers can rest outside.”
“Mm. We’ll buy pastries on the way home from East Market at Shopkeeper Hu’s place. His crispy cakes are delicious. We’ll bring some for Mother and the others, and give the village chief, Aunt Qian, and Feng-jie some tea leaves too.” Qiao Suiman’s voice grew softer and softer until it faded entirely.
He had fallen asleep.
Lu Dongqing gently traced his cheek with his fingers before closing his eyes contentedly.
Apart from glaring back at Liu Tianfu whenever they passed Liu’s Food Shop, the days that followed were much the same. After closing the shop at noon, Lu Dongqing would work on the straw shed while Qiao Suiman helped and made dinner. For a moment, it felt as though they had returned to the days when they first moved into the shop and built a clay stove.
But more than a month had already passed since then. Their shop had been open for a full month now.
That day, they closed an hour earlier than usual. Counting their silver, they had sixty-three taels in total. Their household wealth had grown considerably, and setting aside a dozen taels to buy a strong donkey would be no problem.
Planning to hitch the donkey to the cart right after buying it, they brought the cart along and set off excitedly for the livestock market.
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