Great Tang Idyll - Chapter 21

In the county town of Sanshui, on the north side of the street near the east gate of the city, there is a shop with the large characters “Liu Yi Ju” inscribed on it. This place is somewhat off the beaten path, and not many people pass by in front of it.

The shopkeeper, who is supposed to be sitting at the counter, doesn’t know where he has gone to rest, leaving a young clerk to guard the counter, bored as he watches the occasional passerby outside.

As noon approaches, the clerk hears his stomach rumbling, and with no one calling for him to replace the shopkeeper, he can only continue to endure, increasingly thinking about the food and wine from the nearby tavern, feeling hungrier by the minute. Even the movement of the shadows from the trees outside seems to slow down.

He rests his arms on the counter, propping his chin up, his eyes blankly staring at the small soup dumpling shop across the street, mumbling to himself, “A bowl of soup dumplings would be good; this broken shop doesn’t see more than two customers a day.”

Just as he is grumbling, two people unexpectedly enter the shop. The clerk immediately lifts his arms from the counter and takes a glance, quickly concluding that these two are wealthy individuals, dressed in silk long robes, with jade pendants hanging from the cords at their waists, swaying as they walk.

“Gentlemen, what are you looking for? I can assist you,” the clerk says, replacing his bored demeanor with a beaming smile and a respectful tone.

“Just busy yourself; we’ll look around,” one of them replies, casually flicking a small piece of silver over.

The clerk quickly catches it, weighs it a little, and estimates that it definitely weighs around three coins. A distinguished guest! He feels invigorated, and his hunger fades. With three coins of silver, he can go to Xingchun Building for a good meal after work tonight, find a pretty girl, and then come back directly in the morning.

The two men merely browse without speaking, walking around until they suddenly focus on a painting. They exchange glances and nod in agreement, then the one who threw the silver asks, “What is this painting?”

“Oh, sir, your eyes are indeed sharp! You’ve recognized the value of this painting at a glance. This is a piece painted by a predecessor, titled ‘Early Spring Water Lilies.’ Look at this brushwork—hard yet unbroken, soft yet not delicate. With just a few strokes, it…”

“Alright, alright, how much is this painting?” Without waiting for the clerk to finish his lengthy praise, the man waves his hand impatiently, interrupting the introduction and directly asking for the price.

The clerk understands and refrains from speaking any further. He looks at the painting, calculating how much it should cost. If the painting has no damage at all, twenty taels of silver could be reasonable, but the problem is that there is an obvious burn mark on it.

In the upper right corner of the painting, there is a nail-sized hole that has been patched up by a craftsman using a special technique. However, it is still noticeable. The clerk is momentarily unsure how to price it. Asking too much might scare the customers away, while asking too little would mean he earns less. The more he sells, the more he can earn.

Just as he hesitates, a voice comes from behind him.

“Liu Wang, are you slacking off again? Haven’t you noticed our esteemed guests have arrived? Why aren’t you serving them properly?”

Upon hearing the voice, Liu Wang feels relieved; the shopkeeper has come out. He quickly turns half his body and says to the shopkeeper, “Uncle Shopkeeper Zhao, these two gentlemen are interested in the painting on the wall and asked for the price, but I completely forgot.”

As he speaks, the clerk blinks his eyes.

Shopkeeper Zhao, the shopkeeper, doesn’t need the clerk’s hints; he can tell from the way the two men are dressed that they are well-off. He glances at the painting and smiles, saying, “May I ask for your honorable names, gentlemen?”

“Li,” replies the first speaker with just one word and doesn’t say more.

“Ah, it’s Young Master Li. If you have an eye for this painting, it truly reflects your taste. According to its….”

“How much is it?” Young Master Li interrupts Shopkeeper Zhao, not waiting for him to finish.

“Two hundred taels. This painting was done by a famous master from the Western Jin Dynasty. Due to the passage of time and inadequate care, there are slight flaws on it. Therefore, you only need to pay one hundred and fifty taels of silver to take it away,” Shopkeeper Zhao replies.

The shopkeeper isn’t sure how much he should ask for, so he decides to start high, hoping the other party will negotiate down. He isn’t afraid of selling it too high and having them walk away; he fears selling it too low and being looked down upon—there are always people like that.

“One hundred and fifty taels? Alright, I’ll buy it,” Young Master Li says, showing no intention of negotiating.

Shopkeeper Zhao is momentarily stunned and feels a bit regretful. Had he known these two would be so agreeable, he should have asked for more earlier. However, he can’t backtrack now. Just as he is about to walk over to take down and wrap the painting, Young Master Li speaks again.

“Wait, I didn’t bring enough money today. I only have fifty taels on me. Let’s settle the price now, and I’ll come back to pick it up in a few days, alright?”

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhao nods eagerly, thinking it makes sense. Who would carry so much silver around casually? Fifty taels is a decent amount.

“I’ve heard some shops switch items secretly after someone pays a deposit, passing off inferior goods as the real thing. I wonder…?” Young Master Li asks again.

Shopkeeper Zhao understands what he is concerned about. He quickly replies, “Rest assured, Young Master Li, our shop would never do such a thing. If you’re still uneasy, we can find a guarantor, but… it will incur additional costs.”

“Doesn’t matter, go ahead and find one,” Young Master Li responds.

With that, Shopkeeper Zhao feels more at ease. He is genuinely worried that in a few days, the two men might find someone knowledgeable to come back and demand their money. Even if they don’t get the money back, it would lead to some unpleasantness. He urges Liu Wang to find the guarantor while he prepares tea and snacks.

After a moment, Liu Wang returns with the guarantor. The guarantor inquires about the price and requests a deposit of one hundred and fifty wen, which Young Master Li promptly pays without hesitation.

They take down the painting, noting its unique features for verification.

Young Master Li meticulously traces the area that has been burned with thin paper and adds descriptions of the surrounding scorch marks. He requests to pick it up in half a month, stating that if the painting is not the same, the shop will have to compensate him tenfold. If he doesn’t come to collect it after half a month, he will pay an additional hundred wen each day until a full month passes, at which point the deposit will go to the shop.

Shopkeeper Zhao considers this for a moment, seeing that the guarantor is present, and nods in agreement. The two parties press their handprints and seal the deal. Watching the two men walk away brings joy not just to Shopkeeper Zhao but also earns Liu Wang a reward of five wen.

As the day tilts, red clouds fill the sky, curling and swirling, with birds flying gracefully beneath the white feathers.

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan hold hands, walking along the bank of the small river in front of their home, the sun casting long shadows of the two.

Xiaohong watches nervously, fearing the two little ones might jump in with excitement; such things are possible, after all, since her young master is unlike anyone else.

“Xiaobao, do you think if we divert this water into a dug pond, we could raise some ducks and geese? Salted goose eggs and salted duck eggs are tastier than salted chicken eggs?” Wang Juan asks, standing by the river, gazing at the clear flowing water and the occasional fish that flickers beneath the surface, her voice filled with longing.

“Yeah, I think so too. But right now, we’re short-handed. The main issue is I don’t have enough money. I can barely get things running for the time being. If I want to eat, I’ll have to trade at the farm. After I deal with that con man Song in a few days, I’ll have some money,” Zhang Xiaobao replies.

A few days ago, he had this plan in mind to ask his mother for money, but after hesitating, he decides to earn it himself; a few days won’t make much difference.

“Young master, Little Miss, it’s better to move a bit further back. Please don’t fall in,” Xiaohong insists, feeling that the place is dangerous. The water isn’t deep, but it could easily drown two small children.

“Don’t be scared. Juan and I can swim. We’re just enjoying the flowing water and the beautiful day. Once we finish things up here, you’ll be in charge of raising ducks and geese. You can also grow some lotus flowers; it’ll give us more dishes. We have to save on expenses; whatever we can do ourselves, we should. Every meal is hard to come by,” Zhang Xiaobao says as he steps back a little, wanting to ease Xiaohong’s worries.

Xiaohong nods blankly, feeling that the young master’s words sound more acceptable when they come from a wife.

As the three admire the sunset, evening glow, flying birds, and the flowing water, someone rushes over and immediately says to Wang Juan:

“Little Miss, I’ve found out where that thing is. According to that con man Song’s description, we discover a few boats on the Luo River, and we spot the red and green item sticking out occasionally.”

As he speaks, the man takes out a piece of paper from his pocket, on which he has drawn something. He has delayed his time looking for someone to draw it.

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan look at the drawing and exclaim in unison, “Carrot!”

“Great! We’ll have a new dish now. I’ve never seen this thing around here before,” Zhang Xiaobao says, excited.

Wang Juan nods vigorously and says, “Yes, this stuff shouldn’t be local produce. It seems it really was obtained from the Tibetan Gang. I wonder what that con artist Song is thinking? It looks like there’s plenty on the ship; can’t we continue to cultivate the middle ones that aren’t lacking in moisture? Once we have seeds, we can plant them ourselves. I like eating stir-fried carrot slices. How about you?”

“I like to eat them raw. I also love cucumbers, eggplants, and cabbage; I eat them raw like fruit,” Zhang Xiaobao replies.

“Who eats these things like fruit? Eating raw carrots isn’t good,” Wang Juan laughs and says.

“What can we do? Who would send fruit to an orphanage for fun? Those people are so stingy; it’s hard to get even a little from them. They clearly spent a hundred dollars but insist on saying it was a thousand. The reporters sure brought plenty along; they’re afraid others won’t know they delivered something,” Zhang Xiaobao says, pouting.

“Is that so? You really do suffer a lot when you’re a child. Everyone wants a good reputation,” Wang Juan sighs, feeling that Zhang Xiaobao has a pitiful childhood.

Zhang Xiaobao shakes his head nonchalantly. “Actually, I’m quite grateful to those people. No matter what their motives are, as long as the goods are delivered, that’s enough. If someone brings things every day, I’d be happy to vouch for them. Saying a hundred is ten thousand works for me; it’s better than having nothing at all.

The thing I’m happiest about is fulfilling Grandpa Dean’s dying wish. Before he passes, he is able to exchange his life for a child; that is worth it. Now, we’ll have carrots to eat in the future.”

“Xiaobao, allow me to use solemn words to describe you: you’re a good scammer,” Wang Juan says, blinking her big eyes.