Chapter 18. Cotton Fabric
Cotton Fabric
"絺布" (chī bù) refers to a type of lightweight cotton fabric that was commonly used in ancient China. It is usually transliterated as "chi cloth.
On the way back to the residence, I sat in the carriage feeling a bit dazed.
I've always felt that there was something unresolved between Wei Tan and Empress Xu, but it was just a thought, intangible and elusive. It was only when I saw them meet just now that I truly realised that it was indeed the case.
As for me, I can't say whether I care or not. Wei Tan is my husband, but he has already made it clear to me that our marriage is a matter of expediency and that I am free to come and go as I please.
He and I have never had a true husband and wife relationship.
All of this is for the sake of Empress Xu.
I close my eyes, and a voice inside me tells me that these are things I've already thought about, and now they've simply been confirmed…
At that moment, the carriage suddenly came to a halt, and I was jolted.
There was a commotion outside, and I leaned out the window to ask, “What's going on?”
"Furen,” Ah Yuan said from outside, “There's a drunkard causing a disturbance ahead of us and blocking the road."
I looked outside and saw a drunken person causing a commotion in front of a wine shop, shoving and shouting at a few others. The noise was loud, and it seemed like the people in the wine shop were scolding the drunkard for not paying his bill for a long time.
The road was not very wide, and I was about to instruct the driver to take a different route when I suddenly recognized the drunken person. I picked up the curtain and looked closely, and sure enough, the tall and thin figure belonged to Gongyang Gui.
More and more people were gathering on the side of the road to watch the commotion. Some had even started shouting to go and find the officials to have the drunkard thrown into jail.
I didn't think too much and took out some money from my sleeve, asking Ah Yuan to go and pay the inn for the drunkard.
The people from the inn received the money and left. The crowd dispersed in a commotion, leaving Gongyang Gui lying on the ground, grumbling and cursing incoherently.
"Furen, what should we do now?" Ah Yuan asked me.
I thought for a moment and said, “Help him up. Ah Yuan, isn't your home nearby? Let's take Gongyang GongZi there for now.”
Ah Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and immediately directed the servants to help the unconscious Gongyang Gui up.
********
I left the matter to Ah Yuan and soon forgot about it.
Because the imperial army led by the Tan had finally set off, Wei Jue and sons were about to leave Yongdu.
Although Guo Furen repeatedly said that crying and wailing were inauspicious and that they should bid farewell with joy, the women in the Wei household still had worried expressions. In private, Zhou Shi and Wang Shi sighed heavily.
Wei Tan never returned to the Wei Mansion. The last time I saw him was on the city tower during the farewell. Unfortunately, I was standing in the same place as when I welcomed him back to the city last time.
On the day of departure, the emperor personally served wine at the imperial palace, while outside the city, Wei Jue swore the military oath on a platform built at the Xiliuying camp. The drums and music resounded, even more majestic than the previous time. However, the family members of the Wei clan showed no signs of joy on their faces. Wei Rong, who used to talk a lot, became silent like Wei An, while Zhou Shi and Wang Shi kept wiping their tears. Although Guo Furen had applied thick makeup on her face, her complexion still appeared unhealthy.
On the roadside, people watching the excitement and seeing off were crowded together so tightly that even water could not leak through. I watched as Wei Tan, dressed in iron armour, rode his horse through the gate. The black flag of the Wei clan fluttered behind him, and he didn't even glance in the direction of the city tower from beginning to end.
I watched as he left, thinking that if things were really as he had said that day, this might be the last time I saw Wei Tan. As I thought about it carefully, Wei Tan had treated me so well that it was almost unbelievable. I wanted to thank him, but as a woman, it wasn't appropriate to barge into the military camp, so I decided to wait until he returned to the Wei residence to express my gratitude.
Unexpectedly, he left as soon as he said he would, and never returned (to the residence) again.
*************
After Wei Jué set off on the expedition, the Wei household quickly regained its calm.
However, compared to before, there was a noticeable look of worry on people's faces. Guo Furen worshipped the gods every day and often went to various temples and shrines to make offerings.
Compared to the tension in the household, Li Shang's profits from his business made me feel overjoyed. He purchased a large quantity of meat before the government began stockpiling for the army, which he then made into dried meat. After the army went to war, the market became depressed and the price of meat skyrocketed to more than ten times its original value. Li Shang's dried meat became a rare commodity.
He acted with exceptional caution and didn't make a big show of it. He quickly distributed his dried meat to several meat merchants in the city, selling for cash on the spot. In one night, he sold all of his inventory.
Li Shang handled the situation very well. After all, it was a time of war, and the Jingzhao Prefecture in Yongdu strictly controlled trade in the city in order to stabilise public opinion. Although the price of meat continued to rise later on, many meat merchants were fined and had their assets confiscated by the Jingzhao Prefecture for hoarding and inflating prices. However, because Li Shang acted in a timely manner, he not only avoided being fined, but also made a net profit of fifty to 60,000 yuan.
This was our first unexpected windfall. In order to celebrate, I even took a trip to Li Shang's house during one of my outings.
After looking at the accounts, I divided the money I had earned according to our previous agreement and gave Li Shang a third of it. Everyone was in high spirits, and although Li Shang had been working hard lately, his complexion was rosy and his spirits were high.
"The court has already cleared out the large stocks of goods in Yongdu to store provisions, so it has become difficult to make big deals lately," he said. I smiled and said to Li Shang, "It's hard work managing everything, so it's good to take a break for a while."
Li Shang smiled and said, "I'm used to being busy, and when I stop, I feel empty. Although the market may be empty, there are still things to do."
"Oh?" I was surprised.
Li Shang said, "Furen, do you remember my mention of fabrics before? Last month, a cloth merchant in the city was planning to move away and sold several dozen rolls of cotton fabric at a low price. I heard about it and thought the price was good, so I bought it. Now, the mid-summer has passed in the north, but the south still has to endure the heat for a few more months. Besides, cotto fabrics from Yongzhou are always in high demand in the south. I'm thinking of transporting these cotton fabrics to the south to sell."
I listened and furrowed my brows slightly.
“The south?” I said. “With the current chaos in the world, the journey beyond Yongzhou is treacherous and unpredictable. This may not be a good idea."
Li Shang said, "Furen, don't worry. These cotton fabrics were bought at a low cost and even if some of them are lost on the way, it's not a big deal. There is also an important matter for this trip to the South." As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from his chest, unwrapped it layer by layer, and revealed a dark brown and shiny object inside.
"Reishi mushroom?" I recognized it.
"Exactly," said Li Shang. "I sent someone to Wu to sell some goods. The continuous wars there have blocked the sales channels, and as a result, a large amount of precious medicinal materials have been stockpiled there. The medicine merchants are deeply distressed by this."
"I understand," I said.
The trend of extravagance and luxury first emerged in Chang'an. In order to maintain their youth and longevity, wealthy people even eat Jin Dan and Wu Shi San. The consumption of precious medicinal materials is countless. Take my family as an example, Father never allowed our family members to use those strange methods and prescriptions introduced by Taoist priests, but he did approve of health maintenance through dietary supplements. Even if no one in the family is sick, we never skip various nourishing soups made from different medicinal herbs.
As far as I can remember, there were many people in Chang'an who made their fortunes through medicinal herbs, and most of the more precious ones came from the south. However, since the wars broke out and communication between different regions has been disrupted, it has become extremely difficult to transport goods from the south to the north, and the business in the medicine market has naturally declined sharply. Like the Reishi mushroom that Li Shang brought today, it was just an average product in the past, but now it is worth its weight in gold.
"Furen, I have considered the medicinal business before. Nowadays, in Yongzhou, regardless of medical treatment or health preservation, all the medicinal herbs used are sourced from the surrounding mountains and forests. It is time-consuming to collect them and sell them in small quantities, and there is no great profit. I have heard doctors complain that fourteen or fifteen out of every ten prescriptions require herbs from the south, but they cannot obtain them and can only use other herbs instead, which are less effective. This is one of the reasons. Secondly, there are many wealthy households in Yongzhou who are keen on health preservation and use a lot of medicinal herbs, but the medicine market in the city only offers ordinary products. If we can introduce valuable medicinal herbs from the south, we will surely make a huge profit. Furen, I believe that opening up a channel for medicinal herbs from the south will bring more benefits than harm."
I am tempted, but I still shake my head," I said. "This business may be good, but there are many checkpoints and bandits on the way to the south. How can we handle it? Making money can come slowly, there's no need to take risks."
Li Shang smiled and said, "I was also worried about this before, but since Furen sent that nobleman, this matter has become somewhat feasible."
"Nobleman?" I asked, confused.
"Does Furen remember Gongyang GongZi?" Li Huan beside him said, "Gongyang GongZi is that nobleman."
******
In the past in Chang'an, Gongyang Gui knew Li Shang. Last time when he stayed at Li Shang's house for a few days sobering up, he heard that Li Shang was going to Wu, and immediately volunteered to accompany him. He assured Li Shang that once they reached the Yangtze River, they only needed one boat to smoothly take him to Yangzhou without any obstacles.
I listened to Li Shang's words, but I was not entirely convinced. Firstly, I didn't know if Gongyang Gui's ability was really that great, and secondly, Li Shang was weak in health and had just recovered from a serious illness, so I really didn't want him to take such a big risk.
We discussed this matter for several days but couldn't come to a decision. I was surprised by Li Shang's full of confidence and hope, he seemed eager to revive his old business.
I asked Ruochan about Gongyang Gu's experience in a roundabout way. She told me that two years ago, Gongyang Gui went to Wu with a lone horse and sword. Along the way, he was generous and brave, and made friends with many powerful people.
I nodded and watched her apply her lipstick brightly. After a while, I asked, "How are things between you and him now?"
"En?" Ruochan looked at me in the mirror and slowly said, "What 'how'? He doesn't want to go home. He came back to me from Li GuanShi’s house a few days ago, and now he's full of thoughts of leaving again." Speaking, she sighed with a bitter smile, "Men are like this. When they want to find you, they are in a hurry. But when you want to keep them by your side, they don't know what they want to do."
*************
After much deliberation, I eventually agreed to let Li Shang go to Wu. In early July, I requested leave from Guo Furen and returned to Huainan to do jisao (pay respects to the ancestors). The main purpose of this trip was to escort Li Shang, and we had Wei Mansion's soldiers and horses to protect us along the way, so at least until we left Yongzhou, we didn't have to worry about safety.
As for what Wei Tan said that night, after thinking about it for a while, I didn't plan any further. The idea of leaving is still too far away for me. Regardless of where I could go after leaving, just looking at my thriving business in Yongdu, it would be like cutting off my own flesh if I left now.
Wei Tan, his thinking is too simple.