White-robed Minister

47. [Earning money is not as good as receiving rewards]

These classmates were all cunning and mischievous. Seeing that Xu Lai's poetry was excellent, they stopped mentioning composing poems in response and instead enjoyed the beautiful scenery while playing drinking games.

Xu Lai was indeed clueless and was forced to drink several rounds in a row as punishment.

Instead of helping, Yang Shu gloated.

He had stopped drinking alcohol after getting into trouble for assaulting someone. His classmates understood and let him drink water instead of drinking alcohol.

After a few drinks, Xu Lai asked Ding Zhengchen and Liang Wensu, "Both of you are knowledgeable in business. If I create something new, it's very likely to sell extremely well. If I have the money to open a shop, how should I begin? If I don't have the money to open a shop, how should I run it?"

"Absolutely do not open a shop here!"

Ding Zhengchen and Liang Wensu spoke up to stop them almost simultaneously.

Xu Lai was taken aback: "Even if I have the capital, I can't open one?"

Liang Wensu said, "If Sanlang opens a shop, he will have no energy left to study and will spend all his time on it year after year."

"Without the support of the government or trusted confidants, be careful not to be taken advantage of by your competitors," Ding Zhengchen warned.

Xu Lai asked curiously, "Why are you so worried?"

Liang Wensu explained, "No matter what business you're in, you have to join a trade. Beggars have their trade, healers have theirs. If you don't join a trade, all your peers will be your enemies. Once you join, you have to listen to the head of the trade in everything."

Ding Zhengchen continued, "If you offend the head of the business, or if your business is too good and attracts envy, you'll be assigned to every service, and the government will always seek you out for procurement. No matter how much money you make, you'll lose it all! Even if you, Sanlang, are exceptionally intelligent and manage the shop extremely well, you'll still have to expend countless efforts to gain a foothold."

For example, Su Shi hired a washerwoman. Seeing that she was struggling financially, he wanted to offer her some advice.

The woman said her son could make cakes, but he simply couldn't afford the usual fee.

In other words, her son wanted to sell cakes, but before the business even opened, he had to pay a large sum of money. This money would eventually be handed over to the officials, but it had to be collected by the head of the business.

If you don't join the trade, the government won't let you open a shop at all. It's because the clerks are too lazy to collect the regular fees from each shop; it's much more convenient for them to collect directly from the head of the trade.

Even if you have connections with the government and manage to open a shop by force, it will be very difficult to hire employees. Because if you hire someone without the consent of the business owner, that employee will be blacklisted by all the other businesses in the industry.

Even if you successfully open a store, hire employees, and your business takes off, all sorts of bad luck will come your way. Your raw material suppliers will be threatened by competitors.

Once your patron in the government is removed, the money you've earned won't even cover the extortion by officials—the most important role of the guild leader is to unite the entire industry in dealing with government exploitation. If the government goes too far, the guild leader might even organize a strike.

Want to get into this industry?

First, you need to pay your respects to the head of the guild and obediently pay the usual fees. You must also listen to the head of the guild in general. When the government imposes levies, you have to pay whatever the head of the guild asks you to pay. Even if prices are raised or lowered, you need the head of the guild's permission, unless your wealth and connections have grown to the point where you don't have to depend on anyone else.

Even if Xu Lai were exceptionally capable and able to overthrow the leader and take his place, it would still require countless hours of effort and energy, leaving him no time to study.

It's really not worth delaying the imperial examinations for this!

Xu Lai pondered: opening his own shop was too much trouble, so he could only find business partners. But he couldn't keep an eye on things all the time, or he'd definitely get ripped off. So it was best to avoid long-term partnerships and stick to one-off deals.

What kind of novel products should we come up with?

For a moment, I was completely clueless.

He then thought: If I'm going to do a one-off deal with merchants, I might as well produce something that benefits the people and give it directly to Yu Jing to receive a reward.

Got it!

Xu Lai said, "My family has more than half an acre of mountain land, which we use to grow mulberry trees. Every year we have to do summer and autumn pruning of the mulberry trees. My father and brothers use mulberry axes and machetes. Can't we use shears?"

Yang Shu immediately laughed and said, "My family also has a mulberry orchard, and we use mulberry axes and pruning knives. Mulberry axes cut thick branches, and pruning knives trim thin branches. If you use scissors, how can you cut mulberry branches?"

"Does nobody in the whole of Guangdong use scissors to prune mulberry branches?" Xu Lai wanted to confirm the information.

Yang Shu shook his head: "Never heard of it."

Students from other states present, whose families owned mulberry orchards, also shook their heads.

Mulberry trees planted in the Song Dynasty were not intentionally dwarfed, so they often grew very tall. The annual summer and autumn fellings, using axes and knives, were laborious, tiring, and inefficient.

If we can develop our own mulberry shears, it will save mulberry farmers time and effort.

Moreover, it not only benefits mulberry farmers, but also helps fruit farmers, tea farmers, flower farmers... It is absolutely beneficial to the country and the people.

In addition, many scholar-officials in the Song Dynasty enjoyed gardening.

For example, Ouyang Xiu often planted and tended to flowers and trees himself.

If Xu Lai were to invent such scissors, Ouyang Xiu would certainly buy a pair, and countless scholars throughout the land would buy a pair as well. It would be considered a refined and elegant affair.

It's hard to make money by partnering with a blacksmith shop because the structure of the scissor shears is too simple and can be easily copied.

Offering it to Yu Jing is the best choice; it will both earn you a reward and improve your relationship. However, when presenting the scissors, you must elevate the theme, avoiding confusing yourself with the craftsman and instead emphasizing your concern for the country and its people, and your efforts to improve their well-being!

Xu Lai sat there silently thinking, while the others started playing drinking games.

A student, after drinking, complained: "A third of February has passed, and the well water in Guangzhou is finally getting clearer. We don't have to drink that salty and bitter water every day anymore."

"What can we do? It's the same all over Guangzhou, and we're not officials," another student said with a wry smile.

Xu Lai asked Liang Wensu, "Is the well water at Gongshu's house also salty and bitter?"

"It's all about the same, we'll just get through the dry season," Liang Wensu said.

The day Xu Lai checked into the inn, he sensed something was wrong with the water. Upon inquiring, he learned that the innkeeper used river water. Later, when he arrived at the school, the well water also had an odd smell, leading him to believe that there was something wrong with the school's well.

Is it the same all over Guangzhou?

Xu Lai continued to inquire: "At what times of the year is the well water in Guangzhou salty and bitter?"

Ding Zhengchen said, "Well water is only bitter during the dry season. During the dry season, the water that officials drink is transported from Liuwang Mountain (Yuexiu Mountain). As for the river water that the common people drink, it is bitter and salty all year round, and it is most bitter during high tide and typhoon days."

No wonder the water at the Military Commandery didn't have any strange smell; it turned out to be spring water from Yuexiu Mountain.

Officials are used to enjoying life.

Xu Lai suddenly remembered something.

Before his time travel, he studied in Guangzhou for both his undergraduate and master's degrees, and visited some tourist attractions with his classmates. One of these attractions featured a statue of Su Shi, commemorating his work in Guangzhou to establish a running water system, helping the people solve their drinking water problem.

Xu Lai thought to himself: This matter concerns my health, so I must offer a suggestion to Yu Jing to deal with it.

Su Shi's solution seems to be to draw water from Pujian Mountain (Baiyun Mountain).

In the mountains, stone troughs were dug to serve as irrigation channels, while in other areas, bamboo pipes were used to connect them. The bamboo pipes were wrapped with hemp rope and painted to slow down aging and wear. In the city, water tanks were built to bring water to various wards.

Su Shi served as an official throughout the country, but he didn't just indulge in eating, drinking, and merrymaking. He accomplished many practical things: he dug a lake in Fengxiang, built a dike in Hangzhou, eradicated locusts in Mizhou, fought floods in Xuzhou, canceled the Wanhua Festival in Yangzhou, and carried out a drinking water project in Guangzhou...

Wherever Su Shi went, he made significant contributions to the government, including the construction of numerous water conservancy projects.

As one of the four major iron smelting centers in the Northern Song Dynasty, Xuzhou was the first city to use coal to smelt iron and steel, and its coal mines were discovered by Su Shi.

……

Around noon, the cruise ship docked on the north bank of Juhu Lake.

The group spread out a carpet at the foot of Yuexiu Mountain and on the shore of Juhu Lake to chat and eat.

Ding Xiaomei didn't talk much, after all, she had to be a lady from a respectable family.

Although she had taken a liking to Xu Lai, she didn't show it. She needed to go back and discuss it with her family, then find out if Xu Lai was engaged, and then subtly probe his attitude.

After lunch, Xu Lai suggested going for a walk in Pujian Mountain (Baiyun Mountain).

Half of the people were willing to go with him, while the other half chose to stay by the lake.

Xu Lai appeared to be enjoying the scenery along the way, but he was actually observing the terrain and found that the terrain was perfectly fine. The real difficulty in installing bamboo pipes for water diversion lay in the daily maintenance.

If any bamboo tube breaks, repairing it becomes a major problem.

After much deliberation, Xu Lai came up with a solution: At regular intervals, he would drill small holes in the bamboo tubes and then seal them with bamboo needles. During maintenance, he could simply pull out the bamboo needles. The section of the tube from which no water came out indicated a leak in the preceding section of the bamboo tube.

Bamboo pipes cannot be laid on the ground or underground, as they are easily damaged unintentionally by people or animals. Stone blocks can be piled up at intervals, and the bamboo pipes can be placed on the stone blocks, which also makes it easier to create height differences.

As the afternoon drew to a close, Yang Shu said, "Let's go back; it's too late to get into the city."

Xu Lai didn't go any further and instead returned home after enjoying the spring scenery.

The Ding family's pleasure boat took them to Zhixi Bridge. The group bowed and said goodbye, then strolled back into the city.

Upon entering the campus, Yang Shu pulled Xu Lai aside: "Sanlang, do you know why Ding's younger sister is traveling with us?"

"Looking for a husband?" Xu Lai guessed. "Most of the classmates who went out today are from the inner dormitory. They will probably choose from among the inner dormitory students."

It is very difficult to advance to the inner dormitory; many students from the outer dormitory give up halfway through their studies.

To put it another way, those who studied in the inner academy for more than two years were almost guaranteed to pass the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination). However, even if they passed the examination, they were not guaranteed to pass the provincial-level examination.

The Ding family's selection of a son-in-law from among the inner-school graduates was essentially a selection of future scholars; they looked down on ordinary outer-school graduates.

Yang Shu said in a low voice, "The Ding family's youngest daughter might have taken a liking to you. What are your thoughts?"

"What could I possibly think? She's too young." Xu Lai wasn't a philologist; he had absolutely no interest in a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl.

Yang Shu found these words hard to understand.

It's not like they're getting married immediately; they'll definitely get engaged first. Getting engaged at twelve or thirteen is perfectly normal.

Yang Shu cautioned, "You are a man of great talent and have a bright future. Although I am on good terms with Ding Erlang, I still hope you will not marry into his family. It is true that the Ding family members can take the imperial examinations and have been registered as Han citizens, but in reality, they are not much different from the barbarians."

The non-Han people in Guangzhou faced severe discrimination, with them being blamed for everything. They had numerous obligations but very few rights; some had settled there for generations, yet even entering the city required prior application.

Xu Lai said, "I will not consider marriage until I pass the imperial examination."

"It's good that Sanlang knows what's going on." Yang Shu didn't even mention his cousin, because he felt that his cousin was not good enough for Xu Lai.

……

Meanwhile, the Ding siblings took a boat back to their home.

They still lived in the foreign quarter; their old house had been destroyed in the war and rebuilt after Nong Zhigao withdrew his troops. The construction had cost a lot of money, and they couldn't move away anytime soon, which made the Ding family feel extremely awkward.

Because the Fanfang (foreign quarter) was an autonomous district, all daily affairs were handled by the Fanzhang (chieftain). Only criminal cases involving Fan people were transferred to the government; ordinary cases were resolved by the Fanzhang themselves.

The Ding family continued to live in the foreign quarter, finding themselves in a precarious position—the foreigners subtly ostracized them, while the Han people did not recognize them.

Neither barbarian nor Han!

The situation was particularly awkward, so there was an urgent need for change.

They had been looking for a house, intending to sell the large house in the foreign quarter and then move to another ward.

"My lord, we're back."

Ding Zhengchen took his younger sister to see his father.

Ding Rulin asked, "How many inner disciples went today? Did Third Sister take a fancy to any of them?"

Ding Zhengchen replied, "Six students went to the inner dormitory, but my younger sister took a fancy to one of the outer dormitory students."

"Oh?" Ding Rulin asked with a smile, "What is this person's family background? Is there any chance of him being promoted to the inner quarters?"

Ding Zhengchen said, "This man is called Xu Lai. He just entered the state school this spring. His family is extremely poor and can't even afford a robe. But he is incredibly talented. He ranked first in the state school examination and was once summoned by Minister Yu for a private audience."

"This is truly my ideal son-in-law!" Ding Rulin exclaimed with delight upon hearing this.

It's good that they come from poor families; otherwise, it would be difficult to arrange a marriage.

Moreover, he was talented and learned, and was highly regarded by the military governor, thus meeting the Ding family's criteria for a son-in-law.

"only……"

Ding Zhengchen stammered, "During the spring outing, I hinted to Yang Shisanlang several times that I wanted to know if Xu Lai was engaged. But Yang Shisanlang pretended not to understand and never said anything. Although Xu Lai came from a poor family, he was extremely proud at heart. He wrote a poem with the lines, 'A young man should have lofty ambitions and consider himself the best in the world.' He probably looks down on our family."

Ding Xiaomei stood silently to the side, but in her heart she was thinking: her brother was talking nonsense, Xu Sanlang never said such a thing.

Ding Rulin pondered for a moment and said, "Don't rush, Third Sister is still young. You can try to get her to come to our house as a guest."