Xu Erpeng bought a three-courtyard residence in the bustling area of Changmen, but he kept it quiet—none of his relatives back home had any idea.
When he wasn’t busy writing, he sought out a contractor to renovate the place.
These craftsmen, upon hearing that the work would be supervised by the renowned Xiangshan Gang—who had once helped build Zijin City during the Yongle Era—were eager to take the job.
He hired skilled painters to transform two of the street-facing rooms into a bookshop, and brought in carpenters to build bookshelves.
While the storefront was being remodeled, he also went to a brokerage and hired two engravers—brothers surnamed Tang.
The pay for engraving was one tael and five fen of silver per page of about five hundred characters, while the two copyists earned four li per hundred characters.
In addition, he had to prepare supplies: Fujian Bamboo Paper for printing, and jujube wood and pear wood for carving.
His funds were limited, so he only planned to print the most in-demand and profitable books.
The most popular were those required for the imperial examinations, such as the Four Books with Collected Annotations, Model Essays for Policy Questions, Selected Essays of Zhaoming, Champion’s Policy Essays, and Selected Works of Cheng Mo.
The covers of these books would even have auspicious phrases like “Guaranteed to Pass” or “Certain Success.”
There was also a market for popular storybooks and plays, such as Tang Sanzang’s Journey to the West, The Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Guanyin’s Origin Story, Dharma’s Origin Story, Southern Song Chronicles, Northern Song Chronicles, and Grand Restoration of Song: Popular Romance.
Because he already had a loyal group of readers, after finishing the April manuscript, he began preparing a new book, writing a ten-volume, one-hundred-thousand-character introduction as a starter.
So, aside from the shop’s affairs, Xu Erpeng had to write furiously at night.
Mei Shi was the same; by day she looked after the children and spun thread and wove cloth, and at night she made summer socks.
Even Xu Miaozhen, after coming home from school, joined in.
The whole family worked with one heart.
Sometimes, when Xu Erpeng got up to stretch, he’d talk to Mei Shi about the shop.
“Bamboo baskets and utensils are cheap, so let’s make do for now. Once the shop is on track, we’ll buy some nicer furniture.”
Mei Shi smiled,
“Don’t worry about us, just focus on making the shop a success.”
Xu Erpeng said,
“After we move, we’ll find a better teacher for our daughter. When things get better, we’ll buy a few servants to help you and our girl. That’s more important than anything.”
Her husband always thought of her and was so capable—
Mei Shi was truly happy.
After they finished talking, they saw that Miaozhen had already fallen asleep on the small bed, so they tiptoed quietly back to their places.
The book market was busiest on the first, fifteenth, and sixth day of each lunar month, when out-of-town booksellers and small vendors came to sell books.
He aimed to open in May.
Meanwhile, Xu San Shu still hadn’t found a suitable shop.
The better locations were outrageously expensive, and he didn’t care for the cheaper ones.
Baomu’s temper grew worse by the day—she complained that Miaolian’s schooling was a waste of money and wanted to stop her studies, but everyone’s persuasion finally allowed Miaolian to continue.
Unlike San Shu’s wife, who threatened to stop her daughter’s schooling at every turn, Da Bomu insisted her daughter study painting with a female tutor.
One night, when Miaozhen got up to relieve herself, she overheard her father say,
“The eldest borrowed five taels of silver from the third to pay for Miaoyun’s painting lessons. He said that Da Sao had already spent ten taels on lessons for tea and incense arts, and now she’s really strapped for cash.”
Miaozhen was amazed.
Wasn’t Da Bo a Gongsheng?
Why did he still need to borrow money?
Now, Xu Da Lang and Huang Shi were renting a prime house between Changmen and Xumen for six taels of silver per month—over seven taels a year.
Both of them had decent incomes.
Huang Shi raised silkworms and wove silk herself, producing about sixty bolts a year, earning over forty taels after costs.
Xu Da Lang had earned ten taels a month as a Jianglang, but he felt uneasy in that position, afraid others would see through him, so he switched to teaching at a Shexue, where he only made twelve taels a year, plus two fen of silver for daily meals—barely seven or eight taels a year in the end.
For ordinary people, this was already quite good.
But Huang Shi was desperate to have a son—taking medicines and following prescriptions—and also wanted to educate her daughter, so their lives became strained, forcing them to borrow money.
Of course, Xu Da Lang never told the family about quitting the academy and moving to the Shexue.
But somehow, Xu Da Lang actually felt relieved.
He no longer had to worry about being suspected.
Still, Huang Shi was dissatisfied.
“You’re a Gongsheng, more than qualified to be a Jianglang. If one academy doesn’t work out, you could teach at another. Why settle for a Shexue? It’s embarrassing to say it out loud.”
What could Xu Da Lang say?
He felt powerless…
Miaoyun, seeing her mother scold her father, lowered her eyes in silence.
Fortunately, her parents stopped arguing when they noticed her.
In May, when Xu Da Lang learned his brother had moved to a new house, he could hardly believe it.
He asked Xu San Lang,
“Is this for real, AB?”
“It’s true. Second Brother opened a Jin Chang Scholar’s Bookshop at Changmen. He sold those two rooms at home to me, saying he needed the money for the new house and had borrowed a huge sum. I just took over a shop myself and was short on cash, so I only gave him a few strings of coins—the rest I’ll pay back later.”
Xu San Lang said this as a hint that Xu Da Lang should repay him soon.
Once Xu Da Lang knew it was his second brother who’d bought the place, he had to pay a visit.
Huang Shi prepared two gifts, and the three of them went to Niu Jia Xiang.
There, they found the street lined with bookshops and exquisite books, surrounded by Qinlou Chuguan and other establishments.
No wonder this was the prime district.
“Is it there?”
Miaoyun, sharp-eyed despite her young age, spotted it quickly.
The couple followed their daughter’s gaze to a tidy two-room bookshop.
The signboard read “Jin Chang Scholar’s Bookshop,” and the pillars were painted with elegant designs of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.
Outside hung a banner: “The latest Zhou Yu’s Tale of Teaching His Son is now in stock,” and the shelves were filled with the trendiest storybooks.
Xu Erpeng came out to greet them.
“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, come in this way.”
He left a clerk to watch the front and led them around to the east entrance.
Xu Da Lang examined the layout: the front room had been converted into the shop, with a covered corridor between the first and second courtyards.
Under the awning sat a wheelbarrow for deliveries.
On the west side were several rooms where craftsmen worked.
The second hall was a set of reception rooms.
Xu Erpeng explained,
“This is for receiving guests. The west side of the second hall has a door leading to the kitchen and storeroom. My wife and I live opposite the main hall, and the third courtyard is the embroidery tower for Zhen-jie to live in.”
A path led from the second hall to the main rooms, lined with a lovely flower garden.
Roses, trumpet vines, half-branch lotuses, and wild roses bloomed brightly.
The men gathered in the second hall.
Xu Da Lang saw Mei Juren, his brother’s father-in-law, and several uncles from the Mei Family chatting there.
These men used to look down on his second brother, but now they warmly called him “brother-in-law.”
Xu Erpeng laughed,
“Today is the book market, so I’ll leave you for a bit. Big Brother and Third Brother, please help entertain our guests.”
Huang Shi took Miaoyun to the main house, where a crowd of women were chatting.
The atmosphere made Huang Shi a bit envious, but Mei Shi smiled and said,
“After we bought the house, we had no money left, so everyone, please look after us for now.”
Though the house lacked expensive furnishings, living in such a delicate and elegant residence was something to be envied.
It was Miaozhen’s first time living in the new house.
It still felt a little empty, but she liked it.
The embroidery tower had two floors—one for future maids, the other for her.
Qiao Yimu was the wealthiest among the sisters.
She brought a pot of lucky bamboo in blue-and-white porcelain and a set of gilded porcelain as gifts, and her voice was the loudest in the room.
The other aunts and maternal aunts all flattered her.
The Qiao Family was a prominent family in Suzhou Prefecture.
Though their immediate relatives weren’t high officials, distant relations included people like the Buzhengshi Fangbo.
Qiao Yimu’s eldest brother-in-law was a sea merchant who shipped raw silk and porcelain overseas and brought back jewels and spices, making a fortune every trip.
That Qiao Dalaoye was even a scholar in Changzhou County.
Qiao Yifu was no slouch either.
Though just a Tongsheng, he’d donated for the title of Jiansheng and ran two banks in Suzhou.
So, Qiao Yimu wore an indigo peony-patterned silk robe with gold trim, a pleated skirt embroidered with flowers, and even her shoes were decorated with pearls.
Her hair was styled into a glossy bun, adorned with red coral and jade hairpins, surrounded by a string of pearls, and her pearl hair ornament swayed as she spoke.
She wore jade bangles on her wrists, as white as mutton-fat jade.
She spoke loudly,
“Elder Sister, you really should hire a few maids. Don’t tell me brother-in-law is too stingy for that?”
The other women from the Mei Family agreed.
Mei Shi and Qiao Yimu were half-sisters and had always been distant.
She’d long heard that Qiao Yimu’s husband frequented Qinlou Chuguan, kept several concubines, and even had a formal secondary wife.
Businessmen were all like that.
In a way, Mei Shi felt she’d married well—
Xu Erpeng was upright, capable, and talented.
She felt superior in matters of marital affection.
Besides, since Qiao Yimu brought gifts, Mei Shi didn’t feel inferior.
She just smiled,
“We’ll talk about it once the shop makes money. We’re still in debt.”
Seeing Mei Shi’s frankness, Qiao Yimu couldn’t say much more.
If Mei Shi had acted coy, she would have pressed further.
After glancing around, she turned to Miaozhen,
“Zhen-jie, are you studying?”
Miaozhen replied,
“I’ve been in school for two and a half years now.”
Qiao Yimu smiled,
“Your uncle brought a female teacher from Hangzhou Prefecture, once from a prominent family and especially skilled in poetry. If you’re just starting, you could study together.”
Her words were more for showing off than a real offer, so Miaozhen replied,
“Thank you, Aunt, for your kindness. My father says he’ll find me a teacher soon.”
The girls didn’t like crowding with the adults, so Miaozhen took her cousins and two maternal cousins up to her embroidery tower, brought out two plates of fruit pastries, a plate of silver thread candy, and a plate of tangerines, and invited everyone to eat.
The two little cousins grabbed pastries and candy.
Miaolian also took a piece of silver thread candy, but only Miaoyun didn’t eat.
Seeing her shy, Miaozhen said,
“Big Sister, don’t you like it? Why not try a fruit pastry?”
Only then did Miaoyun use her handkerchief to hold one, nibbling delicately.
She was about the same age as Miaozhen, and in her, Miaozhen saw a certain elegance.
The Xu Family’s housewarming was a lively affair.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the mess was left to Mei Shi, Fengniang, and even Xu Erpeng himself to clean up.
Even so, the family was happy—they finally had a home of their own.
Xu Erpeng was a practical man.
The fifty-odd taels of manuscript fees he’d received in April he didn’t touch, just in case of emergencies.
So, during the first month after the bookshop opened, the family didn’t hire any servants.
Mei Shi and Fengniang handled all the cooking, with Miaozhen helping to tend the fire.
Her father used the savings to buy more printing blocks.
He soon learned that, except for new books that needed custom engraving, many old books already had existing carved blocks—cheap and efficient.
A single printing block could be used a thousand or even ten thousand times, so the initial investment was worthwhile.
With the Ghost Festival approaching in July, he printed various Buddhist classics—some in cheap bamboo paper editions, others with illustrated cotton paper covers at a higher price.
In previous years, even with hard work, he’d earn no more than a hundred taels a year.
But this year, from May to August, he’d already made over a hundred taels.
With money in hand, Xu Erpeng didn’t hesitate to buy a kitchen maid named Yuxiang for six taels, and two more maids for Mei Shi—
Jinchai and Yinhuan, each costing three taels and five qian.
For Miaozhen, he also bought two maids, Xiao Xi and Xiao Tao, both for three taels and five qian each.
Now, the household truly looked like a prosperous small family.
Mei Shi only needed to care for Jian-ge every day; all the chores were taken care of.
As a modern person, Miaozhen wasn’t used to having servants wait on her, but she soon got used to it.
Xiao Xi and Xiao Tao were two years older, could do hair, wash clothes, serve tea, and fetch water.
This freed up much of her time to study medical books.
Xu Erpeng kept a close eye on his daughter.
Even though she no longer studied with Master Yu, she still practiced calligraphy and studied daily, memorizing about half of the books he assigned her: “Complete Good Prescriptions for Women,”
“Danxi’s Heart Methods,” and “Selected Prescriptions.”
Seeing her diligence, he was willing to find her a good teacher.
In his view, everyone had their own path.
If the family was poor, a girl could learn needlework and embroidery—a valuable skill in Suzhou.
If the family had some means, she could study things others didn’t know.
Of course, reading and needlework should both be learned.
Just as he had a talent for writing storybooks but couldn’t rely on it forever, with his scholar’s status, he could write legal documents or open a school, or even buy a few acres of poor land to be tax-exempt—there was always a way to get by.
So, he hoped his daughter would master both needlework and medicine.
If one path didn’t work, another would.
Thus, with the money left after buying the maids, he didn’t buy furniture but enrolled Miaozhen in Qiu Niangzi’s girls’ school, which cost ten taels a year—ten times more than Master Yu’s.
But it was said that Qiu Niangzi taught the Six Arts and proper etiquette, so it was worth it.
They also made Miaozhen a new set of clothes and had Mei Juren accompany her to formally become an apprentice.
Together, they visited the famous physician Tao Dingguo in the prefecture.
Tao Dingguo’s father was also a renowned doctor, especially skilled in treating cold-induced illnesses, and his wife Ru Shi came from a family of doctors and specialized in women’s medicine.
Ru Shi was initially unwilling.
In Ming times, there were two kinds of medical learning for women: family inheritance, where even in the Wu region and Anhui, female doctors were taught by relatives—about seventy percent of female doctors came from such backgrounds, and Ru Shi’s niece was learning from her.
The other kind were self-taught, often scholars who failed the exams and became doctors—these made up only ten or twenty percent.
But when Ru Shi met Miaozhen, she was impressed by her quick wit and clear eyes, and asked,
“Have you studied before?”
“I’ve studied for two and a half years. I want to learn women’s medicine to help my mother and prove women can excel. Many midwives and herbalists don’t know how to take pulses or prescribe medicine—they just sell pills and deceive patients, making people look down on female doctors. So, my father bought me the Nanjing, Mai Jue, and Su Wen, and I understand their meaning. I only ask Madam to teach me.”
Miaozhen replied.
Ru Shi decided to test her.
“What do ‘all wind-induced dizziness’ indicate?”
Miaozhen answered immediately,
“All wind-induced dizziness pertains to the liver.”
“In the Ling Shu, what is the disease of the womb?”
“It’s stone-hardness.”
Ru Shi continued,
“What is the main symptom of cold syncope?”
Miaozhen smiled,
“Cold limbs.”
“If you’re treating coughs of the Six Organs, which acupoint do you use?”
“The He Xue acupoint.”
Just as Miaozhen thought Ru Shi would ask more, Ru Shi smiled,
“Are you afraid of needles? Are you afraid of hardship?”
Miaozhen shook her head firmly.
“No, I’m not.”
She understood that Ru Shi’s questions meant she was willing to accept her as a disciple.
Sure enough, Ru Shi turned to Mei Shi and said,
“Your Xu Family has raised a fine girl.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.