It was late afternoon, around the time for the evening meal. The sun slanted westward, the streets had grown quiet, and the shops on either side were closing one after another.
Lin Jing was nowhere to be seen in the pastry shop. His raised little stool stood empty, and the money box was shut tight. He had already run off to Afu Workshop.
Lin Wu was clearing away the worktable. Seeing that Liang Peilan was still sitting there calmly keeping the shop’s accounts, she asked with a smile, “Shopkeeper Liang, aren’t you going to check on the business at Afu Workshop?”
Liang Peilan closed the ledger she had just finished balancing. “I’m a shop assistant at the pastry shop, so I ought to be working here. There’s no need for the owner to keep watch over Afu Workshop every day.”
Mrs. Sun brightened at that. “Oh my, what an easygoing shopkeeper you are.”
Liang Peilan hurried to explain, “All the materials have already been prepared. That little room is crammed with people, and they’re making the embroiderer’s head ache. She probably wishes she could throw them all out. I don’t want to go add to the crowd.”
Lin Wu could easily imagine how noisy the little workshop must be. With several children gathered together, they were probably loud enough to lift the roof. Besides, today was the last day of their Qingming holiday. Tomorrow they would have to return to school, so they were no doubt determined to make all the mischief they could today.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they locked up the shop, then headed west across the city to Afu Workshop.
The western wharf was not far away. By now, the sun was sinking toward the river, and its afterglow spread across the water. Shattered glints of light shifted with the waves. The ships that had unloaded their cargo lay moored along the bank, their mast-shadows stretching long and wavering in the water. The wharf was far quieter than it had been during the day. Only a few porters remained, tidying ropes and rigging, while their shouts drifted faintly through the distance.
Lin Wu slowed her steps.
She remembered that this was the wharf where they had first arrived in Huzhou. Back then, she had brought Lin Jing with her and walked through the crowd without even knowing where they would settle. Now, standing here again, she had a home and a shop—and even Lin Jing had a business of his own.
She gazed at the river, lost in thought. A boat was slowly drawing in, sending ripples outward in circles. The broken glimmers of light were pushed apart, then closed together again.
Suddenly, she remembered that on the day it rained, the ship belonging to Zhiyun House had probably departed from here as well.
Come to think of it, after Shen Guanting left, their lives did not seem to have changed much. The shop still opened, the books were still read, and the pastries were still sold. Day after day passed, much as before.
She shook her head. Perhaps it was only because someone had left that they could enjoy this peace.
She did not dwell on it any longer and continued onward.
They reached the cloth workshop.
The sun had already dipped below the eaves. The workshop was quiet and nearly empty, with only a few workers who had stayed late putting away their tools. The afterglow streamed inside, illuminating the fine wisps of fluff drifting through the air.
Liang Peilan led them around the workshop to a small room at the back. A little wooden plaque hung beside the door, bearing the three large characters “Afu Workshop.” The ink had been outlined in thick, sturdy strokes, boldly conspicuous.
They had not even entered when the voices inside came tumbling out.
“No, no, that’s wrong! You stitched the ear crooked. Look, Afu’s ears stand straight up!”
“It isn’t crooked! It’s only a tiny bit crooked…”
“A tiny bit is still crooked. Take it apart and do it again.”
“Why should I listen to you?”
“Because I paid for it!”
The children chattered away like sparrows holding a meeting.
The door stood open. Lin Wu walked in and saw several children gathered around the table, each holding a cloth doll. Tigerhead was brandishing a little tiger with one crooked ear, arguing with Sparrow until his face and neck were flushed red.
Sparrow held a pair of scissors and looked ready to cut the thing open and start over on the spot.
Qi Lang stood between them with the pattern in his hands. He glanced from one to the other, looking perfectly calm. He did not try to mediate; he simply watched.
Lin Jing was sprawled over the table, a brush in his small hand as he bent over a drawing. The commotion around him seemed to have nothing to do with him.
The table was covered with cloth dolls of every size and color. Scraps of fabric lay everywhere, and balls of thread had rolled all over the floor.
The embroiderers had gone home after finishing work, leaving this group of little shopkeepers to make a mess of the place.
Laifu was lying on his cushion, gnawing on a small scrap of cloth. Suddenly, his ears twitched. He sprang to his feet and dashed outside.
Lin Wu had just reached the doorway when Laifu pounced at her feet and began circling her. She bent down to rub his head, then walked inside.
“Mother!” Lin Jing looked up and saw her. He immediately set down his brush and ran over, holding a little cloth doll high in his hands. “Look! It’s a little civet cat.”
Lin Wu took it and examined it. It was an orange cat with a round body, so plump it scarcely had a neck, and a round, foolishly sweet face. It looked soft enough to melt.
“I can tell.” Lin Wu pinched its fat little body. It was plump, soft, and solid all the way through.
Lin Jing looked very pleased with himself. “I told Auntie Embroiderer to make it like this. I said it had to be nice and fat, with a round face. That’s what looks best.”
Tigerhead had quieted down as well. He came over and held up his own little tiger. “Big Sister, look at my tiger!”
Lin Wu examined it carefully. Perhaps they had not been able to find any proper tiger-colored cloth and had simply made do with orange-yellow fabric. It was completely bare except for a neatly embroidered character for “king” on its forehead. It looked less like a tiger than a civet cat pretending to be one.
Sparrow counted on her fingers beside them. “The little clothes still need to be made. There have to be different styles—a young lady’s outfit and a young master’s outfit. They can’t all be the same.”
Tigerhead immediately raised his little tiger. “Mine should be what a great general wears.”
Qi Lang put down the pattern. “Mine should be what the top scholar wears.”
Lin Jing joined in. “Mine should be what a little shopkeeper wears.”
Sparrow pressed a hand to her forehead with the weary air of an old woman and sighed. “That’s exactly why none of them can be made. The embroiderers will get so annoyed they’ll throw down their needles and quit. Forget the clothes for now.”
Lin Wu sat down on the long bench beside the table. Looking at the pile of little cloth dolls, she said with a smile, “All those ideas are fine. Peilan could even have a little physician’s outfit. But aren’t you taking them to the academy tomorrow to show off to your classmates? Don’t get so caught up in deciding what they should wear that you forget the important thing.”
Lin Jing immediately corrected her. “We’re taking them there to sell.”
“Yes, yes, to sell.” Lin Wu readily went along with him. “Since this is their first time being taken to the academy, why don’t we make them all little scholars’ blue robes? They’ll be simple to make and just right for the occasion.”
The children immediately agreed.
“They can be blue!”
“They need belts too!”
Their excited chatter started up again. Lin Wu picked up a piece of cloth and listened as they reached an agreement so quickly. She could not help wondering what they had spent half the day arguing about.
Fortunately, the little dolls’ robes were simple to make. There was no need for inner or middle layers; a single outer garment would do. Lin Wu took a scrap of cloth, cut it into shape in just a few strokes, and stitched it together. Then she slipped it onto Afu. It fit perfectly—not too tight, not too loose. If they did not hurry and finish the dolls, these children would probably refuse to leave the workshop for their evening meal.
Sparrow lifted Afu up and inspected him from every angle before nodding. “All right. We’ll make them like this.”
Only then were the children satisfied. They hurriedly cleared the table, said their goodbyes to one another at the door, and went home.
Lin Jing led the way, holding Laifu’s leash. Laifu had grown quite a bit. His coat gleamed, and he was full of energy as he ran, pulling Lin Jing along so that the boy staggered from side to side. Lin Jing was in no hurry, though, and let the dog stop to sniff here and there. The two of them walked, paused, and wandered on until it was hard to tell who was taking whom for a walk.
When they passed the wharf, Lin Jing suddenly stopped and gazed out across the river.
“The last time we brought Laifu out, we were right here,” he said. “That was when we saw the big ship coming back.”
Lin Wu walked over to him and leaned against the railing as well. “Yes. That’s Zhiyun Trading House’s large ship, back from Nan Cliff.”
Lin Jing gazed at the river, its surface strewn with shards of reflected light, and narrowed his eyes. “When will Brother Ting be coming back?”
Lin Wu thought for a moment. “Once he’s finished with his business, I suppose.”
On his way to Nan Cliff, they could at least entrust him with a letter for the Gu family. But on this trip to the capital, they didn’t even have an excuse to send a message. They had no way of knowing how things were going with him. Thinking about it carefully, she realized that all their dealings with the Shen family’s eldest young master had always involved him coming to them. If he didn’t come, they had no direction to go in and nowhere to look for him.
Lin Jing suddenly said, “I want to make three little cloth dolls, for Sister Qing, Brother Jue, and Brother Wang.”
The river breeze swept past, cool and chilly. Lin Wu stretched lazily. “All right. It’s been a long time since we last wrote to them, anyway. We can tell them that A Jing is opening his own workshop and shop now—what an impressive thing that is. And our own shop is doing better and better, too.”
Lin Jing tipped up his face, the setting sun shining brightly in his eyes. “We’ll open a big shop!”
“A big shop!” Lin Wu echoed him, raising her voice at the end. She was also thinking of what the owner of the shop next door had said. Now that the shop had closed, perhaps she could give the matter some serious thought. If they could rent the place next door, it would be perfect to prepare food in one shop and sell it and serve customers in the other. The only problem was the wall between them. Even if they couldn’t make a doorway, it would be good if they could at least put in a window.
The moment Laifu entered the courtyard after they returned home, he broke into a gleeful run. He raced around inside and out several times, sniffing here and there and conducting a thorough inspection. Only after confirming that nothing was amiss did he consider his duty fulfilled.
Lin Jing put away the little cloth dolls they had brought home, then ran over and squatted beside the vegetable patch.
Lin Wu went to the kitchen to prepare the evening meal. She kept things simple that day, boiling a pot of Chinese cabbage soup with three kinds of ingredients and taking out a handful of the spring bamboo shoots they had pickled earlier. She sliced them up and stir-fried them with slices of meat.
The weather was growing warmer, so Lin Wu found a low table and set it in the courtyard, where they could enjoy some fresh air while eating. Lin Jing had already set the table and placed the little stools around it. He carried the dishes out one trip at a time, happily helping with the preparations. There were only two dishes altogether, yet he seemed delighted to make all those trips.
After dinner, the two of them returned to the house, lit an oil lamp, and sat around the table to do the accounts. Lin Wu opened the money chest and poured out the copper coins. They clattered onto the table, forming a small heap.
She spread open the account book and calculated and recorded the figures as she went. The newly introduced rice pockets were made with generous amounts of ingredients, and customers could choose whatever filling they liked. They had more variety than steamed buns, and had been very popular ever since they were introduced. Now that the weather was warming and more people were eating cold foods, they sold even better. They had also taken on He Siniang, and the seasonal qingtuan were selling well, so their takings these past few days had been considerably higher than before.
She recorded the figures one by one, but as she calculated, her brows gradually drew together.
During the three days of the Qingming Festival, they had earned roughly one string and four hundred copper coins each day—far more than usual. But that money had been earned by having everyone in the shop work without pause. From morning until night, the stove fires had never gone out. Working so hard every day was not a sustainable plan.
The qingtuan were expensive to make. They required glutinous rice flour, salted egg yolks, and sugar, and the filling had to be pounded by hand. Since they had made them in such large quantities, they had produced fewer steamed buns and rice pockets. After doing the calculations, Lin Wu found that the profit was not particularly worthwhile. Then again, she thought, it had only been for these few days. They had earned a reputation and drawn in customers, so it could still be considered worthwhile.
On ordinary days with good weather, they could earn around nine hundred copper coins. But it had been raining often lately. A light drizzle had only a small effect, leaving them with seven hundred copper coins or so. If the rain continued all day, they earned only four or five hundred. Fortunately, they had not yet encountered a heavy downpour. If one came, they might as well close the shop and take the day off—it would save them money and effort.
Lin Jing lay sprawled beside the table. Seeing her muttering as she wrote, he couldn’t help leaning over to look. “A-Wu, what are you calculating?”
Lin Wu pointed to the figures in the account book with the end of her brush. “Here. This is what we’ve earned these past few days. Take a look.”
“So much money!” Lin Jing studied it seriously for quite some time. There were a lot of characters, and that meant there was a lot of money.
“There is,” Lin Wu said, continuing to write. “But there are plenty of places where money has to be spent, too. The steamers need replacing after they’ve been used for too long, and we have to keep extra spatulas and other utensils on hand. We burn quite a lot of firewood every day, and water costs money, too. When the weather is bad, business suffers. And whenever something comes up, we have to close for the day.”
She paused again and pointed to several lines in the book. “All of this has to be counted.”
Lin Jing nodded, though he only half understood.
Lin Wu continued, “The prices of rice, flour, grain, and oil are different every season. We have to record them so we’ll know when it’s best to buy. We also need to keep track of how much we spend on firewood and water each month.”
She pointed to another newly added line in the book. “And there’s the shop next door. If we rent it, how much will it cost to add tables, chairs, and stools?”
As she spoke, she suddenly found that she rather enjoyed keeping these records. Several pages of the book were now densely covered with writing: income, expenses, the weather, and the seasons. For example, heavy rain during Jingzhe had affected business; during the Lantern Festival they had made floating rice dumplings; during the Qingming Festival they had made qingtuan. Which foods sold at which time of year—all of it was recorded clearly.
Though scattered and miscellaneous, it was like a simple ledger for their shop. It was also, in a way, a tiny record of the passing seasons in Huzhou.
“Since you study at the academy, you should learn the prices of these things, too,” she told Lin Jing, turning to him. “Your teacher teaches you the great principles, but you also need to pay attention to these small principles of firewood, rice, oil, and salt.”
Lin Jing nodded his little head solemnly. “Then I want to keep accounts, too.”
“Write all of it down.” Lin Wu lowered her eyes to the account book, then suddenly smiled. “In the future, this will be our shop’s book of everything. It’ll have all kinds of things in it.”
These days, most people who could read and write were studying for the examinations or pursuing scholarship. Few would be willing to record such mundane matters of daily life, and even fewer would think them worth recording.
Thinking this, she began writing with even greater care. The brush tip touched the paper more neatly than before, as though she were writing a diary for the shop—recording these numbers and these days so that she could look back through them in the future. It would be rather interesting.
As she wrote, she continued chatting with Lin Jing. “When Shen Guanting comes back, we can ask him about prices in the capital and compare them with Huzhou’s—and with Nan Cliff’s, too. He’s been to so many places, so he knows a great deal. And those expensive objects he bought—he must know where they came from and how much they cost.”
As she spoke, she suddenly remembered what Shen Guanting had said at the Shen family’s estate that day: if she knew how to ride a horse, she could go to many places, see the mountains and rivers beyond, and experience the customs of different regions.
Lin Wu gently shook her head. She would think about the shop first. Those distant places could wait. For now, she had not even finished exploring Huzhou, let alone found a way to expand this little shop.
