Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination Ch. 92

Chapter 92

Xie Shan escorted Cui directly to the door of the Cui Residence. Inside his carriage, there was a wrapped clay wine distiller that he was afraid of falling or moving. When they reached the door of the residence, Cui Xie alighted from the carriage himself and monitored as people opened the gates, crossed the threshold and steered the carriage into the courtyard.

Cui Liangdong followed the carriage and the two shopkeepers helped him to move the item. Cui Xie believed them to be old and feeble. Fearing that they would break his wine distiller, he waved his hand to dismiss the three of them and only said, “You all can step away, I will move it myself.”

Underneath the lower part of the wine cauldron that was heated for steaming, it had been cushioned using a fine and soft basket made of tussock-grass. The circular arc of the bottom had been leveled thanks to the grass and on the very bottom, there was a spacious, circular praying mat supporting the entire structure. There were handles protruding out on the mouth of the cauldron and it could be used to lift the cauldron out of the carriage with the slight lift of the hand. It was safe and secure to place on the ground and there was no need to be afraid of it tipping over. The upper section of the cauldron lid used to hold cold water for heating and cooling was also encased in the same thick woven grass cover and the long burette in which liquid dripped through had been encased with a copper cover, as to avoid breakage. The outside had not only been wrapped in a grass cover, but thick cotton had also been stuffed in between the empty space. The outermost tube was stored in a slender, piassava bamboo basket.

Xie Shan had originally wanted to transport it for Cui Xie, but seeing the youth move it with such care and seeing his refusal to let others help, he shrank back. After Cui Xie had transported the wine cauldron, he asked a servant to bring out the small wine jar. With the horse reins in hand, Xie Shan said, “Since Young Master Cui has arrived home, it is time for this subordinate to return and answer orders. Near the middle of the month, I hope that Young Master Cui will spare some time to visit our residence. Our da-ren will be waiting.”

Cui Xie had thought that Colonel Xie’s desire to see each other again next time had been a mere slip of tongue born from drunkenness. Then was there really a next time?

It seemed like he could still feel the scorching heat on his shoulders, the back of his hands and wrists as the burning heat had pierced through the fabric and there was a phantom feeling of holding the sword in his hand. He restrained himself from looking there, smiled at Xie Shan and replied, “Many thanks for Xie-xiong’s kindness. I will definitely trouble you all and make a visit.”

Then he ordered a servant to fetch a string of copper coins to compensate for Xie Shan’s hard work and had him rest in the outer courtyard for a while, sending someone to the kitchen to serve him food. Xie Shan examined the Cui Residence’s impressive and dignified courtyard, and kindly accepted with a frank grin. He took a few more glances at the courtyard so as to tell Colonel Xie about his experiences later.

Cui Xie returned to his courtyard with the distiller in hand, not allowing others to touch it. Cui Liangdong and the two shopkeepers were vying to help him carry it, but they could not lend a hand as they kept persuading, “How can Young Master carry such a thing yourself? Not to mention that the Old Laoye and Old furen will worry, when Cui Qi returns, he will bury us with his grievances and state that we are useless, not being able to share tribulations with the Young Master.”

Cui Xie steadily continued moving the wine cauldron into the courtyard, found a vacant room and stored it away. Looking at them, he insipidly asked,”Tell me, what troubles have you guys stirred up now? Usually, I do not see you all being so considerate. You must have caused trouble to curry favor with me, haven’t you?”

“Young Master’s words really make these subordinates feel ashamed. Us subordinates’ wealth and livelihoods are in the hands of our masters. To deceive our master is like deceiving the heavens, how can we dare to deceive the Young Master.”

Cui Liandong’s entire face was soured with a disheartened expression and now that Cui Jinzhi had struck gold with big clients, he had face to spare and rushed to complain, “Didn’t the Young Master tell us to dispose of the old goods in the Southern Goods shop? How can we dare to slack off in this matter? We asked the accountants and capable clerks to keep an eye on things. As a result, after two days of selling, there are few good quality products in the shop and the rest are about two or three years old, or even five or six years old. It was written that they were all top-grade, but upon being opened, the products were shoddy. People who have bought from us learned this and naturally, they were not willing to buy it and requested that we give a higher discount.”

Not to be outdone, Cui Ting added, “We see that this shop cannot be cleared out in ten days. We were afraid it would delay the Young Master’s changing of hands and hurriedly came to report to the Young Master.”

Cui Xie glanced at him and Cui Jinzhi, nodding slightly,”You all have done a good job. This kind of thing should be reported to me in a timely manner. Later, write all of these in your summary reports so I can assess your performance, and depending on that, bonuses may be rewarded. Cui Liangdong….You claimed that you had helped the store to clear out the second-hand goods, why hadn’t you reported this matter immediately?”

Cui Liangdong replied with a bitter face, “This subordinate has to take care of the entire residence’s affairs. Although it is possible to go to the shop to have a look, I cannot be looking after everything all the time. What’s more, our products have always been on the older side and not considered to be top-grade. But, not a single morsel is moldy and if they were to be sold at a lower price, someone would definitely buy them…”

“What do you mean by always?” Cui Xie glanced at him, asking coldly, “Why is the shop full of old products and some of the products are even three to five-years-old? When the furen had been in charge of the shop, did you dare to do things half-heartedly?”

Cui Liandong sighed, “It was not like this before. It is just that some of the merchandise that others give to us are often displayed in the shop for sale and everything is well stocked. However, there are always new products that are stocked up. 

It was just that a few days ago, with Laoye’s promotion, in order to raise money, he sold a batch of high-quality products to other families at a low price. When Laoye left, he also picked some to serve as gifts upon arrival to Yunnan….”

After Cui Dahui accepted the position, he begged the Residence for money and on the other hand, he marketed second-rate products as top quality ones in an effort to slowly make up for the lost profit.

If Cui Xie had really intended to engage in business, he would have been vexed to death by this whole family.

Fortunately, in Cui Xie’s opinion, these matters were unimportant. He only needed the storefront and the courtyard. He did not care much about the previous business conditions. He directly said, “Since that is the case, we will not be selling any more of the products tomorrow. Please invite the xiangyue and lizheng administrators to bear witness¹. Take out all the goods from the shop for inspection, throwing out anything that is moldy or rotten. Have the neighbors watch and carry them outside the city to be burned. If the product is still good, ask one of the clerks to estimate the market price and then sell it at seven-tenths of the market price. Sell it for as many days as you want and send the leftovers to the almshouse² in the capital for the widowed and elderly to use.”

It had been such a long time since he had done anything, these people had forced his hand ah!

Observing the shocked faces from the three of them, Cui Xie raised his eyebrows and smiled, “I know you are reluctant. But, I have found someone to take over this shop and when they arrive, the shop must be handed over. You should hurry and complete this matter, otherwise the losses will be falling on your shoulders to handle.”

“What! He had found someone to take over this shop?”

This piece of news was far more shocking than Cui Xie’s decision to donate the goods to the almshouse, to shelter the widowed, orphaned and poor. Amazed, Cui Liangdong inquired, “Young Master has already found someone to take over? In fact, two days ago, someone who was acquainted with Laoye from the Ministry of Works had asked about this shop…”

Don’t mention someone from the Ministry of Works, even the Minister of the Ministry of Works would not have worked. Cui Xie had already signed the contract for changing hands and asked the Old Laoye for his fingerprint. He was only waiting for Cui Yuan and Shopkeeper Ji to bring the artisans, new novels and editions to the capital to finalize the contract and open his new bookstore.

He glanced at the three of them and lightly mentioned, “I have already made plans for this shop. No need to think too much and don’t talk nonsense outside. As long as you do your job, I will not treat you badly. But, if you desire to rely on the power of outsiders to bully your master, just treat Cui Ming as your example for the outcome.”

When the three of them recalled what had happened to Cui Ming and his entire family, their backs became drenched in cold sweat.

At that time, Cui Xie had been living in the countryside and  he dared to meet the Vice Steward who had been favored by the furen in court, but he was now a jiansheng Laoye³, who could he not deal with? When he had asked them to draft up plans and reorganize the store, it had been because of his consideration for old sentiments and wanted to give them a chance to change their ways.

The three of them did not think of petty schemes in front of him and pounded their chests, repeatedly promising. “I am not that kind of deceitful villain and will naturally complete the task Young Master has assigned. If the future shopkeeper sends their own people to take a look, these subordinates will work together with them to sell the products more quickly.”

After they returned from their meeting with Cui Xie, they could not help but mutter, “It can’t be that Assistant Shopkeeper Ji right? Why else would the Young Master ask him to pay a visit otherwise?”

“Had the Young Master already decided who to sell the shop to at that time? But at that time, there had been no mention of a five-year plan….”

“You all aren’t even thinking about our household’s circumstances!” Cui Liangdong clapped his hands together, “He asked the Young Master for subsidies so stubbornly, but we have yet to receive such money. Young Master even sold household items to raise a hundred taels of silver. How can we give it to Shopkeeper Ji? If no one wants to buy from our store, sell it to someone else!”

The two shopkeepers looked at each other in dismay, “If the Southern Goods shop closes, don’t know whose shop those clerks who run the shop will be absorbed into. What will happen to our two shops in the future?”

Without the Southern Goods Shop who had stoop on top and faintly suppressed the two shops for many years, the shopkeepers of the fabric and cosmetic shops had secretly borne a competitive spirit in their hearts.

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Xie Ying did not learn of the Cui Residence’s business matters until he was set to entertain guests at his residence. He had invited his superiors and colleagues to dinner and really could not use those old goods. He instructed the cook to buy some fresh ones and said he had let people see and joke around for a while.

When he returned to the residence in the evening, the cook informed him that the shop was closed.

Xie Ying’s brows wrinkled, “Why is it closed? Did someone dare to go there to make trouble, or has something happened at his residence and someone has come to make a ruckus?”

The cook grimaced and said, “It is not that. It is the Young Master of their family who wanted to close it himself. It is rumored that he had heard the items in the were not good and got angry, so he asked the employees in charge of the shop to invite the xiangyue and lizheng administrators to enter the shop and inspect the goods. Any moldy or spoiled goods were carried outside the city to be burned! A bunch of people were chasing to watch the scene today!”

The cook shook his head regretfully, “Those moldy things are actually not too bad, as long as one is not aso particular and can be discounted, there are still those who will eat it. But, the owner of the residence did not care for the silver and just burned it.”

Xie Ying actually grinned and said to himself, “It is really something he would do.”

Seeing that Xie Ying did not seem to be angry, he added, “If Laoye wants something from his shop, he will have some products available in a day or two. This servant heard from the shopkeepers that after clearing out the spoiled goods, there are still a few left that can be sold. After ten days of selling at a discounted price, a new owner will take over the storefront.”

Establishing a library so that people could read books for free and donating surplus goods to an almshouse, this all indicated one way of doing things. It could be inferred that Cui Xie was a person who cared about the impoverished and the elderly.

Even Xie Ying had not been surprised that Cui Xie wanted to burn the spoiled goods——after all, he was such a thoughtful and considerate person, he had been afraid that someone would get sick if they bought such moldy items and ate them during such hot weather, right?

Still at Xie Ying’s side, the cook inquired, “Do you still want to buy something from his shop in a couple of days?”

Xie Ying inclined his head slightly, “No need to buy more.” Helping the impoverished and elderly was also a form of virtue and merit, and there were many individuals in the Imperial College that cared for Cui Xie. After all, the Imperial College only allotted 28 liters of rice and a few liters of wheat and beans every month. The rest of the allotment was converted into precious banknotes and these banknotes were not so easy to spend. It was rare to hear of a shop offering a discount and many poor students were willing to take a few extra steps to buy goods from the store.

The news that Cui Xie’s Southern Goods shop was disposing of second-rate goods circulated among the students before being passed back to Cui Xie himself.

Hearing that those people were working peacefully according to his instructions, Cui Xie felt a little sense of satisfaction bloom in his heart, a small smile gracing his face. The student who had spoken then sighed. “The owner of that shop really has a conscience. He sells it for cheap, yet is unwilling to sell shoddy ones. Those shopkeepers who sell things that look all nice and glossy on the outside but are actually stuffed with spoiled goods on the inside should be hanged in comparison. It is a pity that it will only be a few days of clearing out the inventory and one cannot buy such items in the future for a while. It would be great if the shop would sell things like this everyday in the future.”

Cui Xie had been praised to the point that he was too embarrassed to continue listening to it and since it was hard to mention that he was the owner of the store, he casually changed the topic, “There are plenty of other places and we only have one day left to review. There will be recitation examinations for two days starting tomorrow, don’t know who will be picked. I think we should memorize as much as possible to prepare for the possibility of having to explain something.”

One of the students who was talking to him chimed in, “That’s right ah, the examinations taken last month should be released soon. I am anticipating when that will happen.”

Wait! What! The Imperial College even posted examination papers?

He had heard before of the unprecedented brutality of posting the rankings in the College’s corridors, ranking the students based on grade and age. Later, out of consideration of the students, the rankings were no longer announced to the public, but the Imperial College actually posted examination papers instead!

Did they still want to let people live…..Why hadn’t he desperately tried to stay in the county academy back then?

Cui Xie pressed against the table nervously and asked, “Do they post everyone’s papers? What about those who did not pass?”

“Naturally, those will not be posted.” A young college student in his early thirties grinned, “The best ones are picked out and promoted to the students for copying. Usually, it is Ye Tingjin-xiong, Cheng Shiheng-xiong and Sun Youzhen-xiong ……that have the best articles. Fei jieyuan, the prodigy from Jiangxi, after passing and entering the Imperial College, he immediately became a famous person. Although he is young, his writing is excellent, elegant and peaceful, containing profound rhetoric. With Director Fei guiding him in his studies, how can he not get better every time?”

It turned out only the best of the best were posted, which was a relief. Cui Xie let out a sigh of relief, echoed his classmates and asked, “After those articles are posted, I must do my best to fathom them. If I can understand a jieyuan’s articles, I will not have to worry about becoming a juren in the future⁴.”

As long as Cui Xie’s articles were not posted and promoted publicly, he had nothing to fear. As he relaxed, his mind became more active and he recalled that his Peace of Mind study was a place where scholars’ works were published. If there were any good articles, he could meet up with the author face-to-face and collect such works to publish an anthology of student articles from the Imperial College.

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1. Lizheng: administrator of 100 households
   Xiangyue: administrator of 5 “Li” ↩︎
2. almshouse: to help poor and weak people, the Imperial court required such institutions to be built to provide helpless people with food and clothing (basically social welfare assistance) ↩︎
3. Jiansheng: Normally, the title was bestowed on imperial order after the applicants had passed a special examination, yet there were also other methods of obtaining it. University students were therefore divided into the classes of university student by metropolitan examination  where one could pass based on imperial grace, inheritance, nepotism, recommendation or even obtaining the title by purchase
   ↩︎
4. Jieyuan: first-placed candidate in the provincial imperial examinations
   Juren (舉人, lit. “recommended man”), a scholar who passed the triennial provincial examination) ↩︎

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TN: Hope everyone is doing well, long time no see!! I am finally back from hiatus and planning on resuming my normal schedule of posting once a week on Sundays for TMD. I’m sorry it took me so long to come back, I’ve been super busy with grad school applications and my senior year, but I am glad to be back 🙂

Huge Announcement: We have set up a kofi and patreon account! If you would like to support us or get early access to advance chapters for Blood-Sucking Empress OR TMD, those options are available for you (in support us page)! I have just added a patreon tier for Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examinations in which patreons can have access to a google document with ALL of my advanced translated chapters for the novel. Since I am a college student, there should usually be at least 10 advance chapters in the document at a time, but depending on my schedules, there may be fewer or more. I’m currently extremely busy, but I have translated out some new chapters for you all! But, I will still post each week with the same schedule. Thanks!

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