Chapter 29

"Nine times, three hundred taels?" When Xie Lingyun heard Zhou Zhong's offer, her eyes sparkled as she calculated for a moment, then immediately countered, "No, that's too expensive. At most, I can offer two hundred and fifty taels!"

"Three hundred taels, not a single tael less!" Zhou Zhong completely ignored Xie Lingyun's counteroffer and insisted.

"You..." Xie Lingyun's tone faltered, a ripple of emotion flashing in her calm eyes. However, she remained composed and said, "Two hundred and eighty taels, that's my bottom line. Even in the capital, no one would pay such a high price for a book!"

Seeing Zhou Zhong's firm stance, a ripple of emotion flashed across Xie Lingyun's calm face again. The Xie family had originally made their fortune through smuggling, but Xie Lingyun believed that smuggling was not a legitimate path. She didn't know when the court might strengthen the maritime ban. Since she took over the family business, she had started developing new ventures, such as the printing workshop, which she saw as a promising business. Coincidentally, Zhou Zhong's *Journey to the West* gave her an opportunity to break into the printing market, so she was determined not to give up!

After considering for a long time, Xie Lingyun finally pursed her lips, lifted her head, and looked at Zhou Zhong, her voice still calm, "Alright, three hundred taels. But I have two conditions!"

"Oh, what conditions?" Zhou Zhong was delighted. With three hundred taels secured, it meant he had taken the first step toward success.

"Very simple. First, I hope Mr. Zhou can deliver the first fifty chapters of *Journey to the West* this month, and the remaining fifty chapters by the end of February next year. Second, if Mr. Zhou has any new works in the future, under the same conditions, you must give us the right to print and publish them first!" Xie Lingyun was a business genius. When she realized she couldn't get a better price, she quickly shifted her strategy, adding two additional conditions to the deal to secure more benefits for herself.

"Deal!" Zhou Zhong agreed without hesitation. He had already written the first thirty chapters, and he was confident he could finish the remaining twenty by the end of the month. As for the second condition, he had no plans to write anything after *Journey to the West*, so Xie Lingyun's strategy was bound to fail.

After the deal was settled, Xie Lingyun immediately drafted a contract. Both she and Zhou Zhong signed it, and according to the agreement, Xie Lingyun had to pay fifty taels as a deposit for the manuscript.

Xie Lingyun gave an order, and the bald giant behind her took out the fifty taels of silver from his bag. Zhou Zhong took it, weighed it in his hand, and felt a sense of security. No matter the era, a sufficient amount of money always brought a sense of safety.

"Thank you, Miss Lingyun, for your generosity. It's getting late. Is there anything else you need?" Zhou Zhong handed the silver to the steward Xu, then prepared to see her off. It was almost dark, and he didn't want to invite this Miss Xie to dinner, especially since it would be inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone together.

However, to Zhou Zhong's surprise, Xie Lingyun didn't immediately get up to leave. Instead, she took a small gift box from the little maid behind her and stepped forward, saying, "Mr. Zhou, my sister Zuo and I are sisters in the poetry club. A few months ago, I promised to give her a box of rouge from the capital, but after your father's unfortunate passing, Zuo was in mourning and couldn't attend the poetry club gatherings, so I couldn't give it to her. Now that I'm here at the Zhou residence, it's getting late, so I won't go in to see her. Please pass this to her for me!"

Zhou Zhong didn't expect Xie Lingyun to know Zuo, but it wasn't surprising. Zuo used to socialize with the daughters of wealthy families in Songjiang and even formed a poetry club. Xie Lingyun, as the most popular young lady in Songjiang, had no reason not to be involved.

A box of rouge, probably not worth much, so Zhou Zhong didn't refuse. He thanked her, took the box, and personally escorted Xie Lingyun to the gate. Just then, the wind started to pick up, and dark clouds gathered in the sky, indicating that a storm was coming.

Watching Xie Lingyun's carriage slowly leave, Zhou Zhong turned to go inside to warm up. But unexpectedly, the side gate opened, and Steward Xu and Wu Shan each pushed a small cart out, as if they were going to carry something.

"Steward Xu, what are you and Old Wu up to?" Zhou Zhong asked, puzzled. It was almost dinner time, and according to Xu's character, he shouldn't be going out at such a crucial moment.

"Master, Wu Shan is good at predicting the weather. He said that with the wind starting today, there might be a heavy snowfall in the next few days. So he's going to buy some coal briquettes for fuel. I thought our fuel supply was running low, so I decided to go with him to get some more," Steward Xu said without a hint of embarrassment. The fuel supply at the residence had been low for a while, and he chose this moment to go with Wu Shan mainly because Wu Shan was strong and could help him carry things.

"I didn't know Old Wu was also an expert in weather." Zhou Zhong looked at Wu Shan with surprise. "Let's go together, then. I have nothing else to do."

Coal briquettes in the Ming Dynasty were called coal cakes, but they were not the same as the modern honeycomb coal. They were small, solid balls made from crushed coal and yellow clay mixed with water, about the size of a ping-pong ball. Making them was labor-intensive, and they didn't burn as thoroughly as honeycomb coal. Zhou Zhong had considered making honeycomb coal for profit, but it was a low-margin, high-volume business that required a significant initial investment, which he lacked.

"Mr. Zhou, you don't have to come. Coal shops are dirty and chaotic, not suitable for a scholar like you!" Wu Shan smiled and said. He was straightforward but not stupid. Steward Xu often asked him to help with physical tasks, and he didn't mind, feeling happy because it meant Xu trusted him.

"It's just moving some coal briquettes. What's suitable or not? Even the sages have to eat and drink, right?" Zhou Zhong took the cart from Steward Xu, who was getting older and had become noticeably thinner from the recent stress of managing the household. Zhou Zhong was worried about him getting too tired.

Seeing Zhou Zhong take the cart, Steward Xu tried to take it back but was refused. He could only follow behind, secretly wiping his eyes when Zhou Zhong wasn't looking.

Coal shops were almost extinct in modern times, with life fuels being replaced by cleaner sources like gas and electricity. However, in the Ming Dynasty, coal shops were very prosperous. There was a large coal shop not far from the Zhou residence.

The structure of coal shops was similar. The front was a large room with a counter on one side, baskets and scales next to it, and several workers and the shopkeeper busy inside. On the other side, blocks of coal and coal briquettes were piled up. The blocks burned better and more thoroughly but were more expensive. The coal briquettes, mixed with yellow clay, were cheaper.

The workers in the coal shop were the opposite of those in restaurants. While restaurant workers had to look clean, the coal shop workers were covered in coal dust, their faces and clothes black and shiny, making it hard to see their original appearance. Zhou Zhong thought that if an African were placed among them, it would be hard to tell who was the real African.

Wu Shan and Steward Xu seemed to be regulars. They greeted the workers and went to the counter to negotiate the price with the relatively clean shopkeeper. The workers quickly loaded the coal briquettes into baskets, weighed them, and loaded them onto the carts.

Wu Shan pushed the cart in front, Zhou Zhong followed behind, and Steward Xu helped Zhou Zhong steady the cart. It was already dark, and the wind was getting stronger. There were almost no pedestrians on the road. Just as they turned the corner and were about to get home, they saw three people approaching: two adults and a child.

At first, Zhou Zhong didn't pay much attention, but as the three people got closer, he was surprised to see that in the cold evening wind, they were a man, a woman, and a child, all dressed in tattered clothes, shivering as they walked.

The family was extremely dirty, their faces and hands covered in black grime, not much cleaner than the coal shop workers. The man carried a bundle of straw mats and two bags on his back, while the woman carried a dirty, colorless blanket. The child, a girl of about five or six, had a small braid and was slightly cleaner than her parents, but her face was blue from the cold. Her large eyes, set in a thin, small face, made her look especially pitiful.

The family looked at Zhou Zhong and the others with a mix of pleading and fear, as if hoping for help but too afraid to approach, only able to look at them with this complex expression.

Seeing the family shivering in the cold, Wu Shan suddenly sighed, stopped the cart, and took out a few coins from his pocket, giving them to the little girl. Steward Xu tried to stop him but, looking at the pitiful child, only shook his head and muttered, "Sigh, there are so many poor people. How many can we, mere commoners, save?"

Wu Shan's kindness earned him the heartfelt thanks of the man and woman, and the little girl also said in a hoarse, trembling voice, "Thank you, sir!"

It seemed that Steward Xu and Wu Shan knew the family's background, and Zhou Zhong, curious, asked, "Steward Xu, who are they? They don't look like beggars."