Great Tang Idyll

Housekeeper Zhang said a couple more words, then he left Zhang Liang behind to continue serving the guests and he hurried home. He also made a mental note of the appearance of the woman who always wanted to boss him around.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan were playing checkers with Madam Zhang-Wang. The three of them each had their own color on the wood-carved checkerboard, and they were playing to their heart's content. A few days following Madam Zhang-Wang's first exposure to this kind of checker game, her playing skills were not much different from Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan. In the current game, she had a slight upper hand.

Zhang Xiao'bao sat there cross-legged with one hand on his lap, ready to pick up checker pieces at any time. He rested his chin on the other hand, frowning while calculating carefully. Wang Juan muttered about taking steps. Madam Zhang- Wang moved her checker pieces with ease, and occasionally, she would glance at her son and daughter-in-law's adorable appearance.

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When Housekeeper Zhang arrived, Madam Zhang-Wang had five more moves until she was finished. If Wang Juan does not preemptively move the piece that is supposed to be moved in the sixth step, Zhang Xiao'bao could use her piece to help him finish the game within five moves. That way, Wang Juan would lose.

Wang Juan looked at Zhang Xiao'bao's nervous appearance and laughed. She reached out to grab that checker piece and immediately, Zhang Xiao'bao said, "You should know how to sacrifice yourself and protect your teammates."

"I do know how to, but you're not my teammate. Right now, there are three forces. It is fine if I stay in the middle. You can take your eight steps slowly, hah." Wang Juan still picked up the checker piece.

"Madam, you are here? And Young Master and Young Miss too? In addition to the lord I met last time, I met another person who looked to be in her fifties. She has a small scar below her left eye, and when she talks, her right eye blinks twice every time. Her hair is twisted up and secured in place with a wooden hairpin. The hairdo is the Feng Chao Tian1 style. She always touches her left index finger with her right hand. Her nose…"

"No need to continue on. I know already. They came here this early? I thought they wouldn't come until after my husband had passed the entrance examination. Housekeeper Zhang, get people to serve them well. Don't let my husband know; that will disturb his studying. Do you understand?"

Madam Zhang-Wang didn't wait for Housekeeper Zhang to finish, as she already knew who that person was. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She regained her calm before instructing Housekeeper Zhang to not tell Father Zhang.

Housekeeper Zhang replied immediately, "I understand, Madam. I won't let the master know, but paper can't keep the fire contained. Madam, there is one more thing, that lord said that he wanted to celebrate the New Year here, and he wanted the workers at the Between The Water And Clouds Restaurant to stay there to keep working. They can't go home on the 30th. I didn't dare to make any promises."

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"Oh, this matter. Not all of the workers at Between The Water And Clouds are from our Zhang and Wang families; there are also people from the Ge family too. How many people are there?" Madam Zhang-Wang thought about this and realized that it was not easy to handle. She already knew who those people were, but she couldn't go over there immediately. It was better to delay the meeting until the imperial examination was over.

"Mother, there are still a few days before the New Year. There's no rush; think about it slowly. Even if there are no people from the Ge family, there will be enough people from the Zhang Wang families. However, it's not good to not let them go home for the New Year. We have to think carefully."

Zhang Xiao'bao spoke at this time. He didn't ask his mother who those people were and how they were related to the family. He saw that his mother was conflicted in this matter, so he didn't want to bring it up.

Wang Juan also nodded, and at the same time reached out to stop Zhang Xiao'bao's hand that wanted to mess up the checkerboard.

"Madam, why don't we just do as the Young Master said and wait a few more days. Oh, there are fifty-five people in total. I don't know if anyone else will come."

Housekeeper Zhang originally wanted to talk to the Young Master, but now he saved the trouble of making an extra trip.

Madam Zhang-Wang nodded, "Then do as he said. Housekeeper Zhang has worked hard."

Housekeeper Zhang humbly said, and left to make the arrangements. Madam Zhang-Wang stared at the chessboard for a few seconds, and was about to make a move when Zhang Xiao'bao suddenly said, "Mother, Juan'juan and I are tired, so we won't play anymore. Mother, you should also go rest."

Madam Zhang-Wang glanced at her son. She patted her son's head, and said, "Okay, Xiao'bao and Juan'juan should go rest. I will also take a nap. I have such a good son and a good daughter-in-law, so I don't need to worry so much and do much."

"Yeah, you don't need to worry. Our family has money, land, and official titles. When father passes the examination, let's see who will dare to look down on our family. Mother, Juan'juan and I will take our leave."

Zhang Xiao'bao casually said a few words and then he dragged Wang Juan out of the door and towards their yard.

"Xiao'bao is so smart." Looking at her son and future daughter-in-law, Madam Zhang-Wang breathed a sigh of relief. Her worries disappeared when her son said that last sentence.

*

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"Xiao'bao, are those people a relative of your family? Your mother doesn't want to see them. Did they bully your family before?" Wang Juan asked as she followed Zhang Xiao'bao down the path.

"Who knows? It doesn't matter who they are. The important thing is that this place belongs to the Zhang and Wang manors. No matter who comes, they have to act according to our rules."

Zhang Xiao'bao said disdainfully. No matter who came, the Zhang manor was still the Zhang manor. Even if the Emperor came here himself, he wouldn't be able to seize it.

Seeing that Zhang Xiao'bao was not worried about the affairs that involved themselves, Wang Juan was not anxious too. She kicked a pebble on the path that was next to her, and asked, "Then have you decided who should stay at the Between The Water And Clouds to serve them? Didn't two sixth-rank officials come to ask for your father's things last time? It should be the old man's doing."

"I haven't decided yet. There's no rush, there are still so many days left. Sometimes inspiration comes, and then I will know what to do. Don't always make me think about it by myself. You can also help me think about it too." When Zhang Xiao'bao was talking, he also thought about how to handle this matter.

That old man was quite competent. He was so old, yet he still came here for the New Year. It would be bad if they don't take good care of him. How should he arrange this task? Who wouldn't want to be home during the New Year?

"I know. Xiao'bao, how about this, let's let the workers at the Between The Water And Clouds take turns. For example, on the night of the 30th last year, we went to my house to eat first, like and then we went home. The workers can do the same. On the 30th, those that have given their New Year greetings can work, and those that haven't can go home."

Wang Juan gave an idea, and she thought it was a good idea. This was only an issue here since during her time, no one cared about the New Year. There were always people in her work place who were willing to stay.

Zhang Xiao'bao thought about it and was about to nod, but then stopped, "No, there should be a better way. Let's go back and think slowly. I like to think about things while eating, and I will come up with an idea as I eat."

*

While Zhang Xiao'bao was thinking about how to have a good New Year celebration this year, Magistrate Jia was thinking about how to make the Zhang Manor have a bad New Year. He heard about the firecrackers yesterday and calculated the possible money he could earn. He wasn't able to contain his anger.

RIght after he woke up in the morning, he asked some bailiffs that he bribed to and the other bailiffs to load a carriage with the items bought from the Zhang manor and they headed to the Tu'qiao Village.

By afternoon, there was still a long way to go until they reached the Tu'qiao Village. A burst of firecrackers was heard. Magistrate Jia lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked over in the direction of the noise. He saw that in a small village up ahead, there was an adult with a small child letting firecrackers off. The sound of the firecracker lasted for a long time. It was wrapped several times around the tree, and it barely touched the ground.

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The crackling sound made his ears ring. The carriage traveled another several dozen meters but the commotion still had not stopped.

"Bailiff Tong, tell me, how many times did the firecrackers explode just now?" Magistrate Jia waited for the sound of the firecrackers to end, and he pressed his ears with his hands and gagged. Then, he shouted out.

He didn't call out to Song Yang. He felt that he should hide his actions and use the people he bribed only in critical moments. If he acts too close to those people on a normal basis, it will be easy to raise people's suspicions.

The bailiff came to the carriage and spoke respectfully to the person in the carriage, "My lord, I think it was 20,000 times2. It is cheap. The more you buy, the cheaper it will be. The ones at the Administrative Office explode 300,000 times. Some of them will explode in the sky. If my lord wants to, my lord can light the firecrackers yourself."

"Ah, it's cheap? But setting them off like that still wastes money. Can a few buckets of rice be exchanged for a firecracker?" Magistrate Jia's felt slightly better now. He tried to figure out how many items firecrackers could be exchanged for.

"What my lord said is correct. A lot of rice can be exchanged. But that manor has the extra money and they are willing to buy firecrackers to set them off. It's not like we can prohibit them from setting it off, can we? If we don't let them set off these ones, they will still have to set off other firecrackers when the time comes. 1,000 explosions is 22 coins, 10,000 explosions is 190 coins. 20,000 explosions is around 350 to 360 coins."

Bailiff Tong continued talking, and estimated the price of the firecrackers.

After hearing this, Magistrate Jia felt even more uncomfortable. He silently calculated. Ordinary people should buy at least one 100-explosion firecracker during the New Year, right? That is three coins. How many households are there in the county? There are more than 9,000 households registered at the Administrative Office. How much money can the Zhang Manor make?

What about the ones who bought more? There are also those restaurants. Now they are used to setting off firecrackers. When they open after the new year, they will have to set off a lot too. According to this estimation, they can earn thousands of strings of coins from firecrackers alone. This is a pessimistic estimation too. Outsiders would also come here to buy firecrackers.

The Zhang Manor's firecrackers are constantly being shipped out. How are the firecrackers made? Taking it apart, it should be sulfur and charcoal, and the other ingredient should be saltpeter, but the problem is that when I found someone to replicate it, there was no sound at all. This recipe seems to be the most crucial. There must be something else in it.

No, I cannot let the Zhang Manor continue to make money. I need to come up with a plan quickly. Next year, people from other places will know about this thing and they will come here and buy it. Wouldn't they make more money then? Ah, the money.

"Bailiff Tong, get them to travel faster. This is too slow. How will there be time to deliver things to people when we arrive there?" Worried, Magistrate Jia urged.

The speed of the team quickened hastened, and Bailiff Tong also followed by the side and tried to persuade Magistrate Jia who was in the carriage, "Don't worry, my lord. Didn't you say you are staying here for the night? You can deliver the gifts tomorrow during the day."

1. Feng Chao Tian 凤朝天

Lit trans, phoenix facing the sky. This is the closest example that I could find,

2. Exploding an 'x' number of times

The number of explosion times refers to the number of firecracker tubes bundled together. The more numerous the tubes, the longer the firecracker will go off.