Chapter 40

That evening, Mu Wanqing, Guo Er, and Boss Pan shared a lavish dinner, fish and meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, though the cooking still left something to be desired.
Mu Wanqing ate while nitpicking everything: the meat hadn't been cleaned well and smelled a bit gamey; the slicing on the fish was crude; the lamb lacked seasoning. Her critiques had Boss Pan seeing stars, this sort of customer was impossible to please.
Mu Wanqing gave him a cool glance and offhandedly mentioned a recipe from Dream of the Red Chamber, stir-fried eggplant paired with ten or so chickens. The two men were stunned: such extravagance?
That confirmed it, she was the sort of lad raised in a gilded family; otherwise she wouldn't know such things so precisely.
Boss Pan's smile grew warmer; he fussed over her in earnest. Mu Wanqing's manner toward him stayed aloof, but she was far more cordial with Guo Er.
That difference in treatment left the two of them with mixed feelings, part pleasure, part worry.
After the meal, Mu Wanqing didn't linger. She used tiredness as an excuse and went to rest.
New clothes, shoes, and socks had been prepared for her, more than one set, in fact four sets in total.
All sorts of daily necessities were provided; they even prepared bath petals for the bathing room, showing how thoroughly they'd thought things through.
Mu Wanqing soaked in a hot bath and scrubbed herself clean from head to toe; she felt completely refreshed.
She touched the new garments, made from the capital's most fashionable silk brocade.
Outside the door, Second Master Mu stood guard. When his daughter emerged he said, "Qing'er, Guard Shen has been called away."
Mu Wanqing nodded slightly; that, too, was part of her plan.
She picked up the box of pastries on the table. It was filled with delicate confections, and she pushed it toward Second Master Mu. "Father, was dinner to your liking? Here, try some pastries."
Second Master Mu and the other guards had eaten together and been well provided for, rich dishes had been laid out for them.
Second Master Mu ate with a distracted air, fearful his daughter's identity might be exposed.
He took a pastry, bit into it, and the sweetness melted on his tongue. Suddenly he was overcome with nostalgia. "Your mother loved pastries. When times were hard she used to make red bean cakes herself, they were so good."
Even a bite of pastry made him think of his wife. Mu Wanqing couldn't help smiling; she turned the box over onto a handkerchief and wrapped several pastries up tightly. "Father, take these home for Mother, she'll be delighted."
Second Master Mu's mouth twitched; he felt both amused and exasperated. It was a classic trick, help yourself to the food and then pocket the leftovers.
Meanwhile, Shen Yong sipped a fine fragrant tea. "This must be this year's tribute tea, Da Hong Pao. Boss Pan has good resources."
Boss Pan hadn't expected a mere guard to recognize the brew and looked at him with new respect. "I don't deserve the praise. I only have a bit; I brought it tonight specially for Brother Jiang."
Shen Yong gave his name, standing or sitting, a man keeps his name: Jiang!
"Don't be so formal. May I ask why you had me come so late, Boss Pan?"
"Brother Jiang, what on earth is your master's background?" Boss Pan was cautious by nature; before making decisions he had to be sure.
"I'm only a retainer, who would dare blab?" Shen Yong said, but his face wore a proud expression.
Boss Pan's curiosity was piqued. He produced a silver note from his pocket and pushed it toward Shen Yong. "Please do me a favor."
Shen Yong glanced and saw it was five hundred taels, a handsome sum.
He took the note quickly, mouth still protesting, "No, no, I can't say..."
At the same time he flashed a token before Boss Pan's eyes. Boss Pan's own widened, what was that? A token from the Fifth Prince's mansion?
Shen Yong tucked the token away at once. "I haven't said anything."
Well, he hadn't said anything, only acted.
The first time he swindled his master, he had felt nothing but nervous guilt. The second time, inexplicably, he felt a thrill of pleasure.
It felt great to swindle the boss once; even greater to keep doing it!
Your Highness, don't blame your servant for a lack of loyalty, it's just that... Third Miss gave too much! They couldn't refuse.
Boss Pan felt a mix of surprise, delight, and a touch of dread, surprise that the Mu lad might be connected to a prince's household; delight at the possibility of currying favor with the Fifth Prince's house; dread because he'd already offended the Mu lad, who didn't seem to like him.
What was he to do?
"Little Brother Mu, no, does he really have the surname Mu?"
Shen Yong flared his nostrils and wore an air of supreme arrogance. "By imperial rule, princes may not leave the capital without permission; my master is no exception."
That was practically an admission, he was from the Fifth Prince's mansion; it was a fact.
Boss Pan, shrewd as he was, felt something was off after his initial surprise. "The Fifth Prince married two years ago. Little Brother Mu's age..."
Shen Yong rolled his eyes at him as if he were a fool. "Who doesn't have half a dozen cousins?"
Alright, got it, that Mu youngster is the Fifth Prince’s cousin!
No wonder he’s so proud and so willful; that’s the behavior of someone born to privilege.
Boss Pan’s imagination ran wild, filling in every detail on his own, and his suspicions evaporated.
Shen Yong followed the script Mu Wanqing had given him and led Boss Pan right into the trap; he couldn’t help grinning.
"Not a single word, understand? Our young master is traveling incognito."
"Yes, yes." Boss Pan’s face flushed with excitement.
The next day Boss Pan shadowed Mu Wanqing everywhere, flattering and fawning so shamelessly that even Guo Er couldn’t bear to watch.
Was it really necessary to go that far? Where did this sudden mood come from?
Mu Wanqing found him annoying. "I heard the tea market runs for three days. Why aren’t you arranging anything, Boss Pan?"
Boss Pan forced a smile. "I’ve sent my men to make the arrangements, they’re very capable. Young Master, when will your tea bricks be made? I’ll have my people help with the work. Don’t worry, they won’t steal your methods."
His eagerness was almost over the top, and Mu Wanqing couldn’t resist taking advantage of it. "Fine. Bring all the tea over and I’ll make a list, please help me gather everything."
Seeing her relent, Boss Pan was overjoyed and keen to show off. "All right, don’t worry. I’ll handle everything."
The craft of making tea bricks was complicated. The first step was sifting, several rounds to remove impurities; the leaves had to be uniform, and stems and yellow bits had to be discarded.
That step alone required a lot of hands, but for a local boss like Pan it was nothing.
He brought in his few hundred tenant farmers to help: the women picked the leaves while the men cut, winnowed, piled, and handled the other tasks. Note 1
The crucial part was pressing. She had drawn plans for a hand-cranked spiral press and commissioned the city’s skilled artisans to build it.
"Oh, and make me a few iron cauldrons and some stoves."
When there was an opportunity to squeeze a little extra benefit, she wasn’t about to be stingy.
Two large cauldrons, two small pots, four spatulas, everything else was fine, it was just the iron that was costly.
Iron was a controlled commodity; the court regulated it strictly, and ordinary families found it hard even to buy a single iron implement.
One stove, the kind of all-in-one wood-burning range used in rural homes, perfect for outdoor cooking; you could set it up and start cooking right away.
Boss Pan agreed without hesitation; for a man with his connections it wasn’t a problem.
He was efficient, two days later the spiral hand-crank press was delivered. Mu Wanqing had to admit, the ingenuity of ancient craftsmen shouldn’t be underestimated.
The leaf-picking continued in orderly fashion. Mu Wanqing selected a few deft-handed women and showed them how to steam.
To steam the tea, wrap the sifted leaves in gauze and steam them in a drawer-like chamber.
"As I said before, workers will get twenty wen a day, I’m adding ten more for you."
The women were thrilled and eagerly promised they’d do a good job.
After steaming came the pressing. That job required sturdy men, four to a team, working together to compact the tea.
Once they cooled, the bricks went into the drying room to remove moisture.
Going through each of those steps took three days.
During that time Mu Wanqing watched over everything personally; every process had someone responsible, with strict oversight.
"Let’s go see if it worked. Come to think of it, this is my first time doing this."
Boss Pan: ......
Sure enough, youth brings a fearless ignorance, the favored ones try anything, unafraid of failing.
But when he saw the neat bricks, uniformly thick, their patterns crisp and orderly, his eyes widened.
"So it’s a success?"
"I don’t know." Mu Wanqing answered nonchalantly. She picked up a tea brick and sniffed, a faint tea fragrance, no hint of mildew.
She took a tea knife, pried off a sliver from the side of a brick, and called, "Someone, brew some tea."
The brewed liquor was clear and yellow, fragrant and mellow. One sip, not bad.
Guo Er looked surprised. "Why does this taste better than before?"
Mu Wanqing smiled faintly. "Roasting brings out the aroma, that’s normal. It also gets better with age."
At that last remark both Guo Er and Boss Pan’s eyes lit up. As seasoned traders, they knew exactly what that meant.
Mu Wanqing casually took out a set of documents and handed them to Shen Yong; he passed them to Guo Er. "Here, the method for making tea bricks and the plans for the spiral hand-crank press. Brother Guo, they’re for you."
Guo Er was flattered. "No need to rush, wait until you’re finished with your work."
Mu Wanqing waved him off. "Take them. I don’t like owing favors. If you don’t understand something, ask, I’ll make sure you learn."
Only then did Guo Er accept the documents and skim them carefully, they were very detailed.
He thought Mu Wanqing was a rare honest sort and ought to be well protected.
Boss Pan watched hungrily and offered, "Young Master, I’ll trade these tea leaves for your secret recipe. How about it?"
He returned the deposit Mu Wanqing had paid and offered this batch of tea for free as part of the exchange.
"Well..." Mu Wanqing looked hesitant.
Boss Pan shot Shen Yong a meaningful look; Shen Yong nodded in understanding. "Young Master, Boss Pan has worked so hard these past few days and hosted us so well. Why not agree?"
He spoke up in Pan’s favor, and Mu Wanqing pouted like a child. "Wouldn’t that make me lose face?"
Shen Yong laughed and coaxed, "How could that be? You’re being magnanimous, as the saying goes, a Prime Minister’s belly can hold a boat."
Mu Wanqing chuckled. "I like that. All right, for your sake, fine."
Boss Pan considered himself a seasoned operator, but he was no match for Mu Wanqing’s many tricks.
He was overjoyed. "Thank you, Young Master. Thank you, Guard Jiang."
Second Master Mu instinctively looked at Shen Yong. He’s back to being Guard Jiang?
Well then, tricking someone once is a trick, tricking them a hundred times is still a trick.
That evening, when Shen Yong came by to see Mu Wanqing about something, she was counting a thick stack of silver notes with a look of melancholy. "It's so hard these days to spend money," she sighed.
Shen Yong stumbled; good heavens.