Chapter Two: Crisis in the Small Courtyard

Just as in Zhu Hao’s memories of this life, there was a large pond in the backyard covering two or three mu of land.

This residence was located in the south of Anlu City, adjacent to the Han River. It was a grand three-courtyard estate with storefronts, bestowed by the imperial authorities. Originally the official residence of a Wanhu (a commander of ten thousand) from the Henan and Jiangbei regional branch secretariat of the previous dynasty, it occupied a vast area with an imposing layout. The large pond had once been a lotus pond in the back garden, but having long been untended, it had fallen into disrepair. After Zhu Hao’s mother took over, she tidied it up slightly, and it was now merely a common reservoir.

As the bailiffs hauled sacks of salt from the warehouse and dumped them into the pond in front of the townspeople, the hearts of Mother Zhu and Aunt Li were bleeding.

Zhu Hao took a careful look at the salt grains scattered on the ground. Just as he had expected, the quality of official salt in this era was mediocre at best; it was full of impurities and certainly far from snow-white. Even without anyone meddling, it was only a matter of time before people fell ill from consuming it.

The remaining two hundred shi of salt in the warehouse were all dumped into the pond. White salt crystals swirled in the water; over forty thousand jin of salt could not fully dissolve all at once. Seeing this, Zhu Wanjian immediately ordered the bailiffs to use poles to stir the water and accelerate the dissolution.

Mother Zhu and Aunt Li collapsed to the ground, staring at the salt swirling in the pool, unable to even cry.

Zhu Wanjian walked up to the two women, his expression filled with self-satisfaction. "Sisters-in-law, I do this for your own good! They say a woman should not show her face in public easily, especially you, Third Sister-in-law. You are a chaste widow and will always be a member of the Zhu family. Your every word and deed reflects on the family's reputation. Don't blame your brother-in-law for not helping... Everything is done for the sake of the family's interests!"

Mother Zhu did not respond. She had no energy left to deal with this shameless brother-in-law.

The neighbors who had snuck into the backyard could no longer hold their tongues. One remarked, "When the shop ran into trouble, he didn't lift a finger to help, yet he colluded with the government to bully the orphans and widows of his own brother’s family, and has the nerve to say it's for their own good?"

"Exactly. How can someone be so thick-skinned?"

While the onlookers were relatively neutral and easily swayed, the neighbors who had close ties with Mother Zhu knew her character well and firmly stood by the orphans and widows.

Zhu Wanjian, losing face, shouted, "Who is whispering and spouting nonsense? Since when is it the turn of you gossiping women to point fingers at the affairs of the Zhu family?"

Someone remained indignant. "If this shop is reclaimed by the Zhu family, no matter what business they run in the future, I will never patronize it!"

"Right. A family that bullies orphans and widows—what kind of 'benevolent house' is that? Best to stay away from them in the future..."

...

An hour later, five miles northeast of Changshou County, outside a large estate, hundreds of mu of fertile fields stretched out, the rice swaying like green waves, and the trees along the road were lush and verdant.

Under the shade of the trees, a carriage stopped in front of a red-lacquered gate. After alighting, Zhu Wanjian, surrounded by several attendants, entered the gate adorned with a plaque reading "Zhu Residence" and headed straight to the inner hall of the central courtyard.

The inner hall featured a plaque inscribed with "Loyalty, Filial Piety, Integrity, and Righteousness." Below it hung a portrait of a warrior clad in armor and holding a long spear. Beside the altar table, a woman in her fifties knelt on a cushion with her back to the door, holding a string of prayer beads, her eyes closed, chanting something while fingering the beads.

"Mother, I am back."

Zhu Wanjian walked behind the old woman, his facial muscles relaxing, his triumph and excitement evident.

The old woman opened her eyes, stopped her task, rose, and bowed respectfully to the portrait before turning to look at her son. Her face was dignified, though time had left its mark; even a slight change in expression caused horizontal wrinkles to appear. She was the de facto head of the Zhu family, Madam Zhu Jia.

"Were the shop and the salt successfully sealed?" Madam Zhu Jia’s expression was calm, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

Zhu Wanjian smiled. "Not sealed, but all the salt in the warehouse was dumped into the backyard pond. With no salt to sell, the creditors will surely come knocking. Once we stir them up, we can force them to use the residence the imperial court bestowed upon the third brother to settle the debts... It is foolproof."

"Why ruin perfectly good salt?" Madam Zhu Jia’s expression turned cold.

Zhu Wanjian, who had been expecting praise, hurriedly explained, "Mother, wasn't our goal to reclaim the shop, the three-courtyard residence, and the dozens of mu of land the third brother owned outside the city? If the salt reached the county office, what if the third sister-in-law found a way to get it back? My tactic was to draw the firewood from under the cauldron..."

"Enough!" Madam Zhu Jia raised a hand, cutting off her son's nonsense. "When you went with the government officials to seal the shop, did no one criticize you?"

Zhu Wanjian felt a bit annoyed. "How could they not? They were all gossiping that our Zhu family was bullying orphans and widows, saying that the third brother's wife is an imperial-sanctioned chaste widow and that what we are doing is unbenevolent and unjust... It was the third brother’s son who had a muddled head and said to destroy all the salt, so I just took the opportunity to agree. If it weren't for those people flapping their tongues, I would never have resorted to such a desperate measure."

"Hmm." Madam Zhu Jia nodded slightly, not pursuing the matter further.

She looked up at the warrior in the portrait, her expression gloomy. "If the third brother knew of this in the afterlife, would he stand on my side?"

Zhu Wanjian spoke solemnly, "The third brother was filial; he would certainly support your decision. Besides, a rigid man like him would never allow his wife and concubines to show their faces in public. If he knew, he would certainly be moved to tears of gratitude toward you."

Madam Zhu Jia was lost in thought. "Why did the third brother volunteer to suppress the rebellion in the north, only to end up with no remains to be found? Wouldn't it have been better to stay in Anlu and be a company commander? Now your father is bedridden, your brother is stranded in the capital and refuses to return, you are unmotivated, and your younger brother is obsessed with the civil service examinations. Who is left to fulfill our family's mission?"

Zhu Wanjian widened his eyes. "Mother, Father is a thousand-man commander of the Jinyiwei. Why would we move the whole family to a small place like Anlu when things were fine in the capital? You keep talking about the family mission—what mission do we actually bear?"

Madam Zhu Jia did not answer.

"Mother, if you won't say it, fine. But why do you always blame me for being unmotivated? What is wrong with me? Aren't I the one managing the family shops and farms? We have an income of over a hundred taels of silver every month!" Zhu Wanjian said proudly.

A sneer appeared on the corner of Madam Zhu Jia’s mouth. "One hundred taels a month? Fifty or sixty of that comes from tenant rent, and another fifty is handed over by the third brother’s wife. With over a dozen shops in Anlu, if they were all rented out, the income would be far more than thirty or forty taels a month. Don't wait until you've reclaimed the third brother's shop only to find that even that fifty-tael income is gone."

"Who says that? It’s because the shop the imperial court gave the third brother has good feng shui; it's located in the commercial center of the south side, surrounded by wealthy families, which is why it makes such huge profits... She hands over fifty taels a month, who knows how much she’s hiding?"

"Besides, why don't you mention your eldest grandson living a life of debauchery? He spends at least seventy or eighty taels a month. Why do you indulge him? My five brats don't spend a fraction of his pocket money combined," Zhu Wanjian retorted loudly.

Madam Zhu Jia said irritably, "Your eldest brother is in the capital, he..." She stopped abruptly.

Zhu Wanjian said disdainfully, "My elder brother is in the capital, he’s a deputy thousand-man commander of the Jinyiwei, and he’s the one who will inherit Father's position. That’s why you favor the eldest grandson, right? Fine, I’ve finished the task you entrusted me with, so I won't be an eyesore here anymore... Mother, continue your worship, I take my leave!"

Zhu Wanjian left in a huff. Madam Zhu Jia watched her son’s retreating figure, her eyes filled with the sorrow of seeing iron fail to become steel.

...

In the backyard of the rice shop, the crowd had dispersed.

Mother Zhu and Aunt Li were using iron shovels, trying to scoop out the undissolved salt from the pond, while the younger sister, Zhu Ting, helped by tying the shovels to long bamboo poles.

Zhu Hao stood on the rockery in the vast backyard, silently observing the terrain and judging the elevations.

"Xiao Hao, come over and help scoop the salt." Seeing her son standing blankly on the heights, Mother Zhu could not help but urge him.

By now, Zhu Hao had used two questions to learn from his mother about the situation he faced after his rebirth.

May, the ninth year of the Zhengde reign! Anlu Prefecture!

Anlu was the seat of the Prince of Xing. In the ninth year of Zhengde, the future Jiajing Emperor, Zhu Houcong, was his age—seven years old. With this information, he immediately understood the direction in which he needed to strive.

However, the most pressing matter at hand was resolving the current crisis of the small courtyard.

Zhu Hao walked to the large pond and looked. There was indeed a lot of salt at the bottom that had not dissolved, but it was already mixed with a large amount of silt. Even if they scooped it out, it would be difficult to remove the impurities.

"Mother, at this rate, even if you manage to scoop out one or two percent of the salt, it won't be clean... Who would buy this salt full of impurities? If someone gets sick from eating it, I’m afraid the money from selling the salt won't even cover the medical expenses we’d have to pay."

The question Zhu Hao raised shattered the last bit of hope in Mother Zhu’s heart. As her son said, scooping the salt out to sell would not help with the debt and might even invite a greater crisis.

Aunt Li stepped forward. "Young Master Hao, since you know this, why did you let them dump the salt into the pond?"

Zhu Hao said, "Mother, Auntie, if you trust me, then listen to me. Find someone to renovate the backyard and figure out a way to refine the salt. I guarantee the new salt will be whiter and purer than before..."

Mother Zhu looked at her son in surprise. "Xiao Hao, what are you saying?"

Nearby, five-year-old little Zhu Ting looked at Zhu Hao with admiration. "Brother, is it really possible?"

"Mother, I saw a method in an ancient book that can purify salt..."

"Where did you see an ancient book? You haven't even started your schooling, how can you read?"

"...It’s like this, the book was full of pictures that described the salt-making process in detail, so it was easy to understand... Mother, don't worry about the details. We are just treating a dead horse as if it were alive now."

"But... refining salt requires firewood and tools, and we can't afford them."

"We don't need those for now; we will use the scorching sun... It is now the height of summer; in a few days, it will crystallize into salt. However, we need to find people to divide the backyard into three large ponds and twelve small ones, connected by drainage channels. Go call Uncle Zhong and Yu San now..."

In Zhu Hao’s incomplete memories, the shop actually had laborers who usually helped move grain and salt bags and did odd jobs for pay. Uncle Zhong and Yu San were laborers at the wharf who often came to the grain shop to help out, and they had a good relationship with Zhu Hao’s family.

"Madam, what do you think?" Aunt Li had no idea and could only look to Mother Zhu.

Mother Zhu’s expression was solemn, and she nodded slowly. "Sun-drying salt is indeed the final resort. Even if the dried salt has impurities, it is better than the scooped salt. If it really doesn't work, we can take it outside the city and sell it to the farmers in the mountains..."