145. Methods for Earning Silver

The next day, within the Pine and Cypress Manor.

Gu Fei sat gracefully in the seat of honor. Holding a teacup in one hand, her apricot-shaped eyes half-closed and a faint smile playing on her lips, she listened as Lu Song gave a detailed, point-by-point report of the previous night's events at the Cuihong Pavilion.

When he finished, she took a small sip of the tea. The rising steam curled up past her eyelashes, dampening her dark pupils with a soft sheen, and she leisurely broke the silence, "So, the Wei family has an ink kiln with a heavenly fire?"

Lu Song nodded, his expression deeply respectful. "Yes, that is what Fatty Wei said."

Gu Fei set down her teacup, curved her fingers to lightly tap the edge of the table, and after a moment of contemplation, she said, "I understand. Master Lu, you have done well; I will mention this to Uncle Yuhua."

Lu Song cupped his hands in a salute, no superfluous expression visible on his face. "This humble one thanks the young lady for her kind words."

How could he fail to understand the implication behind Gu Fei's words? He went with the flow, even changing his form of address. Logically speaking, since Gu Fei belonged to the younger branch of the Mo family and the Mo Guild was his employer, calling her that was entirely correct.

Before long, Dong Shi entered, followed by Young Master Mingyue, leaving only Fatty Wei absent.

After the group waited a little longer, Fatty Wei arrived fashionably late. Pushing out his grand general's belly and wearing a heavy expression, he glanced at Lu Song and Mingyue, a flash of malicious intent darting through the depths of his eyes.

Feng Puyu did not come. Ever since Gu Fei became the president of the guild, Elder Feng had stepped back from many matters, trusting that whatever decision Gu Fei made, he would support it unconditionally.

Thus, just like yesterday, there were only five people present in the floral parlor: Gu Fei, Dong Shi, Lu Song, Mingyue, and Fatty Wei.

None of the five spoke first, creating a rather peculiar atmosphere.

Gu Fei chuckled softly. "A-Fei thought about it all night yesterday and felt that Elder Wei's proposal was quite good, so I have decided to accept it."

Suspicion flickered across Fatty Wei's face. His heart pounded a few times as he failed to understand which of his "proposals" Gu Fei was referring to—whether it was telling her to fork out her own silver to cover the deficit or stepping down to let someone more capable take over.

Gu Fei continued, "Last month has already passed. As for the deficit of over a hundred liang of silver, A-Fei will temporarily cover it today. However, if there is still a loss next month, we will take turns. The five ink masters, starting with Elder Wei, will each take a turn for a month. Does anyone have any objections?"

Fatty Wei lowered his eyes, the plump, fair flesh on his face sagging, concealing his expression.

Young Master Mingyue chimed in with a smile, "This humble person will obey the president's instructions."

Dong Shi expressed his agreement next, followed by Lu Song. When it came to Fatty Wei's turn, he forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes and said, "This is a truly wonderful method. Our eldest granddaughter's brain works quite well."

He completely avoided mentioning anything else.

Gu Fei curled the corners of her mouth, seeming exceptionally satisfied with this outcome. Yesterday, she had deliberately left her words unfinished because she was certain Fatty Wei would be restless. Anticipating his moves last night, she had also wanted to see which of the ink masters in the guild harbored ulterior motives. Fortunately, based on Lu Song's report, even Young Master Mingyue, whom she was least certain about, was wise enough not to side with Fatty Wei.

Only today would she dare to make such a proposal. No matter how displeased Fatty Wei felt inwardly, he would not dare to tear down the facade in public; if he truly dared to openly refute the head of the guild, his reputation would inevitably suffer if word got out.

In fact, everything was entirely under Gu Fei's control. Seeing that the four of them had no objections, she immediately added, "Of course, A-Fei will not let everyone keep dipping into your own pockets to cover the losses forever."

With that, she lifted her chin, signaling Nightingale behind her to distribute the items she had brought today.

Those were a few sheets of paper, on which were written in black and white Gu Fei's thoughts from the past few days. By bringing them out today, she hoped to gather the wisdom of the group and refine her ideas, considering that these individuals were all veterans of the guild who had eaten more salt than she had eaten rice.

Though her mind was astute, she was never arrogant.

Dong Shi and the others were still looking over the papers and pondering them. Fatty Wei merely glanced at it once, slammed his hand onto the desk, and shouted, "Absurd! Combining the strengths of masters within the guild and engaging in mutual trade with guilds in other commanderies—buying and selling either ink pills or formulas—is our eldest granddaughter simply entertaining wild fantasies? Whose formula isn't kept hidden away like a precious secret? You actually want to trade them?"

Fatty Wei sneered derisively. Glancing sideways at Gu Fei, he sighed with the condescending air of an elder looking at a hopeless junior, "Eldest granddaughter, having seen nothing of the world, it is no wonder you can come up with such a laughable method."

If anyone else were present to hear these words, they might begin to doubt Gu Fei's competence as president.

Even Dong Shi frowned, seeming rather inclined to agree with Fatty Wei's statement.

If the ink-making trade could freely engage in mutual exchange, the ink-making craftsmanship of the Great Yin dynasty would not be what it was today.

Young Master Mingyue still remained silent. He spread out the sheet of paper and read it over and over again several times, appearing quite intrigued.

Lu Song sat as steady as an old monk, unchanged as ever. Even if he harbored doubts about Gu Fei's method in his heart, not a trace of it showed on his face.

Gu Fei was not angered by Fatty Wei's words. Smiling, she waved the paper in her hand and said, "A-Fei believes that if we conduct business under the name of the guild, any profits go straight into everyone's pockets. That being the case, why can't we earn from other commanderies? Every commandery has an ink merchant guild, and we are all on equal footing. Moreover, the ink pills of each region have their own unique characteristics—this is the foundation upon which A-Fei wishes to build mutual exchange."

"Everyone up and down the guild, whether ink slaves, ink servants, or ink masters, knows how to make ink. Furthermore, some veteran masters have spent their entire lives making ink; who can guarantee that someone doesn't have a few trump-card techniques hidden up their sleeves?"

"Having joined the ink guild, there are no revenues coming in, yet the guild does not normally require the masters to pay silver for their living expenses. On the contrary, we provide a small amount of ink materials each month to masters above the rank of ink servant. With only expenditures and no income, the guild naturally suffers a monthly deficit."

"In this world, one must give to receive. Since you enjoy the benefits of the guild, you must also contribute. Now, A-Fei is not asking everyone to fork out silver, nor is anyone asked to sell their own craftsmanship or formulas. We only need you to lend a helping hand when the guild is in need. In this way, the guild's financial problems can be reversed. A-Fei cannot fathom why anyone would be unwilling to do such a wonderful thing."

Gu Fei finished speaking in one breath, her apricot-shaped eyes burning as she looked at the four people below, a calm yet surging emotion erupting across her fair face.

After Gu Fei finished, the entire floral parlor fell into a profound silence.

Gu Fei took a sip from her teacup. She did not expect her method to win immediate approval, for such a concept was unheard of throughout the entire Great Yin dynasty.

Put simply, she wanted the people in the guild to contribute their craftsmanship if they had it, and their unique skills if they mastered them, and then trade with guilds in other commanderies.

After a long pause, Young Master Mingyue clapped his hands in praise. "I agree."

Although Dong Shi still harbored doubts, thinking of Gu Fei's capabilities, he chimed in, "This old man agrees as well."

Then came Lu Song, who hurriedly spoke up, "This humble person has no objections either."

Only Fatty Wei sat in silence with his eyes closed.

Gu Fei glanced at him. Out of the five ink masters, plus Elder Feng who had already given his unconditional support, four had agreed, which meant the method could move forward.

"I must ask you all to destroy the papers in your hands, lest word gets out before anything is accomplished," she said, gesturing for Nightingale to step forward and collect the distributed sheets. "A-Fei knows you all have doubts, so as the guild's very first external transaction, I will handle it personally."

Upon hearing this, the others said nothing, adopting an attitude of 'let the guild be what it will, let Gu Fei toss and turn as she pleases; things couldn't get any worse than continuing to lose silver.' Fatty Wei, however, opened his eyes and sneered mockingly once more, "May I ask the president, what exactly is this first transaction going to sell? Could it be that you intend to sell the old faces of us ink masters?"

Gu Fei smiled faintly, though no one caught the flash of dark light in the depths of her pupils. "A few days ago, I approached the Exquisite Pavilion. With their assistance, I contacted the ink merchant guild in Zhao County, south of Yizhou. They are willing to conduct our guild's first formula transaction with us."

Fatty Wei was about to pour cold water on the idea again; his lips parted to speak, but Gu Fei reacted swiftly, waving a hand to cut him off. "Zhao County is rich in graphite, which can be used as soon as it is mined. Colored inks made from this graphite are brilliant in color and long-lasting, a rarity here in Yizhou, and whenever they do appear, they fetch exorbitant prices."

"Conversely, the ink-making craftsmanship and formulas in Zhao County cannot compare to those of Yizhou. Therefore, overestimating my own capabilities, A-Fei will modify and refine a few ordinary formulas over the next few days to use for trade."

As soon as these words fell, Dong Shi and Lu Song were startled, and even Mingyue's expression turned stern.

One must know that modifying formulas was not something just anyone could do well. It required genius insight, a vast familiarity with various formulas, countless ink materials, and even a profound mastery of medical principles.

That was precisely why the emergence of the previous fragrant ink had caused such a sensation throughout the region just a week ago.

Even though Fatty Wei was unwilling to believe Gu Fei possessed such capability, he knew that given the preceding incident with the fragrant ink, since Gu Fei dared to make such a promise now, there was a high probability she could pull it off.

Understanding this was one thing, but his heart remained deeply unwilling.

Gu Fei cast a breezy glance at Fatty Wei. She picked up her teacup once more, perfectly concealing the upward curve of her lips.

"Does anyone else have any matters to discuss? If not, the moment the formulas are completed, A-Fei will summon you all here to take a look," she said casually.

Dong Shi nodded, showing immense interest in his expression. "President, if you encounter any difficulties, just say the word. This old bone of mine can still be of some assistance."

Young Master Mingyue smiled, and it seemed as though no other expression had ever crossed his face since he entered the room. "If the president needs errands run, this humble person can take them on."

Lu Song expressed his stance as well. "This humble person can also offer a meager contribution."

Once everyone had spoken, they all turned simultaneously to look at Fatty Wei. With a stiff expression, Fatty Wei forced the corners of his mouth to stretch into an ugly smile, and said with a strange, sarcastic tone, "Our eldest granddaughter's affairs are this old man's affairs."

Gu Fei nodded, looking at Fatty Wei with a deliberately profound gaze, before saying, "You are all A-Fei's elders, so I will make myself clear beforehand: aside from filling the deficit, any silver earned by the guild each year from profits will be distributed based on merit and hard work in our transactions."

She wasn't afraid that someone would try to sabotage things. Fatty Wei would certainly refuse to comply and would likely stir up discontent among the others behind her back. But Gu Fei didn't care; once these people saw the guild actually making silver, they would be scrambling to flatter and cozy up to her. By then, Fatty Wei would be completely isolated, and with a bit of suppression of the Wei family's business in the town, she wasn't worried that Fatty Wei would refuse to submit.