A Gallop on the Embankment with Spring Breeze - Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Zhuanghua Satin
Translator: Wu Meixin
Proofread by Fu Tianying
Zhuanghua weaving originates in Nanjing. It refers to those woven fabrics such as satins, silks and yarns on which the technique of “Wahua” (swiveling) is specially applied to output colorful paintings. Those patterns, mostly large ones of full composition, are elaborately woven and arranged with rich and contrasting colors and fringed with golden or silver threads. Different colors are tinged with one another or isolated by white outline. Weavers commonly swivel a small loom shuttle equipped with a quill to create gorgeous and chromatic textiles which could be made into various kinds of clothes, dresses or even imperial robes.
Zhuanghua Satin was valuable and precious at that period, and ordinary families could not afford it. Most of them were sent to the royal palace while the rest were kept by officials and local plutocrats, so usually one couldn’t get a piece in the market even if with sufficient money.
At the moment, in the hands of Ma Tian’en was a handkerchief made of Zhuanghua Satin.
“Are you sure that this is made of Zhuanghua satin?” Ma Tian’en asked the shopkeeper of the Silks and Satins shop, one of the biggest shops selling fabrics in the name of Ma family. The shopkeeper, being experienced in silks, could not be wrong. But he was still confused why such precious Zhuanghua Satin was sold to Ma family at a modest price.
“Absolutely. Though Zhuanghua Satin is rare, I have seen small pieces for many times. I recognized it the moment I saw it. Actually, it is a blessing for Ma family. The goods were originally ordered by Dexiangmao satin shop in Wangfu Street and shipped by the boats of Ma family. Even the deposit had been paid. However, something was wrong when they made dresses for a noble man. The noble man was so angry that he almost broke the satin shop. Moreover, the shopkeeper was detained. They cannot pay the retainage but only have to break the contract. The textile plant in Nanjing has been trusting Ma family for they transport goods by boats of Ma family for years. So they want to sell it to us at a lower price and went back quickly. After all, they have charged the deposit from Dexiangmao shop. I have already checked them carefully and they are all Zhuanghua Satin of high quality. At least ten times as much as the cost we can earn if we sell them as ready-made clothes to the rich.”
“Really? We’ll get a good price?” Ma Tian’en was delighted. The business in water would become harder when winter came. If a big profit was made this time, they could have a happy new year.
“Surely it will be. That’s why I came here early in the morning. However, there is a requirement that the bills shall be cleared the moment the goods are delivered. We have to withdraw some from the bank for not having enough cash taels in the satin shop. Certainly, you do not have to worry, Childe, for we will get the money back soon.” The shopkeeper assured Ma Tian’en that it was perfectly safe. Seeing the Childe still hesitating, he added, “Childe, this is what heaven bestows on us. Why not receive it? If you cannot make a decision, I could ask Master Ma and certainly he will agree.”
“I am in charge now. Surely I can make the decision. However, it is not a small amount of money. You can come here tomorrow and I will tell you my decision then.” The shopkeeper felt disappointed when he heard what Childe answered. It was known to all that you needed to take risks so as to make money. But young master was too cautious. He could not persuade him at the moment but only left.
As soon as the shopkeeper left, Ma Tian’en arranged A’Shun to inquire about the details to confirm whether the truth was what had been shown. It was essential to decide whether heaven sent them a blessing or a curse.
Madam Ma had been in a good mood recently. Ma Chaosheng was getting better. Ma Tian’en was more reliable. She accompanied Ma Chaosheng to stroll around garden and talked with him, feeling so content that she even seldom went to the family hall to worship Buddha.
She felt more pleasant when she saw the fancy handkerchief that Ma Tian’en gave to her. The more she appreciated the handkerchief, the more she liked it. She found that it was actually made of Zhuanghua Satin!
“Why do you buy the handkerchief of Zhuanghua Satin for me? Have you done something wrong?” Madam Ma stared at Ma Tian’en in doubt who was smiling at her.
“Mom, how do you know it is Zhuanghua Satin?”
“Just look at the pattern— the five-heddle satin woven with golden and silvery threads. How beautiful it is! It can be used to wrap the Buddhist Scriptures.” The Zhuanghua Satin was more exquisite than normal ones and Madam Ma liked it very much.
“Since you like it, I could get you a winter dress made of Zhuanghua Satin. It will look good on you. You will be like Guanyin bodhisattva, the Goddess of Mercy.” Ma Tian’en said with a smile. In fact, she just wanted to make sure. She had already asked a few people but she wouldn’t feel completely reassured until she got a “yes” from her mother. She was not intended to tell her father right now. She wanted to surprise her father later, so she just came for her mother when her father was not there.
“It seems that my son made a lot of money. The spirit of our ancestors has worked. I will light incense to give thanks to our ancestors.”
“Mom, you only light incense whenever you encounter something. Are you sure it will work?”
“You…get out of here now!”
“Mom, do not beat me!”
Soon Ma Tian’en ran out of the room while rubbing her shoulders.
Not long after that, those who were sent to inquire about Dexiangmao came back. Everything was just like what the shopkeeper said. Dexiangmao was closed and it was said to have offended a noble man.
The people on the wharf also checked the shipping list. The goods were indeed shipped from Nanjing to Dexiangmao. Since Dexiangmao was unable to buy the goods they wanted to sell them out soon and went back.
Ma Tian’en did not expect that it was the pie in the sky. She began to admire herself for having such an unbelievable amount of luck. Opportunity knocked once. Certainly she would grab the opportunity or she was a fool.
Life always went like this: Something had to be sacrificed to get other things you want. It was not easy to raise enough taels to buy the goods for Zhuanghua Satin was known to be very expensive. Moreover, the batch of goods contained a large number of Zhuanghua Satin. Fortunately, Ma family possessed the largest bank of five Dams— Datong Bank which was also the main business of Ma family. It was Madam Ma who used her dowry to help build the bank. Whenever Ma family encountered cash flow difficulties, taels would be borrowed from Datong Bank to get business run smoothly. It was also a way to keep the goodies within the family.
Ma Chaosheng’s seal was required if taels had to be borrowed from Datong Bank. But now the business of Ma family was basically in the charge of Ma Tian’en. To facilitate his management, the seal was also given to him. When Ma Tian’en came with the seal, the head of Datong Bank informed Ma Chaosheng right away.
“Childe, please wait a moment. It will take a while to prepare enough money for you. Have some tea first. I’ll get it ready for you later.” Although Ma Tian’en behaved like a reliable master recently, the head of the bank decided to ask Master Ma to confirm the whole thing in consideration of the bad reputation of Ma Tian’en in the past.
Ma Tian’en did not think further about the answer of the head of the bank and believed what he said to her. All she could think about was how delighted her father would be if she made the deal.
Actually, Ma Chaosheng already knew everything about Zhuanghua Satin. He had talked with the shopkeeper of Satins and Silks about the whole thing. The shopkeeper, as well as the shareholder of the shop, would not be easily bribed to damage the interests of Ma family. After all, his own interests was closely tied with that of Ma family.
Though the whole thing just went eerily smoothly, no obvious problems could be found for now. Therefore, Ma Chaosheng decided to let Ma Tian’en do whatever she was going to do.
