Chapter 154: Master Huang

In the tender third month of spring, the rain is as fine as butter — it is the loveliest time of the year.

Hangzhou City lay shrouded in a blur of fine mist; bridges, black-canopied boats, pedestrians, and tiled eaves all loomed faintly visible, mountains and waters hazy and indistinct.

A cool sedan chair was making its way slowly along a bluestone road.

The brand-new fine-gauze cool sedan was exquisitely decorated — the chair body, the chair windows, the chair poles, all were made of meticulously chosen materials, clearly the private property of a wealthy household. The four bearers carrying the chair wore identical fine-cloth livery, their steps even and their coordination seamless, obviously well-trained.

Leading the way in front of the chair were two tall, brawny household bullies with faces full of brutish flesh and bodies draped in silks and brocades; behind the chair followed a Chang Sui and a Servant, holding Suzhou-made oil-paper Four Gentlemen umbrellas, also clad entirely in fine silks.

This ostentatious procession, with "beggars keep clear" written all over their faces, was at that moment traveling along the bluestone road outside Taiping Fang. Taiping Fang, located in Hangzhou's Upper City District, was thick with wealthy households and packed with officials and gentry, so the streets were often kept in repair; the bluestone road was flat and smooth. The group moved swiftly through the rain, and before long, the cool sedan turned into a side lane off the road.

This side lane was called Guliu Alley, and at its entrance stood an old willow, gnarled like a coiling dragon. Both sides of the lane were lined with fifteen-foot-high walls, and the entire alley held only four residences — this was called "one compound, four households," which sounded rather low in prestige, not nearly as impressive as the later generations' "one compound, two households."

The procession soon arrived before a vermilion-lacquered gate. By then, the gatekeeper had already opened the side gate; some were responsible for coming forward to welcome them, while others turned and hurried back into the residence, drawing a deep breath and calling out in a long, ringing voice: "The master has returned to the residence!"

The cool sedan did not stop once, smoothly turning into the side gate and arriving at the sedan hall. The four bearers then halted in unison, gave a soft shout, and slowly lowered the chair.

The Chang Sui at that moment bent beside the chair door and said softly, "Master, we have entered the residence."

After hearing an "Mm" from within the chair, the Chang Sui gently rolled up the chair curtain. Two men behind the chair then, with perfect tacit understanding, slightly tilted the chair poles — and Master Huang Ping, Huang Zhicheng, the thirty-third ranked successful candidate of the Dingmao Section Hangzhou Provincial Examination in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, stepped out of the sedan chair.

Master Huang, whom we have not seen for a long time, now sported a short beard on his chin. At this moment, he wore a Black-Gauze Square Peace Cap on his head, was dressed in a jade-colored Huzhou silk wide-sleeved straight robe from Su Workshop, with a pendant and sachet hanging at his waist, a jade ring on his finger, his complexion rich and prosperous, his bearing steady and composed.

After the master descended from the chair, he proceeded into the residence under the guidance of the Chief Steward of Huang Fu, who had come upon hearing the news. Along the way, the Stewards, servants, household guards, old women, maidservants, and serving girls of the residence all stood respectfully and solemnly before their doors, welcoming the master's return.

The main residence of Huang Fu consisted of three courtyards, flanked by seven or eight side compounds, with one large and one small garden in the Back Residence; it covered a vast area and was imposing in style.

Master Huang looked straight ahead, the Chief Steward, Chang Sui, and Servant at his side, crossing through the three courtyard gates all the way back to the study in the inner residence. As soon as he entered the room, four or five serving girls began bustling about like butterflies flitting through flowers, attending to the master as he changed clothes, washed up, brought water, and drank tea.

After washing his face, Huang Ping changed into a plain, light-colored fine-cloth soft robe, put on a pair of Straw Slippers, and went into the inner room. He tested the celadon Tea Bowl on the table and found the water still hot, so he picked up some letters and visiting cards from the desktop and began opening and reading them one by one.

In the half-year since passing the Provincial Examination, Huang Zhicheng had gradually grown accustomed to this life of being a master. Just like those people in later generations who become famous overnight, suddenly having every move watched, abruptly living under a spotlight — it was not so easy to adapt to at first.

Fortunately, the Great Ming Dynasty was still different from later generations. Master Huang quickly discovered that he did not need to worry about anything within his own residence — here, he was the Emperor, and he held the power of life and death over the more than one hundred Household Staff in this compound.

In the late Ming period, due to population growth, large numbers of unemployed rural people entered the cities, causing drastic changes in the social environment, and a great surge in the pursuit of pleasure and luxury. In the Jiangnan region, even households of humble means would "be ashamed to wear plain cloth" and "have not a peck of rice at home, yet wear fine clothes and new shoes."

At the same time, the practice of keeping household slaves surged in society. It was already common for middle and lower-class households to hire servants, let alone the Gentry Class. Wealthy and great families, their lands stretching in horizontal tracts, extensively acquiring fields and properties, with household servants numbering in the hundreds or thousands, were entirely commonplace.

After Huang Zhicheng passed the Provincial Examination, following orders transmitted from Dayuan, he began step by step to put down roots in Hangzhou City and establish his own network of contacts.

To put down roots, the first thing needed was a house.

Because Master Huang had quite a few "friends" from the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, and all sorts of strange incidents were unlikely to be few in the future, Master Huang's house absolutely could not be small. Although in theory these friends would not disturb him, one always had to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances — if one day the brothers needed to open Hangzhou City, surely Master Huang's house could conceal at least a company?

Based on this principle, after passing the Provincial Examination, Huang Zhicheng began formally looking for a house in Hangzhou City. Fortunately, by this time, the master no longer needed to trouble himself; the newly hired Chief Steward and Stewards, gathering a crowd of property brokers, ran all over the city, and within a few days, Master Huang had purchased this large residence on Guliu Alley.

The residence was in the Upper City District, bought from a retired official. It covered a vast area and suited Huang Zhicheng's requirements. After purchasing the residence, he spent quite a bit of silver on Decoration, which also included some alterations that appeared ordinary but were actually deeply meaningful.

After moving into the residence, Huang Zhicheng casually hired over one hundred Household Staff of various kinds to keep up appearances. For such a large residence, over one hundred people was theoretically a bit shabby; however, Master Huang's first wife had died early, and the Back Residence had no mistress, so for the moment this number of people was barely sufficient.

While acquiring property and adding to his assets, Huang Zhicheng's most important work was of course not neglected — socializing.

Tasked with gathering social intelligence in the Jiangnan region, Master Huang devoted enormous energy to the work of receiving and sending off guests, making friends, and socializing. Starting from his fellow Provincial Examination graduates, his house examiner, and his chief examiner, Master Huang used these original relationship networks that came with becoming a Provincial Graduate to step by step expand his own contacts.

Today, he had returned from outside because he had gone early in the morning to a painting society for social engagements and only came back toward evening.

Huang Zhicheng spent the time it took to drink a cup of tea reading through the two letters and several visiting cards on the desk, then turned and instructed a serving girl to summon the Chief Steward in.

The Chief Steward's surname was Wu, given name Chi, in his year of no confusion, with a round face that looked pleasingly cheerful.

In a great Ming city like Hangzhou, where the service industry was extremely developed, just like New York in later generations, the high-end service market had long since taken shape at scale.

Professional managers like Wu Chi, capable of managing a large residence — the very day Huang Zhicheng passed the Provincial Examination, seven or eight of them came running. There were self-recommended outsiders, and there were regulars bearing recommendation letters from some master. The triennial Provincial Examination was likewise a carnival for the service market; a scholar of humble origins like Master Huang, once he passed the exam, was bound to establish a new household and recruit followers — the full set of servant configuration: "Give me a Provincial Graduate, and I can create a clan."

Steward Wu was precisely such a professional manager. He was a native of Hangzhou; both his father and elder brother were stewards — that is to say, the entire Wu family were all stewards, a case of profound family learning, so to speak. In fact, Steward Wu had previously served in a wealthy household in Suzhou Prefecture, but later encountered a career ceiling — any household with a modicum of sense would not arrange an outer-residence steward position for a younger brother while the elder brother served as Chief Steward.

Steward Wu thus failed in the competition for outer-residence steward. Of course, this was a defeat through no fault of his own, and the master household at the time also wrote him a recommendation letter full of lavish praise to use in finding work.

The newly minted Filial and Upright Huang, after investigating Steward Wu's background, felt that this man was Very Suitable for the current situation — Master Huang was not like those other silk-pants Provincial Graduates; Master Huang did not lack silver, nor did he lack various ruthless methods; what he lacked now was connections.

People like stewards and Shaoxing Advisers were all of the same concept, belonging to the important class that connects the upper and lower levels. A local power-broker like Steward Wu, coming from a steward clan, was exactly what Master Huang needed, and so Steward Wu was immediately put on the job.

"Those country folk still haven't left?" As soon as Steward Wu entered the inner room, before he could even offer a greeting, the master asked him directly.

"Replying to the master, they have not left. They are holed up in the watch room," Steward Wu said, his expression turning serious as he stood straight and answered.

The reason the Transmigrators had chosen this poor scholar Huang Ping to replace in the first place was precisely because Scholar Huang's entire family had died, leaving him with no relatives. However, once Master Huang passed the Provincial Examination in one stroke, and the good news was transmitted back to Taizhou, those few broken-down villages below Taishan began sending people to Hangzhou — all sorts of so-called relatives, all sorts of so-called friends, all sorts of so-called fellow villagers, coming in an endless stream.

Master Huang, who already had a guilty conscience, naturally would not receive these people who came to scrounge. It was not that he feared his appearance would reveal a flaw — in an era where people were full of wrinkles by thirty, Huang Ping, who had left home over ten years ago, would not be recognized by these so-called old villagers even if they brushed past each other.

What Huang Ping feared were other uncertain factors, such as accidentally blurting out the wrong identity or seniority of some family member from years past. Besides, did Master Huang have any necessity to interact with these mud-legged peasants? Was the face of a Provincial Graduate master so easy to see?

Steward Wu knew his master's attitude toward these rural neighbors. In his private speculation, it was probably because the master had some unpleasantness with these villagers when he left home back then — it was said that after the master buried his deceased wife, he sold off the fields and land on the spot and never returned to his Old Home.

"Now the retribution has come, these damned mud-legged peasants!" Steward Wu stood inside the room at that moment, his face seemingly expressionless, but in his heart, he felt secret satisfaction. From his perspective, his master's current attitude toward the villagers was the most wonderful thing — otherwise, what if some second fool from Taizhou came running and became the master's trusted confidant?

"Ah, just handle it according to the old rule. Still, assign the people to Steward Zhao," Huang Zhicheng thought it over and still had no particularly good solution. These persistent nuisances could not be killed, nor could they be scolded; driving them away might damage his reputation and affect the "persona" he had painstakingly built — he could only hand them over to Steward Zhao.

Steward Zhao was Zhao Wutian, the former Bandit of Pingfeng Mountain, now an inconspicuous Steward at Huang Fu.

Steward Zhao was the only person in Huang Fu who knew the master's true identity. As the bridge for Communication between Huang Zhicheng and Hangzhou Station, Zhao Wutian bore a heavy responsibility. For all matters related to the Transmigrators that were inconvenient for Master Huang to handle personally, Zhao Wutian was the one who took charge of them on a daily basis.

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