Mrs. Mei's Survival Diary - Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Shopkeeper Yan is ill

At noon that day, Gu Yean came back to report the news of the Mei family to Rong Yinshuang.

“The Mei family has quite a lot of businesses. It was not easy for your late husband to manage so many businesses by himself.”

Rong Yinshuang looked at the man and replied, “Of course, I know it was not easy for him. You tell me, I’ll remember.”

[Tl:- Although Gu Yean is a living soul, I’ll address him as a living man.]

After pacing a few times in the yard, Gu Yean started to tell what he had found. “The Mei family is often regarded as a leading merchant family in the town. There are five inns, eight restaurants, two antique shops, three jewellery stores, six rice shops, a pier, more than twenty ships, and five or six farmhouses. There are more than 1,000 acres of land outside the city. I will tell you the location in detail later. On the surface, it seems that these industries are quite profitable, but I found out that after your husband Mei Yuandao died, the Mei family’s industrial chain seemed to be broken.”

At this moment, Rong Yinshuang was writing something. After hearing what Gu Yean said, she suddenly looked up and asked  “Broken?”

Gu Yean nodded and replied, “Yes. The Mei family’s industrial chain used to be structured in this manner. More than a thousand acres of land were used to grow rice, grains and vegetables. After the harvest, they were transported to the rice shop. The pork produced in the farmhouse and the vegetables grown in the fields were all transported to the restaurant and inn. Then the remaining rice from the shop was exchanged with Persian merchants for jewelry and rare antiques.”

Rong Yinshuang was amazed when she heard this. When her husband was alive, he sometimes told her about things in the shop, but he had never told her so comprehensively. She didn’t know that the Mei family used this method to make money. Although it sounds very clear and concise now, it must have been extremely difficult to accomplish all this.

Thinking about the family business created by her husband, now which had been occupied and squandered by others, she felt a sense of indignation. “Didn’t you say that after my husband died, the Mei family’s industrial chain was broken?”

Realising that Rong Yinshuang finally got to the point, he continued. “Yes, have you discovered that the most critical part of the Mei family’s industrial chain is the thousand acres of land outside the city? When Mei Yuandao was alive, there were nearly two hundred people taking care of the thousand acres of land. But after he died, Mei Yuangui felt that it was a waste of manpower and dismissed most of them at once. Now, there are only thirty or forty people left on the Mei family’s thousand acres of land. They are in a hurry and have missed the season. I’m afraid that the harvest this year will not be ideal.”

Rong Yinshuang suddenly realized something. “That means even if I don’t do anything, the Mei family will suffer a great loss in the autumn harvest?”

Gu Yean didn’t reply.

Seeing the man was in a daze, Rong Yinshuang called him again, and he reacted and said, “Ah, yes. It depends on whether Mei Yuangui can hold on. If he can’t get through this, the Mei family will be spcattered and ruined in five years at most…”

Rong Yinshuang and Gu Yean sighed at the same time. 

Rong Yinshuang looked at him and asked, “I sigh because my husband’s hard work will eventually be ruined, and I feel sorry for it. why are you sighing?”

Gu Yean was stunned, hesitant, not knowing what to say. “I sigh because…”

Rong Yinshuang smiled miserably at him, and said, “You think my husband was pitiful, right? He died in a foreign land, and we didn’t even find his body.” 

“…”

Gu Yean was uncommunicable. Seeing Rong Yinshuang leaning sadly on the table, Gu Yean was at a loss. He knew she was thinking about her deceased husband. 

He stood aside and wanted to reach out to touch her head, but his fingers passed through her head.  “Forget it. Don’t be sad. Your husband won’t come back if you are sad anyway. In fact, you don’t have to deal with the Mei family. With their current way of business, they will fail within five years! Unless Mei Yuangui can think of other ways out. Don’t think too much about it.”

Rong Yinshuang sat up straight, wiped the tears from her face, then took a deep breath, and nodded to Gu Yean.

Gu Yean said again, “Then… do you also want to know the distribution of Mei’s shops and the situation of the shop owners?”

“Absolutely! Share everything you’ve discovered. The more specifics the better.” 

“Alright, then jot it down. The name of the shop owner in the east city is…”

The sunlight streamed down, illuminating the two figures, one real and one virtual. They leaned in close, with Rong Yinshuang writing while Gu Yean read. If anything was amiss, he would correct it right away. The scene was quite harmonious.

Rong Yinshuang filled four large pages with her delicate writing, noting down all the details that Gu Yean had gathered. She was amazed at how efficiently this soul worked. 

‘How did he manage to dig up all this information about the Mei family in such a short time? He even knows about the most obscure stores. Are humans and ghosts really that different, and can they move faster than humans?’

Manager Yan had said that she would send someone from the silk shop to pick up Rong Yinshuang. However, when the time came, Manager Yan didn’t show up as promised. Remembering the expression on Manager Yan’s face that day made Rong Yinshuang uneasy, so she decided to visit the silk shop to see what was going on. But when she got there, the shop was closed, and no one answered her knocks. After inquiring around, she learned that something had happened at Manager Yan’s home, and she hadn’t opened the shop for two days.

Rong Yinshuang asked about her home address again, but no one could tell it accurately. They only vaguely heard that she lived near Liuer Lane in East City. Rong Yinshuang was a little surprised. Liuer Lane in East City was famous for wealthy people, and Manager Yan was just the owner of a silk shop. ‘How could she live there?’

Although she was a little puzzled, Rong Yinshuang still decided to go to Liuer Lane to take a look. 

She returned to the Taoist temple, told the children that she was going to buy vegetables, then took the peach wood sword and copper gourd and went out again. She rented a rattan sedan chair and went to Liuer Lane in East City. From the beginning to the end of the street, it was at least half a mile away. It was obviously unrealistic to knock on every door. She retreated to a dark place and looked around. Then bent her knuckles, rolled them into a circle, closed her eyes, and silently recited the mantra.

This was a brand new sound transmission technique she had learnt, and it was capable of picking up all sounds within a hundred miles. While her skills might not let her detect that full distance, she should have no trouble sensing the sounds within the half-mile radius of Liuer Lane.

When she activated the sound transmission technique, her ears were bombarded with a mix of sounds—music, chatter, banging, yelling, and… agonizing screams…

Suddenly, she opened her eyes. She was sure that the voice belonged to Manager Yan. She scanned the houses lining Liuer Lane and quickly pinpointed the source of the noise. It was a house adorned with numerous vibrant potted plants at the entrance.

Without wasting any time, Rong Yinshuang knocked on the door. After a brief wait, someone came to answer. When asked who she was, Rong Yinshuang smiled and said her reason for visiting. “I’m a friend of Manager Yan. I heard she’s not feeling well, so I came to check on her.”

The doorman scanned Rong Yinshuang from head to toe and replied, “I’ll go inform the aunt. Please hold on.”

Rong Yinshuang interrupted him, saying, “It’s too late. She’s unconscious right now. Asking her won’t help.”

The doorman hesitated. Just then, a man who seemed to be the housekeeper stepped out. After inquiring about the situation, he said to the doorman. “Our aunt is in very poor condition at the moment. Since you’re her friend, please come inside.”

The doorman seemed ready to protest, but the butler shot him a glare, and Rong Yinshuang was taken in. 

Strolling through the courtyard filled with pavilions and towers, the housekeeper decided to speak to Rong Yinshuang, saying, “Our aunt visited the White Horse Temple to burn incense yesterday, and she returned to this state. She has consulted all the doctors, but none could determine the cause of her illness. Our master is quite worried. Since you are our aunt’s friend, perhaps you can help her regain some clarity.”

Rong Yinshuang followed closely behind, wearing a slight smile, nodding as she silently trailed the housekeeper to the backyard. Upon entering the courtyard, she was met with piercing screams from within. The voice sounded as if someone was enduring severe torture and immense pain.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a few frantic maids rushed out. Spotting the housekeeper, they quickly approached to inform him. 

“Butler Wu, it’s terrible! Aunt is vomiting blood. A lot of blood. The master has instructed us to find the imperial physician.”

Butler Wu was taken aback as well. He gestured to the maids, urging, “Hurry, hurry, go quickly!”

After that, he ignored Rong Yinshuang and rushed to the door of the room, yelling. 

Rong Yinshuang knew the rule that men couldn’t enter women’s quarters without the owner’s permission. While Butler Wu stood outside, she took in the vibe of the small courtyard. It didn’t seem too gloomy, but something felt off.

After counting the time on her fingers, she confidently walked past Butler Wu and entered the room without telling anyone else. Butler Wu couldn’t stop her from outside, nor could he go in to pull her back, so Rong Yinshuang just walked in.

Manager Yan’s room was nothing short of magnificent and luxurious. Everything in sight was incredibly opulent, from the jade screen to the gold-carved fan, the jade table, and the glass lamps. 

A middle-aged man dressed elegantly and exuding an extraordinary presence stepped out from behind the screen. He had a pair of robust mustaches, and his deep-set eyebrows and eyes resembled the vast sea, capable of withstanding fierce winds and waves. He was impressive without being angry, but at that moment, his brows were tightly knit, his hands clasped behind his back, and he looked worried. When he noticed Rong Yinshuang entering alone, he was initially taken aback, then his expression shifted to one of displeasure. A menacing aura radiated from him, startling Rong Yinshuang, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Who are you?”

Rong Yinshuang greeted him with great politeness, then looked up and said to him in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant. “I’m a friend of Manager Yan, my name is Rong Yinshuang. Can I go in and see Manager Yan?”

“See what? She’s sick and can’t meet with anyone. Please leave.”

Rong Yinshuang gave a faint smile. “I came here specifically because I heard Manager Yan was unwell. Regardless, I’m here now. It won’t hurt to take a look.”

The man frowned as he regarded the composed Rong Yinshuang. There was clear annoyance in his eyes. Still, he hesitated, stepped aside a couple of paces, and said coldly. “It might not harm you to take a look, but it could be bad for you. If you can’t see anything, you should really think it through…”

Rong Yinshuang caught the clear threat, but she chose not to reply. Instead, she walked past him and entered through the screen.

End of chapter 21

Have a nice day!