The poem says:
The swallow doesn’t enter the side house; the gull returns only to its old pond. The broken bridge has no more planks, the willow lies down and grows its own branches.
Thus, a mountain sun rises, bringing much shame to Bao Shu-zhi. All pure friendships have withered away; tears of the white-haired drip down in pairs.
Han Daoguo and Lai Bao took the four thousand taels of silver given to them by Ximen Qing to Jiangnan to purchase goods. Upon arriving in Yangzhou, they stayed at Miao Qing's home. Miao Qing treated them especially well because Ximen Qing had saved Miao Qing, and he even found a girl named Chu Yun to offer to Ximen Qing as a token of gratitude. Han Daoguo and Lai Bao had no intention of doing business at all; instead, they spent their days indulging in pleasures and revelry. It wasn't until early winter, when the weather turned chilly, that they finally started buying cloth, storing all their goods at Miao Qing's home, planning to leave once they had everything. Han Daoguo went after a Yangzhou prostitute named Wang Yuzhi, while Lai Bao went after Lin Caihong's Xiao Hong. One day, they invited Yangzhou salt merchant Wang Haifeng and Miao Qing for a day out at Baoying Lake, and when they returned in the evening, they just happened to catch Wang Yuzhi's mother celebrating her birthday. Han Daoguo then invited a whole crowd to join the celebration feast. He sent a young guy named Hu Xiu to invite merchants Wang Dongqiao and Qian Qingchuan, but those two had already shown up while Hu Xiu was still dawdling. When Han Daoguo saw Hu Xiu reeking of alcohol, he scolded him for showing up late after drinking and said they'd settle the account tomorrow.
Hu Xiu looked at Han Daoguo with squinted eyes and muttered, "Are you calling me names? Your wife is working herself to the ground at home, and you're here having fun! Your dad's even keeping your wife, and that's why you can come out to play! You're having a blast while your wife's suffering! You really have no conscience!" He said the same thing to Wang Yuzhi's mother. The hostess quickly pulled him into the house, telling him to go to sleep, saying he was drunk. Han Daoguo, who was drinking with the guests, heard Hu Xiu shouting and was furious. He walked over and gave him a few kicks, scolding, "You bastard, I spent five coins to hire you for a day, and I still can't find anyone!" Then he tried to chase him away. Hu Xiu refused to leave and caused a scene in the courtyard, shouting, "On what grounds are you kicking me out? I haven't done anything wrong! You keep a wife but want to drive me away; let's see how I explain this when I get home!" Laibao held Han Daoguo back, saying, "You, this guy, get drunk and go crazy!" Hu Xiu said, "Uncle, don’t mind him; I have to settle scores with him!" Laibao then pushed him into the house.
Not everyone gets drunk, and not everyone gets swept away by desire. After Laibao sent Hu Xiu to bed, Han Daoguo, fearing the guests would laugh at him, drank with Laibao. The three women, Lin Caihong, Xiaohong, and Wang Yuzhi, sang and danced, making it a lively scene, and they continued the festivities until midnight. The next day, Han Daoguo wanted to hit Hu Xiu, but Hu Xiu said he couldn't read, and Miao Qing, a friend of Hu Xiu, managed to persuade Han Daoguo to back down.
After all the goods were bought, they prepared to load the ship and leave. Unexpectedly, Miao Qing's gift, Chu Yun, for Ximen Qing suddenly fell ill and couldn't leave. Miao Qing said she would wait until Chu Yun recovered before sending her off. They prepared some gifts, wrote down the accounts, and set off with Hu Xiu in tow. Wang Yuzhi and Lin Caihong, the two sisters, held a banquet to see them off. On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, they set off and had a safe journey. Upon reaching Linqing Lock, Han Daoguo stood at the bow of the ship and suddenly spotted his neighbor Yan Silang passing by on a boat, heading to Linqing to meet an official. Yan Silang saw Han Daoguo and said, "Han Xiqiao, your father passed away earlier this month." After speaking, he left. Han Daoguo heard the news but remained calm, choosing not to tell Lai Bao.
At that time, there was a severe drought in Henan and Shandong, resulting in a complete crop failure, causing prices for cloth to skyrocket by thirty percent. Many rural merchants came to Linqing with silver to buy cloth. Han Daoguo and Lai Bao discussed, "The cloth on the ship is probably worth more than four thousand taels; now with a thirty percent increase, it's better to sell half of it, which will also make tax payment easier, and sell the rest at home. Given the current market, selling it would be challenging, and it would be a shame to miss the opportunity." Lai Bao said, "Although that's the case, I'm afraid that after we sell, the head of the household might blame us when we get home. What should we do?" Han Daoguo said, "If the head of the household blames us, I'll take the heat for it." Lai Bao couldn't argue with him, so he sold a thousand taels of cloth right there at the dock. Han Daoguo said, "Shuangqiao, you and Hu Xiu stay on the ship to pay taxes; I'll head back home overland with this thousand taels of silver to inform my father." Lai Bao said, "When you get home, ask Dad for a letter, hand it to the tax official, to pay less tax and get the ship released quickly." Han Daoguo agreed, and together with the young man Wang Han, they packed up the silver and headed to their hometown in Qinghe County.
That day in town, at the south gate, with nightfall approaching, I bumped into Zhang An, who was pushing a cart loaded with wine, rice, and salt, just about to head out through the south gate. Seeing Han Daoguo, he called out, "Uncle Han, are you going home?" Han Daoguo saw he was in mourning and asked what was going on. Zhang An said, "My dad passed away. Tomorrow, on the ninth day of the third month, we're having the funeral rites. My mom asked me to take this wine, rice, and joss paper to the grave, so we can burn it for my dad tomorrow." Upon hearing this, Han Daoguo said, "Oh, that's so sad! It's true what they say, 'the road speaks louder than a tombstone,' that saying really hits home." After that, he headed into town.
Walking to the crossroads, Han Daoguo thought to himself: "Let’s hold on for a bit. I originally wanted to go to Ximen Qing’s home, but since he’s dead now and it’s getting late, it’s better to head home for the night, talk it over with my wife, and go tomorrow." So he and Wang Han went home together. After arriving home, they sent away the porters, opened the door, and entered the house. Wang Han carried the luggage into the main room. His wife came out to greet them and paid respects to the Buddha. Wang Liu'er helped him out of his coat and settled him down, while the maid served tea. Han Daoguo first talked about what he encountered on the road: "I met Yan Sige and Zhang An on the way, and only then did I find out that my father had passed away. He was doing fine; how could he just die like that?" Wang Liu'er said, "Life is unpredictable, and fortunes can change overnight. No one can predict it." Han Daoguo opened the package and took out many clothes and nice things he had prepared in Jiangnan, as well as one thousand taels of silver, placing them one by one on the heated brick bed. His wife opened it to see that it was all shiny silver and asked, "Where did this come from?" Han Daoguo said, "I heard about it on the way, so I sold this thousand taels of silver first." He then took out two packets of private money, one hundred taels, and asked his wife, "After I leave, did he take care of you?" Wang Liu'er said, "He was fine when he was around. Now you’re planning to send this silver to his family?" Han Daoguo said, "I just wanted to discuss with you; should we keep some and give him half?" His wife said, "Pah, you fool! Don’t be silly and give him half; he might just spy on us and find out your whereabouts. It’s better for us to be resolute, take this money, hire a carriage, and go to Tokyo to join our son. Our in-laws are high-ranking officials; are we afraid of not having a place to live?" Han Daoguo said, "Leaving this house, we can't leave in a short while." His wife said, "You really have no brains! Have your second brother watch over it, leave a few taels of silver for him, and let him keep an eye on the house. If Ximen Qing’s people come after you, just say that our son in Tokyo has taken us away. Even if he has the guts, he wouldn’t dare go to the official's residence to find us! Even if he does find us, we’re not afraid of him." Han Daoguo said, "But I owe Ximen Qing a favor; how can I just turn my back on him? This is unreasonable!" His wife said, "Since forever, there’s no reason when you’re starving, right? He took our house; giving him a few taels of silver doesn’t mean much. Thinking about his family's funeral arrangements, I even kindly prepared offerings and went to burn incense at his house. That shameless woman, his first wife, didn’t come out for half a day and cursed at me inside the house, making me angry! I couldn’t go in or come out, neither sitting nor standing. Later, his third wife came out to sit with me, but I didn’t sit; I directly took a sedan chair home. Thinking about this bit of goodwill, giving him a few taels of silver is also appropriate." Han Daoguo was completely at a loss for words after what his wife said.
The couple had agreed that the next day at five o'clock in the morning, they would call Han Er to watch over the house and gave him twenty or thirty taels of silver. Han Er readily agreed, saying, "Don't worry, brother and sister-in-law, I'll keep an eye on things." Han Daoguo, along with Wang Han and two maidservants, hired twenty carts, loaded everything onto the carts, and left through the west gate after dawn, heading straight for Dongjing.
Shattering the jade cage, a colorful phoenix takes flight; suddenly, the golden lock opens, and a dragon breaks free.
Let’s set aside the matter of Han Daoguo and his wife going to Dongjing for now. Meanwhile, the next day, Wu Yue-niang took her mourning son, along with Meng Yulou, Pan Jinlian, Sister Ximen, the wet nurse Ruyier, and her son-in-law Chen Jingji, to the grave to burn paper in honor of Ximen Qing. Zhang An informed Yue-niang about seeing Han Daoguo return home yesterday; Yue-niang replied, "He came, but why didn't he come to my house? He might come today." After burning the paper at the grave and not sitting for long, she returned home and sent Chen Jingji to Han Daoguo's house to "ask Uncle Han where the boat is." The first time he didn’t find anyone, but the second time Han Er came out and said, "My brother and sister-in-law went to Dongjing; I don’t know where the boat is." Chen Jingji returned to tell Yue-niang. Uneasy, Yue-niang sent Chen Jingji to ride to the riverbank and look for the boat. He searched all day and finally found Laibao's boat at the Linqing dock. Laibao said, "Uncle Han took away one thousand taels of silver first." Chen Jingji replied, "Who saw him take it? Zhang An saw him enter the city, and the next day he went to the grave. The lady asked me to inquire about him; he and his wife ran off to Dongjing with the money. Now that father has died and the mourning period is over, the lady is worried and sent me to look for the boat." Laibao thought to himself, "This scoundrel even fooled me; he must have sold those one thousand taels of silver along the way, trying to strike it rich. You can be right next to someone, but their heart can be far away." Seeing that Ximen Qing had died, Laibao felt relieved and planned to leave with them. He took Chen Jingji to bars and clubs to drink and have a good time, secretly transferring the eight hundred taels of goods from the boat to the inn for safekeeping. Once he paid the tax, he planned to bring the boat over, load it at the New River mouth, transport it to Qinghe County, and unload it at the east wing of the inn.
After Ximen Qing died, his family's silk and cotton shop closed down for good. The clerks from the Duan family's shop across the street, Gan Er and Cui Ben, settled the money from selling the shop and went home. The house was sold, leaving only the pawnshop and the pharmacy at the front still open, run by Jing Ji and Clerk Fu. Lai Bao's wife, Hui Xiang, had a five-year-old son named Seng Bao Er. Han Daoguo's wife, Wang Liu Er, had a four-year-old niece, and the two families became in-laws, something Yue Niang was completely unaware of. After Lai Bao dealt with the goods, he shifted all the blame onto Han Daoguo, saying that Han Daoguo had already sold two thousand taels of silver and gone home. Yue Niang repeatedly urged him to go to Dongjing to find out where Han Daoguo had used the money. Lai Bao directly said, "Forget it! That's the Grand Tutor's residence; who would dare go there? Why stir up trouble? As long as they don't come looking for us, we can just stay home and recite Buddha; we don't need to go looking for trouble!" Yue Niang said, "The Zhai family counts as our in-laws; we should at least show some respect, right?" Lai Bao replied, "His daughter is doing well at his home; of course, he only cares about his own family. How can he care about us? Just keep this between us; if outsiders find out, it could cause trouble. Just consider those few coins lost and don't mention it again." Yue Niang had no choice but to give up. Later, she asked him to sell some cloth, and he brought the buyer along. Yue Niang asked Chen Jing Ji to help with the math and haggle over the price, but the buyer was not satisfied and walked away. Lai Bao insisted, "Brother-in-law, you don't know how tough it is to run a business. I've been in the world for so long and know the market; it's better to regret selling than to regret not selling. This price is already high enough; don't be greedy. If you pull the bow too tight, you'll scare the buyer away, making it look like you don't know how to do business. I'm not trying to show off; you're just younger and less experienced. Am I going to turn my elbow outward? It's better to sell quickly and avoid trouble." Jing Ji listened and didn't care anymore. He didn't wait for Yue Niang's orders, directly snatched the abacus, called the buyer back, and clearly handed over more than two thousand taels of silver to Jing Ji, who then handed it to Yue Niang for safekeeping before sending off the goods. Yue Niang gave Jing Ji twenty to thirty taels of silver for expenses, but Jing Ji pretended to be very generous and refused, saying, "Why would you take any money, madam? You should keep it for your old age; I have my own expenses and don't need you to worry!" That night, he got drunk and stumbled into Yue Niang's room, leaning against the heated bed, saying to her, "You lost your husband at such a young age and are raising a child alone; I can only imagine how hard that must be!" Yue Niang remained silent.
The steward of the Zhai family in Tokyo sent a letter, saying that Ximen Qing had died. He also mentioned that Han Daoguo had informed him that there were four girls in the Han family who sang well. He asked how much money it would cost to purchase a few to bring back to Tokyo to serve as maids for the elderly lady. Upon receiving the letter, Madame Yue panicked and quickly called Lai Bao to discuss whether or not to send the girls. Lai Bao entered the room and said directly, without addressing Madame Yue, "Your wife doesn't understand; not sending them will lead to serious trouble. This is all the fault of that dead man; just like selling wealth, when you treat someone to a meal, it’s bound to get around. Moreover, Han's daughters are already serving the elderly lady in the mansion; can we keep this under wraps? I mentioned this before, and now it’s really become a problem. If you don’t send them, they’ll send people to take them by force, and by then it will be too late for you to beg for mercy. It's not good to send all four, so it's better to send two for now to handle the situation." Madame Yue hesitated for a long time. Lanxiang from Meng Yulou’s room and Chunmei from Jinlian’s room were difficult to let go. Xiuchun had to take care of the child and couldn't go out. So she asked Yuxiao and Yingchun, who both readily agreed to go. So Lai Bao was hired to send the two girls to the Zhai family in Tokyo. Unfortunately, Lai Bao took advantage of the two girls on the way. Upon arriving in Tokyo, they met Han Daoguo and his wife, and Lai Bao explained everything that had happened. Han Daoguo thanked Lai Bao, saying, "If it weren't for your help, even if I wasn't afraid of them, I would have had to spend a lot of effort." Zhai Qian noticed how beautiful Yingchun and Yuxiao were; one could play the zither and the other could play the strings, both under seventeen or eighteen years old. He allowed them to stay in the mansion to serve the elderly lady, rewarding them with two taels of silver. Lai Bao secretly pocketed one tael, only handing one over to Madame Yue when he got home, and intimidating her by saying, "If it weren't for me, I wouldn't have been able to retrieve this tael of silver. You don't know, the Han family enjoys a life of luxury in the mansion, living in a separate courtyard, ordering maids and servants, leading a life of luxury. The steward calls Han Daoguo 'Daddy'; Han's daughter, Han Aijie, attends to the elderly lady every day, never leaving her side, enjoying good food, wearing fine clothes, and even learning to read, write, and do accounts, tall and lovely. Just the other day, she came out to see me, dressed like a goddess, calling me 'Uncle Bao' at every turn. Our two maids are now with her, still busy sewing and mending for her!" Madame Yue felt grateful after hearing this. She organized a banquet for him, but he declined to accept money, only accepting a piece of fabric to make clothes for Huixiang.
One day, Lai Bao and his brother-in-law Liu Cang went to Linqing Matou to sell some cloth. They sold it for eight hundred taels of silver and secretly bought a house right next door to Liu Cang's, opening a little grocery store. He went to the teahouse every day for tea. His wife Huixiang told Yue Niang she was going to visit her family, then secretly ran to the newly bought house, changed into new jewelry and clothes, and dressed to the nines before going to visit relatives at Wang Liu'er’s, taking a sedan chair to see her niece. After returning, she changed back into plain clothes before heading to Ximen Qing's house. Only Yue Niang was unaware of this. Lai Bao often got drunk and stumbled into Yue Niang's room to flirt with her, and it happened several times. If Yue Niang weren’t so upright, he might have succeeded. A few young maidservants also told Yue Niang that Huixiang was out visiting relatives at Wang Liu'er’s, dressed in flashy clothes. Pan Jinlian brought it up to Yue Niang a few times, but Yue Niang just wouldn’t believe it.
Huixiang heard this and started causing a ruckus in the kitchen, scolding others and herself. Lai Bao pretended to be foolish, trying to save face, and exclaimed to the others, "You guys only know how to gossip at the door! Look at me, I took a risk and brought back so much money and goods! If it weren't for me, that money would have been taken to Tokyo by that old Han fellow, without a trace. Now everyone is saying I embezzled the master's money; it's outrageous! It's like cutting meat without feeling pain, or burning incense without smelling it. As the saying goes, 'Trust people to lose the pot'!" Huixiang's wife also cursed along, saying, "You gossips! Saying my husband and I embezzled money, strutting around! My father-in-law borrowed some jewelry and clothes from my sister, and you said we bought them with the master's money! Go ahead, kick us out if you want! We won't starve after leaving! I can't wait to see you lowlifes and your kind thriving in Ximen Qing's house!"
Yue Niang observed Huixiang and his wife bickering and stirring up trouble, even threatening to hang themselves; her husband also treated Huixiang disrespectfully in private. Yue Niang had reached her breaking point and had no choice but to ask them to leave. Lai Bao and his brother-in-law then opened a fabric store and mingled with relatives and friends, which were just small potatoes. When servants start to bully their masters and times get tough, it's like ghosts are playing tricks on everyone.
