At the Lu residence, Lu Yu finished warming his books and went to the kitchen to get a cup of sour plum juice.
The dinner had been a bit greasy, leaving his stomach unsettled. While studying, his mind had been wholly on scholarship, and he hadn’t felt much discomfort. Only after putting the books away did he notice his stomach.
After drinking, he found the air still stifling, so he carried another cup toward Lu Ling’s room.
“Elder Brother? Are you asleep?”
He knocked twice at the door without hearing any response. He called out again, but it was still the same—no answer.
Lu Yu fell silent for a moment. His elder brother was a martial man, working for a wealthy household in the capital. At this hour, it was not yet curfew—how could he already be asleep?
And even if he truly were asleep, how could he fail to notice someone knocking at the door?
Most likely, he wasn’t in the room at all.
Lu Yu’s brow twitched. If his brother wasn’t in his room, where could he have gone? Then he smiled in sudden understanding. His elder brother had already come of age. Even if he didn’t return home for the night, surely he had a proper place to go.
That evening, he had still come back to eat dinner. When the family sat together at the table, he had even reminded their father to keep an eye on the steward surnamed Wei under his authority.
After the meal, he had returned to his room again. The whole family had been delighted beyond measure.
In the courtyard, the toad hiding in the lotus jar and the crickets in the ground kept chirping without pause. Lu Yu carried his sour plum drink back to his own room in silence, pretending as though he had never made this trip at all.
Since his elder brother was deliberately putting on a show of staying home to reassure their parents, why should he expose the truth and make them worry?
Thus, several days passed, and August arrived.
One afternoon, Master Tong had Shu Rui inspect the entire shop. The repairs were nearing completion. Altogether, the work had taken eleven days. At a daily wage of one hundred sixty-five cash, that came to one thousand eight hundred fifteen cash in labor.
The lumber had cost another three strings and six hundred cash. Rounding things off, the total still came to five strings and four hundred cash.
After looking over the shop, Shu Rui truly found nothing left that needed checking.
During these days, as each room had been repaired, he and Lu Ling had inspected them one by one. If anything hadn’t been tidied properly, it was fixed on the spot.
Master Tong’s craftsmanship was seasoned and solid. The work was done very well, and Shu Rui had nothing to criticize. He had already prepared the full payment in advance. After a routine inspection, he settled all the money with Master Tong at once.
Once the wages were paid in full, the carpenter was pleased as well.
When taking on work for others, the most frustrating thing was delayed payment. If it were some rich and powerful household, that was one thing. But for ordinary folk, who worked from dawn to dusk for many days, only to end up not receiving their full wages—who wouldn’t be annoyed by that?
He counted the money and thanked Shu Rui.
After hesitating briefly, he still said, “Ge’er, you’re a straightforward person. These past days we’ve worked together smoothly, so I’ll speak plainly. If you plan to have me make the wooden furnishings as well, I hope you can give me an answer sooner rather than later.
“Recently there have been two jobs back in the countryside. They’re not as big as yours here, but if you decide to use someone else for the later work, I won’t delay things—I’ll just take those countryside jobs. If you still need me, then I’ll turn them down.”
Hearing this, Shu Rui felt a trace of hesitation.
He knew Master Tong wasn’t necessarily saying this just to pressure him into giving him the job. A craftsman’s work was never guaranteed, and besides, Master Tong’s skills were genuinely good.
Shu Rui did want Master Tong to make the furnishings for the inn. Over these days, he had seen clearly how well the man worked. The cabinets and dressing tables hauled over from his place were solid and convenient to use.
All that was fine. The only problem was that furnishing several large rooms in the inn would not be a small expense.
After paying this round of wages, Shu Rui didn’t have much money left on hand.
After thinking it over, Shu Rui said, “Master Tong, how about this: today I’ll first list out all the wooden furnishings the inn will need, item by item. Tomorrow I’ll bring the list for you to look over and get a quote, so I know where I stand.
“I won’t hide it from you—this old shop has been repaired so slowly because my funds are limited. If I were to have everything made at once, I’m not sure I’d have enough money on hand.
“Once the price is quoted, if I can afford it, we’ll move quickly and settle it. If the price is really beyond what I can manage, then we’ll put the matter on hold. That way, it won’t delay you from taking other work.”
Master Tong nodded. “That works. I can wait a few days for your answer. Just list everything out. When the time comes, whatever wood you need, I’ll give you the best price.”
“Alright. I’ll get it to you as soon as possible.”
After a few more words, Master Tong left early for the day.
Shu Rui took up paper and brush and went upstairs in the inn.
Upstairs there were four rooms in total: two large and two small. Shu Rui planned to make the two large rooms into premium rooms. Since they were premium, everything had to be properly appointed—canopy beds, wardrobes, dressing tables, a small table for dining in the room, and a couch set against the wall for resting.
For bathing, there needed to be wash stands, bathing tubs, and screens.
Decorations were also indispensable—at the very least, two small display tables for flower arrangements and vases.
Altogether, that meant two full sets.
As for the two smaller rooms, they would be standard rooms. Compared to the premium rooms, they would have one fewer table. Still, they would need two stools each. There would be no resting couch, and no bathing tubs provided.
Downstairs, the large western room could be simpler—just a sturdy communal sleeping platform would suffice.
In addition, there was the large eastern room where Shu Rui currently lived, and the small room where Lu Ling stayed. Calculated generously, those two rooms should also be furnished like premium rooms. But since funds were tight, at the very least two beds needed to be made so they could sleep properly.
In the summer heat, sleeping on floor bedding was fine. But once winter came, who could endure the icy chill rising from the ground?
All of this concerned only the room furnishings. In the inn’s main hall, they were still using three old tables and benches. If fully arranged, the hall could hold at most seven tables.
On ordinary days, when there were fewer customers, five tables would be sufficient.
So at the very least, five new tables were needed, each with four long benches.
The old ones would be stored away. When it got busy, they could be brought back out. The new ones could be kept in the hall most days to improve appearances.
Once everything was listed out, it filled two full pages.
After finishing the tally, Shu Rui slumped down behind the counter. With so many furnishings, even using cheaper wood, it would probably still cost dozens of strings of cash.
He had twenty strings left on hand. Of those, five strings had been Lu Ling’s share of the reward from the yamen after catching a thief, which he had given to Shu Rui.
Even if this money were enough to make the furnishings, how would he afford the expenses of running the inn afterward, or hiring help?
As he sat there with his head full of worries, Lu Ling came in from the back courtyard after work. Spotting Shu Rui, he strode over in big steps.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Shu Rui lifted his drooping head and slid the list of furnishings on the counter toward Lu Ling.
“I settled Master Tong’s wages today. Next comes making the furnishings. He said if I want to use him, I should let him know soon—there are also two jobs back in the countryside. I wrote up a list this afternoon of everything that needs to be made.”
Lu Ling skimmed the two pages, then looked at Shu Rui, who looked like a sun-wilted eggplant. “You’re worried the money won’t be enough?”
Shu Rui didn’t speak.
Lu Ling took the money pouch from his waist and set it on the counter, raising his brow slightly. “I just got my monthly pay today.”
Shu Rui’s eyes lit up. He opened the pouch and saw that the martial hall paid in silver.
A smile rose on his face as he looked at Lu Ling. “Looks like you’ve gotten your wages too. Time really does pass quickly. Is there anything you want to eat tonight? I’ll make it for you.”
Lu Ling didn’t answer that. Instead, he looked at Shu Rui and said, “A few strings of wages won’t be enough to add many furnishings. Why don’t we go to the money bureau and withdraw one hundred strings to cover things for now?”
He knew that although his savings were in Shu Rui’s hands, Shu Rui hadn’t used a single coin of them.
Shu Rui pressed his lips together. “We’re not married yet. I don’t want to just go using your savings like that.”
Lu Ling said, “Then let’s get married tomorrow.”
Shu Rui smacked his arm. “You’re talking nonsense again.”
Lu Ling curled his lips, then turned serious. “I know you have concerns, so let me ask you this first—do you want to open the inn as soon as possible?”
“Of course.”
“If you want to open the inn quickly, then the shop has to be finished quickly. If the money isn’t enough, what do you do? One way is to borrow, another is to earn.”
Lu Ling continued, “If you earn by making food and drinks, you can make money, but the profit is thin. This year you probably still wouldn’t save enough for the repairs and later operating funds. Wouldn’t that go against your wish to open the inn quickly?”
Hearing this, Shu Rui said, “So what you mean is, if I want to open quickly, I have no choice but to borrow money first?”
Lu Ling nodded. “These days, borrowing money isn’t hard. Without relying on parents, siblings, or friends, you can borrow a few hundred cash at the money bureau, or as much as hundreds or even a thousand strings. The interest isn’t as high as private lenders outside. Many merchants with insufficient starting funds have gone this route—it’s nothing unusual.”
“You borrow the money, open the inn earlier, and start earning earlier. It really is the faster path.”
“But borrowing outside requires land deeds or house deeds as collateral, which is still a bit risky. So in that case, it’s better to use my savings. If you’re really worried about it, just think of it as borrowing from me.”
Shu Rui couldn’t help laughing. “After all that circling around, you just want me to borrow your money.”
“It shouldn’t even need to be called borrowing. But someone here is too honest—won’t spend the money even when it’s in hand. What else can anyone do?”
Shu Rui fell silent, thinking over Lu Ling’s words.
The slow pace of the repairs really was because he was short on funds. In truth, he had already considered borrowing money to push through and finish the inn while Master Tong was still available.
Once the inn opened, it could take in lodgers on one side and sell meals on the other. If business went smoothly, it would certainly earn more than going out to sell food as he had before. Once his hands were freer, he could repay the debt.
When he first took over the shop and saw how run-down it was, with no business to supplement his income, he hadn’t dared to even think about borrowing money. Even if he’d had the nerve to borrow to repair the shop, the money bureau would likely have refused him once they came to inspect the collateral.
But now, he had started a bit of business, the shop had been repaired, and he also had Lu Ling. His courage had grown, and he dared to consider such things.
Yet if he truly went to the money bureau to borrow, and borrowed from outside rather than using Lu Ling’s, Lu Ling—who was sincere and wholehearted—would surely be hurt by that.
If he was going to borrow anyway, and Lu Ling had already said as much, then perhaps this really was a viable way forward.