There were no bridges within ten li of Little Lian Bridge, and it was unclear why it was named that. Anyway, the name had stuck.
But here there were paper figures, wreaths, coffins... all kinds of shops related to funerals, making it the famous White Affairs Street in Linzi.
Old Zhang's Coffin Shop was the fourth one from the left of Little Lian Bridge. The owner was said to be a single heir for three generations, and had been in the business for three generations as well, so he had quite a reputation.
The shop was of medium size. A black curtain hung at the entrance, and no one was outside to greet customers.
People in the funeral business had taboos, especially with coffins, which shouldn't be exposed to sunlight.
Soliciting customers was also not done; people came and went on their own. At most, they had a good reputation like Old Zhang, with generations of craftsmanship.
Xu Xiangqian lifted the curtain and entered, asking immediately: "Boss! Is the coffin I ordered ready?"
In the back room, a thin, small figure was sitting among several coffins eating rice, presumably the owner of this coffin shop, that Old Zhang of White Affairs Street.
Hearing the voice, he looked up, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and came forward to say: "Mr. Xu, everything is prepared according to your instructions."
His voice was very thin and cold, with a feeling of not seeing the sun for years.
The great scholar Xu considered himself full of righteousness and had no taboos about such a place, looking around and asking: "Where is it?"
Old Zhang gestured with his hand: "Over here, Mr. Xu, please come and see."
He hesitated for a moment, then added a reminder: "It's not good to look too much at other people's coffins, for fear of inviting bad luck."
Jiang Wang remained silent throughout, letting Xu Xiangqian handle the communication.
Xu Xiangqian, however, remained polite and showed no displeasure: "Your reminder is noted."
In this outer room, two rows of coffins were arranged, totaling eleven, an odd number.
There was another room in the back, which wasn't easy to go in and see.
The coffin Xu Xiangqian ordered was in the third position of the second row. Just from its appearance, the craftsmanship was indeed outstanding.
Xu Xiangqian reached out and touched it, feeling the grain: "Very good, not bad, fine craftsmanship. The wood is also good."
Old Zhang didn't modestly deflect, just said in that cold, low voice: "This is my livelihood, I wouldn't dare be careless."
Jiang Wang also stepped forward to look, and indeed felt it was quite good, not a perfunctory job.
"Alright!" Xu Xiangqian glanced at Jiang Wang's expression, then clapped his hands and said: "Boss, could you find two people to help me carry it all the way, follow me to pick up my poor relative, and then go straight to burial?"
"No problem, right here at Little Lian Bridge, there are plenty of young men willing to work hard." Old Zhang agreed, but his feet didn't move.
Xu Xiangqian nodded: "Then I'll trouble you."
"Ahem." Old Zhang cleared his throat, rubbing his hands a bit embarrassedly: "Well, the payment for the coffin..."
Xu Xiangqian asked in surprise: "Didn't I already pay?"
"Mr. Xu, you only paid the deposit at that time..."
"Oh, is that so?" Xu Xiangqian said as if just remembering, then added: "It's fine, I'll give it to you later."
"Mr. Xu." Old Zhang was very troubled: "This coffin is made of Golden Phoebe Wood, the cost of the wood alone was quite high, plus the workers' wages..."
Golden Phoebe Wood was premium coffin material, priced like gold. For this coffin shop, it was indeed a huge cost that couldn't be taken lightly. If Xu Xiangqian hadn't paid a large deposit and acted wealthy, this deal wouldn't have been so easily made.
"Hey, I thought it was something else, I just came out in a hurry and didn't bring money."
Xu Xiangqian said without any hesitation, taking a seal from his waist: "Boss, do you know Qingya Branch Academy?"
This branch academy of Qingya Academy in Linzi had some fame.
Old Zhang said: "That's the finest academy. Of course I know it."
"I am a teacher at Qingya Branch Academy. Take this seal and go there, the Headmaster will pay you the rest, and he won't owe you a single penny!"
"Oh, of course I trust Qingya Branch Academy. Actually, it's fine if it's a bit late." Old Zhang cupped his hands apologetically: "My apologies, Mr. Xu!"
Although he said that, he still very promptly took the seal.
Jiang Wang also noticed that in a very short time, he had already squeezed the entire seal, probably using a unique way to verify its authenticity—of course it was real, Xu Xiangqian was a genuine teacher at Qingya Branch Academy. Of course, whether Headmaster Liu was willing to pay for him was another matter.
Xu Xiangqian hummed through his nose: "Go find someone, my poor relative must be getting anxious."
Old Zhang then hurriedly lifted the curtain and went out, apparently trusting the teacher from Qingya Branch Academy, not even waiting for a worker to come back and watch the shop before leaving.
Jiang Wang glanced at Xu Xiangqian, the meaning obvious—Would Headmaster Liu really pay for you? Don't cheat these people who make a living by their skills.
Xu Xiangqian returned a reassuring look and said: "He doesn't care if I'm broke, but he definitely cares about the academy's reputation."
This was indeed correct.
It's just that... back in the academy, when Xu Xiangqian said he'd handle the money easily, he didn't expect it would be handled this way!
First trying to get credit, and when that didn't work, shifting the burden back to Qingya Branch Academy. Now, for the tuition fees of the next few decades, Headmaster Liu would have to pay whether he liked it or not.
While Old Zhang went to find people to carry the coffin, Xu Xiangqian walked back to the outer area, or more accurately, to the paper figure shop next door.
"Boss, give me two paper figures. Make them pretty!"
This shop didn't use a black curtain, probably because paper figures also looked better in bright light.
Sitting in the shop was a middle-aged man with a dull expression.
He sat on a long bench, working skillfully with his hands, and without looking up when he heard the voice, just said: "They're all here. Pick whichever you think is pretty."
"Ahem, ahem!" Xu Xiangqian pretended to look for a while, coughed a few times to get the middle-aged man's attention, then said: "I'll just take them myself then, I'll pay you later."
To his surprise, the middle-aged man, while tying the paper figures, just replied: "Sure."
Jiang Wang stood at the entrance of the coffin shop, glancing over here, thinking this man really didn't seem like a businessman. Of course, his attention was more on the peddler who had already passed back and forth on the street six times.
He had seen this person no fewer than ten times since coming out of Xianshan Villa, to Qingya Branch Academy, and then to Little Lian Bridge. The man had changed different outfits and gear, but those boots with a shallow diagonal tear never changed—for someone observant, this was conspicuous enough.
At the entrance of the paper figure shop, the owner didn't care if he would skip the bill, but Xu Xiangqian got excited: "You're not going to ask who I am, where I live, what to do if I skip the bill, or how to find me for the money?"
The middle-aged man's busy hands paused, he looked up at Xu Xiangqian, especially lingering on his unusually high forehead for a few breaths, then said plainly: "You look like a respectable person, you wouldn't cheat me out of this little money."
"True." Xu Xiangqian nodded deeply in agreement: "Then lend two more, to make two pairs. My poor relative has suffered a lot, at least it should be lively when he gets there."
"This..." Even if the middle-aged man didn't know how to do business, he should feel troubled.
"Oh, don't worry, look at me, such a handsome and talented person, would I deceive you?" Xu Xiangqian consoled him: "I'll come often in the future and support your business!"
The middle-aged man with the dull expression looked at him, wanting to speak but stopping.
But those eyes clearly showed some doubt.
My business... is something people can come to often?