"Uncle Fu, what's this about Young Master Cui coming?" Fei Qian hadn't quite recovered from his daze, but he snapped back to reality and slapped his forehead. "Oh dear, I almost forgot! I must go and greet him."
Fei Qian stood up, ready to go out and welcome Young Master Cui. Uncle Fu also hurriedly stepped forward with a smile to help Fei Qian straighten out his somewhat wrinkled clothes.
Although Uncle Fu was quite old, he was still very nimble. First, he smoothed out the front of Fei Qian's robe, then he turned to the back to pull out the creases, occasionally looking up at Fei Qian, the wrinkles on his face radiating kindness and joy.
Fei Qian looked at Uncle Fu's smile and couldn't help but laugh. "Old Uncle Fu, what are you smiling at? Is there something wrong with how I'm dressed?"
"No, no, Young Master looks very good. I'm just filled with joy whenever I see Young Master..." Uncle Fu's hands didn't stop moving, but his voice trailed off as he spoke, "...May the Old Master have a spirit in heaven, and bless Young Master... with peace and health... free from illness and disaster..."
Fei Qian chuckled. "Old Uncle Fu, aren't I doing perfectly well? Don't worry, my health is great now!" He even patted his chest to emphasize his point.
"Yes, yes, Young Master." Uncle Fu finished straightening the clothes and stood up straight. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and his smile faded slightly. "Young Master, I shouldn't be meddling, but... befriending this Young Master Cui is all well and good, but their Cui Family... Well, Young Master, it's best to be careful in everything..."
Fei Qian was a little puzzled. "Uncle Fu, could you be more specific?"
"I've only heard some rumors in the neighborhood these past few days... It's a long story. If Young Master wants to know, I'll tell you in detail after Young Master Cui leaves. But for now, we mustn't keep him waiting, lest we lose our family's manners... Anyway, it's always good to be careful..."
"Okay, I understand." Although Fei Qian didn't fully understand, he decided to greet Young Master Cui first, as keeping a guest waiting at the door for too long would be impolite.
Young Master Cui's given name was Hou, courtesy name Yongyuan, and he was the son of Cui Yi. His appearance was almost identical to someone of the same name in later generations. Fei Qian blurted it out the first time they met at the market, and coincidentally, Cui Hou's courtesy name was Yongyuan, so they became acquainted.
Cui Hou was the first "official descendant," or rather, the descendant of an official who had retreated to who-knows-what-line, that Fei Qian met after arriving in the Han Dynasty.
Cui Hou was the eldest son of Cui Yi, and Cui Yi was the younger brother of Cui Lie.
Because the court didn't have a Chancellor position at the moment, the highest-ranking civil officials were the Three Dukes: the Minister of Works, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Grand Commandant. After them came the Nine Ministers: the Minister of Ceremonies, the Minister of State, the Commandant of the Guards, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the Minister of Justice, the Grand Herald, the Director of the Imperial Clan, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Chamberlain. The highest-ranking military official was the General-in-Chief, analogous to the Chancellor, a rank even higher than the Three Dukes, followed by the General of Agile Cavalry, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and the General of the Guards, analogous to the Three Dukes. After that came the Generals Who Conquer and Generals Who Pacify, and anything below that was considered a miscellaneous general.
As far as Fei Qian knew, Cui Lie had served as Minister of Works during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, making him a top-level figure. Later, Cui Lie had a conflict with The Ten Attendants, the eunuch clique, and lost his position. The Ten Attendants also ruined his family, and Cui Lie died of resentment and depression shortly after.
Cui Yi was also implicated and almost bankrupted. Fortunately, someone in the court secretly took care of him. After killing Cui Lie, The Ten Attendants considered it revenge enough and had no interest in pursuing further investigations, which saved Cui Yi's life. Now, the Cui Family had a farm outside Luoyang, and they also ran a pawnshop in the city. The scale was naturally not as large as that of General-in-Chief He Jin, but it was enough to make ends meet.
It was precisely because the Cui Family was no longer a prominent official family that Cui Yi's son, Cui Hou, didn't have the airs of an official descendant. Otherwise, Fei Qian wouldn't have been able to get to know him.
Fei Qian felt a strange sense of amusement every time he saw Cui Hou. That small-eyed, flat face was almost identical to someone in later generations!
Fei Qian went out to greet him, standing on the left side, with his hands clasped in front of him. "Brother Yongyuan, I apologize for the late welcome. Please come in, please come in." Although he wanted to laugh when he saw that face, he still had to observe proper etiquette.
Cui Hou also smiled, making his small eyes even smaller. "Haha, why so formal, my dear brother? You look even better than the last time I saw you!" As he spoke, he stepped forward and very naturally took Fei Qian's hand.
Although Fei Qian knew that holding hands or arms was just a way to show affection in the Han Dynasty, he still felt a little uneasy about a grown man doing that to him.
"Brother Yongyuan, please come inside—" Fei Qian tried to withdraw his hand as discreetly as possible, then turned to Uncle Fu and instructed him to serve some dried fruits and tea, and to prepare the reception hall.
Cui Hou didn't seem to notice anything, still smiling. "Ah, dear brother, there's no need to be so polite between us. Just be casual, be casual! Oh, yes, I heard that the Fei family of Heluo is also known for its scholarly traditions and has a rich collection of books. Forgive my boldness, but would it be possible to visit your study for a chat?"
"The study?"
Cui Hou nodded with a smile. "This humble brother has no other hobbies, except for reading new books. I wonder if my dear brother would grant me this request? Ah, of course, if it's inconvenient for my dear brother..."
"Not at all, not at all. In that case, Brother Yongyuan, this way, please." Although Fei Qian didn't quite understand why Cui Hou had such a request, he decided that if he wanted to go to the study, then so be it.
The two moved to the study and sat down facing each other. Uncle Fu brought in some dried fruits and tea and stood aside, ready to serve.
Cui Hou looked around and exclaimed, "I've heard that the Fei family of Heluo is known for its scholarly traditions, and seeing it today, it's indeed true. There are so many books here, tsk tsk—Oh, yes, the item from the last time was seen by a distinguished guest a few days ago, and he was very pleased with it, so he took it away. This guest is also very generous. Well, this humble brother will send someone to deliver your share this afternoon during Shen time."
"Ah, in that case, I'm truly troubling Brother Yongyuan!"
"Not at all, this humble brother should be thanking you..." Cui Hou suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Ah, that's right, I almost forgot. This humble brother's farm recently harvested some new melons and fruits, so I brought some for my dear brother to try—Old steward, would you trouble yourself with a trip? I've already had someone send them to the back alley."
Fei Qian couldn't refuse and had to express his thanks, asking Uncle Fu to go to the back alley to collect them.
Seeing that Uncle Fu had also left, and there was no one else around, Cui Hou leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "These treasures... does my dear brother have any more? The distinguished guest said he'd take as many as you have..."
The so-called treasure was actually large glass beads with embossed patterns, or rather, leaded glass beads, because Fei Qian couldn't purify the materials. Leaded glass was hard and brittle, making it difficult to carve, but later generations invented the lost-wax casting method, which allowed leaded glass to appear in richer patterns and shapes. The lost-wax casting method for leaded glass was originally invented and used in the Tang Dynasty, but Fei Qian had a small personal hobby for leaded glass in his later life and collected a lot of it, so he knew a little about it.
At that time, Fei Qian had just recovered from typhoid fever, and the family had basically been emptied by the cost of medicine. Fortunately, Fei Qian still remembered the homemade method for making leaded glass. After many attempts, and using the lost-wax casting method, he managed to make two or three finished products after carefully polishing them. He happened to meet Cui Hou at the market and, through a stroke of luck, learned that the Cui Family had a pawnshop, so he asked Cui Hou to sell them for some money to get through those difficult early days.
This could be considered Fei Qian's only golden finger at the moment. It was also somewhat helpless. The various levels of society in the Han Dynasty were clearly defined. Although the scholar-peasant-artisan-merchant classes didn't have a household registration system like the Ming Dynasty, Fei Qian was still considered a "scholar" who studied, so it wasn't convenient for him to directly sell things.
The more popular trading method among "scholars" was "gifting." You give me a few singing girls, and I give you a few fine horses. Everyone knew it was a transaction, but it was covered in a veneer of elegance.
If Fei Qian wanted to turn his leaded glass products into cash, the fastest way at the time was to pawn them. However, he unexpectedly met Cui Hou at the time, otherwise, he might have chosen another pawnshop.
However, it was very difficult to make homemade leaded glass. Eight or nine times out of ten, it would either crack or have hollows. The yield rate was too low. Fei Qian made several batches one after another, but other than the first few times, the recent two batches were all waste products, and all of them were smashed and couldn't be used.
Moreover, Fei Qian also knew that things were valued for their scarcity. If he sold a large quantity, it would not only disrupt prices but also easily attract trouble for possessing valuable items. Therefore, he only took two or three finished products, claiming they were heirlooms and asking Cui Hou to sell them on his behalf. The other waste products were all smashed and buried deeply.
It was better to have a reputation as a spendthrift than to be coveted by others.
Now it seemed that Cui Hou had tasted a lot of sweetness in this transaction, so he came in person to inquire and see if there was a possibility of continuing the transaction.
Fei Qian thought for a moment and shook his head. "Brother Yongyuan, don't laugh at me. I was forced to sell them, and it was like a knife to my heart. These are items passed down from my ancestors, and to me... alas..." This question was difficult to answer. If he said there were more later, wouldn't that make it clear that he had goods in hand? That wouldn't do. But if he said there weren't any, he had enough money now, but what if he accidentally spent it all? He couldn't block his own path, could he?
Fei Qian covered his face with his sleeve, putting on a sad look, not preparing to answer directly, hoping to muddle through first.
Cui Hou coughed twice, thinking to himself, as expected, just as Father had said, there must be something else going on. This kid is still pretending to be sad, not a single tear in his eyes. He's pretending too poorly. I would have to be crying my eyes out to look real.
However, Cui Hou also understood that Fei Qian was unwilling to answer, so he had to change the subject. "Well, dear brother, don't be sad... Ah, what books have you been reading recently? I see there are no less than a thousand volumes here. Can you give this humble brother a feast for the eyes?" While Fei Qian was still covering his face, he intentionally or unintentionally knocked open a bit of the bamboo slip that Fei Qian had placed on the table, secretly glancing at it. He vaguely saw a few words "...my bow is useless..."
"Ah, they're just ordinary books. Look, Brother Yongyuan, this is the Qi Commentary, but unfortunately, I've only collected eleven scrolls here. There are still many missing..."
Cui Hou pretended to listen to Fei Qian introducing him to various classics and literary collections with a smile, while constantly recalling and pondering whether he had read those words in any of the books he had read. After thinking about it, he had no clue at all, and couldn't help but curse inwardly, "What book is this kid reading?"