Over the next three or four days after returning to camp, Liu Cheng first took inventory of their money and grain, reorganized the messes, and then reiterated and tightened the grain-rationing discipline. During this time, through strict enforcement of camp regulations, he also expelled three formerly subdued young ruffians and at least five families on proven charges of theft, harassing women, fraudulently claiming and hoarding grain, and conducting unauthorized religious ceremonies.
Combined with the twenty or thirty unfamiliar, burly men Tall Liu had quietly gathered from Jiangsheng, the camp—which had previously relaxed and even grown cheerful—inevitably turned solemn and tense.
From top to bottom, everyone sensed that the two managers' attitudes were indeed changing.
"What are we doing?" Liu Jili crossed his arms, staring into the distance at the several families weeping and pleading at the valley entrance, visibly lost. "Saving outsiders with one hand while driving out our own Pengcheng folk with the other? Have we truly become the kind of people Third Grandfather warned about?"
"Don't let your thoughts run wild." Liu Cheng was unperturbed. "Are those two things the same? Even if we hadn't rescued those outsiders, those troublemakers still would have had to be dealt with. By driving out these black sheep today, twice as many people might survive in this camp. If those outsiders pull the same stunts, they'll be driven out too."
"Reason is reason, but human sentiment is human sentiment." Liu Jili still shook his head. "It's like how by reason we shouldn't have taken in those bondservants, yet law and reason never exist apart from human sentiment."
"That's why we gave those expelled people their share of grain. We've done everything benevolence and duty require," Liu Cheng replied with the same composure. "As for reason..."
At this point, Liu Cheng turned to his companion, his expression uncharacteristically stern. "If we're talking about reason, Grand Commander Chu Pou, Chief Clerk Xun Xian of the General Who Subdues the North, Langya Attendant Yuan Zhi, or even the commandery's personnel, granary, and census sections should have relieved the refugees long ago! Why should we be the ones agonizing over it here? Should good people spend their days wallowing in self-pity and blame? Brother Jili, just because those people are so high above us that we cannot shake them, we must not take their inaction as natural and proper!"
Liu Jili turned pale, at a total loss for words.
Having dealt with personnel, Liu Cheng was still in no hurry to head to Jiangsheng or Jiankang, choosing instead to methodically reorganize the camp's physical layout.
He cleared the roads to ensure smooth transit and communication within the camp; strengthened defenses at the valley mouth by having the newly arrived bondservants construct a simple gatehouse and watchtower in military fashion; and finally, thoroughly overhauled the area around the central fire pit where Liu Ren Gong's household had once lived. All surrounding shacks were dismantled to free up ample space, the ground was leveled, and the central pit was ordered to be widened and extended, rapidly turning into an open square.
The first two tasks were easy enough to comprehend—they facilitated management and guarded against thieves. But Liu Jili could not fathom the last one. Yet Liu Cheng personally took charge of it, scribbling and sketching on precious paper, digging and leveling earth himself, treating it as the most critical endeavor of all.
Fortunately, Liu Jili possessed one great virtue: asking whenever he did not understand. However, Liu Cheng's explanation only left him more bewildered.
As for deciding all rewards and punishments right before everyone's eyes, Liu Jili grasped that instantly: with the rationing system being tightened, everyone would come together to collect their rations and see the fair distribution with their own eyes. If anyone were to be expelled in the future, they would be brought here for a public trial. That was undeniably right.
So Liu Jili readily accepted that part.
Yet what did it mean to say that ordinary folk also needed a spiritual life? And that the more bitter and strained their days grew, the more they needed spiritual comfort to help them dream?
Was he planning to invite the Celestial Masters here to preach?
Hadn't they just expelled a shamaness who took people's grain to perform rituals for changing fortunes?
Still, Liu Jili had his hands full with heavy chores, and the principle of "deciding all before their eyes" was convincing enough, so he did not dwell on the matter further.
Thus, the two tidied up the camp. By the time the new duties were assigned, the twenty-fifth of October had arrived. The Celestial Masters' emissary arrived in a hurry to remind them that it was time to deliver the next cartload of silver frost charcoal. The wine, talismans, and dyed paper agreed upon last time were also ready, and they had even caught a live young wild boar the day before, urging the two Lius to make haste.
Liu Cheng certainly had no intention of stalling. He agreed at once, but asked the two families escorting the carts to rendezvous with them tomorrow in Jiangsheng, as they had personal business to attend to first.
The next morning, perhaps from waking too early, the chill in the air felt decidedly sharper, and the sky looked overcast. By the time the two carried their loads of peachwood firewood to Jiangsheng, it should have been broad daylight, yet the sky remained sullen and gray. But they had no time to worry about the weather. Finding Liu Ren Gong still weaving mats under the eaves, they came straight to the point, asking him to return to camp.
Liu Ren Gong was greatly astonished.
With Liu Huzi present, all three younger Lius offered their reasons. Liu Jili explained that the camp had struck upon a side venture, stockpiling enough money and grain to cross the winter threshold, so Liu Ren Gong's household could survive the winter there as well. Liu Cheng spoke plainly of his worry that if too much time passed and Liu Ren Gong's household did not return come spring, the camp's land reclamation could not be launched. As for Liu Huzi, he bluntly reminded his father that by staying here, they were driving the Gao household to the brink of emptying their pockets. Even if Gao Jian was forbearing, what about the rest of the Gao family? The two households were bound by mutual benevolence and marriage ties; how could they face each other in the future?
Besieged by the three juniors, Liu Ren Gong was naturally swayed, but he had his own calculations:
"The ledger isn't reckoned that way. Purely in terms of practical interests, leaving now would be good for both sides. But if we leave lightly, how will outsiders view your Uncle Gao, and how will they view us? Outsiders will only say that your Uncle Gao initially tolerated us for the sake of reputation, then drove us away when he realized he couldn't afford it. They'll also say that as a Liu elder, I abandoned the camp and dumped the women and children on you when times were hard, and now that you've run the camp well, I'm sweeping back in to snatch it away! It's the same for you two. You went to great lengths to pull the camp together; if I go back now, people will assume I was the one holding it together. You're young, and you won't be able to build a reputation!
"So, Cheng, going back isn't out of the question, but spring plowing is a proper reason. Returning then is natural and right, and good for everyone."
At these words, Liu Huzi, who had always been easily swayed by whatever wind was blowing, instantly shifted his stance. He stood behind his father, nodding in agreement, and looked back at Liu Cheng. Even Liu Jili, who had been deeply shaken earlier by the expulsion of the bondservants, began to waver, turning his gaze toward Liu Cheng as well.
What could Liu Cheng do? He could only sigh.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered this. He truly understood the logic. Even if he hadn't, Old Uncle Liu San had laid it bare days ago, and Liu Jili's objections remained vivid in his memory. How could he not understand?
Where, then, had the error arisen? Why had he still misjudged the situation?
It was simple: for certain reasons, his worldview differed from theirs. To him, reputation was naturally a fine thing and carried great appeal; after all, he had easily persuaded Liu Jili to stay and help manage the camp using that very incentive. At the same time, however, he was a transmigrator. When push came to shove, he would subconsciously discount the value of reputation.
He felt that in the face of sheer survival probability, gold, silver, grain, goods, and the very lives of refugees and beggars by the roadside, reputation could be set aside for a moment.
In ordinary times, Liu Cheng could remind himself that this was the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms era, only a few decades since the end of the Three Kingdoms; Sun Quan had not been dead a hundred years. People of this era placed immense weight on reputation, to the point of acting tolerably well in that regard.
Yet when it came down to the present moment, concerning his own reputation alongside those of Liu Ren Gong, Liu Jili, and Gao Jian, he suddenly realized his judgment had failed.
He had assumed the scales were balanced and business could be done, but in reality, they were not.
Almost in an instant, a story fitting this era came to mind. He smiled and said, "What Uncle Ren Gong said today reminds me of a tale my father told me when I was young..."
"What tale?" Perhaps fearing Liu Cheng might lose face, Liu Jili quickly chimed in to support him.
"They say that during the chaos at the end of the Han dynasty, Hua Xin and Wang Lang were fleeing together by boat when a man wished to join them. Hua Xin was reluctant, but Wang Lang said, 'The boat is spacious enough; why not save him?'" Liu Cheng recounted smoothly. "Later, bandits came in pursuit, and Wang Lang wanted to abandon the man. Hua Xin said, 'My hesitation earlier was precisely for this reason. But since we have already taken him in, how can we abandon him in a moment of crisis?' So he insisted on taking the man along as they fled. Afterward, the world judged the worth of the two men based on this incident... Uncle Ren Gong! It seems that today, I am Wang Lang, and you are Hua Xin."
"Hardly that extreme," Liu Jili interjected before the other two could speak—or perhaps Liu Ren Gong and his son lacked the literary grounding to catch the nuance of the parable right away. "If it were about saving a life, a man of your character would never lightly abandon someone. Right now, this is just a calculation made while we have strength to spare. Why demean yourself like that? Cheng, what you asked today came entirely from good intentions. You did nothing wrong..."
*When did I say I did something wrong?* Liu Cheng thought. *I was merely lamenting that I'm more pragmatic like Wang Lang, while overlooking the era's traits and evaluation standards.*
*Was Wang Lang really that bad? He was one of the Three Excellencies of Cao Wei! It took the Romance of the Three Kingdoms to invent the scene of him being scolded to death.*
Feeling helpless inside, Liu Cheng waved his hand dismissively. "Be that as it may, I was indeed too hasty. Furthermore, I made an error earlier. If not for Uncle Ren Gong's reminder, it might have led to trouble down the road..."
With that, he promptly disclosed how he had secretly taken in the expelled bondservants.
"What does that matter?" Liu Ren Gong said, completely unconcerned, appearing noticeably relieved. "Rest easy, Cheng. Lay this matter on my head. I'll go speak with your Uncle Gao, explain the situation at your camp, and say that seeing his awkward bind while we could not yet return, I took the liberty of absorbing the bondservants on his behalf... Frankly, I can read a bit of Gao Jian's character. He won't bicker over such trivial points of reputation, so don't worry. Even after my many years along the Huai River, I wouldn't fuss over such empty fame either. It's just that in these times we all have clans; an individual's reputation has long been tied to his kin, leaving us no choice but to act this way."
Saying so, Liu Ren Gong took Liu Cheng's hand across the mat and spoke with earnest warmth: "Cheng, you coming here to ask me back actually made me very glad. For you young men to shoulder responsibilities on your own is a marvelous thing. If you can carve out a path in the future, I'll be even happier. But there is truly no need to rush... Unless it's a matter of life and death, slowing down often leaves a few extra avenues open."
Though Liu Cheng privately disagreed, he nodded and accepted the advice.
With the matter helplessly shelved, life still had to go on.
Not long after stepping out of Liu Ren Gong's room, they saw the cart escort team arrive. Liu Huzi still stayed behind, while Liu Jili and Liu Cheng carried their firewood and escorted the carts toward Jiankang as usual.
The journey went smoothly.
In fact, even the petty clerk guarding the Three Bridges Fence Gate had realized that this distinctive convoy was nine times out of ten delivering daily necessities to the second-rank noble houses in the city. He conducted no inspection whatsoever, merely lowering his head to collect the prepared one-tenth entry tax.
Once inside the city, they skirted several carriages belonging to illustrious houses and made their way smoothly into Wuyi Lane, arriving on schedule at the Xie manor in the early afternoon.
Just as they began unloading the goods, Steward Qian didn't bother checking or calculating anything. He seized both Lius by the arms and pulled them aside, whispering, "The Fourth Master—the Master of Dongshan you spoke of—left word earlier: if you two arrived, we were to report directly to him. He wants to grant you an audience!"
The two Lius exchanged glances, first stunned, then overjoyed. Wasn't this precisely what Liu Jili had been waiting for?
Liu Cheng's thoughts ran a bit more complex. When he had first come to the Xie household, he had genuinely intended only to do business. Otherwise, he wouldn't have instructed Steward Qian last time to insulate the business from the two of them should anything go awry.
By the same token, back on Mount Hua, his first thought had been of those bolts of cloth.
Yet having come this far and experienced so much, how could he fail to realize that the recognition of these prominent clans was the most precious resource of this era?
Even if you wanted to build a fortified manor—or stepping back, even if you didn't, and merely wanted to pursue shady ventures—you still needed resources of this caliber to grow large and strong, didn't you? Look at Master Du; didn't he have to fawn over such noble households as well?
Besides, this was Xie An. If one were to rank the top ten figures of this era, or pick seven or eight transcendent geniuses, Xie An would surely be among them no matter how you counted. Wang Meng, Fu Jian, Huan Wen, Murong Ke, Murong Chui—and then Xie An and Xie Xuan! Even factoring in specialized figures like Ran Min and Wang Xizhi, he would still easily make the top ten!
To meet such a man once—while perhaps not enough to say his transmigration hadn't been in vain—was unquestionably a rare milestone in a lifetime.
Any amount of excitement was entirely justified.
"Don't lose your composure, you two. The Fourth Master isn't in the manor right now," Steward Qian cautioned, dampening their enthusiasm. "He went to visit a friend, but he'll definitely be back this afternoon, as he already promised the young masters and young mistresses to resume teaching in the courtyard... While you have the time, why don't you two wash your hair? Save yourselves from having lice."
The two looked at each other. Though they knew the man meant well, it still rubbed them the wrong way. In the end, Liu Jili forced down his impatience and waved a hand. "The two of us washed our hair just four or five days ago; there are no lice. Besides, we don't know when the Master of Dongshan will return. If he summons us while we're half-washed, wouldn't that be dreadfully rude?"
Steward Qian could only drop the matter.
Following that, Liu Jili was visibly flustered, pacing restlessly in the back courtyard. Liu Cheng, after his initial excitement, remembered his duties and urged Steward Qian to balance the ledgers and ready the silver, coin, and grain—especially since they had brought a new item this time: dyed paper.
Steward Qian turned out to be somewhat nervous himself, claiming that dyed paper was rare. He had only ever heard of the authorities using yellow-dyed paper for the yellow registers, so the master of the manor would need to inspect it in person.
He paid no heed to the fact that he had personally examined the sample and agreed to it earlier.
Amid the mess, Liu Cheng could see clearly: until they met Xie An—or rather, until the meeting was over—neither of these two would be able to settle their minds. Liu Cheng could only sympathize; wasn't he also turning over in his head how he should speak once they met?
With that in mind, he simply sat down beneath the eaves of the kitchen in the side courtyard, staring blankly at the overcast sky.
Seeing this, Liu Jili finally realized he was making a fool of himself. He stopped pacing in circles and sat down as well, gazing at the sky in a daze.
At long last, roughly an hour and a half past midday, after the escorts from the Celestial Masters and the camp had already headed back, someone came running from the front. They whispered something to Steward Qian, who had been pacing nearby. The steward promptly called out to the two Lius, bidding them to wait for his return, before hurrying toward the front.
Reaching the front courtyard, he found that Xie An had already stepped down from his carriage and headed straight for his residence in the northern quarter of the manor. Steward Qian hurried over. Upon reaching the courtyard, he heard the Master of Dongshan's wife throwing a temper inside the room, giving the head bondservant such a fright that he froze in his tracks.
"When you were at Mount Dong, that was one thing. But now that you've returned to Jiankang, all you do is run off to teach your nephews the moment you step through the door! With that much energy, why don't you tutor your own child?" Clearly, Xie An's wife, Lady Liu, was deeply dissatisfied that Xie An spent his days tutoring his nephews instead of giving private lessons to their own son, Xie Yao.
"How have I neglected our own child?" Xie An was not angry in the least, replying with a joke instead. "Look, teaching his cousins is itself an act of teaching him by example. It's called leading by personal conduct."
Lady Liu could only sigh.
Having playfully coaxed his wife, Xie An dared not pursue the argument further. He knew full well that two of his three elder brothers held high office, while the wife of the brother who held no office hailed from the Wang clan. Consequently, in the inner quarters, his own wife often felt overshadowed by her sisters-in-law, making it only natural for her to vent her frustrations on him.
Besides, coaxing one's wife was one thing, but the lesson still had to be taught.
He picked up the volume of poetry from the couch and held it in his hand as he stepped outside—it was Ruan Ji's *Eighty-Two Poems Singing of My Cares*. This volume was likely the very source of his wife's grievance today, for among the children he tutored, eighty percent were the children of his eldest brother, Xie Yi. Xie Yi's wife was a descendant of the Ruan clan, and she had presumably had this manuscript copied and gifted to him.
Stepping out the door, he spotted Steward Qian and asked in surprise, "Old servant, why are you here?"
Not daring to delay, Steward Qian bowed respectfully. "Fourth Master, last time you instructed that if those two flute-playing youths of the Pengcheng Liu clan arrived, you must see them. They've been waiting in the miscellaneous courtyard in the back all afternoon. Would you like to see them? Where will you receive them? And will you see them together or separately?"
Xie An clasped his hands behind his back, holding the poetry volume. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded. "Since they have waited all afternoon, how could I not see them? Have them come to my guest parlor; that will show proper formality... I will see them one by one."
***
When Hua Xin and Wang Lang were fleeing by boat, a man wished to join them. Hua Xin was reluctant, but Wang Lang said, "The boat is spacious enough; why not?" Later, when bandits pursued them, Wang Lang wished to abandon the man they had taken aboard. Hua Xin said, "My initial hesitation was precisely for this reason. But since we have already accepted his entrustment, how can we abandon him in a crisis?" So they continued to carry and rescue him as before. The world judged the worth of Hua and Wang based on this incident.
—*A New Account of the Tales of the World*, "Virtuous Conduct," Chapter One
When Emperor Gao, the Grand Ancestor... gained the appreciation of Xie Ju, he frequently visited Wuyi Lane. One day, Grand Mentor Xie returned from Mount Dong. Seeing him, the Grand Mentor was greatly astonished and said to Xie Ju, "Who is that man, with a gaze like an eagle's and the glance of a wolf, bearing the physiognomy of King Xuan?" Xie Ju sneered, "Why not claim for yourself the talent to assist a king, bearing the countenance of Duke Xun?" Thus, he continued to shelter and care for him as before.
—*Records of the Jiangzuo Spring and Autumn*, Qi Dynasty, Pei Songzhi
Chapter 34