Chapter 49 — Partition

In his letter, Dou Huaiying first addressed the matter of Yuzan's marriage, then set out at great length a list of which estates and houses he intended to allot to Dou Yan, and finally asked Mrs. Zhao: "...If there should be any objection, you may discuss it with the Sixth Master."

He entrusted the matter to Dou Heng.

Holding the letter, Mrs. Zhao could not help frowning, and asked Nurse Peng, "Tell me, can Dou Huaiying's words be trusted?"

Dou Yi was full of suspicion as well.

"Whether they can be trusted is hard to say." Nurse Peng pondered. "But if we have Master Tang look into the true state of these estates and houses, it will surely save us time compared with groping at an elephant in the dark the way we are now."

Mrs. Zhao nodded and had a copy of Dou Huaiying's letter made, which she handed to Nurse Peng. "Take this to Master Tang."

When Master Tang received the list, he went with men that very night to verify it. Mrs. Zhao, meanwhile, spent each day leading Dou Yan about, or chatting with the Second Dowager, or paying calls on the First Madam, or talking with Mrs. Ji... She did not look like a woman come to negotiate Dou Yan's dowry with the Dou family, but rather like one paying a visit to relatives. If anyone asked, she said only, "My master has sent for someone to help draw up the contract with the Dou family. I do not understand such things; the man he sent is still on the road."

The property being divided was not the East Dou's, and the kinsmen being assisted were not the East Dou's either, so naturally no one in the East Dou was in any hurry. Taking advantage of Mrs. Zhao's stay as a guest in the house, and of the Second Dowager's exceptional warmth toward her, the Second Sister-in-law and Third Sister-in-law seized the chance to urge the Second Dowager to invite a woman storyteller to the house to perform. Having received a hint from her second son, the Second Dowager reasoned that if Mrs. Zhao also agreed to let Dou Yan be raised in the East Residence, the matter would be easily settled; so she not only engaged a woman storyteller to perform at home, but a few days later also hired a troupe to sing opera in the house, and invited all the mistresses of the wealthy households of Dingzhen County to come and keep them company. The house was thronged with coming and going, loud with talk and laughter, livelier by several degrees than the New Year, while Wang Shuying and Mrs. Pang waited in mounting unease, not knowing what had happened.

Thus more than half a month passed, until word came from Master Tang's side: the several properties Dou Huaiying had listed were all excellent. In particular, the houses on South Street and North Street in Qingyuan County—street-front shop buildings, all joined into a single stretch, occupying more than half of two streets—brought in over ten thousand taels of silver a year in rent alone.

Qingyuan County was the seat of Baoding Prefecture, and South Street was the busiest main street in Qingyuan County.

Mrs. Zhao could not help sighing. "I knew the Dou family was rich, but I never imagined they were this rich."

Nurse Peng laughed. "This time we have the Wang family to thank."

Much as Mrs. Zhao disliked the Wang family, she could not help laughing too.

The next day she introduced Master Tang to Dou Zhen.

Dou Zhen took Master Tang to Dou Duo to settle Dou Zhiwei's dowry.

Dou Duo was already prepared. He brought out a thick stack of papers. "These are for Shouyuan."

Master Tang looked them over and smiled. "It is my master's wish that the young lady, being a woman, will not know how to run a business. These oil presses and bamboo-ware shops and the like are best left out; better to have more farmland and houses." With that, he handed over the list he had drawn up in consultation with Mrs. Zhao.

When Dou Duo had read it, his face darkened as though a storm were coming on. Leng Heng shot a glance at Dou Zhen.

Dou Zhen, having suffered this undeserved calamity, could not resist snatching up the list Master Tang had written, and at once began cursing inwardly: who had sent word to the Zhao family? Several of the businesses that simply sat back and counted money were all on this list.

No wonder his third uncle had glared at him.

But this truly was not his doing!

He was on the verge of tears, yet had none to shed.

All he could do was sit by and keep enduring.

The two families haggled for some ten days. The Zhao family gave up a few tracts of farmland and took over several workshops; the West Dou yielded a few pieces of real estate as well, and so the matter was more or less settled.

Mrs. Zhao sealed up several gold ingots, ten bolts of new-style zhuanghua silk, and some pearl-flower hair ornaments, and went to call on the Third Aunt. "...These days we have put the Third Master to a great deal of trouble. In the future, in matters concerning Shouyuan, we must ask her Third Uncle for his generous support."

Looking at nearly a thousand taels' worth of goods before her, the Third Aunt's smile could not help growing a little wider.

Leaving the Third Branch, Mrs. Zhao went to the Second Dowager.

"You see, the child is so young and understands nothing. Brothers are as close as tigers fighting side by side; fathers and sons are as one on the battlefield. According to my master's wish, he would still like to ask the child's uncles and cousins to help manage this property."

The Second Dowager's eyes lit up.

The dragon bears nine sons, and no two are alike. In the Dou family there were men like Dou Bingheng, whose names were inscribed on the golden roll early, and men like Dou Zhen, who had sat the examinations until past forty and was still only a xiucai. If one of the Dou kinsmen were to help Dou Yan manage the estate, it would at least be a livelihood, and would sound respectable besides.

But could the Zhao family rest easy with a Dou kinsman in charge?

She thought of that clause about "past thirty" that had made her so furious she nearly spat blood.

"I fear a Dou kinsman could not manage it well," the Second Dowager said tactfully. "It would be a betrayal of Mrs. Zhao's good intentions!"

"How could he not manage it well!" Mrs. Zhao laughed. "The one helping to manage it now is a Dou kinsman already. Fortunately, what Shouyuan has received is mostly farmland and houses. I do not understand business, but I know farmland very well. In a good year, a few more catties are reaped; in a bad year, a few less. But whether more or less, reckoned over ten years, it averages out to a fixed figure each year. In my view, we should take the income of the past ten years as the standard, calculate what the yearly income comes to, and thenceforth use that yearly figure as the standard. Any surplus the steward shall hold in reserve, to make up the shortfall in lean years. And if ten years running are all good years, then surely the Bodhisattva means to reward his diligence, and it should of course all go to him."

"Ah!" At this even the Second Dowager could not sit still.

That half of the estate was immense; even a little extra would not be a small sum.

She summoned the wives of the several branches to discuss the matter.

The First Madam listened with a smile from the side—her Lan'er could not possibly give up his studies to manage another's affairs.

The Third Branch's children were still young and without experience; unless Dou Zhen managed things covertly, they lacked the ability.

The Fourth Branch was in Xinyang, the Fifth in the capital, and the Sixth had only Dou Heng.

Reckoning it this way and that, the matter could only fall to the Second Branch.

Mrs. Ji could not help sighing inwardly.

Who had thought up this scheme?

Truly formidable!