Top Scholar

Chapter 14 Family History and Banana Leaf Paper
"In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, the Taizu Emperor dispatched an army of 300,000 men in two routes to attack Yunnan from the east and north."

"Among them, the Northern Route Army, led by Guo Ying with 50,000 troops, set off from Yongning to enter Yunnan. This place is the throat of Sichuan and the gateway to Yunnan and Guizhou. Guo Ying, in accordance with the orders of Emperor Hongwu, left troops to build cities and store grain to ensure logistics. After Yunnan was pacified, this army stayed in Yongning and guarded it for generations. As compensation, all officers and soldiers were promoted one rank, and their descendants inherited the position."

On the way down the mountain, my uncle pointed to Erlang Beach below and said, "My grandfather's grandfather was one of the flag officers. Erlang Beach was opened up little by little by him and his brothers."

"Later, their families in Nanjing were sent here to reunite, and our Su family began to settle and multiply here." After saying that, he changed the subject:

"As for the Cheng family, they were originally an official family. After the Jingnan Rebellion, a large number of Jianwen's former officials and their families were exiled to the border, and the Cheng family was among them. They were exiled to Yongning at that time. So back then, the older generation of the Cheng family were prisoners, and the older generation of our Su family were guards. That's when they made a lot of grudges."

“Yongning is mountainous, inhabited by both Han and Yi people. All the arable land has already been taken by the Luo Luo people and our military households. The Cheng family came later, and are still convicted, so we can only cultivate the mountain land and grow some cold-resistant and barren-tolerant sorghum to make a living.” The uncle sighed as he spoke.

"As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. The Cheng family discovered that the soil and water here were extremely suitable for brewing wine, so they began to learn how to brew wine with sorghum and gradually made a name for themselves. Even the chieftain of Bozhou bought wine from their Cheng Family Distillery, and the Cheng family's life naturally improved."

"Later, when Emperor Yongle died, Emperor Renzong exonerated the former officials of Emperor Jianwen, and the Cheng family was also pardoned and allowed to return to civilian life, and their children were able to study and take the imperial examinations again."

"It's the opposite on our side. After the Tumu Crisis, the status of military men declined again and again, and the military households in the garrisons were in even more difficult circumstances. Our family couldn't escape the general trend either. At that time, our Su family had already spread out in Erlangtan. How could we possibly make ends meet with just the little bit of land we had before?"

"So your great-grandfather also gathered the strength of the whole clan to open Su's Winery, and even hired the Cheng family's music master as the head chef. Of course, the Cheng family was not happy."

"Of course they're happy." Su Lu nodded, thinking to himself that, up to this point, the Cheng family was still the one being bullied...

"But for a long time, the wine from our Suji Distillery was far inferior to that from Chengji Distillery. We used the same sorghum, the same brewing method, and even hired the same master distiller, but it didn't work. Later we discovered that it was because the water was different. Chengji Distillery used water from Langquan Well, and the wine they brewed was just better."

"What's even more infuriating is that Langquan Well was originally our family's drinking water well. The Cheng family somehow discovered it could be used to brew good wine. They're very cunning; they didn't make a fuss, but instead had someone else come forward and offer us a larger, flatter piece of land in exchange." The uncle continued his story:

"At the time, we had a large family and were very happy with the change, so we changed our house."

"Is this where we live now?" Su Lu asked.

“Yes.” Uncle nodded and said with a wry smile, “After learning the truth, our family wanted to take the well back, but the Cheng family of course refused. My grandfather, Feng Gong, was also a ruthless character, so he dug another well called Niangquan Well in a low-lying area nearby, and it actually connected with Langquan Well.”

“After that, we were able to use the same water to brew wine, but the Cheng family’s well had a much smaller water volume, and it would dry up for half the year.”

“That’s normal, water flows downhill.” Su Lu chuckled, realizing that real business battles are often this simple and straightforward.

"The Cheng family's business has been severely affected, so naturally they can't accept it. Fortunately, our family has served as officials in the garrison for generations, and they are no match for us in a fight. So the Cheng family can't turn the tables, and they can only endure it," the uncle continued.
"But things changed ten years ago. A scholar from the Cheng family passed the imperial examination, namely Cheng Piyang. He filed a petition with the county government, claiming that his family was descendants of loyal and virtuous officials, but had been oppressed by local bullies. He said he was studying hard so that one day he could escape the garrison and see the light of day! He begged the righteous official to uphold justice!"

Although my uncle only studied at the clan school for a few years, he has an exceptionally good speaking ability. No wonder he was able to win over the Cheng family's most beautiful daughter.

"At that time, the county magistrate had just taken office and was eager to make a name for himself. So he used this case to establish his authority, concluding that our family had destroyed the Cheng family's well, and awarded them the newly dug well as well," my uncle sighed.

“Of course our family was unwilling to give up the well, which eventually led to a major armed conflict between the two clans. Both clans mobilized all their forces, including Scholar Cheng and your grandfather. Naturally, our family won a great victory and beat the Cheng family to a pulp. Even Scholar Cheng’s arm was broken by your grandfather.”

"Is the old man really that ruthless?" Su Lu couldn't help but gasp.

"And then?" Su Tai pressed on.

"Then, that year happened to be the year of the autumn imperial examinations, and Master Cheng, being a troublemaker, used the excuse of being seriously injured in a beating and unable to take the exam to ask the Grand Master for leave. The Grand Master was furious, and the candidates all voiced their support. To quell the situation, Governor Li ordered that the assailant be severely punished." My uncle sighed repeatedly.

"Then our family suffered a terrible misfortune. Your grandfather was imprisoned because of this, and it took a lot of effort from his colleagues and superiors to get him pardoned and dismissed from his post, allowing him to live a quiet life at home. As a result, our family was ruined and we moved back to our old house in Erlangtan from the city."

"Our Su family also gave up that well, and since then we have never been able to brew such good wine again. Our business has naturally declined, and now we are just barely making ends meet. So the clan made a painful decision to open a clan school, teach the children to read, and vowed to have a scholar pass the imperial examination before the Cheng family and take back the Langquan Well."

"Unfortunately, we greatly underestimated the difficulty of entering the academy. After ten years, not a single member of the entire clan has passed the county-level imperial examination..." The uncle gave a bitter smile and returned to his worries: "Now the Cheng family is completely superior to our Su family in every aspect, and the whole clan is burning with resentment. How could I dare to say that I want to marry a girl from the Cheng family at this time?"

“Indeed, then why did you provoke Cuicui?” Su Lu was speechless.

"You're still young, you wouldn't understand even if I told you." But the uncle said with a look of rapture, "Forbidden love is so exciting."

"Who says I don't understand? It's just a rebellious phase, isn't it?" Su Lu pouted.

"I understand now! It's like how the more Auntie forbids Qiu-ge from studying, the more energetic Qiu-ge becomes!" Su Tai clapped his hands in sudden realization.

"..." The uncle pursed his lips, and after what the two of them said, he suddenly felt like an ignorant child.

As they spoke, the three had approached the town and could see familiar faces. The uncle stopped talking and gave the two some instructions:
"Keep today's events a secret. Your uncle will buy you both something delicious tomorrow."

"Okay." Su Tai readily agreed. Su Lu was too busy with his own affairs to meddle in other people's business.

~~
"Sanguo is back!" As soon as he got home, Xiao Jinbao rushed over to him.

Su Lu casually picked up Xiao Jinbao and magically produced two golden prickly pears.

"Eat, eat!" Little Jinbao stretched out his hands.

"Will you still eat it if it has thorns?" Su Lu used the soft thorns of the prickly pear to poke her chubby little hand. "Aren't you afraid of pricking your mouth?"

"I'll still eat!" Little Jinbao said firmly, "I'll eat even if it pricks my mouth."

Su Lu then smiled and rubbed off the soft thorns on the prickly pear, handing it to Xiao Jinbao.

"Thank you, Third Brother." Jinbao said her thanks, then picked up the prickly pear and started eating it in the courtyard. It was so sour that her brows furrowed and her mouth watered, but she still couldn't stop eating it.

After sending Xiao Jinbao away, the two brothers gave their grandmother a cup of honey, and then Su Tai went to process the various mountain products they had brought back. Su Lu, on the other hand, took the bundle of banana leaves and couldn't wait to go back to his room to conduct experiments.

He spread the fresh green banana leaves flat on his desk, weighed them down with a paperweight, and then ground ink to try writing. To his surprise, the moment the brush touched the leaf, it felt unusually slippery, and the ink spread out in all directions, making the characters he wrote quickly distorted and illegible.

Su Lu tried several more banana leaves, but all of them were the same, and it was a complete failure with no hope in sight.

"Sigh..." He put down his pen and sighed. What kind of bullshit 'Huaisu's Banana Book' is this? I never thought there were marketing accounts in ancient times.

"What's wrong? Did your aunt scold you again?" Su Youcai came in from outside and saw that he looked depressed.

"I wanted to learn from Huaisu and write on banana leaves, but I found it was impossible." Su Lu scratched his head and said self-deprecatingly, "It's probably just an inspirational story made up by the ancients to coax children."

"Is that possible?" Su Youcai shook his head and said, "Lu Yu's 'Biography of Monk Huaisu' records this event. Moreover, Huaisu's friend Dai Shulun also wrote in a poem: 'Returning home, I hang my robe under the tall trees, and cut banana leaves to write Buddhist scriptures.' They wouldn't need to make this up, would they?"

“But the leaves are too slippery and don’t absorb ink at all.” Su Lu frowned, but his father’s words rekindled his hope.

Su Youcai picked up a banana leaf, examined it for a moment, and said, "The leaf has a layer of wax on it, and it's too moist. How could it possibly absorb ink?"

"Why don't you try drying it?" Su Lu suddenly realized.

“You definitely can’t dry it in the sun. It will deform if you do, and how can you write on it if it’s wrinkled?” Su Youcai shook his head and said, “Besides, you can only dry off the moisture, not the wax layer on top.”

“You can add some wood ash to the boil first,” Su Tai’s voice came from behind them. He had finished his work. “Then try air-drying it.”

"How did you know?" Su Youcai and Su Lu asked in surprise.

“I saw that when Lao Hu was making paper, he had to boil the bamboo with wood ash first.” Su Tai scratched his head and said, “He said it was to remove the wax from the surface of the bamboo.”

"Good lad, you've observed quite well!" Su Youcai praised, handing the banana leaf to Su Tai and saying, "Give it a try!"

"Yes." Su Tai nodded happily.

~~
Three days later, Su Tai handed a stack of processed banana leaves to Su Lu and said, "Give it a try."

"Thank you for your hard work, Second Brother." Su Lu took it and saw that the banana leaf had turned pale yellow, but it was still as smooth as paper. Su Tai had also carefully cut it into rectangles of the same size, the same size as the rough-edged yellow clay paper that Old Hu sold.

"It's not hard work, hurry up and try it and see if it works." Su Tai grinned and urged him.

Su Lu nodded, quickly picked up his brush and wrote several large characters on the banana leaf paper:

"Friendly to brothers."

This time, the banana leaf not only absorbed the ink, but also made the brushstrokes smoother and more fluid. The resistance of the brush tip was almost the same as that of ordinary yellow clay paper!
"How is it?" Su Tai asked nervously.

“It’s a perfect replacement!” Su Lu looked up, his face beaming with joy. “Now we don’t have to worry about paper anymore!”

The banana trees that can be seen everywhere on the mountain are his inexhaustible paper bank!
"That's wonderful!" Su Tai clapped his hands excitedly, even happier than Su Lu. "From now on, you can write freely, and I'll provide you with banana leaf paper!"

"Thank you so much, Second Brother." Su Lu looked at Su Tai gratefully. It wasn't just the banana leaf paper, but also the pine torch lamp and pine soot ink. Even the brush tip was hand-rubbed by Second Brother using goat hair mixed with a little rabbit hair.

Without his second brother, he wouldn't have been able to finish his studies at all.

(End of this chapter)