Disbanding the Corpse Seamstress Workshops

The night passed without a word. By a quarter past seven the next morning, breakfast delivery was long overdue, yet there was still no food.

Uncle Fang, Old Zhou, Lai Liu, Li San, and the other six Corpse Seamstresses had gathered together, muttering among themselves, every face grim.

They had not eaten since the previous night, and they did not dare leave the Corpse Seamstress Workshop to find something on the streets. If this continued, they would starve to death.

Wen Qingkong emerged at just the right moment.

Uncle Fang saw him. "Little Wen, are you hungry?"

Wen Qingkong nodded.

Old Zhou took a drag from his dry tobacco pipe, his brows drawn together tightly enough to crush a mosquito.

"What rotten luck. Zhang Quan died, so he just stopped caring about the rest of us?"

Wen Qingkong said, "We can stand at the intersection and shout for a while. If there are food vendors around, would they really pass up business?"

Uncle Fang and the others nodded. They were used to having meals delivered and had spent years remembering that they were not allowed to leave the Corpse Seamstress Workshop casually, so it had not occurred to them at first.

Li San hurriedly got to his feet. "I'll go right now!"

Wen Qingkong immediately pressed a hand onto his shoulder.

Li San froze. Wen Qingkong lifted his chin toward something.

Li San turned and saw a thin, gaunt clerk approaching them under the escort of two yamen runners dressed in black.

Li San shuddered all over and quickly stepped aside.

"Perfect. You're all here."

"There is an official notice from the court. I've come to inform you."

The clerk spoke arrogantly, too lazy even to raise his eyelids.

"The court has decided to disband the Corpse Seamstress Workshops. Move out of here immediately. I'll come tomorrow to take over the property."

It was like a bolt from the blue, striking every one of them straight in the heart.

Uncle Fang, Old Zhou, and the others stood rooted to the spot in stunned silence.

The Corpse Seamstress Workshop was gone?

Then what were they supposed to do?

Now they would not merely be without food. They would have nowhere to live as well.

Li San asked anxiously, "Then where are we supposed to go?"

The clerk glanced at him and sneered. "Where you go is none of my concern. I only know that I'm coming tomorrow to reclaim the house. This belongs to the Ministry of Justice. Did you think they would just give it to you for free?"

Li San stamped his feet anxiously.

The clerk gave a cold snort. "You should be happy, really. With the Corpse Seamstress Workshop gone, you're free. As far as I know, most of you are refugees who fled to Yujing City. Take the money you've saved over the years and return to your hometowns. Isn't that better than being confined to this Corpse Seamstress Workshop?"

The clerk's words quieted the Corpse Seamstresses. Some eyes flickered. From that perspective, it really was a good thing.

Just as the clerk was about to leave, Wen Qingkong stepped forward and discreetly caught hold of him. Several copper coins slipped into the clerk's hand.

Only then did some color return to the clerk's perpetually drooping face.

"Sir, I have a question."

"Speak."

"I want to buy this house and settle down here. How much silver would that take?"

"Oh?"

The clerk's drooping eyelids lifted slightly as he looked Wen Qingkong up and down.

"You have money?"

Wen Qingkong hurriedly forced a smile. "How could I have any money? It's just that if I leave here, I have nowhere else to go. When I fled to Yujing City back then, I heard that I had relatives here who were doing fairly well."

"My parents planned to seek refuge with them, but we ran into bandits on the way. By some twist of fate, I ended up at the Corpse Seamstress Workshop."

"The rules of the Corpse Seamstress Workshop meant I couldn't leave, so I never went to visit them."

"Now that this has happened, I thought I'd pay them a visit and see whether I could borrow some money. I could continue working as a Corpse Seamstress here. Maybe I could still get by."

"Don't you think so, sir?"

"Mm."

The clerk nodded. This boy had a head on his shoulders.

A Corpse Seamstress only knew how to stitch corpses. Without stitching corpses, what would he eat?

Besides, no one really cared about the Corpse Seamstress Workshop. The Ministry of Justice clerk merely wanted to make a little profit from the opportunity. It was a whole row of houses, after all.

"Which house are you in?"

"The innermost one, House Number Nine. Whatever you intend to do, sir, I won't be in your way."

Wen Qingkong's Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine was the farthest inside. There was a river behind it and another river to its west, so it occupied the corner where the waterway bent.

Seeing that it was Number Nine, the clerk nodded again. That house truly would not get in the way.

His eyes rolled as he smiled. "This house has two stories. The Directorate of Imperial Manufactories personally supervised its construction back then. It was built with good bricks and took considerable effort. How about this? Since you also serve the court, I'll set the price at fifty taels of silver. Then I'll give you the deed."

"F... fifty taels!"

Wen Qingkong's eyes widened, and he could barely get the words out.

Uncle Fang, Old Zhou, and the others who had shared Wen Qingkong's thoughts also fell silent upon hearing that.

Anyone with eyes could see that the clerk was exploiting the situation.

Fifty taels? How could this shabby Corpse Seamstress Workshop possibly be worth that much?

Seeing Wen Qingkong's expression, the clerk immediately felt that he might have asked too much. He feared this windfall would slip away.

But then he remembered that once the money reached his hands, he would have to share it with those above him. It would not all be his, so how could he lower the price any further?

"I'm not asking for much. If you want it, hurry and borrow the money. Tomorrow morning, I'll be here to take back the house."

With that, the clerk swaggered away.

Uncle Fang patted Wen Qingkong on the shoulder. "Little Wen, that's too much silver. Your relatives may not be willing to lend it to you."

Old Zhou also snorted. "That bastard is obviously taking advantage of us. I'm not buying. I'll go back to my hometown. I... I should go home too."

The Corpse Seamstresses all fell silent.

Back when they had been Corpse Seamstresses, confined to the Corpse Seamstress Workshop, they had thought every moment about getting out.

Now that they truly could leave, they instead hesitated. They were afraid.

In these troubled times, how were they supposed to survive without the court?

"Let's disperse. Think it over yourselves. Are you leaving or staying?"

"If Little Wen's House Number Nine costs fifty taels, ours would have to cost over a hundred!"

Uncle Fang gritted his teeth in hatred. He was already old. After hearing Wen Qingkong's words, his eyes had lit up, and he had planned to stay with Wen Qingkong so they could keep each other company.

But after hearing the price, his heart went cold.

His hometown was in Songzhou, tens of thousands of li from Yujing City. How could these old bones possibly make the journey back?

Uncle Fang's words drew sighs from many of them.

Everyone returned to their own rooms. Wen Qingkong also wore a worried expression, but once he returned to his room and shut the door, all the distress vanished from his face.

Fifty taels was still within his means.

Though that price truly treated him like a fool to be fleeced.

But on the other hand, the Corpse Seamstress Workshop was close to the Caishikou Execution Grounds. If the family of a criminal wanted a corpse stitched up, they could send it directly to him after the beheading. The location was excellent.

Secondly, the Corpse Seamstress Workshop had existed in Yujing City for a very long time. Mention the Corpse Seamstress Workshop, and people would think of this place. If he remained here, business would come more easily.

Wen Qingkong put away the hundred-tael banknote he had obtained from Zhang Quan, informed Li Lan'er, and headed out.

He was going to the bank to exchange the hundred-tael note for two fifty-tael notes.

He could also take a longer route, making people believe that he had truly gone to borrow money from relatives.

When he had been reborn, he had awakened in this Corpse Seamstress Workshop and had never experienced Yujing City's prosperity. This time, he could finally take a proper look around.