The Mystic Nine (10) New Sesame Seeds

When Zhang Qishan went to Nanshan, the first obstacle he encountered was Birmingham. He sounded like an Englishman, but he was actually a native. He was called this because he used to be a porter for foreigners, and they gave him the nickname.

Birmingham was a local rich man with lots of guns and people. He had a good relationship with the locals and even the nearby officials. He was very high-spirited, and never took the newly appointed defense officer seriously. Zhang Qishan invited him three or four times, but he never went.

Those up top wanted Zhang Qishan to treat him with courtesy, so that they could train and incorporate the local armed forces of these wealthy businessmen into a unified defense of the city. The other party was well aware that Zhang Qishan couldn’t use force, which made him even more unscrupulous.

Zhang Qishan had no other choice but to make a few inquiries, and later found out that Birmingham had a hobby. He was extremely fond of buying collections of tiny carvings at great expense. He especially liked Guanyin (1) carved on small beads and magnolia carved on rice grains.

Micro-carving had a long history in China, the most famous of which was Wang Shuyuan’s “The Peach Pit Boat” (2). Later, many craftsmen traveled thousands of miles to learn how to carve these square cun (3) pieces of art.

Birmingham himself was also a carver, so he was very fascinated by it. It was said that Birmingham had been a porter for a British missionary group at the time. He hoped to earn some income by following the preaching missionaries and carving crosses for them. After entering the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, he discovered that a certain place was rich in a kind of yellow-pink opium plant, which produced top-grade opium. They were a very special species of opium, so he sold them secretly and soon became a local rich man. After that, his business expanded and he became a local leader.

The opium business was extremely dangerous, so Birmingham had to be extraordinarily talented to sustain it. Zhang Qishan knew that he was different from those ordinary wealthy businessmen. He had been living among the Yunnan-Guizhou warlords for a long time, and was familiar with guns, so it was difficult to intimidate him. As a result, Zhang Qishan took a lot of money to Zheng Xiaoxi in Yangzhou to ask for a sesame seed to give to Birmingham.

This sesame seed was worth hundreds of times its weight in gold. Those in the Nine Gates called it a “boxwood sesame seed” because Zheng Xiaoxi had carved a vivid boxwood tree with thick branches and leaves on it.

After Birmingham saw it, he liked it very much. He heard that Zhang Qishan had a lot more, so he went to visit and was surprised to see that Zheng Xiaoxi was at Zhang Qishan’s house. He had just finished carving the last of the “Water Margin’s” 108 generals (4).

Birmingham knew that Zheng Xiaoxi had searched for the best sesame seeds over the past fifteen years. He would oil them, dry them in the sun, roast them into carbonized seeds, and then pick one out of thousands to use as his materials. He had carved more than ten a year, and had reached a total of 107 by the end of the decade. But it had been five years now and he had never carved that last one. It was said that he had never started on the last general because he was “dissatisfied”, but now someone had unexpectedly enabled him to finish carving it.

All 108 characters had been vividly carved on 108 sesame seeds. With a magnifying glass, it was easy to see that the eyes were clear and soulful, and the swords were very powerful. It was truly a masterpiece. Moreover, all the figures on these sesame seeds had their names engraved on them.

After Zheng Xiaoxi had finished carving, he went to the Buddhist hall in Zhang Qishan’s back garden, picked something out, and then left with it.

These 108 sesame seeds that had taken fifteen years to carve were definitely unique. With Zheng Xiaoxi’s social status and artistic value at the time, the price couldn’t be estimated. Birmingham knew that Zhang Qishan definitely wasn’t doing this for the money, so he certainly couldn’t use it to convince Zhang Qishan to step aside.

It was making him itch.

Unwilling to submit, he fidgeted and then decided to sound him out: “Sir, why are you suddenly interested in this refined and elegant kind of thing? And sesame seeds of all things? Is it still for the sake of setting up defensive measures? Those people are my people. I’ve been in the village for many years and have seen a lot of defense commanders come and go. Every time a new one comes, they always say they want to keep the peace, but who can actually do that? In the end, I’m the one that’s left doing all the work. Set up whatever defensive measures you want. If you succeed, you’re a hero. If you fail, I have my own way to handle things whenever the Japanese come. But these people have been the foundation of my life for many years. I won’t hand them over, so don’t bother.”

Zhang Qishan smiled, lifted up the 108 sesame seeds, and poured them into a bowl half-filled with sesame seeds that had just been used as raw materials for Zheng Xiaoxi. It was too late for Birmingham to stop him. All 108 sesame seeds fell into the bowl and became indistinguishable in an instant.

Zhang Qishan pushed the sesame bowl to Birmingham, “Can you find these 108 sesame seeds that are more expensive than gold?”

Birmingham looked at the bowl of sesame seeds with a glint in his eyes and said coldly, “Sir, do you think I’m a child? If you give me this bowl of sesame seeds, I can send someone to find all 108 sesame seeds in two hours. Valuable things are valuable things. Valuable people are valuable people. No matter how deep they hide, they’ll still be different.”

Zhang Qishan laughed. At this time, there was a sudden cry of “Black sesame paste!” from outside the door. Zhang Qishan picked up the sesame bowl, walked to the road outside, and saw someone selling black sesame paste. “I have some good sesame seeds here,” He shouted at them. “Can you mash them and make a bowl of black sesame paste for me.”

“Right away, Fo Ye. Would you like osmanthus sugar added?”

“Please.”

The person nodded, took the bowl of black sesame seeds, and poured them into the mortar. Birmingham started to stop him, but the man had already hammered down three times and turned them into powder. Birmingham sat down on the ground in shock.

The sesame seeds, together with the 108 generals inside, had been mashed into a fine powder and mixed into a bowl of black sesame paste.

A fragrant smell filled the air, but the temperature was too hot so Zhang Qishan didn’t go get it immediately. “After fifteen years of hard work, do you think it’s a shame?” He asked quietly.

“He knows nothing!” Birmingham was shaking in anger and gnashing his teeth. “If he knew what had been inside, he wouldn’t dare do it for eight lifetimes!”

“Really?” Zhang Qishan looked at him.

As the vendor brought the sesame paste over and fanned it to cool it slightly, the fragrance attracted the people in the house to look out.

“The sesame seeds just now were very valuable.” Zhang Qishan said to the vendor. “This bowl is enough to feed and clothe you for several generations.”

“Fo Ye, you’re joking. A bowl of sesame paste is a bowl of sesame paste.” The vendor laughed. “How could it be so valuable?”

Zhang Qishan laughed, took a bite, and walked into his house. As he passed by Birmingham, he said, “You and I both saw Zheng Xiaoxi carving a sesame seed inside this room, so we know their value. But the person outside doesn’t know that he’s been handed the most expensive sesame seeds. Even if you tell him that this bowl of sesame seeds is valuable, he’ll still make the sesame paste for you. The problem you and I are facing right now isn’t the people inside, but those outside. I’m not just telling you this. The key takeaway is that I used such an expensive method to show you the truth. I want you to understand how much I’m willing to spend to fight against this outsider. Even if you’re ignorant, you can’t stand in the way.”

Birmingham didn’t follow him, but shouted, “I’ve been here for more than forty years! To think I’ll be fooled by you! I’ll bring my men here tomorrow to see if they’ll serve you or me!”

“Tomorrow at 8:30.” Lieutenant shouted to Birmingham.

Zhang Qishan waved his hand, and the door was closed. He then sat down on the couch and began to eat the sesame paste seriously. Lieutenant came over and looked at Zhang Qishan: “Sir, why are you eating it like that?”

“This bowl is expensive. Miserably so.” Zhang Qishan said with a tsk.

<The Mystic Nine (9) Old Dog Wu><Table of Contents><Fate>

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TN Notes:

(1) Guanyin is the Buddhist bodhisattva associated with compassion.

(2) It’s a very intricate carving on a peach pit or nut. More info here and here’s a picture of one:

(3) Square cun is a Chinese unit of area: 1 cun × 1 cun, or 3⅓ cm × 3⅓ cm

(4) It’s 14^th-century Chinese novel attributed to Shi Nai’an. Considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of ancient Chinese literature. The story, set in the Northern Song’s ending, tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gather at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to form a sizable army before they are eventually granted amnesty by the government and sent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders (Liao) and suppress rebel forces (Fang La). More info here

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Hot damn, wish I had that kind of money to be that extra lol. My face when Fo Ye just nonchalantly gave the seeds to the vendor Σ(°ロ°). Fun fact, a black sesame paste company apparently paid the author to write something about black sesame paste and this is the result. They wrote a little advertisement blurb at the end of the chapter, but it seemed stupid/pointless so I didn’t include it.