Chapter 18: Qiongzhou Prefecture City

“It’s because they’re used to being poor! Old habits die hard,” Yun Suji said. “The level of social civilization has prerequisites. As the saying goes, ‘when the granaries are full, people know etiquette.’ We can’t say our granaries are full yet; we’ve just made sure everyone has enough to eat. The road of civilization and education is still long.”

“The whip and the gallows are the most reliable promoters of social progress.”

They talked until they reached the outskirts of Qiongzhou city. Dugu Qiuhun concluded, “So many motorcycle hours have been consumed, and the army still hasn’t settled the bill.”

He had just uttered this seemingly random sentence when the naturalized citizen cadres from the Qiongshan county office came to welcome them at the post station. Dugu Qiuhun did not enter the city. He took two two-wheeled carriages and headed directly to the ferry crossing on the Nandu River to go to Wenchang County.

The next morning, Yun Suji woke up to the chirping of thrushes. He was staying at the Qiongshan County Office Guesthouse. According to the second five-year administrative plan, the future seat of the Hainan Special Administrative Region government would be in Qiongshan County, so it wouldn’t be long before this became the regional guesthouse.

The county office guesthouse was located in Renhefang within the prefectural city. On the outside, it was a grand residential compound with deep courtyards, but inside, it was a different world. The Class A guest rooms where Yun Suji was staying were all in separate courtyards. They had been renovated by craftsmen from the Guangzhou Ziji company according to the standards for receiving senators. The chefs working in the guesthouse cafeteria were also naturalized citizen employees from the commercial houses and restaurants in Lin’gao who had received modern culinary training.

Since the Senate had issued regulations on integrity, the hospitality had also been scaled back. Last night, the senator-director of the Qiongshan county office had come to the guesthouse to “welcome him and wash away the dust.” Although it didn’t meet the “four dishes and one soup” standard, many famous local dishes were nowhere to be seen.

“Chief, are you awake?” Jin Xishan’s voice came from the washroom. The sound of splashing water could be heard, probably from her washing clothes. With the sound, Jin Xishan had already come out, walked quickly to the bedside, picked up the clothes he had taken off last night, and helped him get dressed.

“There are maids here. Just put the clothes in the laundry basket and let them wash them.”

“These are all undergarments. How can I let them wash them? Besides, there are your clothes too, Chief. Their work is rough, and it would be a waste of good clothes.” Jin Xishan said as she nimbly helped him take off his robe and put on a cotton shirt.

Yun Suji stood still and enjoyed her service. Not just Jin Xishan, but his proper wife, Liu Meilan, also served him in his daily life in an exemplary and considerate manner. He felt that this was truly a man’s paradise—he didn’t know how Old Zhang had managed to mess things up.

After helping him get dressed, Yun Suji moved to the washroom. It was completely decorated in the “Australian style,” with a washbasin, a flush toilet, and a shower. Jin Xishan had prepared mouthwash, tooth powder, and water for washing his face.

Yun Suji picked up the ivory-handled toothbrush with horsehair bristles, dipped it in the tooth powder from a box carved from a rhinoceros horn, and began to brush his teeth in front of the mirror. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. How could he have enjoyed such a life in the old world! Apart from his own mother, no woman would have been so good to him, a minor clerk.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Jin Xishan standing respectfully, holding a towel. He suddenly felt a little guilty.

Senator Yun’s family had been harmonious these past few years, with no domestic disputes. Although Liu Meilan had a “self-awareness of a young lady from a prominent family” and was considered virtuous, it was also thanks to Jin Xishan’s deliberate submissiveness and her always being deferential in front of Liu Meilan.

Therefore, Yun Suji always felt he owed her something. This time, he had brought her along for the fieldwork as a way to let her relax and have some fun. The newly enacted “Regulations on Senate Discipline” clearly stated that senators could bring their life secretaries on business trips within Hainan, so he wouldn’t be gossiped about.

He spat out the mouthwash. A warm, wrung-out towel was already handed to him. Yun Suji took it and glanced casually. He saw Jin Xishan’s black hair tied in a ponytail, the bangs at her forehead carefully curled. She wore a neatly ironed maid’s uniform, which gave her a clean and capable beauty.

He couldn’t help but be moved. Although it was said that “a wife is not as good as a concubine,” he had been living with Jin Xishan for three or four years, and the novelty had long worn off. Liu Meilan was a model of “observing wifely duties” and never created conflicts over which bedroom the man slept in. However, Jin Xishan was not as beautiful or well-built as Liu Meilan, and she received far fewer “favors.” This was one of the reasons Senator Yun always felt he had wronged Jin Xishan.

But looking at Jin Xishan again today, he found that this southern girl, whom he had bought for sexual gratification, had unknowingly blossomed into a mature and beautiful woman. Her slightly dark skin actually gave her a healthy kind of beauty. He couldn’t help but pull her into his arms, one hand around her fragrant shoulders, the other lifting her skirt and reaching inside. He kissed her forehead, eyes, cheeks… with passionate fervor.

Jin Xishan was startled and immediately went limp in his embrace, whispering, “Chief… don’t…”

“What ‘Chief’? Call me ‘Master’!” When Jin Xishan first received his favors, she was not used to calling him ‘Chief.’ In moments of passion, she would always call him ‘Master,’ which had become a private intimacy between them.

“Master, it’s broad daylight. Someone will hear…”

“Hear what? It’s only six o’clock. Besides, no outsiders can enter this courtyard. Come, let your master dote on you.”

After a breakfast that was an hour later than planned, Yun Suji took his people out to tour the prefectural city. Before getting into the sedan chair, he saw an old well in front of the house, its mouth worn with grooves from countless ropes. It was called the “Danye Well.” The accompanying cadre said that the prefectural city had been known for its “seven wells, eight alleys, and thirteen streets” since ancient times, and this was one of the “seven wells.”

Yun Suji’s first stop was the Wugong (Five Lords) Temple, also known as the “First Tower of Hainan.” It was first built during the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty to commemorate five famous officials of the Tang and Song dynasties who had been demoted and sent to Hainan: Li Deyu, Li Gang, Zhao Ding, Li Guang, and Hu Quan. Near the Wugong Temple were the Xuepu Hall, the Wugong Jingshe, the Guanjia Hall, the Su Gong Temple, an arched bridge, a lotus pond, the Feng Pavilion, and the Qiong Garden, forming a group of ancient buildings in the Lingnan style.

The places Yun Suji visited in the Wugong Temple were quiet. The person in charge of the temple was already waiting respectfully. He was a senator, and the natives, who were aware that Qiongzhou Prefecture had undergone a change of dynasty, naturally knew his importance. Someone immediately led the way and introduced the place.

However, this Wugong Temple was just a courtyard and had no particularly scenic views. It was also in disrepair, with dilapidated and crumbling parts everywhere. Yun Suji couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

After leaving, the accompanying cadre said that among the “seven wells, eight alleys, and thirteen streets,” each street and alley had its own history and legends, and many were famous for the people who had lived there. For example, Dashi Alley was named after famous local gentry like Zheng Tinghu, the director of the Ministry of Works’ Water Department in the Ming dynasty, and Zhong Fang, the “Great Scholar of Lingnan.” Jinhua Village and Zhuju Lane were visited by many tourists from the mainland because they were the birthplaces of Qiu Jun and Hai Rui.

In this way, Yun Suji spent a morning on a whirlwind tour of Qiongzhou Prefecture city. Qiongzhou was originally a county town. In the second year of the Hongwu era (1369), the Vice Minister of War, Sun An, led more than a thousand officers and soldiers to station on Qiong Island. Qiongzhou was then promoted to a prefecture, with its seat in the prefectural city. It was then called the “prefectural capital,” and the city walls were expanded. Nine years later, the prefectural capital was largely formed, with a circumference of 1,253 zhang, a height of 2.7 zhang, and a thickness of 2.8 zhang. It had 1,843 battlements, 57 storerooms, and three gates: east, south, and west. The east gate was originally the Chaoyang Gate, later changed to the Yongtai Gate. The south gate was called the Jingnan Gate, and the west gate was called the Shunhua Gate. Like Lin’gao county town, the prefectural capital had no north gate, but a tower was built on the city wall, called the Wanghai (Sea-Viewing) Tower. In the seventeenth year of the Hongwu era (1384), the commander of the Hainan Guard, Sang Zhao, added an earthen wall of 380 zhang outside the west gate as a barbican, thus finalizing the city’s defense system.

He walked to the drum tower on Gulou Street, between the south gate of the prefectural city and the prefectural yamen. The accompanying cadre said a few words to the gatekeeper, and he swaggered up the stone steps of the drum tower, touching the moss-covered, mottled walls and the dilapidated buildings on top.

Looking at the sea of rooftops before him, he found it hard to imagine that this had once been the preferred spot for many local Hainanese scholars and poets to climb high, gaze into the distance, and compose poems.

The accompanying cadre reported to Yun Suji that, according to the new measurement system, the city wall was over 4,100 meters long, over 9 meters high, and over 6 meters wide. It had three gates (east, west, and south) and four corner towers, as well as a barbican and a moat. He then pointed out the locations of the small alleys and streets of the prefectural city, such as East Gate Street, West Gate Street, and South Gate Street.

Yun Suji discovered that the eastern part of the city, due to the concentration of the prefectural yamen, the county administration, the prefectural school, and other institutions, served political, cultural, and religious functions. Thus, there were names like Beidi Alley, Shangshu Street, Renhefang, County Front Street, and County Back Street. There were also some unique road names like Ma’an (Saddle) Street, Datie (Blacksmith) Street, and Xiuyi (Embroidery) Fang.

“Where is the Qiongtai Academy?” Yun Suji asked.

As the cultural center of Hainan for a thousand years, the refined atmosphere of Qiongzhou Prefecture city had nurtured countless scholars and heroes. “Three worthies from one li, three jinshi from five li” was the most apt description of the abundance of talent in the prefectural city during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Famous individuals, after achieving success, were also enthusiastic about promoting education. At that time, the prefectural city not only had prefectural and county schools, but also charity schools and private schools for the children of common people. The Qiongtai Academy was established during the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty and became the highest institution of learning in Qiong. Last year, the Senate had supported the Moli Xuan model in Haikou and had built it ahead of schedule.

“Chief, it’s to the north, outside the city walls.” The cadre handed him a pair of binoculars.

In the binoculars, he saw a patch of white walls and red tiles by the sea, which seemed to cover an even larger area than Fangcaodi. What Yun Suji didn’t know was that Mei Wan had originally wanted to build the academy directly on the site of the Hainan University Haidian campus in the original time-space, but this was opposed by the Qiongshan cadres, who had planned Haidian as an industrial zone. So it was moved to a location south of Haidian, across the river. This school had already been built, and student recruitment was underway. In the future, it could accommodate more than five hundred boarding students.

The cadre emphasized, “The construction standard is the same as Fangcaodi.”

“Where is Xiuying Port?”

“Where is the Baisha naval base?”

He looked around again, then had someone bring out a map to compare. He couldn’t help but have a plan for the future location of the farm.

“Let’s call this farm Wanlü (Ten Thousand Greens) Garden.”