Joaquim Augusto Barbosa de Melo - The Great Empire

A few days later...

She went to her uncle’s house to gather opinions about the school project. She found him rather crestfallen. His brother’s death had brought him much bitterness. He had not yet accepted the new situation, perhaps because they were twins. All his life they remained very close to each other, maybe that’s why the abrupt estrangement sent him into a deep emptiness. Li never understood how a few months’ uterine closeness between two beings could have such an intense and prolonged effect on their lives! Still as a child, she had a few embarrassing moments when she called her uncle her father and her father her uncle. Almost always these situations occurred when he had to refer to a third person having previously been with one or the other.

In her meeting with her uncle she preferred to omit the reason for the visit at first, but was surprised by his words.

- You come to tell me about your concerns?

- What do you mean?!

- Don’t try to avoid what your eyes reveal.

- I didn’t even know my eyes spoke!

- Of course they do! And I see it for as long as I know you.

- Well, then, here it is! I don’t know if you know this, but I’d like to open a school. Your opinion is very important to me.

- Your mother had already told me about it. As you know, a decision of that nature represents a great personal responsibility. It involves financial resources, human resources, and also a lot of organization. I’m sure if your father were alive he wouldn’t stop helping you. You’ll have my full support!

- I look forward to your help in choosing the location, facilities, masters and everything else! – Li said, with a smile.

- One thing at a time! I’m going to have to involve other people to solve several of these issues. As for the location, I already gave it some thought. There are at least two alternatives, but I have to talk to your mother first. However, there are things you can already start thinking about, for example, the program content of the future school.

- I was hoping Uncle would tell me about it. I have a number of ideas here, which I’ll leave you to analyze and give me your opinion.

- Very good. In a few days we’ll talk about this again.

When, moments later, she said goodbye to her uncle, she appreciated that he looked less gloomy than before, what she took as a good sign. Perhaps school business could help to invigorate his own life and perhaps also be a new hope. That afternoon Li saw her ideas revived, so after dinner she went to the garden to take a short walk, something she had not done for a long time. The garden formed a large annex to her parents’ house and as a whole was bordered by the fields of the vast property. While walking, she went over places and talks from other times. After some time and already very close to her house she remembered in particular the long conversations her father had with her uncle, usually at the end of the afternoon, catching up on business matters. Next to the house there was still the reclining chair, as in other times. She approached and sat down. Li sat there for a long time, looking at the immensity of the sky, until the night came. That time allowed her not only to regain serenity and calm, but above all to find herself again, listening to the voice of her heart. When she finally went to bed, she was feeling a great inner peace. The next day Li woke up revigorated, lighter and with an enviable disposition. She had to repeat that experience more often, “to restore the joy of living,” she thought.

The school project was now a priority in Li’s life. It was necessary to decide on the location. So that morning she chose to take a walk around her father’s estate in an attempt to find a suitable place. The future facilities should allow, as far as possible, easy access and be as close as possible to the surrounding villages. It was also desirable to have a minimal cost solution, perhaps with the remodeling of one of the existing buildings. As Li’s uncle reminded her, the total costs are always significant. She would also have to think about the basic equipment needed for classrooms, offices and so many others. At that moment, the important thing was to find the appropriate building, everything else would come in due time. Li walked around all morning without finding a solution that to her seemed appropriate. The existing buildings did not fit in with the global goals she had set. After the midday meal she stayed home scribbling out possible solutions for the construction of facilities. Near the afternoon, Li left. She had an absolute need to talk to the people, to know their needs. So she decided to make a walking tour around the village. She collected opinions about the school (generally favorable), but the people were permanently concerned - the costs of attending it. The weak financial resources of most people in the village were the main reason for so much concern. The financial issue had already been widely considered in her reflections, but still with no solution in sight. Li was convinced, however, that a solution would be found in due time - she expected a positive contribution from her uncle on this matter, too. The following days went by peacefully, but also with great anxiety. Her uncle’s response was delayed and with it doubts about the motives grew. Since she was a little girl she had a strong affective and trusting connection with him, so she had no choice but to wait.

One fine morning Li received the news that her uncle was coming to visit her in two days. He would stay to have lunch and talk about school. That news left her in a state of even greater anxiety, only balanced by the serenity of her mother who welcomed the good news with great satisfaction. Since her father’s death, her mother would spend the days gathered over herself, so the uncle’s visit would also represent a different day for her. At noon, as he had promised, the uncle entered her mother’s house with his wife and son. The first moments, after the welcome, were built with great silence. The painful departure of her father was still very much present in everyone’s memory. Little by little, however, the conversation took hold, pulled by recent events and the school. The arrival of her cousin, a lively and well-educated boy, recently returned from distant lands, made him a new and pleasant subject of conversation.

In the past, her cousin, still very young, had left in a wagon of rich silk merchants. When he left home, driven by adventure and trade with distant peoples, he did not expect such a distant return in time. He left with parental permission, despite the many reservations of his mother and aunt. The merchants, who traded regularly with his father and uncle, were well-known people who could be trusted. For that time the son’s departure represented a serious risk, but it ended up representing a great opportunity, not only in the strengthening of commercial relations, but above all, opening horizons of knowledge for the boy. After all these years, the balance is frankly positive, not only because of the business, that has experienced an unusual growth, but because it has allowed him to have a solid professional training. The early days required a great effort of adaptation and dedication on both sides, but over the years, the results came and were strongly encouraging. At present the boy holds a significant share of the company’s capital that he shares with the merchants. A real commercial empire! The genius for business was in his blood and the merchants soon realized it. From a very young age he began to participate in the business meetings that his father and uncle had with the merchants, revealing a great insight. The result is in plain sight today. During lunch Li revealed herself to be a satisfied woman and had good reason for it. With the arrival of her son, her uncle now had a frankly more positive attitude. The dark and sorrowful air had disappeared from his face. There were other reasons for those changes, as Li would later confirm. Hence her intervention.