The story is set in She County, Huizhou, in the middle years of the Qing Dynasty under the Qianlong Emperor. Huizhou ink-making is at its peak, with the four great ink shops each showcasing their specialties. The ancient methods of making ink from lampblack and pine soot have been passed down for hundreds of years. A fine ink stick must pass through more than a hundred stages, including selecting soot, mixing in glue, pounding, molding, drying, filing the edges, and applying gold. Every step embodies a craftsman’s dedication and hard work. The protagonist, Hu Yude, takes over his family’s Cangpei Studio, part of the Hu Kaiwen ink business. By then, Huizhou’s ink trade is beginning to fall into disarray. Many workshops cut corners by using less glue or passing off inferior products as fine goods. Counterfeit ink sticks bearing famous names flood the market, and cheap fakes harm scholars and students while tarnishing a craft with a thousand-year history. Hu Yude remains true to the old ways, following the ancient Yishui method. He spares no expense on tung oil, pine soot, and precious medicinal ingredients, and refuses to simplify the process for profit. But his costs remain high, and his peers ostracize and suppress him, repeatedly dealing setbacks to his business.
While upholding his family’s teachings and crafting ink with meticulous care, he searches far and wide for ancient methods scattered among the people, hoping to restore the nearly lost techniques for making Eight-Treasure Medicinal Ink and Imperial Garden Picture Collage Ink. He dreams of creating heirloom ink that “lies on paper like lacquer and preserves the truth for ten thousand years.” Along the way, he meets Wang Liwen, a clever and resilient craftswoman. Born into a family of ink makers, she has mastered the unique techniques of drying ink, applying gold, and repairing ink molds. In the past, women were rarely allowed inside ink workshops, so she could only work hidden away in the back courtyard, her talents unseen by the world. Bound together by ink, the two defy convention and bring Wang Liwen into Cangpei Studio. She improves the colors used in gilding and refines the temperature control for drying ink, helping Hu Yude solve the problem of the decorative patterns on collage ink sticks flaking off.
