Chapter 235: Feel Free to Experiment, Sisters-in-Law

Chapter 235: Feel Free to Experiment, Sisters-in-Law

{Note: Chapter error, chapters 233 and 234 follow this one. Please manually skip them, apologies!}

He Zhiran nodded. "Yes, pendants are meant to be hung on clothes or bags, so they can't be too large."

After He Zhiran's explanation, Sister-in-law Six picked up the blueprint for a closer inspection.

The other sisters-in-law also craned their necks to watch together.

A few minutes later, Sister-in-law Six put down the blueprint.

"Dear Ninth Sister-in-law, I'll make a prototype first."

"Good, there are plenty of rabbit skins here, feel free to experiment, sisters-in-law." He Zhiran generously pushed all the rabbit skins in front of her sisters-in-law.

By evening, Sister-in-law Six had crafted a rose-red long-eared rabbit pendant.

The eyes of the long-eared rabbit were finished products that He Zhiran bought from the Taobao Baby Mall, and with the four white-tipped claws of the rabbit, it looked incredibly adorable.

He Zhiran took it over for a careful inspection, praising Sister-in-law Six's craftsmanship nonstop.

"Sister-in-law Six, this is exactly what we're looking for. We can make them according to this standard from now on."

It was truly perfect, identical to those sold in the Taobao Baby Mall, if not better.

The only thing lacking was that the long-eared rabbit pendants sold in the Taobao Baby Mall came with a metal hook, something she needed to find an appropriate substitute for.

Just as He Zhiran was pondering what could replace the hook, Sister-in-law One spoke up.

"Ninth Sister-in-law, looking at your design, shouldn't there be something like a string attached to the pendant? When I was young, my mother taught me how to tie knots. I can give it a try."

With that, Sister-in-law One found a bundle of red thread, divided ten strands into one thick strand, and began weaving right in front of everyone.

Before long, a red diamond knot was completed.

When He Zhiran saw the red diamond knot in Sister-in-law One's hand, her eyes instantly lit up.

"Sister-in-law One, this will work. We can use this diamond knot to decorate the finished long-eared rabbit pendants."

With the approval of her ninth sister-in-law, Sister-in-law One smiled and said, "Good, we'll use these diamond knots for our finished pendants."

With that, a complete pendant was finally finished. He Zhiran no longer had to worry about her sisters-in-law's skills, so she could once again leave the crafting of the pendants to them.

Now that the family couldn't continue supplying cold rabbit meat, and Tang Mingrui had taken away a large number of plush toys to sell last time, he probably wouldn't come around for a while.

However, through the efforts of her sisters-in-law, in just three days, the family had produced a hundred long-eared rabbit pendants made of rabbit fur in various colors.

As the time approached the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, with only a month left until the New Year, He Zhiran thought that before the New Year was the period when people were most willing to spend money. So, she took the initiative to seek out Tang Mingrui.

She and Mo Jiuye arrived at the right time. Tang Mingrui had been out promoting the plush toys these past few days and had only returned last night. If they hadn't been lucky, this trip might have been in vain.

Tang Mingrui, seeing these pendants made of real rabbit fur, even a grown man couldn't bear to let go of them.

The surprise on his face was impossible to hide. "Ninth Sister-in-law, are these pendants?"

"Yes, Brother Tang, do you think there's any business opportunity with this?" He Zhiran asked, knowing the answer already.

Not to mention in Tang Mingrui's hands, even she, who knew nothing about business, knew that such pendants would definitely be popular if they appeared on the market.

"It's bound to be so. Ninth Sister-in-law, rest assured. With such fine pendants, your brother here will surely sell them for a good price."

He Zhiran didn't ask for more. Although the pendants were made using real rabbit fur, this item didn't cost her much. The appeal lay in the unique colors and the sisters-in-law's excellent craftsmanship.

Moreover, the pendants were much smaller than those plush toys. If they could sell for a few taels of silver each, it would already be quite high.

This time, Tang Mingrui didn't pre-estimate the price of the pendants. For such exquisite little things, he planned to try selling them at a higher price.

When He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye came over, they brought all the hundred pendants made by the family, handing them over to Tang Mingrui before leaving.

They expected Tang Mingrui to visit in a few days, but unexpectedly, he showed up early the next morning.

He took the hundred pendants to the state capital for sale, and to his surprise, the young ladies and wives of wealthy families in the state capital were very fond of these delicate and petite pendants.

Word spread quickly, and the hundred pendants he brought weren't enough to meet the demand.

Not only that, many people wanted to place orders with him.

Moreover, the price Tang Mingrui sold these pendants for was slightly higher than the plush toys, with each selling for twelve taels. As a result, He Zhiran received a higher share of the profits.

What He Zhiran didn't know was that the reason Tang Mingrui could sell the pendants at such a high price was closely related to the gem-like eyes embedded in the long-eared rabbits.

Although he couldn't figure out what material they were made of, they were shiny and round, certainly not ordinary. After Tang Mingrui made some remarks about the rabbit's eyes, the buyers felt they got their money's worth.

The popularity of the pendants could have allowed them to make a fortune, but unfortunately, the supply of rabbit skins at home was limited. To produce them in large quantities, they would have to wait until after the New Year, when another batch of male rabbits could be slaughtered.

Fortunately, Tang Mingrui didn't accept those reservation orders, otherwise, he would have broken his promise to the customers.

Of course, He Zhiran wouldn't get involved in how Tang Mingrui conducted his business. Now that the family's plush fabric and rabbit skins were used up, what she needed to do was prepare for her first New Year in this different world.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, the Minor New Year, it was the day when commoners paid homage to the Kitchen God, signaling the beginning of the entire Spring Festival.

Madam Mo placed great importance on such festivals, not missing out on either the year-end cleaning or the Kitchen God worship.

The whole family started bustling early in the morning. Madam Mo found Mo Zhongyuan and asked him to try painting a portrait of the Kitchen God.

She had given birth to nine sons, and although Mo Zhongyuan's martial arts were inferior to his eight brothers, he excelled in calligraphy and painting compared to his other brothers.

If he hadn't been born into a family of military officers, perhaps Mo Zhongyuan would have chosen to pursue literature.

Yet, fate played a cruel hand, burdening him with suffering at such a young age, ultimately leading to his loss of memory.

Indeed, Old Lady Mo's arrangement for Mo Zhongyuan to paint the image of the Kitchen God was in hopes of stirring some memories within him.

In the past, it was always Mo Zhongyuan who painted the deity's image when the family paid homage during Minor New Year, and she hoped that even with his lost memories, he could still manage to recreate it.

Mo Zhongyuan, summoned from the rabbit hutch, was somewhat disoriented.

"Mother, did you call me?"

Old Lady Mo neatly arranged the paper and brush on the table.

"In the past, it was always you who painted our Kitchen God. I hope you can do it again this time."

Hearing his mother mention his past role in painting the deity's image, Mo Zhongyuan instinctively tried to recall.

Lately, no matter who brought up events from his past, whenever he attempted to remember, he would be struck by an excruciating headache.

The more he tried to think, the worse the sensation became.

When faced with such situations, Fifth Sister-in-law would rush to find He Zhiran.

Now that Fifth Brother was conscious, He Zhiran could only examine his pulse and condition.

After her examination, He Zhiran found nothing out of the ordinary with Fifth Brother. Drawing upon her experience from her previous life as a doctor, she surmised that his condition wasn't necessarily bad—it was likely that the blood clot in his brain was gradually being absorbed, signaling potential memory recovery.

Despite this, He Zhiran still advised him to maintain a natural and relaxed mindset, not to force anything, assuring him that his memories would return in due time.