Chapter 77

Chapter 77

When Zhong Yizhu and Pei Mu returned to Willow Mountain Village, night had fallen. It was the busy spring farming season, and many families were just now having their meals.

In the village, people weren't that formal. They left their doors open, bowls in hand, eating and chatting with neighbors, shooting the breeze—it was a rare moment of relaxation after a hard day's work.

The Zhang family had meat stew today, and Zhang Gensheng's bowl was piled high. Though planting rice was exhausting, eating such rich, fatty food gave him extra energy for the work.

He shoveled in a mouthful of rice, his mouth full of greasy flavor, feeling that even the life of a god couldn't be better than this.

Across the street, the Wang family smelled the aroma of meat wafting from the Zhang courtyard. They took a big bite of their own rice, secretly envious. During the busy farming season, every household would add a bit of oil to their meals—otherwise, with all the hard labor, their bodies couldn't hold up—but no one ate as extravagantly as the Zhangs. The Zhangs hadn't been like this in previous years either. In the end, it was because the Zhang family's daughter-in-law had earned money embroidering sachets with Miss Sun.

Pei Mu drove the oxcart through the village. Along the way, many families warmly invited them to come eat at their homes. Zhong Yizhu, holding a large armful of crabapple blossoms, smiled and replied, "No need, Mother is waiting for us at home. We'll come play another day, folks."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Seeing how those who worked with the Pei family had improved their lives, they were even more polite to the couple. They had come to understand that opposing this pair didn't end well. If everyone got along harmoniously, they might even benefit from it someday.

People are motivated by self-interest. Setting aside the earlier rumors, the family's character was truly trustworthy. Now, except for those who had slandered Zhong Yizhu and earned Pei Mu's enmity, everyone spoke well of the Pei family.

When villagers mentioned "the Pei family" nowadays, they meant Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu. As for the old Carpenter Pei's household, the villagers rarely paid them any mind. After that big uproar, Carpenter Pei's family had completely fallen apart.

Carpenter Pei's hand was ruined, so he had to let Pei Jin take charge, only guiding him in his work. But Pei Jin, whether due to lack of talent or something else, his work was shoddy. Initially, out of pity for Carpenter Pei's disability, those who had ordered tools from him and weren't in a hurry didn't ask for their money back. They thought even if it was delayed, as long as the work was done, it would be fine. But in the end, the items they received were shoddily made. Furious, these people spread the word that Pei Jin's craftsmanship was subpar and that no one should hire him.

Now, it was said that Pei Jin could only get small handiwork jobs, and his prices were low. With such a large family relying on this meager income, their life was extremely tight.

Some people had once gone out of their way to tell Zhong Yizhu and the others about Carpenter Pei's family's misfortunes, hoping to get on their good side. But they soon realized that Zhong Yizhu and the others weren't interested in hearing such gossip, so no one brought it up anymore.

Zhong Yizhu had never liked listening to village gossip, and now he had even less time for it. As he and Pei Mu reached their doorstep, Wang Ping'an and his husband, who had heard the commotion, poked their heads out. They quickly put down their bowls to open the side courtyard gate and help unload the boxes.

Since the shop had opened and everyone already knew about it, they had opened a gate on the side to make it easier for the oxcart to enter and unload goods.

Pei Mu stopped them. "Go eat your meal. Haven't you worked enough in the fields?"

Wang Ping'an smiled as he carried a box toward the storeroom. Noticing how light it was, he was pleased and joked, "Exactly, I haven't had enough. You rest and let me show you my strength."

Sun Yunniang's workload was now lighter. Seeing that the two of them were busy with no one to help them, she took it upon herself to handle their meals—bringing them lunch and inviting them to eat dinner in the courtyard. Since Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu's return time was unpredictable, she didn't make them wait. She set aside fresh food for them and let the two men, exhausted from a day in the fields, eat first.

Wang Ping'an and his husband were deeply grateful. Neither of them had any proper elders left. Being cared for by Sun Yunniang like this made them feel warm inside, making them feel like children again. Tired as they were, they felt content. Even the usually steady Wang Ping'an had regained a bit of playfulness.

All the boxes were empty, so everyone worked quickly. In no time, they had unloaded the cart and arranged everything. By the time they returned to the main courtyard, the rice in their bowls was still warm.

Sun Yunniang had already served Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu their meals. She had a small appetite and had finished eating. Now she sat nearby, casually sketching patterns with colored pencils, listening with a smile as the young folks chatted.

"We'll be done in another day or two. The day after tomorrow, we can start making the wooden boxes. Can the two of you really manage—one running the shop and the other setting up a stall? Don't you need our help?"

Wang Ping'an looked at Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu as he asked. The two of them had discussed it and decided that both could make the boxes, and it didn't matter where. One of them could stay home to tend the fields, while Chen Xiaorong could go to the shop's backyard to make boxes. That way, when the front was busy, he could step in to help without delaying either task.

They were willing to put in the extra effort entirely for Zhong Yizhu and Pei Mu's sake.

Zhong Yizhu swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded. "There's actually something I wanted to ask Brother Xiaorong. Would you be willing to help?"

Chen Xiaorong agreed without even asking what it was. "Of course I'm willing. Just tell me."

Zhong Yizhu explained the current issues at the shop, then said, "When I was making incense before, Brother Xiaorong could always tell what I was making. I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to learn incense-making from me and later help supply the shop together with me."

Chen Xiaorong was stunned. He never expected Zhong Yizhu to offer him such a task. He stammered, nervous, "I... this... I'm afraid I won't do well..."

The craft of incense-making and the recipes were the foundation of the shop. Chen Xiaorong had never thought of learning it. He and Wang Ping'an were already content with their box-making work. When he had gone to the city before, he had even dragged Wang Ping'an to look at other shops, studying how to make better boxes.

Now, because Zhong Yizhu was short-handed and wanted him to learn, it was a sign of complete trust. How could he be unwilling? But he felt that incense-making was an incredibly impressive skill. He worried he would mess it up. He was just a village kid. On the day the shop opened, he had seen such a big deal for the first time. These incenses were for rich folks to use. Could he really do it?

Zhong Yizhu refuted, "How could that be? You're meticulous and patient—you won't do poorly."

Chen Xiaorong glanced around, seeing Sun Yunniang and Wang Pingan both looking at him with encouragement, and even Pei Mu gave him an affirmative look.

Chen Xiaorong set down his bowl, his hands trembling slightly from excitement, and nodded firmly: "I'll do it, Zhu Ge'er. Don't worry, I'll follow your lead."

Zhong Yizhu smiled warmly: "Good."

As for staffing the shop, Zhong Yizhu had Yao Le in mind.

Though He Ge'er was already on hand, his temperament meant he could lend a hand but couldn't manage a shop on his own. Liu Mingtao also lacked experience in that area. Yao Le, however, was familiar with the city's ways, bold but not reckless, flexible and good at handling trouble. With him overseeing the shop, Zhong Yizhu wasn't worried about him being bullied and trusted he could win over customers.

But this was just his idea—Yao Le might not be able to come. It was late today, so they didn't visit him; they'd have to find time tomorrow to ask.

After dinner, Wang Pingan and Chen Xiaorong went back to rest. Pei Mu went to the side courtyard's storeroom to count the remaining spices, separately wrapping the ones ordered by the incense shop at the back, and restocked the boxes.

Zhong Yizhu inspected the incense products he made and set to dry. Though he still had some stock from before, items like incense pills that don't keep well need to be made fresh and sold quickly. So he made a new batch almost every day, carefully marking the dates so they wouldn't get mixed up.

Once Pei Mu had packed the spices, he joined Zhong Yizhu. While Zhong Yizhu worked on the incense pills, Pei Mu pulled out a new ledger to keep accounts. They didn't need to track personal finances separately, but the spice and incense shop's business had to be recorded separately to avoid chaos.

Zhong Yizhu's workload for the day wasn't heavy, so he spent more time thinking about how to guide Chen Xiaorong into the craft. With another person helping, production would surely increase.

·

At the same time, at the Yan Mansion.

Spring arrived earlier in Rongyang City than in Willow Mountain Village. As soon as the weather warmed, young women and men eagerly changed into spring attire.

Yan Wenyue had just returned from a spring outing with her girlfriends, feeling sweaty and gross. She immediately called for the maids to prepare a scented bath.

Her bathing room was a separate room. Her personal maid helped remove her hair ornaments and outer robe, and she undressed, stepping into the tub. But as soon as she sat down, she let out a surprised "Huh?"

"What's wrong, miss?"

Yan Wenyue didn't like being attended to while bathing, so her maid only asked from behind the screen. Yan Wenyue lifted her arm and sniffed it intently, certain she hadn't used this perfume before. With some delight, she laughed, "What shop sent this new perfume? It smells almost exactly like the magnolia grove I visited today—so elegant. Find out where it's from and stock up. I'll send some to Sister Yi."

The maid agreed but was puzzled. She had ordered the perfume the young lady had been favoring lately. When she checked with the younger maid, it turned out the girl had grabbed the wrong one by mistake. The personal maid examined the bottle closely, and her expression shifted.

Nervously, she stepped behind the screen: "Miss, this perfume was brought back by the Sixth Young Master a few days ago. Xiao Tao grabbed it by mistake. Should I prepare a new bath?"

Yan Wenyue paused, quickly lifting her arm to check. Thankfully, her skin was still fair, no discoloration or rash.

She leaned back wearily against the tub's edge: "No need. This one seems fine."

The maid outside sighed with relief. It wasn't that they were disrespectful, but they had learned to be wary after several mishaps with the Sixth Young Master.

Previously, the health pills he brought back gave half the Yan household stomachaches. Another time, a rare rouge from far away couldn't be washed off, keeping the women and lads of the house indoors for weeks. After those two incidents, everyone who received gifts from Yan Wenqin kept their distance from them.

They appreciated his intentions, but they still avoided using his gifts whenever possible.

This time, though, seemed different?

After her bath, Yan Wenyue had her maid dry her hair and found no discomfort anywhere. Instead, the fragrance from the bath lingered faintly on her skin, smelling lovely. Remembering something, she told her maid: "Bring me all the things Sixth Brother sent this time."

The maid quickly fetched them: a bottle of perfume and a box of balm. He said a new friend gave them to him, and there wasn't much to share after sharing with the cousins.

The bottle had only a bamboo-shaped sticker on it, so it looked like any other white porcelain bottle from the back—hence Xiao Tao's mistake.

Yan Wenyue opened the balm's lid and sniffed it, her eyes lighting up. This one smelled wonderful too.

Since she already carried the scent of magnolia and didn't want the fragrances to clash, she had her maid hold out a hand and dabbed some onto it. When she had the maid wave her hand, the scent at her nose drifted in and out, faint and elusive—if she wore it herself, this was exactly the kind of drifting scent that would waft around her as she moved.

Yan Wenyue looked like she'd just found a treasure.

The personal maid had been with Yan Wenyue for many years and had an exceptionally discerning eye: "Miss, this doesn't smell like something the city's perfume shops make. Compared to this, the fragrances those shops send over all seem rather common."

"Exactly."

With spring's many banquets, pretty clothes and jewelry also needed a distinctive, refined fragrance to set the perfect tone. Yan Wenyue even felt like throwing propriety to the wind and sending someone off that very moment to ask who on earth her sixth brother's mysterious new friend was and where she could buy the same fragrances.

Yan Wenyue had pleasant dreams all night amidst the magnolia scent. The next morning, after paying her respects to her grandfather, she hurriedly intercepted Yan Wenqin.

"Sixth Brother, which friend did you get those balms and perfumes from? Can they be bought?"

The brothers and sisters nearby looked over at that, all wearing expressions of surprise and astonishment.

Zhong Yizhu, far away in Liushan Village, could never have imagined that a gift he had casually sent off would bring him such a large order.