Too high to reach

Chapter 18 Father is Mighty
Mo Ruhai didn't respond to Mo Yi, but stared at Wang Qing with a serious expression.

Wang Qing didn't dare to look up, carefully placed the box down, and then stood properly.

"You can go now! Don't forget what I just said!"

Wang Qing quickly responded and slipped away.

Mo Ruhai turned to his daughter, immediately adopting a gentle smile: "Yiyi, the goods over there are simply overwhelming! Many of the materials we bought with money are just being thrown away like trash there. They're piled up in heaps, and they even have buy-one-get-one-free deals! It's really true... I bought so much, and I haven't even spent all the money I brought."

"Father, that's wonderful! If this road opens up, we won't have to worry anymore."

Mo Ruhai nodded and then shook his head: "The journey is indeed long. If it weren't for official business, it wouldn't be easy to make this trip! The travel expenses are too high, and it wouldn't be worth it if we were just getting this worthless stuff."

"Father's even started to scheme now!" Mo Yi nodded approvingly.

Mo Ruhai was captivated by that gaze. "But I still listened to you. I made some good friends locally, exchanged addresses, and will send money and messages when needed. When someone or a security escort agency goes to the capital, they will have someone bring them!"

"Father, you've thought of everything so thoroughly! Let me take a look first..."

"This is enough to keep my daughter and me busy. If we can sell it all... we'll be rich!"

The box was opened, revealing packets of ingredients. Mo Yi casually opened one, the sheer variety making it difficult to focus. She opened another packet… and it was indeed much better than expected!
"There are still some raw materials and finished products left in the front study. Keep them separate for safety. In a couple of days when no one's looking, I'll take you to see them..."

He also winked at his daughter.

Mo Yi nodded in admiration: "Father, you're getting more and more experienced!"

He was quite pleased with his clever daughter's praise. He picked up a small bag and said, "Look! This bag was found by your father without spending any money!"

Mo Yi took it and examined it carefully for a long time, exclaiming in disbelief, "These were even worse than the ones before, but we bought them with our own money! It's unbelievable that there are treasures everywhere there! Just by dealing with these things, we could have become rich!"

Mo Ruhai became even more smug: "These are nothing, look what this is!"

He pulled two books from his pocket: "These two books took a lot of effort to copy. Lord Chen and the others went to play along the lake for several days, but Father didn't go. He was busy with this all day!"

He let out a sigh of relief.

Mo Yi took it. "Jade Manual?!" It had diagrams and analysis, detailing the characteristics of each period.

"Father! This is a real treasure!" Mo Yi was as excited as Mo Ruhai had predicted.

“The illustrations in the original book are better than this one, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time and the materials weren’t complete. So, Dad is using this one…” He took out another book.

"There are detailed annotations. Keep them and read them at your leisure!"

Although Mo Yi is intelligent and hardworking, her knowledge is ultimately too limited.

She has no access to truly good things.

The shopkeepers and clerks in those high-end jade shops all had sharp eyes; one look at the father and daughter and they knew they couldn't afford it! Who would give them a friendly look?

You have to say nice things for a long time, and only if you encounter someone with a kind heart will you give them some high-quality items, put them on a tray, but the chance to handle them and examine them closely is too small!

Books like these are especially hard to find in regular bookstores.

The fact that they managed to keep this small business afloat is a testament to the father and daughter's good fortune; they had an accurate initial positioning, coupled with Mo Yiken's dedication and Mo Ruhai's ability to set aside his arrogance.

Otherwise, without capital, connections, skills, or customers, how could they possibly make money?
Actually... it wasn't just about making money that made me happy, looking at my father's radiant face.

He is much more cheerful and assertive than before.

"Father, your copying skills are becoming more and more outstanding. I want to watch carefully. Then, combining them with current trends... with so much material, we'll definitely be able to create something unique! But we can't rush it; we, father and daughter, need to make our fortune slowly and steadily!"

Mo Ruhai laughed heartily: "...That's wonderful. It's all been worth all the trouble your father has gone through! You have no idea how much effort your father has been putting in; even Lord Chen asked me what I've been up to..."

Mo Yi whispered, "Father, aren't you afraid Mother will see it if you bring it to our room now?" "Hmph..." Mo Ruhai snorted coldly. Although he hadn't earned much money, he had gained confidence.

"You know it, you know it! This time, your father spent over a hundred taels of silver to buy gifts for each of you. I wonder if your mother, after all that calculating, has figured it out yet?! I earn money, and it's all for you to spend! If she tries to control even this, I'm not afraid to fall out with her!"

Mo Yi gave a thumbs up, "Daddy is awesome!"

"This was something that my daughter and I didn't get through so hard!" Looking back now, I'm still very emotional.

That was more than two years ago. He was traveling with his superior when they encountered a flood and mudslides.

Sir, the document is in there...

He pulled it back with all his might, but broke his own leg in the process.

The village doctor was no good, and the return journey was bumpy; I suffered terribly.

Upon arriving in the capital, his bones were dislocated and hadn't healed properly; they were on the verge of rotting.

Someone recommended a quack doctor, but his leg needed to be re-set. The doctor wasn't in the capital, and the treatment would take at least six months. The doctor was far from home, the treatment would be lengthy, and he would suffer greatly; he hesitated.

However, his wife was very dissatisfied because he lost the job that his brother-in-law Qin had arranged for him due to his injury.

She kept complaining, "Why were you so careless?"

"With so many guards and attendants, why did you have to show off?"

"If your leg becomes lame, your future is completely over."

These words put him in a difficult situation both internally and externally.

I finally made up my mind: I'll go find a quack doctor to treat my leg!

It was his daughter… He looked at Mo Yi, his heart filled with love and tenderness. She felt sorry for him and insisted on going with him.

At only twelve years old, she did laundry, cooked, brewed medicine, and told jokes to relieve boredom.

Especially after the leg was broken again and reattached, someone needed to watch over it day and night, just in case it shifted while sleeping.

Even with servants to take care of her, her daughter still worries and keeps a close eye on her. The little girl is exhausted... otherwise, why would she dote on her so much?

But it was during this time that the father and daughter found a way to make money.

It turns out that the town where they sought treatment for their legs was famous for its jade carving techniques.

Mo Yi loved to wander around—stalls, shops, material yards, artisans. He could spend an entire day there.

The clean-cut and pretty young girl was liked by all the masters and apprentices, who would answer any questions she asked if she was curious.

This girl was extremely talented, and it didn't take long for her to figure out the ins and outs.

Once you handle those materials, you can roughly understand what they're about. You can also distinguish between different styles of carving techniques.

Even more coincidentally, she met Li Qi, a young man with a leg disability, who worked as a laborer.

His parents died early, but he had a great talent for jade carving. His elder brother and sister-in-law refused to separate the family business and gave him work, but they didn't give him the money he earned. They only gave him one meal a day.

Beatings and humiliation were commonplace. The real intention was to wear him down so they wouldn't have to separate the family. He dragged his crippled leg, with nowhere to go and no other choice.

My daughter especially loves Li Qi's trinkets, because she can't afford the larger pieces or the more elaborate ones.

Having seen too much of this, the girl started to have her own ideas...

(End of this chapter)