The baby-making system is unreliable

A light boat, oars propelling the water, the sun rises in the azure sky, and the grass and trees grow lush along the green stream.

That spring, the Bixi River was filled with fishing boats casting their nets, and the water rippled as fish and shrimp leaped and swam.

One mile east of the imperial city lies Tiaolu Mountain, where orioles fly and the flowing water murmurs as the mandarin fish grow fat.

Yuan'an and Zhao Yushu secretly stepped onto the lake again, just to check on Luo Yi and Luo Xi.

As dusk settled, the river shimmered like a ribbon, its surface rippling with golden light.

Yuan'an and Zhao Yushu stood at the bow of the boat, their clothes fluttering in the wind. Behind them was the river winding southward, and ahead lay the southern city they longed for.

The oars gently rocked the boat, and the water murmured softly, as if whispering the anticipation of returning home.

"Yushu, let's go back quickly, I'm getting a little anxious." Yuan'an turned around and smiled, her eyes showing a mixture of urgency and tenderness. "I wonder what those maids at home have done to our little shop these past few days while I was away."

Zhao Yushu chuckled as she held the oar, her eyes bright and clear, and reassured her, "What are you afraid of? With them looking after the shop, it won't collapse. But you, as soon as you heard we were going back to Nancheng, your heart was already there."

“Of course!” Yuan’an sighed softly, as if remembering something and looking somewhat worried. “That rouge shop was built brick by brick by us. Every box of rouge and every eyebrow pencil was made by our own hands.”

The two smiled at each other as the boat receded into the distance, drifting downstream as if carrying a tranquil and gentle era.

Their "Xiangxuefang" was located at the entrance of Liuxiang, the most bustling alley in the southern part of the city. When it first opened, it was always packed with customers.

Yuan'an blends fragrances, while Yu Shu inscribes calligraphy; one is gentle as water, the other elegant as bamboo, and they are known as the "Twin Jewels" by the people of the city.

But later, during a free clinic, they met a group of children. To be precise, a group of forgotten girls.

Most of those girls were from poor families, or were sold into servitude or abandoned on the streets.

Their parents, whether ignorant or helpless, forbade them to learn to read and write, as if women were born only to manage household affairs and not to have thoughts or a future.

Zhao Yushu stood at the entrance of the dilapidated temple, watching a girl of about ten years old write the four words "I want to study" crookedly on the wall with a charcoal stick. Her fingertips trembled slightly, and her heart felt as if it had been struck a heavy blow.

She crouched down and asked softly, "Who taught you that?"

The girl lowered her head and said in a voice barely audible, "I learned it myself... little by little by looking at the notices on the wall."

At that moment, Zhao Yushu's eyes welled up with tears. She thought of her childhood, and how, if it weren't for her mentor taking her in, she would probably have long since faded into obscurity.

She turned to Yuan'an and said, "We can't just keep running this shop. If we have some strength, we should light a lamp for them."

Thus, a "literacy hall" was added to the backyard of Xiangxuefang. Zhao Yushu taught them every morning, instructing them to recognize characters, read poems, and understand principles.

Yuan'an then sold some of her spices to buy paper and pens, and sewed book bags for them.

At first, only three or five girls came timidly, but later, more than twenty people gathered.

The shop's business gradually improved, and the neighbors all liked the two of them very much.

Once, Yuan'an gazed at the distant outline of the city walls and whispered, "Yu Shu, is it alright if we teach those girls to read?"

To be honest, the parents of those children weren't actually happy for their daughters to learn to read. On the contrary, many of their parents felt that their daughters just needed to get married quietly.

Zhao Yushu told her firmly, her gaze as unwavering as ever: "If you don't even dare to try, then you are truly letting down the hearts of countless women in this world."

And so they began to teach the girls to read, to read, and to write poetry.

Inside Xiangxuefang, the morning light shines obliquely, and wisps of fragrance drift slowly through the air.

Dozens of small celadon cups were neatly arranged on a sandalwood table, filled with various spices: agarwood as black as jade, jasmine stamens that still retained their fragrance after being dried, as well as red sandalwood from the south and camphor from the west, all of which were carefully ground and blended.

Yuan'an knelt on the prayer mat, her sleeves rolled up, her fingertips dusted with pale gold perfume powder, carefully mixing several spices in the right proportions.

Her brows were focused, and her nose twitched slightly, as if she were trying to catch every subtle change in her breath.

"How about adding another half a qian of cloves?" she asked softly, turning her head to look at Zhao Yushu beside her.

Zhao Yushu held a volume of "Fragrance Manual" and examined it. Hearing this, she looked up and smiled, "As you say, the fragrances you blend always understand people's hearts best. Just don't make them too strong. Our customers are mostly elegant women who love the subtle charm of 'almost there'."

Yuan'an nodded, gently sprinkled in clove powder, and then slowly ground it with a silver pestle. The aroma suddenly changed, from crisp to warm, like the early spring sun shining on the pages of an old book, bringing a sense of peace.

This "calming incense" is a newly developed formula, specially made for women who suffer from insomnia and restlessness.

Yuan'an once heard a widowed guest say that every night, loneliness would surge up like a tide, and only by lighting an incense burner could she find a moment of peace.

She kept it in mind and, together with Zhao Yushu, searched through ancient books and tried it more than twenty times before they came up with the recipe they have today.

"If we could add the roots of 'forget-me-not', it might be even more calming."

Zhao Yushu suddenly said, lightly tapping the page with her fingertips, "But this herb is extremely hard to find, it only grows on the cliffs of the North Mountain, and it is not easy to collect."

Yuan An smiled: "It's precisely because it's difficult that it's precious. If it can truly help people sleep peacefully, then even a trip down a cliff would be worthwhile."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by a girl's timid voice: "Mr. Zhao... are you still going to class today?"

The two exchanged a glance, their smiles gentle. That was A-Wu, the youngest student at the literacy school, just over ten years old. She was originally an orphan girl who had been abducted and sold into slavery. Now, she comes to learn to read every morning and helps with sweeping and grinding incense after class, becoming a "little helper" at Xiangxuefang.

"Come in, come in first." Zhao Yushu got up and opened the door, saying softly, "Today we were discussing the Book of Songs, wasn't 'The Peach Blossoms Are in Full Bloom' your favorite poem?"

Ah Wu's eyes lit up, and she skipped in, but stopped when she saw the spices on the table: "This incense... it looks so familiar, like the kind my mother used to burn."

Yuan An's heart stirred, and she asked softly, "Do you remember your mother?"

Ah Wu lowered her head and said softly, "I only remember that she always lit incense at night, saying... saying that that way she wouldn't dream of bad people."

For a moment, the room fell silent. None of the three spoke, only the curling smoke of cigarettes swirled around them, like a memory that refused to fade away.

After a long silence, Yuan'an sighed softly, then looked at her with a sense of peace, as if she had a new idea: "Then let's call this incense 'Remembering Peace'. May everyone who has suffered find a moment of peace in its fragrance."

Zhao Yushu looked at her, a glimmer of light in her eyes. She had always felt that this kind of life was stable and reassuring.

In this southern part of the city, it would be wonderful to run a cosmetics shop and a primary school, a peaceful and quiet life.