Farmhouse Green Plum

Nanxing lowered her eyes; initially, that was indeed the family's idea.

The shop primarily serves female customers. The few male customers are either married and accompanied by their families, or they have someone they love and are specifically choosing fabrics to make clothes for that person.

Later, business at the shop got better and better, and Sister Yanxing became more generous, increasing the wages she paid. As a result, her family's attitude changed.

Once married, one belongs to another family, and can no longer wholeheartedly help the family as before, so the matter of marriage is no longer mentioned.

Nanxing gave a sarcastic smile. Although she felt that things were fine as they were, and she had even considered living a peaceful and stable life without getting married, she was content with her current situation.

Even though I understand my family's thoughts and intentions, I'm still very sad.

She took a breath and said naturally, "What's the use of rushing this? Our time hasn't come yet."

Yuan Shan was incredulous and wanted to ask more, but a guest arrived, so she had to swallow her words.

Once the guest leaves, it's difficult to continue the conversation.

She waited until the sun was setting before Luo Yanxing returned.

Before Luo Yanxing could even get off the carriage, she rushed out, took out the letter, and handed it over, saying, "Sister Yanxing, my sister-in-law sent a letter back; this is for you."

Luo Yanxing's eyes lit up. "Where are they going? Was their journey smooth?"

"Successfully. When I wrote the letter, I said I had arrived in Zizhou. I should have arrived in Chengdu by now."

While she was speaking, Luo Yanxing had already opened the letter and was reading it. She smiled after reading just the beginning and muttered, "If you care about Tangtang so much, why don't you just take Tangtang with you? You even said before that you would take Tangtang with you on any long trip."

Yuan Shan touched the tip of her nose, thinking to herself: It's all because she was worried about you. Originally, her sister-in-law planned to take Tangtang to Rongcheng with her. She prepared small pieces of dried meat and dried fish in advance, and even made a cat bed, collar, and rope to prevent Tangtang from being frightened and running away on the way.

But her sister-in-law was really worried about the Chen family. She tossed and turned all night before leaving and couldn't sleep well. Before leaving, she gritted her teeth and asked her to send Tangtang to Sister Yanxing.

Firstly, she hoped that in her absence, Sister Yanxing would feel less lonely and desolate looking at Tangtang; secondly, she wanted to prevent the Chen family from causing trouble while Sister Yanxing was asleep.

Cats have a much more sensitive sense of smell and hearing than humans. With Tangtang around, even if someone tries to cause trouble, it can detect it immediately. If Yanxingjie is more alert, we'll be much safer.

Thinking of Tangtang, she hurriedly asked, "Where's Tangtang? I didn't see it in the shop. You didn't leave it at the Chen family's house, did you?"

As the question progressed, Yuan Shan became increasingly nervous. The Chen family was so wicked; they might abuse Tangtang while Yanxing was away!

Luo Yanxing jumped off the carriage and said as he walked into the shop, "At Yingnuoxuan, I went there this morning to check the accounts, and it ran off to the willow grove by the river. I was in a hurry to leave, so I left it there for now."

Yuan Shan felt relieved. Tangtang was most familiar with the Yingnuoxuan area. She would either squat at the entrance of Zhang's steamed bun shop waiting for the meat filling or linger on the eaves of Liu's teahouse to bask in the sun. She couldn't be lost.

She lifted her skirt and jogged to catch up with Luo Yanxing: "Hey, by the way, Sister Yanxing, what are you going back to the village for?"

Luo Yanxing kept walking, "asking how many villagers are willing to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms."

"Raising silkworms?" Yuan Shan asked in surprise. "Why did you think of this? Our township isn't suitable for it."

Xinghua Village and its neighbor Wutong Village have little farmland and the hillsides are not very high. The villagers have cultivated the land layer by layer, and even using it to grow grain is not enough to feed them. So how could the villagers bear to give up the land to grow mulberry trees?

Therefore, they do not raise silkworms in that area.

"I plan to expand the workshop. I have already reached an agreement with Yunxiulou and several clothing shops in Shunqing Prefecture. From now on, our workshop will supply their silks and satins."

Our area is indeed not very suitable for planting mulberry trees, but I can't fall behind, otherwise people will say that I don't think about the village when I have good things to do.

"I've thought about it. Actually, it's possible to plant them. They can be planted along roadsides and field edges. Each household just needs to raise a few silkworms." Luo Yanxing strode into the shop, gave Nanxing a few instructions, and took his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone into the inner room.

"Won't the mulberry trees by the roadside block the sunlight when they grow tall?"

"It's just blocking a small area. Sacrificing a little harvest will bring in an extra source of income. It's worth it."

Yuan Shan thought about it carefully and realized it was indeed a good deal. The small area that was shaded from the sun could be used to grow crops that didn't need much sunlight.

A thought struck her, and she quickly asked, "Do you buy silkworms from our Wutong Village?"

Luo Yanxing, grinding ink, said without looking up, "Of course, I was just about to discuss this with you. I'm not very familiar with the people in Wutong Village, so I'd like to ask your grandmother to help me organize the silkworm silk. You can calculate the accounts and hand them over to me."

“My grandma is very respected in the village, and she’s fair in handling things. You can’t go wrong by entrusting this matter to her!” Yuan Shan’s face lit up with joy. “Sister Yanxing, what do you want to write? I’ll grind the ink for you!”

This slightly obsequious manner brought a rare smile to Luo Yanxing's face. "Alright, you grind the ink. I'll write back to Song Ying and ask her for her opinion. I really can't decide who should be in charge of our village's silk production."

Yuan Shan naturally didn't know the people of Xinghua Village. She took the ink stick and drew circles along the edge of the inkstone. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "If the workshop expands, will we need to hire more people? My cousins ​​happen to be free!"

"No need, I already have someone in mind." Luo Yanxing took a pen from the pen holder.

"Who are they?" Yuan Shan was even more astonished. It had been less than half a month since the ghost marriage. Had Sister Yanxing acted so quickly?

Not only did they decide on a strategy to expand the workshop, but they also selected the workshop staff.

"It's Erni and Pandi. Oh, right, I still need to write to them to ask."

"They might not all come, we need more people, like my cousin and the others..."

“That won’t do either!” Luo Yanxing interrupted her before she could finish speaking. “I only plan to hire female workers for this workshop. That way, Erni’s in-laws can feel at ease letting them work here, and other unmarried and married young women can also come with peace of mind.”

Yuan Shan was stunned. She felt as if her heart had been struck, a strange sensation that she couldn't quite describe.

Luo Yanxing added, "If your cousins ​​want to come, they can too."

It's always better to hire someone you know well.

"Okay, I'll ask them."

Soon, Yuan Shan walked home in the afterglow of the setting sun, pondering what that feeling was.

As her gaze swept past the steamed bun shop, past the young girl carrying the steamer basket and packing up, and past Zhang Yuniang of the rice shop sweeping the floor, she began to understand.

In the past, only shops like Yunxiulou, which catered almost exclusively to female customers, would hire young women.

Since my sister-in-law started practicing medicine at Huichuntang and Sister Yanxing opened her shop, the number of young women in the shops in Qingshui County has gradually increased.