The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The bustling market was bustling with people and the cries of hawkers echoed one after another. Tang Youyou and the three children had just set up their stall when they noticed several more stalls selling wooden horses around them. A quick look revealed that the styles of these wooden horses were almost identical to theirs!

"Mom, look!" Tang Jin said angrily, pointing at the wooden horse on the next stall. "They're so crudely made, and the color isn't pretty!"

Tang Youyou took a closer look and found that although these wooden horses imitated their style, the workmanship was obviously much rougher, the wood was much worse, and the color was cheap and glaring.

"Hey, ma'am, come and take a look at the wooden horse! It's cheap and fun!" A stall owner greeted the passing customers enthusiastically.

Some customers were attracted by the low prices and gathered around, and Tang Youyou's stall became much quieter.

"Mom, what should we do? They all went to buy cheap ones!" Tang Xiaoya was a little anxious.

Tang Youyou patted Xiaoya's head comfortingly, "Don't worry, we make good things, we are not afraid of them."

At this time, Shopkeeper Lin passed by Tang Youyou's stall and saw this scene. He couldn't help but stop.

"Youyou, there are many Trojan horses imitating yours on the market recently. Is your business still good?" Shopkeeper Lin asked with concern.

"It's okay, Uncle Lin, don't worry." Tang Youyou said with a smile.

"I don't think so." Shopkeeper Lin sighed. "Those people are deliberately lowering the price to grab business. If you keep going like this, you'll suffer."

"Uncle Lin, do you have any good suggestions?" Tang Youyou asked.

"In my opinion, you might as well reduce costs and use cheaper wood and paint so that you can compete with them," suggested Manager Lin.

Tang Youyou shook her head. "Uncle Lin, I understand your good intentions, but I don't want to do this. If we reduce costs, the quality of the product can't be guaranteed. What's the difference between doing this and those imitators?"

Shopkeeper Lin was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "You're right, I'm narrow-minded."

Watching Shopkeeper Lin leave, Tang Youyou fell into deep thought. Facing imitators in the market, reducing costs might be the most direct and effective way, but she was unwilling to give up her principles for the sake of immediate benefits.

"Mom, do you really want to reduce costs?" Tang Wan saw what was on Tang Youyou's mind.

"Of course not." Tang Youyou said firmly, "What we have to do is do better, so that they can't even imitate us!"

The children looked at Tang Youyou curiously, waiting for her next words. Tang Youyou smiled slightly, leaned close to the children's ears, and whispered...

Tang Youyou lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "Children, instead of following others and imitating others, why don't we create new things ourselves! What we make should be more refined, more interesting, and..." She paused deliberately and winked cunningly, "unique!"

"Unique?" Tang Jin repeated curiously, "How can it be unique?"

Tang Youyou picked up a wooden horse and looked at it carefully. "We can use better wood and carve more delicate patterns. We can also dress the wooden horse in beautiful clothes and add exquisite accessories..."

Tang Wan listened carefully, and suddenly her eyes lit up, "Mom, I have an idea!"

"Oh? Tell me about it." Tang Youyou looked at her daughter encouragingly.

"We can incorporate paintings into the design of the wooden horses!" Tang Wan said excitedly. "I've read that in some places, wood carvings are painted, which is very beautiful. We can also paint on the wooden horses, so that each one will have a unique story!"

"That's right!" Tang Xiaoya also clapped her hands and cheered, "Sister's paintings are so beautiful, they will definitely look even better on the wooden horse!"

Tang Youyou looked at the children's expectant eyes, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. Tang Wan's idea gave her a lot of inspiration. Combining painting and wood carving is indeed a good way to enhance the value of the product.

"Wan'er, your idea is very good!" Tang Youyou smiled and touched Tang Wan's head, "Mother has decided to adopt your suggestion. Let's work together to make a better-looking wooden horse!"

Tang Youyou immediately took the children home and began developing new handicrafts. She scoured the city's timber markets, carefully selecting the finest woods and purchasing various paints and tools. Tang Wan began to conceive of how to paint the wooden horse, browsing through the books at home for inspiration. Tang Jin and Tang Xiaoya also enthusiastically assisted, collecting beautiful fabrics and beads to create exquisite clothing and accessories for the wooden horse.

It was late at night, but the lights in the Tang family's house were still on. Tang Youyou looked at the children's focused and devoted figures, and a gratified smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She believed that as long as their family worked together, they would be able to overcome the difficulties before them and create their own brand...

"Mom, what do you think of this?" Tang Wan asked excitedly, holding up a wooden horse with a picture of a lady on it.

Tang Youyou took the wooden horse and examined it carefully. It was smooth and finely carved. A velvet flower adorned with rubies graced its head, making it appear even more lifelike. On its back, a painting of a lady came alive, her features painted, her clothes flowing, as if she were about to step out of the painting.

"Wan'er, you're amazing!" Tang Youyou exclaimed in admiration, a smile on her face, "Even mother is ashamed of her painting skills!"

"Mother, you're too kind," Tang Wan lowered her head shyly. "I just combined what I read in the book with some of my own ideas. I didn't expect the result to be so good."

"It's more than good, it's simply amazing!" Tang Youyou said excitedly, "I believe that as long as we work hard, we will be able to make a better product and leave those imitators far behind!"

Tang Youyou immediately took action. She brought Tang Wan's ladies' wooden horse and some other newly designed samples to Shopkeeper Lin's shop.

"Shopkeeper Lin, take a look at these. These are our latest handicraft designs." Tang Youyou placed the samples on the table and said confidently.

Shopkeeper Lin picked up a wooden horse and examined it carefully, a look of amazement in his eyes. "Madam Tang, your craftsmanship is truly improving. These wooden horses are so beautiful!" he exclaimed. "Especially the one with the painting of a lady. It's truly a work of art!"

"Shopkeeper Lin, you're too kind," Tang Youyou said with a smile, "We also want to do our best to make something unique so that we can gain a foothold in the market."

"Madam Tang is right," Shopkeeper Lin nodded in agreement. "The market competition is getting increasingly fierce these days. Only by constantly innovating can we avoid being eliminated."

As expected, Tang Youyou's new handicrafts were immediately popular with customers. The exquisite workmanship, novel designs, and especially Tang Wan's uniquely crafted paintings of ladies, attracted countless people's attention. Tang Youyou's handicrafts once again became a hot commodity in the market, and even some high-ranking officials came to purchase her works.

However, the good times didn't last long. Tang Youyou's success once again attracted the attention of imitators. Seeing Tang Youyou's booming business, some handicraft workshops began to imitate her, even directly plagiarizing her designs. Suddenly, a variety of "lady-themed Trojan horses" appeared on the market. Although the quality varied, they also had a certain impact on Tang Youyou's business.

"Mom, look," Tang Wan pointed at a wooden horse on a street stall, her brow furrowed, "They're imitating our stuff again."

Tang Youyou followed Tang Wan's gaze and saw that the stall was filled with all kinds of wooden horses, many of which were very similar to their designs, but with crude workmanship and poor painting.

Tang Youyou's brows also wrinkled slightly, but she was not as worried as Tang Wan. Instead, she smiled faintly and said: ...

Tang Youyou's brows also wrinkled slightly, but she didn't seem as worried as Tang Wan. Instead, she smiled faintly and said, "It's okay, let them imitate. 'Always imitated, never surpassed'."

Seeing her mother so calm, Tang Wan became anxious. "Mom, how can we do this? They're stealing our customers with their low prices and shoddy products. If this continues, everyone will think their products are made by us. How can we sell them then?"

Tang Youyou gently patted Tang Wan's hand, reassuring her: "Wan'er, mother understands everything you said. But think about it, why did we come up with all these new tricks in the first place?"

Tang Wan thought for a moment and replied, "Because the Trojans on the market are all pretty much the same, we want to make them more refined and unique so we can attract customers."

"That's right," Tang Youyou nodded, "Innovation allows us to stand out among many competitors. However, innovation is not a one-time thing, but a continuous process. If we continue to stay where we are and become complacent, sooner or later we will be surpassed by others and eliminated by the market."

Tang Wan seemed to understand, but she finally understood what her mother meant: "Mom, you mean, we should continue to innovate and make better things?"

Tang Youyou looked at her daughter approvingly: "That's right! Moreover, we have to find a way to protect our creativity so that those imitators will have no way to start."

After hearing her mother's words, Tang Wan fell into deep thought. How could one protect one's own creativity? Tang Youyou was also pondering this question. In her time, there was copyright awareness and laws to protect the rights of original creators. But in this era, people's copyright awareness is still very weak, and it is almost impossible to use legal means to protect rights.

Tang Youyou thought of some costume dramas she had watched before. It seemed that some shops would engrave unique marks on their products to indicate the origin and authenticity of the products.

"Wan'er, do you think it would be better if we also engraved a unique mark on our wooden horse?" Tang Youyou told her daughter her thoughts.

"But what kind of mark should we make?" Tang Wan asked.

"This..." Tang Youyou was also in a dilemma. She hoped that this mark would be beautiful, easy to recognize, and difficult to imitate.

The mother and daughter sat at the table, thinking hard, but they still couldn't come up with a suitable pattern. At this moment, a thought suddenly flashed through Tang Youyou's mind: "Maybe, I can find someone..."