A blessed wife leads her husband to wealth and prosperity!

The next morning, Wen Yuning ate breakfast at home and then went back to the county school to study.

Brother Wen, take good care of yourself at the county school! I'll leave Meng Xingxian at the shop for a few days until the boxes are finished, then I'll let him go back.

Don't worry, He'er, I don't need Mengxing. There's no rule at the academy that requires a page. Mengxing is actually more comfortable at home than with me.

Standing behind the two men, Meng Xing listened to his benefactor's words and couldn't help but nod. The county school was really not a good place for him.

I was incredibly bored every day. Besides helping to get meals and make beds, I really didn't know what else I could do there.

It's better to work in the shop. Besides being able to do carpentry work, there are people to talk to every day. I prefer working in the shop.

"Meng Xing, I'm at the county school. It's up to you to take good care of the family." Wen Yuning repeated these words to the person opposite her.

Don't worry, my benefactor, I'm here at home, nothing will happen.

After seeing Wen Yuning off, Lin He'er was about to go to Cui Family Village outside the city to look for someone.

I don't know how long it will take to make the zipper, so I'd better find someone to do it as soon as possible.

With Li Shi by their side, the two boarded an oxcart at the city gate, and the oxcart headed out of the county town.

On the way, Lin He'er asked the old man driving the carriage if there was a blacksmith in Cui Family Village.

Madam, Cui Family Village is not small among the villages near the county town, but this old man is not sure if the blacksmith Cui you mentioned is there.

You can ask us when we get to Cuijiazhuang!

Okay, thank you.

The oxcart arrived at Cuijiazhuang in just half an hour, about the same time it took the Lin family to get to town.

Upon arriving at Cuijiazhuang, Lin He'er asked the old man to wait at the village entrance before leading Li Shi into the village.

Under the tree at the edge of the village, a number of women were gathered, doing needlework. When they saw two strangers arrive, they all looked up at them.

Li walked up to the group of women, smiled, and asked them:

Hey ladies, I have a question for you. Is there a blacksmith named Cui in our village? We've come here to ask him for some work.

Cui the blacksmith? Sister, which one are you talking about? There are two blacksmiths in our village.

Li only heard Lin He'er say that she was looking for blacksmith Cui, but she didn't expect that there were two blacksmiths in the village, both surnamed Cui.

We heard from outsiders that Cui the blacksmith was very skilled, but we didn't expect there to be two in the village. Do any of you girls know which one is better?

In Li's opinion, the drawings made by the lady must have required someone with exceptional skills to create them.

If we're talking about skill, the best is Old Cui's family at the end of the village. When Old Cui was young, he served in the army, and his family had been blacksmiths for generations. Later, I heard from his wife that he went to the army and continued to work as a blacksmith.

If someone can work in the military, their skills must be excellent, otherwise the military leaders wouldn't let them continue doing their old profession!

"Yes, I think it's Old Cui too." The other women echoed.

However, it seems that Old Cui hasn't been forging iron lately. I wonder why. Someone chimed in.

Why else? His wife wouldn't let him do this kind of work anymore. Old Cui was stubborn and wouldn't take on just any job. Over time, many people stopped hiring him.

After that, Li didn't listen to what the group of women said anymore. She only told Lin He'er that it should be the blacksmith at the end of the village.

The two walked through the village to its end, where they saw a house some distance from the village center. This must be the blacksmith Cui's house.

Upon arriving at the gate, they found it open. Standing there, they could hear a woman speaking loudly inside.

Our family is almost starving, and you're still busy fiddling with your tools all day long. Dalang hasn't even gotten married yet, what kind of father are you!

Cuifen, I was just looking at them again; I didn't intend to do this work again. Don't be angry. We'll have the money for Dalang's wedding. I'll sell these tools, and then we can get our son a wife.

Honey, are you willing to give up all these things?

The woman never expected her husband to actually sell his precious possession, and she was at a loss for words!

My dear husband, it's not that I'm forcing you, but our eldest son is getting old. If he doesn't get married soon, people will laugh at him!

Sigh, I understand. Cui Tiezhu squatted down on the ground, head bowed, feeling heartbroken.

Excuse me, is this Cui the blacksmith's house? We were introduced here by the owner of a blacksmith shop in the city.

Lin He'er listened outside Li's door for a while, and good heavens, she finally found the person, who happened to be discussing not doing this job today.

That won't do, he quickly stepped forward to stop it. If blacksmith Cui lost his job, wouldn't he be missing out on a valuable long-term collaborator?

Who are you looking for? Just then, the couple who were talking in the courtyard saw two unfamiliar people come to their house.

Auntie, is this Cui the blacksmith's house? I've come to ask Cui the blacksmith to make something for me.

What? We just told the head of the household to stop doing this kind of work, and now someone has come to our house.

Our family no longer makes blacksmith's work, but there's a blacksmith in the village. Why don't you go work for him?

Auntie, why are you turning away customers who come to your door? But what's the reason?

Li Cuifen noticed that the person speaking in front of the door didn't seem like an ordinary farm woman, and she was afraid of saying something wrong and offending the important person.

He had no choice but to be patient: "Madam, my husband doesn't plan to be a blacksmith anymore, so we won't take your job."

Auntie, I came all the way from the county town. To be honest, it took me a lot of effort to find you. The blacksmith in town said that only your shop could make the thing I need, so that's why I came here.

Why don't you let the uncle take a look at us first, and see if he's the only one who can do this job?

Cuifen, let me take a look. They've come all this way; I need to tell them if it's possible. I can't let them come all this way for nothing.

"You see. I'll go back to my room and cook." Li Cuifen saw that her husband had spoken, and with outsiders present, she didn't want to offend her own family.

The lady showed me the blueprints.

Okay, uncle, what do you think? Should we make this?

Cui Tiezhu took the blueprints and squinted as he carefully examined the contents of the paper.

A long, narrow chain with serrated edges. There was also a small part I didn't recognize.

Madam, could you tell me what this thing is used for? Cui Tiezhu was a little confused; he didn't understand where this thing was used.

Uncle, I call this a zipper. You see these two long, serrated strips? With this little part underneath, you can join them together and make them into one zipper.

Pull upwards to make the two serrations stagger, and pull downwards to make the two serrations close.

However, the chain is not a single continuous piece; rather, it consists of individual copper buckles of this shape sewn onto the fabric.

Unable to describe the shape of the zipper pull to Cui Tiezhu, Lin He'er squatted down, picked up a stone, and drew it on the ground.

Lin He'er explained to Cui Tiezhu what her object looked like, how to make it, and how to use it while drawing it.

After talking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Cui Tiezhu finally understood what the lady wanted him to do.

Madam, you have such ingenious ideas! I've truly broadened my horizons today.

"Can you do it?" Lin He'er asked expectantly.

I can do it, but I don't have the energy to do it now. Your things are quite time-consuming to make, and my husband won't let me do this work anymore. I'm sorry, ma'am.

Cui Tiezhu was very interested in what the lady wanted him to do, but he had just promised his wife that he would sell those tools and go back to farming instead of blacksmithing.