A blessed wife leads her husband to wealth and prosperity!

Now all that's left is to secure the chain to the fabric strip and then press the fabric strip down from the inside of the box.

This was a really troublesome job. Hoping to succeed on the first try, the three discussed it for a long time. Finally, following Lin He'er's instructions, Cui Tiezhu carefully attached the copper buckles one by one in a staggered pattern. The zipper device was now complete.

"Let me try," Lin He'er squatted down, closed the box, and gently pulled the zipper. The box slowly snapped shut from the back, and when the zipper was pulled to the other side, the box was completely closed.

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!" Standing to the side, Cui Tiezhu rubbed his hands together with delight upon seeing the ingenious use of his creation.

The zipper really does close the box, and Meng Xing admires his wife's idea.

The completion of this suitcase is entirely thanks to the two of you. Lin He'er looked at the suitcase, not daring to take credit for it. She had only taken the work of others from her previous life; the real completion was done by these two.

The exterior of the suitcase was finished. Only the last step was to apply waterproof tung oil to the body. This task was nothing to Meng Xing.

Uncle Cui, this is the final payment. Lin He'er hadn't forgotten to pay Cui Tiezhu the remaining money.

"Madam, did you give me too much?" Cui Tiezhu looked at the extra tael of silver in his hand and hurriedly tried to return it.

Please sit down and listen to me. Our collaboration this time has been excellent. Your craftsmanship perfectly matches our shop's criteria for finding artisans.

Once this box is sold, there will definitely be other business opportunities.

I was thinking, why don't we sign a long-term contract?

From now on, you will be my shop's apprentice, only doing work for me. The shop will pay you a monthly wage of one tael of silver.

We'll make the things the shop needs. Of course, this is just a monthly salary. The shop will purchase the metal needed for the materials itself. What do you think?

Cui Tiezhu never expected that after finishing his job, the shop would hire him. It was like a windfall from heaven. He was so taken aback that he didn't react for a moment.

Uncle Cui, you don't have to agree right away. You can go home and discuss it with your aunt.

Seeing that Cui Tiezhu didn't respond immediately, Lin He'er suddenly realized that this uncle was probably henpecked; his status in the family was obvious when she visited his home that day. Such an important employment issue naturally required her to go home and report it.

No need to discuss it, no need. I'm in charge of my own decisions. Madam, we can sign the contract anytime.

Cui Tiezhu didn't care about his wife at this point. Such a good deal had to be accepted on the spot. Even when he got home, his wife would be overjoyed to know that he could earn one tael of silver a month.

Okay, since you've agreed, let's go find someone outside to write the contract.

Lin He'er didn't want to miss out on such a professional talent. After agreeing on the terms of the contract, the two went out and found a stall on the street that offered to write for others. They spent five coins to have two contracts written.

After both parties signed the contract, two copies were made, and each party kept a safe. That settled the matter.

Uncle Cui, please take that silver as your wages for this month. I'll give it to you in advance. By the way, I'll have Meng Xing go with you to the place where you buy copper ore. After you buy the materials, bring them home and make a few more zippers.

Alright, alright, Madam, don't worry. I'll take Brother Meng to buy the materials in a bit. Once I've finished making them, I'll bring them to the shop.

Signing Cui Tiezhu wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision for Lin He'er. She knew she would need a skilled craftsman like Cui Tiezhu in the future. If she didn't secure his services now, finding someone with similar talent later would be much more difficult.

The suitcase project is 90% complete ahead of schedule. All that's left is to apply the tung oil and have Madam Li arrange the necessary interior furnishings before we can deliver the goods to the lady.

I wonder which family that lady belongs to. She's really generous. I've only been in the city for two months, and I still know very little about the wealthy families here.

Madam, I'm back. Here's the money left over from buying materials. Please take it.

No need, keep it for now. You still need to buy things to clean the boxes, so buy these yourself. Use this money. If you don't have enough, come back and ask me for more.

Well, Meng Xing thought that it was indeed not appropriate for his wife to run around outside to buy things; it would be more suitable for him to do these things himself.

How did Blacksmith Cui manage to get all these materials back by himself? Hopefully, nothing else will happen to him on the way.

Don't worry, madam, I helped him put the things on the oxcart. With so many things, Master Cui couldn't possibly carry them all back on his back.

Cui Tiezhu hired an oxcart and slowly made his way home with all the materials.

When the oxcart arrived at their gate, the driver helped unload the ore from the gate. After settling the fare, they saw the passengers off.

Cuifen, open the door, I'm back!

Here you are, honey. Why did you take so long? It's past mealtime and you're only just getting back.

Li Cuifen saw that her husband had gone to the county town and had only just returned, and she thought that things had not been handled well.

Come quick! Call Dalang and help carry these materials back to the shed where I work in the backyard.

Good heavens, why did we buy so much ore? Li Cuifen looked at the huge pile of stones at the door and couldn't help but feel angry.

Cui Tiezhu, what did you promise me? Didn't you say you'd stop working after finishing this job? What are you doing with all this stuff? Were you just trying to fool me with everything you said before?

Li Cuifen was furious. Seeing the broom at the gate of the courtyard, she turned around, grabbed it, and prepared to teach the man a lesson.

"Cuifen, what are you doing? Put it down! You can't hit me!" Seeing his wife's behavior, Cui Tiezhu quickly tried to stop her.

Hearing the shouts from the courtyard gate, Cui Yulang ran a few steps to the front door.

"Mother, no! We're still at the door. If you do this, you'll embarrass Father." He then took the broom from his mother's hand.

Look what your father has done! We had three taels of silver from the job, enough to get you a wife.

This guy got carried away after doing one job, and now he's gotten so much material. How much money is going to be spent? Will my son still be able to get married?

Li Cuifen felt that the hope she had finally seen had been extinguished by her own husband. Disappointed, she broke down in tears.

Cuifen, Cuifen. Don't cry, it's not what you think. I didn't spend any money, it's all there, look.

Seeing his wife crying in distress, Cui Tiezhu quickly took out the silver he had hidden on his person and handed it to her.

When Li Cuifen saw that the man had actually taken the silver from his person, she immediately forgot about crying and grabbed it directly from his hand.

When I took it in my hand, I was surprised to find that there was an extra ounce.

"Master, aren't we still short one or two taels of silver? What's going on?"

Let's move the materials inside first, okay? I can't explain this to you in a single sentence. You're yelling at me and hitting me without even asking me clearly. Look, you've even called out the neighbors.

Cui Tiezhu awkwardly stepped forward and said, "Da Niu didn't go to the fields, he's at home!"

Uncle, I'm at home, not sleeping. Why are you making such a racket?

It's alright, it's alright. I bought some materials and told your aunt and Yulang to move in. You should go to sleep now!

After finishing his conversation, Cui Tiezhu glared at his wife, wondering if he had no shame left.

"Well, let's move things first," Li Cuifen said, feeling rather embarrassed that she had wronged her husband.

After the materials were moved back to the backyard, the family set up the main hall, and Cui Tiezhu took out the contract from his person.

Look, I've signed a contract with the lady of that shop in the county town. From now on, I'll be working for that shop. I'll earn one tael of silver a month.

Our family will have an income of one tael of silver every month from now on, which is enough for Dalang to get married. The extra one tael of silver is the advance payment from Madam.

"Husband, is what you're saying true? Will our family receive one or two taels of silver every month from now on?" Li Cuifen couldn't understand the contract, so she had to ask again.

It's true, the contract is right here!

"That's wonderful! With your skills, I'd say you've finally found someone who appreciates them. Our luck has finally turned around! Haha, that's great!" Li Cuifen clapped her hands with joy.