She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Shen Man helped Lanxiang into the house and gently treated her swollen face. As she applied the medicine, she complained to Lanxiang, "That Miss Cui looks so delicate, I never expected her to be so ruthless! No wonder Mr. Li didn't want to marry her..."

"Man'er, this is an adult matter. You're just a child and don't understand. Don't meddle." Lanxiang sighed and said to Shen Man.

"Don't worry, Mother, I won't interfere."

However, after coming out of the house, she stood in the yard for a while before going to Li Mufeng's door and knocking. "Sir, may I come in?"

With no one answering, Shen Man had no choice but to leave awkwardly.

She stepped out of the courtyard and found that all the carriages and horses had left, leaving only a mess of hoofprints on the ground.

That evening, Li Mufeng and Tingxian did not come out for dinner. The house remained dark, and Lanxiang and Shenman did not dare to ask.

The next morning, Shen Man got up early and went to the courtyard to practice her martial arts. Half an hour later, Li Mufeng appeared.

"Good morning, sir!" Shen Man greeted him politely.

Li Mufeng nodded slightly to her and said, "What happened yesterday must have frightened you, right? I really didn't expect her to find this place!"

"I'm fine, sir. It's just that my mother's face was slapped by her, and it's quite swollen. That Miss Cui looks thin, but she's quite strong..." Shen Man muttered softly.

"I'm sorry, I've dragged you and your daughter into this." Li Mufeng looked somewhat haggard.

Shen Man hesitated for a moment before asking, "What are your plans next, sir? Miss Cui probably won't let this go so easily..."

Li Mufeng was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "They left Qiufeng Town yesterday and probably won't be coming back. I don't have any plans for now, I'll just take it one day at a time! But Man'er, I'm afraid there might be a change in how I promised to help you find a silk reeling master."

"Could it be that the silk reeling master you're asking for is actually from the Cui family?" Shen Man asked hastily upon hearing this.

"No, it's someone from the Gu family. The Gu family's silk weaving business is huge, practically dominating the entire silk market in the capital and several surrounding prefectures. And the Cui family and the Gu family are related by marriage. The young master Gu who came yesterday is the person I entrusted in my letter. After what happened yesterday, I don't know if he will still help me!"

“Sir, even if this doesn’t work out, it’s alright. We can always try looking in other prefectures after some time. We’ll eventually be able to find a silk reeling master.” Shen Man knew he had done his best and comforted him.

"Alright. It's getting late, let's start practicing!"

However, things don't always go as planned. Just when Shen Man and Li Mufeng had given up hope of the silk reeling master sent by the Gu family, an elderly couple from the capital came and knocked on Shen Man's gate three days later, carrying a letter for Li Mufeng.

Shen Man hurriedly welcomed the people into the house and called Li Mufeng over.

"This old servant greets Young Master Li!" The two old men immediately rose and bowed to Li Mufeng upon seeing him.

"Please, gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities. Please have a seat! May I ask what brings you here to see me?"

"Reporting to Young Master Li, my wife and I were originally workers at the Gu family's silk workshop. We came here on the orders of my young master. This is a letter that my second young master asked us to deliver to you. You will understand once you read it!" The old man said, handing the letter he was holding to Li Mufeng.

Upon seeing the handwriting on the envelope, Li Mufeng immediately recognized that the letter was from Gu Cang.

He opened the envelope, and the first thing he saw was two contracts of servitude.

The two people on the indenture, one named Jiang Qi and the other Song Erya, should be the two old men in front of us.

Upon seeing the two contracts of servitude, Li Mufeng immediately realized that they were the silk reeling masters that Gu Cang had found for him.

Below the two contracts of servitude was a very brief letter.

After reading the letter, Li Mufeng smiled and said to the two old men, "So you two are the silk reeling masters that Young Master Gu found for me. I'll be troubling you two from now on."

Jiang Qi quickly waved his hand and said, "Young master, you flatter us. It is our honor to serve you. Although my wife and I are not very talented, we have worked in the silk workshop for more than forty years. There is nothing in the silk workshop that we do not know. However, we have not seen any mulberry groves by the village or any silkworm rearing rooms in the village. We wonder where you raise your silkworms?"

Li Mufeng turned to look at Shen Man, signaling her to answer the question.

"Oh, our silkworms are all free-range on the mountain, and they eat oak leaves from the mountain."

"I see. But I wonder what the quality of the cocoons produced by these free-range silkworms is?" Jiang Qi asked.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I have some silkworm cocoons at home. I'll have my mother bring them to you so you can see them."

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang quickly went to the storeroom, retrieved the package of silkworm cocoons, and opened it to show Jiang Qi.

"Yes, tussah silkworm cocoons are different from mulberry silkworm cocoons. In terms of appearance, they are more yellow and have a poorer luster. Before reeling, they need to be bleached to make them whiter. In terms of texture, mulberry silkworm cocoons are softer, while tussah silkworm cocoons are harder."

Jiang Qi, as expected of a master craftsman who had worked in the silk workshop for decades, immediately explained the differences between the two types of silkworm cocoons.

"Uncle Jiang, is this tussah silk easy to sell?" Lanxiang asked, somewhat worried that the silk might not sell.

“They can be sold, but the price is much lower than that of mulberry silk. I think since you’re going to raise them, you might as well plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms directly.”

The old woman sitting next to him seemed a bit listless, yawning every now and then.

Li Mufeng noticed her expression and asked, "Uncle Jiang, are you the only two people who came? Where are your family members?"

“Oh, my husband and I are originally from the border town. When we were young, we went to the capital to sell ourselves into slavery to escape famine. We have no children, so we don’t have any relatives. When we heard that Young Master Gu was looking for a few people to come to the border town to teach people how to reel silk, we volunteered to come,” Jiang Qi said with a sigh.

"I see. So, is that carriage outside yours, or is it rented?" Li Mufeng asked curiously.

"It was the second young master who sent us. The driver brought us here safely, and it's time for us to go back. Young master, please trouble you to arrange accommodations for my wife and me. My wife caught a cold on the way here and needs to rest."

“Okay, Uncle Jiang, please sit here for a while. I’ll go find the village head and have him arrange accommodations for you. Sister Lanxiang, could you please get them some food?” After saying this, Li Mufeng stood up and walked towards the door.

Lanxiang agreed and planned to cook some porridge for them to have something to eat first.

Shen Man followed Li Mufeng out the door.