A Good Country Wife
Chapter 533 - 527_1

Chapter 533: Chapter 527_1

Liu Aniu remained silent, merely etching the reactions of these people into his memory. The Dongjia was so kind-hearted that gratitude was only proper. Those who were ungrateful and harbored ill intentions—he would keep a close eye on them.

Zhang Qiusheng’s daughter also lived outside and didn’t want to leave the courtyard. Hearing the commotion, she came out to look and saw Liu Aniu bringing a few families to live in the neighboring courtyard. She followed to enjoy the excitement.

Such a beautiful and delicate young girl naturally attracted everyone’s attention. The youth who was currying favor with the village head was Zhao Wufu’s second son, Zhao Pingshun. Catching sight of the beautiful girl, he stared at her so intently it seemed his eyes would pop out. The girl’s ideal type was someone like Zhao Erhu—handsome and wealthy; she would never fancy the likes of Zhao Pingshun, poor and meek. She glared at Zhao Pingshun with disdain.

"What are you looking at? Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyeballs out!" she said viciously.

Zhao Pingshun was scolded but didn’t mind at all; instead, he seemed delighted. However, fearing he might anger the fair maiden, he refrained from gazing at her as blatantly as before and instead stole glances at her from time to time.

After the girl left, Zhao Pingshun hurriedly inquired about her identity. Learning she was the only daughter of the woodworker master highly regarded by the lady of the house, Zhao Pingshun became even more interested. She was beautiful with a good family background, which was heavens apart from their own poor peasant household. The benefits of marrying her were numerous, and the thought alone was enticing.

As for whether the girl would fancy him, Zhao Pingshun believed in making his own destiny. Even Zhao Erhu, who was widowed and known for his misfortune with wives, managed to have good days like these, running such a large business. Who knows? Perhaps the girl was his opportunity. Zhao Pingshun didn’t see anything wrong with an ugly toad craving the swan’s flesh—it was fine by Zhang Qiusheng, considering he had only one daughter. If necessary, he was willing to marry into her family, as no one cared if there was another son in his household.

The girl was naïve and naturally could not guess Zhao Pingshun’s intentions. At first, she really disliked Zhao Pingshun and would scold him with a frown whenever she saw him. But Zhao Pingshun was persistent, always smiling in the face of her rebukes without a single complaint. Gradually, she became less resistant. After all, she was a young girl. Although she didn’t like Zhao Pingshun, she quite enjoyed the feeling of being adored and pampered. Sometimes she would even imperiously order Zhao Pingshun to run errands for her, eventually finding him quite handy to use. Their constant company led uninformed onlookers to believe that the two had taken a liking to each other and were mutually interested.

It was a long time before Zhang Qiusheng learned from the gossip of others that his daughter was often seen with Zhao Pingshun. Zhang Qiusheng had a more discerning eye than his daughter. Feeling that Zhao Pingshun was not a good person, he intended to restrict his daughter from associating with him. However, his daughter refused to listen, leading to regrettable events later on, but that’s a story for another time.

"Wife, what are you sketching with those plans again?" As Zhao Erhu entered the room, he saw Lin Yue with a thin charcoal stick, tracing on a piece of paper. She was so engrossed that she accidentally got charcoal on her face, looking like a little tabby cat. It made Zhao Erhu’s heart itch, and he affectionately ruffled Lin Yue’s hair, a gesture he was accustomed to. Every time Lin Yue felt Zhao Erhu’s touch, she felt like a pet being stroked.

Lin Yue had nearly finished drawing, so she wasn’t annoyed by Zhao Erhu’s interruption. She handed the papers on the table to Zhao Erhu, "Here, take a look. How did my drawings turn out? Do these patterns remind you of anything familiar?"

"Wife, why do your drawings look like patterns from the Foreign Tribe? The box you brought back had similar designs, but your drawings are much more exquisite and pleasing to the eye. What are you planning to do with these drawings?"

It had to be said that Zhao Erhu knew his wife well; seeing Lin Yue drawing these patterns, he was certain there was a purpose behind it. He hadn’t guessed it yet, but it must be related to the items from the Foreign Tribe.

"Guess what?" teased Lin Yue, with a playful look on her face.

Zhao Erhu noticed that his little wife was in a truly good mood, likely related to silver. So he ventured his own guess, "Could it be that you’re planning to sell these after drawing them?"

"Exactly, you’ve guessed it! It seems Zhao Erhu, you are getting to know me better. I’ve looked over the things you brought back from the Foreign Tribe. In fact, some of their quality is not very good—some are even inferior to what our own family makes. Take the Fragrant Soap, for instance; it’s nowhere near as good as ours. That’s why the Fragrant Soap you brought to the Foreign Tribe sold so well. However, in our own Great Zhou Dynasty, many noble ladies believe that whatever’s procured from abroad at great hassle must be superior. Even though our Fragrant Soap is better, the ones you bring back from the Foreign Tribe sell at a higher price. It’s a kind of Western-worshipping mentality, despicable as it might be, but it also represents a business opportunity for us."

Although Zhao Erhu wasn’t quite familiar with the concept of Western-worshipping, he understood the gist of what Lin Yue was saying. Being valued by the Princely Heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei, Zhao Erhu wasn’t dumb; he didn’t need Lin Yue to spell it out for him, quickly grasping her idea, "Wife, do you mean to make these products ourselves, craft them to resemble those brought from the west, and then sell them in our shop?"

"That’s right, that’s exactly what I mean! You’re very clever, Zhao Erhu! These designs I am drawing are intended for the soap molds, and I’m planning to switch the box to a white lacquer, also in a Western style. Using your reputation, who would dare claim my products aren’t Western imports, and moreover, high-end ones at that?"

"Speaking of which, this even reduces the cost of the box. The boxes for the Fragrant Soap made in the West are just ordinary wood with a coat of lacquer on them; we use high-quality wood. Changing this alone is enough to make a good profit. So, not everything from the West is of high quality. Take watchmaking, for instance, no one in our Great Zhou Dynasty has that skill, so we can only buy from others, unable to replicate it unless our techniques improve in the future. But for things like Fragrant Soap, ours are still better."

"Then, wife, do we plan to sell all our Fragrant Soaps as Western goods in the future?"

"Of course not. There are discerning people in our Great Zhou Dynasty, not all are that superficial. Once the product is used, the quality becomes evident. So now we will operate on two fronts. As for coordinating with the shops, I’ll leave that to you—I’m not acquainted with the Princely Heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei."

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