After returning home, Sheng Yan immediately opened her chat with Jiang Hongyan, intending to discuss Chen Nian with him.
【Sheng Yan: I’m home now.】
【Jiang Hongyan: How is the child’s emotional state?】
Even as an adult, he had struggled to adapt after suddenly arriving in a completely unfamiliar world. A child would have it even harder.
There were so many things in the modern world Chen Nian had never seen before, and with no family by his side, he was bound to feel frightened and lost.
【Sheng Yan: He’s doing well for now. His daily life isn’t a problem.】
【Jiang Hongyan: That’s good.】
【Sheng Yan: Hongyan, I want to adopt Chen Nian. Brother Chen and Sister in Law Chen saved your life. If I take good care of their son, I think that would repay their kindness far better than simply giving them money.】
After sending the message, several minutes passed without a reply.
Only after a long while did her phone finally chime.
【Jiang Hongyan: Do you know how badly I want to fly back right now? My accident has already caused you so much pain. Brother Chen and Sister in Law Chen saved my life, so I should be the one to repay that debt. If anyone should take care of Nian Nian, it should be me. You’re already carrying the burden of supporting the whole family by yourself, and now you’d have to care for another child because of me… Yanyan, I feel so powerless. I can’t help you with anything…】
【Sheng Yan: The gold you’ve sent me is already helping me. Yaoyao and I don’t have to worry about food or clothing anymore, and the mortgage and car loan are no longer a burden. Besides, we’ve known each other since we were teenagers, and we’ve been married for years. We’re husband and wife, but we’re also family. There’s no need to keep such strict accounts between us.】
【Jiang Hongyan: If I can ever return, I’ll devote all my time to you and Yaoyao. I’ll never let you worry about anything again.】
【Sheng Yan: I’ll be waiting.】
【Jiang Hongyan: About Nian Nian, do you think we should tell Brother Chen and Sister in Law Chen?】
Sheng Yan thought about it for a long time before replying.
【Sheng Yan: I don’t think we should. If you tell them, how would you explain it? Would you say you’re from another world? That you can see pictures of Nian Nian through your phone? That your phone can make things appear out of thin air? Brother Chen and Sister in Law Chen are good people, and they wouldn’t tell anyone else, but they aren’t the only family in the village. If someone sharp-eyed happened to notice something, it could put you in serious danger. They might even think you’re some kind of monster. People’s hearts are unpredictable. You’re all alone over there, and I want you to stay safe. What Brother Chen and Sister in Law Chen want most is for their son to live well. If I can fulfill that wish for them, that’s enough.】
【Jiang Hongyan: Alright, I’ll listen to you. You’re right. One must always be on guard. I’ll protect myself well, because only then will I have a chance to see you again someday.】
【Sheng Yan: Mm, I’ll go to the orphanage as soon as possible and find out about the adoption requirements.】
【Jiang Hongyan: Alright! Thank you for everything.】
…
After learning why Sheng Yan had come, the orphanage staff carefully reviewed her current circumstances.
In the end, they concluded that she was not eligible to adopt.
“Ms. Sheng, I’m sorry, but after evaluating your current situation, we don’t believe you meet the qualifications for adoption.”
Sheng Yan frowned. “Why not?”
“According to the regulations, adoptive parents must meet certain requirements. They must have no children or only one child, possess the ability to support and educate a child, have no medical conditions deemed unsuitable for adoption, have no criminal or other records that would negatively affect the child’s healthy development, and they must also be at least thirty years old. You are in good health, you have no criminal record, and you only have one five year old daughter, so those aren’t issues. However, you currently do not have stable employment, and you also don’t meet the age requirement. Although your traditional age is twenty nine, according to the birth date on your ID card, you are only twenty eight years old. Therefore, you do not qualify to adopt.”
Sheng Yan: “…”
She had not expected the requirements to be so strict.
“Then… may I still come and visit the child regularly?”
“Of course. You only need to submit an application in advance according to the regulations.”
“Alright…”
Sheng Yan left the orphanage feeling disappointed.
After returning home, she immediately told Jiang Hongyan what had happened.
He quickly replied.
【Jiang Hongyan: Yanyan, you’ve already done everything you could.】
【Sheng Yan: Sigh… There’s nothing more I can do for now. I can only visit him often.】
【Jiang Hongyan: Mm, visiting him is already a good thing. I went out today and noticed that a bookstore was looking for copyists, so I gave it a try. The shopkeeper accepted me.】
【Sheng Yan: Copying books?】
【Jiang Hongyan: That’s right. Printing hasn’t been invented here yet, so books can only be copied by hand.】
【Sheng Yan: But are you good at writing with a brush?】
【Jiang Hongyan: They don’t require beautiful calligraphy, only that it’s neat and legible. When I asked about the job, the shopkeeper had me write a few characters as a test, and he said it was fine.】
【Sheng Yan: How much can you earn from copying one book?】
【Jiang Hongyan: It depends on how thick the book is. A thin one might pay a dozen or twenty something copper coins, while thicker ones can earn fifty or sixty, even seventy or eighty. The more characters there are, the higher the pay.】
【Sheng Yan: That actually sounds like pretty good wages. You said before that Brother Chen only earned a few copper coins for a bundle of firewood, and one copper coin could already buy a steamed bun.】
【Jiang Hongyan: Exactly! It’s considered good pay because books were never meant for poor commoners. Families that can afford books generally live much better. Besides, I don’t have much else to do these days. Bringing books home to copy lets me pass the time while earning money at the same time. It’s killing two birds with one stone.】
【Sheng Yan: It’s nice that you can do the work from home. The schedule is flexible. But I just thought of something. Couldn’t you send the books and paper to me? I could take them to a print shop and have them printed for you. One day’s work would equal what someone else copies in a month!】
【Jiang Hongyan: I don’t think that’ll work. Printers have specific requirements for paper. The papermaking techniques here aren’t nearly as advanced. The paper is rougher and thicker than the paper in our world. If we feed it into a printer, it’ll probably jam, and the print quality won’t be very good either.】
【Sheng Yan: I think modern technology is more capable than that. Print shops have all kinds of printers. They can print on ordinary paper and photo paper, so rougher paper might work too. Send the materials over, and I’ll go ask around. If it can be done, the efficiency would be incredible.】
【Jiang Hongyan: Alright, I’ll send them over right away. The more books I can produce, the more money I’ll earn.】
【Sheng Yan: Mm! While I’m at it, I’ll order a movable type printing set for you online. Since your world doesn’t have printing yet, if you introduce it there, you might be able to make a fortune.】
【Jiang Hongyan: How are you so smart?】
【Sheng Yan: The idea just came to me after you mentioned there wasn’t any printing technology.】
After closing the chat window, Sheng Yan searched online for movable type printing.
As expected, the all powerful shopping platform actually sold complete kits.
She also ordered a variety of glass ornaments. There was a much wider selection online than at the supermarket, the craftsmanship was beautiful, and the prices were low.
A glowing crystal ball cost only a little over ten or twenty yuan, but once it reached Jiang Hongyan, it could be sold for far more.
Sheng Yan placed order after order, then simply waited for the deliveries to arrive.