Early the next morning, Fifth Grandpa borrowed an ox cart and came over, bringing Zhao Bin, Zhao Feng, Huzi, and Xiu’er along. The Village Head and the Village Elder were also going, but her mother stayed behind.
“Feng’er, listen to your Fifth Grandpa when you’re out.”
Mrs. Xu gave her final instructions.
“I know, you go on back.”
Zhao Feng, carrying a basket on her back, leaned against Xiu’er and waved at her mother.
“Feng’er, what are you going to buy? I’m going to sell my embroidered pouches and handkerchiefs.”
“How many have you embroidered? Let me see?”
Zhao Feng gave her a gentle nudge.
Xiu’er opened her bundle to show her—inside were the embroideries made by her and her two sisters, which they would sell at the embroidery shop in town.
Zhao Feng lightly flipped through the folded handkerchiefs, frowning slightly. “The patterns are too old-fashioned; they won’t sell for much. When I get back, I’ll draw you some new patterns. Can you embroider from those?”
“Yes. My eldest aunt learned Su embroidery and is very skilled—I learned from her. Otherwise, I couldn’t even get this price. My family’s goods sell for a few extra wen than others.”
Xiu’er was the type to sell a few coins to supplement the household. She could embroider from patterns fine, but she couldn’t draw them herself.
“Alright then, I’ll draw you some new designs when I get back. You and your aunt can embroider from them. Don’t make them too big—it’s hard on the eyes. Small handkerchiefs with pretty patterns can fetch a good price too.”
Zhao Feng was returning the favor, since staying at their house had caused them no small amount of trouble.
“Done deal then, I won’t stand on ceremony with you.”
“If you were formal with me, I’d feel embarrassed to stay at your house.”
Zhao Feng smiled at Xiu’er.
“What are you talking about.”
Once they entered the city, the Village Head and Village Elder went to handle the land transfer for Zhao Bin. As the eldest son, the land was his.
Zhao Bin got off the cart and reached out to his sister—she was the one holding the purse strings.
Zhao Feng pulled out the handkerchief wrapped around the silver from her basket, took out a string of copper coins, and said, “For the red seal paperwork.”
“I know. Go wait for me at the medical clinic—it’ll be quick.”
“Wait, take these two jars of wine too. Say some nice words. The King of Hell is easy to see, but the little devils are hard to deal with.”
Zhao Feng handed her brother the two small jars of wine she had prepared in advance, as a gift.
Zhao Bin pursed his lips but nodded in agreement. The Village Elder quickly took them. “Feng-ya is always so thoughtful. We all forgot about this. Leave it to me.”
“Thank you, Uncle. We should have offered them to you first—you all helped our family so much during my father’s funeral. But you know our situation now. These are the last two jars of wine.
They were what my father had saved to celebrate my brother passing the Juren exam. They were buried outside, and I dug them up. I remember everyone’s kindness, and I’ll repay it in the future.”
Zhao Feng said her piece.
“Child, don’t be so polite. Enough—let’s go, or we’ll waste time and won’t find the right people.”
The Village Elder couldn’t bear to stir up the child’s grief, so he held the wine and gave Zhao Bin a push.
Zhao Bin went along with them.
Fifth Grandpa turned to look at Feng’er. “I was wondering where you got that wine.”
“It was buried under the pear tree by the river. These are the last two jars—good wine.”
Zhao Feng gave a bitter smile and spread her hands. Even a clever housewife can’t cook without rice—she wanted to thank everyone but had nothing to work with.
“Don’t think too much about it. Everyone knows your hardships and won’t mind. Your father helped many of us in the past.”
“Then could you buy these things for me on the way back? Do you have any old wine vessels? Anything usable will do—we can buy new ones when we have money.”
“I know what you need. I’ll pick them out myself.”
“Here’s the money. Buy a few more jars—I’ll have my brother try making fruit wine and new yeast liquor.”
“No need, I have money.”
Fifth Grandpa stubbornly pushed the money back and drove the cart away with Huzi.
“Feng’er, come with me to the shop to sell my embroideries.”
“Alright.”
The two went to the embroidery shop together. Xiu’er needed to settle accounts with the clerk, so Zhao Feng said a quick goodbye and stepped out to buy some snacks by the door.
She looked around the nearby stalls and found one selling small porcelain bottles and clay pots. She picked out several types of small porcelain bottles and boxes—pretty white porcelain with delicate floral patterns, simple and elegant. She planned to use them for storing scented creams and rouge.
She also bought some salt, sugar, and sesame oil. Yesterday, while helping her aunt cook, she noticed the cooking oil was running low, so she bought some to replenish it. Staying at someone’s house, she had to be observant about such things.
She bought some candies and pastries too—very cheap sweets. She bought two jin and asked for a stack of oil paper, planning to take them home and distribute to each household. They had helped with her father’s funeral and the move. Even if she had no money, she couldn’t go without at least saying thank you—at least the children could have something sweet.
After finishing her shopping, she went to find Xiu’er, who had already settled her accounts. Xiu’er recounted the numbers to her again, afraid she had made a mistake.
“Mm, that’s right. Shopkeeper, how is my sister’s embroidery? If she has new patterns, would you take them?”
Zhao Feng was helping Xiu’er negotiate.
“I would. Her embroidery is top-notch. As long as the patterns are new and well done, I’ll definitely raise the price.”
“Then give us some good fabric. If she ruins it, we’ll pay you back. We’re from Zhaojia Village, and my brother is a Xiucai—you won’t lose out.”
Zhao Feng had always been sharp and formidable since childhood. None of her peers, boys or girls, could outmatch her, yet they all respected her and were willing to be friends with her. She never took advantage of others, and if you were in trouble, she would lend a hand.
The shopkeeper lowered his head in thought, weighing whether it could work.
Xiu’er nervously gripped Zhao Feng’s hand, and Zhao Feng patted her hand to comfort her.
“Alright, but I’d like to know what kind of patterns they are, so I can set a price for you.”
“I’ll draw them for you to see, but the designs can’t stay here. I’m keeping them exclusive for my sister so she can earn a bit of pocket money from them.”
“Please, miss, there’s a brush and ink in the back.”
“Feng’er…”
Xiu’er was a bit nervous. In the past, her brother and elders had always accompanied her; she’d never made decisions on her own.
“With me here, there’s nothing to fear.”
The two were led to the inner room by the shopkeeper, where brush and ink were prepared.
Zhao Feng thought for a moment, then began drawing on the paper. After finishing the first one, the shopkeeper’s eyes lit up. She then drew several more designs of different flowers, each distinct yet elegant, with a certain spirited grace.
“Excellent drawings! Miss, would you sell them? I won’t interfere with your sister’s embroidery—would you sell these drawings to me?”
The shopkeeper was thrilled at the find. With drawings of this caliber, paired with a skilled embroiderer, the finished pieces would be pure silver.
“That won’t do. I promised my sister she’d have exclusive rights to these patterns for her handkerchiefs. As for larger pieces, forget it—I’m afraid I’d be gouging my own eyes out.”
Zhao Feng shook her head and refused with a perfectly serious expression.
Xiu’er sat there, not daring to make a sound or say a word, just listening to Feng’er. Since they were little, all the kids in their group had always followed her lead.
The shopkeeper grew anxious. “Don’t say that! Name your price—I genuinely want them. I have other embroiderers under me, so it won’t interfere with your sister’s earnings. How about this: if your sister embroiders these patterns, I’ll pay twenty-five wen per handkerchief, alright?”
Xiu’er’s eyes went wide. She’d just sold hers for only fifteen wen a piece, and ones with less skillful stitching had to be discounted even further.
“Thirty wen per handkerchief, twenty for a pouch, and I guarantee the designs will be even better than these. If they’re not, you can lower the price.”
Zhao Feng pressed her lips together, first securing the best deal for Xiu’er.
Xiu’er kept her mouth tightly shut, not daring to interrupt, her hands clasped together with slight force, knuckles turning white from her excitement.
“Deal.”
“Put it in writing, in black and white.”
Zhao Feng nodded toward the brush and ink.
The shopkeeper nodded helplessly, realizing that unless he took care of her sister first, she wouldn’t sell to him.
“With a sister as shrewd as you, she won’t come out on the losing end.”
The shopkeeper quickly wrote out a written agreement and stamped it with his seal.
Zhao Feng picked it up to review, nodded in satisfaction, blew it dry, folded it, and tucked it into Xiu’er’s arms.
“Do you want the large ones or the small ones?”
“I want both, large and small. As long as the quality is good enough, don’t worry—you won’t lose out.”
The shopkeeper gave his word readily.
He ran an embroidery shop, but he feared lacking fine pieces to anchor his reputation. Skilled embroiderers were plentiful; what he lacked was someone skilled at drawing. Drawings with spirit and structure were incredibly rare—few and far between.
Scholars who could paint looked down on this kind of work; it was beneath their dignity, so they wouldn’t come. And those who were willing to come, he didn’t think highly of.
“Fine then. One large piece, and I’ll give you three small ones as a bonus. Consider those three a gift from me.”
Zhao Feng was a generous person, after all.
“Right this way.”
The shopkeeper personally ground the ink, laid out the paper, and arranged the pigments.
Zhao Feng thought for a moment, lifted the brush, and with a steady flow of breath, completed the painting in one go—a plum blossom scene. The plum blossoms stood proud against the frost, their defiant spirit especially striking.
A few more strokes, and the red plum painting was finished. Zhao Feng examined it carefully and gave a slight nod—still up to par, her skill hadn’t declined over the years.
She’d originally thought that if the Supernatural Ability didn’t pan out, she could rely on other skills to survive just the same. Her parents and brother doted on her like the apple of their eye, and while she practiced her Ability daily, she wasn’t in a rush. Little did she expect that it was ultimately her father’s death that spurred her to break through to the Wood-element Ability.
In her past life, she’d already cultivated the Wood-element Ability to the eighth level—one could say she was a top-tier expert, equally adept at healing and killing.
She knew every characteristic of the Wood element inside and out. Anything related to plants couldn’t escape her notice. Even without using her Ability to make medicine or poison, she was highly skilled at both—making money wasn’t difficult.
The reason she hadn’t done this before was that her grandmother was too partial. They had to hide whatever little savings they kept, and that gold hairpin of her mother’s had been bought by her father while her grandfather was still alive.
“Excellent painting! Truly rare!”
The shopkeeper nodded happily, clicking his tongue in admiration.
“So, how much?”
Zhao Feng shot him a glance—don’t just praise, pay up.
“How about five taels?”
The shopkeeper gritted his teeth and offered a high price.
“So little? Then I’m not selling. Embroidered into a piece, you could sell it for five hundred taels. Don’t try to fool me. In Jiangnan, this painting embroidered into a tapestry would fetch at least a thousand taels.”
Zhao Feng’s eyes went wide as she shot back.
“You said it yourself—it has to be embroidered into a piece. That takes burning the midnight oil, it’s not the same. How about this: I’ll give you a bit more—eight taels, and that’s my final offer.”
The shopkeeper held up his fingers.
“Make it a round number—ten taels. If you need more designs in the future, I’ll draw them for you. I’ll even write you a Longevity Blessing piece later. Be generous, or there won’t be a second time.”
Zhao Feng knew in her heart that calligraphy and paintings weren’t worth that much; sky-high prices were out of the question. But this was already decent—nowhere else would offer a better price. This was an embroidery shop, after all. The owner needed designs to serve as patterns for his embroiderers, and when he flipped them, he’d make dozens of times the profit, so he was naturally willing to pay a bit more.
“Deal. I’ll make a friend of you—ten taels. If you bring me a fine Longevity Blessing piece, I’ll pay you a high price for it too.”
The shopkeeper wore an expression as if he were having his flesh cut off.
He received a glare from Zhao Feng. “The Longevity Painting will take two months to complete. You’d better give me a good price. Do you think I’m a fool to be easily fooled?”
The shopkeeper chuckled.
Zhao Feng then painted three small pictures for him. These weren’t worth much—twenty wen per small picture. Embroidered into handkerchiefs, they’d only fetch thirty wen, and the embroiderers needed to make a profit too.
After settling the payment, they left the embroidery shop, with the shopkeeper personally seeing them to the door.
“Take care. If I ever need someone to draw designs, would you be able to help out? I won’t shortchange you on the silver.”
The shopkeeper was shrewd indeed—he could tell Zhao Feng was short on money. The proud scholars wouldn’t draw for him, and even if they did, they might not produce work that satisfied him.
“That’s fine. Just give me half a month’s notice. Something like the Longevity Painting takes time. Keep that in mind.”
Zhao Feng nodded.
“Rest assured, I’ll keep it in mind. Take care.”
Zhao Feng nodded and led Xiu’er to the medicine shop.
“Feng’er, am I dreaming? So much money—you just painted a few strokes and earned ten taels of silver!”
Xiu’er could hardly believe it. Feng’er hadn’t done much at all—she just stood there, waved her brush a couple of times, and ten taels of silver came in.
“All those years of studying weren’t for nothing.”
Zhao Feng winked at her and smiled.
“Got it. I’ll study hard and learn my skills.”
Xiu’er immediately understood what she meant.