flstandardbreds Chapter 115 The Mysterious Book
Chapter 115 The Mysterious Book
Shen Ming's face immediately lit up with a smile, his joy overwhelming him like a surging tide.
When the villagers working on the mountain heard what Matchmaker You said, they paused in their work, their faces filled with astonishment and confusion.
Once they realized what was happening, chaos erupted!
"Really? Ershu actually agreed?" Zhao Daqiang asked in disbelief.
Zhao Guangming was also stunned for a moment, then said, "Shen Ming, congratulations, you've finally won Peach Blossom's heart!"
Upon hearing that Shen Ming was going to marry Zhao Taohua, Zhao Shenglin immediately put down the shovel he was holding:
"Shen Ming, this is wonderful news!"
Zhao Taohua had helped many people in the village resolve strange and evil spirits in their homes. Moreover, she had informed everyone in advance of the two major natural disasters that had struck the village, which allowed everyone to get through them safely.
Therefore, when everyone heard that Zhao Taohua and Shen Ming were engaged, their eyes were filled with sincere blessings as they looked at Shen Ming.
When Zhao Guangzhu heard that Shen Ming and Zhao Taohua had successfully gotten engaged, didn't that mean that his Sheng'an had failed to marry Taohua?
As Shen Ming listened to everyone's blessings, joy spread from the bottom of his heart to his face. At this moment, he felt that Matchmaker You's voice was the most beautiful voice in the world.
His marriage to Peach Blossom Sister is finally a done deal!
"Grandma You, I've chosen the seventh day of the seventh lunar month to get married on Peach Blossom Sister's birthday."
Shen Ming said to the matchmaker You who was walking up the mountain.
He couldn't wait a moment longer; he just wanted to marry Zhao Taohua as soon as possible.
The matchmaker, You, laughed when she saw Shen Ming's impatient expression.
However, once a girl reaches the age of marriage, she can get married. This is a rule set by the ancestors, and Shen Ming did not make a mistake.
Matchmaker You smiled and agreed, "Okay, I understand. I'll go and report back to the Zhao family right away."
"Shen Ming, congratulations! You're getting married to Peach Blossom!"
"Shen Ming, good news is coming soon, let me congratulate you first."
"..."
The villagers congratulated Shen Ming one after another.
Shen Ming announced loudly to the crowd, "On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, everyone come to my house for a wedding feast!"
After receiving a reply from Matchmaker You, Shen Ming felt as if he had inexhaustible energy while working.
From now on, he will be Peach Blossom Sister's fiancé, and he can legitimately enter and leave the Zhao family.
The mountain protection project is proceeding in an orderly manner, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and April has arrived.
As the weather gets warmer, everyone has taken off their thick cotton-padded coats.
Shen Ming came to the Zhao family every night to learn cooking from Madam Qian, and his cooking skills gradually improved.
Zhao Taohua now had the opportunity to interact with Shen Ming every night, and could openly and without restraint hold his hand.
Every night, she absorbed a lot of spiritual energy from Shen Ming.
For the past month, she has been busy preparing to open an embroidery workshop. She sells silk and satin handkerchiefs to Madam He for one or two hundred coins each, while Madam He originally priced them at two or three hundred coins each in her shop.
However, because the handkerchiefs were so well embroidered, the price eventually had to be raised.
Therefore, Mrs. He went to Zhao Family Village to find her, hoping to continue their cooperation.
However, Zhao Taohua saw a business opportunity in it.
She agreed to continue working with Mrs. Ho, but not just selling simple handkerchiefs; she wanted to expand the business to include clothing, accessories, and household goods.
In this way, one month's worth of semen is simply not enough.
Therefore, she planned to gather all the women in the village to learn embroidery from the menstrual spirit.
After she spoke to the village chief about this, the village chief suggested that the villagers crowdfund the money to build the embroidery workshop, but Zhao Taohua refused.
The embroidery workshop must be her personal property, and the menstrual essence must also belong to her. She must have absolute say so that everyone who enters the workshop to learn embroidery skills can obey her.
Zhao Taohua directly bought a 50-square-foot plot of land, then hired someone to build an embroidery workshop, and bought all sorts of tools.
The mountain protection project is proceeding in an orderly manner, and her embroidery workshop is finally completed.
It just so happens that in April, the perilla and motherwort plants need to be harvested and sold in their entirety. There will be at least one or two months to wait before they are replanted and sold again.
On the afternoon of the second day of the Lunar New Year, the village chief convened a meeting at the village entrance and announced to everyone:
"As you all probably already know, Peach Blossom built an embroidery workshop next to her house, and her family's 'menstrual spirit' will personally teach embroidery skills."
The village chief then had the menstrual spirit stand on a stool and introduced her to the crowd:
"The clothes that the Menstrual Spirit is wearing are embroidered by herself. It's a skill she's honed over hundreds of years. I doubt anyone alive can embroider better than her."
If anyone wants to learn, please register at Peach Blossom Embroidery Workshop tomorrow morning.
If you master the skills, you will be paid for every item you embroider in the workshop.
This way, everyone can continue to earn money while waiting for the herbs to grow.
After the village chief finished speaking, many people were eager to try, especially some aunts and grandmothers. Even Grandma Feng wanted to learn.
Embroidery isn't physically demanding; as long as you have a good eye, it's not a problem.
Although the medicinal herb field had brought the family a lot of money before, who wouldn't want to live a better life?
Now, Tao Hua's family and Shen Ming's family in the village have both bought oxcarts. Every time they go to town, they can just use the oxcart instead of walking. The oxcart can also carry quite a lot of things.
Everyone wanted to buy an oxcart for their family, but an oxcart cost over fifty taels.
"Peach Blossom, I'll go to your place to register tomorrow."
Zhao Shengfang affectionately took Zhao Taohua's arm and said.
"Peach Blossom, sister-in-law, you should also register tomorrow," Yan Zhenzhu said.
Shi took her daughter Zhao Shengjing to register with Zhao Taohua.
Zhao Taohua smiled and nodded at everyone who signed up.
If there are 160 households in the village, and one person from each household signs up, then her embroidery workshop will have 160 embroiderers.
Only with enough embroiderers can the business grow.
Widow Pan and Madam Ge watched as everyone went to Zhao Taohua to register, and the two hesitated and stood still.
Last month, Pan Cailing went to the Zhao family to cause trouble. Later, Ge Shi heard from others that she actually wanted Zhao Ershu, who had already agreed to the marriage, to not agree to the marriage between Shen Ming and Zhao Taohua!
This angered Zhao Ershu and his wife, Zhao Taohua, and Matchmaker You.
Therefore, Ge Shi is now too ashamed to go to Zhao Taohua and mention the registration process.
Just as Ge was about to turn around and go home, Widow Pan stopped her and said:
"Mother, are we just going back like this?"
I remember you're good at needlework; it would be a shame if you didn't sign up.
The herbs have just been planted in the field, and it will take two months before they can be harvested again. Does that mean we won't make any money during those two months?
Madam Ge sighed and glanced at her helplessly:
"After you caused such a scene at the Zhao family's house last time, how can I possibly have the face to go to their embroidery workshop to learn embroidery?"
Widow Pan knew she had done something wrong and should lower her head, but it was impossible for her to give up the opportunity to earn money for the two months she and her mother-in-law had worked for.
The father-in-law still needs to build a protective barrier on the mountain for two months. If the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law don't earn money, won't they be sitting around eating away their savings?
While other families had bought oxcarts, his family was still walking to town!
Thinking this, Widow Pan quickly ran home.
Ge thought she had given up, so she followed her slowly home.
Unexpectedly, when she got to her doorstep, she saw Widow Pan rushing out in a flurry!
"Cai Ling, where are you going?"
"Mom, I'll tell you when I get back. You can start cooking dinner now."
When Zhao Taohua and her family returned home, they saw Widow Pan standing at their door.
This time, the mother kept a close watch on the house and didn't let her in.
When Zhao Ershu and his wife saw her, their expressions were not very good.
Madam Qian shouted, "What are you doing in my house? Get out of here!"
"Aunt Qian, Uncle Ershu, Peach Blossom, I've come today to apologize to you."
What happened last time was my fault. I hope you can forgive me and not hold it against me.
This is meat I prepared myself, with both pork and chicken. Peach Blossom is so thin, this is the best food for her health.
After saying this, Widow Pan lifted the cloth covering the basket, which was filled with dried meat and dried chicken. Widow Pan's apology was full of sincerity.
The three members of the Zhao family were all shocked by the many things that Widow Pan had brought.
As the saying goes, one shouldn't hit a smiling face, especially since they could see that Widow Pan's attitude had softened.
As she spoke, she pulled something else out of her bosom: "Also, Peach Blossom is getting married soon, and I have some gifts to give her."
Then, Widow Pan took out something wrapped in cloth from her bosom, which looked like a book.
Zhao Taohua was quite surprised. How could a village woman like Widow Pan read books?
Zhao Taohua took it and was about to lift the cloth when she was stopped by Widow Pan.
"Peach Blossom, take your time to read this book. If you study it, it will definitely help your relationship with Shen Ming in the future."
As soon as Widow Pan said this, Madam Qian immediately understood.
Madam Qian chimed in, "Peach Blossom, you can go back to your room and look at it at your leisure later."
Peach Blossom will be getting married in three months, so it's very necessary for her to learn about this now, so she won't be completely clueless when the time comes.
Zhao Taohua was bewildered. The book was shrouded in mystery, making her very curious about its contents!