Hearing this, Shen Fugui frowned and shook his head repeatedly. "Yuning, stop thinking about doing business. We have no background or special skills. What kind of business can we do? Just stay at home honestly. I'll take care of the fields. When you're free, help take care of Huzi. If you still have spare time, embroider something to earn a little extra money."
Huzi was the nickname of the boy Zhang Rong had given birth to. In the village, a formal name was usually given when a child got a bit older. For now, they just gave a casual name to call the child.
Seeing her brother's opposition, Shen Yuning was immediately dispirited. She lowered her head, put on her hat, climbed onto the ox - cart, and let her brother pull her back home.
They were silent all the way. Old Man Zhang's eyes were wandering. Unlike his honest and dutiful son - in - law, he had been hot - tempered and fond of taking risks when he was young. Years of poverty had tamed his wildness, until this girl Yuning came along. Yuning could read and had a wide range of knowledge. He didn't know why this girl knew so much, and she was also brave and decisive.
But he always felt that there was a divine will at work. This girl was just like him when he was young, full of passion and recklessness. When he was young, he was like a headless fly. No one guided him in his actions. The kindest words he ever heard were like what Shen Fugui was saying now: We have no skills. We'd better just stay honest and safe.
Old Man Zhang looked at the sun hanging in the sky and then at the green rice fields. Life was getting better and better. It was no longer the hard times of his childhood when he couldn't even get enough to eat. At worst, they would just lose some money. Even if Yuning had no money, he did. And if it wasn't enough, it didn't matter. After a few years of hard work, they could earn it all back.
He gritted his teeth and looked up. "Fugui, you've been capable since you were a child. The handicrafts you make are better than anyone else's in the two villages, Daxuzhuang and Xiaoxuzhuang. If you sell them, you're bound to get a good price."
Shen Fugui didn't want the ox to be too tired, so he didn't sit on the cart. Instead, he walked side by side with Old Man Zhang. Hearing his father - in - law's words, he looked up in surprise and finally understood that his father - in - law was supporting Yuning. He asked blankly, "But... what if we can't sell them?"
"If we can't sell them, so be it. Are you afraid of wasting a little straw?"
Shen Yuning lifted her hat and looked at Old Man Zhang with shining eyes. She was as happy as a child - and she was still a child, after all.
After the matter was settled, the whole family got together to weave all kinds of things. They started with small items, like straw hats, straw sandals, and some little toys for children. Shen Fugui did most of the weaving, while Old Man Zhang taught the others in the family.
Xuanzhi was the quickest learner. He weaved both quickly and well. Shen Yuning wasn't very good at it. She didn't even manage to finish a straw hat and cut her hand in the process. Old Man Zhang felt sorry for her hands that could embroider and do accounts. He thought they were hands that were meant for great things in the future, so he didn't allow her to weave anymore. Zhang Rong and Cen Xiaoniang were used to doing physical work and weren't afraid of hurting their hands. They just needed to learn how to hide the straw stems better to make the straw hats and sandals look nicer.
Beside them, Yuanbao had a rope tied to her arm, which was connected to the cradle. If Huzi cried, she would pull the rope a couple of times. When he stopped crying, she would continue learning to weave. In no time, she weaved a lifelike dragonfly. She was so happy that she jumped up, almost overturning the cradle.
After weaving like this for a few days, Shen Yuning took Xuanzhi back to the embroidery workshop. She only opened a small door, put the straw hats, sandals, and toys on a basket, and started selling them.
The location here was good, but the rent for the house was high. No one would open a straw - hat shop here. But for Shen Yuning, since the rent was already a loss anyway, selling a little bit of the straw - woven items was better than nothing. It was like getting some subsidy for the rent. She didn't expect that by the second day, all the woven items were sold out. Many customers still wanted to buy more straw hats and sandals. And the children in the town thought the straw - woven grasshoppers were so cute that they wanted to buy a few more.
After Shen Yuning counted the copper coins, she was overjoyed. The things they had woven together in four evenings had sold for three qian of silver in total. If the business could always be this good, she wouldn't have to lease out the shop anymore.
By this time, the busiest season of spring plowing was over, and everyone had time to weave. So early in the morning, Shen Fugui and Xuanzhi would go to buy straw. When they got home, everyone would work together to weave. Then Shen Fugui and Xuanzhi would take the woven items to the town, and Shen Yuning would sell them. Even so, because of the high quality of their woven items, they were often in short supply.
This made Shen Fugui even more motivated. He often stayed up late at night, lighting a lamp to weave. But this time, it was Shen Yuning who wasn't happy. She clearly stated that no matter what, health came first. She also made a rule that each person was only allowed to weave a certain amount every day and not more.
Although Shen Fugui felt sorry that he couldn't earn more silver, he still listened to his sister. Since they had earned some money, he started thinking that since summer was coming soon, they could also start weaving big items like straw mats and raincoats.
So before the heavy rain, there were many raincoats of different sizes in the Shen family's shop. These raincoats came in different sizes for men and women of different builds. They were much more convenient than the old - fashioned, one - size - fits - all raincoats. Moreover, Shen Fugui was very meticulous. He smoothed out all the grass roots and burrs on the inside and outside of the raincoats. They were comfortable and cheap, and were quickly snapped up.
Shen Yuning observed the sky and estimated that the rainy season was coming soon. She urged everyone to make more raincoats quickly, hoping to make a good profit before the rainy season.
As the sun set, Shen Yuning happily locked the shop door, put the copper coins she had earned that day in her pocket, and rushed home. As she walked, she thought that although life now wasn't as easy as it was in the Marquis's Mansion, where she didn't have to worry about money, it was much more free. And seeing everyone working together and earning money through their own efforts gave her a sense of fulfillment that she had never felt in the Marquis's Mansion.
However, before the night had completely fallen, a boy of eight or nine years old rushed into Xiaoxuzhuang in a hurry. He gasped for breath and shouted, "Auntie Shen, go to the town quickly! Your shop is on fire!"
The Zhang family had just finished dinner and were sitting around, weaving raincoats and imagining their bright future. The boy's words were like a thunderbolt out of the blue, leaving the people in the room stunned.
Xuanzhi suddenly stood up and ran out without hesitation.
Shen Yuning then came to her senses. She grabbed the neighbor boy who had come to deliver the news and asked, "Why did it catch fire for no reason?"
It had been drizzling recently. It shouldn't have been so dry that a fire could break out like this.
The boy had just followed his parents' instructions. He shook his head blankly, indicating that he didn't know.
Shen Fugui had already harnessed the ox - cart and was pulling Shen Yuning towards the town.
When they got to the shop, the fire had already been put out by the neighbors. The aunt next door saw Shen Yuning and quickly came up to her. "Oh, it was really terrible. We don't know where the spark came from. It just flew into your shop. I was eating at my door. I quickly called my husband to go and have a look. But the fire just flared up all of a sudden. It scared my husband..."
She kept sighing in fear. Seeing Shen Yuning's face turn pale, she stopped talking and just comforted her, "Fortunately, the fire is out. Go and see if there's any loss in the shop."
Shen Yuning stepped into the shop. Xuanzhi had already arrived. He was standing there with his head down and a solemn face. Maybe he had touched the burnt raincoats, because his hands were all black.
Seeing Shen Yuning come in, Xuanzhi took a few quick steps and handed her a piece of rope. Then he wiped his hand on a piece of straw paper. Immediately, there was a mark on the paper, but it wasn't a mark of grass ash. It was a shiny oil mark.
Shen Yuning was stunned. She reached out and touched Xuanzhi's palm. Sure enough, it was oil. She widened her eyes. "Was this man - made?"
Xuanzhi had been a little boy last year. This year, he had grown taller and was now as tall as Shen Yuning. His voice was a bit hoarse, like that of a duck, but his analysis was very clear. "The oil was poured in through that window. A rope was used to lead it to the raincoats. Then someone deliberately threw a fire starter in. I've checked. Our fire - prevention measures were good. If there hadn't been any oil, it definitely wouldn't have burned so completely."
Shen Yuning looked around. Not only the stored raincoats but also most of the shelves in the shop had been destroyed.
Xuanzhi lowered his head a bit and continued to check outside the window. Then he sneered. "Sister, look. There are marks here. Someone put a wooden ladder here to pour the oil. They accidentally spilled some oil when they were doing it, which is why there are marks of the wooden ladder. And look over there. Those are the marks of someone carrying the wooden ladder. There's only a short section left because someone deliberately wiped them off."
Shen Yuning looked at Xuanzhi. The once - dirty little beggar had been well - taken - care of for half a year. Now he had a somewhat handsome appearance, with sword - shaped eyebrows, starry eyes, and a straight nose. In a few more years, he would surely be a good - looking young man. Hearing his well - organized analysis, Shen Yuning couldn't help but feel that her boy had finally grown up.
Xuanzhi didn't know that his sister's thoughts had wandered so far. He continued his analysis. "If it weren't for the kind - hearted aunt next door, if we had been half a moment later, all these traces would have been completely covered up. When we came, we would have just thought it was a natural disaster instead of man - made."
There were stars in his eyes, twinkling with childishness. "So, sister, we can report this to the authorities."
Shen Yuning came back to her senses and hesitated. By this time, Shen Fugui had already cleaned up the mess outside and came inside. He sighed with a bitter face. "Yuning, don't blame your brother for being talkative. In the future, stop trying to do these things. Just lease out the shop properly."
Shen Yuning replied softly, "Okay."
Xuanzhi was a bit surprised but didn't ask. He just followed Shen Fugui and cleaned up the inside and outside of the shop. Then they got on the ox - cart and went home together.
Although their second attempt at doing business had failed, compared to the first time when they had even lost money, they had still made a profit overall this time. So no one was very sad. Only Shen Fugui thought that this was a warning from heaven, telling them not to do business anymore.
After being in a slump for two days, Shen Yuning came out again and invited Cen Xiaoniang and Shen Fugui to go to the town to buy cloth. Shen Fugui thought she was going to buy it for her own embroidery work. But unexpectedly, she spent fifteen taels of silver on cloth at once.
Not only Shen Fugui but also Cen Xiaoniang was greatly surprised. She asked repeatedly, "Didn't you say you weren't going to do business anymore, girl?"
Shen Yuning had carefully thought it over in the past two days. The first time something happened to the embroidery workshop, it could be said that the Yong Family Cloth Store was jealous and had caused trouble. But the second time, they were selling straw - woven items, which had nothing to do with the Yong Family Cloth Store. But thinking carefully, the methods of the two incidents were similar. One time it was water and the other time it was fire. It seemed that it was the same group of people.
Moreover, when she deliberately went to the Yong Family Cloth Store to buy cloth today, she noticed that the shopkeeper's eyes were clear. Remembering what Merchant Cao had said, the people in the Yong family weren't the kind of narrow - minded people who couldn't stand others competing with them in business. Now she was sure that the incident at the embroidery workshop definitely wasn't done by the Yong Family Cloth Store. It seemed that someone was deliberately targeting her.