bookcurios Chapter 130 My Sister-in-Law is Pregnant
Chapter 130 My Sister-in-Law is Pregnant
After hesitating for a moment, she took out ten taels of silver and handed them to Lin Anzhi.
"Xiao An, go and buy these two boxes of Chengni inkstones for Sister Yu tomorrow morning!"
Seeing that she really wanted to buy it, Lin Fang hurriedly said, "This kid doesn't know how to tell the difference between a good and a bad inkstone. I'll go with him!"
"Grandpa Lin, your health..."
Lin Fang waved his hand.
"It's alright! He can get out of bed now! How could the master entrust such an important matter to a mere child?"
Two young children sat beside them, making faces at each other.
Grandpa (Grandpa Lin) really doesn't trust people!
Lin Anzhi was eager to show off: "Grandpa, Sister Yu is leaving tomorrow, why don't we go buy an inkstone now?"
"Isn't it far?"
Yu Wanran was surprised.
“They were kicked out by their relatives and had little money. They sold their belongings to barely scrape together enough for a hotel room, which is very close to here.”
However, it would be some time before the government could resettle the displaced villagers. If they simply sat around and did nothing, they would be left with nothing but sleeping on the streets! Therefore, Lin Anzhi wanted to help them.
After all, they were fellow villagers he had seen every day, and whom he had once called uncle or aunt.
Song Lianghan slid off his chair: "I'll go take a look too!"
He was a scholar and knew very well which inkstones were good. He wanted to help Sister Yu make an appraisal!
Yu Wanran smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble everyone to make the trip!"
He gave Yanqing a wink.
Yanqing understood: "Master, I'll go call a car."
They only had horses, no carriages, so they had to go outside to find a vehicle. Two boxes of Chengni inkstones, weighing at least one or two hundred pounds, couldn't be brought back without a cart.
Yu Wanran waited alone in the guest room. After about half an hour, Yan Qing and the coachman brought in two boxes of Chengni inkstones.
After dismissing the coachman, Lin Anzhi returned the remaining silver to Yu Wanran. Then, he excitedly opened the box, took out two Chengni inkstones, one large and one small, and handed them to Yu Wanran.
"Sister Yu, look! One hundred and fifty small inkstones, fifty medium inkstones, and ten inferior inkstones as a bonus."
"A small inkstone costs thirty coins; Grandpa said a medium inkstone costs forty coins; the total cost is six taels and five mace of silver. We have carefully inspected each inkstone, and they are all in perfect condition!"
Yu Wanran took the inkstone and glanced at it, immediately understanding why the inkstones made by the villagers couldn't fetch high prices. The merchants, too, hadn't noticed the potential business opportunity.
These inkstones are simply made into round or square shapes with neatly cut edges, and some patterns are casually carved with a stick before firing.
If Lin Anzhi hadn't said it was a Chengni inkstone, she would have thought the others had brought her back two boxes of yellow clay blocks!
Lin Fang's heart pounded as he looked at Yu Wanran's furrowed brows. He quickly took out the Chengni inkstone he treasured.
"Master, these Chengni inkstones we've acquired are really not up to par. Look at this, this is the kind of inkstone our workshop will be producing from now on!"
Yu Wanran put down what she was holding and took the inkstone handed to her by the other party to examine it closely.
The inkstone was pure black, with slightly intricate patterns carved in a conventional manner on both the lid and the inkstone itself. It couldn't be considered a fine piece; in her opinion, it would sell for at most a few taels of silver.
She nodded slightly in agreement.
“In the future, when we make inkstones in our workshop, we must at least reach the level of this inkstone. As for the craftsmanship and the patterns carved, we can invite a few more master craftsmen back to study them.”
To promote Chengni inkstones and make big money in Beijing and other major cities, we must focus on high-quality products. These hastily acquired inkstones won't do!
Lin Fang was very happy and relaxed after receiving affirmation, and declined the inkstone that Yu Wanran intended to return.
“Boss, didn’t you say you were going to take samples to the capital? This piece of mine will serve as a finished product from our workshop. Boss, you can keep it with you so it will be easier to market it.”
"This...isn't this your Lin family's heirloom?"
How could Yu Wanran just take someone's manhood?
"It's not exactly a family heirloom..."
Lin Fang rubbed his calloused, rough hands awkwardly, and said embarrassedly.
"Master, at the time, my grandfather and I were on the verge of despair, thinking we would never have the chance to make inkstones again. Therefore, we exaggerated the value of this inkstone to make it easier to sell for more money!"
Yu Wanran suddenly realized, put away the inkstone and chuckled: "In that case, I'll borrow this inkstone. Once we find a good sales channel, we can plan how many inkstones to produce in our workshop!"
Although the other two boxes of inkstones are not very good, I plan to transport them back to Huangshan County and the capital to try them out. After all, large towns are home to many scholars, and not all of them are wealthy.
"By the way! Boss, what would be a good name for our workshop? How about Yu Family Workshop?"
Lin Fang asked sincerely.
Yu Wanran hesitated for a moment: "Let's call it Chengya Inkstone Shop!"
She picked up her pen and wrote these words.
"From now on, every inkstone we make will have these four characters engraved in a subtle detail. This will allow buyers to immediately recognize that it is a product of Chengya Inkstone Workshop!"
This will be very helpful when promoting to the high-end market later on.
"it is good!"
Lin Fang thought the boss's handwriting was very beautiful, and carefully put the paper away. He planned to use this handwriting as a model for making plaques and casting molds in the future.
After finalizing the cooperation, they set off under a sky full of stars. Yu Wanran left the two boxes of inkstones at the inn and took Yanqing and Song Lianghan back to the yamen to stay the night.
The next morning, without disturbing the busy Xue Heyu, he greeted Xue Jingui, picked up his horse and luggage, and then went to the inn to pull up two boxes of inkstones before quietly leaving Decheng.
He rode at full speed all the way back to his home in Huangshan County.
Upon hearing the news, Zhong Yeliu led everyone out to greet them with great joy: "Master, are you staying here this time and not leaving?"
Without Yu Wanran, everyone seemed to lack a backbone, simply going through the motions each day, with a sense of bleakness about the future.
Yu Wanran handed the two horses to Shunzi to take care of, bowed and instructed Qiu Cui to tidy up, told Yan Qing to go and rest, and then entered the main hall with a smile.
"What's wrong? Not used to living here?"
"No, it's just..."
Zhong Yeliu felt a little flustered, not expecting her master to see through her thoughts so easily. She was indeed used to being busy and didn't feel comfortable when she was idle.
Yu Wanran took the teacup offered by Zhong Yeliu, took a couple of sips of water, and glanced at the two new potted flowers in the flower room. They were orchids, which she liked. She wondered if Zhong Yeliu had noticed her preferences or if they had been placed there unintentionally.
"Is everything alright at home?"
She asked.
"Master, nothing serious has happened at home. However, the old lady and the master came by a few days ago and said that the eldest daughter-in-law is pregnant!"
Zhong Yeliu reported to her one by one.
“They came to the city to buy things, and I took it upon myself to give them a gold lock and a pair of silver bracelets. In addition, there were brocades and eight kinds of fruit. In total, it cost nearly ten taels of silver.”
Yu Wanran exclaimed in surprise, "My sister-in-law is pregnant?"
In her previous life, her sister-in-law was pregnant, but not at this time. She thought her sister-in-law still needed to take care of her health, but she didn't expect her to be pregnant now!
She made a decision immediately.
"Let's go to Mingshui Village tomorrow. Yeliu, have someone go to town and buy some good pastry ingredients as a gift."
Although we are relatives, we are now two separate families after the separation. It is only proper and reasonable to bring a gift when visiting.