Chapter 678: Tissue
Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations
Chu Qingning, glancing between Chu Qingzhi and Shen Ruyue, found logic in their conversation, “But getting engaged isn’t something I can decide on my own. If Zhaoyong doesn’t speak up, I…”
Shen Ruyue confidently interjected, “Don’t worry about that; I’ll handle it for you.”
Chu Qingning smiled gratefully, “Thankyou, sister-in-law.”
On the other side, when Li Qingyu heard from Shen Ruyue that Jiang Zhaoyong had brought a deer, she quickly returned home. A fresh deer was worth a lot of money. Jiang Zhaoyong was too generous.
Back home, Li Qingyu saw Jiang Zhaoyong drenched in sweat and promptly asked him to wash up before offering him a glass of water, “Take a seat and rest for a while.”
“No need to sit,” Jiang Zhaoyong insisted, carrying the deer into the kitchen to bleed and gut it, demonstrating his proficiency with the task.
Li Qingyu, surprised, asked, “Do you often handle deer?”
“Not really,” Jiang Zhaoyong replied, “but when I was home, I used to go hunting in the mountains quite frequently, and I always dealt with the game myself.”
Li Qingyu was impressed, “That’s amazing. No wonder you managed to handle the deer meat so cleanly.”
Jiang Zhao Yong modestly praised, “These are just small tricks. Aunt Chu is the real expert here.”
As Shen Ruyue entered, she asked, “Mom, what are you all happy about?” “Zhaoyong was complimenting me,” Li Qingyu said with a smile, then took the knife from Jiang Zhaoyong’s hand, “Go talk with Qingning. Aunt Chu will take care of this.”
When Jiang Zhaoyong saw Chu Qingning, his heart was attracted. He stared at Chu Qingning with burning eyes, making her feel embarrassed.
Chu Qingzhi nudged Chu Qingning and whispered in her ear, “Fourth sister, don’t you have a gift for Jiang Zhaoyong…”
“Let’s talk outside, Zhaoyong,” said Chu Qingning, feeling shy, and quickly left.
“Qingning, wait for me,” Jiang Zhaoyong hurriedly washed his hands and followed her.
At that moment, Shen Ruyue mentioned to Li Qingyu, “Mom, someone was asking me again if Qingning is engaged. People keep inquiring. Shouldn’t we just pick a suitable match and settle it for her?”
Li Qingyu, who had been hoping for Chu Qingning and Jiangzhao Yong to finalize their marriage, agreed, “It should be settled. Qingning isn’t getting any younger.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled at the side.
Suddenly, Jiang Zhaoyong approached with urgency, “Aunt Chu, I want to ask for Qingning’s hand in marriage.”
Li Qingyu was dumbfounded.
Jiang Zhaoyong continued, “I’ll write a letter right away to have my brother and sister-in-law come over. I’ve already prepared the betrothal gifts.” “Are you serious?” Li Qingyu asked, surprised.
“Absolutely,” Jiang Zhaoyong affirmed, “I’ve wanted to ask for her hand for a while now but delayed out of fear that Qingning might not agree.”
“Then you…”
“I’ll write the letter immediately,” he said, unable to wait any longer. “Qingning, I’ll come find you after I send the letter.”
Watching Jiang Zhao Yong’s hurried departure, Chu Qingning felt a surge of happiness.
Li Qingyu whispered to Chu Qingning, “There’s still room to change your mind. Take your time to think it over. If you regret it later, regardless of whose fault it
is, people will blame you.” Society was harsh on women.
Chu Qingning nodded earnestly, “Mother, I’ll think it through carefully.”
Chu Qingzhi arrived at her ancient version of a medical laboratory at Chu Qingning’s place, ready to concoct “softeners” and “tougheners” for the paper-making process.
The ingredients were a combination of herbs she had purchased and those she had gathered from the medicinal garden, all prepared and ready for use.
Creating these solutions from medicinal herbs ensured they would meet her goals without harming humans or polluting the environment. Cherishing the natural beauty of her surroundings, Chu Qingzhi was keen on preserving it.
She needed to grind all the herbs into powder. With no one around, Chu Qingzhi used spells to expedite the process before starting on the medicinal combinations.
First up were the “softeners.”
As it was her first time concocting such medicines, the optimal ratios were unknown, prompting her to test ten different combinations.
At this moment, Chu Qingning knocked on the door and walked in. “Fifth Sister, let me help you.”
Chu Qingzhi divided the ten different medicinal ratios into two sets, each taking five, planning to test each solution to find the one that met their requirements.
An hour later, all ten solutions were ready.
Chu Qingning, curious, asked, “Fifth sister, what are these solutions for?”
“I’ll tell you later.” Chu Qingzhi then started on the “tougheners,” again preparing ten different combinations with her sister’s help over another hour.
The sisters then joined the family for a delayed dinner. They had all been waiting for the two of them to finish their work.
After quickly finishing her meal, Chu Qingzhi, armed with her concoctions, left for the county to buy ten basins and then headed to the paper mill.
Diving into her experiments in the paper finishing room, Chu Qingzhi set out ten basins in a row, adding a scoop of paper pulp and one-tenth of each “softener” into them, followed by a “toughener” in the same measure, mixing each thoroughly.
Since a “softener” was already in the pulp, she didn’t add more.
Using a paper-making screen, Chu Qingzhi formed the paper, magically dried
it, and laid them out on the table, secured with wood, in a row of ten sheets.
She then tested the paper for softness, pliability, and toughness, taking notes and scoring each out of a hundred to determine the best combination.
After a hundred experiments…
Xiao Zongchao and Li Changjiang wandered outside the house a few times out of worry, but they were all persuaded to leave by Chu Feng, who was guarding outside the house.
As Xiao Zongchao left, he kept looking back. “Master Li, what exactly is Miss Chu doing in the room?”
If only he knew. Li Changjiang shook his head. “I don’t know either.”
Xiao Zongchao suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Master Li, you can leave. I’ll wait here for Miss Chu to come out.”
Li Changjiang looked at Xiao Zongchao and asked, “Are you done with your work?”
Xiao Zongchao lowered his head and replied in a low voice, “No.”
Li Changjiang reached out and patted Xiao Zongchao’s shoulder. “Then go to work. Worrying about the miss is fine, but only if your work is done. Otherwise, you’re just causing trouble.”
“That’s true.” Xiao Zongchao took his words to heart. “Then I’ll go to work.”
“I’ll go too.”
The sun was setting in the west, elongating the shadows of all objects on the ground.
The door opened, revealing Chu Qingzhi’s tall and slender figure. She was in a good mood now. After a hundred experiments, she had obtained the ideal tissue. It was delicate, flexible, and resilient.
She had made ten sheets of paper using the optimal mixture of solutions, feeling a strong sense of accomplishment.
Upon seeing Chu Qingzhi, Chu Feng eagerly approached, “Qingzhi, what were you doing in there?”
Handing him a piece of the paper towel, Chu Qingzhi asked for his opinion, “Take a look at this paper. What do you think?” She was curious about ancient perspectives.