Chapter 765: Wolf Pups
Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations
Ling Yanjiang truly felt it was a pity. His little junior sister, who was beautiful and had been carefully nurtured from a young age, excelling in everything, was actually going to marry a farmer’s son. It seemed like such a waste.
He couldn’t help but try to persuade her again, “Little junior sister, could you please reconsider?”
Ge Lihua firmly responded, “I have already made up my mind, Senior brother. There’s no need to persuade me any further.”
Ling Yanjiang fell silent.
After a while, as the atmosphere eased a bit, Ge Lihua asked, “Senior brother, what are your plans for the future?”
Ling Yanjiang thought to himself, once he handed over the ledger to the emperor, his family’s vendetta would be settled. After that, he hadn’t thought about what to do, “I haven’t considered it yet.”
Ge Lihua suggested, “Senior brother, you could use this time of recovery to think it through.”
LingYanjiangnodded, “I will.”
In Chu Village.
Chu Qingshuang brought Li Shaoliang to the village, “Wait here for a moment; I’ll ask where mother and fifth sister are.”
Li Shaoliang replied, “I’ll come with you.”
Li Qingyu was weeding in the vegetable garden, right next to the medicinal garden. This particular plot of land, where the vegetables were nurtured with spiritual energy by Chu Qingzhi, showed very healthy and rapid growth.
“Mother,” greeted Chu Qingshuang as she approached.
Li Shaoliang quickly greeted her with respect, “Auntie Chu.”
Li Qingyu nodded at Li Shaoliang, “Why have you both come back to the village together?”
Chu Qingshuang said, “We’re here to discuss something with fifth sister. Mother, where is she?”
Pointing in a direction, Li Qingyu informed, “She’s over by the brick kiln.” Then she added, “Qingshuang, when you go there, could you take some water for your fifth sister? She might get thirsty and find nowhere to drink.”
“Alright, I’ll go get it.” Chu Qingshuang fetched a large water jug and headed towards the brick kiln, with Li Shaoliang accompanying her.
Building a brick kiln was complicated due to the need for excavation, so it was progressing slowly and would take about half a month to complete.
Chu Qingzhi, not very knowledgeable about this, was learning by observing.
Approaching, Chu Qingshuang handed the water jug to Chu Qingzhi, “Fifth sister, do you want some water?”
Chu Qingzhi turned, surprised, “Why are you back?”
Stepping aside, Chu Qingshuang let Li Shaoliang come forward, “Shaoliang has something to discuss with you, fifth sister.”
Li Shaoliang quickly greeted Chu Qingzhi, his mind clearer this time, avoiding the awkwardness of calling her “fifth sister” alongside Chu Qingshuang.
Chu Qingzhi led them aside, “What’s the matter? Go ahead.”
Li Shaoliang, a bit nervous, cleared his throat and said, “It’s just one thing. I would like to imprint ‘Li’s Porcelain Kiln’ on the bottom of the porcelain you order from us. Your business is doing well, and if we add this mark, it could help more people recognize Li’s Porcelain Kiln, boosting our sales.”
This seemed like a good strategy to increase brand recognition, and Chu Qingzhi thought Li Shaoliang was quite smart.
Seeing Chu Qingzhi’s silence, Li Shaoliang quickly added, “I won’t ask for this without giving something in return. I promise, for each piece of porcelain with ‘Li’s Porcelain’ marked on it, I will reduce the price by one wen per item. What do you think?”
Chu Qingzhi’s business ordered about two thousand pieces of porcelain from Li’s Kiln daily for beer and soy sauce bottles, averaging four wen each. A one wen discount per item would save two taels of silver daily.
“Can you guarantee your offer?” A two-tael daily saving amounted to over seven hundred taels a year, not a small sum.
Li Shaoliang confidently affirmed, “I have the authority to decide. If you agree, we will start with the next batch of porcelain, reducing one wen per item.”
To Chu Qingzhi, the discount was significant but manageable. “Alright, shall we sign an additional contract?”
Li Shaoliang nodded, “Yes.”
After signing the contract, Li Shaoliang and Chu Qingshuang returned to Li’s Porcelain Kiln. Chu Qingzhi headed to the workshop area to store the contract with Shen Ruyue and informed her to pay less for the next delivery.
Shen Ruyue, seeing the contract, couldn’t help but laugh, “Only you could do business like this, always having people willingly give you money.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled, “Must be my good karma.”
Li Shaoliang proved quite astute. Merchants, noticing “Li’s Porcelain” marking, presumed a good relationship between Li’s Kiln and Chu’s Trade, prioritizing Li’s Porcelain when making purchases. Soon, Li Shaoliang’s business flourished, earning him commendation from Li Zhenzong.
For this, Li Shaoliang later treated Chu Qingzhi to a meal as a gesture of thanks.
In Chu Village.
The two wolves happily returned, circling around Chu Qingzhi, acting unusually, “What’s the matter with you two?”
Da Lang wagged its tail at Chu Qingzhi, then tugged at her skirt, pulling her towards the woods.
“I understand, lead the way.”
Da Lang immediately released her skirt and ran ahead with Er Lang.
Behind the workshop area was a large tree hollow. Approaching, Chu Qingzhi heard the tender cries of wolf pups.
Da Lang and Er Lang stood outside the hollow, looking expectantly at Chu Qingzhi.
Approaching, she found two mother wolves lying on either side of the hollow, each nursing three to four pups, a big happy family.
Chu Qingzhi asked, “Are these your children?”
Both wolves wagged their tails vigorously, almost blurring with motion.
Then, Da Bai approached, and the aura of a fierce beast made the mother wolves uneasy. They leapt out, showing teeth, but relaxed upon recognizing Da Bai.
Chu Qingzhi petted Da Lang and Er Lang, “What did you bring me here for?”
Da Lang nuzzled her hand then brought out a pup, placing it before her, clearly wanting her to take the pups home for safety.
Noticing one of the mother wolves had several deep wounds, likely from a fight, Chu Qingzhi called the wolf over and healed its injuries with a wave of spiritual energy. The mother wolf gratefully nuzzled her leg.
“I’ll be right back.” Chu Qingzhi fetched a large basket from the workshop, placed all seven pups inside, and carried them home, followed by the four wolves.
On the way, she encountered An Shanwu and Nie Huiyang heading to the brick kiln. They were astonished to see Chu Qingzhi carrying a basket full of wolf pups. The back mountain was almost like Chu Qingzhi’s own domain, where she moved freely, and now even the wolf pups seemed to be hers to take.
Chu Qingzhi brought the wolf pups back to her home and placed them in the wolf den she had prepared earlier.