"Take a look at this!" Yang Chuxia handed a piece of paper to Ye Zi’an. "Can you tell what this is?"
Yang Chuxia glared at him, "Of course it’s a box, but look here!"
"Are these words engraved on it?" It wasn’t Ye Zi’an’s fault that he couldn’t understand; he hadn’t seen any modern stuff, let alone Arabic numerals.
"Let me tell you, this is a password, kind of like the mechanisms we talk about today," said Yang Chuxia. "This is a password-protected box that you can set your own password for, and no one else can open it unless they know the password."
"Really? I bet wealthy families would love this kind of box, whether it’s the male or female head of the household," Ye Zi’an laughed. "But to make it, you can’t use ordinary wood. It should be made of particularly hard wood, like the ceylon ironwood from the south, or made of iron. But both of these materials are expensive."
Yang Chuxia rested her chin on her hand and said, "That’s true. It would be difficult for us to make this with our current abilities. It would be best if we could collaborate with someone. But there’s no one to collaborate with, and I realize that we know too few people."
"If that’s the case, why not put this idea on hold and wait until later?"
"You’re right. Our furniture shop is doing well, and we’ve kept our skills a secret, but who’s to say someone else won’t figure it out eventually? I need to keep this as a trump card for our furniture shop."
"Yeah, it’s better that way. Having more cards up our sleeves gives us more confidence when doing things."
Ye Zi’an has always been extremely supportive of Yang Chuxia’s decisions.
"Xiaxia, Xiaxia!" The two were talking when a carefree voice came from outside the house. Yang Chuxia hurriedly put the paper away.
Then Ye Zi’an pushed her into the hall.
"You don’t have any beans for me to work with anymore, so I have nothing to do. Why don’t you give me something else to do?" Old Mu asked with eyes wide open.
The beans were now in a moldy state, so they didn’t need him to do anything. Furthermore, he wasn’t Yang Chuxia’s servant, so she didn’t feel right always asking him to help. So he’s been pretty idle, just lending a hand wherever he could.
But over time, he felt that this was improper. He should be doing something in exchange for the food and drink they were providing. If not, what would that make of him?
So, he ran to Yang Chuxia for something to do.
"Old Mu, you’re not our servant, there’s no need for you to help," said Yang Chuxia.
But Old Mu waved his hand and said, "I can’t just eat your food for free. If I eat your food, I have to work. How else can I continue eating with a clear conscience? And if I don’t stay here, I have nowhere else to go."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia thought it was her fault for not giving him something to do, as if she deliberately wanted him to leave.
After thinking for a moment, Yang Chuxia said, "Actually, there is something. I originally planned to expand our nut shop into the county town after a break, but then I realized that it’s already May or June, and the weather is hot, so many things aren’t selling well. Hence, I decided to postpone it till autumn. Regardless of when it opens, though, a storefront needs to be prepared. We’ve been too busy lately and didn’t have the time to look for one."
Old Mu understood, "I see what you mean. You want me to go to the county town and find a shop for you?"
"Yes, that’s the thing!"