It wasn't until Uncle Cao saw a small lantern in Lu Yinghuai's room that he realized what the boy had been busy with all this time. Moreover, judging from Lu's mother's tone, she also knew about it and even approved of it.

So he figured that the two families would be meeting for marriage on the Lantern Festival. If things went smoothly, the formalities of marriage could be completed by the end of the year. Then, the matchmaker could choose an auspicious day in August, and the Lu family could have a new member next year and a baby the year after.

Uncle Cao had a very good idea. He already considered Yun Ruoxia as family, so he made this request.

This startled Yun Ruoxia. What merit did she possess to warrant a carriage from the Lu family's trading company coming to pick her up? Although she was somewhat arrogant in business matters, she was also self-aware and knew how to conduct herself appropriately, so she quickly replied:

"Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Cao, but my elder brother and sister-in-law have always made the decisions in the family. I have no say in anything."

Since that was the case, Uncle Cao had no choice but to give up.

After leaving the Lu family's trading company, the three went straight to Yunxiang Bookstore. Upon hearing that they were there to deliver a gift box, the shopkeeper, Chen, immediately thought of his father-in-law. He figured it was thanks to Old Master Yu's good teaching that someone had come up with the idea of ​​befriending him.

This is a good thing. Who knows, more people might come to his bookstore to buy paper and books in the future. For him, they are all walking money bags, so he is naturally happy.

"Young lady, you're too kind. The shop has just received a new batch of bamboo paper. I'll cut a slice for you to take back right away."

Yun Chu wanted to refuse, but her family was really short of paper. Since she started attending private school, she had lost her business of collecting herbs and was short of money. She had planned to buy paper today and save the pen for another time. Now that the shopkeeper was giving her paper, she decided to buy a pen instead.

"Shopkeeper, which type of brush is best for writing small regular script characters like 'haizihua'?"

Shopkeeper Chen was somewhat surprised, truly proving the saying, "A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation." "Young lady, you've made rapid progress. It hasn't been long, and you can already write small regular script. With such intelligence, my father-in-law must want to take you under his wing as his female disciple."

Yun Chu smiled slightly, realizing that what was said was true.

Shopkeeper Chen knew he had hit the nail on the head, so he led the woman to a shelf to the side and said, “If you want to write small regular script with flowers in your hair, the mixed-hair brush you used before is fine. If you want it to be even better and the strokes to be smoother, you can choose a wolf-hair brush.”

"For beginners, it's better to choose this pen with a shorter tip and a slightly larger diameter, as it's easier to control. Once you've been writing with it for a while, you can switch to a pen with a longer tip, which will produce characters that are more elegant and graceful, with excellent rebound."

"The other one is a best-selling, out-of-stock type. The length of the pen tip is between the two we just mentioned. It feels great in the hand and writes very smoothly and effortlessly. However, this one costs eight hundred coins. You can choose according to your own needs, young lady."

Yun Chu immediately ruled out this best-selling wolf hair brush, "Shopkeeper, what are the prices of the other two?"

"The shorter brush tip costs 250 coins each, and the longer brush tip costs 312 coins each. Miss, please see which one you would like to take."

Yun Chuxin knew that the price difference must be due to a difference in materials. If it were genuine wolf hair brush, it would cost several times more. However, she knew she didn't have the means to buy such a high-end item; whatever she could afford was the best.

"Shopkeeper, I'll take this one with a slightly longer nib. It feels good to hold, and I think it's meant for me."

"Alright, alright, there are countless good pens, but the one that suits your young lady is the most important."

Yun Chu thought so too. She took out some copper coins, counted them, and then left with a ream of paper and her wolf-hair brush.

The three then went to Ren'an Hall. There were usually many people coming to Ren'an Hall for medical treatment, and now that it was cold, many people had caught colds, so Ren'an Hall was packed with people.

Yun Ruochun and Yun Ruoxia didn't want to squeeze in, so they just let Yun Chu take the gift box in.

The owner of Ren'an Hall was initially delighted to see Yun Chu, but his eyes dimmed when he realized she hadn't brought any herbs, and a hint of complaint crept into his words.

"What have you been up to lately, young lady? I thought you weren't coming anymore."

"I've been busy teaching at the private school lately, so I'll put the matter of herbs out of my mind for now. I'll continue to collect herbs to sell after the New Year."

Yun Chu couldn't afford to lose this way of making money. After all, a new pen had just cost her over three hundred coins, so she had to keep working hard to earn more copper coins.

The landlord's expression softened somewhat, and he asked again, "What brings you here today, young lady? Are you here to see someone?"

"It's true that you're looking for someone. Coming to the master's house is also a way of looking for someone. These are some briefs and menstrual cloths that Ling-jie made herself. She also added herbs to regulate women's menstruation. She was thinking of giving them to your lady to try."

"Oh? Such a good thing? That young lady is really something. Ever since she entrusted the task of gathering medicinal herbs to you, she has never come here again."

"Sister Ling is very busy. She has been busy all the way to Qingcheng just making these menstrual cloths."

Pei Lin followed the scent and arrived. He had just finished examining someone in the inner hall when he came out and heard Yun Chu say these words. Qingcheng? That brat actually ran off to that unfamiliar place again, and... and... and didn't even tell him. She doesn't treat him as a friend at all.

"You... that little ahoge is back?"

Yun Chu didn't want to deal with this impolite guy, but seeing that her employer was still there, she couldn't be rude, so she replied, "Yes, I'm back."

"Given her restless nature, she probably won't stay home obediently. Now that you've come out, she'll definitely come along too..."

Yun Chu assumed it was just a simple statement and didn't think of it as a test, so she didn't reply.

This left Pei Lin somewhat puzzled. Had Yun Ling come out or not? But when he tried to test her again, another wave of people came to see her, so he had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being and go see her first.

**

The first person to receive and open the gift box was Lu's mother. When she heard Uncle Cao say that the second aunt of the Yun family had sent a gift box, she hurriedly opened it. The paper immediately caught her eye. The neat handwriting and vivid pictures made her feel that it was very professional, and she wanted to flip through it.

She carefully read the words on it, then picked up the panties and menstrual pads to examine them. The scent of herbs wafted into her nose, filling her with both surprise and delight. She never imagined that someone could make menstruation so convenient and elegant.

She was eager to try it out, but then she thought, if there are women's briefs, can there be men's briefs too?