"Storing cotton???"

"Grandma means you secretly hid some of the thousand catties of cotton that were delivered???"

Old Lady Yun gently patted Yun Ling on the back of the head and complained:

"What do you mean 'secretly'? I did it openly and honestly, okay? You're supposed to be a businesswoman, and you don't even know how many pounds of cotton this is?"

To be honest, Yunling was only concerned with the fact that it was a thousand catties of cotton. She assumed that He Da wouldn't lie to her, and that the head镖师 (bodyguard) and Er Yi (second brother) probably wouldn't want to touch her cotton. So she never weighed it, and didn't even count the number of bags.

Old Lady Yun's words startled Yun Ling. A bad thought immediately popped into her mind: Could it be that there would never be enough cotton?

"Grandma, how many kilograms of cotton did you say were delivered?"

"It weighs 1,001 jin in total."

"Wouldn't that mean there are 1,001 bags?"

"No, it was exactly one thousand bags. Your grandfather was the one who discovered this first."

Yunling nodded, signaling her mother to continue. Her mother put her hands behind her back, head held high, looking quite pleased with herself.

"Both times the cotton quilts were delivered to your door, you asked Xia Jie'er to help you check them. But you know her personality; she'd rather suffer a loss than be taken advantage of. She wanted to weigh all the cotton before finding your grandfather."

"Your grandfather first borrowed a scale from the pork seller in the next village, then went to the river to weigh a little over a pound of stones, wrapped them in cloth, and then found a sturdy iron rod, using the treetop as the center point to place them."

"We tied stones to the iron rods and sacks to the sacks, watching which way the iron rods would tilt. There were about twenty sacks of cotton that had overturned the stones, so we took out the excess cotton."

“Your grandfather said this is extremely common for people who travel by merchant ship. When they are transporting goods by ship, they sometimes inevitably think about putting some things in their own pockets, especially things that have a specific quantity. They don’t dare to steal the whole bag, so they will secretly hide a little bit in each bag so that they don’t attract much attention.”

"Therefore, some owners are afraid that the weight of the goods they receive will be insufficient, so they will add some to some bags to make up the difference."

Yunling has learned a lot.

After two cotton shipments, Old Lady Yun had only managed to save two jin (approximately 1 kg). Seeing Zhang Shi carry out a sack of cotton, her heart ached as if it were bleeding.

"Look, look, in the end you still ruined it all."

Yunling then hugged Grandma Yun tightly, saying "Grandma is good" and "Grandma is wonderful" repeatedly, which made Grandma Yun get goosebumps.

With the cotton added, Zhang and Granny Yun each carried a cotton slingshot. Yunling wanted to join in, but Granny Yun refused, saying that they were on their way the next day and didn't need to work hard. However, her words implied disdain for Yunling, suggesting that she didn't know how to use a cotton slingshot and would hinder their work.

This cotton quilt is different from the cotton wadding of later generations, perhaps because of the limitations of the craftsmanship, which prevents it from being made more refined at present.

The carded cotton is covered with a mesh net, then the four corners are tied with yarn rope, and then it is pressed again with a disc, again and again, before finally being cleverly stuffed into the quilt.

After fluffing the two quilts, Granny Yun kept yawning and had little energy to talk. She waved her hand and went into the house, telling Yunling and the others to go to bed early and that was it.

The quilt was carried back into the house. Zhang pulled out two thin, strong hemp ropes from the kitchen. Back in the house, she first folded the quilt in half, then in half again, pressed it down with her legs, picked up the hemp ropes, threaded them through the bottom, pulled them taut on the top and crossed them, and finally wrapped them back around the bottom and tied a knot.

"Mother, you really are all-powerful!"

"That's right, that's right."

Looking at the two men in front of her, Zhang felt a surge of tenderness in her heart.

"If you're sleepy, go to sleep first. Your mother will get everything sorted out soon."

“I’m not sleepy. Lingniang is leaving for Bianjing tomorrow and won’t be back until next year. I’m reluctant to let her go.”

Yunling paused, stopped counting the coins, looked up at Yun Chu, and said happily:

"If you can't bear to leave me, then come with me. That way, we can look after each other, right?"

"I'm not going."

"Why? My sister said she couldn't bear to leave me, but she didn't want to go with me. I guess she just wanted to coax me so that I would bring back the good medical books, right?"

"No, I just think that Elder Zhong will soon propose to take me as his female disciple..."

"real???"

Yunling and Zhang's simultaneous exclamations made Yun Chu extremely embarrassed. She hurriedly tried to cover Yunling's mouth, but the bed was full of bundles and quilts, and she couldn't reach out. So she could only touch her own ears to stop her embarrassment.

"I'm just guessing, but he has indeed been teaching me how to take a pulse and do acupuncture recently. Isn't that his way of passing on his medical skills to me?"

Zhang Shi also hoped to see Yun Chu get what she wanted, and now hearing her say this, she was overjoyed, even putting more effort into tying the bedding.

"Of course, our Chu-jie has worked so hard and tirelessly in the past. Even Guanyin Bodhisattva would be moved by you, let alone that old Zhong."

“Those who study medicine should first learn virtue, then cultivate their character, and then learn their skills. My sister is born with a kind heart and understands the difficulties of patients all over the world. She is willing to learn to save them, which can be called virtue. Later, she is not afraid of hardship and gossip, and she sticks to her original intention, which can be called self-cultivation. Her skills will naturally be as easy as taking something out of a bag.”

"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean."

Yun Chu was naturally delighted to hear their conversation. This matter had been weighing on her mind for some time. She had initially wanted to tell them, but the next day she discovered that it was all just a pipe dream, and all her joy was in vain.

But now that Professor Zhong has been teaching her for some time, and it's true, she can't just be happy by herself; she has to tell everyone so they can be happy too.

Yun Chu became happier and happier as she thought about it, and couldn't help but laugh. Yun Ling and Zhang Shi were infected by her laughter and also giggled.

**

The next day, as soon as it was light, Yunling got up. Zhang was already busy in the kitchen, and the aroma of wontons wafted through the courtyard, attracting the greedy Xiaobai and Dahei to follow Zhang on either side, waiting to eat.

Old Lady Yun also got up early. She set up the incense burner and the evil spirits-repelling objects. After Yunling ate her wontons, she took her to worship the gods, praying that her trip to Bianjing would be smooth and safe.

After daybreak, Yun Shenghua, carrying Yun Chu and Yun Ling, bid them farewell and headed into the city. Yun Ruoxia led out the carriage, and Zhang Shi and Yun's mother helped Yun Ling put her bundles and bedding into the carriage. Zhang Shi accompanied them, and the three of them waved goodbye to Yun's mother and father before heading into the city.

The carriage first went to the shop in Pingli Lane to pick up Tang Ling, who was dressed in men's clothing, and then went to the escort agency to pick up Gangzi. Gangzi and Chen Jie were waiting at the door early. As soon as they saw Yun Ling, they waved happily and called out enthusiastically:

"Grandma."