"But, 'a calligraphy brush workshop? Shuiqing, when did you come up with this plan?'"

Hearing Fan Jin's slightly delighted tone, Shui Qing said naturally, "We've had this plan for a while now. Didn't we calculate it when we were selling calligraphy brushes before? The profit margin was very high. I thought that although the world is unstable now, it will stabilize and prosper sooner or later. At that time, calligraphy brushes will be indispensable as one of the Four Treasures of the Study, so we won't have to worry about sales."

We can learn the technology from the online store, and the raw materials are also readily available.

Fan Jin's dark eyes showed confusion. When did the raw materials come together? Since Shui Qing was planning to turn the business on the mall into a physical business and do it for the long term, the raw materials shouldn't be too dependent on the shopping mall. But if they don't depend on the mall, how come they have all the raw materials?

"The bristles for calligraphy brushes are mostly made of sheep wool, rabbit hair, and pig hair. We have all three of these ourselves. I also inquired and found out that rabbit pelts in the village cost 15 to 20 coins each. If we don't have enough, we can buy some from them."

As for pigs, Sister-in-law Guifen is already planning to buy our piglets to raise. Once her family sets this precedent, many other families in the village will likely follow suit. Then all the pig hair can be collected and used to make wool.

Rabbits are being raised, pigs are being raised, so how far behind can sheep be?

With the bulk of the wool secured, the remaining horsehair will be easy to obtain. We have the money to buy two horses and raise them without any problem. As for wolf hair, we won't pursue that; we'll focus on developing high-volume wool production.

Putting aside whether there are wolves in Shanshui Village, even if there are, such a social and ferocious animal would be too dangerous to catch.

She only wanted to make money, not risk her life!

Fan Jin didn't expect Shui Qing to think so far ahead. He thought that exchanging rabbits for piglets to sell to the villagers was just because he had raised too many, so that the villagers would benefit while he himself would also make a profit, which was a win-win situation.

I never expected that it would eventually benefit my own family.

Shui Qing saw a complex mix of emotions—surprise, admiration, and praise—in Fan Jin's dark eyes. With a smile, she continued, "As for the brush handle, we can't let the bamboo from our mountain go to waste, can we? It's perfect for making brush handles!"

She had also thought about how to make the bamboo mountain the most valuable. Making bamboo handicrafts was definitely not an option. These days, bamboo is not worth much, and craftsmanship is not worth much either. Weaving bamboo baskets and hampers is time-consuming and doesn't fetch a good price. Transporting them takes up space, and even if they were transported to other places, it wouldn't be of any use. Where else would there be no bamboo baskets and hampers?

The profit margin is too low, making round-trip transportation simply impractical.

But calligraphy brushes are different. They take up little space and have high profits, but the raw materials are hard to come by—not all places are like their village, where a large number of livestock are raised and sold in batches, and the fur can be collected together.

The craft is difficult to make, and if the skills are not passed on, few people outside will know about them. She has an online store where she can buy and learn the techniques, otherwise, even if she knew the profits were high, she could only watch helplessly.

Fan Jin was deeply moved and couldn't calm down for a long time. In the end, he summed it up in one sentence: "Shui Qing, you are really amazing."

The Ming Dynasty imposed too many restrictions on women. If she had been born a man, she would surely have achieved much more, instead of being confined to a small mountain village.

He should focus on preparing for the imperial examinations. Shuiqing, as a woman, can't go out, but as his wife, she can. The better he performs, the faster he rises in rank, and the greater her opportunities will be...