Chapter 117 Shulan is a genius. Would you like this dress if it were made...?

Because of the child's situation, Yao Xiaoyu was depressed for a while, and only gradually recovered around the Lunar New Year. She paid for Mingyue's body to be collected and buried with her and her parents. She also burned a lot of paper money. Yao Xiaoyu didn't really believe in ghosts and spirits, but if there really were supernatural beings in this world, she hoped that her family of three would be well from now on.

Mingyue is Gouwa's name. The man only calls the child Gou. But the child's parents' neighbor said that the child's name is Mingyue. After the child turned one month old, her parents paid a fortune teller to choose the name, saying that the little girl would grow up to be as beautiful as the moon and have a life as full as the Mid-Autumn Festival moon.

...

"Has no one been giving you any trouble lately?"

As Yao Xiaoyu handed the new notebook to Shulan, she asked, "Maria said that Shulan is currently in a critical period of recovery and is destined to spend the New Year in the hospital. She can't let everyone have a reunion dinner, so she can only pay more attention to the details."

No, everyone is fine.

Shulan's voice was a little soft, but not muffled. She had gained some weight since Yao Xiaoyu last time she came, but she still didn't look very fleshy; her foundation was too weak.

"You know, we'll be spending the Lunar New Year here this year."

Maria was a very busy person, and Yao Xiaoyu was afraid that she would forget to tell Shulan about this, so she simply told her again.

"Yes, I know. Peach Blossom already told me."

Shulan's face showed some disappointment, but her voice remained calm. Not being able to see her family was indeed difficult, but compared to twenty silver dollars, it was nothing. Besides, her time in the hospital was the best she could remember; not everyone had such luck.

Shulan has a childhood friend who was once hired by a wealthy family to work as a wet nurse. After returning home, although she was a bit plumper, she privately complained to Shulan: "The rules are one thing, but because they're afraid the milk won't be good, their food, although it can produce milk, can't even have salt. It's nice to eat something new for a day or two, but after a while, if it weren't for the radishes that come home to keep us going, life would be meaningless."

After the symbolic conversation, the two exchanged a few more dry words and fell silent. To break the awkward atmosphere, Shulan took the notebook Yao Xiaoyu had bought, but she didn't notice that after her hand brushed against the already filled notebook on her stomach, the notebook full of drawings fell off the bed and onto the floor by inertia, hitting Yao Xiaoyu's foot.

"...I didn't mean to, I..."

Shulan tried to get out of bed in a panic, but Yao Xiaoyu shook her head and pressed her down. Shulan had already had enough exercise for the day, and continuing would only do more harm than good.

"fine."

Yao Xiaoyu squatted down and picked up the notebook. She intended to return it to Shulan directly, but when she saw the style of the dress inside, she immediately started flipping through it faster than she thought. Shulan wanted to take the notebook back but didn't dare to move, and could only watch helplessly as Yao Xiaoyu turned the pages.

"...Did you draw all of these?"

Yao Xiaoyu turned to the last page and looked at the somewhat uneasy woman in front of her with a strange gaze. Shu Lan couldn't tell what was in Yao Xiaoyu's eyes, so she could only nod uneasily.

"I didn't waste paper on purpose..."

Yao Xiaoyu didn't really listen to what Shulan was saying. She just kept asking Shulan questions like where she got these clothes and how long she had been practicing painting. Although Shulan was a little confused, she obediently answered. After asking the last question, Yao Xiaoyu couldn't hold on any longer and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her mind was filled with one line of bold capital letters—Shulan is a genius!

She only read one fashion magazine, the kind from decades ago, and she was able to design the cheongsam that would be popular in the future. She could also practice with a pencil for a few days and draw the bird decorations on the clothes so lifelike... When Yao Xiaoyu thought of the sleeveless short blue and white porcelain cheongsam on the last page, she looked at Shulan with a pained expression—she had been held back by her family!

Shulan had told Yao Xiaoyu her story before. It wasn't anything special. She was an ordinary girl from a farming family who married an ordinary man. Neither her husband's family had any promising students. The notebooks and pencils that Yao Xiaoyu bought for her were the first paper and pens she had ever used.

Farmers don't save money easily; they usually have to stretch every penny to make ends meet. They don't care about things like writing brushes and ink—they can't read, so they're not practical. As Shulan grew older, she worked in the fields and around the stove, gesturing to people about clothing designs. That was when she was closest to design and painting. But despite reading extensively and traveling widely, she had limited experience and didn't have a constant stream of inspiration.

From her home to Shanghai and then to the hospital, Shulan has seen more new things than she has in the first half of her life.

Shulan,

Yao Xiaoyu spoke in a serious tone, and Shulan felt a little flustered because she had never heard Yao Xiaoyu speak like that before.

"Do you want to earn more money?"

Maria once told Yao Xiaoyu that although Shulan was the woman with the strongest recovery ability she had ever seen, childbirth had also caused irreversible damage to her. If possible, she should not do heavy physical labor anymore, as this would shorten her lifespan.

But in the village, even those who are fortunate enough not to work in the fields still have to take on household chores. The economic base determines the superstructure. Yao Xiaoyu didn't think Shulan could break free, but now, looking at the design drawings in her hand, she realized that this was an opportunity.

Yao Xiaoyu wasn't worried that Shulan would refuse—the idyllic pastoral scene was just a beautiful fantasy of the rich, a beautiful filter in the memories of those who had worked hard. Real farming: every drop of sweat was broken into eight pieces, and working in the land with one's face to the yellow earth and back to the sky was very hard. Even with the help of modern machinery, it was not an easy job.

Although farming games are very popular in modern times, and have even become one of the identifying marks of farmers, the clicking of the mouse and the clattering of the keyboard are completely different from real-life farming.

Yao Xiaoyu has a friend who is a huge fan of farming games. She has played everything from Penguin Farm to Stardew Valley to Don't Starve, and she has completed all of the dozen or so games in FarmCrazy with a gold medal. One year, she excitedly told her that her parents had rented an acre of land in the countryside and were about to go plant beans at the foot of Nanshan Mountain with hoes in hand. However, she returned three days later with blisters and looked disheveled. She was still playing the game with great enthusiasm, but she never mentioned farming again.

How do you make money?

Shulan looked at Yao Xiaoyu, her eyes shining like stars in the sky. She could earn copper coins by doing some handicrafts every day. To be honest, this money was much easier to earn than in the village. But if asked if she wanted to earn more, the answer was definitely yes.

She didn't understand what those people who said, "I don't want a lot of money, I just want a lot of love," were thinking. Anyway, she really wanted a lot of money. How great it would be to have money! She could eat chicken, duck, fish, and meat however she wanted, buy two sets of clothes, wear one and look at the other, and even buy cattle to work in the fields. After staying in the hospital for so long, Shulan was no longer the Shulan who dreamed of using a golden hoe to till the land after she became rich.

Shulan didn't expect to make a lot of money, but the small amount was still not bad. She could buy herself some silk flowers or snacks for her children. It wasn't appropriate for the government to pay for these private expenses, so did Yao Xiaoyu find her other handicraft work?

Shulan looked at Yao Xiaoyu with expectant eyes, but Yao Xiaoyu didn't say anything more. She just left Shulan completely confused with her mysterious expression and left with a notebook that was filled with drawings from beginning to end.

...

"What brings you here today? Did you run out of soap?"

As Tao Jingu spoke, he casually handed the oil paper package to Yao Xiaoyu. Yao Xiaoyu accepted it without ceremony, opened Shulan's notebook to the fifth page, half showing off and half asking questions.

"Would you want to buy this kind of clothing if it were made?"

Shulan's clothes were modified from small to large. The fifth cheongsam was still a long-sleeved style that reached her heels, but the buttons and collar were adjusted, and the waist was also slightly cinched. It was a bit different from the cheongsams commonly worn in this era, but it looked better than the one she was wearing.

"...Did you draw this?"

Tao Jingu looked at the clothes, which, although the brushstrokes were a little rough, were full of spirit and the flaws did not detract from their beauty. She remained silent for a long time before asking, she didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but just yesterday Lan Shuangyu came over to complain that her factory was barely hanging on and she was desperately trying to find a genius fashion designer.

At that time, Tao Jingu was terrified when he saw Lan Shuangyu roaring, crying, screaming and crawling on the ground after drinking. He was glad that he had chosen the soap business. Although cold process soaps look different, hot process soaps are all pretty much the same. Moreover, they are small and easy to hide, and you can throw a lot of them out on the streets.

Although not all the soaps produced leisurely each day can be sold yet, Tao Jingu has already calculated that the number of soaps sold is increasing day by day. As long as he waits a little longer, it will only be a matter of time before the workers switch to a busy state.

Once I've saved up more money, I can think about making some cold process soap, and then it will be a positive cycle.

Tao Jingu now mainly sells hot-process soap, but she hasn't given up on the vast market for cold-process soap. Every day, she makes a small amount of cold-process soap and places it in a corner, ready to test it out after the designated time has passed.

There's no need to worry about not being able to sell them. After Tao Jingu opened the factory, her original subordinates automatically split into several paths. The most common ones were to leave without hesitation and continue working in the wholesale business, or to suffer the consequences after changing their minds and having crooked intentions. However, a large number of them were willing to follow Tao Jingu.

Among those who were willing, there were two choices: those who preferred a peaceful life could enter the factory as factory workers, while those who did not want a fixed salary could take soap from Tao Jingu and sell it on their own.

Although things are still a bit messy now, once the sales channels are established, Tao Jingu's soaps and bar soaps, as well as the ambitious plans that are not yet fully developed, will at least have an opportunity to be displayed in front of customers, which will be enough to give them an advantage in the market.

Tao Jingu has extensive experience in dealing with subtle rebates and is never afraid of head-on confrontations, but if someone is completely unresponsive, she has no way to deal with them, no matter how many tricks she uses!