With less than a month until the Lunar New Year, the weather is getting colder and colder.

If it snows, the heavy snow will block the roads, making it difficult to go out. Gu Nanjiao wanted to sell her kudzu root powder as soon as possible.

Gu Nanjiao set off early in the morning alone, carrying a bamboo basket. Because she was afraid of being discovered, she put a few eggs and a pile of straw in the basket.

As soon as Gu Nanjiao arrived at Lü Siniang's clothing shop, she was attracted by a garment hanging on the wall. Although the color was not very bright, the style was novel and beautiful, and it was exactly the design she had drawn that day. She didn't expect Lü Siniang to have made it so quickly.

"Oh, you've finally arrived." When Lu Siniang saw Gu Nanjiao, she quickly put down what she was doing and got up to greet her.

"Is this the dress I designed?" Gu Nanjiao asked, pointing to the dress on the wall.

"Yes, I just thought it looked so good that I put it up without telling you beforehand."

What are the results after posting it?

"Speaking of which, I should thank you! Since we hung up this dress, our shop has been packed every day, and I'm almost overwhelmed with work." Lu Siniang was very happy, and she decided not to charge for the dress.

Lu Siniang's eyes darted around, and she pulled Gu Nanjiao aside:

"How about this, as a way of thanking you, I won't charge you for the labor of this garment. Could you give me the pattern instead?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Nanjiao smiled and said:

"Of course I can give it to you, but... I'd like to discuss a revenue-sharing arrangement with you!"

"You want to cooperate with me? You have the same idea, and you still want to talk about profit sharing?" Lu Siniang's expression changed slightly, and her tone was not as warm as before.

"Don't rush. Take a look at these patterns in my hand first, and then decide whether you want to cooperate with me. I have plenty of these kinds of patterns in my head." Gu Nanjiao took out the garment patterns she had drawn earlier from the bamboo basket and handed them to Lü Siniang.

Lu Siniang took the drawings from Gu Nanjiao's hand and looked at them one by one, becoming more and more amazed with each one she saw.

After looking at it, Lü Siniang looked up at Gu Nanjiao, her tone tinged with disbelief: "You drew all of these?"

"Genuine or genuine."

Seeing Gu Nanjiao's confident demeanor, Lü Siniang was slightly moved. She lowered her head, thought for a moment, and asked:

How about 28?

“No, at least 46.” Gu Nanjiao held up four fingers.

"Three times seven, you get three and I get seven, that's the most we can do."

Gu Nanjiao thought about it briefly. A 30/70 split was fine. The shop and the fabric belonged to them; she would only provide the design and still get 30%, a sure-fire way to make a profit. This Lü Siniang was also an honest person; future collaborations would surely lead to mutual benefit.

The two signed the contract, making two copies. Gu Nanjiao carefully put away her copy first, then took out kudzu root powder from the bamboo basket and placed it on the counter.

Lu Siniang looked at the white, flour-like substance in front of her, and asked curiously, "What is this?"

Gu Nanjiao smiled mysteriously, said nothing, asked Lü Siniang for hot water, dissolved the iodine, prepared it, and placed it in front of Lü Siniang:

"Try it."

Lu Siniang took a bite; it was smooth and creamy with a sweet and fragrant aftertaste.

"Stop keeping me in suspense, just tell me what this is!"

"This stuff is kudzu root powder. Women who eat it will have beauty and health benefits, the elderly will live longer, and children will become exceptionally intelligent. Even the imperial concubines in the palace eat it. It's comparable to bird's nest!" Gu Nanjiao didn't keep them in suspense any longer and immediately listed a whole bunch of benefits of kudzu root.

"Such a good thing??" Lü Siniang obviously didn't believe it, thinking that Gu Nanjiao was exaggerating.

"Hey, you still don't believe me? Let me ask you, have you ever been to school?"

Lü Siniang replied, "No!"

“I told you, you haven’t been to school, so you’re not very knowledgeable. But rich ladies and wives definitely have a taste for this.” Gu Nanjiao spoke with great conviction, leaving Lü Siniang stunned.

“Once our new clothing line is up, it’ll definitely attract a lot of ladies and wives. I’m thinking of putting this kudzu root powder in the store to sell. If you help me promote it, I’ll give you 10% of the profits,” Gu Nanjiao continued.

After hearing this, Lü Siniang curled her lips. Gu Nanjiao was acting like a fool, only giving her 10%. She hadn't given an inch when they were discussing the profit sharing of the finished garments earlier.

"Sure, but I need at least 30%, otherwise I won't do it." After saying that, Lü Siniang sat down on the stool next to her and continued to enjoy the kudzu root powder she hadn't finished eating.

"Deal, 30% or 30%." Gu Nanjiao gritted her teeth and agreed. She had thought Lü Siniang was an honest person, but she didn't expect her to be so cunning. The saying "no merchant is honest" perfectly describes this kind of person.

It was almost noon when Gu Nanjiao came out of the clothing shop. The two of them had even given the shop a new name, "Jiaoniang Pavilion".

Gu Nanjiao then went to rouge shops, jewelry shops, and various pharmacies to promote her kudzu root powder. Her efforts paid off; finally, one pharmacy and one rouge shop agreed to sell her kudzu root powder on her behalf, taking a 10% cut of the profits.

Before going home, Gu Nanjiao planned to buy some pork and ribs. For a meat lover, a day without meat always felt like something was missing.

I inquired about the prices of pork and pork bones. They weren't expensive, so I decided to buy some. I also bought two pork kidneys, which cost less than an ounce of silver.

Just as she was about to pay, she suddenly noticed a large basin under the meat stall. The contents of the basin caught Gu Nanjiao's eye.

Pig offal!

This is a really good thing!

"Boss, how much is this?" Gu Nanjiao pointed to the pig offal in the basin and asked the butcher who was chopping meat next to her.

"You mean that?" The butcher glanced at the pig offal, his hands still moving.

"Yes."

"If you want all this pork, pork bones, and kidneys, I'll give you this pot of offal."

Gu Nanjiao's eyes widened when she heard the butcher say he was going to give her some. She had originally planned to buy some pork to marinate, pork bones to make soup, and some pork kidneys to nourish Lu Yanzhao.

Having bought so much meat, Gu Nanjiao's bamboo basket was almost overflowing. She struggled to carry it, nearly breaking her back.

Walking home like this would be exhausting.

Looking at the sky, it was still early. Lu Yanzhao hadn't finished school yet, so why not wait for him at the academy gate and go back together after school? Lu Yanzhao could help carry some of the load on the way.

The students gradually finished their classes.

Gu Nanjiao waited and waited, but Lu Yanzhao never showed up. After inquiring, she learned that Lu Yanzhao had been summoned by the academy's dean.

Gu Nanjiao was very curious. Why did the dean call him? Had Lu Yanzhao gotten into trouble and gotten into a fight with Fatty Wang? Was he going to be expelled?

Gu Nanjiao was extremely anxious and kept pacing around the door.

Oh no, if he really gets fired, Lu Yanzhao will hate himself to death.

As soon as Gu Xiucai stepped out, he saw his daughter twirling around at the entrance of the academy.

"Jiaojiao, what are you spinning around for?"

Gu Nanjiao heard someone call her name; the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Turning around, she was stunned by what she saw.