Every time Zhao Yanniang thought about this incident, she felt extremely uncomfortable. In any case, she was determined to be mortal enemies with this old woman Zhao for the rest of her life.

As the night wore on, the onlookers gradually dispersed.

He Tiantian and Zhao Tingzhang's group stayed at Zhao San's house until dawn.

Zhang Wulai and the three others who were deeply poisoned remained unconscious, while Widow Zhang had fully regained consciousness and needed more rest. Zhao San, on the other hand, was still somewhat dazed and unaware of his own condition.

"Wanzi's mother, I think we should send all these people to the county clinic for a checkup." Otherwise, if so many people die in this village all at once, Zhao Tingzhang will feel very guilty.

He Tiantian nodded. She had done everything she could, and there was no other good way.

There were six people, and the village's oxcart alone couldn't carry them all, so Zhao Tingzhang went to the mine and borrowed an oxcart from Director Song.

Song Yun was very unhappy when he heard that someone in the village was stealing coal.

But now is not the time to discuss the crime; let's wait until these people have recovered before making any decisions.

He Tiantian, heavily pregnant, also went along in the swaying oxcart. She also brought with her the eight cross-stitch embroidery pieces that Sister Yulan and Liu had finished embroidering.

The oxcart swayed and bumped through the light snow for most of the day before finally arriving in Changning County. Zhao Tingzhang and his two sons, Dahai and Xiaohe, led six people straight to the clinic.

He Tiantian took her cross-stitch to Hong Erniang's Yunshui Shop.

From a great distance, He Tiantian saw Hong Erniang standing in front of the shop, dressed in bright red, holding a white handkerchief and looking around.

When Hong Erniang saw He Tiantian's figure, her shrewd eyes lit up with joy, and she quickly stepped forward to greet her.

"Oh my little darling, where have you been these past two months? Why are you only coming to my shop now!"

Hong Erniang eagerly awaited He Tiantian's arrival day and night, her eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

She walked up to He Tiantian and looked at her belly with some surprise. "Oh my, what's this... Oh, forgive my poor eyesight, I didn't notice it at all before."

When Hong Erniang looked at He Tiantian again, her shrewd eyes were filled with envy.

"You're too young. Anyone who didn't know better would think you're a married woman."

He Tiantian felt very happy to be praised. Sure enough, any woman would be happy when praised for her looks and figure.

"Second Aunt, what are you saying? I have two children. The older one is eight years old, and the younger one is five!"

As they talked, the two walked toward Hong Erniang's Yunshui Shop.

Upon hearing this, Hong Erniang was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth. She helped He Tiantian to sit down in the shop and then went to the inner room to pour out a cup of hot tea.

"Look at how radiant Second Aunt's face is, it seems her business is doing quite well." He Tiantian noticed as soon as she entered that the "Pine and Crane Longevity" cross-stitch was no longer there.

Previously, Hong Erniang had used it as a brand and spent a lot of money to decorate it.

These words struck a chord with Hong Erniang. "Sister, this is all thanks to you! Forgive me for being so blind before, not recognizing the quality of your goods."

It turned out that just a few days after He Tiantian left, Miss Li, a wealthy woman from the county, was out shopping when she passed by Hong Erniang's shop.

Miss Li was immediately drawn to the cross-stitch and bought it for twenty taels of silver. She said that her ancestor's birthday was approaching and he would surely enjoy such a novel item.

He Tiantian felt a pang of sadness after hearing this.

She asked for two taels of silver for that cross-stitch from Hong Erniang, but she resold it for twenty taels—ten times the price!

"Young lady, why don't you give all these good items to your older sister? How about this, ten taels of silver per set, I'm being generous, aren't I?" Hong Erniang glanced at the package beside He Tiantian, her mind already racing with calculations.

"However, I have one condition: you can only supply goods to my company, is that alright?"

He Tiantian pretended to think for a moment. This Hong Erniang was truly a shrewd businesswoman. She even had a clear understanding of how to monopolize the supply of goods.

Hong Erniang's heart was in her throat, fearing that He Tiantian would disagree.

"Oh, my dear sister, this is a really fair price. If you've thought it over, we can write it down."

After selling that cross-stitch kit last time, a lot of fabric from Hong Erniang's shop was also sold out.

She served Miss Li very well, personally delivering the items to the Li residence. Coincidentally, the Li family needed to make spring clothes for their servants for the coming year, and this large order of over a hundred sets fell to Hong Erniang.

"Alright, let's sign a one-year contract first. I'll supply you with ten sets every month. This stuff takes time, so I can't supply any more than that."

In fact, He Tiantian could supply in large quantities, but Changning County is only so big, and there are only so many wealthy people. If the market becomes saturated quickly, it wouldn't be a good thing.

She's willing to use scarcity marketing to make money, but it's better to do it slowly and steadily.

Hong Erniang nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, "Alright, alright, you're so straightforward, sister! If you have any other business in the future, talk to me first."

Eight cross-stitch embroideries, each costing ten taels of silver, and He Tiantian sold them for eighty taels of silver in one go.

He Tiantian's eyes widened as she stared at the snowflakes of silver. Even though she was from modern times, she had never seen so much silver before!

Add chicken drumsticks! Today, I must give chicken drumsticks to the whole family, including the dog.

Before leaving, Hong Erniang specially selected two bolts of black cloth from her shop and gave them to He Tiantian for free. She then saw her off very well for a long distance.

Seeing that there was still plenty of time, and with money in her pocket, He Tiantian wanted to explore Changning County a bit more.

She went to a pastry shop and bought three large bags of pastries in one go: peach shortbread, lotus shortbread, and osmanthus cake.

She went into another breakfast shop along the street and bought ten meat buns. Finally, she went to the butcher's stall and bought ten pounds of pork and chopped two pig's trotters. If she hadn't been too full to carry, she really wanted to get a pig's head as well.

These items cost her five hundred coins in total, but she didn't feel any remorse. Her motivation for earning money was to spend it!

The rice and flour at home were almost gone, but He Tiantian planned to buy some more from the mall when she was almost home.

He Tiantian walked back with her hands full of things. As she passed through a boudoir, she suddenly saw a familiar figure.

He Tiantian had only met Zhao Yan once, during the Chinese New Year at Zhao San's house.

At that time, she felt that Zhao Yan stood out among the villagers who toiled in the fields, with his scholarly air and unrestrained spirit.

She was incredibly envious at the time.

But looking at him today, it's still the same face. And Zhao Yan is hanging out with several aristocratic disciples, especially in this alley of brothels—it can't be anything good!