While others were eating chicken legs, or when the instructor was putting chicken legs on someone else's plate, she kept her head down eating her rice or looking into the distance, completely indifferent.
Later, when others asked him several times, "Why don't you eat chicken legs?" he retorted, "I love chicken necks."
"Mom, I don't want this chicken leg, but could you give me two chicken necks to try?"
"Damn it, you won't eat the tender, boneless chicken leg, but insist on eating the meatless chicken neck. Are you out of your mind?"
"I don't like chicken legs, I love chicken necks."
The madam wanted to roll her eyes. She really thought Yunling was a bit silly and naive, a delicate kind of foolishness. Wasn't the point of earning money to eat and drink well? Why would she pick out the bad stuff? But she didn't say anything and just told the servant to bring up two more chicken necks.
Yunling was fortunate enough to taste her chosen chicken neck. The chicken neck was simmered in the soup, and with just a gentle pinch, the meat on the neck would curl up from the bone. It was tender and smooth, and even the bone was sweet and fragrant. This was truly the best thing ever.
The madam felt ashamed at Yunling's worthless expression; anyone who didn't know better would think she was eating some rare delicacy.
Despite her embarrassment, she still kept the important matter in mind. She believed that wool was hard to come by, but she absolutely did not believe that Yunling couldn't find a way to solve the problem.
She would never believe that someone would actually make bras if they hadn't figured out how to deal with the wool beforehand.
Since there's a way, it's nothing more than a matter of money. As long as the money is enough, what can't we get?
The madam nudged Yunling with her elbow.
"Hey, how many copper coins are you planning to sell this bra for?"
Yunling cleaned all the bones she was chewing before replying:
"I don't even have a clue what it is. Without wool, how would I know the price?"
The madam thought and thought, but had no other choice. She called a servant boy over, whispered a few words to him, and after he left, she grabbed Yunling and said:
“I’ll give you a set of copper coins, make eleven sets for me to tide me over.”
"Oh, Mom, you're asking too much of me. Where am I supposed to find so much money for you all at once? No way, no way."
"You can't do this, but you can. Otherwise, what are the remaining eleven courtesans supposed to wear? You can't just exhaust an ox to death, can you?"
"Mom can."
“What do you mean, ‘can’? The madam quickly grabbed the money the servant brought over and stuffed it into Yunling’s arms. ‘This is eleven strings of copper coins, not a single one short. You have to make it for me.’”
Yunling originally wanted to say that there was no need to rush to launch this thing, but before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the madam, who seemed determined to get it.
Eleven sets of wool cost eleven strings of copper coins. She couldn't be sure whether this price was a loss or not, because wool was a variable. With cotton as a precedent, such light goods could only be transported by water, which was no easy task.
That's why Yunling couldn't settle on a price for so long. She originally wanted to attract more customers and then use the number of orders to negotiate with others, which would be convenient for both herself and others. She never expected that the madam would be so impatient and couldn't wait even a little while.
"Six sets in ginger yellow and five sets in emerald green. They will be delivered together with the previously ordered briefs and cotton pads. I've already paid you a copper coin. If you can't deliver the goods, I'll take you to the county government to file a complaint."
"I wouldn't dare accept that."
Upon hearing this, the madam immediately shooed everyone out, copper coins and all, fearing further entanglement with Yunling and being at a disadvantage.
“You all better listen up, and recognize this young lady. If she comes in empty-handed and doesn’t bring what I want, she won’t be allowed in. If anyone sneaks her in, they can go and kill themselves.”
Yunling found it truly amusing, but the madam's unreasonable demands were unexpected. However, given the circumstances, what could she do but grit her teeth and bear it?
Yunling drove the carriage towards the Lu family's trading company. She remembered what Zifu had said last time: that Song Xiaoliulang had given Lu Yinghuai a lot of wool a while ago, saying that if it wasn't enough, he could go and get more.
So, if the Song family has it, and the Lu family has it too, then she can at least squeeze some money out of them to get through this "crisis" at the brothel.
Uncle Cao was overjoyed when he saw Yunling. When he heard Yunling say that she wanted to find Young Master Lu, he practically picked out an auspicious day for the whole year in his mind. However, after thinking about it, he stopped smiling.
Because Lu Yinghuai had to deal with some trivial matters at the estate, he left the city at noon and figured he wouldn't be back until late, so he explained the situation to Yunling.
"Second Madam, Brother Huai is busy with something and we don't know if he can come back tonight. What do you want with him?"
"Oh, it's nothing serious, I just wanted to get some freebies to use, but I don't know if it's convenient."
Uncle Cao said "Oh". The wool that Song Xiaoliulang had sent earlier was still in the Lu family's warehouse. Madam Lu and Master Lu hadn't said what they wanted to do with the wool, so they figured it was something they could give away.
However, this matter should be left to Huai Ge'er to handle, lest he complain that Huai Ge'er stole his thunder and that Huai Ge'er would have to endure Huai Ge'er's sarcastic remarks for no reason.
“I need to go back and ask about this. Why don’t you come again tomorrow, Second Sister? I’ll let Huai’er know so we can make arrangements in advance.”
When Yunling heard that arrangements had been made in advance, she assumed that there was a way to obtain the wool, so she didn't insist on doing it right away. After thanking Uncle Cao, she drove her carriage home.
After dinner, Yunling thought she should hammer the sinew on the cow's back first, so that she could have time to hammer the wool. However, before she could even hammer twice, Xiaobai's barking had already assaulted her eardrums.
A carriage was parked in front of the house. Yunling leaned back and looked behind her, and saw Zifu. She guessed that Lu Yinghuai had returned to the trading company and, upon hearing what Uncle Cao said, had asked Zifu to bring the wool over.
Yunling was so excited that she lost her balance and leaned backward, her limbs spread wide, which was quite indecent.
She quickly stood up and went out the door. Xiao Bai was already circling around the carriage. As soon as she saw Lu Yinghuai get off the carriage, she rushed over as if she had seen her own father, wiggling her butt and spinning around, being extremely enthusiastic.
"Little White, did you miss me?"
"Woof woof~"
"I came in a hurry today and forgot to bring you meat. How about I bring you fish head soup next time?"
"Meow!"
Big Black also clung to him, its fierce tone seemingly telling Lu Yinghuai that it also liked fish head soup, so don't forget to bring some.
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