Xiao Yunying fiddled with the red jade in the phoenix's mouth: "It's movable, what a novel idea, how did you put it in there?"
Chen Yuancheng explained to her, "Soaking it in warm water for a while will cause the wood to swell slightly, becoming soft and moist. You can then press a suitably sized red jade bead into it with a little force."
Xiao Yunying put down the comb and picked up the wooden hairpin: "Is the wood for the hairpin the same as the comb?"
It feels heavy in the hand, has a great texture, and has a faint, indescribable fragrance.
"Yes, processed wood can turn this color after being soaked in a medicinal solution made from some herbs for a few days."
Having watched too many palace dramas, Xiao Yunying asked with concern, "Won't the medicine be harmful to your health?"
Chen Yuancheng smiled and said, "No, why would I give you something harmful to your health? The medicinal fragrance emanating from the wood has a certain insect-repelling effect."
I trust you.
Xiao Yunying leaned closer to take a look, and saw that it was a translucent pink color: "This isn't pink jade, is it?"
Although she didn't know much about jade, she didn't think there was such a translucent pink color among jade stones.
"These are gemstones imported from overseas, called diamonds."
"Diamond? This is a pink diamond!"
"Yun Ying recognizes diamonds?"
"Um... when I was buying seeds before, the traveling merchant mentioned that there are many pure and bright diamonds overseas, also called diamonds. Most of them are transparent and colorless, and colored ones are extremely rare and precious."
Xiao Yunying paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "This pink diamond must be expensive."
Chen Yuancheng said, "The diamond and the red jade on the comb are leftover scraps from making jewelry. They're worthless, but I thought they looked pretty, so I made them into a comb and a hairpin for you. Don't mind them."
The two pink diamonds, including the ruby on the comb, were not very large. Xiao Yunying knew that natural gemstones and jade were irregular in shape and needed to be cut and polished before they could be made into jewelry, so she believed Chen Yuancheng's words.
"How could I dislike it? It's so beautiful! This is your idea!"
Chen Yuanyao spoke first: "Yes, after you left yesterday, my brother started designing the blueprints for the comb and hairpin, and had the craftsmen make them overnight."
Xiao Yunying was unsure whether she should accept the gift. She did like it quite a bit, but wouldn't it imply something if a man gave a woman a comb or hairpin?
Why did you give me a comb and a hairpin?
Chen Yuancheng's palms were sweaty behind his back: "Yuanxuan said he wanted to give you candied fruit, but I thought I didn't need to give you the same kind. I really couldn't think of anything else to give you."
Yuan Yao said that women like jewelry, but I felt that given your personality, you wouldn't like wearing gold, silver, or jade jewelry, so I made it out of wood. Don't you like it?
Xiao Yunying tried her best to smile naturally. She was such a narcissist; she was overthinking things again.
They just didn't know what to give as a gift, so they took their sister's suggestion.
"Thank you, I like it very much."
Chen Yuanyao pouted: "Sister Yunying, why do you like my brother but not me?"
Xiao Yunying closed the brocade box: "Because yours is too precious, I would like a wooden hairpin if you gave me one."
Chen Yuanyao wanted to say something, but when she caught sight of her brother out of the corner of her eye, she shut her mouth in frustration.
"Yun Ying, it's getting late, we should head back."
Luo Li exclaimed, "Ah, are you leaving?"
He wasn't done staying; he wanted to stay for dinner.
But he dared not say it.
"It's getting dark if we don't leave now."
Xiao Yunying said, "Wait here for me."
She went into the kitchen alone and took out five new cloth bags from the supermarket.
Each bag contained six apples, two packets of peach oolong tea (repackaged in oil paper after the original packaging was removed), two packets of amber walnut kernels, two packets of pork jerky, and one packet of egg yolk pastries. I carried them all out with great effort.
"Come on, everyone get a pack, one pack for each person."
As Xiao Yunying was dividing the items, Ling Qi asked in surprise, "There's some for me too?"
"Guests are guests, how can we let you go back empty-handed? There are apples down there. Once you finish eating them this time, you won't have such juicy and fresh apples until next spring. So eat them sparingly. I don't have any nice boxes to put them in, so I'm using a bag. Please don't mind."
Cheng Yue, holding the bag, said, "You know, I've come all this way, eating and taking things with me."
"They're nothing fancy, just homemade snacks."
The group left with bags in their arms. Xiao Yunying didn't forget to stuff the brocade box that Chen Yuanyao had unknowingly forgotten into her arms before seeing them out of the courtyard.
"Sister Cheng Yue, I'll have Uncle Yang come to your shop tomorrow to discuss the furniture dimensions and the labor costs with you."
"I understand."
"Wait a moment, I'll have my brother drive the oxcart to take you back."
Chen Yuanyao turned around and said, "Don't make your brother make another trip. Let Sister Cheng Yue take our carriage back. The carriage is spacious and there's plenty of room."
"No need to trouble Miss Chen..."
Chen Yuanyao pulled Cheng Yue directly to the carriage: "Anyway, it's on the way, so it's no trouble. You don't need to be nervous. I'm here. It's not like my brother is the only one."
Chen Yuanyao gently pushed her onto the footstool, and Cheng Yue had no choice but to follow her into the carriage.
Chen Yuancheng stopped in front of the carriage: "Yun Ying, thank you for your hospitality today."
"I want to thank you all for bringing me popularity and good fortune."
"Don't forget about the investment in Huiweilou that I told you about."
"I won't forget. You gave me some time to think about it. Let's talk about it next year. The vegetables haven't been planted yet."
She wanted to try growing vegetables first, calculate the amount, and then secretly go to Huiweilou to conduct a market survey.
"No rush, take your time thinking about it. I'm leaving now."
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