After Zhou Quan left, Li Mai took a walk in the mansion, making plans for the workshop.
An hour later, Zhou Quan returned and told Li Mai about the situation over there.
The town magistrate couldn't make the decision on his own. He said that the Heaven and Earth Alliance wanted to officially establish a sect and a martial arts school in the town, and he needed to submit a memorial to the county magistrate to obtain approval before they could proceed.
Li Mai nodded. "And what about this matter?"
The magistrate praised Jin Shi and his colleagues, saying they had done a good job and rewarded them with one hundred taels of silver.
He also said that if they run a legitimate business in town, the people from the Heaven and Earth Alliance will no longer harm the people, and he will no longer hold their past actions against them.
Li Mai nodded. "Then it seems that's the only way."
"Yes, Jinshi said that he has been keeping a close eye on their martial arts training recently, and also said that if we have any work that we need them to do, we can send someone to call them, and they will be there whenever we call."
Li Mai nodded.
The couple packed up, Zhou Quan hitched up the horse-drawn carriage, and the two of them went to buy some meat, snacks, and vegetables for their family before heading back to the village.
When they entered the village, it was noon, and what they saw was a lively scene in the village.
"Oh, it's Xiaoquan and his wife back." An auntie saw Zhou Quan and greeted him with a smile.
"Yes, Aunt Qi, what's going on in the village today? It's so lively!" Zhou Quan asked with a smile, pulling on the carriage reins.
"It's Zhou Jindan's family getting married. The groom's family just entered the village and went to his house to pick up the bride. People are all standing by the roadside watching the excitement!" Aunt Qi said with a smile.
"Oh, that's good. Auntie, we'll head back now!" Zhou Quan thought that with all the excitement in the village, Zhu Zhu must not be home; she must have gone to see what was happening.
"Alright, go back now. By the way, Xiaoquan, are you staying for a few days or leaving tomorrow?" Aunt Qi asked.
"I'll stay for a few days, I won't leave for now!" Zhou Quan said.
The purpose of this trip back was to allow Xiaomai to rest at home for a while.
Aunt Qi and the others asked, probably because they wanted to know who would be chosen to work at the dye shop this time.
"Alright!" Aunt Qi smiled and watched Zhou Quan's carriage head north.
Zhou Quan guessed correctly; Seventh Aunt was indeed one of those who had previously registered with Zhao Shi to work at the dye house.
"Xiaomai, do you plan to meet them this afternoon or tomorrow?" Zhou Quan asked Li Mai.
"Let's do it tomorrow. This afternoon, let's find out how many people have signed up and carefully plan how many people our dye shop needs." Li Mai lifted the bamboo curtain and looked outside.
As a result, she spotted Zhuzhu in the crowd at a glance, holding Little Pretty in her arms and squeezing in with her little maid, Magpie, to watch the excitement.
"Should we call Zhuzhu back?" Zhou Quan asked.
"No need, let her play. She'll be back in a bit." Li Mai smiled and lowered the bamboo curtain. It was rare to see such liveliness in the village.
When they arrived home, the elderly Zhou couple were sitting in the yard drying corn.
Upon seeing them return, the two elders quickly stood up and asked with delight, "Xiaomai, Xiaoquan, when did you get back?"
"I came back to town yesterday afternoon!" Zhou Quan said with a smile, reaching out to help Li Mai off the cart before unloading the horse-drawn carriage.
Zhao and Old Man Zhou quickly went over to take the things Zhou Quan handed over.
"Mother, take the snacks back inside. You can eat them today, and we'll have the meat and vegetables for the next few days," Zhou Quan said.
“Alright!” Zhao agreed.
"Xiaomai, have you felt unwell these past few days?" Zhao asked Limai.
The two people were walking side by side into the house.
"No, I haven't felt unwell since I left the house. It's just that I seem to crave meat and sour foods a bit," Li Mai said.
“This is all normal. I was in a similar situation when I was pregnant with Xiao Lin,” Zhou said with a smile.
Since she said that, Li Mai was relieved.
"By the way, Xiaomai, did you ask the embroiderers to make you a few dresses to wear when your belly gets bigger?" Zhou asked Limai.
"Not yet, let's make arrangements when we get back in a few days. No rush, it's not even three months yet!" Li Mai smiled, saying that it would be fine to wait until her belly got bigger.
Fortunately, most skirts in this era were in the style of ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with relatively loose hems. As long as the upper body didn't get too fat, the current skirts could be worn for five or six months without any problems.
After Zhou Quan and his father finished dealing with their business outside and returned to the house, Zhao had already brewed a pot of hot tea for Li Mai and Zhou Quan and placed it on the table.
She knew that Xiaomai loved drinking flower tea, and she always kept some at home.
Zhou Quan placed the small basket he was carrying on the cabinet, took out a small basin from the cabinet, took out the oranges from the basket and put them in the basin, then placed it on the table.
The family chatted about their home affairs for a while, and Li Mai and Zhou Quan also briefly talked about their trip. Then they got to the dye house.
Zhao took out a ledger she had prepared and handed it to Li Mai. "Xiaomai, take a look when you have time. This is a list of people who have recently come to our house to sign up to work in the dye house. Most of them are young men, but there are also a few who are about the same age as your mother and father. I have written down their names and ages."
Li Mai took it, slowly flipped through it, and praised, "Mom, you are very thoughtful. It's great that you keep such a record. It makes things much easier for us."
Zhao smiled shyly when praised by her daughter-in-law, "Isn't this all learned from you? I remember you remembered the names and ages of the wives who did needlework for you before."
Li Mai smiled and nodded. "Yes, Mother is very thoughtful. Zhou Quan and I feel at ease leaving some things to you. Then I'll ask you about each of these people's usual conduct and the villagers' opinions and views of them. Let's decide who to keep!"
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