After finishing her meal, Jiang Yuwei took Ning Daya to the mountain to cut bamboo. Jiang Yuwei was thinking of making a bed and a table for Ning Daya first, and then cutting out a room for her in the corner of the paper mill using the table. If she had time, it would be even better to make her a wardrobe. Jiang Yuwei and Ning Daya cut a lot of bamboo on the back mountain.
The two unexpectedly discovered a crabapple tree on the mountain. Jiang Yuwei thought that she could transplant the tree to the stone table in the courtyard, so she asked Ning Daya to call Tiezhu and Ning Wu to dig up the tree. She and Ning Daya then used an oxcart to haul the cut bamboo back to the courtyard.
Ning Huaizhi helped Jiang Yuwei split the bamboo, while Ning Zhao and Ning Wan used stones to roughen the edges of the split bamboo. Jiang Yuwei and Ning Daya were responsible for sawing the bamboo to the appropriate size. Jiang Yuwei was skillful and had so many people helping her. In one day, she made a small table and a single bed for Ning Daya's room, as well as a small wardrobe for her to store her things.
Jiang Yuwei helped Ning Daya move the furniture to the paper mill in the backyard, and then used bamboo to make a wall in the corner of the paper mill to partition off a small room for her. Ning Daya looked at the room that belonged to her and was very moved. She had not slept in such a nice place for a long time. Before, at her grandmother's house, she always lived in that leaky side room, which was cold in winter and hot in summer. If her grandmother was in a bad mood, she would be driven to sleep in the pigsty.
Jiang Yuwei looked at Ning Daya's reddened eyes, patted her shoulder, and smiled:
"Da Ya, this is your room from now on. You can live here in peace and don't have to worry about getting married anymore."
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Ning Daya's tears streamed down her face. She hadn't felt cared for in a long time. After meeting Jiang Yuwei, it was as if a ray of light had shone into her life. She could never repay this kindness. Ning Daya silently remembered Jiang Yuwei's kindness to her.
Seeing Ning Daya crying so hard, Jiang Yuwei knew she was bad at expressing herself and felt grateful but didn't know how to express it, so she quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears.
"Da Ya, stop crying. Good days are ahead, so don't cry like this. Tidy up the house, I'll go to the front yard to cook, and we'll eat in a bit."
Ning Daya smiled and nodded, then whispered:
"Thank you, Sister Yuwei,"
Jiang Yuwei patted Ning Daya on the shoulder and went to the front yard.
Tie Zhu and Ning Wu had already dug up the crabapple tree. Jiang Yuwei had already dug the hole and was waiting for them to plant the tree. After she directed the two to plant the tree, she took some spiritual spring water from her space to water the tree. Unexpectedly, after only a short while, the entire crabapple tree was in full bloom.
Ning Huaizhi was very surprised when he saw it:
“Wife, our little courtyard is really a blessed place. These trees were just ordinary when they were planted on the back mountain, but they all bloomed suddenly when they came to our little courtyard.”
Seeing this, Ning Wan clapped her hands happily:
"The flowers are beautiful, so beautiful!"
Ning Zhao smiled and picked up Ning Wan, saying:
"Not only are they beautiful, they also smell wonderful! Smell it, our yard is filled with the fragrance of crabapple blossoms right now!"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"These crabapple blossoms are not only beautiful, but they also smell wonderful. After the blossoms fall, they will bear fruit, and then we will have crabapple fruits to eat in our yard!"
The family of four is very satisfied with the tree. With the tree, they won't have to worry about the sun when eating in the yard, and they can also smell the fragrance of the tree's flowers from time to time, which makes them feel much better.
Jiang Yuwei prepared the meal and served it to the table, then sent a portion to the backyard. Thinking that she would have to take Ning Zhao to school the next day, the family of four went to bed early after finishing their meal.
next day
Jiang Yuwei packed up all the Yuwei paper she had made over the past few days and put it in the car. She then asked Ning Wan to stay at home with Ning Daya before having Ning Huaizhi drive the oxcart to the village head's house to pick up Ning Chen. The group then headed to the academy together.
After arriving at the academy, Jiang Yuwei first kept four reams of Yuwei paper, intending to use them as samples to inquire at bookstores and stationery shops. She then had Ning Chen and Ning Zhao take the rest of the paper to the academy to sell.
Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi first drove an oxcart to Taihe Bookstore. Upon entering, they saw the shop assistant moving books. Jiang Yuwei, being very perceptive, went to help. After all the books were arranged, the shop assistant wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled:
"Thank you so much. I'll help you find the book you want."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and waved her hand, saying:
"I'm not here to buy books. I have a batch of Yuwei paper here and would like the shopkeeper to check the quality. If it's acceptable, we can cooperate long-term."
The shop assistant took the paper from Jiang Yuwei, examined it repeatedly, and nodded.
"This paper is of good quality. Our bookstore has always used Ge's paper for printing books. But now that paper is getting thinner and thinner, it bleeds ink easily, and the price keeps soaring. Just a few days ago, I heard the shopkeeper complaining that Ge's paper shop is taking advantage of its monopoly on the paper mills on North Street to drive up paper prices, but the quality of the paper just can't keep up. By the way, how much does this paper cost per ream?"
Upon hearing the waiter's words, Jiang Yuwei's eyes lit up and she smiled:
"The paper in my house is made in our own paper mill, so the quality is definitely not a problem, and the price is not expensive either, only twenty-five coins a ream of paper."
The waiter laughed:
"That price is really not expensive. You wait here, I'll go upstairs and call the shopkeeper to talk to you!"
Jiang Yuwei had just sat down when she saw a lean, middle-aged man come down from upstairs, followed by a waiter who quickly introduced him:
"This is Manager Li from our bookstore. You can speak to him if you have something to say."
Jiang Yuwei quickly took the Yuwei paper, stood up, and handed it to Manager Li, smiling:
"Manager Li, please take a look at our own Yuwei paper. It's 25 cash a ream and we can supply it in large quantities. If you need any, you can pre-order a batch and we'll make it and deliver it to you!"
Manager Li took the paper from Jiang Yuwei, looked at it, and nodded in satisfaction, saying:
"It is indeed much better than what Ge's family did."
After saying that, he went to the desk, picked up a brush, wrote a few characters on it, and held it up to examine it in the sunlight:
"Yes, it doesn't bleed ink and writes very smoothly. However, our bookstore uses a lot of it. Can you guarantee that the supply will be sufficient?"
Jiang Yuwei nodded hurriedly and said:
"Don't worry, Manager Li. We can draft the necessary documents. If we are late in delivery or the quantity we provide is insufficient, we are willing to compensate you."
Manager Li put down the Yuwei paper and said:
"Yes, the documents will definitely need to be drafted, but since our demand is large, the price can't be the same as others."
Jiang Yuwei smiled knowingly:
"Our paper costs 25 coins per ream for orders under 100 reams. If the order reaches 200 reams, it costs 24 coins per ream. If the order reaches 500 reams, it costs 23 coins per ream."
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