Qin Shiyu bought all kinds of pastries, and soon a small pile was placed on the table. The pastries smelled delicious, making everyone's mouths water.
There were plenty of other things as well, so Qin Shi continued to take them out.
"These are toothpicks. You can use them to clean your teeth by sticking salt on them. They're usually used in the morning and evening. I bought a dozen. You can take them and use them."
Zhao Xian was surprised to learn that brushing tools already existed in ancient times. He had long wanted to buy some toothbrushes for his family, but toothbrushes were modern products and he wouldn't be able to explain it properly. He had been considering making some toothbrushes for his family to use, but unexpectedly, Qin Shiyu had already bought them.
He picked up a toothbrush and examined it. It looked somewhat like a modern toothbrush, except that the head was replaced by a strip of velvet cloth, which should have some function in cleaning teeth.
In ancient times, there was no toothpaste, so using salt as a substitute was feasible. When I was a child, my family ran out of toothpaste and we didn't have time to buy more, so we used salt instead.
"Using toothpicks to clean teeth is very convenient. Everyone in the family should get into the habit of brushing their teeth every morning," Zhao Xian instructed.
Everyone was already curious about the tooth sticks, so each person took one, examined it carefully, and then put it away.
Qin Shiyu continued to take things out: a cooling blanket, a towel, slippers, a handkerchief, a hairpin, a teacup, an umbrella, soapberries, and hair accessories she had bought specifically for Zhao Lingling.
Lingling took the novel ornaments and couldn't put them down.
"Thank you, Sister Shiyu. It's a beautiful hair clip; I love it."
Some modern daily necessities were also used by people in ancient times. It seems I need to study the market carefully to prepare for producing more products in the future.
"This headband is so pretty, it's the same one my sister-in-law bought for me last year. I only wore it once before I lost it. Now I have a headband again!" Zhao Lingling said excitedly.
Zhao Lingling's words startled Zhao Xian. The sister-in-law his sister mentioned was none other than the original owner's wife, which was also his own wife.
He had been in this world for many days, and he hadn't really thought about this matter. It was the original owner's wife, and it didn't seem to have much to do with him.
"Big brother, I miss sister-in-law. Can you bring her back?" Zhao Lingling asked with tears in her eyes. The original owner's wife must have treated this sister-in-law quite well, otherwise her sister wouldn't miss her.
“Zhao Xian, Lingling is right. Things are gradually getting better at home, and we’ve started making a living again. It’s time to bring Ruotong back. Why don’t we go with you?” Li Chun’e said from the side, her eyes full of expectation.
“Brother, let’s bring your wife back. On the surface, it seems like she left because she was angry, but actually, it was your brother and sister-in-law who tricked her into coming back. If you go and bring her home now, she will definitely come back,” Zhao Xiaosheng and Zhao Xiaoshan added.
“Zhao Xian, you really need to hurry up with this matter. I heard that Ruotong’s brother and sister-in-law want to marry her off to a wealthy man, but Ruotong refuses no matter what, and her parents also disagree. So the matter has been dragging on, but it’s hard to say what will happen if it goes on for too long.” Li Chun’e seemed a little anxious. Her daughter-in-law’s departure from their Zhao family was indeed related to Xiucai.
The original owner's wife was named Yang Ruotong. In Zhao Xian's memory, Yang Ruotong was a great beauty in the surrounding villages, gentle and virtuous. Although she was somewhat dissatisfied with the original owner, she had not yet reached the point of leaving the Zhao family. This was related to the instigation of her brother and sister-in-law.
He felt a bit awkward if he brought Yang Ruotong home, since she was someone else's wife and it didn't really concern him. It would take him a while to accept it.
"Mother, I understand. After the workshop is built in the next few days, I will go to pick up Ruotong. I'll go cook now. After we eat, we will make white sugar." After Zhao Xian finished speaking, he tried to slip away and walked towards the kitchen with his head down.
"Master, how can we let you cook? Let us do it." Qin Shiyu and Qin Yingying quickly followed into the kitchen.
The next morning, Zhao Xiaosheng and Zhao Xiaoshan went to town to deliver pickled vegetables, still riding in Liu Erleng's oxcart. At the moment, they did not want to use a mule cart, as they did not want to be too conspicuous.
After the two brothers left, Old Mrs. Zhao's pickled mustard greens arrived, and the family began making pickled vegetables. Zhao Xian went to the village head's house. Villagers had to get the village head's permission to build houses.
Wang Lizheng had already finished working in the fields and was now resting at home when he saw Zhao Xian approaching. He quickly stood up.
"Scholar, you've arrived! Please have a seat."
"Uncle Village Head, you don't need to be so polite. I've come here to ask you for a favor."
"Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll see if I can help you."
“I’d like to build a workshop next to our house. What do you think?”
“Building a workshop is a good thing, of course I agree. I heard that you make pickled vegetables at home and send them to town, that’s great, it can increase your income. I wonder how big your workshop is?”
When I went home last time, I casually mentioned on the oxcart that I was making pickled vegetables. I didn't expect that everyone in the village would know. The village head thought that he built the workshop to produce pickled vegetables. But that's fine, it saves me the trouble of explaining.
“The workshop needs ten work rooms, each six steps wide and ten steps long, made of adobe bricks. I have the blueprints here, Uncle Village Head, please take a look.” Zhao Xian handed over a completed blueprint after he finished speaking.
The village head looked at the blueprints and began to calculate.
"Your workshop is quite large. Such a large workshop must have cost at least thirty taels of silver. You must have that much money." The village head looked at him with some doubt.
"Uncle Village Head, don't worry, the money is ready. Please help me with the planning."
Zhao Xian began to seek advice from the village head, who was an expert in mechanics and materials but not in civil engineering.
“The villagers all have experience in building houses, so you can ask them to come and help. Most families have adobe bricks at home, so you can buy them and use them directly. The workshop can be built in three to five days.” Wang Lizheng is very familiar with building houses.
“Then please ask Uncle Village Head to help me build this workshop. You can be in charge of hiring people and buying materials. I will pay you one hundred copper coins a day for your labor,” Zhao Xian said excitedly.
“I can definitely help you build the workshop. As for my wages, I will waive them. The villagers will help with the work and will be paid thirty coins a day. If you want the construction to be faster, you will need to hire at least thirty helpers. That will cost nine hundred coins a day, which is close to one tael of silver.”
“Uncle Village Head, since you are in charge of the construction project, your wages will definitely be higher than others. One hundred coins a day is certainly not much. Let’s settle on this, so please don’t refuse.”
"That won't do. I can't break the rules. How about this, I'll pay you thirty coins, plus a pot of old wine."
Since Wang Lizheng had put it this way, Zhao Xian said nothing more.
"Uncle Yili, I'll give you a pot of old wine every day."
When Wang Lizheng heard that there would be a pot of old wine every day, he immediately beamed with joy. He could not resist fine wine.
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