Chapter 91

91 Colluding
Everyone was busy with their own lives. Although they were tired, they felt stable.
The next day, Madam Liu secretly brought Chen Baozhen to the mountain stream.
Ye Lianggong saw Madam Liu and her daughter going to the mountain stream from afar and walked over slowly.
Chen Baozhen looked at him coldly. “Tell me how you want to deal with her.”
Ye Lianggong took out a paper bag with a vicious expression. “This is a knockout pill. You trick her into drinking it and I will drive the carriage to take her away. You don’t have to worry about what to do with her.”
Chen Baozhen looked at the gloomy man in disgust. “Why should I help you if you don’t tell me how you will deal with her?”
Ye Lianggong glanced at Madam Liu and said sinisterly, “I’ll sell her at the Spring Breeze Brothel in Tongzhou and see how she can still be arrogant.”
Chen Baozhen was silent for a moment. She stretched out her hand to Ye Lianggong. “Give it to me. After I let her drink the medicine, where will I find you?”
Ye Lianggong looked at Chen Baozhen’s hair and smiled evilly. “I’ll come over sooner or later. If you succeed, put this flower on your head and stand at your door. I’ll know.”
Chen Baozhen glared at him. “How did you know which house I live in? Were you peeping at me?”
Ye Lianggong stared at Chen Baozhen. “How is this peeping?! Aren’t we going to cooperate?!”
“Just you wait!” Chen Baozhen grabbed the paper bag and pulled Madam Liu away.
Madam Liu looked at Chen Baozhen nervously. “Baozhen, that person doesn’t look like a good person. If your father finds out that you’re with him, he’ll chase us out.”
Chen Baozhen’s face darkened. “Can’t you think for me? I stayed up late and embroidered something for him. It’s fine if he doesn’t want it, but he even got someone to send it back for Father to discipline me. Doesn’t he think that bitch Li Yu is the best? I want that bitch to have a taste of humiliation.”
Madam Liu also felt that Scholar Zhou was too much. She sighed and said, “Once you’ve vented your anger, you’ll obediently marry into Butcher He’s family.”
Chen Baozhen looked at Madam Liu indifferently. “Don’t worry, after it’s done, you can get his family to propose marriage.”
The mother and daughter returned home in hiding. Chen Baozhen sat there and thought bitterly about how to trick Li Yu into coming to her house to drink the knockout medicine.
Zhou Jia bought sheepskin boots for Li Yu from the city and a wool mattress. Li Yu looked at the wool mattress in surprise and touched the curly sheep fur. She thought of wool clothes and wool socks.
Seeing Li Yu’s surprised expression, Zhou Jia whispered, “If you like it, I’ll buy two more for you.”
Li Yu pointed at the sheep fur. “Xiao Xi, where did this come from? Do they sell such fur?”
Zhou Jia smiled and said, “These are all bought from the vendors in Ganzhou. I saw that they had a whole bag of wool for sale. I don’t think anyone likes it. They all say that it smells like sheep.”
Li Yu pulled Zhou Jia in surprise. “Let’s go and buy all their wool.”
Zhou Jia frowned. “Don’t you find it smelly? If you don’t mind, let’s go buy it!”
Li Yu chuckled. “I don’t mind. I have a way to make it not stink.”
The two of them greeted Li Qing and Uncle Zhou before driving the mule cart towards Tongzhou.
Zhou Jia asked curiously, “Yu’er, do you want to use wool to make wool mules?”
Li Yu pretended to be mysterious. “I won’t tell you for now. I’ll show you when I’m done knitting. I guarantee you’ll like it.”
“Alright, then I’ll wait for the surprise my Yu’er gave me.” Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu’s smile and kissed her cheek when she was unprepared. He smiled like a cat stealing fish.
The next day, before noon, the two of them arrived at the market where fur was sold. All kinds of fur were piled on both sides of the market, dazzling Li Yu.
Zhou Jia brought Li Yu to the corner of the market. Li Yu saw sheepskin piled up like a hill against the corner of the wall.
Li Yu looked at the sheep fur in the sack. The merchant smiled and took out a handful of wool from the sack. “Miss, look at how white and soft our wool is. It’s warm on the mat!”
Li Yu took the wool and realized that it had only been roughly washed. There were still debris and sand inside. “Boss, how much are you selling it?”
The boss spread his fingers and said, “I have all the best fine hairs. Five copper coins a catty.”
Li Yu raised three fingers. “Three copper coins. If you are alright with the price, I’ll take them all.”
The boss frowned and thought for a moment. “Miss, you want all 30 stones?”
Li Yu nodded. “I want all of them.”
The owner thought someone finally wanted it, but he looked pained. “Okay! I’ll sell it to you.”
Li Yu bought boots and fur for Li Mei’s family. After paying, the boss asked Li Yu, “Miss, do you still want wool in the future?”
Li Yu thought for a moment. “I’ll know if I still want it after I make it and see the sales.”
“Alright, if you still want it, look for me at the Ganzhou fur shop. My name is Su Quanyou.”
“Okay. You can also go to the Zhouji Bag Shop and find Zhao Cai to bring me a letter.”
“Okay, where do I send these goods to you?”
“Deliver it to Zhouji Bag Shop on East Street.”
“Okay.” The boss called for someone to carry the wool out and send it to Li Yu and Zhou Jia’s bag shop.
Li Yu and Zhou Jia went to the blacksmith’s shop again and customized more than ten needle combs made of thin iron nails, as well as ten pullers made of thick iron nails. There were also a few spinning wheels that were prepared to be used to comb and weave wool into balls of thread.
After Zhou Jia accompanied Li Yu to order the things, the two of them pulled the bag of wool back.
Once they reached home, Li Yu asked Ji Xiang to soak the wool in the stream along with the sack. She took out some rapeseed from the space and hammered it before slowly boiling it with a small fire. Then, she used plant ash to boil the plant ash and deposited it there as a backup.
Li Yu went to the back of the house and saw that there was still a hundred feet away from the forest behind the house. Uncle Zhou had planted some bamboo, persimmon trees, and a few golden laurels and gardenias outside the forest.
Li Yu handed the oil-damaged child seed to Uncle Zhou. “Uncle Zhou, do you think this rapeseed can be planted?”
Uncle Zhou took a look. “It can be planted. Just leave it to me.”
“That would be best. Also, do you know bluegrass and madder, and any other plants used for dyeing?”
“I do. There are also gardenias, purple grass, and fragrant trees. In the past, Old Master had nothing to do and liked to make notes on them. I learned some from him.” Uncle Zhou thought for a moment. “Miss, I realized that the village chief’s wife has been wandering around us a few times in the past few days. I think there’s something wrong with her. Xiao An also said that a young man has been wandering around the village a few times these days. Will there be trouble?”
When Li Yu heard this, she thought to herself that she had never interacted with Madam Liu. Apart from teaching the two hooligans a lesson on the mountain last time, she had not formed any grudges with anyone!
“Uncle Zhou, let’s be careful. As for Madam Liu, ignore her. Help me find some dyed herbs. I have a use for them.”
Seeing that Li Yu had noted it, Uncle Zhou was relieved. “Alright, I’ll go after I put the seeds away.”
Li Yu went to the stream to untie the sack. Ji Xiang and Li Qing helped wash the wool until there was no sand in it. Then, they carried it home and placed it in a wooden bucket.