Chapter 82: Considering Selling Something Else

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Considering Selling Something Else

Yun Xiu and the Village Head prepared two large pots of hot water so everyone could drink some to stay warm against the severe cold.

"According to the blueprints, setting up these tents is incredibly simple. It only takes a few steps," Yun Xiu explained to the group. "Everything is ready-made; we don’t need to mix mud or lay foundations. The only slightly difficult part is assembling the frame. Once the frame is up, the tent fabric can just be draped right over it. I’ve discussed it with the Village Head, and following everyone’s suggestions from last night, we’ll arrange the living tents in a large circle, with three tents set up in a triangle right in the middle."

Early in the morning, the villagers swept the snow from the threshing floor, allowing those experienced in building houses to divide up the land.

Since the tents needed to form a circle, they had to carefully calculate exactly where each one would go, the distance between them, and how much open space to leave in the center.

Finally, the layout was decided. They would start building from the outermost edge of the threshing floor, which could perfectly accommodate sixty small tents. Two large paces would be left between each tent, leaving a massive circular space in the middle—large enough for all the villagers of Taoyuan Village to gather in. Just outside this central gathering area, three larger tents would be set up to serve as the kitchen, the storage room, and the council room.

Once the tents were pitched, they would bring over loose Shitou stones from the collapsed houses to build a two-meter-high perimeter wall. Secured with mud, it would ensure their safety and keep out wild beasts coming down from the mountain. The top of the wall would be densely lined with sharp wooden spikes.

With the preparations complete, everyone began setting up the tents.

Due to their lack of experience, the first tent took them an hour to pitch. As they grew more skilled, they wasted less time. They started working between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and by the time 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. rolled around, all the tents were fully set up.

Yun Xiu and the Village Head organized everyone to move in.

"The Goddess will take the centermost south-facing tent," the Village Head announced excitedly. "Yun Xiu and Yun Duo will live in the tent right beside hers. My family’s seven tents will be placed on her other side so we can listen for her divine decrees at all times. Next in line will be the Dashan Family. Cui Lan handles the village’s crocheting business, so she must also be ready to receive the Goddess’s orders.

"I’ll arrange the rest of the placements as I see fit. Don’t worry—no matter how many people are in your family or how many tents you need, I’ll make sure everyone in your household stays together."

"WOOHOO!"

Thrilled to be allocated their new homes, the villagers danced with joy. Once the Village Head finished assigning the dwellings, no one had any complaints. They gleefully moved their wooden beds and scattered belongings into their new tents.

Holding her granddaughter Xiaobao in her arms, Yun Duo spoke excitedly to her husband. "This is so much cleaner, warmer, and brighter than our old thatched cottage! I was worried we wouldn’t have a place for the stove in this new home, but I never imagined the tent would be so spacious. There’s even a hole above the door—it looks absolutely perfect for fitting the stove’s smoke pipe through."

Settling into his new home, a smile graced Yun Xiu’s face as he marveled at their luck.

"Indeed. There’s no strange smell in here. Our old thatched cottage always reeked of smoke from the fire and rotting straw. I was truly short-sighted. When Zhen Niang first suggested we all live in tents, I was worried they would be blown away by the blizzard, or that they wouldn’t stay waterproof over time.

"But when I was pitching them today, I noticed that the tent fabric wasn’t made of coarse cloth or animal hide. It’s a kind of material that feels smooth to the touch. I tried pouring a little water on it, and it just slid right down the side without leaving a single damp mark! The soundproofing is fantastic too. The snowstorm is howling outside, yet we can only hear a faint whisper of it in here.

"The tents from the Immortal Realm are truly miraculous! Their insulation, waterproofing, and soundproofing are all so good it feels unreal. It’s so bright living inside, it genuinely puts my mind at ease."

Inside their tent sat a large wooden bed spread with thick bedding. A stove burned steadily on the ground, while the big tiger and the large brown bear rested at the foot of the bed. It was an incredibly cozy scene!

The other villagers were just as delighted.

He Lanhua moved into her new home with her two sons and her daughter, bringing their own bed along as well. The Village Head had also given them a small stove, which came with two sections of smoke pipe that slotted perfectly into the hole by the door. With a fire lit, the tent was comfortably warm.

She felt unspeakably fortunate. "Thank goodness we were born in Taoyuan Village. If we were in any other village, we probably would have frozen to death by now. How else could we live such a good life, with full bellies, warm clothes, and a brand new home to live in?"

A fellow villager shouted from outside the tent, "Lan Hua, bring the kids to the kitchen to eat! The Village Head says we’re having white rice tonight, topped with a scoop of meat broth for everyone, to celebrate our housewarming!"

"Coming, coming!"

Pleasantly surprised, He Lanhua took out four bowls and led her three children to the kitchen to get their food.

Everyone was beaming with joy, eagerly chattering all at once about how wonderful the tent houses were. They also praised the small stoves the Goddess had brought, agreeing that they were in no way inferior to the large stoves. Living in the tents was far more comfortable than their old homes!

The villagers were finally living a prosperous and thriving life. They had food, clothing, and new homes. They even got to eat white rice mixed with meat broth—broth that was packed with minced meat and seasoned with spices bestowed by the Goddess. It was so delicious they could almost swallow their own tongues! The entire village was a picture of perfect harmony and joy.

Meanwhile, over at the school gates, Yun Zhen, who was selling crocheted dolls, ran into Su Yue again.

Seeing her friend, Su Yue asked, "Yun Zhen, how come you weren’t here selling dolls yesterday and the day before?"

Yun Zhen was just as happy to see her. "Some matters at home held me up."

Noticing that she looked well, Su Yue nodded. "I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you. Whoa! You’ve set up so many crocheted dolls today." Su Yue’s eyes immediately caught the display on the ground, which was much larger than previous times. "The craftsmanship looks like it’s improved a lot too. Are they still a hundred yuan each?"

"Yes, still a hundred yuan," Yun Zhen replied. She had no intention of raising the price just yet. She planned to wait until she made some dolls in designs that didn’t exist in this world before hiking up the price.

Lately, she had noticed that this specific style of doll was becoming a bit harder to move. Even though she still managed to sell out every time, it wasn’t nearly as fast as her first day. She either needed to switch locations or come up with fresh designs. While changing locations would help her sell out faster, changing the design would allow her to raise the price and earn more money.

Li Mei had told her that young people loved novelty items. If she created something new and sold it for two or three hundred—or even four or five hundred yuan—it would definitely be much more profitable than moving to a new spot just to keep selling them for a hundred.

Remembering something, Su Yue quickly tipped Yun Zhen off. "You probably won’t be able to do much business in a few days. It’s exam week right now, and in another five or six days, everyone will be heading home for the winter break. There won’t be anyone left around here to buy crocheted dolls. Have you considered selling something else?"

Crocheted dolls were typically purchased by students; adults rarely bought such impractical little trinkets. Once the students went on holiday, Yun Zhen’s business would plummet.

Yun Zhen’s smile vanished. "Heading home?" She wondered if that was the equivalent of a seasonal furlough. Confused, she asked, "How many days until you all return?"

Su Yue counted on her fingers. "It’s at least a forty-day break."

"Forty days?" Yun Zhen was stunned. That was more than a month!

She realized that her crocheting business would be grounded for over a month. At one hundred yuan per crocheted doll, she was raking in thousands of yuan a day. She had already been anxious about not making any money over the last two days; if she failed to earn anything—or earned significantly less—for forty whole days, the villagers’ lives would definitely become financially strained.

Having tasted the immense benefits of selling the dolls, Yun Zhen couldn’t bear to let go of such a massive source of income.

Looking troubled, she asked Su Yue, "If I wanted to sell something else—preferably something that sells just as well as the crocheted dolls—do you have any suggestions?"

Su Yue scratched her head. Having never done business herself, she was stumped. "What kind of item could possibly match the profit margin of your crocheted dolls?"

The student demographic was willing to spend one or two hundred yuan on crocheted dolls, but with the students on holiday, she could only cater to adults. She racked her brain, wondering what adults liked. Ideally, it had to be something that could fetch a high price!