Chapter 95: Wooden Hairpin Priced at 100 Wen

Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Wooden Hairpin Priced at 100 Wen

As soon as Yun Zhen returned, she noticed the snow had started falling heavily again.

Amidst the large, swirling snowflakes, the villagers wore clothes padded with cotton. They shoved their hands into their sleeves and shrank their necks, shivering violently. Their faces were already plastered white with snow.

"The snow is getting heavier again," Yun Zhen said, furrowing her brows. "Everyone, hurry back indoors. Dad, Village Chief, please move the things I brought inside. Let’s go to the meeting room first; it’s too cold out here."

Hearing this, Yun Xiu and the Village Chief immediately organized people to carry the items Yun Zhen had brought into the house.

Yun Zhen led the villagers back to the meeting room.

Seeing everyone trembling all over from the cold, Yun Zhen sighed. "You don’t need to wait for me every day from now on. If there’s something important, I’ll have the Village Chief notify you door-to-door. Village Chief, please distribute the steamed buns I brought to everyone and let them return to their rooms."

The Village Chief returned from moving the goods, a look of shock lingering on his face. If his nose hadn’t deceived him just now, the Goddess had bought mutton. Mutton was far more precious and expensive than pork; most farmers wouldn’t get to taste a single bite of it in their entire lives. In all his years, he had only ever smelled its distinct aroma from afar at mutton stalls.

It was said that mutton was nourishing and restorative. Boiling it into a meat broth during winter could thoroughly warm the body.

The Village Chief sought confirmation. "Goddess, do you mean that you no longer want everyone waiting for you before you return?"

With everyone crammed together, the air in the room grew stagnant and stuffy. Yun Zhen exhaled a breath. "In the future, just you and my dad need to stay behind. Everyone else can stay warm in their own rooms.

"If anything comes up, we can notify them door-to-door. Since we all live together now anyway, a loud shout would be enough for everyone to hear."

Yun Xiu chimed in, "The meeting room is too small. When everyone squeezes in, it gets terribly stuffy, and only the people at the front can hear what Zhen Niang says. I also think there’s no need for a massive crowd to gather every day."

Since it was the Goddess’s will, the Village Chief announced loudly to the crowd, "The Goddess can’t bear to see you freezing, so she says you no longer need to wait for her every day. Her family and I will stay behind, and I will notify you if there’s anything important. Now, a few of you come over and help distribute the hot steamed buns the Goddess bought. Everyone, take a hot bun and head back to your rooms to warm up."

Li Cuilan hurriedly spoke up. "That won’t work, Village Chief! We still need to collect the material kits so we can make crochet items for the Goddess to sell in the Immortal Realm."

The other villagers who knew how to crochet also began chattering in agreement.

"That’s right! Crocheting is the most profitable livelihood in the village right now. We still have to come every day to pick up the materials, finish the work, and give it to the Goddess so she can bring it to the Immortal Realm to sell."

Yun Zhen explained, "I didn’t bring any crochet materials today. Tomorrow night, when I bring the material kits, I’ll hand them over to Aunt Cui Lan so she can distribute them to you. You don’t have to worry about delaying the crochet business."

Hearing the Goddess’s words, everyone’s minds were set at ease.

"Since there are no materials today, we’ll head back first and stop disturbing the Goddess."

Holding their hot steamed buns, everyone left one by one.

Only Carpenter Zhao and Hunter Wang remained behind. They each held an animal-skin bag. As the bags swayed, CLITTER-CLATTER sounds rang out from within, like wooden blocks knocking against each other.

Aside from those two, after the rest of the villagers left, only Yun Zhen’s family of four and the Village Chief remained in the meeting room. With only seven people left, the room finally no longer felt overwhelmingly cramped.

Only then did the Village Chief ask, "Goddess, did you buy mutton?"

Mutton? Carpenter Zhao and Hunter Wang were both momentarily astonished.

"Mutton is incredibly precious," Carpenter Zhao said. "There are mutton stalls in the county town, but no family in the village has ever bought any, so we don’t even know how much a pound costs."

Hunter Wang added, "I’ve heard that mutton is highly nourishing for the body. The wealthy households in the county town love slicing it thin and boiling it in a pot."

Yun Zhen smiled and said, "Not only did I buy mutton, but I also bought five chickens. The vendors in the Immortal Realm already chopped them into small pieces for me. Dad, Village Chief, tomorrow you can stew the mutton and chicken into a thick meat broth."

"I also bought a type of thin vermicelli," Yun Zhen continued. "The reddish ones are sweet potato noodles, and the white ones are potato noodles. The way to prepare them is to soak the noodles in warm water until soft, then simmer them in the meat broth. They are smooth and chewy to eat, and they absorb the meat juices. Whatever meat you boil them with, that’s exactly what they’ll taste like."

Listening to her daughter, Yun Duo gasped in surprise. "That’s amazing! It must not have been cheap!"

Yun Zhen chuckled softly. "It was fine, really. I earned three taels of Silver today, which was plenty to buy the noodles."

Yun Xiu and Yun Duo’s eyes lit up brightly.

The Village Chief froze, exclaiming in shock, "You made three taels of Silver in a single day? Good heavens!"

Carpenter Zhao and Hunter Wang couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. "HISS—"

However... everyone said mutton was more expensive than pork. Over here, three taels of Silver definitely wouldn’t be enough to buy a whole sheep. The prices in the Immortal Realm truly were incredibly cheap!

Yun Zhen emphasized, "The majority of it was money earned from selling the crochet dolls."

The Village Chief spoke with grave seriousness. "The crochet doll business absolutely must not stop. From now on, I have to remind Cui Lan to strictly control the quality. Only by making the dolls well can we earn big money and buy more life-saving supplies for the village!"

Carpenter Zhao and Hunter Wang tightened their grips on their animal-skin bags.

The crochet dolls were that profitable? Three taels of Silver in a day? They would never have dared to imagine such a thing in the past. They could only hope their woodwork would also be popular in the Immortal Realm. Even if they couldn’t make three taels of Silver, making one tael of Silver would be enough to live up to the expectations of the Goddess and everyone else.

The Village Chief then turned back to Yun Zhen. "I have memorized all of your arrangements just now, Goddess. Tomorrow, when you return, you’ll be able to eat a piping hot bowl of mutton soup."

Yun Zhen nodded. "Let’s steam a large pot of rice tomorrow as well. The weather has gotten colder lately, so let’s allow everyone to have a good meal."

"Yes, yes, yes," the Village Chief agreed repeatedly.

"Goddess..." Carpenter Zhao started to speak but hesitated.

Yun Zhen looked over at the two men standing off to the side. "Uncle Zhao, Uncle Wang, how is your woodwork coming along?"

She was full of anticipation as well. If Uncle Zhao and Uncle Wang’s woodwork turned out to be popular in the Immortal Realm, the village would gain another money-making livelihood, and it would be even more profitable than the crochet dolls.

"Goddess, I made twenty elegant wooden hairpins according to your requests, with just some small flowers and grass carved onto them. I also made two jewelry boxes of different sizes." Carpenter Zhao opened his animal-skin bag and took out the items inside to show Yun Zhen.

Yun Zhen picked up a hairpin. It was polished to a very smooth finish, carrying the natural grain of the wood throughout. It appeared to have been coated with wood wax oil, giving it a slight gleam, and its shape was exquisitely crafted.

She looked at the other wooden hairpins. Their shapes were all distinct and unique, and without exception, every single one was exquisite! Although they were not perfectly uniform, they were much more vivid and dynamic than the ones she had seen in videos. At a glance, it was obvious they were pure, handcrafted artisanal goods.

"Uncle Zhao, don’t worry. With craftsmanship this good, they will definitely sell. I plan to price the wooden hairpins at one hundred cents each."

"That expensive?" Carpenter Zhao was both thrilled and nervous.

A wooden hairpin in the county town only cost five or ten cents. Would anyone really buy one for a hundred cents in the Immortal Realm? He would just have to take the gamble! Maybe the people in the Immortal Realm would actually find it cheap? At one hundred cents apiece, twenty hairpins would amount to two taels of Silver! Carpenter Zhao was overwhelmed with excitement!

Yun Zhen then picked up a natural wood-colored jewelry box. It was shaped like a butterfly, about the size of a palm, and could hold earrings or rings. "This jewelry box is also beautiful, but since it’s a bit small, let’s price it at one hundred and fifty cents."

She picked up the other jewelry box, which was slightly larger and featured a double-layer design that could hold bracelets and chokers. "This one is bigger and the carvings are more intricate, so we’ll price it at two hundred cents."

Two jewelry boxes brought the total to three hundred and fifty cents.

Carpenter Zhao’s face flushed red with pure joy.

Hunter Wang pulled out a pile of small wooden ornaments. "Goddess, there’s also mine!"