Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 399 - 211: All Setting Out

She picked up the exquisite little basket Liu Sanshun had given her and held it up for everyone to see. "You should have your second brother specialize in weaving these kinds of delicate little things," she said. "He could come up with lots of new designs and sell them exclusively to the wealthy. That way, his work would be different from everyone else’s, and my uncle wouldn’t have to drop his other suppliers. He could sell products from both families without offending anyone."

Liu Xiaomei said worriedly, "But there aren’t that many wealthy people here in Xiatang Market. I’m afraid things like this might be hard to sell."

Juhua smiled and winked at her. "Aren’t we working on that right now? Xiatang Market might not be this quiet forever. If merchants start coming regularly to stock up on goods, they might see how exquisite these bamboo crafts are and decide to take some back to sell. Wouldn’t your second brother’s skills be put to great use then? And for something this nice, the price will definitely have to be higher than our ordinary baskets and hampers. The best thing would be for your second brother to weave the character ’Liu’ into every piece, to show it’s a Liu Family specialty."

Liu Sishun was so happy he jumped to his feet. "Yes, yes!" he exclaimed. "They have to be exquisitely made! We can put them in your uncle’s shop first and see how they sell. Even if only one sells per day, over time, people will learn that the shop carries fine, delicate bamboo crafts. Once Xiatang Market takes off, business will naturally boom. It’s like we’re getting a head start!"

Thinking of the possibilities, the three Liu siblings couldn’t help but grin.

Juhua then asked about Liu Sanshun’s fish farming.

Liu Sanshun replied with some regret, "I tried for a few days, but I found that looking after so many ponds was too much work, especially since Jing Lake is such a huge undertaking. So, I talked it over with Changxing. I let him take over Tiaozi Pond, the grassy ditches, and Round Pond, while I took Jing Lake and Small Pond Bay."

Juhua comforted him, "Those two ponds are more than enough to keep you busy. Any more and you’d be biting off more than you can chew. Besides, you still have all your regular work to do at home, right? With Changxing managing the other ponds, you two can consult each other often."

Qingmu laughed. "Changxing is a ’Fish Cat,’ too. With the two of you putting your heads together, I’m sure you’ll raise the fish just fine."

Juhua suddenly remembered something and smiled at Liu Sanshun. "Sanshun, you should keep an eye out. Turtles, soft-shelled turtles, Ni Qiu, and Huang Shan are all valuable. If you can manage to raise those too, you’re sure to make a lot of money down the line."

Liu Sanshun’s eyes lit up when he heard that. He nodded forcefully. "I know. I’ve already caught a good number of Ni Qiu and Huang Shan in the irrigation ditches and released them into the ponds. But I think it’s better to raise Ni Qiu and Huang Shan in paddy fields. It doesn’t seem quite right to raise them in ponds. Once I’ve earned some money, I’ll set aside a paddy field just for them."

He thought about his fishponds and his fish even in his dreams now. They were his hope for the future.

Juhua thought about it and realized he was right. ’Don’t Huang Shan and Ni Qiu burrow in the irrigation ditches?’

The thought of braised soft-shelled turtle made Liu Xiaomei extremely excited. She said to Sanshun, "Third Brother, I think you’re right, those soft-shelled turtles will definitely sell well later on. The next time we catch soft-shelled turtles or regular turtles, we can’t eat them. We have to raise them!"

Liu Sanshun nodded with a broad, happy grin.

Qingmu chatted and laughed with them for a bit longer, then glanced down the village path. Seeing Zhang Huai still hadn’t come, he went into the courtyard. He swept a patch of ground clean, then spread the mushrooms out, picking off stray leaves and patting away the dirt before leaving them to dry in the bright sun.

Seeing this, Juhua quickly came over to help. She grabbed a pair of scissors and started trimming the dirt-caked ends off the mushroom stems. Gazing at the three baskets of mushrooms—likely more than ten pounds worth—she realized cleaning them all would take quite some time. ’I don’t really feel like going back up the mountain,’ she thought. ’I’m already tired from this morning.’

But then Liu Xiaomei brought a small stool over and sat beside her. Deftly cleaning one mushroom after another, she said, "You have to come with me this afternoon. Who told you not to invite me this morning? I’ll help you with these mushrooms for now. Third Brother, Fourth Brother, come lend a hand! Once we’re finished, we can all go up the mountain together."

Seeing how insistent Liu Xiaomei was, Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. "Alright, don’t worry, I’ll go this afternoon. I’ll go just to keep you company. If you hadn’t shown up, I definitely wouldn’t be going—I spent half the morning scrambling around, and I’m exhausted."

Liu Xiaomei said happily, "Great! I owe you one! Hmm, maybe Meizi will come, too."

Sure enough, Meizi arrived, personally escorted by Li Changming.

Nowadays, she was completely focused on improving her family’s livelihood. When she saw all the mushrooms drying in Juhua’s courtyard, her eyes lit up, and just like Liu Xiaomei, she complained about Juhua not inviting her that morning.

Juhua grinned at her. "Do you think I’d dare call for you if I wasn’t prepared? We left in a hurry this morning. Even if I had called you, I wouldn’t have dared take you along without Brother Changming to watch over you. But now that he’s here with you, we have nothing to worry about."