HLnovel Chapter 31 Cooperation with the Headmistress
Chapter 31 Cooperation with the Headmistress
When everyone heard Zhao Taohua say this, they all turned to Zhao Shenglin and said, "Durian essence has nothing to do with Xiangxiang. Xiangxiang is a good child, how could she possibly be contaminated with durian essence?"
"That's right, Xiangxiang is a child I've watched grow up..."
With Zhao Taohua taking the lead, other villagers also followed suit and spoke well of Zhao Shengxiang, making it impossible for Zhao Shenglin to turn the tide again.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Zhao Lianhua looked at Zhao Taohua with a flash of hatred.
As luck would have it, Zhao Taohua happened to look up and caught a glimpse of the look in her eyes.
Zhao Taohua glanced at the malicious aura emanating from Zhao Lianhua, stepped forward towards her, and reminded her with a smile, "Cousin, those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. Be careful not to attract evil spirits if you harbor malicious thoughts."
"!!!"
Zhao Lianhua's pupils contracted, and she hurriedly said, "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Zhao Taohua glanced at her guilty expression, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Although she didn't understand why Zhao Lianhua had made such a big deal out of Zhao Shengxiang's foul odor, she knew that Zhao Lianhua would definitely hold a grudge against her for helping Zhao Shengxiang clear her name today.
Be careful when you encounter Zhao Lianhua again, lest you fall into her trap.
Seven days later, Zhao Taohua had saved 23 taels and 380 coins.
In the following days, as the villagers dug deeper, the medicinal herbs at the foot of the mountain became fewer and fewer, and the money Zhao Taohua's family made from selling medicinal herbs each day decreased.
Fortunately, I still have the exquisitely embroidered purses and sachets for menstruation, otherwise I would never have been able to save up so much money.
Zhao Lianhua decided to stop digging for medicinal herbs and discussed building a new house with Zhao Ershu and Qian Shi.
When the two heard that Zhao Taohua had saved more than twenty-three taels, they were overjoyed.
In the past, it would have taken them more than ten years of not eating or drinking to earn this much money, but now, under Tao Hua's guidance, they have saved it up in just over ten days!
"Father and Mother, now that we have so much money, I want to build a nicer house. Let's build a house with blue bricks and tiles!" Zhao Taohua said.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Ershu realized that blue bricks were more solid than mud bricks and less prone to deformation, and blue tiles were more resistant to wind and rain than thatched roofs.
However, after deducting the four taels for buying a twenty-square-meter plot of land, they still had more than nineteen taels left, so they had to be careful to build the brick and tile house.
“Okay, let’s build a house with blue bricks and tiles!” Zhao Ershu agreed.
He had lived in this dilapidated old house for ten years. Despite its dilapidated state, he had never had the money to repair it, leaving his wife and daughter to live a life where the house leaked rain in the summer and drafts in the winter.
Now that we've finally paid off our debts and have some money left over, let's build a nice house so my wife and daughters can enjoy life to the fullest!
Immediately, Zhao Ershu went to talk to the village chief about buying a house plot. After buying the plot, he went to the town to buy blue bricks and tiles.
Just then, Zhao Taohua had some sachets and pouches to sell in town, so she went to the village chief's house with Zhao Ershu.
Qian stayed home to pack her things. Later, she built a shed in the southwest corner of the yard and moved all her belongings inside.
Today, the village chief didn't go to dig for medicinal herbs either. It's been hard to find any herbs lately, and he couldn't even fill a basket in a day.
Besides, the family had saved up quite a bit of money over the past ten days or so, so the children told him and his wife to stay home and rest.
When the village chief heard that Zhao Ershu wanted to buy a plot of land to build a new house, he immediately said with satisfaction:
"Ershu, you can finally build a new house. This time, Taohua has subdued the troublemakers at the foot of the mountain, allowing the villagers to earn a lot of money by digging for medicinal herbs and also to go to the foot of the mountain to chop firewood."
I'll talk to the villagers and ask them all to help build your house. Many hands make light work, and it'll be finished quickly.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Taohua immediately refused, saying, "Grandpa Village Chief, thank you for your kindness, but one thing is one thing. I only did a small favor, how can I ask for something in return?"
"You don't need to make any arrangements. My house only has four rooms, and with the two spirits, the Menstrual Spirit and the Durian Spirit, acting as helpers, it won't be finished for long."
Zhao Ershu thought so too.
Upon hearing Zhao Taohua's words, the village chief immediately abandoned his original intention. Since Taohua was unwilling, then so be it.
After the father and daughter left, Grandma Yang came over and said, "In the past ten days or so, our family has earned the money that Tao Hua would have earned in four or five years. Shouldn't we give her a token of our appreciation for her building a new house?"
"Of course we should go and help. The Illuminati bricklayers, we'll have the Illuminati help them later."
He doesn't care if others take the opportunity to express their feelings, but his family will definitely do their part.
Grandma Yang immediately laughed when she heard what the village chief said.
……
After the father and daughter arrived in town, they split up. Zhao Ershu went to order blue bricks and tiles, while Zhao Taohua set up her stall at the usual spot.
Ten days or so later, her embroidery products had become quite famous in the town, and they sold out almost without her having to promote them.
Sure enough, we've only just set up our stall today, and customers have already bought everything.
Zhao Taohua's eyes lit up as she looked at the woman, who appeared to be in her thirties. Her face was lightly made up, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, carrying a gentle smile.
She wore a dark purple silk dress with exquisite patterns embroidered in silver thread. Her hair was neatly combed into an elegant bun, adorned with a silver hairpin. She was accompanied by a maid, clearly indicating her extraordinary status.
More importantly, Zhao Taohua saw a hint of nobility and official air about her. This lady must be either rich or noble, from a moderately wealthy family or the wife of a minor official.
After the lady spoke, the nanny immediately handed over the silver.
Zhao Taohua packed all the sachets and pouches and handed them to the old woman.
"Young lady, your embroidery skills are so good, why don't you embroider on better fabrics? That way you could sell them for more money." the lady asked.
She smiled at the lady and said, "Using good fabric can make more money, but it won't sell in town. People won't spend so much money on sachets and pouches."
Zhao Taohua naturally knew that the embroidery of the menstrual essence deserved better fabric, but Qingshui Town was just a small town with a low cost of living.
Zhao Taohua was already very satisfied with earning several hundred dollars a day.
The lady immediately introduced herself: "My surname is He, and my husband's surname is Lü. We are the head of the town."
I own a shop in the county, where there are more wealthy people than in town, and we're in need of exquisitely embroidered pieces, so I'd like to collaborate with you, young lady."
As expected, it was pretty much what she had guessed.
Madam He came from a well-off family and was the wife of a minor official, namely a village head.
"This humble servant greets the Lady of the Pavilion Head. So you are the Lady of the Pavilion Head. No wonder you have such a refined air. May I ask how you wish to cooperate with me?"
Zhao Taohua immediately bowed to her. She knew the ways of survival, especially when dealing with people in power. Not only should she be respectful and polite, but she should also fawn over them.
"The young lady only needs to sell me the things she embroiders each month. Today is August 26th, so let's agree to meet here on the 26th of next month."
You can decide on the design yourself, but it must be embroidered on silk or satin.
Zhao Taohua frowned slightly upon hearing this. Silk cloth cost fifty coins per foot, and satin cloth cost eighty coins per foot. In a month, she would need several taels of silver worth of cloth.
If the village head's wife doesn't want it anymore, her embroidery will be stuck with her. In a small town like Qingshui Town, there's simply no purchasing power. Who would spend a hundred or two hundred coins to buy a handkerchief?
By then, she would not only lose the money she spent on the cloth, but also the amount of coarse cloth embroidery she could sell in a month, resulting in a total loss of seventeen or eighteen taels of silver.
However, since the other party is the wife of the village head, if she were to refuse outright, she would definitely offend someone.
So Zhao Taohua pretended to be embarrassed and sighed, "Madam, I am honored that you have taken a liking to my embroidery, but silk and satin are expensive. My small business is afraid that I cannot afford to buy a month's worth of silk and satin."
Madam He had noticed the embroidery she was selling before; she easily made several hundred pieces a day. Her claim of not being able to produce any was just an excuse; this young girl was quite clever.
However, Madam He did not intend to take advantage of a young girl; such embroidery skills could surely earn a lot of money if they could cooperate long-term.
"Don't worry about that. I'll give you fifty taels as a deposit first, and we'll sign a contract."
If I don't come to collect it after a month, the fifty taels deposit is yours; if I do come to collect it, you can pay the balance according to the amount received.
Madam He acted decisively, immediately writing the contract and handing over the deposit to Zhao Taohua, showing her sincerity.
Only then did Zhao Taohua realize that she was not the kind of person who would bully others by taking advantage of their power.
If this deal goes through, she will earn more than ten times the amount she did in a previous month.
Zhao Taohua immediately bowed to Madam He with gratitude, saying, "Thank you for taking care of my business, Madam. I will do my best to present you with the best embroidery."
Madam He glanced at Zhao Taohua with satisfaction; she was both intelligent and pleasant to be around.
After Madam He left, Zhao Taohua immediately looked in the direction of the brick and tile shop to see if Zhao Ershu had returned.
Unexpectedly, she saw a burly man with a long, diagonal scar on his face and several lewd-looking men staring at her with ill intent, slowly moving towards her.