Chapter 162: Cock’s Crow at the Fifth Watch Soul-Returning Incense
Next, the group stopped by an embroidery shop. They bought silk thread, special pens for tracing patterns, an embroidery frame, and several small hoops. Afterward, they met up with Gu Zhang and the others at the city gate and headed home together.
Back home, Mrs. Chen took out the pair of pearl flowers she had bought and insisted on putting them in Gu Fei’s hair.
Gu Fei felt a painful pang of regret when she heard they had cost ten taels of silver.
’But they were already bought. Leaving them in a box was just a waste. She might as well wear them. *Sigh*.’
Wearing the two pearl flowers on her head, Gu Fei returned to her room and shut herself inside. She took out the book, *Pearl Artificial Cultivation*, and copied it out using the script of the current era. She was vague about some of the contents that involved modern knowledge, either glossing over them or rephrasing them in different terms.
’Pearls are so valuable, how could she not farm them!’
’Farm them!’
’Even though some of the technical terms in the book gave her a headache just looking at them, and some of the procedures seemed complicated just thinking about them, it had to be done!’
’The family was planning to plant chilis in the spring, but once they hit the market and more people started growing them, the price would only drop.’
’To make real money, they had to rely on pearl farming.’
’The easiest money to make is from the rich.’
’She didn’t know the procedures herself, but she had her father and her older brother, not to mention her capable mother. They could all discuss it and try it out. Slowly but surely, they would figure it out.’
After dinner, Gu Fei gave the book she had copied to her father, letting him slowly digest its contents.
Wiping her hands of the matter, she returned to her room to split thread with Lan Zhi and Lian’er.
When they had asked at the embroidery shop earlier that day, the Shopkeeper had been skeptical of Lan Zhi’s skill. He told her to bring in some of her work for him to look at first. Only if her craftsmanship was up to par would he give her assignments to do at home.
Lan Zhi planned to embroider a handkerchief and a small pouch. She was determined to make them exquisitely detailed.
The more detailed the work, the finer the embroidery thread needed to be.
The thread had to be split from a single thread into two, four, or even eight strands. For the most intricate work, it could be split into as many as sixteen.
Mrs. Chen and Li Chunhua were sorting through old clothes and fabric scraps. They planned to make a paste the next day to press the cloth into stiff layers for making shoe soles.
Store-bought shoes were too expensive; it was better to make their own.
Gu Qing was playing with Little Cao, while Er Lang and Sanlang were busy—one feeding the mule, the other fetching water. In short, no one was idle.
······
Inside the Prince Qi Mansion, Xiao Yu was not idle either.
He stared at Stone. With a miserable look on his face, Stone pulled a small package from inside his robes. He opened it to reveal about a dozen finger-length sticks of incense.
Xiao Yu asked him, "What is this?"
Stone grimaced. "Rooster Crow Five Drums Soul Reviving Incense."
Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up when he heard the name. "How do you use this stuff?"
Stone said helplessly, "Just light it and place it inside the room."
"A single stick of this incense will make someone fall into a death-like sleep until the fifth watch—that’s when the roosters crow. That’s why it’s called Rooster Crow Five Drums Soul Reviving Incense."
Xiao Yu roared with laughter. "This stuff is great! It’s absolutely perfect!"
"I knew you were full of crafty ideas! I was right!"
He stood up and paced around the room excitedly. "Once it’s lit, how long does it take for someone to fall asleep?"
Stone opened his mouth, then closed it. "Uh, I don’t know. The person who gave it to me didn’t say."
Xiao Yu glared at him. "Idiot. You didn’t think to ask for details first."
"We need to know how long it takes to work after it’s lit! Fifteen minutes? An hour? Or are we supposed to light it and just stand around outside like fools?"
Stone quickly suggested, "Young Master Heir, why don’t we... test it first?"
"We have more than ten sticks here, anyway. That should be enough."
"Yes, we should test it," Xiao Yu agreed with a nod.
He glanced at Stone, who immediately flinched. "Young Master Heir, it can’t be me! I have to go out with you tonight."