The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 215 - 211 Reborn

Chapter 215: Chapter 211 Reborn

Ruo Xuan had finished teaching everyone how to make the rouge, powders, and skincare products, and then she sidled up to Zhen Yi, gently tugging on her sleeve, and sweetly asked, "Sister Zhen Yi, it’s been a long time, how have you been these days?"

Zhen Yi was weighing spices according to the recipe when she heard the question. She turned to Ruo Xuan with a smile, her smile bright and her eyes glowing, "Lady Xuanbao, I am now called Shen Yichu, no longer Zhen Yi. I have been doing very well, thank you for your concern, Lady Xuanbao."

She had thought that being sold to a brothel had ruined her life and even considered suicide to preserve her chastity, but unexpectedly, she was bought by someone else.

She was bought by a Maidservant from the palace who had also adopted her as her foster daughter, and went to the Governor’s Office to cancel her status as a slave.

Madam Shen said she spent most of her life in the palace, had never married, had no children, and no longer had any relatives at home. Now that she was old, she wanted to adopt a child to care for her in her old age and asked if she was willing.

How could she be unwilling? When Madam Shen appeared and bought her, she was her lifesaver, her rebirth parents.

If it weren’t for Madam Shen, she would either be dead or have become a woman of the night.

So she acknowledged Madam Shen as her mother, and from then on, she was Shen Yichu, Madam Shen’s daughter.

Madam Shen said, "Chu" means rebirth.

Saying goodbye to the past and being born anew.

It was Madam Shen who had given her a new life.

Although Madam Shen was not her birth mother, she was really good to her, exceedingly so, teaching her many things and treating her much better than her birth parents. When she once fell ill and was burning with fever, it was Madam Shen who stayed up all night to take care of her.

Zhen Yi, who was originally a kind-hearted person, had made up her mind to treat Madam Shen as her own mother for the rest of her life.

Ruo Xuan knew about Zhen Yi’s situation, as Granny Xuanyuan had mentioned it before. Seeing her genuinely happy with her current life made her feel relieved!

Now the whole person of Sister Zhen Yi had changed, her skin became whiter, she looked healthier, smiles appeared on her face, and she looked tender and charming. Her demeanor had changed, too, exuding the elegance and nobility of the court ladies she had seen, graceful and refined.

Previously, Zhen Yi had been bullied into timidity and weakness by old man Zhen and Granny Tan, not daring to look up, and due to a lack of proper clothing and food, she looked dry and thin. It was only her good facial features that made her the prettiest girl in the village.

Ruo Xuan glanced at Zhen Yi’s face, the Hongluan Star was active, signifying that auspicious events were near.

She wondered what would be Uncle Three’s reaction upon seeing sister Zhen Yi now?

~

That evening, when Ruo Xuan arrived home, she smelled Ruo Shui’s scent and curiously looked around, "Granny, has dad returned?"

Granny Lei picked up Xuanbao to wash her face and hands in preparation for dinner, "He’s returned, but he went back to the city again. The bookstore received a large order; there are twenty thousand books that need to be printed in half a month, so he came back to recruit help. Your mother and Auntie Two are both busy copying books in the house. Xuanbao, will you sleep with Granny tonight? So your mother can have a good rest."

Since Ruo Shui had been to the city recently, Madam Liu slept with Xuanbao. Although Xuanbao slept well, she was after all a four-year-old child, and adults always worry, waking up several times at night to check if she had kicked off the blanket.

"Okay!" Ruo Xuan replied sweetly to the news about twenty thousand books needing to be printed in half a month, though she had a vague bad premonition, she still sweetly agreed.

She glanced at Granny Lei’s face; yes, there were indeed some troubles entangled with her.

However, what the troubles were, Ruo Xuan couldn’t discern.

She guessed that printing those twenty thousand books wouldn’t be easy.

Tomorrow she would go to the city to see what the trouble was, and also check if Uncle Three’s Hongluan Star had been activated.

~

In Shaxi County, Ruo Chuan only returned to the Academy after dark.

Ruo Shui and his brothers had finished printing the last sheet of paper in the afternoon, and without more paper, they couldn’t continue printing the books until Ruo Chuan brought more paper back.

Because the Academy had received a large order, the people from the various Academies who came to place orders incidentally bought a large quantity of paper, resulting in the Academy running out of paper stock.

Ruo Chuan could only go to the paper mill early in the morning to buy paper.

When Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang saw him returning, they immediately headed toward the carriage, planning to move the paper inside and work overnight, "Did you buy the paper? Why so late? There’s still hot rice in the pot, help yourself."

"No, I didn’t manage to buy a single sheet," said Ruo Chuan soberly as he dismounted the carriage.

Ruo Shui was taken aback for a moment, "How is that possible?"

Ruo Jiang thought he was joking and lifted the curtain of the carriage for a look. It was indeed empty; not a sheet of paper was in sight.

He became anxious, "How could you not be able to buy any? The paper mill has so much paper."

Ruo Chuan explained in a low voice.

Today, Ruo Chuan went to the paper mill early to buy paper, but to his surprise, all of the paper had been ordered by people who had placed large orders, and the entire mill was rushing to complete those orders. If he wanted to buy paper, he would have to wait for a month.

He had no choice but to inquire at another paper mill. The situation was the same; merchants had bought up all the stock and he would have to wait half a month for paper.

In half a month, they would have breached their contract!

The penalty for breaching the contracts for twenty thousand books added up would be fifteen hundred taels of silver.

Ruo Jiang said, "What about the other bookstores? You can go buy some paper first from other bookstores. We need to start printing the books."

Printing twenty thousand books in half a month would mean they had to work around the clock.

"No, I’ve asked every single bookstore in the city, and they all say they don’t have any, and even if they do, they won’t sell."

Ruo Shui’s face darkened, "We’re being plotted against."

Ruo Chuan had also guessed that their bookstore’s books were selling well recently, leaving other bookstores with little business. He suspected they had joined forces against them.

At this moment, Ruo Hai also came out and heard what his three younger brothers had said. He felt an infuriating blockage in his heart, "If there’s none in the county seat, then we’ll go to the prefecture city. If there’s none there, we’ll go to other counties. Tomorrow, us brothers will split up and buy separately. I refuse to believe that we can’t find any paper."

Ruo Shui and Ruo Jiang, being scholars, knew a bit more about paper mills than Ruo Hai, who had been in the military.

Ruo Shui said, "I guess we won’t be able to buy any paper elsewhere either. Although Xuanyuan Country has paper mills in many places, they are all owned by two major families. If they are doing this intentionally, then if we can’t buy paper in Shaxi County, we won’t be able to find it in other counties either."

Ruo Jiang said, "It’s the same with the bookstores. Bookstores aren’t something ordinary people can operate. Those few bookstores in our county also exist in other counties, and they are all run by those powerful families. If they join forces against us, it will be impossible for us to buy paper."

Ruo Hai frowned, he didn’t bother to ask such a foolish question as ’What should we do?’

For a while, all the brothers were silently thinking of a solution.

Ruo Shui said, "Tomorrow I’ll return to the village."

Ruo Jiang asked, "Return to the village for what?"

Ruo Chuan said, "To find Xuanbao, of course! Who knows if Xuanbao might have dreamt up a method for making paper."

Ruo Hai’s eyes lit up, "Right, find Xuanbao!"

Ruo Jiang, "..."

Although....., but...

He thought it made a lot of sense!

Xuanbao might just have dreamt it!

Ruo Chuan finalized the plan, "Tomorrow, big brother, second brother, and third brother will still go to the prefecture city and other counties to check. Fourth brother, you go back to the village to find Xuanbao."