Chapter 50: The Birth of a New Trade

“You wrote all of this in one day?”

Lu Zijin hadn’t finished reading, but she was already quite surprised.

 

Wei Lan nodded.

“Less than a day.

I only started after I came back from selling the jade.

I could write many of these stories in a month.”

 

Lu Zijin was stunned by Wei Lan’s words.

After all, Chen Ji Bookstore had several people who specialized in writing stories.

The storybooks they wrote were very popular in Panyang City, especially among the young ladies of wealthy households.

They wouldn’t buy them themselves, but they often sent maidservants or servant boys out to purchase them.

So they didn’t find one tael of silver per book particularly expensive.

 

But now Wei Lan could write these stories.

Didn’t that mean their own Lu family bookstore could also sell storybooks written by Wei Lan?

“Master, could we sell these stories of yours at our Lu family bookstore?

I think a lot of people would love reading them.”

Lu Zijin said.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.

Chen Zhou has caused us no end of trouble.

We need to show him that the Lu residence is not to be messed with.”

Wei Lan was very happy.

Lu Zijin was truly a businesswoman; she understood her intentions immediately.

“Good.

I’ll arrange for someone to copy them tomorrow.”

Lu Zijin was also all smiles.

Actually, making money from this was secondary.

The main thing was openly competing with Chen Zhou for business.

She felt that secretly having Chen Ji Cloth Store’s warehouse burned hadn’t been enough to satisfy her.

“Wait, wife.

Right now, these books are all copied by hand, right?”

Wei Lan asked.

 

Lu Zijin didn’t understand Wei Lan’s meaning and asked, “Naturally.

Otherwise, the books in the bookstore wouldn’t sell for one tael of silver each.

For ordinary people, one tael of silver is enough for half a month’s expenses.”

“Then I have a way to lower the production cost of these books and save the copying expenses.”

Wei Lan said with a smile.

“Save the copying expenses?

Then who would write the characters?”

Lu Zijin continued to ask.

 

Wei Lan thought for a moment and said, “We could print them directly.”

“What is printing?”

Lu Zijin asked.

“Printing means carving these characters onto wood, then arranging them in order.

You dip the wooden blocks in ink and press them directly onto paper, like a stamp.

That way, you can print many times and no longer need to hire scribes.”

Wei Lan explained.

 

Lu Zijin’s eyes immediately lit up.

She seemed to understand what Wei Lan was saying, but some parts were still unclear.

“Would that work?”

 

Wei Lan nodded.

“It would definitely work.

Why don’t we try it now?”

“Mm.”

Lu Zijin nodded with a smile.

If there really was such a method, the Lu residence would seize another business opportunity.

 

When it came to career matters, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin became as energetic as if they’d had a shot of adrenaline.

They directly postponed the dinner step.

“Alright, let’s go to the study.

It’ll be easier to work there.

And have someone bring me some wood carving knives, some neat pieces of wood, and also a coping saw.”

 

As Wei Lan spoke, Qianxue stood by, taking mental notes.

When Wei Lan finished, Qianxue immediately went to prepare the things.

Even though she had no idea what the young lady and the master were going to do.

 

The people in Lu Zijin’s courtyard were all highly skilled and efficient.

So after Wei Lan gave her instructions, everything she asked for was prepared in no time.

 

Wei Lan and Lu Zijin had someone prepare a basin of ice in the study, then closed the door.

 

Wei Lan blinked at Lu Zijin.

“Wife, I’ll get started then.”

“Mm.”

Lu Zijin nodded at her.

 

Wei Lan was just making a demonstration, so naturally, she didn’t need to carve everything, just a few characters.

She used the coping saw to cut the wood into small rectangular blocks, then picked up a carving knife and began to carve.

 

She had experience carving jade, so carving wood was also easy for her.

She just needed to be careful that the characters on the blocks were reversed, so that when stamped on paper, they would appear correctly.

 

Soon, Wei Lan had carved five or six characters.

Without a proper frame on hand, she tied the blocks together with strips of cloth, dipped them in ink, and stamped them directly onto the paper.

“Like this.

I’m just giving an example, so I didn’t carve many characters.

When the time comes, you can make a wooden frame about the same size as a book page, put the blocks inside, and then print.

When you’ve printed enough copies of this book, you can take the characters apart and reassemble them to print other books.”

Wei Lan cut the cloth strips and rearranged the characters.

 

Lu Zijin looked at the items on the table, then at Wei Lan, her eyes full of disbelief.

“You thought of all this?”

 

As she spoke, she leaned over and lightly kissed Wei Lan’s lips.

She reached out and grabbed the ‘little dog’ plaque around Wei Lan’s neck and smiled.

“My master is really amazing.”

 

Wei Lan wasn’t upset at all at being grabbed by her wife’s ‘little dog’ plaque.

Instead, she happily hugged Lu Zijin.

“Wife, do you think this method will work?

We’ll need to find carpenters who can carve, and the typesetting will require literate workers.”

“It will work.

And it’s a great way to make a lot of money.”

Lu Zijin looked at the little dog on the plaque, then at Wei Lan.

 

Wei Lan snuggled up to Lu Zijin, wrapped her arms around her wife, and pulled her close.

She kissed the corner of Lu Zijin’s lips and shook her, acting spoiled.

“So, since I came up with such a good idea, do I get a reward?”

 

Lu Zijin leaned against Wei Lan’s shoulder, playing with the ‘little dog’ plaque, and raised an eyebrow at Wei Lan.

“Naturally.

When we get to bed, you’ll know.”

 

Wei Lan pressed her lips together and held Lu Zijin even tighter.

If she actually had a tail, it would probably be wagging like a propeller by now.

 

Lu Zijin looked at her with a smile.

“Alright.

I’ll have people handle the rest tomorrow.

Let’s go eat first.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Wei Lan hugged Lu Zijin for a while, then nuzzled against her and buried her face in Lu Zijin’s shoulder.

 

Lu Zijin looked at her little Qiankun acting spoiled and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

Such a soft, delicate little Qiankun was only possible with her master.

 

But after nuzzling for a moment, Wei Lan suddenly remembered something important and reminded her, “Wife, don’t forget to have someone watch the study.

Don’t let Yun Xiang take advantage.”

 

Lu Zijin kissed Wei Lan’s lips.

“Okay.

I’ll have someone guard it.

And Yun Xiang can only do rough work in the courtyard now.

I stopped letting her serve me closely a long time ago.”

“Mm-hmm, that’s good.”

Wei Lan tugged at the hem of Lu Zijin’s skirt and shook it, acting boneless as she leaned against Lu Zijin’s shoulder.

“I’m hungry.”

“Mm.

Then let’s go eat.”

As Lu Zijin spoke, she straightened Wei Lan’s ‘little dog’ plaque.

The ‘little dog’ plaque paired with Wei the little dog was quite fitting.

 

Lu Zijin had Qing Zhi arrange for maidservants in the courtyard to guard the study.

No one but her was allowed near it.

 

After doing this, Lu Zijin took Wei Lan back to the bedroom.

They ate, then went to bed early.

 

Wei Lan quickly took off her outer dress and was the first to jump into bed, obediently waiting for Lu Zijin to join her.

 

Lu Zijin looked at Wei Lan, waiting for her with such eager eyes, and her brows curved slightly.

 

Seeing Lu Zijin looking at her, Wei Lan knelt on the bed and urged, “Wife, hurry up.”

“Alright, I’m coming.”

Seeing her little Qiankun couldn’t wait any longer, Lu Zijin quickly put away the dress she was holding and got into bed.

 

Lu Zijin reached out and touched Wei Lan’s cheek.

Wei Lan actively pressed her cheek against Lu Zijin’s hand and nuzzled, then very cooperatively lay down.

 

Lu Zijin was amused.

Wei Lan was so used to being on the bottom.

Her little Qiankun was so soft and delicate; she didn’t know if she could do it.

 

But since Wei Lan was so proactive, Lu Zijin didn’t stand on ceremony.

As usual, she straddled Wei Lan’s waist and abdomen.

Little dogs should be ridden by their owners.

 

Wei Lan, however, looked up at Lu Zijin with an expectant expression.

“Wife, what about my reward?”

“I’m giving it to you now.”

Lu Zijin smiled faintly, gently stroked Wei Lan’s cheek, and then leaned down to kiss her.

 

Wei Lan enjoyed it very much; the kiss felt very good.

She instinctively reached out and grabbed the corner of Lu Zijin’s clothes.

 

Only when Wei Lan’s eyes were filled with tears did Lu Zijin pull back slightly.

She lightly poked Wei Lan’s cheek and asked with a smile, “Is the master satisfied with this reward?”

 

Wei Lan wrapped her arms around Lu Zijin’s slender waist and acted spoiled.

“More.

I came up with such a good idea, and you only give me one kiss?

You’re so stingy, wife.”

 

Lu Zijin pressed her thumb on Wei Lan’s lips.

She couldn’t help but laugh at Wei Lan’s words.

“Alright.

However many kisses you want.”

 

Lu Zijin leaned down and kissed the corner of Wei Lan’s lips.

She thought that when business wasn’t so busy in a few days, she might be able to have a cute little baby with Wei Lan.

 

Thinking this, Lu Zijin looked down at Wei Lan beneath her.

But seeing her little Qiankun’s soft, whiny appearance, she was a bit worried that Wei Lan only knew how to lie there.

So she deliberately asked, “Don’t you want a different reward?”

 

Wei Lan looked at Lu Zijin, puzzled.

She had recently really enjoyed kissing Lu Zijin; her wife always kissed her so comfortably.

As for anything else, Wei Lan hadn’t really thought about it.

“What else is there?”

Wei Lan asked, her eyes shining.

 

Lu Zijin leaned against Wei Lan’s chest, playing with the ‘little dog’ plaque on it.

She looked up at Wei Lan, raised an eyebrow, and smiled.

“How about letting you be on top tonight?”

“Ah?

I don’t know how to be on top.”

Wei Lan said instinctively.

 

Lu Zijin felt she should let Wei Lan try it at least once.

She couldn’t just lie there forever.

Otherwise, how would they ever have a little baby?

Would she have to do everything herself?

“It’s very simple.

Be good, sit up first.”

Lu Zijin coaxed softly and helped Wei Lan up.

 

But Wei Lan just hugged Lu Zijin’s waist and buried her face in her wife’s chest, acting spoiled.

“I don’t know how to be on top.

Can I not?”

 

She was used to being on the bottom.

Wei Lan didn’t really want to be on top; she found lying down quite comfortable.

 

Lu Zijin held Wei Lan and kissed her for a while, then coaxed softly, “Trust me.

You’ll like it.”

“Hmph, hmph.”

Wei Lan hummed twice, expressing her preference for being on the bottom.

But Lu Zijin pretended not to hear and had Wei Lan move out of the way.

Lu Zijin lay down.

 

Wei Lan looked at her position being taken over by Lu Zijin, feeling a bit lost and unsure what to do.

She really didn’t know how to be on top.

 

Lu Zijin lay on the bed, watching Wei Lan’s helpless expression.

She was so amused that tears almost came to her eyes before she stopped.

 

Wei Lan looked at Lu Zijin quite aggrievedly, not understanding what her wife was laughing at, nor why her wife wouldn’t let her lie down.

 

Lu Zijin curled her finger at her and smiled.

“Come here.

I’ll teach you.”

 

Wei Lan was very unaccustomed to this, but still very obediently leaned in.

She was afraid of crushing Lu Zijin, so she propped herself up with her arms, her face still a distance from Lu Zijin’s.

 

Lu Zijin directly hooked her index finger through Wei Lan’s ‘little dog’ plaque and pulled her down.

 

Sure enough, Wei Lan was pulled closer to Lu Zijin.

Their noses almost touched.

Lu Zijin smiled at her, then reached out and tore off the plaster on her own gland opening.

She pointed at her gland opening.

“You can play with this.

Consider it your reward.”

 

Wei Lan rubbed her nose against Lu Zijin’s, whining, and still felt that lying down was more comfortable.

But since her wife had requested it, she would reluctantly be on top just this once.

 

Thinking this, Wei Lan imitated Lu Zijin’s actions and carefully kissed the gland opening.

She couldn’t bear to bite Lu Zijin, so she just gently sucked.

 

Lu Zijin trembled slightly at Wei Lan’s action.

This feeling was strange.

After just a few sucks from Wei Lan, Lu Zijin’s body went soft.

 

But Lu Zijin wasn’t worried.

She had Wei Lan in her heart, and Wei Lan liked her.

If they went a step further, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Moreover, her little Qiankun was so innocent; kissing was probably her limit.

She wouldn’t know how to do anything else.

 

And indeed, as Lu Zijin had thought, Wei Lan only knew how to kiss and suck on her gland opening.

After a long time, she hadn’t left a single tooth mark.

Lu Zijin was amused.

 

Wei Lan, having inhaled a mouthful of white sandalwood scent, felt like she was walking on clouds, utterly blissful.

Hearing Lu Zijin’s laugh, she propped her head up slightly and asked, “Wife, what are you laughing at?”

 

Lu Zijin, made weak and limp by her sucking, barely managed to reach out and pinch Wei Lan’s cheek.

“I’m not laughing at you.

Wei Lan, how can you be so good?”

 

Hearing this, Wei Lan immediately buried her face in the crook of Lu Zijin’s neck and nuzzled.

“I like you.”

 

Seeing her little Qiankun looking soft and delicate again, Lu Zijin patted Wei Lan on the back.

“Not going to continue?”

“Continue.”

Seeing that Lu Zijin seemed to enjoy her sucking on the gland opening, Wei Lan kissed it again.

Her wife smelled sweet, and she liked it too.

 

But after kissing for a while, Wei Lan became a bit lightheaded.

Dazed, like a cat that had too much catnip, she went limp in Lu Zijin’s arms, nuzzling against her wife to rest.

 

Lu Zijin looked at Wei Lan, who was already out of it, and smiled.

She reached out and tugged at the ‘little dog’ plaque around Wei Lan’s neck.

 

Her little dog really wasn’t very good at this.

But there was no rush.

She wasn’t planning to have a little baby yet anyway.

She had time to train Wei Lan.

If it really didn’t work out, she would just have to put in a little extra effort herself.

 

Lu Zijin looked at Wei Lan, now completely intoxicated, nuzzling against her, and shook her head with a smile.

Forget it.

She would just hold Wei Lan while they slept tonight.

 

Wei Lan had inhaled too much white sandalwood scent, felt lightheaded, as if she were floating on clouds.

Soon, she fell asleep.

 

***

 

The next morning, as usual, Lu Zijin woke up first.

She had to go handle the movable type printing today.

She needed to hire skilled carpenters in the city, and of course, make a lot of preparations at the bookstores.

 

She looked at Wei Lan, sleeping soundly and sweetly in her arms, and was reluctant to wake her.

She carefully tried to move Wei Lan off her, but still disturbed her.

 

Wei Lan groggily opened her eyes and still smiled sweetly at Lu Zijin.

“Good morning, wife.”

“Good morning.

Did I wake you?”

Lu Zijin asked softly.

“No.

Are you leaving?”

Wei Lan nuzzled against Lu Zijin and asked, her eyes still barely open.

“Yes.

I’ll probably be very busy lately, so I might not have much time to spend with you.

Once this busy period is over, I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

Lu Zijin coaxed softly.

“Okay.

I’ll keep writing storybooks when I’m free.”

“Mm.

It’s still early.

You can sleep a little more.

It’s fine to get up later.”

Lu Zijin kissed Wei Lan’s forehead and said softly.

“Okay.

You’re so good, wife.”

Wei Lan hugged Lu Zijin tightly, even more reluctant to let her leave.

 

Lu Zijin patted Wei Lan’s lower back.

“Be good.

I really have to get up.”

 

Only then did Wei Lan reluctantly climb off Lu Zijin, looking at her with pleading eyes as she put on her dress.

 

As she dressed, Lu Zijin smiled at Wei Lan.

“You stay here obediently.

When you wake up, have breakfast here before leaving.”

 

Wei Lan hugged the blanket pitifully, like a little dog abandoned by its owner.

“I know.”

 

Seeing her like this made Lu Zijin’s heart soften.

She leaned over and kissed Wei Lan’s cheek, then quickly washed up, ate some breakfast, had a carriage prepared, and went to the Lu family bookstore.

 

Wei Lan hugged the blanket, now filled with white sandalwood scent, and took a few deep breaths.

Then she rolled around in bed a few times.

She lay there thinking.

It wasn’t necessarily a good thing that her wife was so career-driven; she didn’t even have time to sleep in and hold her.

 

Wei Lan was still a bit sleepy, so she simply went back to sleep.

Oh well.

Her wife was just that amazing.

Her bowl of soft rice had already turned into a golden rice bowl.

Even if she didn’t earn any silver, her wife could still support her.

 

At the same time, Lu Zijin had already invited craftsmen early in the morning.

Starting today, these workers would carve the printing blocks.

Not just the characters for Wei Lan’s storybook, but the Four Books and Five Classics also sold very well.

If they could mass-produce them, the cost would drop dramatically, and they could take this business away from Chen Zhou.

 

But doing this would inevitably attract too much attention.

Moreover, once printing began, many workers would be involved, and word would surely leak out.

After the first month of huge profits, others would quickly follow suit.

But that was fine; as long as their side made a big profit, it would be enough to keep Chen Zhou awake at night.

 

As for the problem of attracting too much attention, Lu Zijin had already thought it through.

After their books were printed and sold for some silver, she would personally visit Lu Feng and present it as his political achievement.

That way, the Lu family wouldn’t appear too prominent, and she would be doing Lu Feng a big favor.

Why not?

 

After all, the capital was very chaotic right now.

If the Lu family stood out too much, it wouldn’t be a good thing.

 

In the backyard of the bookstore, the craftsmen began working one by one.

Lu Zijin had hired many workers.

She wanted to complete this in a few days, so she urged the bookstore manager to supervise carefully and, most importantly, to have the workers keep it as secret as possible.

 

After doing this, Lu Zijin still went to the cloth shop.

The most important matter at hand was still the royal merchant cloth.

After all, they had to submit the cloth next month.

There could be no mistakes in between.

 

***

 

Near the Lu residence warehouse, Yun Xiang was hiding furtively beside a large boulder.

She seemed to want to go over, but looking at the seven or eight guards nearby, she lost her nerve.

 

She thought of Tian Da and Cao Qiushuang, who had been beaten to death, and her legs trembled like sieves.

 

These days, Lu Zijin no longer let her serve her closely.

She wasn’t even qualified to pour tea for Lu Zijin anymore.

The maidservants and servant boys in the courtyard were all snobs.

One by one, they were no longer as respectful to her as before.

 

But Yun Xiang could only endure it.

A few days ago, she had found an opportunity to leave the Lu residence, taking a very roundabout way to find Chen Zhou.

 

The young master had given her another gold bracelet and said that as long as this matter succeeded, he would directly take her as a concubine, and she would never have to suffer at the Lu residence again.

 

Thinking this, Yun Xiang began to encourage herself.

Once she succeeded in this matter, she would be the young mistress of the Chen residence.

Even if she was just a concubine, it didn’t matter, since the young master wasn’t married yet.

Wouldn’t her treatment be the same as a real wife?

 

Thinking this, Yun Xiang touched the gold bracelet on her wrist and gritted her teeth to continue observing the warehouse.

 

She had actually been staking out for a few days now.

In the past, she would have arrogantly walked over, relying on her status as Lu Zijin’s senior maidservant.

But now, everyone at the Lu residence knew she had been punished and no longer enjoyed her former favor.

Few people would give her face.

She could only wait for an opportunity.

 

After a moment’s thought, Yun Xiang returned to the courtyard.

She didn’t dare stay out for too long at a time, afraid of arousing suspicion.

These days, she often snuck out to buy wine.

She had already stockpiled quite a bit in her room.

 

The guards would change shifts.

The later it got, the more tired the guards would become.

And at night, she didn’t have to be on duty either.

Yun Xiang planned to pick a time to give wine to the night shift guards.

Once they were drunk, she would be able to set the warehouse on fire.

 

As long as she succeeded, wealth and honor would be hers in the future.

She would also have several maidservants attending her, like the young lady, and could have whatever she wanted.

 

Just thinking about it made Yun Xiang excited.

She still remembered that day when the young master looked at her with such affection, personally putting this gold bracelet on her wrist.

Just thinking about it made her feel very sweet.

 

As she thought, she walked back towards Jingchen Courtyard.

“Oh, Sister Yun Xiang is back?

Where have you been?

We’ve seen you going out a lot lately.”

 

A young maidservant deliberately asked.

When Yun Xiang had been a senior maidservant, she had often bullied these younger ones.

“Oh, I finished my duties and was just walking around the courtyard.”

Yun Xiang gritted her teeth and endured.

“Sister Yun Xiang is different from us.

Our hearts are with the young lady.

Even if the young lady isn’t here, the master is still in the courtyard.

We wouldn’t dare slack off for a moment.

Not like you, Sister, who seems to think you’re a master yourself.”

 

After she finished speaking, the other young maidservants nearby also laughed.

Qing Zhi saw what was happening but didn’t stop them.

 

Yun Xiang clenched her teeth, the veins on her forehead bulging with anger.

But she still turned and retreated to her room.

“Pfft.

The young lady can’t stand her anymore, and she’s still so arrogant.

Who’s she putting on an act for?”

“Exactly.

I think she’ll be kicked out by the young lady sooner or later.”

“I think so too.”

 

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