Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 110 Luoxiu

Scholar Shang did not respond to that, for after all Mrs. Cui was a woman, and as a man, it was not proper for him to discuss a woman.

Ms. Jiang then took out the embroidery made by Gu Jinxiu and spread it out for Scholar Shang to see: "Husband, look at this picture."

Scholar Shang looked at the embroidery and saw that on a double-layered gourd cloth the size of a compass, more than a dozen figures were embroidered. Some were chopping wood and setting up straw huts, others cooking by the fire, and some were foraging for food and water in the mountains. Each figure was vivid, as if alive on the cloth.

Scholar Shang was somewhat amazed: "This picture is really vividly embroidered."

Although it was on cheap gourd cloth, and the colors of the embroidery threads used were quite basic—just grey, white, black, and blue—the exquisite embroidery skills did not make the piece seem cheap at all, but instead added a sense of simplicity and profoundness.

Ms. Jiang was also very satisfied with the embroidery, saying, "This was embroidered by Xiao Yu’s older sister. At first, I simply thought Sister Xiu was skilled in embroidery, but on the way back, after thinking it over, I realized that the technique of this embroidery is quite similar to Luoxiu."

Luoxiu is one of the four famous embroideries, known for being skilled at depicting figures and scenes, with the embroidered figures and landscapes looking very lifelike. In the previous dynasty, it was designated as palace embroidery, a tribute item that only circulated among the court and nobility, rarely sold in the market, and could be described as worth more than gold.

It was only in Great Chu that Luoxiu began to spread among the common folk.

If this embroidery is indeed Luoxiu, then its value is considerable.

Scholar Shang frowned upon hearing this and after a moment, said to Ms. Jiang, "It may just be similar, don’t take it to heart, we should just sincerely interact with the Gu Family."

Scholar Shang did not want to delve too deep.

Ms. Jiang understood what Scholar Shang meant and nodded: "Don’t worry, husband, I understand. I won’t go asking questions."

Regardless of Mrs. Cui’s background, she was now just a farmer’s wife, and their family’s interaction with the Gu Family was only to repay a kindness, with no desire to dig into Mrs. Cui’s past secrets.

The next morning, Old Luo and Ah Jiu each drove a mule cart towards the Gu Family in Da Feng Village.

Because the stone mortars were heavy, it took a full two hours before the two mule carts arrived at Da Feng Village, stopping in front of the Gu Family’s courtyard gate.

Ah Jiu shouted, "Uncle Gu of the Gu Family, we’ve brought the stone mortars. Please take a look, where would you like to place them?"

Third Grandpa and Gu Dagui and his wife, together with Gu Damu and his wife had gone out to set up stalls, and since Gu Jinli was not going today, she followed Gu Dashan out to greet them. They reached the back of the mule cart and were surprised to see one large and one small stone mortar inside.

Gu Dashan said, "Didn’t you say just one? Why did you bring two?"

Ah Jiu laughed: "The old house originally had two mortars, a large and a small one, convenient to use. Take a look, where should we place the stone mortars?"

Gu Jinli’s courtyard was full of wooden boxes containing tofu and there was no space for both stone mortars. After a moment’s thought, Gu Jinli said, "Transport the large one to the Luo Family, and leave the small one here, just outside the kitchen door."

The large stone mortar had a diameter of more than half a meter, which was really too big, while the small stone mortar had a diameter of just over one foot, which was very suitable for home use, and thus was kept.

"Okay, we’ll move the small stone mortar in for you first." Ah Jiu called over Old Luo, and the two of them tied the small stone mortar with thick ropes, carried it with two poles, and placed it outside the Gu Family’s kitchen, setting it down for them.

Gu Dashan had already run off to the Luo Family to call Father Luo and Uncle Tian who were grinding beans.

The fathers and sons of the Luo and Tian Families, including Qin San Lang, all came.

The large stone mortar was too heavy for five or six men to lift.

Old Luo, who was skilled at driving carts, said to the men from several families, "I’ll drive the cart into the courtyard first, and after we’re inside, we can move the stone mortar out."

"Okay." The men from the various families agreed, making way for Old Luo to lead the mule cart into the Luo Family’s courtyard.

Their yards were all quite large, with both front and back courtyards, about half an acre each.

Old Luo drove the mule cart into the front yard and stopped it in the middle of the courtyard.

Father Luo and the others came over to begin moving the stone mill.

The stone mill was divided into a base and the upper and lower millstones, three parts in total. Qin San Lang, just fourteen years old, was incredibly strong; he single-handedly lifted a half-meter-wide millstone off the mule cart. With a thud, he stood it upright on the ground, steadied the millstone, and rolled it to the left side of the courtyard.

Father Luo had been injured when he was younger and didn’t dare to do as Qin San Lang had. Instead, he and Luo Wu lifted the other millstone together. Father and son rolled it over to the left side of the courtyard as well.

The remaining base, which Uncle Tian and his son, along with Gu Dashan and his son, hoisted with fist-sized sticks, was carried to the left side of the courtyard and placed on a large stone that had been set into the ground.

Next, the Luo family father and son placed the two millstones on top of the base to complete the assembly, and with that, the stone mill installation was finished. freewёbnoνel.com

After all this work, everyone from the few families was sweating profusely.

Seeing that the stone mill had been moved, Ah Jiu said, "There’s still more stuff to move, we have to make another trip."

Saying this, he and Old Luo turned around and left.

Gu Dashan caught up and asked, "Weren’t there just two stone mills? What else is there?"

But Ah Jiu and Old Luo had already driven the mule cart far away and did not reply.

Gu Dashan sighed and grumbled, "Who knows what else they’ve gone to haul?"

Gu Dexing, knowing that Scholar Shang’s servant had come, hurried over anxiously. Not seeing Scholar Shang’s servant, he asked Gu Dashan in a rush, "Uncle Dashan, where are Scholar Shang’s servants?"

Gu Dashan replied, "They just left."

"They left?" Gu Dexing became anxious, "Why did they leave so quickly? Why didn’t you stop them?"

Gu Jinli glanced at Gu Dexing and said, "Moving this stone mill took a good thirty minutes of hard work. It’s ridiculous that you come late and blame others."

If the young master had come earlier, he would’ve met them.

Gu Dexing’s face turned red, embarrassed by Gu Jinli’s words.

Gu Dashan was good-natured. Seeing Gu Dexing like this, he said with a smile, "Brother Xing, don’t be anxious. Ah Jiu and the others will come back later."

Gu Dexing’s eyes lit up, "Really?"

Gu Dashan nodded, "True, they said there was still something to be delivered."

Gu Dexing, pleased, did not go back home. Instead, he waited at the Luo’s place. After more than two hours, he finally waited for Ah Jiu and Old Luo to return.

Old Luo and Ah Jiu brought quite a few things this time. There were tables, chairs, benches, two stone mortars, and two large iron plates.

Upon seeing the two iron plates, Gu Jinli knew that they were custom-made for their family by Scholar Shang.

No one in Great Chu used iron plates like this, except for their family’s Fried Five-Spice Tofu. But Gu Jinli didn’t refuse them or reveal the truth. Since they had already been delivered, sending them back would not only be troublesome, but also pretentious.

Gu Dashan saw the two iron plates and, knowing they were expensive, was reluctant to accept them. But Ah Jiu, with his quick-witted talk, persuaded Gu Dashan in no time and got him to accept the iron plates.

Gu Dexing, finding out that Ah Jiu and the others had come again, rushed over to Gu’s place and asked Ah Jiu, "Did Scholar Shang read the article I wrote? Did he say anything about it?"

Having fled from disaster, especially after encountering the murder by the Evil Man, Gu Dexing was terrified. After settling down for a while and not daring to leave the house, he finally found something he wanted to do—study and strive for an official position!

This was what he had been doing since he was young. Apart from this, he didn’t know how to do anything else and wasn’t willing to learn any other work. He hated chopping wood and hated grinding beans. His hands were meant for writing, not for rough labor.