The Lucky Farm Girl-Chapter 29 - Zhao Family_1
Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Zhao Family_1
Chapter 29 -29 Zhao Family_1
“Is Grandpa Zhao at home?”
Around Shen Hour (approximately 4 pm), Yang Mengchen and her siblings bade Doctor Luo farewell, taking a carriage from ‘Apricot Grove Hall’ directly to Zhao Chunping’s house.
“Who is it?” Old Master Zhao’s granddaughter, Zhao Xiaoxue, asked as she came out to open the gate. Seeing the four siblings outside, she was surprised and happy as she asked, “Big Brother Yang, Second Brother Yang, Fourth Brother Yang, Little Sister, what brings you here?”
“Hello, Sister Xiaoxue. We have something to discuss with Grandpa Zhao and Uncle Zhao. Are they in?” Yang Mengchen asked with a polite smile.
“My father has gone to deliver goods to the neighboring village, and Grandpa is at the porcelain factory. You all should come inside,” Zhao Xiaoxue said cordially as she linked arms with Yang Mengchen, calling out loudly, “Grandma, Mother, come quick, Little Sister and the others are here!”
Madam Zhao Wang and her daughter-in-law Liang Meijuan hurried out of the house at the sound, their faces full of joyful smiles: “It’s Chengrong, Chengning, Chengyou, and Little Sister who have come.”
“Hello, Grandma Zhao, Aunty Zhao,” the four siblings greeted in unison.
“Good children, come in and sit inside,” Madam Zhao Wang beckoned them into the house with a loving smile, and instructed her daughter-in-law, “Meijuan, Little Sister likes tangerines the most; go bring them all here.”
Liang Meijuan chuckled and went off to the next room.
“Little Sister, wait here. I’ll call Grandpa, and then I’ll have Big Brother go fetch my father,” Zhao Xiaoxue said.
Seeing Zhao Xiaoxue run outside, Yang Mengchen quickly cautioned her, “Sister Xiaoxue, it’s enough to have Grandpa Zhao come back; there’s no need to look for Uncle Zhao.”
Acknowledging with a word to show she understood, Zhao Xiaoxue dashed out of the yard like the wind.
“That girl is always so hasty and rash, nothing like Little Sister’s proper and steady demeanor,” Madam Zhao Wang complained affectionately.
Mengchen laughed, “Grandma Zhao, please don’t say that. I actually quite enjoy Sister Xiaoxue’s frank and hearty nature, much better than those who are insincere.”
“You can’t praise Xiaoxue any more, otherwise she’ll get too arrogant.”
“I’m just telling the truth.”
“You’re all good children, hehehe,” Madam Zhao Wang said with a smile in her eyes.
Liang Meijuan, entering with a basket of tangerines, felt glad to hear Yang Mengchen’s words; her own child was of course the best: “Little Sister, have some tangerines. Chengrong, Chengning, Chengyou, you too,” she said as she handed a tangerine to each of the siblings.
“Thank you, Aunty Zhao.” Putting the tangerine on the table, Yang Mengchen took out a package of sweets from her elder brother’s carrying basket: “These are a few kinds of snacks from Uncle Luo at ‘Apricot Grove Hall,’ for you to try.”
“We really shouldn’t. The snacks from Doctor Luo were given to you; how could we accept them? You should take them back for your grandparents to enjoy,” Madam Zhao Wang and Liang Meijuan said, waving their hands in decline. The snacks sold in town were very expensive, and it was too precious for Little Sister to give them a whole package.
“It’s alright, Uncle Luo gave us plenty of snacks,” Yang Mengchen insisted, placing the package in Madam Zhao Wang’s hands.
With that, Madam Zhao Wang could only accept.
Peeling a tangerine for Yang Mengchen, Liang Meijuan revealed a kind smile on her face as she watched her eat it with relish.
“Grandpa, hurry up,” suddenly came the urging voice of Zhao Xiaoxue from the courtyard, followed by her rapid footsteps as she ran in: “Ninth Sister, I’ve called Grandpa and Big Brother back.”
Seeing the reproachful and embarrassed look in Madam Zhao Wang’s and Liang Meijuan’s eyes, Yang Mengchen quickly stood up, pulled Zhao Xiaoxue aside, took out a handkerchief to gently wipe the sweat from her forehead, then picked up the boiled water from the table and handed it to her: “Thank you for your hard work, Sister Xiaoxue. Please sit down and have some water.”
Zhao Xiaoxue also saw the gazes of Grandma and Mother and, especially in front of the three Yang brothers, with Ninth Sister wiping sweat from her and offering her water, she blushed with shyness: “Thank you, Ninth Sister.” She took the bowl and sat down quietly to the side.
After a short while, Old Master Zhao and his eldest grandson, Zhao Xiaodong, walked in, and seeing the Yang siblings, greeted with a smile: “Ninth Sister and the three lads are here.”
The Yang siblings hurriedly paid their respects and greeted them.
Old Master Zhao sat down by the table and asked Yang Mengchen: “I heard from Xiaoxue that Ninth Sister was looking for me and Chun Ping for a matter?”
Yang Mengchen smiled and nodded: “That’s right, today my brothers and I went to the town and happened to hear Uncle Luo from ‘Apricot Forest Hall’ mentioning he was looking for someone to make porcelain bottles for medicine. I thought of Grandpa Zhao’s family who also makes porcelain and does it quite skillfully, so I mentioned it to Uncle Luo. To my surprise, he immediately agreed and asked me to come back and discuss with Grandpa Zhao and Uncle Zhao to see if you would like to take on this job.”
The Zhao family members all showed expressions of joy upon hearing this.
“Ninth Sister, can I see what kind of bottles they are first?” Ninth Sister was looking out for their family’s interests, so Old Master Zhao wanted to see the sample first, to clarify at the earliest if they could not make it, so as not to fail to live up to Ninth Sister’s kind intentions.
Taking out several design papers from her bag, Yang Mengchen handed them to Old Master Zhao: “Grandpa Zhao, would you be able to create these patterns on the porcelain bottles? Each bottle must have the words ‘Apricot Grove Hall’ in this position, and most importantly, can you make it so that others cannot easily replicate it?”
Yesterday, she bought a few small porcelain bottles at the pottery shop in town, but regretfully found them too monochrome and somewhat expensive, leaving her dissatisfied, so she designed a few colored patterns herself.
Old Master Zhao examined the design papers closely, then nodded and shook his head at Yang Mengchen: “There’s no issue with making the porcelain bottles and there are ways to prevent easy replication. However, we have only ever made simple, dark blue patterns before; we have never made these colored patterns and do not know how.”
“Uncle Luo told me the method of creating colored patterns, and I will share it with you when the time comes.”
“Is Ninth Sister telling the truth? Is Doctor Luo really willing to teach us this unique technique?” Old Master Zhao was visibly excited, while the others were both surprised and incredulous.
Yang Mengchen nodded her head.
The truth was that she knew how to create colored patterns, not Uncle Luo, but she wanted the Zhao family to remember Uncle Luo’s kindness, hence the white lie.
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“So how many bottles does Doctor Luo plan to make?”
“The current need is not extensive. You can start by creating high, medium, and low grade bottles of differing materials, and for each grade have different sizes. Just manufacture five hundred of each size to begin with. Also, the bottle mouth must be designed in a spiral shape, and the protruding part in the middle of the lid should also be designed in a spiral, to ensure a perfect seal,” Yang Mengchen explained, while gesturing with her hands.
“There’s no problem in making that shape, but why so many?” the Zhao family members wondered with wide eyes.
“Uncle Luo said that this is just the beginning and that the quantity will continue to increase each month,” Yang Mengchen said with a smile: “Uncle Luo also said that if your skills are really good, and there’s more porcelain work to be done, he will give all of it to you.”
Filled with gratitude and moved, the Zhao family said: “Please convey our thanks to Doctor Luo on our behalf!” Doctor Luo is truly a good man.
“I will pass along the message. Here are the prices for the various types of porcelain bottles set by Uncle Luo; take a look and see if there are any objections?” Yang Mengchen then took out another piece of paper and handed it to Old Master Zhao.
