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墨書 Inktalez
Chen Family Village was a place where news of Chen Wulang's intention to 'take another wife' after topping the Gold List quickly spread. Qin Yaru did not want to stop it; instead, she became increasingly reclusive. When curious visitors came to inquire indirectly, she merely shed silent tears without saying a word.
As for the sympathetic gazes, as long as she did not mind them in her heart, they naturally had no effect on her. However, Da Lang seemed reluctant to go out and spent much more time studying with his mother.
Qin Yaru also grew closer to the Chen Family Clan. In addition to teaching the craft of flower gathering to several impoverished relatives in the clan, she planned to bring more benefits to the family.
The power of the clan was now very strong. Even though Chen Wenyue had become a Top Scholar and had connections with a Princess, she could not ignore the strength of the clan. She did not expect the Chen Family to be wholly devoted to her; as long as they could be slightly fair and not make her too passive, Qin Yaru would be satisfied.
She originally wanted to find a few carpenters in the village to design a set of oil extraction equipment based on her memories.
However, this task proved quite difficult. She visited all six carpenter families in the village, but none of them could read or understand her designs. This left Qin Yaru quite troubled. The machinery was not complex; anyone with basic woodworking skills could make it. She remembered how Gao Feng had casually taken two large trees and, with some cutting and hammering, assembled a machine that could produce oil.
But now, when she tried to do it herself, she ended up exhausted and unable to succeed. Qin Yaru could only smile wryly—no wonder people in the future valued education so highly; illiteracy and lack of schooling severely limited understanding, making even skilled labor inferior compared to those who could read.
Ultimately, with no other options, she went to the county and found an exceptionally skilled old carpenter who finally helped her create the equipment.
Although it was a traditional method of oil extraction that required considerable manpower and was much slower than electric methods, oil was currently very expensive. Many families could hardly afford even one or two pounds of oil throughout the year, making this business quite viable.
Qin Yaru recruited several idle hands from the village for oil extraction. Many people were skeptical and thought she was joking, including Wang Shi, who was half-convinced.
However, when those people truly followed Qin Yaru's instructions and extracted golden soybean oil from beans, the fragrant aroma wafted ten miles away on the wind, startling everyone in Chen Family Village. Among the crowd of onlookers, many had their eyes wide open in disbelief.
The clan leader rushed breathlessly to the Qin Family and stared blankly at the golden oil dripping into an iron barrel, his voice trembling: "Consort Qin, are you really going to give this machine to the clan?"
Qin Yaru smiled and nodded, "Extracting oil is a labor-intensive job. How can a woman like me do it? Just give it to the clan, as long as Da Lang and I can have oil without paying money in the future."
The clan leader rubbed his hands together, full of joy. "Of course, of course! In the future, if Consort Qin wants oil, she can have as much as she wants, and you won't need to provide any materials."
He looked at Qin Yaru with a particularly kind gaze. The onlookers were mostly members of the Chen Family, all of whom were excited. Right there, a child reached out to dip their hand in the oil and stuffed it into their mouth.
Although Wang felt sorry for Qin Yaru, thinking that if they opened a shop, the two of them would surely not have to worry about food and drink, she later reconsidered. As a woman, doing business might not be appropriate, and Chen Wulang was still uncertain about how to build good relations with the clan. If there were disputes with Chen Wulang in the future, the clan wouldn't necessarily side with that man, so she did not oppose.
Qin Yaru felt no regret at all. Such oil extraction equipment was simple and easy to replicate. It wasn't worth much compared to saving flowers; what mattered was the creativity behind it. Even if she held onto it, she couldn't prevent others from producing it. She was unwilling to engage in thankless work.
The clan leader was quite capable himself; within a couple of days, he set up the oil workshop, hiring idle strong laborers from the village to work. The clan members could get oil for free but had to bring their own materials for extraction. If the oil was sold, half would remain with the clan for purchasing ritual fields and establishing a Clan School, while the other half would be distributed among households.
Although Qin Yaru had given it for free to the clan, the clan leader still decided that she should receive double portions, and no one opposed this since it was all free. There were few difficult personalities among the Chen Family members; overall, everyone was happy.
After this event, Qin Yaru noticeably felt that her neighbors treated her more warmly than before. While walking down the road, she would occasionally receive fruits and eggs from villagers, which she couldn't refuse. Meanwhile, Chen Wenyue's reputation inexplicably worsened significantly. Although people were cautious because he was likely to become an official now and didn't dare to speak openly against him, when they mentioned Chen Wenyue, it was no longer with admiration or respect.
Those like Wang who "hate evil like enemies" and had close ties with Qin Yaru were even more furious and spoke without restraint: "Even if he becomes a Top Scholar, if he dares to abandon his wife and children, his character is flawed; being an official would only make him a corrupt official!"
Qin Yaru felt comforted inside; she genuinely believed that this era was quite good. Although officials were still respected, they weren't as untouchable as in later times. Even if the emperor wanted to expand the palace but merchants and common people disagreed, he still couldn't proceed with the expansion.
Now she was indeed the daughter of a criminal and a commoner, but she didn't want to fight Chen Wulang to the death; she just wanted to leave him and live her own life. Chen Wulang was a smart man; he should know what would be most appropriate!
Life in Chen Family Village was relatively smooth for Qin Yaru. Her mood gradually calmed down; even her memories of Chen Wenyue became more blurred. Sometimes when she desperately tried to remember him, she couldn't recall his facial features at all. Occasionally there would be a twinge of heartache; she thought this was because her past wounds ran too deep. Perhaps only after she attained unparalleled happiness would these pains gradually fade away.
"Consort Qin, are you there?"
Early that morning, Qin Yaru had just gotten up when she saw Zhao Di standing outside the door in a brand new outfit.
Qin Yaru quickly let her in, and before she could speak, Zhao Di quietly said, "My wedding date is set. The Guo Family will come to propose this month. I also have to thank Consort Qin; if it weren't for you, I would have been a concubine after marrying. Now the Guo Family is treating me as a wife, so I will be the main Wife when I marry. I can finally see some hope."
Her expression was calm, neither happy nor sad. Qin Yaru felt a pang in her heart and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Zhao Di gently smiled and took Qin Yaru's hand. "Consort Qin, don't be sad for me. I'm quite happy. As long as I can leave, anything is better than staying at home."
At that moment, a strange fear appeared on her face, something very peculiar.
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