Chapter 451 – Money Blown by the Wind (Part Five)
“Small Master, your words truly humble this old servant.” The person before me was the shopkeeper of Beijiang Ju Bao Zhai. He had long since freed himself from slavery, yet faced with Gu Min’s only bloodline, he still referred to himself as an old servant. This showed respect for Jiang Pengji and nostalgia for Gu Min. “It’s been over ten years since we last parted, and now Little Master has grown so big. If the old master were to know, how delighted he would be.”
While others valued sons over daughters, the old master prayed fervently for a daughter as soon as he was pregnant.
Gu Xin had gathered quite a few “Gods of Daughters” for Gu Min, as he personally understood her obsession.
Now seeing Gu Min’s daughter grown into such a graceful figure, he felt that he had no regrets in this life.
Wait a minute… what did I just say? Graceful figure, what nonsense!
Gu Xin, with a conflicted expression, stared at Jiang Pengji, struggling for a long time to say anything else.
Jiang Pengji gazed outside the city at the troop of soldiers. “You really are an old acquaintance of my mother?”
Understanding her meaning, Gu Xin replied, “Little Master, please don’t misunderstand. Those are soldiers borrowed from Liu Xi. In these peaceful times, trading isn’t easy, much less in this chaotic era. To ensure that Little Master’s things are delivered safely, this old servant borrowed some troops from Lord Liu, not expecting it would cause a misunderstanding for Little Master.”
A smile crept up on Jiang Pengji’s lips. “Thank you! What should I call you?”
Despite Gu Xin’s age and background, judging by his attire and demeanor, he clearly wasn’t an ordinary person. Jiang Pengji wouldn’t truly regard him as a lowly servant just because he called himself “old servant.”
Considering age, Jiang Pengji’s combined previous and current life made her roughly the same age as Gu Xin.
Gu Xin thought for a moment and said in a slightly hoarse voice, “If Little Master doesn’t mind, just call me Gu Shu.”
“Gu Shu.” Jiang Pengji obediently echoed.
Gu Xin seemed to reminisce about something, his eyes turning red, but then joyfully replied, “Aha!”
Feng Jin and the others, along with the audience in the live stream, were still dazed, unable to comprehend how matters took such a sudden turn. Only after the two finished their dialogue did they gradually understand, letting out a relieved breath.
Better not to fight! This Gu Xin clearly knew the Lord (the host), perhaps he even brought good stuff.
Jiang Pengji guessed what Gu Xin had brought, smiling as she took Changsheng from Feng Jin’s arms and kissed the little girl’s forehead.
“Luck Star.”
Changsheng blinked her round eyes in confusion, babbling and then fluttering her arms wanting a kiss back.
Little did she know, her actions caused a huge misunderstanding for Gu Xin!
He was astonished as he looked between the giggling Changsheng and Jiang Pengji, then shot an angry glare at Feng Jin!
“Take her down! The wind is strong on the city wall, she could catch a cold, and a sick child isn’t easy to treat.”
He handed Changsheng, wrapped in her windbreak cloak, back to Feng Jin, who wore a pitiful expression.
The alarm in Xiangyang had been lifted; the newcomers weren’t just troublemakers for her but were actually bringing money, grain, and horses.
Gu Xin was serious and meticulous in his actions. Temporarily setting aside his inner conflict, he took a step back and followed Jiang Pengji down the city wall, clearly detailing the items he had brought, even accounting for losses along the way and presenting a list. His conduct was straightforward and honest, making it easy to see his sincerity.
Hearing about the sheep skins and foals, Feng Jin and the others looked at him with admiration.
What they lacked was not food; what Gu Xin brought truly solved their pressing needs.
With the influx of people migrating from Shangjing and Fengyi, along with thousands of captured soldiers from the Green Garment Army, the population in Xiangyang was even larger than before the earthquake. The winter is always cold in Northern Dongqing, and there weren’t enough warm clothes in the city. Xu Ke was worried about how to survive the winter, not knowing Gu Xin would deliver over ten thousand properly tanned sheep skins!
Purchasing such sheep skins in Dongqing would be expensive and hard to gather. Not to mention, the sheep raised domestically had short and sparse wool, while the wool Gu Xin provided was long and dense, with each skin having significant weight.
However, how would these skins be turned into warm clothing?
Jiang Pengji furrowed her brows, contemplating a solution, while the audience in the live stream also pondered.
【Hahaha】: How about just trimming the wool to a suitable length?
【The Payment Finally Arrived】: Trimming is fine, but did you see how thick that wool is? It feels like the owner of the sheep has never had a haircut in their life. What do we do with the trimmed wool? Wasting it wouldn’t be good…
【Got Money Again】: We can recycle the trimmed wool! Wash it, stuff it into the clothing layers as insulation!
Everyone started to think of how down jackets were made, and it seemed feasible.
Jiang Pengji felt there was another use. When she previously visited the largest history museum in the Federation, she had seen clothing known as “wool sweaters,” created with knitted scarves. According to descriptions at the time, it seemed to have sheep wool in its composition…
But she had no clue how to turn the wool into yarn and then knit it.
If there hadn’t been an audience, Jiang Pengji would have guessed she’d have to experiment herself for a while, and if the experiment failed, she could only have the wool washed and carded before sewing it into the clothing. That would also provide warmth…
But now, with an audience available, all she had to do was ask, and they could brainstorm solutions together.
So, Jiang Pengji inquired about wool sweaters and scarves.
She worried if that era didn’t have these things either.
As it turned out, the audience not only knew, but they also showered her with gifts and sent some 666s.
【Every Day I Want to Stop Updates】: Setting up a little bench to watch the host knit! The scene is just too beautiful.
【I Really Want to Play Dead】: I feel like Feng Jin and the others are truly going mad. Host, could you have a bit of compassion for them? While they work overtime, you’re playing with mud; when they keep working, you’re playing with wood; and when they’re nearly at their breaking point, you run off to knit… If there were forums in this era, I bet they’d quietly post complaints about the host, with the title already in mind—“818 that Lazy, Non-Paying, Bad-tempered Jiang Skin Peeler!”
【If There’s Nothing to Do, Burn Incense】: Hahaha, Jiang Skin Peeler, what nonsense? I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts.
【Nothing to Do, Dismiss Court】: Don’t you know? The fans of Feng Jin and others gave this name to the host’s fan club.
Back in the day, the host’s fan groups were named “Goddess,” “Your Majesty,” and other lofty titles.
However, ever since Jiang Pengji took down Xiangyang, the atmosphere changed. Jiang Pengji mindlessly squeezed her workers, making them work overtime without pay for months, and her fan group’s official nickname had become “Jiang Skin Peeler.”
No matter how much the audience laughed, Jiang Pengji began to seriously consider the possibility of shearing wool and knitting sweaters.
