On the day of the Laba Festival, the Liang and Dong families gathered together, along with Yun Ge and Hong Fei. Once the Dong family members heard the news, they showed a nervous expression, especially Mother Dong, Dong Xinyuan, and Dong Nian, who were to be entrusted with important responsibilities. Shujun smiled and looked towards Xu Wenzhou again. "Father-in-law, I noticed some time ago that Er Yuan’s clothes were torn, and you mended them for her. Moreover, your skill is quite remarkable. I found out incidentally that your craftsmanship is excellent. Since ancient times, clothing, food, shelter, and transportation have been the main components of business. If you are willing, why don’t we also open a shop and do business in this area?" Liang Shujun helped everyone find things to do. The courtyard where the Dong family lived was named Nianshan Courtyard, a name given by Xu Wenzhou. Yet what mountain does this Nianshan, ’yearning mountain,’ refer to? Needless to say, it is hard to leave one’s native soil; they yearn for their hometown, Taihang Mountain. That is home, the foundation of them all. But because it goes without saying and knowing that the current situation is unique, the two families have left their homes behind. Although their lives here are leisurely, without the need to hunt in the mountains or worry about crops, having been busy for most of their lives, suddenly being idle made both Dong Feiyan and Xu Wenzhou feel somewhat bored. In short, they were not comfortable without work. Today, almost all of the wood-chopping chores at Purple Garden were monopolized by Mother Dong and Dong Xinyuan. Xu Wenzhou demurred, "My abilities can’t compare with those of professional embroiderers... can clothes made actually sell? Would anyone buy them?" He had the self-awareness to acknowledge that while cutting and sewing clothes for his own family was entirely possible, he wasn’t specialized in it. If they were to be sold in a shop... it wasn’t certain anyone would buy them. Shujun contemplated for a moment, "This issue does need some careful thought. We should play to our strengths and compensate for our weaknesses. In terms of embroidery skills, we could compensate with design." Xu Wenzhou mused that the clothing worn by common people all looked quite similar, differing at most in color. At that moment, Dong Huiying suddenly said, "In this area, I believe I can be of use." She put down the Laba porridge she was holding and brought over paper and ink. Soon, a drawing of an ancient-style finished garment emerged on the paper. "Oh?" Xu Wenzhou exclaimed in admiration at the design’s brilliance. The style looked particularly novel, yet the modifications were not significant. But for people of their time, even minor changes could be exciting. In this way, the sketch turned out to be innovative yet easily acceptable. If they could make garments like these and find a market for them, they stood to earn a lot. Liang Shujun had a natural talent for business, and subsequently shared all her ideas. Clothing, food, shelter, transportation, none were overlooked, plus a variety of other things. Anyway, her mind was teeming with countless ideas, impressing everyone by the end. Her mind was truly golden! However, starting a business also required capital. The reason for their past poverty was their inability to utilize their talents. But now, preparing to pursue a new venture, her elder brother had previously carried back a large bag of treasures from Black Wind Camp, which could be used as initial funding. The poorer people get poorer, and the richer get richer. This wasn’t the old situation of a hero brought low by lack of a mere penny. After that, Shujun immersed herself in her business, busy and bustling every day. Before the New Year, residents living near Balibao suddenly noticed that this town, which had remained unchanged for many years, was undergoing daily transformations.
