The only people who have actually seen Lu Junming were Liu Yuyan and her two friends. Everyone else only heard about his attractiveness via word of mouth. They didn’t know if he was really that good-looking, and were just here to see what would happen.
Mo Yan said, “Miss Liu, I’m here to see how your wedding dress is getting along. I don’t want you to miss your wedding day.”
When her wedding dress was raised, Liu Yuyan’s face turned bashful, “It’s already been halfway embroidered, I’ll be done by my wedding day.”
“Then let everyone take a look!”
The young ladies here were all of marriageable age, and they all wanted to wear a beautiful and unique wedding dress.
Ms. Zhao made tea for the young women, then placed the dried fruits Mo Yan brought over in an exquisite bowl in the centre of the table.
On the tables by the sides were rolls of silk. They immediately went to take a look, and started discussing which ones looked the best.
Seeing that they no longer wanted to see Lu Junming, Mo Yan tried to slip away.
But then, Lu Junming’s voice came from the courtyard, “Mum, I bought the sticky rice cakes you like to eat.”
Mo Yan ran out the door, but she couldn’t stop Lu Junming’s voice no matter how quickly she ran. The young ladies already heard him and were fighting to get out the door first.
“Quick, run!” Even though she tried to warn him non-verbally, he didn’t understand. Not only did he not run away, he even came closer.
The young ladies suddenly mobbed Lu Junming and looked him up and down. They even discussed his appearance openly.
He had never encountered this before and was at a loss, the sticky rice cakes he had bought falling to the ground. Lu Junming sent a pleading look towards Mo Yan, but she just stood there and laughed at him.
Liu Yuyan said, “Alright, let’s be more reserved. You’re scaring him.”
She was from the governing official’s family and was an important figure in the city, so her words were much more influential than anything Mo Yan could say.
This Jiaolan Courtyard had a beautiful lady who knew how to embroider, and a handsome young man, as well as rarely-seen beautiful silks. It was a great place to go to!
Ms. Zhao called them back from the house, “Come take a look at the outer robe of Miss Liu’s wedding dress.”
She held a red outer robe with the word ‘fortune’ embroidered onto it. When she turned it inside out, their eyes brightened and they were shocked. On the back was a golden phoenix, majestic, elegant and noble.
You could only have no regrets as a bride if you wore a wedding dress like this!
The entire city’s young ladies learnt about Jiaolan Courtyard because of this. If they had time, they’d gather around here.
Three days later, Zhong Cheng returned with his carriage at noon. He got off and ran to the storefront, excitedly calling Mo Ling’s name.
When she raised her head, she saw his messy hair, with cotton threads stuck in it.
“Did you decide not to set up camp and rough it out on the carriage? It’s so cold right now!”
Zhong Cheng scratched his head, “How did you know, it’s like you saw me.”
Mo Ling reached out to remove the cotton threads stuck in his hair, “Look, the evidence is stuck in your hair!”
“I brought cotton over and took fabrics back. Sleeping on top of those wasn’t cold at all.”
Mo Yan saw his carriage was piled full. It was covered with an oil tarp, and when she removed it, she saw muslin cloth, this canvas fabric, and also other oil tarps.
She touched the fabrics and thought about what they could be used for. The muslin could be used to make undergarments and bedsheets. The oil tarp was waterproof, while the thick canvas fabric was sturdy and could be used to make bags.
“If it’s being sent here, naturally it’s Lu Junming.”
Then why had she never heard him talk about this, what did he want these for?
Lu Junming had come here as well, roughly estimating when Zhong Cheng would return, and went to welcome him, “Brother Cheng, where’s the things Chi Jie gave you?”
He gave Lu Junming a stack of papers, which he opened. Mo Yan went over and took a look. They were clothing designs.
The clothing designs looked like coats, hats and trousers from her previous life. They had clear modern inspiration.
“Who designed these?”
“Chi Jie, he told me the one made with oil tarps is called a raincoat, and can be used to keep out the rain while being lighter than a mino. I think his designs make sense, but no one from his family is willing to hear him out and think he’s spouting nonsense.”
“A raincoat!” Mo Yan looked up at Lu Junming in shock.
Mo Yan’s instinct told her Chi Jia was definitely a transmigrator too! If that was true, it’d be great. She could share all the thoughts she had, and could ask someone for advice if needed.
“Lu Junming, take him over here!”
Seeing Mo Yan’s face full of joy and anticipation, his face darkened, “No.”
She carefully pulled on the corner of her sleeve, “I just want to ask him how he designed this raincoat.”
“His brain’s different from normal people. Who knows what he’s thinking of.”
“That’s fine! I’ll ask him another time. Where are we storing the fabrics?”
“Of course it’s Jiaolan Courtyard. I want my mum to make a sample to see if it’s good or not. If it’s good, we can open a textile factory and sell raincoats.”
“Some of the young ladies who go to Jiaolan Courtyard are unable to buy silks. If we open a textile factory, we can get more customers.”
Lu Junming took Zhong Cheng to put the fabrics down in Jiaolan Courtyard. While Mo Yan stood there and tried to recall Chi Jie’s appearance and what he said.
If she gained a friend from her previous era, the world wouldn’t be as lonely as before. She wouldn’t have to keep her thoughts about herself.
She had to get Zhong Cheng here! He was a good designer, and if she opened a textile factory, he’d have a reason to come over here.
Mo Yan ran to Jiaolan Courtyard. Zhong Cheng had already left with his carriage, and she suppressed the excitement in her heart as she asked Lu Junming, “How many siblings does Chi Jie have, and what’s his age relative to his siblings?”
He stared at her without saying anything, but Mo Yan looked at him pleadingly, waiting for him to answer, and he couldn’t bear but respond to her.
“His father has a wife and two concubines. The official wife gave birth to two boys and one girl, he’s the second child with an elder brother and younger sister. For the other concubines, one has a nine-year-old son and the other has a six-year-old daughter.” After saying that, Lu Junming stared at Mo Yan, his face dark.
Mo Yan nodded and said to herself, “That should be fine!”
“What should be fine?”
“This raincoat was designed by him, right? If we open a textile factory in the future, we can invite him over as an expert.”
Hearing that her goal was to make money, Lu Junming’s face brightened up somewhat.
Post-translation notes: He thinks she’s just thinking about profits, while she’s lonely and wants someone that will understand her. This is perfect cause for drama. As always, thank you for reading!