"Do I have to have it?" Chi Wu shot Cheng Ying a look. "Even if I did, do you think I have the authority?"

Cheng Ying felt reassured; as long as they weren't making mistakes, money could solve things. "Let's leave it at that for now. This courtyard can still hold some things, and the money I have on hand is still enough."

The old woman closed her eyes, distressed. When she arrived, her granddaughter had flaunted the savings book—tens of thousands on it. How was it just a few days later that it became 'still enough'?

Not even flowing water moved this fast. The old woman clutched her chest; the pain was sharp. "Don't talk about money in front of me. Get out, just get out!"

By the time they left, Cheng Ying could still hear the sting of heartbreak in the old woman’s voice. "You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing the cub, Grandma. Our time to make big money is yet to come."

The old woman took a deep breath, eyes shut. A prodigal child, truly a prodigal child. "Oh dear, knowing they are moving out soon, I won't go visiting them then. Ten eggs per family!"

She patted her chest, blaming the turmoil on the two unfortunate children.

Cheng Ying felt helpless; her own grandmother was mourning eggs.

Chi Wu pursed his lips, pleased. What a good old lady—she was giving him and Cheng Ying a chance to be alone.

Chi Wu tugged Cheng Ying toward the west room, his territory. "Let's go. Grandma gets a headache watching us."

Though Chi Wu’s thoughts were slightly improper, they were discussing serious matters, so the atmosphere couldn't truly become ambiguous.

Even though they talked half the night away, they managed to sort most things out. Cheng Ying and Chi Wu felt confident, stretching their weary limbs.

Chi Wu looked at Cheng Ying. "Grandma's asleep. You can catch a nap here."

Cheng Ying sighed. "Mm, okay." Then she moved the table aside and lay down.

Truly, there was no gender boundary between her and Chi Wu.

Chi Wu was overjoyed; Cheng Ying had no reservations with him. How wonderful.

His excitement made him unsure whether to lie to Cheng Ying's left or right. He hadn't prepared himself mentally for this.

Before sleeping, Chi Wu's heart raced. He thought perhaps he wouldn't be able to sleep even if he watched Cheng Ying all night.

But it turned out not to be as hard to sleep as Chi Wu imagined; he slept soundly.

Perhaps it was because the discussion ran too late. Chi Wu hadn't even managed to conjure up any mischievous thoughts.

The next morning, the old woman found the two youngsters gone early on.

They had started making a fuss right at dawn. The old woman winced in pain; every move they made cost money.

But she still worried about the children’s efforts. The old woman insisted on clearing out another room in the back so there would be a place for visitors to stay, wouldn't there?

As for the liquor Chi Wu had brought in, the old woman thought keeping it piled up with a stack of lumber was courting disaster. She had it moved to the front room, into the small back room where she slept.

The old woman mused that when she had time, she’d have to build a cellar at home. There was simply no space to store things.

In the two-courtyard residence, front, back, and middle—nine rooms in total—the old woman still couldn't find space for everything. What a way to live.

While Chi Wu ran to the countryside to get lumber and fetch craftsmen, Cheng Ying wasn't idle either. She wandered around the city and found a master craftsman to commission a set of specialized polishing tools.

Cheng Ying was drawing inspiration from future developments; various wooden bracelets were shaped on a lathe and polished to reveal beautiful patterns. Cheng Ying envisioned using these tools to polish all their wooden furniture. It would surely look better than applying lacquer.

So, when she ordered the custom tools, despite the cost, Cheng Ying didn't care—no pain, no gain.

Cheng Ying spared no expense, ordering tools for polishing flat surfaces and tools for polishing cylindrical shapes.

By the time the tools were ready, the craftsmen should have arrived too. She figured these tools wouldn't require much skill; practice would suffice.

When Chi Wu returned from the countryside with the men, Cheng Ying had already taken two days of lessons.

And Cheng Ying finally understood that she hadn't skipped a second adolescence; it had just come late because she hadn't met the right person. Or perhaps it was because the provincial capital was larger, and the talent pool wider.

Cheng Ying spent every day gazing at her new teacher, eager to go to school now.

Although she wasn't completely satisfied with his age, she decided to make do.

After all, finding an unmarried man in his thirties wasn't entirely reliable. According to the old woman, a thirty-year-old without a partner might have some kind of defect.

Cheng Ying returned from school radiating joy.

Chi Wu had just arrived home a short while ago, having settled the newcomers. The lumber had been moved into the back courtyard.

The old woman was chatting with the craftsmen who had come from the countryside. Living among neighbors from up and down the village gave the old woman the same feeling as meeting an old acquaintance from back home.

Even people ten miles away could be claimed as relatives.

Chi Wu hadn't seen Cheng Ying for several days and missed her. The change in her was truly noticeable. "Why are you so happy? Is there some good news?"

Cheng Ying didn't want to tell a little boy about her first crush. "You found the craftsmen, didn't you? From now on, we'll be waiting to get rich. Isn't that good news?"

Chi Wu raised an eyebrow. It didn't look like it; Cheng Ying had never acted this way over money matters.

The old woman prepared a grand feast to welcome the craftsmen.

Counting the two craftsmen already in the back courtyard, Cheng Ying’s place now housed five craftsmen.

With the polishing tools Cheng Ying had ordered, producing a set of furniture in two days was absolutely achievable.

Regardless of what the craftsmen privately thought of each other, Cheng Ying made sure their agreements were clear: the city craftsmen and the country craftsmen signed the same contract with identical compensation.

Moreover, Cheng Ying stated, "As long as the craftsmen keep our solid wood furniture shop in their hearts, I will not treat you unfairly."

Chi Wu felt that words were meaningless; the real test was in action.

Perhaps it was the arrival of the country craftsmen, or maybe the city craftsmen felt a sense of urgency, but regardless, Cheng Ying noticed that the furniture piled up in their courtyard had visibly increased.

At least the speed had picked up significantly.

Even though Cheng Ying was an amateur, she could tell from the finished products that the craftsmen she brought from the countryside were indeed masters of the old ways. No question about it.

Cheng Ying handed the blueprints drawn by Chi Yong to the newly arrived master craftsman. "Master, please pause what you're doing for a moment and finish making this set first."

The master craftsman took the blueprints. "I've seen things like this before, but I haven't worked on them. If the girl isn't afraid of wasting good wood, I’ll give it a try."

Cheng Ying replied, "No worries. Some parts can't be done just by hand. Our polishing tools will be here in a couple of days. Please start with that for now."

The master craftsman was slightly reluctant to hear Cheng Ying call it 'fiddling around'; after all, this was their craft.

Cheng Ying was also careful; blueprints truly shouldn't be shared carelessly. If they got out, it could cause trouble in future competition.

The craftsman Cheng Ying valued most wasn't just skilled; crucially, this craftsman definitely had no intention of opening his own shop, yet possessed the ability. He was someone dedicated purely to refining his craft.

As for the city craftsmen, Cheng Ying paid them, but she couldn't control what they thought privately.

The lumber Chi Wu brought back this time wasn't just pear wood. There was their own red pine, persimmon wood from the lumber yard, and some ordinary pine, filling the courtyard until there was barely room to work.

The finished furniture was moved into the two front storefront rooms. At this point, Cheng Ying’s furniture shop finally had stock for sale, though it hadn't officially opened.

Cheng Ying planned to pick an auspicious day and invite people over to make some noise. But for now, they were still in the inventory accumulation phase. Cheng Ying thought the healthy competition among the craftsmen in the back courtyard was very necessary. Otherwise, paying dozens of yuan in wages every day would be too vexing.

When Cheng Ying attended classes, she only looked forward to the Chinese lessons; the teacher was too beautiful to behold. After school, she would stare at their furniture, thinking that nothing in the provincial capital could compare—look at the natural color, unlacquered, how magnificent! If a piece didn't sell, it could become an antique in twenty or thirty years.

Cheng Ying’s life was wonderful. Chi Wu watched Cheng Ying and felt that life was quite flavorful every day.

Only the old woman was full of sharp words. She felt like her bowels had dried up these past few days; the two troublesome children were causing internal heat. How could they support so many people on dozens of yuan a day, yet not sell a single item from the furniture shop outside? Wasn't this asking for trouble?

On Sunday, Cheng Ying woke up early to take the old woman to hear people warming up their voices, but the old woman refused to go. "Grandma, why aren't you coming?"

The old woman’s expression wasn't good. "I'm not going. I'm going to your mother’s to get some medicine."

This was a big deal; a minor headache for the old woman was fixed with a single Analgin tablet, why go to the hospital? "Grandma! Where does it hurt? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

The old woman said, "I'm fine."

Cheng Ying insisted, "Grandma, you're making me anxious! Tell me quickly!"

The old woman frowned. "It’s nothing major. I have too much internal heat. Let your mother get me something to cool down."

Cheng Ying frowned, wondering if the old woman just couldn't get used to life in the provincial capital. "Grandma, are you uncomfortable here? Why the internal heat?"

Chi Wu suggested, "Grandma, let's hire someone to cook. Cooking for several people must be tiring you out."

Hearing that more money would be spent, the old woman's anger flared instantly. "You two prodigal brats! Your mother’s monthly salary isn't enough for the two of you to spend outside in one day! And you want to hire someone? The money is flowing out like water every day, can't you see it? Ah! Tell me, has a single thing outside sold after all this time? Aren't you worried? Is money easy to come by, right? Trouble, trouble! You'll anger me to death sooner or later. It's all because of you two unlucky children!"

Cheng Ying hadn't realized the immense psychological pressure on the old woman. "Grandma, don't get angry! We haven't officially opened yet! Oh, look at you! Why didn't you ever say anything? What if you bottled it up and got sick?"

The old woman retorted, "What's the use of me saying anything? Do you think the things you've piled up will sell?"

It was all fire! The old woman thought she could still hold on; it was truly miraculous.

Cheng Ying tried to placate her. "Grandma, I genuinely wasn't in a rush. I was thinking we'd wait until we acquired the neighboring courtyard, knock the storefronts together, and then open. That way, when people come in, they’ll have furniture to choose from, and they can wander around our shop longer. This can't be rushed."

Chi Wu added, "That's right, Grandma. We haven't even delivered that principal's chair or Dad's furniture yet. We barely have any of our own pieces. We still have a long way to go before opening."

Cheng Ying nodded. This child had promise—generous and patient.

The old woman wailed, "Oh, you don't know! Do you know how much those few truckloads of wood cost? Plus the wages, plus the daily food and drink! It's all outflow, no inflow. My heart aches just thinking about it!"

ps: Requesting Pink Tickets. RP