The next day, as soon as it was light, Zhao Jiaqi woke up early. She heated up the leftover dishes from the day before and made some soup. The two of them had breakfast in the kitchen.
"You go on ahead. I'll wait for you to come back for lunch!"
Fan Zehao pinched her cheeks twice and said, "Okay!"
"I've already had Special Twelve take everyone away last night, so none of them can spread any rumors. Liu Er Lengzi will definitely go to town today, and I've also arranged for people to catch him and send him to join his wife!"
Zhao Jiaqi was very surprised. "If so many people suddenly disappear from the village, what if they get suspicious?"
"Let them be suspicious. Without concrete evidence, what can they do to me?" Fan Zehao was not afraid of this at all.
He added, "When we leave, we can just let these people go back. I don't intend to kill them. We'll have one of them come back to report, and our people will be watching the whole process. After he's finished speaking, we'll just take the people away!"
This plan was simply brilliant!
"Alright then, just don't harm their lives. Make them do some labor reform!"
Fan Zehao replied, "Don't worry, the special envoy is in charge!"
What he was worried about now was not this, but his wife's lost memories. If he had been the one to take the potion of forgetfulness, he dared to guarantee that he would never forget his wife, no matter who else he forgot.
As he was leaving, he snuck a kiss on Zhao Jiaqi's cheek when she wasn't paying attention. He ran out of the courtyard with a grin, like a child.
Zhao Jiaqi blushed, covered the spot where she had been kissed, and stomped her feet shyly, shouting after him, "Just you wait until you get back, I'll sort you out!"
Outside the courtyard.
Several people watched as Fan Da ran out. Seeing his happy expression, they guessed he must have been flirting with his wife. Before they could finish their thoughts, they heard her shouting from inside the courtyard.
"Stop shouting. Your husband has already run far away and can't hear you!" Wang Zhangshi teased her with a smile as she entered the courtyard.
Zhao Jiaqi's face turned red. "Aunties, you're here. Please come in and sit. I'll go boil some water!"
Liu Qinshi playfully chided her cousin, "Look at you, getting embarrassed by the children!"
"You're already this old, what's there to be embarrassed about? You're not a young girl who's unmarried and childless!" Wang Zhangshi looked at her figure and clicked her tongue. "I must say, your figure is quite good. You don't look like you've had a child, yet you're so thin!"
Granny Li interjected, "Alright, the child is shy. Don't say these vulgar things anymore. It's quite cold outside, let's go inside!"
Although it was a joke, they all tacitly agreed not to bring it up again. After all, such words were unpleasant to hear. It was fine to joke around privately.
Soon, Zhao Jiaqi entered the room with the kettle of boiling water. After pouring them water, she got on the kang and was clearly surprised to see something extra among them.
"It's done, is it? Let me take a look!"
Zhao Jiaqi got to work. After carefully examining it, she offered a few suggestions. "This is exactly what I wanted, but it must be filled completely, stuffed until it's plump and feels firm to the touch. Secondly, looking at the finished product, the fabric should be slightly inferior to silk but better than pure cotton."
Granny Li, who was experienced, pondered for a moment and said, "How about silk gauze? It's more expensive than pure cotton but cheaper than silk. Moreover, this fabric is smooth and delicate, making it suitable for the material of these cloth dolls!"
At her suggestion, others also agreed, nodding in unison.
She had never seen silk gauze before, only occasional silk flowers worn by maids on their heads. It seemed like a good choice.
"I'm not an expert in this area. Since Granny Li has spoken, let's buy this material and make a few to see how they turn out!"
When it came to buying materials, everyone fell silent. Zhao Jiaqi, knowing they had no money, took out her own silver and handed two taels to Granny Li. "I know you're familiar with the fabric shops, and you have a good eye for fabric quality, much better than us. Please trouble you to make a trip!"
The others felt the same. Liu Qinshi saw that Granny Li was a bit reluctant and guessed why.
She slapped her thigh and said, "How about this, I'll go with you. I'll be your witness, how about that?"
Hearing this, Granny Li was very happy and smiled. "I was just afraid that if I went alone, there might be some gossip!"
Seeing how cautious she was, Zhao Jiaqi sighed. She had really not thought that far ahead!
"We should trust our people and not doubt them. I have great confidence in you all. Aunties, just do your best and don't worry or hesitate. If we make money, we'll share it. If we lose money, it's all on me!"
These words were like a shot of confidence for them, so they wouldn't have to worry or lose sleep, and she didn't want to cause any trouble for these old ladies.
"By the way, Aunt Liu, I have a carriage at home. If the village chief can drive, you can take my carriage. It will be more convenient for the journey!"
Liu Qinshi waved her hand. "Do we need him to drive? I can! Let's go now!"
They were as good as their word, and left without any hesitation.
Zhao Jiaqi watched as an old lady drove a carriage, pulling another old lady. They were quite fast and efficient!
Inside the house, Wang Zhangshi and Meng Sunshi continued to make the cotton coat for Fan Zehao. The front was done, and only the frog fasteners were a bit time-consuming.
Zhao Jiaqi wanted to help, but her attempt at making frog fasteners was not as simple as modern ones that just needed to be sewn. The intricate wrapping confused her. She remembered how to do it, but as soon as she started, she realized it was all wrong.
Her mind understood, but her hands failed her.
Seeing this, the two women said, "You should hurry up and embroider the sachets. This work is really not suitable for you. Don't cause trouble!"
They were laughing so hard they could barely breathe, and it delayed the making of another fastener.
Wang Zhangshi was straightforward and not afraid of offending Zhao Jiaqi. On the contrary, Zhao Jiaqi was not angry at all. She was just puzzling over why, after passing through a certain hole, it resulted in a knot.
For some reason, she stopped dwelling on it and decided to embroider her own sachet.
The morning passed, not too short and not too long. The clothes were finished, the fasteners were sewn on, and the people outside also returned.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Fan Zehao pulling two aunties back. The people inside the house ran out to receive the goods.
A bolt of silk gauze and three sacks of scrap fabric were carried into the house. They were in a hurry, so they didn't go home for lunch. Their families would have to figure out something for themselves.
Zhao Jiaqi saw this and realized that apart from cooking, she wasn't really good at anything else.
Kitchen.
Fan Zehao recounted the day's events.
"Liu Er Lengzi said that Wang Juxiang took her family to our house, but they never returned. He claimed you killed them. The town mayor asked the yamen runner who came yesterday, and he said you were a weak and frail person who struggled to wield a cleaver, let alone kill so many people at once!"
"After hearing this, the town mayor believed Liu Er Lengzi was lying. This afternoon, the town mayor will send people to investigate the disappearance of Wang Juxiang and her relatives!"
Zhao Jiaqi turned to him and asked, "They came in such a large group. Even if there were few people in the village, someone must have seen them. But now they're gone, how do you explain that?"
"I've already had Special Twelve bring Wang Juxiang and Liu Er Lengzi's younger brother back. After the yamen runners finish their investigation this afternoon and the matter is settled, Twelve will send them away!"
Zhao Jiaqi chuckled. Given Wang Juxiang's unpleasant demeanor, would she obediently follow their arrangements? Special Twelve must have used some means to frighten them, otherwise, they wouldn't have cooperated so readily.