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The Golden Swallow explained, “When I was building the golden house, I liked to eat the leaves of the swallow agarwood tree. When my saliva mixed with the leaves, it formed the green swallow’s nest. It takes about ten to twenty years to build a golden house; during this time, only one or two swallow’s nests can be made. The golden house is very cold and needs to be lined with swallow’s nests to keep warm. Therefore, the green swallow’s nest is my mattress and cannot be given away casually. Occasionally, if a bit is taken out, it’s just a piece torn from the nest, not the entire thing.”
A swallow’s nest that takes ten to twenty years to build is indeed a rare treasure. No wonder it’s green; it turns out there are leaves inside. Also, the tree is an agarwood tree and is also called the swallow agarwood… I’ll have to study these details more later.
Chen Feng then asked, “Can a single swallow’s nest cure illnesses?”
The Golden Swallow replied, “Not to mention a single one, even half can save a life.”
Oh, my goodness, that’s a huge deal. Chen Feng eagerly said, “That’s great, Golden Treasure. Please go tear off a piece.”
The Golden Swallow stood on Chen Feng’s left palm and in the blink of an eye, both of them vanished. Chen Feng silently said “in,” and they both entered the space.
She found herself back in the tree.
The Golden Swallow said, “Mommy, when you want to stand on the ground, you need to say ‘come in,’ not just a single word ‘in,’ otherwise, you’ll be on the tree.”
What a hassle. Chen Feng slid down the tree and said, “Okay, I’ll remember that for next time.”
The Golden Swallow flew into a golden house and carefully pecked out a thin piece of fragrant swallow’s nest.
Chen Feng was a bit disappointed and said, “Golden Treasure, you’re being too stingy. This piece of fragrant swallow’s nest is barely thicker than a strand of hair. Is it even useful?”
The Golden Swallow explained, “The green swallow’s nest is very nourishing, people with weak constitutions can’t handle too much of it. If this piece is boiled in grandfather’s medicine, and he takes it every other month for six doses, his illness should be cured.” It then warned, “The green swallow’s nest is extremely precious, Mommy, don’t casually think about using it.”
Chen Feng received the green swallow’s nest, sniffed it, and detected a faint and lingering fragrance, similar to the scent in the space. It was a good thing she was adding it to medicine, if it were to be dissolved in water, it would be hard to explain its fragrance.
Before leaving the space, Chen Feng took the two packages containing broken gold pieces and gemstones and asked, “Golden, are these things from the tree? Can Mommy take them out to sell?”
The Golden Swallow glanced and said, “These things are leftover from when I built the house. If you want to sell them, go ahead.”
Chen Feng was delighted for a moment but then decided to leave the small packages in place, saying, “If I want to sell them, I need to find a reason. I can’t just stumble and pick up a piece of gold, that would raise suspicion.”
The Golden Swallow said, “Mommy, your naivety is still not cured, is it? Even such a simple thing you can’t figure out. Just have Dabao stumble and pick up a piece of gold.”
The kid’s words were really annoying, even when saying something nice, it didn’t sound pleasant.
However, Chen Feng had no choice but to accept the situation. She chuckled and said, “Alright, I’ll find an opportunity for Dabao to stumble.” Then she asked about the leaves, “I found these leaves underground. Can I take them outside? They smell even better than Chanel from my previous life.”
The Golden Swallow looked at her as if she were an idiot and said, “You only see them as perfume? Oh, Mommy, you’re really frustrating. No, I need to go and find Qiqi and Gray to dispel my annoyance.” With that, in a flash of darkness, it disappeared.
It seemed to imply that the leaves had other uses. It didn’t say how it knew, but the child’s patience was not good. Chen Feng would ask it again once she had cheered it up.
Chen Feng exited the space and entered the kitchen. Mrs Wang was preparing medicine, so Chen Feng discreetly tossed the green swallow’s nest into the medicine pot. Although the medicine had a strong scent, there was a faint fragrance that was refreshing and invigorating.
She then went to the backyard and persuaded the Golden Swallow to take Qiqi and Gray back to the woods to play. She expressed her intention to have them stay permanently once their new house was built. Their voices were too loud and could be heard indoors, which could unsettle anyone, let alone Chen Ming, who was unwell.
Qiqi and Gray didn’t want to leave, and they kept calling Chen Feng “Mom,” just like Chen Dabao, which was endearing. After some whispering from the Golden Swallow, the birds finally flew away reluctantly.
The single piece of green swallow’s nest worked wonders, Chen Ming felt better in the afternoon, visibly more spirited than before, with much less coughing. The whole family was overjoyed.
Two days later, the Golden Swallow returned with three beautiful emerald birds. It said, “These are the most beautiful birds in the woods. They don’t make much noise.”
The birds were truly beautiful, with feathers of various colors, bright and glossy, and long, pointed beaks. Chen Feng knew that in this era, jade jewelry was in vogue, and it was a pity to have captured such beautiful birds.
Before it got bright, she hurriedly had the Golden Swallow take them back to the woods.
Over the next couple of weeks, the Golden Swallow brought back the best singing bird. Their songs were truly delightful, melodious and pleasant to the ears. However, they loved to sing at night, and it nearly caused Chen Ming to relapse, so she had to drive them away.
Moreover, it brought back three sets of gold jewelry to the space. Despite bringing back so much gold, it claimed it wasn’t enough to build a house and that it needed to continue stealing.
Chen Feng later learned that when the Golden Swallow mentioned the woods, it was actually referring to the depths of the Honglin Mountains. The Honglin Mountains were part of the Yanshan Mountain Range, and few people ventured into its depths. However, the Golden Swallow was so capable that Chen Feng wasn’t worried about its safety.
Finally, on June 18th, the family had produced fifty-two needlework baskets and eight needlework bags through their efforts.
Chen Feng suggested pricing the needlework baskets at seventy, eighty, and ninety wen each for small, medium, and large sizes, respectively. Chen Ming and Mrs Wang agreed to this, considering it fair and not too expensive. Any family with some disposable income could afford them.
She also suggested temporarily pricing the needlework bags at ten taels of silver each. She didn’t dare to set the price for top-tier luxury items.
Based on the value of silver in the Dashun Dynasty due to grain trade, ten taels of silver equated to around 6,000 RMB in the modern world. In her previous life, many middle-class individuals spent over 6,000 RMB on a single bag, and she had bought two herself.
This era was relatively affluent, with occasional wars occurring only in border areas, and the people were content. Wealthy families would readily spend a thousand taels of silver to buy a rare orchid or top-grade embroidery. Hence, someone might buy a top-tier needlework bag with intricate buttons and the first card dog design.
Chen Ming was somewhat surprised, “Is anyone really going to buy a needlework bag at such a high price?”
Chen Feng explained, “Exquisite embroidery can sell for tens or even over a thousand taels of silver. This needlework bag is delicate, beautiful, and practical, and the button is exquisitely crafted. Selling it for ten taels of silver is not expensive. This price doesn’t just cover the needlework bag but also the button’s design. If they are skillful, and they understand the intricacies of the button, they can use this type of button to make clothes that are even more beautiful.”
Mrs Wang was hesitant, saying, “We are street vendors, not an Embroidery Shop. Perhaps we could sell at this price in an Embroidery Shop, but for us… how about we sell this bag to an Embroidery Shop?”