Chapter 68

After October, the weather suddenly turned cold.

Especially in the village, old houses like the Mu family’s old residence let in a lot of cold wind.

Wei Xi’s cough started again. This was an old problem of his, usually coughing from the beginning of winter until spring warmed up completely.

Like when Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang first met him, it was already spring, but he would still cough occasionally.

He was used to it himself, only saying that he was afraid his constant coughing would affect Mu Er Pang’s studies and wanted to read in his room. If it still didn’t work, he would leave the academy earlier, and when the weather warmed up, he would come back after he was better.

Shen Cui didn’t allow it. She exchanged some medicine produced by the system for coughing, and put it in his food to nourish his body.

One dose of the medicine contained five kinds of interstellar medicinal herbs, priced at 50 points. One dose would be effective, but the system suggested that it would be best to continue taking it continuously. Taking it for a month in one go, then occasionally taking a dose later, would be enough to cure his illness.

Shen Cui wouldn’t be stingy when it came to matters of health, and she received ten taels of living expenses from the Wei family each month, just for this reason.

However, the 2nd-level academy only gave 60 points per day, and occasionally she had to cook, which cost 20 points, so she could barely manage the cost of buying medicine.

As for the expenses of ink, paper, brushes, inkstones, and everyone’s meals in the academy, they had to be transferred to the expenses in reality. Not to mention that she could save half of it every month as before, but she could save one or two silvers a month, which was also thanks to Zhou Shi’s good management of buying food and cooking.

In late October, it was time for the Wei family’s servants to go to the capital city again, but Zhou Shi hadn’t written the family letter yet.

Because she had to write a letter to Mu Yunchuan, Zhou Shi had spent more time learning to read and write recently. She had now mastered hundreds of commonly used characters.

Shen Cui had read a statistic in modern times that said mastering a thousand commonly used characters could cover about ninety percent of written materials. A family letter didn’t require her to write official documents, so why was she so obsessed?

After a few more days, Zhou Shi finally managed to write a letter. She felt embarrassed to ask Luo Buyu for advice on such a matter, so she showed it to Shen Cui first.

Shen Cui took a quick look and saw that it said something like “I’m fine, everyone at home is fine, we have enough money, and the money has been sent back. You keep it yourself, take care of your health.” Although the content was a bit dry and not literary, why would one show off literary talent in a family letter? It was enough to convey the most sincere care.

Especially, Zhou Shi wrote the letter seriously. She first drafted a rough copy, and then practiced the characters based on the draft. The handwriting was much neater than usual, with a hint of elegance.

Shen Cui happened to have written two letters to the old headmaster from hongle academy, one with her left hand, signed ‘Zhang Sheng,’ and the other with her right hand, signed with the name of her own academy. She asked a traveling merchant to send them to the Hongle Academy in the neighboring capital city.

As the days passed, it was almost New Year’s when the letters were delivered, so both letters were New Year’s greetings to the old headmaster. In terms of effort and handwriting, they couldn’t compare to Zhou Shi’s family letter.

Zhou Shi always thought and cared more about matters related to Mu Yunchuan. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up with an early death.

Shen Cui praised, “It’s really well-written. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In terms of literary talent and handwriting, who in our academy, except for Master Luo, can compare to them? It’s just a gesture of goodwill from us.”

Sending the letters required the Wei family’s servants, otherwise, it would cost a lot of money to send them herself. With no time to fuss over Zhou Shi, the family letter was sent to Mu Yunchuan’s hands a few days later.

A month later, the Wei family’s servants brought back a reply. The previous letter was written by Zhou Shi, but this reply was still a family letter sent back to the whole family.

This time, Mu Yunchuan’s letter didn’t need to be read. Shen Cui knew what it said. It was just a way for him to show filial piety to his stepmother, express concern for his brother, and ask about Zhou Shi.

Soon, Zhou Shi finished reading. The content was almost as Shen Cui had expected, except that Mu Yun Chuan mentioned he didn’t expect Zhou Shi to be able to read and write letters already, and encouraged her a few times.

This kind of template letter bored Shen Cui, but Zhou Shi was very happy and read those sentences about herself over and over again.

She always put her husband first, even though she now knew how to read and write, this had not changed.

Although Shen Cui didn’t hope for her to be like this, she had never found an opportunity to advise her.

Winter officially arrived. Mu Er Pang could still wear the new coat given by the Zheng family last year. Shen Cui searched through her wardrobe and only found a green coat she had worn when she came here last year, which was already patched at the cuffs. It was the best she had, and the others in the bottom of the box were so old and worn-out that she couldn’t bear to look at them.

Especially since she had lost a lot of weight in the past year, her weight had dropped from 60 kg to just over 50 kg. The coat hung loosely on her body, not about whether it fit or looked good, but it was so drafty that it was frightening.

Zhou Shi was even worse off. She had never been willing to make good clothes for herself, and what she wore daily were all old clothes and not new clothes. The coat she found this year was also an old one, even more shabby than Shen Cui’s.

Perhaps even the system couldn’t bear to see it. It issued a task for her to “procure winter clothes for everyone in the academy,” with a relatively lenient deadline of five days to complete it.

Of course, winter clothes could be directly purchased in the system, but Shen Cui was still buying medicine for Wei Xi, so she was really poor.

Later, she took Zhou Shi to buy some fabric and cotton, and the skillful Zhou Shi was responsible for making a coat for each person in the academy. Zhou Shi was no longer polite and said she would only make them for others and not for herself. Shen Cui arranged it as she pleased, and as soon as Zhou Shi got the fabric and cotton, she immediately set to work.

With Shen Cui upgrading her sewing skill to level 1, she could also help Zhou Shi as an assistant. To save Zhou Shi from exhaustion due to the tight deadline and heavy task, Shen Cui came up with a clever idea.

The large cotton coats were all made in a uniform color of green bamboo, regardless of gender. The style was simple, with a stand-up collar and front buttons. The cuffs were slightly narrower to facilitate writing, and the collar could be buttoned up, making it like an ancient version of a military coat. It was easy to put on and take off, suitable for people of all ages and sizes.

When Wei Shu came over later, he was delighted to see the military coat and joked that seeing everyone in the academy wearing them in a circle looked like they were surrounded by bears. He teased Wei Xi for wearing such a heavy coat, even though there were several cloaks and capes prepared for him at home.

Ignoring him, Wei Xi returned to find the night had grown cold, feeling the chilly wind through the walls and windows, causing his teeth to chatter. He put on Wei Xi’s cloak, but found the wide sleeves inconvenient for grinding ink and writing.

“It’s no good. It’s too cold in this village,” Wei Shu said as he warmed his hands over the charcoal basin, finally feeling his hands again.

But strangely, despite the cold weather, Wei Xi’s cough was much better than in previous years. He didn’t cough much all night. Wei Shu wanted to advise him not to stay in the village in winter, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Seeing him really freezing, Shen Cui gave him another one. Although Wei Shu was the third substitute, she was afraid that the system might also include him in its judgment, so she made one for him too.

When Wei Shu put on the military coat, buttoning it from his neck to his calf, his body finally warmed up, and he no longer mocked its ugliness and heaviness.

When he left the next day, he asked Shen Cui if the coat was for sale and said he wanted to take it with him.

Although it wasn’t as cold at the Qingzhu Academy as it was in the village, it still felt cold when doing homework at night. Since it was originally prepared for him, Shen Cui didn’t take any additional money from him, just reminding him to bring it next time he came to the village.

She thought this was just a small episode, but Shen Cui didn’t expect that Wei Shu actually had a talent for marketing. After a month, when he came to the village, he asked Shen Cui if she could make a few more. He said that his classmates at the academy initially thought the coat was ugly, but later found it to be really warm, and asked him where he got it. They also wanted to buy one.

This was quite embarrassing. Although the Headmaster knew that Wei Xi was studying with Luo Buyu and it was normal for Wei Shu to take a break to visit his brother, Wei Shu had inadvertently become an unofficial member of the Cuiwei Academy. Others wouldn’t have thought of this layer.

He was embarrassed to directly say where the military coat came from, so he said he helped everyone order it.

At this time, Shen Cui’s thrifty habits came in handy. She chose affordable and durable fabrics, which even less affluent students felt they could afford. They followed suit and placed their orders.

In the blink of an eye, ten people placed orders. Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, Wei Shu said that his coat shop was small and couldn’t handle so many orders, so he stopped there.

After hearing the ins and outs, Shen Cui didn’t decide whether to take the job or not. Instead, she called Zhou Shi over and asked for her opinion.

In the winter, Zhou Shi was still helping others wash clothes, which was already very tiring. Her hands were red and swollen from frostbite, which was heartbreaking to see.

There were indeed special medicines in the system’s output that could treat frostbite. However, in the system, there were also distinctions among service recipients. To put it plainly, the cultivated subjects could use them, and some parts could be used by the esteemed teacher, but the head of the mountain, Shen Cui, and the miscellaneous worker, Zhou Shi, were in the same category, with very few things they could use.

So, the special medicine couldn’t be used.

Shen Cui could buy modern goods, and there was indeed clam oil and frostbite ointment among them. Before winter came, she bought a bottle of clam oil for Zhou Shi.

It definitely had some effect, but no matter how good the effect was, it couldn’t compare to soaking her hands in cold water for four or five hours a day.

When Zhou Shi heard that there was a job making clothes, her eyes lit up. However, she didn’t immediately agree but looked at Shen Cui, indicating that she would listen to her opinion. After all, while she made the coats, the designs were done by Shen Cui.

Shen Cui waved her hand, letting her decide for herself. Zhou Shi said, “If it’s ten coats, because the style is simple and the sizes are the same, I’m familiar with them. I can make one in about a day, and I can finish them all in about half a month. Would that be okay with Young Master Wei?”

Most people at the Qingzhu Academy didn’t lack winter coats. They were just following the trend. It wasn’t that urgent to wear them. Wei Shu said, “Take your time, Madam. Finish them before the New Year.”

Shen Cui watched from the side, pondering. Knowing how to read and understand things was just a one-time thing. These were not enough to change Zhou Shi’s mindset, let alone without an economic foundation. In the future, Zhou Shi would still have to rely on Mu Yunchuan.

Wasn’t this a good opportunity right now?