Little Paws Scrabbling at Lightning Speed

Liu Shiyan's grandsons and sons all came out, a total of twelve. Zhou Wanwan clicked her tongue twice.

In ancient times, people were truly prolific; if four sons had so many grandsons, the family would begin to prosper.

Liu Shiyan's son is quite honest, and his eldest son is also very talented in this area. "I can make it."

He sat down directly, and Zhou Wanwan ignored him. In fact, she didn't have much hope for their family.

I went straight back for dinner, but by evening a fine Songhua inkstone was finished.

This inkstone looks smooth and glossy, with a uniform dark green color and faint pine branch patterns. It feels very delicate to the touch.

Lingbao jumped onto the inkstone with a "whoosh," nodded, and said, "You chose a good material, and the carving is not bad either, but the pattern is too common."

Zhou Wanwan found a piece of rough paper, picked up a charcoal pencil, and quickly drew several new designs, some of which were round, and the inkstone was carved into the shape of a small lotus flower.

Some are square, with simple bamboo leaf patterns drawn on the edges.

There's also one that follows the natural shape of the stone, with a few strokes of pine branches drawn along its natural form.

After the painting was finished, it was delivered directly to Liu Shiyan's house.

"Just follow these designs I drew, and I guarantee they'll look better than the old styles!"

I wonder what the pine stone inkstones from Jiang Family Village look like.

Zhou Wanwan said it casually, but she didn't expect Lingbao to take it to heart. That very night, he took his Donkey Friend to the Jiang Family.

It was very familiar with the Jiang Family and soon found its way to the Jiang Family study, where it saw dozens of kinds of Songhua inkstones.

It packed up all the Songhua inkstones and then started rummaging through the study, which was filled with a truly vast collection of books.

Lingbao quite likes books, and he packed up all thirty-odd books on the shelf.

It circled around and sighed:

"These people don't keep their money in the study anymore? Never mind, Wanwan likes money, but I don't."

I like medicinal herbs, but I don't know if they have any here. I'll have to go to the pharmacy to check.

It arrived at the pharmacy with practiced ease and smelled the aroma of medicine; its mouth almost watered.

"There are century-old ginseng, with a sweet and slightly bitter taste, and wild lingzhi mushrooms, which are smooth and slippery."

There's also dendrobium, which has a sticky texture when chewed.

There's also fritillaria cirrhosa, which has a slightly cool sweetness and is very good for the lungs!

"Wow, these are all wonderful things! I want to eat these medicinal herbs!"

There sat an old man with a white beard, fast asleep beside the medicine stove, drool dripping from his mouth.

The Little Ginseng, small in size, darted to the front of the medicine cabinet with a "whoosh," its tiny paws scrambling around rapidly.

As soon as the cabinet door was pushed open, it pulled out the century-old ginseng and century-old He Shou Wu) inside.

There were also dried gastrodia elata, Dahai, and goji berries, as well as fritillaria cirrhosa and dried tangerine peel in small porcelain jars.

It even dug out all the angelica, astragalus, and codonopsis in the corner, leaving nothing behind.

It searched every nook and cranny where medicinal herbs were hidden—the top of cabinets, the drawers, everywhere.

The Donkey Friend stood by to help, and his several cloth bags were quickly stuffed full.

"All done! Nothing's left behind! Let's go." Little Ginseng sat on Lingbao's back, and the two went home.

When the old man woke up, he stretched and prepared to add more medicine, only to find that the medicine pot was gone.

"Oh no! The medicinal herbs have been stolen again!" The old man scrambled off to report to the Jiang Family Village.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wu was so angry he jumped up and down. "How is that possible? With so many people from our Jiang Family guarding it, we can't even keep an eye on a small pharmacy? A bunch of useless trash!"

He stormed into the study in a fit of rage, wanting to see if anything else was missing.

As soon as I pushed open the door, everything went black; all the books on the bookshelf had vanished!

My book!

Jiang Wu's chest heaved violently, and his vision blurred. "All my silver notes are gone!"

He was so angry he was trembling all over.

"Quickly! Search! Search the entire village!"

We'll dig three feet into the ground to find the thief!

But it was no use at all. Lingbao was already sitting in the medicine pot, and when Zhou Wanwan woke up, the contents of the medicine pot had turned transparent.

Zhou Wanwan looked at it and asked, "Where did you go last night?"

"I couldn't sleep last night, so I went for a stroll in Jiang Family Village. I had a pretty good haul; everything was there."

Zhou Wanwan saw dozens of Songhua inkstones. The Songhua inkstones carved in Liangjia Village are really beautiful!

However, the carvings from their village are quite good, and the differences aren't too significant.

She carefully examined the carvings and said:

"I can draw pictures like that too, and my pictures are even better than theirs, but they're nothing special!"

A Songhua inkstone like this can sell for 300 taels? That's robbery! Let's sell it cheaper, 30 taels."

Little Ginseng's lips twitched. "30 taels? That's a huge difference! Why don't we sell it for 300 taels too?"

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"If we sell it cheaper, we'll naturally drive the price down."

When the important people find out that our Songhua inkstones are cheaper than theirs, they're bound to be in trouble.

Moreover, she felt that 30 taels for a Songhua inkstone was already cheap.

Liu Shiyan's family quickly produced more than 20 Songhua inkstones, Zhou Wanwan took Liu Dalang, Liu Erlang, and several of her older brothers directly to the bookstore.

The bookstore is doing quite well; there's an academy right across the street.

Zhou Wanwan strolled around, looking at the books. She stood in front of the bookstore counter, her eyes scanning the rows of neatly arranged books.

The top shelf held some serious books, including the Thousand Character Classic for teaching literacy, the Analects for explaining principles, and booklets on mathematics and agriculture—all commonly used by scholars.

The bottom shelf was filled with storybooks, their covers featuring tales of talented scholars and beautiful women, and tales of chivalry and grudges.

Zhou Wanwan had just picked up a book to read when she heard a waiter shout:

"Where did this country bumpkin come from? Can you even afford such an expensive book?"

Don't move it. If you get this book dirty, you won't be able to afford to pay for it.

Zhou Wanwan frowned and said, "Why can't I afford to pay for it? I didn't even touch it. Besides, can't I even take a look at the book if I want to buy it?"

The shop assistant, with his nostrils flared, sneered repeatedly, "It's normal for rich people to buy books, but someone like you, you're not here to buy books, are you?"

Zhou Wanwan has been going up the mountain frequently lately, and her cotton-padded coat has gotten a little dirty, but she has washed it.

She squinted and said:

"I've never heard of having to verify my identity to buy books."

Does this mean that every scholar who comes in has to be assessed to see if they can afford to buy books?

The shop assistant pointed to a nearly bankrupt bookstore next door and said, "If you want to buy books, go there. You can not only read them, but you can also spend the whole day there without anyone bothering you."

Zhou Wanwan smiled faintly and said, "That's fine too. A bookstore like yours won't last long."