He Zhiran had been thinking about what kind of business she could do recently that would allow her family to openly see that the money to raise troops was earned.
She immediately decided that she would go into the jewelry business.
She did not need to worry about materials, as there was endless gold and silver from the treasuries of Da Shun and the Southern Frontier Country that she had secretly obtained from her storage space. She just needed to use tools to melt them into gold and silver materials.
This would also save her from having those gold and silver sit uselessly in her storage space. It was simply killing two birds with one stone.
Of course, she would also have Mo Jiuye pretend to go out and purchase some materials on the surface to avoid arousing suspicion.
He Zhiran sank into thought. Seeing that she had not spoken for some time, her sister-in-law gently patted her arm.
"Sister-in-law, what are you thinking so intensely about? Could it be that you still can't bear to give these to Hanyue?"
He Zhiran knew that her sister-in-law was teasing her.
"Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? These were originally meant to be Hanyue's dowry. How could I be reluctant to part with them?"
Seeing that her daughters-in-law had taken over the floor with their chattering, Old Lady Mo knew that any further refusal on her part would seem powerless.
"Hanyue, since all nine of your sisters-in-law have said this, just accept them. You must remember everyone's generosity today and find an opportunity to repay them in the future."
Since leaving the Capital City, Mo Hanyue had grown more sensible by the day.
She was initially unwilling to accept such a valuable dowry, as she truly did not want her family to spend so much on her marriage.
But now that her mother had spoken, and she did actually like the jewelry, her face flushed red as she said:
"Hanyue thanks her sisters-in-law for their kindness. Rest assured, sisters-in-law, Hanyue will not forget what you have done for me today."
Though addressing everyone as "sisters-in-law", Mo Hanyue's gaze remained fixed on He Zhiran.
She knew clearly in her heart that all of this was arranged by Ninth Sister-in-Law, and without Ninth Sister-in-Law there would be no today's Mo Hanyue.
He Zhiran felt very gratified that in just one short year, Mo Hanyue had transformed from a pampered child into a sensible and hardworking young woman.
"Just look at our Hanyue, growing more sensible by the day. Sisters-in-law will remember what you said. In the future if Lord Meng gets promoted and becomes wealthy, don't forget your maternal family!"
Although her sister-in-law's words were sometimes blunt, they often hit home for the women.
This time was no exception. They all felt that the Mo Family's current commoner status was lowly enough, and if their exiled status was revealed, they would be even lower than commoners.
With a relative who was an official to rely on, many things could go more smoothly.
He Zhiran didn't care how others thought. She felt at ease after the jewelry was given away.
With matters occupying her mind, she was someone who immediately wanted to take action. After some small talk with everyone, she pleaded tiredness and asked Mo Jiuye to accompany her back.
Madam He had now grown accustomed to life here.
What she hadn't expected was that her daughter's life was not as awful as she had imagined. In fact, it was even more comfortable than life in the Capital City.
This put her much more at ease. Her only worry now was He Zhiran's health, so she would stay at her daughter's side whenever possible.
If her son-in-law was there, Madam He would tactfully take her leave to give the young couple private time together.
Now that Mo Jiuye was accompanying He Zhiran, Madam He naturally did not intrude. Behind closed doors, He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye could freely enter the storage space without reservation.
Seeing his wife in such a hurry to bring him into the storage space, Mo Jiuye knew she must have something she wanted to do.
"Ranran, what are you going to do?"
"Husband, when Father first proposed raising troops, I already said that I could bear the costs of maintaining the soldiers."
At that time when He Zhiran had proposed paying the costs, Mo Jiuye did not think too much of it. After all, no one knew better than him just how much wealth was inside the storage space.
"With so many treasures in the storage space, let alone feeding an army of a thousand troops, we could even support ten thousand!" The more Mo Jiuye thought about it, the more confused he became. Could it be his wife was having second thoughts and didn't want to use the space's money to raise soldiers?
He Zhiran knew Mo Jiuye was oversimplifying things.
"Have you ever thought that supporting a thousand cavalry is no meager expense? Although our family currently has some small money-making industries publicly, the amounts earned are still paltry.
If this goes on for some time, Mother's shrewdness is sure to grow suspicious at some point."
Hearing He Zhiran explain this, Mo Jiuye instantly understood.
"Ranran, you've thought of some livelihood to earn money?"
"Don't you think that we're perfectly suited for the jewelry business?"
When the jewelry was given out in the elders' room to Mo Hanyue, Mo Jiuye had been watching nearby at the time too. If he hadn't worried about revealing anything abnormal that might attract suspicion, this grown man would have loved to step forward and take a closer look too.
Originally he thought jewelry was something only women would be interested in. When his wife bought items on Taobao Mall, he had no interest or intention of helping select anything either, so he didn't get to see the true appearances of these jewelry pieces until they were opened from their boxes.
Mo Jiuye's impression at that moment was summed up in two words: "Beautiful!" Three words: "Truly beautiful!"...
So when his female relations were arranging the jewelry, his own mind was busy imagining that his wife would look even lovelier than the girls when dressed up in these pieces. That night when returning, he ordered He Zhiran to buy some for himself too.
Now hearing his wife propose starting a jewelry business, his eyes unconsciously drifted towards the gold and silver they had secretly taken from state treasuries. His thinking mirrored He Zhiran's - they had the raw materials for making gold and silver jewelry, the only thing they were worried about was skill.
"Ranran, as far as I know, there are no craftsmen in Da Shun who can make such beautiful jewelry." Mo Jiuye frowned.
Seeing Mo Jiuye furrow his brow, He Zhiran simply laughed even more gleefully.
"If someone in Da Shun could make jewelry like this, how would we make big money?"
Mo Jiuye was increasingly perplexed.
"Ranran, stop keeping me in suspense. Tell me, how should we do this?"
Instead of answering Mo Jiuye's question immediately, He Zhiran randomly purchased a mold template for a pendant necklace in the shape of a prancing foo lion on Taobao Mall.
The style was quite novel for Da Shun's tastes. However, before seeing the final product come out, all Mo Jiuye could see was a white object with no discernible shape.
He Zhiran paid no mind to Mo Jiuye's curious gaze and continued buying some tools to process gold and silver jewelry from Taobao.
Next, she used her mental powers to call over a gold ingot.
Seeing his wife grab the blowtorch and ready herself to do something, Mo Jiuye hastily took it from her.
"Ranran, your pregnancy makes this unsuited work for you. Just instruct me on what to do."
He Zhiran was not being coy either; she directed Mo Jiuye on first using the blowtorch to melt the gold ingot.
The blowtorch gave off strong heat. Before long, the fist-sized gold ingot had liquefied into molten form.
Next, He Zhiran instructed Mo Jiuye to carefully pour the melted liquid into the mold and let it cool before removing it.
In Mo Jiuye's hand was a shiny golden prancing foo lion pendant. His eyes shone with pleasant surprise.
