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  Liu Mamas daughter, Zhao Di, although not as clever and skilled with her hands as Shan Ling, quickly picked up the art of paper cutting. Zhao Di had dark skin, more so than Liu Mama, and was shy, not very talkative. At home, it was clear that Liu Mama had taught Zhao Di, but in front of Ding Rou, Zhao Di hung her head, fiddling with a corner of her crimson skirt, refusing to lift her head no matter how Liu Mama gestured to her. Ding Rou smiled and asked Shan Ling to instruct Zhao Di on paper cutting.

  Lius mother was secretly annoyed that her granddaughter couldnt get on stage, but she also doted on her granddaughter and said to Ding Rou: "Trouble you, Sixth Miss."

  Ding Ruo smiled and shook her head: "Its okay, I think Zhaodi is fine." Cutting paper with Xiangyun and Zhaodi was settled, and Liu Shi could also help out. However, selling the cutouts didnt seem like a good idea, given their eloquence. Ding Ruo wouldnt mind going to sell them herself, but Liu Shi would definitely not agree. Merchants in the Great Qin Dynasty were not highly regarded, and even as the sixth young mistress of the Ding family, Ding Ruo was still somewhat down on her luck. Liu Shi didnt need to say much, just looking at Ding Ruo with tears in her eyes made Ding Ruo willing to compromise. Ding Ruo was certain that a womans tears were a powerful weapon, not only effective against men but also against women. As long as it didnt violate her principles, Ding Ruo was willing to accommodate Liu Shi.

  "Liu Mama, come here, I have something to say." Ding Ruo decided to give Liu Mama a simple training. Even the best wine cant be sold if its not marketed properly, and Liu Mama was able to understand the simple marketing methods. Liu Mama listened attentively to Ding Ruos teachings, memorizing her words, and finally sighed: "Sixth Miss, Im convinced."

  Why not ask the young lady how to do business? Having seen a lot, even doing business is profitable, with thin profits and many sales, buying a few more, promoting and so on. Although Lius mother understood in her heart that this was the case, she couldnt say it as clearly as Ding Rou did.

  Ding Ruo didnt see anything else that needed to be arranged, so she let Lius mother figure it out for herself and sat down to read a book. Ding Ruo was now eager to know how much the founding emperor and empress of the Great Qin had changed. What things could Ding Ruo use, what things couldnt she use, and what couldnt be said? She didnt want to make a fool of herself by not knowing the situation. As she flipped through the pages, she thought that the bookstore would be open on the Double Ninth Festival, so she weighed out some loose silver coins and bought two books back. The Lyu family shouldnt mind.

  To make more money, Ding Ruo no longer allowed Liu Shis embroidered pouches to take the high-end route. From Liu Mamas mouth, she learned that the buyers of embroidered pouches were not suitable for Liu Shis exquisite products. Ding Ruo repositioned Liu Shi, making precise and delicate pouches that were good but had two drawbacks: firstly, they were too time-consuming and labor-intensive for Liu Shi; secondly, ordinary people couldnt afford them and wouldnt appreciate the intricacy, thinking them too expensive. Combining her original memories with the upcoming Double Ninth Festival, Ding Ruo designed a few patterns and asked Liu Shi to embroider according to these designs.

  Lius family listened to Ding Rous words and followed her advice, whatever their daughter said was good. Lius family saved effort, and the time and energy spent on making the embroidered pouches were also reduced. Lius family was worried that they might not be able to sell them, and felt guilty for cutting corners.

  Ding Ruo, however, was not aware of this. How much silver can buy good things, isnt the price the standard for measuring the quality of goods? Merchants make a profit, and Ding Ruo didnt do anything excessive to deceive or harm customers. Ding Ruo said to Liu Shi, just follow what I said about embroidery.

  Lius family, even if she didnt agree in her heart, still followed what Ding Ruo said and did. The fabric used was slightly inferior, the effort spent was less, but the color matching was bright and the pattern was simple and clear. The embroidered product made from the corner of the cloth looked seamless. Lius family couldnt help but glance at her daughter who was lying on the bed reading a book, and felt even more grateful that the ghostly matchmaker was a good person, not only bringing Ding Ruo back to life, but also teaching her many things. Lius family firmly decided that every year during festivals, she would give the ghostly matchmaker some paper money and offer fruit as sacrifice.

  Liu couldnt remember who her parents were. Every year during the festival, she wanted to burn incense paper to show filial piety, but Liu didnt dare. Perhaps her own parents were still alive and well, but due to poverty, they had sold her away. Lius memories before the age of three were very vague, only remembering a big fire, a huge fire.

  On the eve of the Double Ninth Festival, Lius mother went to the capital with a full load of paper cuts. Before leaving, Ding Rou instructed Lius mother a few words: "Paper cutouts are rare goods, dont offend small people even if you have to scatter some copper coins. Dont easily compete with others, they are seeking wealth, not competing with each other. If someone asks for protection fees, just pay them. The Great Qin Dynasty is a prosperous and peaceful era, one should be cautious under the emperors feet. Paying protection fees will also make business stable, its better to earn less and prioritize stability."

  Lius mother is a shrewd person, and she understood as soon as Ding Rou hinted at it. She agreed repeatedly and set off for the capital on her donkey cart, leaving Zhao Di behind to help Ding Rou with her tasks. Lius mother had made a good calculation, thinking that if she let Zhao Di serve Ding Rou, her granddaughter would make progress by interacting more with Sixth Miss.

  Lius mother had a feeling that Miss Liu was not ordinary, just like the storyteller said, she would have a chance to rise to the top. If she waited until Miss Liu became noble, it would be hard to get close to her again. The Liu family was not wealthy, but they were good citizens and no one had ever been a servant, so Lius mother hesitated to let her granddaughter serve Miss Liu. Selling herself into slavery was far worse than being free at home. Lius mother valued her grandson, but she wouldnt easily let her granddaughter serve others. She thought about waiting until the paper-cutting was sold before deciding what to do next.

  Ding Rou sent Lius mother away, and Liuxi Lanxin was very nervous, occasionally asking if Lius mother would sell the paper cutouts. Ding Rou comforted them, saying that they had done what they could, and thinking too much wouldnt help, so it was best to just do their best.

  "After putting in the effort, the result will naturally not be bad. What I fear most is hearing people say listen to heaven and follow fate. Ding Rou took the opportunity to remind Liu Shi and Lan Xin that what she hated most was listening to heaven and following fate, attributing all misfortunes to heavens mistreatment and fates teasing. Why didnt they think about it? Without effort, why would heaven treat her kindly?"

  Ding Ruo thought of Ding Min, who had an excellent and outstanding sister. Ding Min always felt self-pity, as if everyone only saw Ding Ruo and couldnt see her, looking down on her. Ding Ruo changed her posture, she was naturally talented, but without later efforts, relying solely on talent, how could she become a legendary figure? Whenever Ding Min became jealous and resentful, Ding Ruo never relaxed her pace forward. The gap between the sisters would only grow wider, a vicious cycle, and Ding Min would only become more and more inferior.

  Ding Min saw Ding Rous popularity and the praise of the crowd, but Ding Min didnt know how much Ding Rou had paid. All of Ding Rous notes and excerpts filled several boxes, as their family couldnt afford books, Ding Rou would go to the bookstore and read standing up, enduring ridicule, memorizing desperately, and then copying them down on paper when she got home. Because she stood for so long, her feet would swell every time she went home. Ding Rou rubbed her forehead, why did she think of all this again?

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