Chapter 109: The Improved Loom

“Dai Mu, you’re back!”

As soon as Yun Qimu walked through the village gates, Yun Xiaodi came running over, leading a group of little kids behind him, their steps quick and eager.

Trailing along with them was Dailisi, her eyes full of anticipation.

Yun Qimu smiled and reached out to ruffle Yun Xiaodi’s hair. “Mm, I’m back. Why are you leading your little squad over here? Did you finish the task I gave you today?”

Yun Xiaoyu, who had just been fretting about rescuing his own short hair, immediately brightened up and replied loudly, “We did great! I already led everyone to plant all three acres of land, and we used the plant nutrient solution. The seedlings have already sprouted! I even asked Mr. Mo for guidance. He said the nutrient solution shouldn’t be used all at once, but split into three applications over three days for the best results. After the third time, the crops will be mature.”

As he rattled off his report, Yun Xiaoyu’s eyes grew even brighter. He’d completely forgotten his usual “cool guy” demeanor, his excited little mouth chattering non-stop.

“After the seedlings sprouted, some bugs appeared. I organized everyone to catch them, and the bugs even attracted the guard chickens. The chickens love eating bugs! Altogether, we fought off three waves of little monsters.”

“It’s not easy for the newcomers in the village, so whoever caught the monsters got to keep the loot. I let them take home all the rewards they got from the treasure chests.”

Yun Qimu’s eyes sparkled. The kid was really getting the hang of being a little leader.

She praised him warmly, “You did great! I hired them to farm today, so any extra work like fighting monsters is their own achievement. The rewards should belong to them.”

Yun Xiaoyu’s eyes shone even brighter, but his cheeks flushed red with a touch of shyness as he looked away. “It’s not that great—it’s all because you taught me.”

Not to be outdone, little Zhuzhu squeezed in, her round, rosy face beaming up at Yun Qimu with sparkling eyes. “Sister Qimu, I was really helpful too! Our group wove forty pieces of cloth and made a hundred and fifty sets of clothes today!”

Yun Qimu looked at the little girl bouncing with happiness and teased her with a smile, “Zhuzhu, you’re amazing! You can count all the way to one hundred and fifty?”

Zhuzhu nodded earnestly. “Mm! Brother Al taught me. Now I can count to a thousand!”

At five years old, Zhuzhu was especially smart. After learning to count to one hundred, she picked up counting to two hundred today, and soon she could figure out counting to a thousand on her own. She’d even learned to write numbers.

After all, it was just ten digits put together—she picked it up right away.

The little girl puffed out her chest, full of confidence.

Yun Qimu smiled, not surprised at all. These days, with the low interstellar birth rate, most children who were born had undergone genetic optimization and selection, so it was natural for them to be outstanding.

She reached out and patted the little girl’s soft head.

Unlike Yun Xiaoyu, Zhuzhu was delighted, rubbing her fluffy little head into Yun Qimu’s palm, her round face and crescent eyes making her look like a content kitten.

Watching this, Yun Xiaoyu bit his lip, looking a bit aggrieved and envious.

After getting her fill of affection, Zhuzhu reluctantly stepped aside, moving her head away, and continued enthusiastically, “Sister Qimu, Uncle Cook from our group even improved the loom you made! Now it’s twice as fast—it only takes ten minutes to weave a piece of cloth.”

“And Aunt Hualan is amazing too! She can snip the cloth really fast and accurately with her scissors, then sew them into clothes. Aunt Meifang is a bit slower, but the clothes she makes are the prettiest and best sewn.”

Zhuzhu didn’t know the technical terms for tailoring and sewing, but she still managed to summarize their work clearly.

In short, their clothing team was awesome today: Cook improved the loom, Hualan was a skilled tailor, and Meifang was a talented fashion designer with a great sense of aesthetics.

Yun Qimu couldn’t stop smiling, especially at the news that Cook had managed to improve the loom. That was a huge surprise—after all, skilled craftsmen were hard to come by these days. She’d been waiting forever for an alchemist, but none had shown up yet. Even the Nuwa “create human” card was still blank, as if it was just teasing her.

“Great, great! They did an excellent job. I’ll give them a reward later—some meat.”

As a notorious penny-pincher, she felt a twinge of guilt for getting so much labor in exchange for just three bottles of top-grade nutrient solution a day. So she decided to be generous and hand out some rewards.

Of course, the real reason was that she wanted the textile workshop to grow bigger and stronger in the future, so she needed to keep her workers happy. Sometimes you had to spend a little to win people’s loyalty—Yun Qimu thought it was worth it.

She started thinking about what kind of reward would be best for the workers.

Meanwhile, Dailisi, who had been waiting for a while, stepped forward after the two kids finished their reports.

Compared to the confident, loud kids, her voice was much softer, and she even lowered her head in disappointment.

“Village Chief Yun, my clothing shop opened today. I put out the clothes Zhuzhu brought over and even drew ten designs and turned them into real clothes. But… but no one came to buy them.”

By the end, her voice was barely above a whisper, her head bowed in shame.

Yun Qimu didn’t get angry. Instead, she comforted her gently, “Don’t worry, I expected this. Right now, most villagers get a few cotton-padded jackets from treasure chests, so they don’t lack clothes. The few slaves who do need clothes can’t afford them, and the outsiders already bought second-hand clothes from the Tiangou tribe yesterday. So it’s normal that your clothes aren’t selling. Besides, the clothes Zhuzhu and the others made aren’t thick enough for this season.”

After Yun Qimu’s careful analysis, Dailisi felt much more at ease. “Then, what should I do next?”

“Just keep your shop open. Once the villagers’ lives improve and there are prettier styles, they’ll be willing to spend money on clothes. As for the current stock, I’ve already got a plan—we’ll export them. Once the greenhouse vegetables are ready, the trade caravan will set out.”

“Oh, and for those ten designs, make them as fancy and eye-catching as possible—something suitable for nobles. I want to use them to attract customers and as display pieces.”

With Yun Qimu’s reassurance, Dailisi patted her chest and promised happily, “Don’t worry, Village Chief Yun! I’ll definitely draw lots of beautiful clothes!”"