The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Dabao is Lost

"That’s pretty much the situation. The initial expenses for raw materials and packaging, plus the investment in setting up the pharmacy and hiring labor... all things considered, it will probably take some time to break even. I can only give you your share of the profits after that."

Just as Ji Huan had expected, while Xin Ziqi was down on his luck, he did have some resources to his name.

However, those resources seemed limited, and he had invested all of them, as if making a huge gamble.

Ji Huan felt a little bad about it.

’It was a good thing she wasn’t a con artist; otherwise, she would be completely betraying his trust.’

"There’s no rush. I’m not short on money right now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back."

’Being a shareholder is great. Just ask a few questions, check the accounts, and then you can just walk away.’

"Wait!"

Xin Ziqi called out to stop her, but then hesitated to speak.

Ji Huan asked, puzzled, "Is there something else?"

Xin Ziqi mulled it over for a long time before finally asking.

"Last time, you said we would have a more important collaboration. What... what kind of collaboration is it?"

’He knew he was being rash, perhaps a bit too impatient.’

’Ji Huan had said last time that there would only be a follow-up if she was satisfied with their initial partnership.’

’The hand cream had only just started to gain some traction; they hadn’t seen any real results yet.’

’But he just couldn’t hold back.’

’Time waits for no one...’

"Oh, that..." Ji Huan raised her pinky to scratch her brow. "I’ve been working on it recently, but some parts are still a bit rough. I’ll show it to you in a few days."

’She didn’t seem to remember the prerequisite, nor did she seem to blame him for asking.’

Xin Ziqi relaxed imperceptibly and nodded at her. "I’ll be waiting for your good news."

After leaving Yide Hall, Ji Huan had planned to head straight back to the village. But after a moment’s hesitation, she went to the hot and spicy soup stall to say goodbye before she left.

As luck would have it, she ran into Boss Fang, who was there for a meal.

Boss Fang’s face lit up with delight when he saw her.

"No wonder I heard a magpie singing when I left the house this morning! It must have been heralding your arrival!"

This wave of enthusiasm completely baffled Ji Huan.

"Let me be clear up front—I haven’t finished copying the books I took last time, so I can’t turn anything in today."

"I’m not here to rush you today. I’m here to ask for a favor," Boss Fang said with a chuckle. "Though, the favor does have to do with copying books."

’That was fine. She had plenty of free time, anyway.’

"Where’s the book? Is it the usual arrangement? I can have Aunt Xie deliver it to you once I’m done."

Since she had started coming to town less often, Widow Xie and her family had been handling the deliveries to the bookshop for her. Come to think of it, Ji Huan hadn’t been to the shop herself in quite some time.

Boss Fang waved his hand. "That won’t work this time. I need this book by this afternoon."

"So urgent? Is it something like the *Selected Works of the Times*, or one of the ancient classics?"

"Hah! Neither of those. A couple of days ago, I got my hands on a collection of poems by the Zhan Yang Scholar. An old friend of mine somehow heard about it and is insisting on borrowing it. But it’s my new favorite! I haven’t even finished reading it myself, so how could I bear to part with it? He’s an impatient fellow, though, and said a handwritten copy would be fine. He’s coming to pick it up in person later this afternoon. The problem is, I don’t have a spare moment, and it’s not a good time to ask the students at the academy, since they’re all busy studying for exams."

Stroking his beard, Boss Fang beamed at her. "I was just worrying myself sick over it when I ran into you. You’re a heaven-sent savior! You have to help me. If he comes and there’s no handwritten copy, he’ll definitely try to snatch my original!"

Boss Fang knew about Ji Huan’s family situation and often looked out for her, always giving her priority for any easy, well-paying jobs.

Now that he was the one asking for help, Ji Huan naturally agreed without a second thought.

But the fact that she couldn’t take it home to copy...

Seeing Ji Huan’s hesitation, he knew she was worried about her little brother at home.

Boss Fang quickly added, "Don’t you worry, it’s not very long. You’ll definitely be able to finish before noon."

Since he’d put it that way, Ji Huan had no choice but to agree.

She turned to Widow Xie and said, "Aunt Xie, I’m going to the bookshop with Boss Fang for a bit. It might take a while, so you all can just head straight home after you close up the stall. No need to wait for me. And could you please tell Dabao that I’ll be back before noon for sure, and that I’ll bring him his favorite chestnut pastries?"

Widow Xie reassured her, "Don’t you worry. You just go on ahead."

Boss Fang led Ji Huan to a small study in the back of the bookshop. After setting her up with a complete set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, he went off to attend to his own business.

Although Ji Huan was anxious to get home, she had accepted a task and was determined to do it well; she couldn’t just do a sloppy job.

Besides, copying books was a meticulous task to begin with, and since this copy was a gift for Boss Fang’s friend, Ji Huan was even more diligent.

Strangely, however, the more she tried to focus, the less she could concentrate. The more she tried to hurry, the more mistakes she made.

First, she cut her hand while trimming the paper. Then, the tip of her brush fell off, smudging an entire sheet.

She switched to a new brush, but while preparing the ink, she accidentally knocked over the inkstone, ruining the entire stack of pages she had spent the better part of the morning copying.

’What is wrong with me today? This is just too unlucky. Is it an inauspicious day for writing or something?’

Ji Huan sighed. Realizing she was growing flustered, she quickly tried to calm herself and start over.

The entire morning was wasted. Her promise to be back before noon was, of course, broken.

Ji Huan was so anxious that she didn’t even want to waste a moment to take a sip of water. She didn’t even step out when Boss Fang called her for lunch. Even so, she was still copying right up until the sun began to dip toward the west.

Boss Fang felt bad and tried to pay her, but she refused.

She had agreed to help him as a favor; there was no reason to accept payment.

Ji Huan said her goodbyes to Boss Fang, bought a bag of chestnut pastries from a dessert shop, and hurried to the memorial archway at the town entrance. After waiting for a while, she finally got on an ox cart heading back to the village.

The ox cart moved slowly. By the time she got back to Dafeng Village, it was nearly dusk, and the sun was about to set.

Ji Huan leaped off the cart and ran hurriedly in the direction of the Hu Family’s home.

The one other time she had returned late had been what prompted Dabao to finally speak. While the outcome had been good, the look of fear and terror on his face at the time was still fresh in her memory.

She had promised when she left this morning and even had Widow Xie send a message back. But in the end, she had broken her word once again.

’I hope Dabao isn’t angry with me.’

Ji Huan took a shortcut, thinking it would be empty, and ran as fast as she could. But as she rounded a corner, she collided with someone.

She was just about to apologize when she looked up and saw it was Ji Mingfang.

Ji Mingfang was panting, sweat beading on his forehead and rolling down his face. He wasn’t supposed to run, so to see him in such a state clearly meant he had been rushing.

’Seeing the anxiety in his eyes, she wondered, ’Could something have happened to the main branch of the family?’’

"What’s wrong? Is it Erya, or...?"

"Neither," Ji Mingfang interrupted, gasping for breath. "It’s Dabao. Something’s happened to Dabao."

Ji Huan froze.

’The Dabao he was talking about... was it her Dabao?’

’But Dabao was safe at the Hu Family’s house. What could possibly have happened? And why would it involve Ji Mingfang?’

"Did he get upset again because I didn’t come home? I have to go, I’ll just—"

"Dabao’s missing!"

Ji Mingfang cut her off, his expression pained.

Now Ji Huan was truly bewildered. She wondered if Ji Mingfang was sleepwalking.

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