Though puzzled why Dai Xiaojia seemed more concerned about selling paper than her own health, Song Miaozhu answered firmly:
"That's right. As long as the quality meets the standard, the price doesn't exceed the market rate for spiritual paper by more than 20%, and you're still willing to sell it to me, I'll keep buying."
It wasn't like she could suddenly go learn how to make paper herself. Not even from a ghost master in the underworld.
Song Miaozhu knew herself well. She might be a bit smarter than average—after all, she got into a top university—but she wasn't a genius.
Given that she still hadn't fully grasped the Secret Art of Paper Crafting, trying to learn another complex skill would only stretch her too thin and hold her back on both fronts. Since she couldn't make her own paper but still needed it, the only way to ensure she wouldn't be held hostage by her paper supply in the future was to seize every opportunity she could to stock up.
Thankfully, Yin Paper Clothes didn't require high-quality paper. Even when crafting Paper Spirit Armor, the only real requirement was that the paper had stable spiritual energy. The amount of spiritual energy didn't have to be high. If the paper was a bit lacking, someone skilled enough at spirit-channeling could make up for it.
So she wasn't too worried about the paper she stockpiled going to waste. No matter how much her paper crafting improved or how advanced her creations became, she'd find a use for it all.
The most crucial parts of the Secret Art of Paper Crafting were the craftsmanship and the method of spirit-channeling. Material-wise, there was only a minimum standard to meet. Thankfully, that was the case. Otherwise, no matter how tight her time and energy were, she'd still be forced to learn papermaking from scratch.
Seeing that Dai Xiaojia valued this supply channel as much as she did, Song Miaozhu thought for a moment and added,
"It's not just Granny He's paper. If you can make paper infused with spiritual energy, I'll buy that too. Back when you were still posting videos about papermaking, I was already following you. I even bought a batch of non-spiritual paper from your shop.
At the time, your craft was already close to drawing in spiritual energy. If you keep practicing, you'll probably be able to produce spiritual paper soon. And if you're willing to sell it to me then, I'll definitely buy it."
"Thank you, Boss Song. Really, thank you!"
Dai Xiaojia's voice trembled a little on the other end of the call.
Noticing something was off, Song Miaozhu grew concerned. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
She had just found a reliable paper source, with not one but two skilled papermakers. The last thing she wanted was for something to go wrong now.
"Boss Song, I've decided to end my contract with the company. I won't be making videos anymore. Besides filming, the only thing I know how to do is make paper. Thank you. If it weren't for you encouraging me to get my body checked, and offering to buy my paper, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to end the contract.
I don't want to keep pretending like life is unbearably hard just to win sympathy. I don't want to keep making my kids get dirty and act along with me either. Back then, I really had no choice. Canceling the contract means paying penalties and agreeing never to film again.
I originally thought I'd just suffer through it, save some money for my daughters so they could have a better future. But I didn't expect to ruin my health in the process. My girls are still young. I can't afford to collapse.
Now that you've shown me we can actually make a living from papermaking, I'm willing to pour every last cent I earned into canceling that contract. Even if we earn a little less in the future, at least I'll have peace of mind. I'll be able to take proper care of my girls. That's already better than what we have now.
If they do well in school, I'll support them. If not, they can learn papermaking from me and Granny."
Dai Xiaojia's voice grew firmer with each word, more hopeful, more alive. To Song Miaozhu, it felt like the strong, resilient woman from her early videos had returned.
"I'm really happy for you," Song Miaozhu said. "Just make sure to get a good lawyer to look over the cancellation. Maybe you won't have to pay as much as you think.
Don't worry. Now that spiritual energy is returning to the world, traditional crafts will only become more valued. The government will probably support them more and more too. Once the contract is done, I'm sure your family's craft will bring better days ahead."
After the call, Song Miaozhu immediately transferred the full payment for the paper. It was her way of giving Dai Xiaojia a boost of confidence. Truth be told, she was short on money herself right now.
~
After finishing the spirit-channeling process on a substitute paper figure, she handed it to one of her little paper servants. The two little servants wobbled as they carried the paper figure toward the ghost shop's storage room, acting like they were putting all their strength into the task.
Song Miaozhu could tell right away they were faking it.
Even though the little paper servants were just thin cutouts, she had been nurturing them for a few months now. Their intelligence and strength had grown since the beginning.
Physical strength was still their weakness. At first, she had assumed that two of them carrying one substitute figure was their limit.
After all, that's exactly what the Secret Art of Paper Crafting said. Little paper servants were a simplified version of the "cut-paper soldier" technique. They were meant to be scouts—fragile and weak in both attack and defense.
But three days ago, while Song Miaozhu had been preoccupied looking for spiritual paper sources, her three cats and the little paper servants had started a "cat vs. paper" war in the yard. Watching five paper servants effortlessly lift a fat orange tabby, and two of them easily carry a feather duster, she had realized something.
They were pretending to struggle.
Upon further observation, she realized they only acted especially "weak" when doing tasks she assigned. But when teasing the cats? They moved like a divine army descending.
Not that they were trying to trick her, exactly.
Each little paper servant was like an extension of Song Miaozhu's eyes. Everything they did was under her control.
She didn't know how, but they had somehow inherited a quirk of hers—when doing a job, always make it look like you're maxed out, no energy left to spare. That way, you could save strength for a second job or time for studying.
Still, since she had enough little servants for now, she just let it slide. It was hard not to laugh, though, whenever she saw them putting on their little "so exhausted" act. That said, she was also thinking it might be time to upgrade their gear. Paper wagons and paper horses looked just right for them.
The Secret Art of Paper Crafting even mentioned equipping little paper servants with small horses. They were her full-time, unpaid laborers after all. She was happy to make their work a bit easier. If they used less energy, she wouldn't have to replenish their spiritual power as often. In the end, it would save her time and resources too.