Chapter 121 Custom-made Boots

Looking in the direction the villagers were heading back, that was the village of Lin Shuilian's former mother-in-law.

"Maybe."

When Lin Chuntao and the others arrived in the county town, it was still dark. Pei Ying was busy slaughtering pigs, while Lin Chuntao and Lin Chunxing brought out the stove and all the other equipment.

Lin Chunxing started the fire, while Lin Chuntao went to the noodle shop to get the noodles.

It was still early, so Lin Chuntao cooked two bowls of noodles for the two sisters to have a little something to eat.

While eating her noodles, Lin Chuntao looked around and said to Lin Chunxing, "Keep an eye out for shops for sale. If we find a suitable one, we'll rent it and move the stall into the shop."

Lin Chunxing asked, "Buy the shop? Or rent it?"

“We need to keep more money on hand. We’re currently buying beans and chili peppers, so we can save money by making our own charcoal. Setting up a stall doesn’t cost much. If possible, we should buy a mule.”

Lin Chuntao said, “Setting up a stall doesn’t cost money, but isn’t it tiring to go back and forth like this every day? If you open a shop, you can sell soup noodles all day long, or you can live in the shop. You won’t have to get up so early in the morning, and you can sell three meals a day, which might even sell more. You can also get better rest.”

"We need to make money, but we can't work too hard. We had no choice before, but now that we have the means to make ourselves a little more comfortable, we shouldn't be reluctant to do so."

Lin Chunxing nodded after hearing Lin Chuntao's words.

Lin Chuntao said, "If we were to open a shop, we definitely wouldn't just sell this one kind of soup noodles. We could also hire a couple of people to help out. What are your thoughts?"

When asked about this, Lin Chunxing admitted that she had indeed had thoughts about it, specifically about Lin Qingqing.

“I used to think that if possible, I would ask Qingqing to come and sell rice noodles with me. Now that she has gone to work at the sauce shop, I don’t know if I should ask her again.”

Lin Chuntao was silent for a while, "Actually, working in the sauce shop is not bad. You can go and ask her what she thinks. If she doesn't come, then I think you can ask your cousin from your uncle's family to help you."

Lin Chuntao said it casually, but she must have thought about it before. When they made money, the old ladies in the village also had income. Her uncle and his family lived a little further away, and the money they gave them last time was used by her aunt and her family to make a quilt.

Lin Chuntao felt that her uncle and aunt had also had a hard time, and they were all good people. It would be best if they could make money together.

Lin Chunxing understood Lin Chuntao's thoughts and nodded.

"I'll ask Qingqing another day. If she doesn't come, we'll ask my cousin to come and help."

"Hmm." Lin Chuntao responded, and after thinking for a while, she said, "If Chai Xingyu's shop opens branches in other counties in the future, it would actually be quite good for Qingqing to work in this sauce shop."

Lin Chunxing nodded.

"I know."

The two sisters ate and chatted, and before long it was dawn.

After cleaning up the dishes, people started arriving at the market one after another to set up stalls. Lin Chuntao strolled around for a while, and when she guessed that the fabric shop had opened, she went to pick up her clothes.

On the way to the cloth shop, they passed by Old Man He's clinic. Several people were carrying someone out of the clinic and onto a mule cart. Lin Chuntao glanced at it and recognized it as Zhao, Lin Shuilian's former mother-in-law.

His old face was terribly pale, making him look like he was about to die.

An old woman standing next to the mule cart, who seemed to be Tian Xiang's aunt or uncle, advised, "Money is just an external thing. If it's gone, it's gone. You can save it up slowly later."

"If you just leave like this, what are you going to do with Tian Xiang?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Granny Zhao cried out, "That's what I've saved up all my life! All I've saved up in my whole life is a dozen or so taels of silver, and they didn't leave me a single coin! It's all gone!"

At that sound, everyone around fell silent.

This old lady always complained about being poor. She even said that Lin Shuilian hadn't made herself a single piece of clothing in several years because Aunt Guizhi made clothes for her daughter.

In the end, all that money ended up in the hands of scammers.

When Lin Shuilian wanted a divorce, Lin Chuntao met that woman. She had a feeling something was wrong, but she also thought that there was not much profit a swindler could make by targeting Tian Xiang, a rural man.

I didn't expect that I would still be swindled out of more than ten taels of silver.

No wonder the old woman was so angry that she jumped into the latrine.

If the old lady had been kinder and her son had disciplined her and protected Lin Shuilian and her grandchildren, she wouldn't have suffered such retribution.

The old lady was almost dead, and there was still no sign of Tian Xiang. Lin Chuntao thought she had to go back and tell Aunt Guizhi. What if this family failed to climb the social ladder and came back to find Lin Shuilian? That would be disgusting.

The people traveling with them brought over a mule and loaded it onto the mule cart. The man leading the mule said, "Auntie, try to think positively. Xiang-ge is still bedridden and has no one to take care of him. If you don't help him now, he'll really be helpless."

The man had a loud voice, which is why Lin Chuntao, who was walking by, heard him say that.

She almost burst out laughing.

When they arrived at the cloth shop, they had just opened the door, and the women in charge were preparing to eat breakfast.

Seeing Lin Chuntao arrive, he quickly put down what he was holding and came over to greet her, "Good morning, Madam Lin."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Good morning, I've come to get my clothes."

The woman in charge smiled and led her inside, saying as they walked, "Everything has been prepared for you, madam. Please check it and I'll wrap it up for you."

After speaking, the woman took out the clothes from the cabinet. All the clothes were folded neatly, and each set was tied together with a cloth bag. Lin Chuntao opened them and looked at them. Even the loose threads were cleaned up. Lin Chuntao paid special attention to the cotton-padded coats. The cotton was wrapped in a thin cloth and sewn into squares so that the cotton would not leak out or clump together. The inner lining was made first and then the outer layer was made, all according to Lin Chuntao's requirements.

The woman said, "Madam, this method uses an extra piece of cloth, but it looks much better from the outside."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "The tailor's skills are still the best."

She checked everything, found no problems, presented the deed, pressed her fingerprint, and took the clothes.

Carrying the clothes, she went to the fur shop again. It was already open, but there was no one inside. Lin Chuntao called out, and an echo came from the backyard: "Coming!"

Lin Chuntao waited a moment and saw a couple coming out of the back door. The woman wiped her hands as she walked and asked, "What would you like to order, madam?"

Lin Chuntao said, "I'd like to ask if you can make leather boots."

The woman smiled and said, "I can make it. What kind of leather does my lady want?"

Lin Chuntao looked at the furs in the shop. Sheepskin seemed to be the most common, along with some deer and mink furs, which looked quite expensive.

“It’s made of sheepskin,” Lin Chuntao said.

"Is your wife going to be an adult?" the woman asked again. Lin Chuntao replied, "There are three adults and two half-grown children."

The woman said, "We can make them a little bigger for children who are only half-grown. A pair of sheepskin boots can last a long time. If they are made a little bigger, we can put an insole inside and they will still be comfortable to wear."

Lin Chuntao nodded and asked with a smile, "How much is a pair for adults? How many days will it take to make?"

The woman said, "Two hundred and eighty coins a pair. The leather in our shop is all tanned early. Five pairs can be made in six or seven days."

Lin Chuntao was somewhat surprised: "So fast?"

The woman said, "It takes about three days for one person to make one pair of shoes. If there are many shoes, several craftsmen can make them together."

Lin Chuntao nodded, looking at the goods in the shop. There were quite a lot of them, and there were also vests hanging nearby. She didn't know if they were samples from the shop or custom-made by someone else.

"Do you have any finished ones that I can take a look at?"

Lin Chuntao asked, and the woman smiled and said, "Yes, madam, please wait a moment." After saying that, the woman said to the man behind her, "Go and get it."

The man glanced at Lin Chuntao, turned around and left. A short while later, he returned with three pairs of shoes, one of which was only half-finished and still had needles on it.

The woman smiled helplessly but didn't say anything. She took the bag and let Lin Chuntao touch it.

The leather is quite soft, and there's no strange smell even when you get close. I don't know what method they used to clean the leather. The style isn't particularly novel, but this basic style is durable. At 280 yuan, it feels like a pretty good deal.

The woman said, "If you're interested in having it made, you can pay a deposit for the leather and bring your family to measure your feet. I guarantee it will fit perfectly and be comfortable to wear."

Lin Chuntao: "If the shoes are a little small, is the price the same?"

The woman looked at her and smiled, "If you make a lot, I can give you a discount. If it's not a very small child, the amount of leather needed is about the same. Would you like to place an order?"

Before Lin Chuntao could speak, the woman continued, "Winter is coming soon, and the hides are in short supply. If you want to order, you can place an order, and I'll reserve the hides for you."

Lin Chuntao asked, "How much is the deposit?"

"Fifty coins. You can get a refund if you decide not to do it that day, but you can't get a refund after that," the woman explained.

Lin Chuntao thought for a moment and said, "Let's order one."

"Then I'll write a contract for you, my lady." The woman said as she walked to the back of the cabinet, took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and quickly wrote a contract for Lin Chuntao. Lin Chuntao counted out the money and handed it to her, then took the contract. "Then I'll come tomorrow morning."

The woman smiled and agreed.

Having taken her clothes and inquired about her boots, Lin Chuntao went to the sauce shop. In addition to the sauces she had initially bought, the shop now had some dried vegetables and dried beans. Chai Xingyu said to Lin Chuntao, "Let's see in a few days. If we can reach an agreement, then we can sell both soy sauce and vinegar together."

Lin Chuntao nodded. With a wider variety of items in the shop, all of which are things that ordinary people need, people will naturally start coming to this place as they get used to being able to buy several of the things they need in one place. It's a good start.

Lin Chuntao glanced at Zhang Qingqing and Lin Qingqing; both of them looked good and happy, which reassured her.

Just then, Chai Xingyu and the others were coming to make sauce, so Lin Chuntao went along and rode back in a mule cart.

Tomorrow will mark exactly one month since the sauce shop opened. Chai Xingyu calculated the accounts and found that, in addition to the fifty taels prepaid, there was also a share to give to Lin Chuntao.

On the way, he said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister, are you free the day after tomorrow? Let's go to the shop and settle the accounts. We've been open for a month now."

Lin Chuntao has been so busy lately that she's been in a daze. The days have passed by without her realizing it. She feels like Chai Xingyu just opened his business not long ago.

It will be almost a month now.

"I'll go earlier the day after tomorrow when I have time."

After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Chai Xingyu smiled. Seeing his expression, Lin Chuntao asked, "How are the other sauces selling?"

"Actually, they're all fine. Many people are moving out, and they prefer milder flavors, so they buy a lot of ketchup."

Lin Chuntao wanted to ask if her third uncle had any objections, but felt it wasn't appropriate to ask. Chai Xingyu seemed to know what she was thinking and said to himself, "My third uncle and his family have approached my father several times, but my father said that my business is just small-scale and the money I earn in a month isn't even enough for my third uncle to make a set of clothes. He told me to take it easy. He recently went to Xuancheng, probably to discuss things with my second uncle."

Lin Chuntao frowned slightly at the question, "Will this be difficult for you?"

Chai Xingyu shook his head: "No, if Uncle San comes back and still looks for me, then I'll just have to say that he can leave his sauce with me to sell, and we can share the profits."