Chapter 32 - A Two-in-One Visit to the Fabric Shop

Old Zheng readily agreed. These farmers are always drawn to the cattle every year, but they are reluctant to rent them out because they worry about poor harvests and high rents. They fear that after paying the rent, they won't even have enough to eat.

They took advantage of the autumn harvest to beat drums and gongs, and shouted that signing contracts and delivering grain now was cheaper than renting cattle after the New Year. They figured many people would be tempted to rent them for a couple of days. This was truly a good idea.

When they returned the cattle, it was still early, and Aunt Guizhi and Lin Chunxing were still planting beans in the field.

Lin Cunzheng and Sun Shi also followed Lin Chuntao back to the field to help plant bean seeds.

There is a shallow furrow between the two rows of corn. Lin Chuntao planted the bean seeds in this furrow. Aunt Guizhi said while planting, "I must say, Chuntao, your method is quite good. It will be convenient to pull out the bean seedlings later. They will all be in the same furrow and won't get tripped up."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I just wanted to make sure I didn't forget where I planted the seeds or where I didn't plant them, so I did it this way."

Aunt Guizhi and Madam Sun both smiled broadly upon hearing this.

We'll plant for one day today, and Lin Chuntao and the others can do the rest themselves—plant some bean seeds and some vegetables.

Lin Chuntao has been extremely busy these past few days. She gets up early to pick mushrooms, and she also has to come back to plant corn. For several days in a row, she has asked Aunt Guizhi to help sell the mushrooms.

The corn planted a few days ago was all gone, and the meat that was cooked earlier was already finished. This morning, Pei Ying bought two catties of pork belly, and Lin Chuntao made a braised pork dish with some chili peppers, but she didn't let the chili peppers overpower the main dish.

During dinner, she made a point of thanking Mrs. Sun, Mr. Lin, and Aunt Guizhi.

Upon hearing this, the others all said, "It's not hard work at all. After planting corn with you for a few days, your great-grandfather and I have both gained weight."

Aunt Guizhi laughed and said, "I dare not accept that at all, it would be like I'm just here to mooch your mushrooms every day."

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere at the table became relaxed. Although they had helped them for many days in a row, and the villagers were gossiping about it, the old man and woman really didn't have any other thoughts. As they spent time together every day, Sun often told Lin Cunzheng that she always felt that Lin Chuntao and the others might be the ones who would have the best lives in the village in the future.

Lin Cunzheng agreed with what the old woman said. In the past few days, Lin Chuntao had been going into the mountains to pick mushrooms every night, and asked Xu Guizhi to help her sell them. Lin Chuntao did not hide the price of the mushrooms per catty from them. In a few days, they had earned several hundred coins. Although they had nothing now, they were sure that they would be able to save up their savings little by little in the future.

"They're just too extravagant with their food," Lin Cunzheng said.

Mrs. Sun was both amused and exasperated: "That's true. The amount of meat I've eaten in the last few days is more than I've eaten in several months."

After dinner, as dusk fell, Sun and Lin went home, while Aunt Guizhi sat in the courtyard chatting.

Lin Chuntao said to Aunt Guizhi, "Thank you so much for helping me sell mushrooms these past few days, Auntie. Do you have a regular spot at the market?"

"Yes, there's a sweet drink shop not far inside the market, you know? I set up my stall in front of that shop."

Lin Chuntao nodded, "Okay, if I go, I'll go find my aunt. If the sun is already up and we haven't gone yet, then we haven't found any mushrooms."

Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Okay."

After the matter was settled, Aunt Guizhi sat for a while longer before leaving.

These past few days I've been picking up mushrooms like green-headed mushrooms, broom mushrooms, and soil mushrooms. I've kept two or three pounds for myself, and I sell eighteen or nineteen pounds every day. The income from these past few days has amounted to seven or eight hundred coins.

She was so busy that she didn't even check her points.

Now that I have some free time, I checked the control panel and found that I have more than 2,600 points. The living area and recipe area are also flashing red dots, indicating that I can open a new area.

She quickly summoned the system and asked, "How did I get so many points?"

"I forgot to tell the host that one termite mushroom is worth ten points."

"I see. What's in the living area?" Lin Chuntao asked.

"Everything you need in a large supermarket is available in the residential area."

Lin Chuntao's heart skipped a beat, and she tentatively asked, "There won't be any gold or silver jewelry or anything like that, will there?"

"some."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao didn't wait any longer and quickly opened the living area.

"Host, host! Wait..."

Before the system could finish speaking, Lin Chuntao had already unlocked the living area, and the system's calm voice rang in her mind.

"Congratulations, host, for unlocking the living area. Points deducted: 2666. Points remaining: 22."

Hearing this number, Lin Chuntao was completely stunned.

Her ears were ringing. Looking at the dazzling array of items in the living area, the thought kept echoing in her mind: her balance of twenty-two, her vegetable seeds—she hadn't redeemed them yet…

Why were you stuttering just now?

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Lin Chuntao's tone was too calm, so the system quickly explained, "Host, you're too fast! It's not that I'm stuttering."

"Host, I have some good news for you, would you like to hear it?"

"What good news? You go first."

"Given that the host has successfully opened the server, this system is giving the host two chances to draw prizes. No points will be deducted. Would you like to draw now?"

Lin Chuntao took a deep breath, thinking, "Why not take it if it's free?"

"smoke!"

"Please select, host."

Looking at the large spinning wheel on the control panel, Lin Chuntao had a strong feeling that she was about to be tricked, but she held back and waited for it to spin several times before making a selection. A smiley face popped up on the panel.

"Congratulations, host! You have won a vegetable seed gift pack. It has been stored in your backpack and can be retrieved at any time."

Lin Chuntao narrowed her eyes. Hmm?

"Keep smoking."

The dial on the control panel spun round and round, and Lin Chuntao only made her selection after the countdown began.

"Congratulations, host, you have drawn a kitchen knife, which has been stored in your backpack."

Is she secretly hoping to win?

Whatever, as long as I get something useful. She opened her backpack and looked at the kitchen knife. It was an old-fashioned Chinese kitchen knife, similar in style to the one the original owner remembered from the Lin family.

After all, there are so many different kinds of kitchen knives available nowadays. If she were to draw one that didn't exist in this world, she wouldn't dare to use it.

That's perfect. She'll ask to use it when she comes back from the city tomorrow.

Having these two items slightly alleviated the heartache caused by the loss of her 2,600 points. She strolled around the living area, where there was a dazzling array of items, including rice, flour, oil, meat, salt, ginger, vinegar, tea, spices, pots, pans, various utensils, as well as gold and silver jewelry.

Fortunately, points can be earned back, so there's still some hope in life.

Just as I was about to tidy up and close the control panel, I suddenly remembered that the system had mentioned it would also be upgraded.

"Did you upgrade? Besides the mushrooms, what else did you upgrade?"

After a long silence, the system finally said, "Wild vegetables."

Lin Chuntao frowned slightly. She couldn't exchange wild vegetables for money, but mushrooms offered both points and money.

"They're not going to refuse to sign the mushroom contract, are they?"

"Regarding the mushrooms, I will remind the host. As for the wild vegetables, it's random; the host can dig them up as they please, as long as they are edible."

Lin Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief; at least she could still earn points by checking in at the mushroom farm.

She grew up in the countryside and went back to live with her grandmother after graduating and starting work. She lived in the countryside for many years and knew quite a few wild vegetables. She would go dig them up after she finished planting the vegetables.

These past few days, Lin Chuntao has been busy planting corn. Her three younger sisters have been very well-behaved, never complaining about being tired or suffering. They cut grass and pig feed together and planted the corn. Lin Chuntao is actually quite pleased with them.

She counted and realized she had almost two strings of cash left at home. She wondered if it would be enough to make clothes, so she had to go to the cloth shop and the clothing store to check.

As night deepened, Lin Chunxing and the others yawned repeatedly, waiting for the water to boil for a bath before going to sleep.

Lin Chuntao was the last to wash, and the water was still boiling. Pei Ying sat with her in the courtyard waiting for the water to boil.

"Are your shoulders and back still sore? Would you like me to massage them again?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao looked up at him. Their eyes met, and perhaps because of the dim light under the moonlight, she felt that the person in front of her had deep eyes and was staring at her with an indescribable meaning.

She shook her head slightly, "I'm fine today, I don't need to massage it."

Pei Ying nodded slightly, "Okay, then I'll go take a bath by the river."

Pei Ying left quickly and returned quickly. Lin Chuntao waited for him to come back and bolted the courtyard gate before preparing to go back to her room to sleep.

"Come here for a second," Pei Ying called out to her.

Lin Chuntao paused, then asked in a low voice, "What is it?"

Pei Ying looked at her with a deep, unsettling gaze.

"Come in first."

Lin Chuntao looked at the man with his shirt open and seriously suspected that he was doing it on purpose. She unconsciously swallowed and stepped into the house.

"What are you thinking about, my wife?" Pei Ying asked in a low voice.

As the face drew closer, Lin Chuntao instantly snapped back to reality.

"No."

Seeing the change in her expression, Pei Ying slowly smiled, turned around and took the wages for the past few days, handing them to her.

"Let's put the wages for these past few days together."

This was the second time he had given her money, and Lin Chuntao didn't refuse again, only smiling and saying, "If I put it all together, I'll have to spend it."

Pei Ying said, "The purpose of making money is to spend it. You want to make clothes, right? You can go to the county town tomorrow to take a look."

Lin Chuntao nodded, "I've been thinking about that too. I'll go see if we have enough, and if we do, we'll make one or two sets for each person. If not, we'll make one or two sets to change into."

"Hmm, do you want to travel together tomorrow?"

Lin Chuntao nodded. "Okay."

"I'm going back to my room to sleep."

"Um."

After returning to her room, Lin Chuntao counted the money Pei Ying had handed over. There were more than five hundred copper coins, which she strung together separately with hemp rope.

The next day at dawn, the rooster crowed and the system broadcast sounded at the same time.

Lin Chuntao got up quickly, grabbed her basket and bamboo basket and went out. Pei Ying was already waiting for her in the yard.

After traveling together for a while, Lin Chuntao went directly into the mountains.

This is the same mountain where she picked pine needle mushrooms last time. After she went into the mountain and found a mushroom nest, she picked for a while and then heard a noise in the forest. It was still dark, and she was alone today, so she didn't dare to make a sound and squatted down under the bushes without moving.

"How's it going? Any mushrooms?"

"No."

"But it's definitely in this area, let's search slowly."

The voices of a man and a woman were very familiar. Lin Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to shout but was afraid of startling them, so she coughed instead.

After her cough, there was silence on the other end. After a while, Xu Tianzhu called out, "Who is it?"

Only then did Lin Chuntao answer, "Fourth Uncle, it's me, Chuntao."

Upon hearing that it was Lin Chuntao, the two of them lit a tinderbox and came looking for her. They were quite surprised to find that she was alone.

Why are you all alone?

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Pei Ying went to work in the city. The younger sisters were too tired to come."

Zhou gasped, looked at Xu Tianzhu with disdain, and then looked at Lin Chuntao with heartache. Last time, there were several sisters, but today it was just her alone.

"You silly girl, aren't you afraid to go into the mountains alone?"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "There are no ghosts, so there's nothing to be afraid of."

Xu Tianzhu swallowed hard. He loved picking mushrooms, but he would scare himself if he went into the mountains alone in the middle of the night, so he had to ask Zhou to accompany him.

Little did anyone know that Lin Chuntao had nothing to fear!

"I heard you talking just now. I was going to call out to you directly, but I was afraid of scaring you, so I coughed."

Xu Tianzhu thought to himself, "Luckily she didn't shout, otherwise she might have really scared him."

"Did you find any mushrooms? This area is known for its chanterelle mushrooms," Xu Tianzhu asked.

Lin Chuntao moved the small basket behind her back out; the chanterelle mushrooms she had just picked up had already covered the bottom of the basket.

"Found them, they're all chanterelle mushrooms."

Zhou smiled and extinguished the tinderbox.

"Then let's keep looking. Chun Tao, did you bring a tinderbox?"

Lin Chuntao shook her head.

"I didn't bring it. I feel safer in the dark."

Xu Tianzhu smiled. He felt the same way. As long as the moon was bright, he also felt that lighting a tinderbox or torch would be even more unsafe.

Actually, this area of ​​mountains and forests isn't a remote, deep forest, so it's unlikely to harbor any bandits. In the past two years, the world has been more stable, and there are no refugees. Lighting a torch shouldn't mean they'll encounter any bad guys, but they still feel uneasy.

Therefore, he always carried a tinderbox with him when he went into the mountains to deal with emergencies, and normally he would explore the forest by moonlight.

Zhou laughed and said, "You uncle and nephew are thinking the same thing. Hurry up and search, it will be dawn soon."

Lin Chuntao responded and began digging for mushroom burrows. Xu Tianzhu and Zhou Shi also searched near the tree roots, but they couldn't find any after digging in two places. Lin Chuntao picked up one burrow and looked up to see Zhou Shi preparing to cross it horizontally. However, Lin Chuntao pointed to a burrow in front of Zhou Shi and said with a smile, "Fourth Aunt, why don't you look higher up?"

Zhou was just someone I randomly chose. After hearing Lin Chuntao's words, she smiled and said, "I'm used to it."

As she spoke, she crawled up and dug out a cluster of orange-red chanterelle mushrooms. She laughed and said, "Chuntao, you found the mushrooms! You're such a quick-witted girl!"

Lin Chuntao was also digging up another nest, and she laughed, "Because I found several small nests in a row by going upwards."

Xu Tianzhu refused to believe it and searched horizontally around him, but only found a few scattered flowers. He returned to Zhou's side in a huff.

Lin Chuntao didn't dare to directly point out the location to Zhou Shi, but just casually mentioned it.

After searching through this patch of chanterelle mushrooms, Lin Chuntao's basket wasn't full yet, while Zhou and the others had filled half a basket. Hers had a slightly larger amount. Before dawn, Xu Tianzhu said, "Let's cross the mountain and see if we can find any green-headed mushrooms."

Lin Chuntao followed the couple over the small hill to the other side of the mountain and down into a valley. Zhou said to Lin Chuntao, "Chuntao, look carefully, this area is prone to growing purple-skinned green-headed mushrooms."

Upon receiving the message, Lin Chuntao crouched down and began searching. There were many pine trees in the valley, and the fallen pine needles had turned yellow and piled up in a thick layer. Lin Chuntao took a bamboo stick and dug around. Before long, she found a small mushroom nest under the root of a pine tree, with more than a dozen mushrooms.

"Aunt, I've found it."

Zhou and Xu Tianzhu came over and saw that there were more than a dozen purple-skinned, green-headed mushroom buds crowded under the pine tree roots. There were quite a few buds, but they were still small.

Xu Tianzhu looked at Lin Chuntao and laughed, "You have good eyesight; you can find it even before the leaves have fully covered it."

Lin Chuntao chuckled, and Zhou pushed Xu Tianzhu aside to continue the search.

By daybreak, their baskets were full. The green-headed mushrooms and chicken oil mushrooms, along with a few pine needle mushrooms and soil mushrooms, carried them together toward the county market.

They arrived in the county town early, and there weren't many people in the market yet.

Because they had made an appointment with Aunt Guizhi, Lin Chuntao and Zhou Shi said they were going to visit her. Xu Tianzhu and Zhou Shi, having heard that Aunt Guizhi was selling vegetables there, also went along.

When Aunt Guizhi saw the three of them coming together, she stood up with a smile.

She and Xu Tianzhu were from the same village, both surnamed Xu, and were related in some way; they were old acquaintances.

Why did you all come together?

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "I ran into my fourth uncle and fourth aunt while picking mushrooms in the mountains."

Looking at Aunt Guizhi, Zhou asked with a smile, "When did you come to sell vegetables? We often come to the market, but we've never seen you here before."

"I come every day, so we might miss each other," Aunt Guizhi said, gesturing to them, "Come over here quickly, I've saved you a spot."

Lin Chuntao and Zhou Shi went over together and put down their baskets next to the vegetable stall.

"How's Auntie doing? Has she started selling yet?"

Aunt Guizhi waved her hand, "Not yet, I just arrived too." After saying that, she sat down and continued packing her vegetable basket.

Since there were few people around, and Lin Chuntao hadn't even started calling out yet, she simply helped Aunt Guizhi pack the vegetables.

Zhou and Xu Tianzhu found it novel and watched from the sidelines.

At first, she didn't understand what was the point of all this. It took so much effort, but when the market got crowded and everyone started hawking their wares, Zhou was stunned to see that Aunt Guizhi's vegetable basket was selling for twenty-five coins.

This little bit of food, packaged like this, can sell for twenty-five coins!

That morning, people buying mushrooms and vegetables surrounded their little stall completely.

Aunt Guizhi brought a total of about twenty baskets of vegetables. Once Lin Chuntao and the others sold out of their mushrooms, her baskets of vegetables were also sold out.

After everyone packed their things, Aunt Guizhi asked with a smile, "Do you want to shop around some more? Let's go back together."

Aunt Guizhi came in a mule cart; she didn't need to carry anything on her way back, so people could ride in it.

Lin Chuntao wanted to go see the clothes being made, so she said to Aunt Guizhi, "I need to go find Pei Ying. It might take quite a while. Aunt, you should go back first."

"Alright, we'll head back now. Take your time coming back."

Lin Chuntao nodded, and Aunt Guizhi invited Zhou Shi and Xu Tianzhu to get into the mule cart, and the three of them left together.

Watching them leave, Lin Chuntao picked up her basket, brought up the control panel, and first retrieved the vegetable seed gift pack and the kitchen knife from yesterday's lottery.

Lin Chuntao was in a great mood after seeing what was in the basket.

Pei Ying was probably still busy at this hour, so she put on her basket and prepared to go to the cloth shop by herself.

She wasn't familiar with the county town, so she asked a shopkeeper at the market entrance for directions and then quickly found her way there.

Not far from the market, there are several clothing shops and small cloth stores on the street. In the middle of the street, there is a large cloth store with a rather grand facade. Three girls of about seventeen or eighteen years old are standing at the door, two of them chatting while cracking sunflower seeds.

Lin Chuntao carried her basket on her back and walked towards the door.

The two girls who were eating sunflower seeds turned around and saw her. They glanced at her from head to toe, and finally stared at Lin Chuntao's straw sandals and said, "Go into the shop and rub the mud off your feet. Don't get our shop floor dirty."

Lin Chuntao looked down at her shoes. They were a bit worn and old, and there was dust on the soles, but no mud. But even if there was mud, what difference would it make if she stepped in them?

Seeing Lin Chuntao lower her head, the girl thought she was ashamed and was smugly shaking her head when Lin Chuntao suddenly raised her head and looked at her with a smile, saying, "Does your boss know that you can't step on the floor of his shop? Or are you just being lazy and don't want to clean? If you don't want to work but don't have the courage to tell your boss, I can do it for you. Do you need it, miss?"

The girl was so angry at Lin Chuntao's retort that her eyes widened. Lin Chuntao snorted coldly, and the girl standing alone to the side quickly came over and beckoned Lin Chuntao over.

"Miss, are you looking at fabric? Please come in."

"What kind of fabric does the young lady want to see? Let me introduce it to you. Our fabric shop has a complete range of fabrics. Whether it's linen, cotton, silk, or satin, you can find any fabric and any color you want in our shop."

Lin Chuntao looked up at her after hearing this; the girl with the oval face had a very friendly smile.

"Let me see the linen and cotton."

As soon as Lin Chuntao finished speaking, the girl led her to the counter, took out a stack of fabric samples, and began to explain them to her in detail.

From linen to cotton to fine white cotton, and dyed cotton, the details of the fabrics, from breathability to durability, were explained in great detail. Lin Chuntao looked at these fabrics and saw that linen was the roughest, but it was also the one she was most familiar with. The linen she was wearing was the one she had worn for many years and could still wear, but after washing and drying it, it felt like a piece of cowhide, so stiff that it made her uncomfortable.

"Young lady, you can touch it. You'll be able to tell just by touching it. This cotton fabric feels different from fine white cotton."

Lin Chuntao had been picking mushrooms and digging in the soil that morning, and her fingertips were a little yellow. She felt uncomfortable touching the fabric, but the girl smiled and said, "Miss, feel free to touch it. This is a sample fabric, specially used for introducing to distinguished guests. It won't affect anything."

As Lin Chuntao examined the different fabrics, the girl in front of her began to explain the prices.

Linen cloth costs 300 cash per bolt, ordinary white cotton cloth costs 400 cash, fine white cotton cloth costs 550 cash per bolt, and dyed fine cotton cloth costs 700 cash.

White cotton cloth costs a hundred coins more than linen, but it is much finer and softer. Looking at the fine white cotton cloth, it should be good for making linings. Lin Chuntao had an estimate in her mind.

The girl asked with a smile, "Are you buying fabric to make clothes, young lady? If so, we have ready-made clothes in our shop. Would you like to take a look?"

Lin Chuntao glanced back at the shop but didn't see any ready-made clothes. The girl smiled and said, "Miss, the ready-made clothes are on the second floor. I'll take you up to see them."

Lin Chuntao followed her, and the girl said as they walked, "Our tailor in the fabric shop is extremely skilled. Many noble people in this city have their clothes made by her. If you buy fabric and have it made, I dare say you won't find a tailor with better skills."

This cloth shop is quite large, so it's normal for a large cloth shop to be able to afford to employ skilled craftsmen.

Upon reaching the second floor, the girl took out several sets of finished garments.

"Young lady, our ready-made clothes are very good. We've made the main waistband and the undergarment, and they even come with socks." As she spoke, she took out these items.

Lin Chuntao examined it closely. The main waist and undergarment resembled a modern vest and shorts, with the vest fastened by ties at the front. The inner garment was a white cotton diagonal-front piece with ties on both sides, and on the outside were a shirt, a vest, and a horse-face skirt.

This set is quite complete. But the price must be quite high.

How much is this set?

The girl looked at her with a smile and said, "This set costs six hundred coins."

Lin Chuntao nodded slightly. Six hundred coins could buy a bolt of fine cotton cloth, and a bolt of cloth with a little dye could also be bought. It looked nice, but it wasn't cost-effective for her.

Seeing Lin Chuntao remain silent, the young woman smiled and asked, "Are you buying fabric to make clothes for yourself, or for your family as well?"

“Family members should also participate,” Lin Chuntao said.

"If you don't like the styles of these ready-made clothes, you can bring your family along. If you buy the fabric in our shop, you can find a tailor to make them right here."

This all-in-one introduction suggests that if you have money, you should buy fabric even if you don't buy ready-made clothes, and if you buy fabric, you might continue to have clothes made at their shop.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Thank you for the introduction, miss. I didn't bring any money with me today, but I'll come back to buy it tomorrow."

"Okay, my name is Zhang Qingqing. You can come find me tomorrow."

Lin Chuntao nodded, and Zhang Qingqing saw her to the door.

The two girls who were eating sunflower seeds were still standing at the door, and when they saw that Lin Chuntao hadn't bought any, their expressions became even more disdainful.