Chapter 34 - Two-in-One Sister, this fabric is so soft...

The next day at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Lin Chuntao was awakened by the system announcement.

She had just sat up when Lin Duo'er, who was sleeping on the innermost side, also sat up with her eyes closed. Lin Chuntao turned around and looked at her, "It's not even dawn yet, you can continue sleeping."

Because they needed to make clothes, Lin Duo'er and the others woke up several times during the night, eagerly awaiting dawn. Lin Chuntao bought brand-new fabric, and they looked forward to wearing their new clothes.

Lin Duo'er really wanted to go to the county town with Lin Chuntao so that she could quickly choose a piece of cloth.

But the bean seeds in the field are still a bit short. My second and third sisters have to go to the field, while she has to stay home to look after the piglets and cut pig feed.

Lin Chuntao could guess what she was thinking, and said softly, "Go to sleep quickly, I'll come back early after I sell the mushrooms."

Lin Duo'er nodded and crawled back into bed.

Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying went out together. He talked to Lin Chuntao about how to make the clothes and how much fabric was needed for the whole outfit.

Lin Chuntao said, "Main waist, inner garment, shirt, trousers, outer trousers."

"Not making skirts?" Pei Ying asked.

Lin Chuntao hesitated for a moment and said, "I won't make a skirt. It's too hot in the summer. Wearing a skirt over pants is not a good idea. I don't see many people in the village wearing skirts. I'll make the shirt longer so it covers below the hips."

She gestured as she spoke, and Pei Ying understood what she meant.

“Okay, then come find me after you sell the mushrooms, and I'll go with you to buy cloth.”

"good."

After the two parted ways, Lin Chuntao went into the mountains. She knew the way well and carried the mushrooms she picked to the county market.

The mushrooms sold out as quickly as ever, and Aunt Guizhi's basket of vegetables almost sold out at the same time, so she called her to go home together.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Auntie, I want to go to the cloth shop to buy some fabric to make a dress."

"Is Xiao Pei going with you? Do you want me to go with you?" Aunt Guizhi asked.

Lin Chuntao replied, "Hmm, will Pei Ying's coming with me cause trouble for Aunt Guizhi?"

Aunt Guizhi waved her hand, "It'll only take a little while, morning or evening, it won't delay anything."

It was still early, and the butcher shop was just starting to see a small peak in business. Pei Ying was busy carrying meat out of the shop.

Helan was extremely busy at the meat stall. Lin Chuntao said goodbye to Pei Ying and then went to the cloth shop by herself.

Seeing Lin Chuntao come and leave quickly, Helan turned back and asked Pei Ying, "Little Pei, did your wife want to see you?"

Pei Ying smiled and said, "It's nothing urgent. She's going to buy cloth, and an aunt is going with her."

Helan said, "Tell me if there's anything urgent."

Pei Ying responded and continued working, while Lin Chuntao and Aunt Guizhi drove the mule cart to the entrance of the cloth shop.

Yesterday, the girls were all standing at the door eating pancakes. Lin Chuntao jumped off the mule cart, and Zhang Qingqing's eyes lit up when she saw it was her. She quickly came over to greet her.

"You're here so early, young lady?"

"We've already had breakfast, but we just ate. Do you want to eat something together?"

As she walked, she said, "We're not eating. We came to the market to sell things, and we'll come over after we're done."

Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Zhang Qingqing led the mule to the pillar by the door and tied it there, asking with a smile, "What are you selling, young lady?"

"I sell mushrooms, and this auntie sells vegetables. They're both very fresh. You can contact us if you need anything."

Zhang Qingqing looked over in surprise upon hearing this, "We eat with our employer and don't cook for ourselves. Did you find any matsutake mushrooms, miss? Our employer really likes them."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I just sold a basketful a couple of days ago. I'll save some for you next time."

"Alright, then thank you very much, young lady. May I ask your name?"

"Lin Chuntao".

Zhang Qingqing smiled and said, "Then I'll call you Sister Chuntao from now on."

The two chatted and laughed as they entered the shop. Lin Chuntao told her how many outfits she wanted to make, and she even calculated the amount of fabric needed. In the end, they bought a bolt of white cotton cloth, a bolt of grass-green cotton cloth, and cut several feet of fine white cotton cloth to make underwear.

The total comes to one string of cash and one hundred and ninety cash.

Zhang Qingqing led Lin Chuntao to pay the bill. The coins clattered together. Aunt Zhi looked at Lin Chuntao, her eyes fixed on the cloth in her hand, showing no remorse for the coins she had just spent. She smiled for no apparent reason.

After paying, Zhang Qingqing saw them out, and at the door she said with a smile, "Sister and Auntie, come find me again next time you need anything."

Aunt Guizhi looked at her gentle and polite manner and smiled, saying, "If I need to buy cloth in the future, I will definitely come to you."

Lin Chuntao, carrying the cloth, boarded the mule cart and went to the general store with Aunt Guizhi. They bought some needles and thread, and two earthenware basins before heading home.

At the fabric shop, Zhang Qingqing was very happy after seeing Lin Chuntao off.

Although she patiently explained yesterday, she thought Lin Chuntao's statement about coming tomorrow was just empty talk and didn't take it to heart at all.

Unexpectedly, Lin Chuntao not only came, but also bought two bolts of cloth.

She went to the accounting office and put her fingerprint on the document; she could collect her reward at the end of the month.

Zhang Huarui watched Zhang Qingqing come out of the accounting room, feeling displeased. She muttered to herself, "I didn't expect that half-trousers would actually be bought? But it's nothing special, just two bolts of cotton cloth!"

Zhang Qingqing frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Isn't it inappropriate for you to say that about people? We were wearing shorts the day we were sold to our employer."

Mentioning the past, Zhang Huarui snorted coldly and glanced at Zhang Qingqing.

How much reward can you get for two bolts of cotton cloth?

Zhang Qingqing shook her head: "I don't know."

"Oh, didn't you ask the accountant? When I get my monthly salary next month, could you lend me some money?"

Zhang Qingqing's expression darkened slightly as she asked, "What do you need the money for?"

"Buy rouge. Meixiangju will be getting new rouge next month. I heard from the ladies there that it looks really good."

Hearing Zhang Huarui's words, Zhang Qingqing shook her head slightly, "I have to send the money home, I don't have any money to lend you."

Zhang Huarui pouted, "Why don't you just tell your family that you didn't receive that much? Anyway, you don't give all of your monthly allowance to your family."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qingqing's eyes turned cold as she stared intently at Zhang Huarui.

Zhang Huarui felt a little weak and said in a low voice, "I'm not going to tell my family, why are you glaring at me?"

Zhang Qingqing didn't say anything more and walked past.

*

Lin Chuntao rode in Aunt Guizhi's mule cart on her way back.

She carried those two bolts of cloth the whole time; they were just two pieces of cotton cloth, but they were much more comfortable than what she was wearing at the moment.

Seeing her happy expression, Aunt Guizhi was also infected by her emotions. Suddenly, she missed her daughter and thought that she would buy some cloth another day to make clothes for her daughter and then go to see her.

At this moment, at the village entrance, women who had gone to the fields and those who had just returned from the fields gathered under the fir trees, hiding from the sun and chatting idly.

Seeing Aunt Guizhi driving her mule cart back, he greeted her cheerfully.

"You went to sell vegetables again today. I see that your vegetable patch is almost sold out."

Aunt Guizhi laughed and said, "We won't go anymore once we've sold out. What are you all talking about?"

One of the women laughed and said, "My daughter Qiao'er has guests coming over on the second day of the sixth lunar month. I was just talking to them, Guizhi, are you free to help me steam rice that day?"

Aunt Guizhi asked in surprise, "So fast? I haven't even heard the news yet. Who has it been decided on?"

The woman replied, "We're from Xujia Village. We didn't expect it to be this fast, but we kept checking the dates and it happened. So we're just busy getting things done."

"I'll be free whenever I can. My niece Qiao'er is getting married, so I'll definitely be available."

After exchanging pleasantries, the group noticed that Lin Chuntao, sitting behind Aunt Guizhi, was carrying two bolts of cloth. The white cotton cloth was dazzlingly white, and the grass-green color was also vibrant. They all turned to look at Xu Guizhi.

"Wow, you're making a fortune selling vegetables! It's not even New Year's yet, and you're already buying fabric to make new clothes?"

Aunt Guizhi glanced at Lin Chuntao and replied to the woman, "Why would a woman like me make new clothes? Chuntao bought the cloth, and the sisters made the clothes."

The women paused, their eyes filled with mixed emotions as they looked at Lin Chuntao. These were clearly just a few young girls who had been kicked out by Lin Laowu's family, and the village head's family had even provided them with a place to live. How come they had bought cloth and made new clothes after only a few days?

The atmosphere fell silent until the woman who was marrying off her daughter broke the silence.

"Chuntao, I didn't see you just now. Your sister Qiao'er will be having guests on the second day of the sixth lunar month. Remember to bring Chunxing and the others to dinner."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, Auntie, I'll definitely go that day."

The mule couldn't stop, twisting and turning, and Aunt Guizhi didn't get off to chat with them, but drove the cart home.

After watching them walk away, the women started discussing amongst themselves.

"Did you see that? That cloth looks like cotton, two bolts! It must be worth at least a string of cash, right?"

"Definitely! I went to buy fabric the other day, and a bolt of colored cloth cost seven hundred coins!"

"My goodness, weren't those sisters kicked out? How come they're renting cows to grow corn one minute, and buying cloth to make clothes the next? I even heard they cooked meat a few days ago?"

Where did they get so much money?

"I heard that Chun Tao picked mushrooms to sell."

"You believe you can make that much money picking mushrooms?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison, and even the person who said it hesitated.

Yes, although we can pick some mushrooms to eat every year, we only pick a few pounds each time, so how much can we sell them for?

Lin Chuntao and Aunt Guizhi walked through the village and got off the mule cart at the fork in the road before parting ways.

Lin Chunxing and the others were still working hard in the fields behind the mountain, thinking about finishing quickly so they could go home and see if Lin Chuntao had returned.

But as the sun grew hotter and the time slowly passed, Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe were getting impatient.

"Second sister, why don't we go back and have some water?"

Lin Chunxing knew exactly what they were thinking. She thought that she couldn't work properly because she was thinking about the cloth, so she might as well go back. If Lin Chuntao came back and saw the cloth, she would happily come back to work.

Before they even reached the outside of the courtyard, they saw Lin Chuntao getting off Aunt Guizhi's mule cart, carrying some things in her hands.

Without even asking, it was clear that it was cloth. Lin Duo'er screamed and called out "Sister!" and ran towards Lin Chuntao. Lin Chunhe also chased after her.

This exclamation drew the attention of everyone who heard it. Even the people in the Lin family's courtyard, upon hearing Lin Duo'er's joyful shout, rushed to the gate to look outside.

Lin Chuntao had only walked a short distance away when the two bolts of cloth she was carrying could still be clearly seen.

Lin Xian'er's eyes widened, and she asked loudly, "What is that she's holding?"

The woman next to him, surnamed Qian, replied in a deep voice, "It looks like cloth."

"It seems there are still two horses," said Madam Feng.

Lin Changhe frowned, puzzled: "Where did this brat get the money to buy cloth? She rented a cow to buy seeds a few days ago, and now she's buying cloth? And eating meat too! Where did she get the money?"

Madam Qian rolled her eyes at Lin Changhe and said irritably, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? She's not my daughter."

"I haven't even met your spineless father yet. You raised four daughters, but your son-in-law hasn't even had a cup of tea!"

Qian's sarcastic remarks were met with disdain by Lin Changhe.

"Who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for my eldest son in your belly!"

Holding her belly, Madam Qian asked Lin Changhe with her chin out, "Your son said he wants to eat meat, can you go and buy some?"

Lin Changhe didn't have a single copper coin in his hand, and he had to be mindful of Tian Shi's attitude even when buying meat or eating eggs.

The people in this courtyard, young and old alike, felt jealous and confused, while the children were also eager for new clothes.

A child may quiet down after being scolded a few times, but an adult's mind will only become more agitated the more they try to suppress it.

*

Lin Duo'er ran over and reached for the cloth, but Lin Chunhe quickly said, "Lin Duo'er, your hands are covered in dirt."

Overjoyed, Lin Duo'er reached out and saw that her hands were indeed covered in dirt. She grinned and pulled her hands back, then jumped and danced around Lin Chuntao.

Lin Chunhe looked at the green and liked it very much.

"Sister, how much did you spend? Was it very expensive?"

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Yeah, a little. We've almost spent all the money we saved."

Lin Duo'er's eyes widened as she asked, "Won't we go hungry?"

Lin Chuntao flicked her nose. "Is that the look on your face because you're afraid of going hungry?"

She chuckled; with new clothes to wear, she didn't mind going hungry for a few days.

From now on, when they go out in their new clothes, the villagers will no longer laugh at them for being ashamed to go out in their underwear.

Her pants were just too short, they weren't underwear.

But how can you prove that it's not underwear when faced with someone's malice? Are you going to pull up your pants and show them that you're wearing underwear underneath?

Doing so will only make you a bigger laughing stock.

"Sister, when are we going to get new clothes?"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I'll make it when your brother-in-law comes back."

"He did it?" Lin Chunhe asked.

Lin Chuntao nodded, while Lin Chunxing, who was standing to the side, was somewhat shocked. "Brother-in-law can not only slaughter pigs, but also sew?"

"Hmm, he said he did a pretty good job."

The sisters returned home together, and they quickly ran to wash their hands, wanting to touch the cloth.

As soon as she touched Lin Duo'er, she looked at Lin Chuntao with delight and said, "Sister, this fabric is so soft."

Lin Chuntao smiled; the cotton cloth was indeed much softer.

The two bolts of cloth were placed on the grain cabinet, and the three sisters stood in front of the cabinet, touching them with great affection.

Lin Chuntao stood aside and watched. Through their smiles, Lin Chuntao could imagine what kind of scorn and ridicule they had suffered over the years.

"Let's work hard to earn money so that we can make another set of winter clothes and new clothes for the New Year in a few months."

Lin Duo'er looked at Lin Chuntao in disbelief and said, "Then we'll have three sets of clothes?"

Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "Not only that, we'll have so many new clothes in the future, the wardrobe won't be able to hold them all."

Lin Duo'er was completely absorbed in Lin Chuntao's fantasy, while Lin Chunxing laughed from the side, "Sister, why are you teasing her?"

Lin Chuntao smiled broadly, looking at Lin Duo'er with tender eyes.

“I wasn’t teasing her. When we have money in the future, we can make lots and lots of new clothes.”

Lin Chunhe found it hard to believe, and she asked bluntly, "How rich do we have to be? Is twenty taels of silver enough?"

Lin Chuntao frowned as she looked at her.

"We've spent more than an ounce today; twenty ounces won't be enough."

Lin Chunhe stuck out her tongue and asked tentatively, "Do you want gold?"

"Gold is barely acceptable."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Chunxing laughed so hard she bent over.

It was almost lunchtime, and Lin Chunxing wanted to go back to the fields to work for a while, but Lin Chuntao said, "Don't go yet. Let's prepare the meal and go together in the afternoon after lunch."

Hearing this, Lin Duo'er asked from the side, "Shouldn't we wait for my brother-in-law to come back and eat together?"

"Wait a minute," Lin Chuntao said. "Let's steam the rice first, and I'll boil the rest of the pig's blood."

"Aren't you going to make sauerkraut and pig's blood soup anymore? I still want to eat it."

Lin Chuntao smiled at Lin Duo'er, the little glutton, and said, "I'll make it, but we can't possibly finish all that pig's blood. I'll scoop out two bowls and some pickled cabbage, and you can take them to Grandma and Aunt Guizhi's house. I'll cook the rest and make cold dishes, which are also very delicious."

Lin Duo'er is now filled with anticipation whenever she hears the words "delicious." If Lin Chuntao says it's delicious, then it will be delicious.

Lin Chuntao originally planned to cook the pig's blood into chunks and then send some to the two families, but the pickled cabbage was also ready. She thought that stir-fried pig's blood with pickled cabbage was delicious, so she decided to send some raw pig's blood so that they could also try her way of eating it.

Four large bowls, two bowls of pig's blood and two bowls of pickled cabbage, were packed into a bamboo basket by Lin Chuntao and sent to be delivered by Lin Chunxing. Lin Duo'er, who loved to join in the fun, also wanted to go along.

Lin Chuntao reminded her, "Remember to tell Grandma and Aunt Guizhi how to make it."

"Understood," Lin Chunxing replied, picking up her things and leaving the courtyard.

Lin Chuntao turned around to fetch firewood, started a fire, and boiled water to cook pig's blood.

Before Lin Chunxing left, Lin Chuntao instructed her to first deliver the package to Aunt Guizhi's house, and then go to the village head's house.

When they arrived, Aunt Guizhi was steaming rice.

"Auntie, my sister has finished pickling the sauerkraut. I'm bringing you some pig's blood and sauerkraut."

Aunt Guizhi remembered what she had joked with Lin Chuntao before, and when she saw that it had actually been delivered, she laughed and said, "I was just joking with your sister, why did she actually send it over? You can keep it for yourselves."

Lin Chunxing smiled shyly, "My sister said it was just a little bit, and asked me to take some to my aunt and great-grandmother so they could have a taste."

Looking at the two large bowls of pig's blood and two large bowls of pickled cabbage, Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Then I'll accept them. Go and deliver them to your great-grandmother first, and come back for the bowls after you're done."

Lin Chunxing nodded, took out two bowls, and headed to the village head's house.

Looking at the things they brought, Madam Sun politely declined them, but Lin Chunxing said with a smile, "My sister pickled some sauerkraut yesterday and found that it's delicious when stir-fried with pig's blood. Please try it, Madam. There's not much, so please don't think it's too little."

Sun pretended to be annoyed and said, "It's not that I think it's too little. I just want you sisters to live your own lives well. Didn't planting corn cost a lot the other day?"

Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "It's not worth much money, it's just a token of my appreciation."

Sun looked at the two sisters with affection, led them into the house, poured out the pig's blood and pickled cabbage in a bowl, rinsed the bowl, and put it back in the small bamboo basket.

"Sit and play for a while." As she spoke, Sun took out two small bowls and an earthenware pot from the cupboard, seemingly to make sugar water. Lin Chunxing quickly picked up the small bamboo basket and said, "Grandma, let's stop playing now and come back tonight."

As she spoke, she pulled Duo'er outside, and Sun called out, "You brat, sit down for a while, I'll make you some sweet soup."

Lin Chunxing, who had already run to the door, called out, "Grandma, you're not drinking anymore. We'll go back first."

Chen Dongniang watched the two sisters run off in a hurry, then looked at her mother-in-law standing at the door with a bowl in her hand, and said with a smile, "I feel that the sisters have all become happier recently."

Mrs. Sun smiled and said, "When there's something to look forward to in life, whether it's food or meat, you can buy it yourself with the money you earn, so of course you'll be happy."

“If it hadn’t been distributed, they wouldn’t have been able to eat a single piece of this bowl of pig’s blood, let alone give it to anyone.”

When Lin Chunxing and Lin Duo'er returned to Aunt Guizhi's house, Aunt Guizhi had already cleared out the bowls and handed them to them in a new small bamboo basket.

Does your sister pickle a lot of sauerkraut?

Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "A small earthenware pot."

"Then tell your sister to go pick and pickle the radishes herself after you finish eating."

"Yes, thank you, Auntie."

The two sisters staggered home and encountered Lin Miaomiao and Lin Dujuan on the way. Lin Miaomiao and Lin Jia were actually siblings. Lin Jia had fallen because of her. Lin Miaomiao ignored Lin Chunxing and the others with a sullen face.

Lin Dujuan was the youngest daughter of the fifth wife, two years younger than Lin Duo'er. The little girl didn't think much of it. When she saw Lin Duo'er and the others, she asked, "Sister Duo'er, what did you go to Grandma's house to deliver?"

Lin Duo'er looked at her and shook her head, "I didn't give anything."

Xiao Dujuan pouted, looking at Wan in the bamboo basket, clearly disbelieving. Lin Miaomiao chuckled and glared at Lin Chunxing.

"He's still carrying a bowl; maybe he went begging but failed?"

When Lin Duo'er heard Lin Miaomiao call them beggars, she immediately became furious and said fiercely, "We're going to deliver pig's blood and sauerkraut to Grandma's house!"

Lin Miaomiao swallowed hard, and Xiao Dujuan looked at Lin Duoer with longing.

"Where did you get the pig's blood?"

Lin Duo'er snorted coldly, "Of course it was bought by my older sister!"

Lin Miaomiao was angry, so she deliberately said sarcastically, "Your house was given to you by someone for a few days, and you still have money to buy pig's blood to give away? You probably tightened your belts to buy some so that people wouldn't kick you out."

Lin Duo'er's face turned red with anger as she looked up at Lin Miaomiao.

"You're talking nonsense! My sister bought a whole bucket of pig's blood, we can't even finish it all!"

Lin Miaomiao shrugged cheekily, "Nah, I don't believe it."

This infuriated Lin Duo'er. Lin Chunxing pulled her back, slowly looked at Lin Miaomiao, and said in a low voice, "What does it matter to us whether you believe it or not? Even if we sisters are poor, we would never climb over someone's wall to peek at whether they are eating meat. Only a dog would sniff at someone's door. Miaomiao, do you have several dogs like that at home?"

Lin Miaomiao's face turned bright red with anger when she heard Lin Chunxing cursing that the Lin family were the dogs.

"Lin Chunxing, you're spouting your father's stinking fart!"

Lin Chunxing shrugged fearlessly and said indifferently, "I don't care if you call Lin Changhe's name and curse him to eat shit. A dog is a dog. Keep him on a leash from now on and don't come to my door to sniff around."

After she finished speaking, she took Lin Duo'er's hand and walked forward, saying as she walked, "Oh dear, it's all because the meat we cooked at home smelled so good that the dog was so hungry."

Lin Miaomiao stomped her feet angrily behind her and shouted, "Lin Chunxing! You just wait!"

Seeing Lin Miaomiao get so angry after being scolded by Lin Chunxing, Lin Duo'er looked at her with admiration.

"Second sister, you're amazing."

Lin Chunxing gave her a look of exasperation. "Are you stupid? You fell for her trick and got angry over just a few words."

Lin Duo'er stuck out her tongue; she was just really angry.

Lin Chunxing sighed helplessly and said in a deep voice, "In the future, if someone tries to trick you into revealing information, just say you don't know and let them ask me and my older sister."

Why do I keep saying I don't know?

Lin Chunxing: "...Fine, do whatever you want, but remember, you can't tell anyone how much money we have."

Lin Duo'er stared wide-eyed, looking completely innocent.

"Second sister, how much money do we have?"

Lin Chunxing burst out laughing upon hearing this. She shook her head and said, "I don't know either. You should ask your older sister."

Lin Duo'er tilted her head, her little eyes rolling around, looking at Lin Chunxing with a puzzled expression.

"Second sister, you really don't know?"

Lin Chunxing pursed her lips and nodded, "Yes, I really don't know."

"impossible."

Lin Duo'er frowned and kept asking Lin Chunxing questions, but Lin Chunxing ignored her and forcibly changed the subject.

"Stop asking, run! Go back and see if your brother-in-law is back yet. Can we make the clothes this afternoon?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Chunxing started running, with Lin Duo'er chasing after her.

Even after running all the way to the courtyard gate, Lin Duo'er was still asking, "Second sister, is this what you said, that people always say they don't know anything when asked?"

Lin Chunxing looked at the silly Lin Duo'er and laughed so hard she bent over.

After a long pause, she nodded. "I guess so."

"So how much money do we actually have?"

I told you I didn't know.

Lin Duo'er angrily overtook her, ran into the courtyard, and loudly complained, "Sister, Second Sister bullied me!"