With seven taels of silver in her hand, Chen Xiaomi became more generous with her money. She went straight to a clothing store and spent one tael of silver to buy a bolt of fine cotton cloth.

After buying the cotton cloth, Chen Xiaomi spent another fifty coins to buy some needles and thread. In the cloth shop, the price of ready-made clothes was more than twice that of cloth, so buying cloth was more cost-effective than buying ready-made clothes.

After buying the clothes, Chen Xiaomi went to the pawn shop and bought two old cotton quilts.

A cotton quilt is a good thing. Whether you use it to cover yourself in winter or take out the cotton wadding and stuff it into your clothes, it's all good.

After Lu Lin arrived at the Chen family, he slept on the door panel. Chen Xiaomi originally thought that Lu Lin would rather die than marry into the family, so she didn't take Lu Lin seriously.

Seeing that Lu Lin has been doing a lot of work lately, I've changed my opinion of him and am thinking that I should live a better life.

The weather is getting colder and colder. In previous years, he would put on all his clothes and wrap himself in animal skins and blankets to make do in winter. This year, perhaps he won't have to suffer so much.

When Lu Lin saw Chen Xiaomi buying a quilt, he knew that she was probably doing it for him. However, Lu Lin had some other thoughts. He had heard that it snowed heavily in the winter here, and he thought it would be more prudent to build a kang (a heated brick bed).

Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "After you go back, find an old lady in the village to help you make clothes."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Okay!"

Lu Lin thought to himself: There are many poor people in the village. After the autumn harvest, they should be idle. At this time, if you spend a few copper coins, someone should be willing to help. Who would turn down money? It's not easy being a country person. His reputation is probably better than Chen Xiaomi's. That's probably why Chen Xiaomi entrusted the task to him.

After spending a lot of money on a bolt of cloth, Chen Xiaomi went on to buy some salt, rice, flour, bowls, plates, and shoes...

After buying most of the miscellaneous items, Chen Xiaomi bought two strings of candied hawthorns for the two younger children in the family.

Having bought almost everything, Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin embarked on their journey home.

"Big brother, there's so much stuff!" Chen Xiaocai said excitedly.

"Yes!" Chen Xiaomi felt a little guilty. He had spent money too much today and had accidentally spent nearly two taels of silver. After thinking about it, Chen Xiaomi felt that some money should not be saved. Only when you are well-fed and clothed can you have the strength to earn money.

...

After returning home, Chen Xiaomi pondered who to ask to make the clothes. After thinking it over, she decided on Granny Chen.

Granny Shen was also a pitiful person. Her son died three years ago when he was conscripted into the army. A year ago, her daughter-in-law ran away with a peddler, leaving behind a half-grown little girl named Shuang'er. With her son dead and her daughter-in-law gone, Granny Shen and her little Shuang'er, Shen Chi, depended on each other for survival in the village.

Grandma Shen had three acres of land. Although her life was a bit hard, she could manage to get by, though she sometimes went hungry and sometimes had a full meal.

Lu Lin didn't send all the fabric over at once; he cut off a quarter of it and sent it over first to test the waters.

Even a bolt of cloth isn't a small amount; we still need to be careful.

When Chen Chi returned with the firewood, he happened to see Lu Lin.

When Lu Lin saw the sinking pond, he sighed again about how poor children learn to be independent early. It wasn't just Chen Xiaocai who suffered in the village; many children started doing chores at a very young age.

Lu Lin said goodbye to Shen Chi and then left.

Chen Chi rushed into the house and asked, "Grandma, why is Lu Lin here? What does he want?"

Grandma Shen smiled and said, "That's good. Chen Xiaomi is good at hunting, but she doesn't know how to sew. Although Lu Lin is a son-in-law, he is still a man and doesn't know how to sew either. So let me help make a few clothes."

Granny Shen smiled and said, "A set of adult clothes is thirty coins, and a set of children's clothes is twenty coins. At least it can help out some money."

Chen Chi nodded and said "Oh," then asked, "Why did Lu Lin come to you, Grandma?"

Grandma Chen smiled and said, "I don't know!" Logically speaking, such a good thing should be favored by one's own people, but judging from the life Lu Lin is living, once this cloth enters the Lu family's door, who knows who will wear the clothes.

Chen Chi hesitated for a moment, then said, "I feel like Brother Lin seems a little different."

"What's different?" Granny Shen asked.

"He seems a bit more energetic." One mu of land belonging to the Shen family was adjacent to that of the Lu family. When Shen Chi went to the fields, he would always see Lu Lin, but Lu Lin always kept his head down and didn't like to talk. However, this time when he saw Lu Lin, he felt that the other person looked much better and was full of vigor.

Grandma Shen smiled and said, "Everyone in the village says that Chen Xiaomi is no good, that she's a wolf cub. But if you ask me, Chen Xiaomi isn't so bad. Lu Lin has probably come to terms with it."

If Chen Xiaomi were truly ruthless, would she be so protective of her two younger brothers? If the elders of the Chen family were pushing her too far, why would she act this way?

Grandma Shen's house was in a rather remote location, and the old hunter who had helped Chen Xiaomi lived nearby. Grandma Shen had seen Chen Xiaomi deliver things to her several times and knew that she was a grateful person, so she readily agreed to have the clothes made.

Chen Chi nodded and said, "I also think Brother Xiaomi is pretty good."

Granny Chen squinted and said, "If it weren't for that old hag from the Chen family forcing her son to go into the mountains, things wouldn't have come to this."

Chen Chi touched the cloth in his hand and said with some surprise, "This is fine cloth!"

Grandma Shen nodded and said, "It's good fabric; it should be very comfortable to wear."

Such a large piece must have cost a fortune. Granny Chen was immediately impressed by Chen Xiaomi's skill! With a dowry of ten taels and still so much money, Lu Lin had struck gold.