Chapter 37 The Sheepskin Lamp and the Donkey

The tricky job that Sister Liu mentioned was repairing a lamp.

A sheepskin lamp that Lin Xiushui had heard of but never touched, also known as the "wind-blowing lamp".

The lamp was named for the fact that the sheepskin used to cover it was tied in a small, tight loop, so that the wind could not extinguish the candle inside.

Although the wind didn't die of anger, Liu Ya Sao was indeed furious with this lamp; it felt like she had a blazing candle on her head.

Logically speaking, secondhand clothing shops make a living by selling used clothes. Every year in the third month of spring, a batch of unredeemed pawned items are released from the pawnshop, and they are randomly packaged according to materials such as silk, hemp, brocade, and damask, and people are invited to buy them.

Originally, Liu Ya Sao only intended to buy a few bundles of clothes and then stop, but unexpectedly, a batch of lanterns was released from the pawnshop. Last month, the mansions of several high-ranking officials in Lin'an's inner city were raided, and many valuable items were pawned, including many lanterns: silk lanterns, jade lanterns, beaded lanterns, silk lanterns, sun and moon lanterns, and the sheepskin lantern that Liu Ya Sao had risked her life to retrieve.

She bought the lamp for three strings of cash and sold it to the Zhang family, who ran a vinegar shop at Sanwan Bridge in the west, for five strings of cash. But the lamp had a big problem. They told her that either she should fix it or they would spread rumors that she was heartless, giving up her good job as a matchmaker to sell broken lamps.

In reality, he was just angry that Liu Ya Sao had sold him an old lamp, which had embarrassed him.

What's wrong with it?

Lin Xiushui picked up the sheepskin lamp, brought it close to her eyes to examine it closely, looked at the seams, and then carefully ran her hand over it. It was a sheepskin lamp made of very thin leather, with an inner lining. She didn't see anything wrong with it.

She had been working on the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) balls. The Cuju balls were made of cowhide, and she was very familiar with the feel of leather. Although the sheepskin was thin, it was of good quality.

Unable to see anything wrong from any angle, Lin Xiushui began to suspect that Liu Ya Sao had tricked her into coming.

"You can't tell, can you?" Aunt Liu touched her blistered lips and snorted. She thought she had a good eye, but she suffered a great loss because of this.

She took two candles, one long and one short. The long one was almost useless, and the short one was nearly burned out. Liu Ya Sao lit the candle and lit it next to the long one.

Lin Xiushui was instructed to pull the bamboo curtain and close the door. When the room was completely dark, Liu Ya Sao had already pulled out the candlestick from under the sheepskin lamp, inserted a long candle, and the light shining into the sheepskin lamp emitted a bright yellow and hazy glow.

Lin Xiushui squinted and leaned closer, but couldn't figure it out. Although she had never mended a sheepskin lamp, she had mended about thirty lanterns.

But when Liu Ya Sao changed to a short candle, Lin Xiushui exclaimed in surprise and squatted down to look. She saw that there were small and uneven stains showing through the sheepskin underneath. They were not noticeable under the long candle, but they were different under the short candle, which illuminated the bottom part perfectly.

This is probably not caused by candle smoke, or by careless dripping of wax when changing candlesticks. It's likely that some kind of remedy was used to fix it, so it's not visible on the outside, but shines through when the light shines on it.

Liu Ya Sao suffered a loss precisely because of this. Although there were sheepskin coats for sale in the second-hand clothing section, lamps and second-hand clothing and cloth were items from several different trades. She suffered a big setback. The vinegar seller was as petty as a pinhead. Even if she paid him, he wouldn't fix it and insisted on ruining her reputation.

"I've heard you're very skilled at repairing things, quite famous in Sangqiao Ferry," Liu Ya Sao said, not holding out much hope, but still asking, "Can you fix it?"

"If you can fix it, I have connections in the silk trade. Just reeling silk can earn me two strings of cash a month. Later, when the new silk is ready for harvest, there will be a lot of waste silk, so I can get two strings of cash and five cash from the silk floss."

“You’ve been working in the clothing shop yourself. Right now, the silk industry has the most people. It’s really good that you’ve made any money this month. I have to rely on connections.”

Lin Xiushui blew out the candle, pulled up the bamboo curtain, and walked back, saying, "It can only be repaired to its original state; it cannot be dyed or embroidered with patterns."

Thinking of this, Liu Ya Sao wanted to grit her teeth, but the sores around her mouth ached from the pain. She hissed twice and said, "If I could, I would have found a way long ago. I would take the juice of dayflower flowers, have someone dip silk floss in it, and paint it on sheepskin to make it a bluish-green color. If all else fails, I would call a shadow puppeteer. They also carve shadow puppets from sheepskin. I could just carve something on the bottom to cover it up. I wouldn't have anything to worry about."

It was precisely because she insisted on the exact same model and refused to replace it beforehand that she was so angry that she could no longer stand the sight of any lanterns that could drive a woman crazy.

Lin Xiushui didn't agree immediately. Liu Ya Sao said it was a tricky problem, and it really was. She couldn't fix it right now, and only said to give her a few days, asking Liu Ya Sao to wait.

After leaving the shop, she went to the tailor shop and asked Madam Gu, "Madam, do you have any higher monthly wages for reeling silk and processing silk floss in this silk shop? It's not that I want to go myself, but I'll ask someone else."

Madam Gu felt somewhat relieved. After thinking for a while, she said, "Yes, there are some, but they are all relatives of the matchmaker. They take on all kinds of jobs, working from dawn till dusk, and only earn two or three strings of cash. Most other jobs only pay a little over one string of cash, since these jobs are easier."

She was still not reassured. "You don't really want to go into the silk business, do you? That's not as good as the monthly salary I offer. If you work a few more days, I can give you a raise."

Lin Xiushui explained the reason: she had no intention of changing professions. Although the silk trade was considered part of the fabric trade, it was far removed from tailoring. She was just getting more and more off track with sewing and mending, and she didn't really want to go astray into tailoring.

She then asked acquaintances, the silk merchants and brokers, and received similar answers: in Sangqing Town, where weavers and silk reelers were everywhere, a few strings of cash was indeed considered high.

As Lin Xiushui walked along the road, she thought, "It's just a sheepskin lamp. It can't possibly stump her. At most, it'll just make her angry to death."

When Liu Ya's wife refused to give her the sheepskin lamp, she asked Pi Liu, "Do you guys who play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) have any sheepskins on hand? I want the thin kind, thinner than your cowhide. I want to buy a few."

Upon hearing this, Pi Liu hurriedly replied, "There are quite a few. Our local leatherworkers are currently figuring out how to make leather balls from sheepskin. If you want some, I can get you a few. Don't worry, if they refuse to give them to you, I'll snatch them for you."

"No need for that, just pay up."

"Why give them money? It's not worth it."

Lin Xiushui said, "I'm afraid you'll get beaten up."

We'll have to ask her to pay for the medicine, but she can't afford it.

However, Pi Liuzhen gave her a few scraps of sheepskin, which were scraped very thin, similar to the kind used for sheepskin lamps.

Lin Xiushui glued thin paper to the reverse side of the sheepskin, then applied oil, and smoked it with a candle to create candle-smoked oil spots. The oil stains were not difficult to make; the difficulty was that she couldn't peel off the inner lining to cover the stains.

She tried using soapberry, and the piece of skin immediately shrank. She asked Zhang the carpenter to scrape it with a bamboo knife and then polish it. The stains inside were gone, and when a candle shone on it, the whole area was thin and translucent.

I tried it with paper and cloth, and the photos not only changed color, but also felt particularly thick and heavy.

She even tried going to that calligraphy and painting repair stall south of Sangqiao Ferry. They mixed mulberry wood ash into a paste, covered it with the ash, and baked it on the stove, but it was completely useless and they even ripped her off five coins!

Lin Xiushui finally understood why this place had no business; it turned out to be a half-baked business.

After taking many detours, an old woman on the street was making paper lanterns. She said to Lin Xiushui, "I can tell you've never made lanterns before. You should use paper for yours. We usually make gauze lanterns and silk lanterns. We don't really care how thin the gauze or silk is, but what we look at inside. If the paper inside is thin, the light it shines through will be as thin as the paper itself. If you use gauze, the lantern will shine brightly."

“This kind of leather is dirty and you can’t use gauze to cover it up. You can use paper to cover it up, and it will feel a little thicker.”

"If you trust me, I'll take you to find some paper. You just need to give me three coins for the ride."

Lin Xiushui had no other choice. She had already looked for lantern makers, but it wasn't very effective. So she simply said, "Alright, I'll trouble you to help me find one, Grandma."

She followed the old woman to a small shop and realized that there were countless people in the world with skills.

The shop was filled with paper, some thin, some thick, some yellow, some white. It wasn't the famous paper on the market; it was all homemade. And with a good eye, they picked out two or three thin sheets and said, "This will definitely cover it up."

"This is bamboo paper. It is tough, light, and smooth. It is also semi-sized paper, which is good for covering. It is polished from raw paper to make it smooth. Sized paper is smooth and thinner, but it will expand when wet and shrink when dry, especially during the plum rain season, when the whole side will curl up."

Lin Xiushui didn't quite believe it. She took the paper and tested it, covering the sheepskin with it and shining it in the sun. Suddenly, her eyes widened. She repeatedly moved the paper away, and the stain appeared. The stain disappeared when the paper was placed on top of it.

She wanted to jump up, and thankfully, after taking two detours, the road was right there in an ordinary little shop on a corner.

Having found something to cover it up, it didn't matter to her whether it was a sheepskin lamp, a silk lamp, or a gauze lamp; she could patch it up.

Lin Xiushui happily packed her things into a bag and went to Liu Ya Sao's shop.

"Can this paper really work?" Liu Ya Sao looked at what she had laid out, her face full of doubt.

Lin Xiushui tried it more than twenty times. She was very confident. "My wife, you can rest assured. If it doesn't work, I will go to their door and kowtow to apologize. I won't make things difficult for you."

Aunt Liu sat down heavily and sighed, "Let's treat this dead lamp as if it were alive. Either we can cure it to death or bring it back to life, but let's not leave it half-dead."

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became. She regretted not taking advantage of those two coins. She sat there with her eyes closed, repeatedly scratching her temples, feeling so upset that her heart felt like it was about to clench into a lump.

She was about to get up when she accidentally caught a glimpse of Lin Xiushui's movements. She rubbed her eyes, took two quick steps forward, and almost kicked over the round stool. She quickly reached out her hands to steady it, then squatted down to take a look.

Lin Xiushui removed the candle base, stuffed the paper inside, and used an extremely fine thread to sew it into the seams of the sheepskin. She threaded the needle back and forth, ignoring any noise. She was completely focused and couldn't hear any sounds outside.

As she threaded the needle, the originally curled paper gradually disappeared from Liu Ya Sao's sight; she could only see the sheepskin, not even the holes.

For more than half an hour, Liu Ya Sao squatted down and watched, not daring to even breathe loudly, for fear that Lin Xiushui's hands would tremble and damage the leather.

Even after Lian Xiushui finished sewing and made a new lining for the sheepskin lamp, and when she shone a candle on it, the stains underneath were completely invisible, Liu Ya Sao did not get up and continued to squat on the ground as usual.

Then came her voice, somewhat hoarse, as she slowly raised her hand, "Help me, my legs are too weak to stand up."

Lin Xiushui chuckled, thinking that Liu Ya Sao was a worldly person and wouldn't be moved even after the repairs were done.

Liu Ya Sao dragged her numb legs and looked back and forth, using long candles, short candles, the sun, and the firelight from the stove in turn to make sure that it was really impossible to tell, and that the leather was just a little thicker, while the lining inside was completely seamless without a trace.

She finally breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling full of energy, and asked Lin Xiushui to go with her to see the old man from the Zhang family who sold vinegar.

The old man made his fortune in the vinegar business and had a very high opinion of himself. He couldn't stand being looked down upon. When Liu Ya Sao brought it over, he still looked down on her, saying, "I want to see what kind of expert you found and what kind of remedy he can provide. Don't try to fool me with another new one. I don't buy into that."

The servant changed the candles, switching between long and short candles, but it was impossible to tell how it had been lit.

Unable to find fault with anything and at a loss, he let out a heavy snort and rambled on, essentially saying, "Consider yourself lucky. You should know that I'm a well-known figure in Lin'an City. You think you can fool me with a used lantern..."

Liu Ya Sao spat inwardly. "So, you think you're so great, going to jail for selling fake vinegar and then paying your way out? You have the nerve to say that?"

She paid another five hundred coins, and only after the old man finished showing off his reputation was the matter considered closed, and Liu Ya Sao's reputation, which she had maintained for over ten years, was preserved.

As soon as they stepped outside, Liu Ya Sao grabbed Lin Xiushui's hand, stuffed a packet of money into her hand, and said, "Sister, don't say anything. I'll remember this favor. Leave the matter you entrusted to me to take care of. I, Liu Erhua, guarantee that I can handle it properly without any mistakes. Just bring people over after you finish work."

"If there's anything you need in the future, whether I can do it or not, just tell me and I won't lie. But we really can't do things like murder, arson, robbery, or selling lanterns."

Lin Xiushui was pulled aside and thanked her profusely, and was even given a packet of thank-you money, which was about a hundred coins.

On the way back, not only did Aunt Liu breathe a sigh of relief, but Lin Xiushui herself also felt relieved. She figured she wouldn't be able to take on lantern repair work for a while, and she was a little apprehensive about the sight of lanterns.

After two busy days, even when her cat Xiaoye lay down at her feet with its short tail raised, wanting her to pet it, she could only give it a quick, random stroke. This time, she was finally able to pet it until it purred loudly.

When Wang Yuelan returned from work covered in blue stains, Lin Xiushui ran over and said, "Aunt, I've found you a job in the silk trade. The monthly salary is two strings of cash and two guan."

"Are you still asleep, or am I?"

Wang Yuelan took off her outer clothes, preparing to change into other clothes. She was a little skeptical. "Let me tell you, I really won't do anything reckless. If you're really worried, come with me to work and watch me do my job."

"Oh, it's true. I helped Liu Ya Sao out, and she found it for me. It's guaranteed to be genuine, more real than gold. Aunt, come with me."

Lin Xiushui pulled her, telling her to change into the newly made green jacket, comb her hair, apply some face oil to her hands and face, and leave Xiaohe and Xiaoye to watch the house. She then dragged Wang Yuelan out of the house.

Wang Yuelan was skeptical of windfalls and asked Lin Xiushui if she had been tricked or if she owed someone a favor. If so, she wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Even after being led to the silk shop by Liu Ya Sao and standing among piles of cocoons, she was still in a daze.

"Silk reeling, two strings and two taels?" Wang Yuelan asked for the third time, "Really not two hundred coins?"

Sister Liu laughed and said, "If you really don't believe me, I can't run away. Just come to my door. And believe it or not, your niece helped me a lot. To be honest, I found this job for her as if she were my own best relative."

Wang Yuelan felt heavy-hearted. She then said to Liu Ya Sao, "How about I give you some money, and you find someone at the tailor shop to iron the cloth? It's an easy job, and I won't do it. Can you have A Qiao come here to do it?"

"Oh, my wife, you're joking. Madam Gu repeatedly told me not to send anyone to our door."

“No way,” Lin Xiushui shook her head and pulled her arm. “I don’t like silk reeling. Aunt, you should try it. People are waiting.”

Seeing that this wouldn't work, Wang Yuelan stopped pushing the work away. She quickly realized that she needed an easy job that would allow her to take better care of the family and ensure her two children were fed and clothed.

Moreover, she is truly skilled in both silk reeling and silk floss processing. Even if she hasn't worked in this industry for two or three years, she can still distinguish what kind of cocoon it is as soon as she gets it.

Double-cocoon cocoons, perforated cocoons, black-headed cocoons, and shell-covered cocoons are all inferior cocoons that cannot be reeled into silk and are used to make silk floss. Wang Yuelan knew all kinds of cocoons without missing a single one, and she didn't even touch them; she could tell just by looking at them.

After she sat down, the silkworm maid next to her handed her a bucket of double cocoons. These cocoons are made from two or more silkworms. They are very large, and the silk inside is messy and complicated, so the silk cannot be peeled out.

However, after boiling the cocoons with sesame oil, the cocoons become loose. After repeated rinsing to remove the cocoon oil, the cocoons can be used to make cotton balls.

Si Niang said, "Let me make a small bag for you to see."

Wang Yuelan immediately scooped the cocoons out of the water and put them in her hands. Under Lin Xiushui's supervision day and night for more than a month, her hands had been frequently oiled and she wore gloves while working. They had become much smoother and more delicate, no longer cracked or snagged.

She could easily peel open the cocoon and deftly remove the silkworm pupa inside. The small clump of cocoon was stretched horizontally in her hand and turned into a small, even, snow-white pouch in no time.

Si Niang took it and examined it carefully. She reached out and tugged at it, a slight smile appearing on her face. "You've done a good job. Your hands are quick and steady, and the thickness is even. I'll light half an incense stick for you, and I'll see how much you can tear."

Wang Yuelan pulled out about thirty silk floss pouches. The silk-making lady was very satisfied. She told the old man about it and then said to Wang Yuelan, "Let's make them here. It'll be two strings and two coins a month. We'll get paid at the beginning of the month. Half of the month will be spent reeling silk and the other half peeling cocoons to make small pouches."

"Really?" Wang Yuelan rubbed her sticky hands.

"It's fake. Look how confused she is. You can come to work tomorrow."

Wang Yuelan still sits among the piles of cocoons, as if she sees herself from more than ten years ago, peeling cocoons, reeling silk, boiling cocoons, tearing silk floss into small bags, large bags, and then turning them into thick silk floss quilts. She spends her days circling around the silk floss, looking forward to the future.

But more than ten years have passed, she has gone through two marriages, is no longer young, and has moved around to many places, leaving her hometown, but has returned to the silk industry she is familiar with.

Like something that had been gone for many years, drifting and floating, it returned to her hands.

"Aunt, what's wrong?" Lin Xiushui held her hand, pulled her up, and said happily, "I knew you were amazing. Let's go home. We'll pass by Fencha Hotel later. How about we order a dish of bamboo shoots, chicken, and goose, and some molasses shortbread? We can also get some shrimp for Xiaoye. We need to have a good meal."

"I'll pay for another serving of spicy chicken and shrimp noodles."

The two left the silk shop as dusk approached. They walked among the bustling crowd, sharing their joy with each other, their bodies close together.

At night, candles were lit in the hut. Cat Xiaoye ate shrimp without looking up, while Xiaohe gnawed on a chicken leg, her mouth greasy. "Now that Mom has made money, can I eat chicken legs every day?" she asked.

Wang Yuelan approved the reply but rejected it, saying, "You also earn money from your older sister every day, but do I get to eat candy every day? You're dreaming."

Xiaohe nodded and admitted, "I am very beautiful."

"Go to the side."

"Xiao Ye, didn't you hear me? I told you to go to the side."

Lin Xiushui ate a goose leg and laughed out loud.

The whole family slept well that night, and the next morning would be sunny.

Wang Yuelan quit her job, so she no longer had to get up before dawn to cook, rush out the door, and be ordered around to sweep the floor, move the dye racks, and do a lot of extra work.

She could also get up at dawn and start work at dusk, during which time she would go to Nanwazi to buy fresh vegetables to cook for her three children, lend a hand to Lin Xiushui, and help her close up shop.

Of course, within two days, everyone knew that she had changed her profession and was no longer working in the dye shop, but in the silk trade. Although they didn't know her wages, they were still envious.

Chen Guihua sized up Wang Yuelan, and for the first time, she didn't argue with her. She asked seriously, "How did you get into this line of work?"

“I have a niece,” Wang Yuelan said calmly, her face beaming with a smile.

Chen Guihua stomped her feet in anger, blaming herself for not having a niece. She was furious, and she blamed her son for having such a terrible surname—Wu. She was going to change his name to Ying, meaning "having everything he could want," because she was afraid he wouldn't enjoy a life of luxury in the future.

Wang Yuelan's change of professions became a hot topic of discussion, and Lin Xiushui was also bombarded with questions from everyone. Her ears ached from the noise, so she quickly went to Nanwazi.

Even though it's early and the cats and dogs are still dozing under the eaves, people are already at work. The people of Luqi in Nanwazi are already sweating and performing acrobatics.

When Lin Xiushui arrived, Aunt Chun had already led the group of children to eat steamed buns on the street and warm up their voices in preparation for their performance later.

Everyone was delighted to see her, and Aunt Chun quickly gave her a half-cold steamed bun, saying, "Take a bite first."

Lin Xiushui pushed it back, "I just finished eating. Auntie, come here, I have something to tell you."

She was still thinking about the children. Aunt Chun had asked her to make clothes for the Qiao family, and she had been working on them for several days. During that time, she was too tired to do the sewing work. After making another set, she said she would take a break. She found that she couldn't keep up with both jobs.

This time she had a way out. She stood aside and let the people carrying the loads pass by. Then she said to Aunt Chun, "I have some acquaintances at the secondhand clothing shop. They have a lot of old clothes there, and there are quite a few for people like them. I took a look. Although the clothes are a bit worn, they are cheap and can be patched up."

"A set of clothes costs about five hundred coins. Give me twenty or thirty coins for mending clothes. If you really feel bad, give me another five coins for transportation. Two or three strings of cash for coarse cloth can get them decent clothes. Within five days, everyone will have clothes to wear."

She had visited Liu Ya Sao's secondhand clothing shop after work. Although there were many holes and tears, the clothes were all from wealthy families—good fabrics, nice patterns, and could be repaired to look brand new again. Liu Ya Sao gave her a fair price, and she bought some clothes for Xiao He first.

Upon hearing this, Aunt Chun nearly dropped the steamed bun in her hand and stammered, "Really only that much money?"

"Of course, let them get some food to eat as soon as possible."

Aunt Chun, along with a group of skinny girls, thanked her repeatedly and wanted to give her a grand bow. Lin Xiushui quickly left, then turned back and said, "Don't thank me yet. Let's talk about it after you see the clothes. Come to my place to have your measurements taken when you have time."

Thanking her back and forth was exhausting, and Lin Xiushui couldn't stand it. She was willing to help if she could, so that everyone could have a full meal.

But there are some things she doesn't really want to help, and she thinks those people have nothing better to do than eat their fill.

For example, early in the morning, she looked at the lame donkey in front of her and heard the man say that he would make a leg cover to make it look better and not so lame.

Lin Xiushui touched her face and said, "I really want to learn a thing or two from that cattle and horse herder on the east side."

The weathered man was half-deaf, only able to hear about cattle and horses. He quickly shook his head and said, "I am a donkey, a donkey, a donkey's donkey."

"I know, my eyesight is excellent."

“It will be fine,” the man clapped his hands, his face beaming with joy. “Then I didn’t come to the wrong place. This is truly a lucky accident.”

Author's Note: [Heart][Heart][Kiss][Kiss]