Chapter 87 There's always work to be done in winter.

Jin the tailor couldn't stand Chen Jiuchuan's smugness.

She was a wise and experienced woman who didn't meddle in the affairs of young people. She would never, ever do anything to expose the truth. She only liked to watch the fire from the sidelines on Chenghuang Mountain.

Chen Jiuchuan, thick-skinned as ever, brought up the same old question again: "What matchmaker?"

"The matchmaker among the gossipy old women," Lin Xiushui replied irritably, "the matchmaker Li who lives on the west side of Sangshukou, behind that big carved wooden door."

After Lin Xiushui finished speaking, she gave a half-hearted smile and pulled out several invitations from the emerald green bag at her waist. "Since you've asked so sincerely, why don't you go to the banquet in my place?" Chen Jiuchuan looked at the white envelope in her hand with a red invitation pasted on it. He glanced at the three words "Lin Xiushui" written on the red paper and hesitated, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

“Why not? Bring enough money. Five hundred coins is not too little, and one string of cash is not too much.”

Lin Xiushui wished she could give them all to him. She was very popular in Sangshukou, and many families came to her door to deliver invitations. There were twenty-three of them, all of them for engagements or weddings. Most of them were white with red backgrounds, indicating that the banquet was being held at home. There were also a few invitations with disrespectful words, indicating that the banquet was being held in a restaurant.

It was terrible for her. A wedding banquet would cost at least two hundred to five hundred coins, and Lin Xiushui would have to spend three or four coins. She was very poor, so her bad idea was to outsource it to someone else.

The tailor pointed to the name on the invitation and asked, "He changed his name to Lin Xiushui?"

Chen Jiuchuan nodded to himself, while Lin Xiushui replied with a troubled expression, "Well, it's not that it's impossible."

Having said that, Lin Xiushui gathered up a stack of invitations, waved her hand, and said, "I'm not going. I've changed my surname to Xie."

Because if you don't go, you have to write a thank you note on the invitation.

"You really aren't calling me?" Chen Jiuchuan strode out and asked.

Lin Xiushui went out first. She turned her head to look at him and asked, "Your name is Silai?"

I can only think about it over and over again.

“When people ask me, ‘Who are you to me?’ I’ll just have to reply,” Lin Xiushui drawled, “that we’re acquaintances.”

Chen Jiuchuan was furious. He'd been hanging around with them for so long, and now they were practically acquaintances.

Everyone in the entire mulberry orchard is an acquaintance of Lin Xiushui. The mulberry trees are divided into early-ripening, mid-ripening, and late-ripening varieties. What kind of ripening is this? Forced ripening?

“You need to mature,” Lin Xiushui teased him.

Chen Jiuchuan remained silent. Lin Xiushui, holding a homemade invitation, stuffed it into his arms. "Here, I'm inviting you to dinner. It's free, and it's just for you."

Location: Lin Xiushui's home.

He accepted it without batting an eye, but asked in a rising tone, "Really just an acquaintance?"

"Not only that, you're also a good person."

"Alright, stop talking."

Just seeing Chen Jiuchuan's lifeless face, and how he said he was going to change his clothes with that face, made Lin Xiushui laugh until her stomach hurt. She walked to the mulberry tree entrance, where Granny Huang, who was sitting in the sewing shed weaving bamboo mats, called out to her, "Aqiao, come quickly, my grandson is getting engaged the day after tomorrow, you have to come over for dinner."

She turned around and saw many people greeting her warmly. For the first time, Lin Xiushui wanted to run away. She was fine with doing business with her, but she was not comfortable with inviting her to wedding banquets or engaging in social interactions.

The business of mending the covered walkway is good. As the weather gets colder, many people come to repair their old mats, quilts, braziers, and various pieces of furniture. Most people come to see an old fortune teller to calculate their compatibility and choose an auspicious date.

Before I even got close, I heard the old fortune teller angrily say, "What do you mean we're incompatible? There's no such thing as incompatibility. If we're incompatible, go buy some spices, add some beeswax to make a blended incense, and then you can see if the incense is compatible!"

Lin Xiushui watched as a couple walked away blushing, and then another couple handed over a piece of paper to the old fortune teller.

"Ah Qiao, it's been so long since I've seen you mending clothes," an old woman with a red sash pulled her over and said mournfully.

Lin Xiushui glanced at her first, then exposed her, "Sister Dahong, not to be rude, but we just met a couple of days ago, didn't we? You brought those two summer clothes with the sleeves cut off to the shop and asked me to fix them for you. I sewed two big red sleeves on them for you. Have you forgotten?"

“You know,” Sister Da Hong said, “A day apart feels like three autumns.”

“I know, you just want to see the show,” Lin Xiushui knew them well. She rubbed her cold hands. “It’s just so cold today.”

Everyone had already seen through her. Aunt Zhang said, "When it's hot, you say it's too hot; when it's cold, you say it's too cold. Are you a little girl trying to deceive me?"

The word "scammer" is emphasized.

Lin Xiushui, who had just managed to suppress her laughter, couldn't help but laugh until tears streamed down her face. "After all, it's more suitable for spring and autumn than for winter and summer."

Everyone laughed with her. Although it had been a long time since they last met, so many people present had patronized Lin Xiushui's shop. Several of them had many relatives who wouldn't let her visit other people's homes, so they said Shui Ji was the best.

Lin Xiushui quickly added, "Alright, alright, I know you all miss me. Come over tomorrow. Grandma Huang, Aunt Zhang, and Sister Li, I really won't be attending the banquet, but I will definitely give a gift."

"You're not even coming to the banquet, how can we accept your gift?" Granny Huang was dissatisfied, and the others who had given invitations were also dissatisfied. How could they not come? Lin Xiushui was a big name in Sangshukou, more famous than any official.

After all, they didn't know the mayor's name, but they did know the name of the most skilled needle user.

Unable to withstand the onslaught of the "madmen," Lin Xiushui nodded with a wry smile. When she finally got up to go back, a disheveled, unshaven man chased after her. He was a street vendor selling tea cakes, known as Tea Old Man Three.

Tea Lao San peeked behind him furtively. Seeing that no one was behind him and two young women were walking out of the alley ahead, also on their way to Chen Guihua's house, he breathed a sigh of relief. He handed over a new dress and whispered to Lin Xiushui, "A Qiao, can you do me a favor?"

Seeing the billowing steam rising from Chen Guihua's house, Lin Xiushui pondered for a moment and then lowered her voice to ask, "What kind of help?"

Tea Old Man hesitated, too embarrassed to speak, but worried about people coming and going. He steeled himself and said the truth: "Take this new dress and turn it into a patched and tattered one."

"I'm really at my wit's end. Next year is a year without spring, it's like we're going to war. Every family is getting married, it's like sending out troops and collecting my provisions again and again," Tea Old Third said helplessly, holding up two fingers. "Last month I ate at twenty families' homes, plus all sorts of gifts, which cost me five strings of silver. I'm really losing money."

"If I wear tattered clothes and anyone asks me for money, I'll just cry poverty."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiushui couldn't help but want to applaud him. No wonder he was bald in the front; he was incredibly intelligent.

She picked up the dress; it was strangely heavy, probably with a lot of silk floss added. Tea Old Third said matter-of-factly, "We can't spend all our money on other people; we have to treat ourselves better."

"Ah Qiao, I trust you now. Make it look old and worn, and make it look decent."

Lin Xiushui shook out her new clothes. She wouldn't turn away the business in Sangshukou, so she said, "Give me fifty coins, and I can alter your pants too."

"You can fix it first. I still have quite a few items at home," Tea Old Man San breathed a sigh of relief. This year without spring hasn't even arrived yet, and it's already exhausting people half to death.

She took the blue cloth clothes back, and Wang Yuelan put on the silver-red jacket that Lin Xiushui had made for her last month. When Lin Xiushui came in, she said, "The tea master in the San Kou Teahouse on the back street is getting married. I gave him two hundred coins. Come with me tomorrow and we'll get our money's worth."

"They're all just making a mess of things."

Lin Xiushui is optimistic: "I'll earn it all back sooner or later."

"Aunt, I'm going to find Matchmaker Li."

Wang Yuelan was shocked; she almost dropped the bowl in her hand. "What's wrong? Are you thinking of doing something rash?"

“I think it’s too early to rush this matter,” Wang Yuelan said, her thoughts changing quite quickly. Earlier, when Lin Xiushui first arrived in town, she was worried that Lin Xiushui would be looked down upon because she didn’t have a dowry.

Now that Lin Xiushui has built her own business and has her own skills, Wang Yuelan looks down on everyone.

Lin Xiushui mumbled, "It's still up in the air. I'm talking business with Matchmaker Li."

She walked out, crossed two bridges, and arrived at the large courtyard on the west side. She knocked on the door, and an old woman dressed in red and green with a red headband came out. This woman was none other than Matchmaker Li.

"Oh, that's strange," said Matchmaker Li, who had just returned, somewhat surprised. "You still want me to be your matchmaker?"

Lin Xiushui handed the fruit basket to her and said, "Aunt Li, can we think more broadly? Instead of matchmaking, why not start a business?" "What business? Are you trying to steal my business?" Matchmaker Li refused the fruit basket. "Fine, let me tell you, even though our business is booming this year, with people coming and going and running around everywhere, there are still a lot of troubles."

Matchmaker Li led Lin Xiushui inside. The two got along well, and she spoke her mind: "It's really strange that a sixty-year-old man still wants to find a young woman, preferably one with a hundred strings of cash and ten acres of fertile land. I told him to go take a look and pluck the white hairs off his head first. What an old codger."

"There are also those who have no money at home but want to appear generous. They first pawn most of their wealth in the pawnshop, planning to get married and then try to redeem the dowry from the bride. I've already spoken to them, so what? They'll be penniless until the year after next."

Lin Xiushui felt a headache just listening to it. In her eyes, there were three difficult professions: matchmaker, midwife, and broker.

After taking a sip of tea and rambling on for a while, finally feeling vented, the matchmaker asked, "What kind of business do you want to do?"

Lin Xiushui put it bluntly, "It's like this, so many people are getting married this year, and there are red decorations everywhere. I definitely want to make some money too. Is there anyone who wants to make wedding dresses, red veils, or curtains? We can discuss how to split the money."

“Then you’re going to be disappointed. Wealthy families will hire someone to make the wedding dress. Those without money can’t afford it, and they’re unwilling to spend that little bit of money,” the matchmaker said after thinking for a moment. “But if you want a red veil or a curtain, I do have some connections. Let me ask around for you.”

Lin Xiushui thanked the matchmaker, Li, but she wasn't in a hurry. If she was in a hurry, she wouldn't earn any money. After she left, she went to the Wang family's rented shop next door to discuss business the next day.

This rental shop rents out everything: bridal sedan chairs, gold and silver wine vessels, chairs, tables and furnishings, and even wedding dresses.

The shop was run by a husband and wife. Madam Wang managed the shop, and Master Wang delivered goods with his men. When Lin Xiushui entered the shop, she first looked at her wedding dress. There weren't many embroidered patterns, and apart from the collar being mixed with other colors, it was almost entirely red, which was very bland.

Madam Wang recognized Lin Xiushui. As soon as she entered, she put down the account book in her hand and walked over from the side, laughing from afar, "Young Madam Lin, what I sell here is definitely not as good as what you sell in your shop. The things in our rented shop are all cheap items that are rented out."

"Don't be fooled by how simple this wedding dress is. It doesn't have much good material, and the rent is only between ninety and two hundred coins. It's just a wedding, and red cloth is expensive. It's not worth making a whole dress."

Lin Xiushui deeply agreed, which is why she didn't rashly decide to make a wedding dress. After all, if she were to make one seriously, a set of eight pieces would definitely be necessary, and the business wouldn't be easy.

“What you say is absolutely right, Madam Wang. Do you still want your wedding dress?” Lin Xiushui touched the rough wedding dress and frankly stated her purpose. People don’t beat around the bush when they speak.

Madam Wang asked, "How much is a set? I want to see if it's worth it."

Lin Xiushui put down the clothes in her hands and said directly, "This year, a bolt of red cloth costs two to six strings of cash. Let's calculate it at three strings of cash. A set will cost at least eight to twelve strings of cash."

“It’s too expensive. How long will it take for me to break even? Even if I can raise the price, no one can afford it. To be honest, young lady, this is a losing business,” Wang Niangzi refused. “I know you’re skilled, but I really can’t afford it.”

Madam Wang quickly added, "Our two families live close by and have a good relationship, so we can discuss other things."

“Look, we need wine covers, or red and green gold-embroidered wine covers, or silk covers with floral patterns, or red and green paper bags. You can definitely make these, and the price is within one string of cash. This business can be done.”

Lin Xiushui readily agreed, "I can do it, my wife. We can discuss it properly later."

During the Song Dynasty, wedding attire was red for women and green for men. Women wore red wide-sleeved robes and long red skirts, while commoner men, even without official positions, could wear the robes of a ninth-rank official, a green robe, a brocade turban, and carry a bamboo slip on their wedding day, according to the wedding ceremony system.

Even though the wedding dress deal didn't go through and they only did a simple business transaction, Lin Xiushui wasn't in a hurry. Since the incident in Lin'an, she had become much more cautious in her actions.

At least she knew that making wedding dresses alone would result in a loss for her shop.

"So what approach did you come up with?" The tailor sat on the back of the chair, her legs covered with a thick cloth, with a small stove next to her. Her leg bones ached when it got cold.

Lin Xiushui added fuel to the fire, saying, "The town is so different from Lin'an. There, a dress can be bought for seven or eight guan without hesitation. But here, even if the price of a whole set is reduced to ten guan, it is still a considerable burden for everyone."

"Clothes are for people to wear, and we shouldn't make things too difficult for them."

Lin Xiushui warmed her hands on the stove, and after careful consideration, she said, "We still have to make them reversible."

The tailor asked her, "What do you mean?"

"It can be worn inside out, one side is a wedding dress, and the other side is something you can wear on ordinary days, using only red and green colors," Lin Xiushui gathered her skirt, sat on the embroidered stool, and expressed her idea.

“You won’t earn much here,” the tailor said knowingly. “I thought that after you made money in Lin’an, you would want to focus on making clothes, which is a quick way to make money and a relatively easy way to turn your life around.”

"Old Jin, what do you mean by 'coming back from the dead'?" Lin Xiushui snorted. "We just said we're showing signs of improvement, okay?"

“Then why don’t you focus on that end first?” Jin the tailor smacked her head. “Don’t call me Old Jin, it makes me sound old.”

Lin Xiushui let her rant, saying, "What do you know? This is called a woman loving money, but acquiring it in a proper way."

Of course, one wants to make money. Only when one can satisfy one's basic needs and avoid hunger and cold can one feel compassion.

Anyway, clothes need to be made, and money needs to be earned.

Inevitably, the topic turned to reversible swivel skirts again, and she had a lot of complaints: "God knows, these reversible swivel skirts are easy to make, but it's hard to find suitable and eye-catching fabrics."

"I, Manager Zhuang, and two other cloth-watching women, found only 95 suitable pieces of fabric out of 387 pieces in three cloth shops. I reluctantly hired eight embroiderers, but three of them said they really couldn't do the job."

“The five people from Zhijin told me that if we could find another difficult pattern and start working on it within five or six days, whoever wanted to do it could do it.”

Lin Xiushui had a lot of unspeakable suffering. She made it sound easy, but it was really not that easy. The easiest thing to make clothes is to have the same material, style, and workmanship. The most difficult thing is that she was in a situation where she was completely in a dilemma and there were not many different materials available for her.

When making skirts, avoid those that wrinkle easily, have beautiful patterns but are made of stiff fabric, feel stuffy to wear, or have a rough texture. Also, exclude those with gold-embellished finishes, as these may look shiny but are actually unsuitable for washing or touching.

Lin Xiushui concluded by saying, "I plan to find materials and make clothes for children at the same time, so that mothers and daughters can at least wear the same clothes, and stabilize the business first."

"How much did you earn?" the tailor asked abruptly.

"Don't ask such hurtful questions, it's a huge loss," Lin Xiushui said, almost going crazy. If everything goes smoothly, she won't be able to break even until at least December. Right now, she's only taken a small step.

The tailor understood. "Since you've already lost so much, you might as well lose a little more. More debt is better than more debt. I'll give you a suggestion."

"We found someone to design our own pattern book and wove the cloth ourselves."

A stable and unique source of fabric is the mainstay supporting Manchijiao right now.

After thinking it over, Lin Xiushui grasped the tailor's hand and said affectionately, "Old Jin, from now on, as long as I have a piece of cloth, you will have a piece of clothing to wear."

The tailor said irritably, "Stop saying such things that even ghosts wouldn't say."

“Speak like a human being,” Lin Xiushui immediately replied. She sat for a while, then went outside again, put on her hood, and felt as if she were about to die from the cold.

She was dressed warmly, and people in paper clothes or thin garments passed by her on the street. These people disliked the lack of warm clothing in winter even more than in summer.

A poet from a previous dynasty once wrote, "How I wish I had ten thousand mansions to shelter all the poor scholars of the world and make them smile." But for her, it's, "How I wish I had ten thousand bolts of cloth to keep warm and ward off the cold."

But she didn't have millions of bolts of cloth.

The world is too far away; only what's right beside you can be taken care of.

She first went to the tailor's shop to discuss with Manager Zhuang and Madam Gu about hiring someone to weave cloth.

Madam Gu had already made arrangements for this. She would find more weavers, since Man Chi Jiao was currently too reliant on good fabrics. If the supply of fabrics was insufficient, business there would decline sharply.

Lin Xiushui then said, "If we were to hire weavers, there are many skilled women in Zhiqiao Village who just haven't had the right opportunity. I think we could hire them to weave cloth."

“The fabric that you, Manchi Jiao, want is very difficult to weave,” said Madam Gu.

Lin Xiushui insisted on her opinion, "We can give everyone a few days to try and see if we can knit it."

This winter is just as cold as winters before. Lin Xiushui is dressed warmly herself and wants others to dress warmly as well.

Of course, thanks to Man Chi Jiao's earnings, she was very confident. Lin Xiu Shui went from house to house looking for people. Several households were weaving coarse cloth in their houses, earning two liters of rice for each piece of coarse cloth.

She invited everyone to come and try it, as the price was at least higher than weaving coarse cloth.

"What if it doesn't work out?" a woman asked anxiously.

Lin Xiushui said, "If you can't come here to mend, I'll make sure you make money and don't go back empty-handed."

She wasn't lying; she really did have a lot of work to do, and helping others was also helping herself.

The knotted pattern was originally a design drawn by craftsmen to create a pattern. Each silk thread was calculated and woven into a pattern, such as common flowers like peonies, lotuses, and daffodils, as well as patterns like lotus flowers, round flowers, and square knots, or various novel flowers, birds, fish, and insects. The weaver then wove the drawn patterns and designs.

This time, Madam Gu recruited six brocade masters and thirty skilled weavers. They were very good at weaving, whether it was twill satin with patterns, or dark brocade, glossy gauze, brocade, silk and satin.

As for the women Lin Xiushui invited, they could also reel silk and weave cloth, but they could only weave the most ordinary silk and fine cloth. Most of them were very good at this craft.

Five ounces of cooked silk can be woven into a small piece of silk.

Three women looked at the large vat of raw silk. What came into view was not the white of the raw silk, but rolls of silk thread dyed pink. Some of the pink threads had a faint white tip, while others were bright red and dark red.

Lin Xiushui followed their gaze to the left, glanced at the colored thread, and turned back to tell the curious people present, "Although it is woven silk and fine cloth, it is different from the piece-dyed cloth woven from the white silk we had before. This is called colored cloth, and everyone needs to pay attention to it and be careful to avoid any color differences."

In terms of current fabric dyeing technology, it is basically piece dyeing after the entire piece is woven. It is rare to dye the silk thread first and then weave it. The weaving time required is more complicated than piece dyeing.

Lin Xiushui knew that yarn-dyed fabrics have a stronger colorfastness than piece-dyed fabrics, and the colors are brighter, more durable, and washable. With practice, she could use threads of other colors to weave checkered fabrics with contrasting colors, horizontal stripes, vertical stripes, and many other patterns. The fabrics she wove would be unlike anything she had ever seen on the market.

Of course, there will be more waste of silk threads, and the fabric will not feel as smooth and will be stiffer than ordinary fine cloth.

With Lin Xiushui's memory and knowledge, even though the shortcomings of yarn-dyed fabric are obvious, she is still optimistic about its long-term development, even if she takes some detours and spends more money to make up for the large amount of losses in yarn-dyed fabric.

Madam Gu, wearing a light blue satin jacket, walked over from the side. She glanced at the group of people looking at each other and said, rolling up her sleeves, "When the cloth is woven, we'll pick and choose, and each person will receive one bolt of cloth and two strings of cash per month."

Without needing Gu Niangzi to say anything more, the group, who had initially harbored doubts, hurriedly followed the master to find a place to sit down. A bolt of silk was worth one shi and four dou of rice, so they put all their effort into weaving it. The looms for weaving silk and fine cloth were easy for them to use.

Madam Gu kept all twenty-three people in the group for later use to see the results of the colored woven cloth. She then patted Lin Xiushui's shoulder and said, "Go and see the new patterns."

"You look great in this outfit today," Madam Gu chatted with her. "I've noticed that red clothes and skirts are all the rage lately. Didn't you buy a lot of red cloth? I haven't seen you wear it."

Lin Xiushui raised her sleeves, revealing an apricot-colored top underneath and a gray-purple brocade sleeveless vest over it. The front of the vest was trimmed with a light blue narrow border and adorned with small silver flower buttons. Her lower body was covered in a blue pleated skirt, all padded with silk floss, making it both warm and not bulky.

“Red cloth is in short supply lately, so I’m stocking up,” Lin Xiushui said as she walked to Gu Niangzi’s right, lifted the hanging curtain, and hung it up with a hook. “Red is too expensive, gray is cheaper.”

"You earn the most money a tailor makes in a month, and you're poor?" Madam Gu lowered her voice, raised her eyebrows, and couldn't believe what she had just heard.

He received fifty strings of cash each month, which could be exchanged for over a dozen bolts of fine cloth. He also earned commissions and income from drawn thread embroidery and the "Full Pond Beauty" embroidery. Because of the setback in September, he was given Wukang goose-fat cotton, dyed silk, and two bolts of brocade as festival gifts. Madam Gu became genuinely suspicious. "Where have you been?"

"I went to buy silk floss and thick cloth to buy winter supplies," Lin Xiushui said vaguely, but she was actually calculating the costs in her mind. Silk floss was getting more and more expensive. She bought about thirty catties for fifteen strings of cash, rounding down the price. She also bought ten bolts of thick cloth at four strings and five qian per bolt, which cost forty-five strings of cash. She could make clothes out of it and sell them for a profit of seven or eight strings of cash. She also bought oilcloth to make gloves. She didn't resell the silk doll and cat plushie to anyone else, so she didn't make much profit.

Once the money was in her hands, she used it for tailoring with her right hand and to sell it to others with her left. In addition, she had a lot of expenses for social obligations at the end of the year, and the money didn't last long. She was also saving money to buy a big house next year, which would cost about two hundred guan.

Lin Xiushui blurted out, "When I finally see the light, I'll squander all the money, wear a brocade hat and a sable coat, and adorn my hair with five or six gold combs..."

Madam Gu was amused, and the two chatted for a while longer. They looked at the new book of floral patterns that the craftsmen had just produced. The patterns on the paper were exquisite, with pink and green peach blossom patterns, four-petaled window scene patterns, green and yellow lotus pond patterns, and so on. Lin Xiushui looked at each one carefully.

After lining up and selecting the styles one by one, she said to Madam Gu, "Business will definitely decline in the next two months. Once the new fabrics, yarn-dyed cloth, and new patterns are woven, we can stabilize for a while. Let's not make new styles of skirts for now. Next month, we'll make jackets for the end of the year, around the twelfth lunar month. Let's discuss it this month."

As Madam Gu listened to her speak slowly, she remained composed while chatting and laughing, but when it came to the serious matter of clothing, she was very confident.

"As for Lin'an, I won't go back. I'm more suited to making clothes. There's Manager Yao and Madam Gu there, and I'll recruit three more local girls from Lin'an," Lin Xiushui said, explaining her plans. She continued without hesitation, "Don't underestimate Zhang Lianhe just because she's young. Give her some time, and she might just have a bright future."

"So, if possible, let her go and take a look at that Song family's clothing shop in Jiebei."

“Hmm,” Madam Gu agreed with her earlier statement, fiddling with the incense tray. Upon hearing this, she put down the porcelain lid. “Hmm? What?”

Jiebei is the section of Lin'an Imperial Street from outside Hening Gate to Qinghefang outside Chaotian Gate. There are many famous shops in Lin'an there, and Song Family Clothing Shop is one of them.

Madam Gu pulled some strings and spent a sum of money, hoping to have Lin Xiushui stay inside for a few days to see how other people did business or what their clothes were like, which she believed would be very beneficial.

Lin Xiushui didn't want to focus all her energy on running the shop; she just wanted to make clothes properly. She believed that each person should take care of their own business, and a tailor only needed to worry about the needle and thread.

In truth, Madam Gu didn't believe it at all, nor did she want to agree. Zhang Lianhe was too naive. Of course, she didn't directly reject Lin Xiushui, after all, in this matter, her feelings had to be taken into consideration.

While placing the incense lid, Madam Gu had an idea. She said, "Let her learn the Lin'an dialect first, and put other things aside for now."

Lin Xiushui already knew the outcome, so she wasn't disappointed at all. Gu Niangzi already had a prejudice against her, so there was no point in her saying anything more.

The two discussed many things. Before leaving, Lin Xiushui asked for the old curtains that the tailor had replaced. This batch came from Gu Erniang and consisted of thick blue cloth.

“You’re not worthy of the high monthly salary you’re getting,” Gu Niangzi said with a hint of disdain, taken aback by her words.

Lin Xiushui didn't care at all. She had taken her monthly salary, done the work, and come up with the ideas. What was wrong with asking for some old fabric? She wouldn't ask for anything else, not even beg for food.

Recently, Lin Xiushui has been so composed in the tailor shop that Gu Niangzi has forgotten her previous character.

Lin Xiushui asked someone to help her carry the old, bundled curtains and fill the stern cabin. Three women offered to row the boat for her, very eagerly, but she politely declined. They just wanted to invite their daughters and relatives to Manchijiao, as they were all envious of the monthly allowance and holiday gifts.

Anyway, everyone knows that giving out charcoal and medium-grade white rice as gifts during festivals, and no one knows how much they pay each month, but it's definitely profitable. Money is something that, even if you cover it up tightly with cloth, will still leak out through the holes and be seen by everyone.

Ever since Man Chi Jiao established herself somewhat in Lin'an, Lin Xiu Shui became a hot commodity in the tailor shop. Even the women who initially worked with her in the neckerchief section were no longer as forthright and outspoken as before. Instead, they would subtly mention how they had taken care of her in the past, and then add, "Ah Qiao, I have a relative..."

When she politely declined, saying she would hire someone later, her smiling face immediately lost its smile, her eyes turned cold, and she turned and left, secretly telling many people that she was heartless. But clearly, a long time ago, they were indeed close friends, even though just three months ago on Qixi Festival, they had argued with other tailors for her sake.

Lin Xiushui sighed as she recalled these things; she missed Xiao Chun'e a little.

To avoid them, not wanting to see their distorted faces after their desires were not satisfied, and not wanting to hear their slanderous words behind her back, Lin Xiushui took the old cloth and told Gu Niangzi that she would rest for a few days.

She returned to Sangqiao Ferry and stopped her boat at the creek bank near Sangshukou. She carried a bundle of old cloth in one hand. In the distance, there were more than twenty people sitting in the sewing shed, shivering from the cold, their mouths never stopping.

The sky was overcast, and gusts of wind blew from the riverbank. The man with a thick beard, who was guarding the old fortune teller's stall, sneezed loudly and exclaimed, "What kind of damn weather is this!"

"Ah, it's A-Qiao!!"

Lin Xiushui slung the cloth onto the covered walkway, rubbed her hands which were red from the cloth, and pointed to her face, "I'm not a ghost."

“He thinks he’s in the City God Temple, spouting nonsense,” Granny Huang said with a smile, pulling out a few bamboo sticks and tying them around the broken brazier. “But you’re from Sangshukou.”

Lin Xiushui was pulled to sit down next to the only stove. She said with a smile, "That's right, I'm from Sangshukou. I haven't forgotten everyone. I was thinking that it would be too cold to mend clothes in this cold weather. We happen to have a bunch of old cloth. Let's piece them together and hang them under the corridor. At least they can block a lot of wind."

"What are you doing, making such a fuss? Where is it? I'll go move it."

"I'll go too."

Several men stood up, and Aunt Zhang, who used to come to get her clothes mended, thought for a moment and quickly said, "That won't do. No matter if the cloth is old or yellowed, it can only be hung during the day, not at night."

“Yes, it’ll be stolen sooner or later,” another woman chimed in.

Lin Xiushui suggested first sewing a slit in the old cloth so that a wooden stick could be threaded through it, then hammering bamboo nails into the two pillars. Once the cloth was erected, it could be placed close to the pillars for convenience and at least block the cold wind blowing from the river mouth.

No one minded that the old cloth was yellowed, wrinkled, knotted, had some holes and stains, nor did they think that there wasn't enough cloth, just enough to cover one side. They quickly spread it out and happily got to work, looking for sturdy wooden sticks. Hu Niangzi put down her work and took out her needle and thread so that everyone could mend it together.

By the next day, the simple tent was finished. It was erected facing the side where the river wind was strongest, and cloth was hung at the two entrances, allowing light and wind to leak in from the side against the wall.

They weren't worried about losing business by covering up; on the contrary, even more people came to watch the excitement. Before, the river wind was too strong, and the brazier couldn't be lit. Now, they took out their own braziers, put in some charcoal, and made them burn brightly.

The old fortune teller wore an old brown coat, carried a stove in his left hand and a dark teapot in his right, with a basket hanging from his elbow containing half a packet of tea cakes. He stepped through the curtain and said, "That's good. I said I was too cold and would stop yesterday, but Ah Qiao cured me. I have to keep going."

A child in old clothes and shorts chimed in, “Yeah, that’s great! The wind doesn’t blow into my nose anymore, I always sneeze.”

The old woman said, "Then who should you thank?"

Xiaohe ran in, eating a boiled egg, and said, "I want to thank Bu, and I want to thank Bu's children and grandchildren."

Everyone burst into laughter, enjoying teasing Xiaohe. Last time she went to Lin'an with Wang Yuelan, everyone asked her what her older sister was doing when she came back.

When Xiaohe came back, she said, "I'm making frog mats, selling croaking umbrellas, and making clothes for big lotus flowers. Everyone is going to buy them."

When Lin Xiushui heard her talking nonsense, she didn't want to go in anymore. Recently, she had been learning some new things and asked Xiaohe what the feudal lords were. She said they were pigs and monkeys, but why not pigs and dogs?

She finally lifted the curtain and went inside. Under the covered walkway, it was bustling with activity. Everyone had set up their stalls. Hu San Niangzi was mending winter coats, Huang Apo continued repairing the brazier, Zhou Apo was chopping bamboo with a clattering sound, and the old fortune teller was calculating birth charts. Lin Xiushui sat there, and even if she did nothing, she felt very peaceful.

At least everyone here is still the same as before, content with the smallest things.

When she appeared, the people in the covered walkway were surprised. One woman, holding an old coat, asked, "Ah Qiao, have you gone back to your old ways?"

"If I had known you were coming, I would have left those three big items at the front unrepaired. I should have repaired the screen, the windows, and the two rows of doors for you. I was so worried about the draft, but I repaired them too early. I regret it so much now."

Lin Xiushui couldn't bear to listen and wanted to cover her ears. There was no need to regret it at all; whoever repaired the two rows of doors would suffer.

Just as she was about to slip away, Matchmaker Li brought an elderly couple over to have an old fortune teller choose a date. The curtain was drawn, and the group bumped into each other. Matchmaker Li muttered to herself about where the old cloth came from. When she saw Lin Xiushui, she suddenly remembered something and quickly reached out to grab her hand. "Ah Qiao, wait for me! I have business to discuss with you."

Lin Xiushui waited for her to come out. Matchmaker Li straightened her forehead ribbon and said as she walked, "You said last time that you wanted me to do wedding dress business, right? Believe it or not, I actually found you a job. When I heard the requirements, I thought that only you could do it, no one else could."

"What kind of business?" Lin Xiushui asked, somewhat suspiciously.

After all, there's a saying in Sangshukou: "Believe in heaven, believe in earth, believe in ghosts, and don't believe Li the matchmaker's words."

Matchmaker Li took out a red handkerchief, shook it, and said, "Let's talk inside the shop; it's too cold outside."

Upon arriving at the shop, Matchmaker Li first picked out the smaller orders, saying, "I'd like to order twenty black silk handkerchiefs and thirty silk handkerchiefs from you."

"This is a return gift from the bride's family to the groom's family. It's so cold that I'm too lazy to do needlework, and I can't find any good materials. I'm afraid of making a fool of myself. Could you help me make one? A handkerchief costs sixty coins, and a turban costs fifty coins. How about that?"

"A handkerchief," Lin Xiushui thought for a moment, and the tailor Jin said, "a handkerchief for wiping things."

“No, that’s not it. We use it to wipe the young master’s face,” Matchmaker Li quickly said. “It’s not a thing.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiushui burst out laughing. Matchmaker Li hurriedly looked into the shop and saw that only Ayun was cleaning since she had arrived early. She breathed a sigh of relief.

She changed the subject again, talking about the wedding dress business. She had a few people who made cheap wedding dresses. Lin Xiushui had already thought it over the past few days. Instead of wearing a double-sided dress, she would make a finely crafted red vest. Even if she only wore a simple, unadorned wedding dress underneath, she could still make it look outstanding.

However, when the matchmaker Li stammered, "As for the other unique business I mentioned, besides the gold-embroidered veil, gold-embroidered skirt, and colorful cloth that this couple will have to order from you,..."

"The two of them had another request: each of them had their own special arrangements, one with a dowry and the other with a bride price."

"I imagined wearing wedding dresses together, then accompanying each other into the bridal chamber and sitting in the ceremonial ceremony."

“Let me guess, a goose, a sheep, or a wild goose?” said the tailor.

Matchmaker Li shook her head, "They're just ordinary cats and dogs."

Lin Xiushui didn't believe it until she met the newlyweds and the cats and dogs that accompanied them as part of their dowry.

A brainless dog and a grumpy cat.

This is not unusual at all.

The woman seemed to know Lin Xiushui quite well, and she offered, "We can add money."

"Add more money."

Lin Xiushui was speechless, as if she were someone who loved money very much.

But she would never refuse money, and with a smile, she said, "No problem, no problem."

Lin Xiushui enthusiastically recommended, "Would you like to have your self-portraits painted? We can paint not only people, but also cats and dogs, especially cats."