Chapter 93 Changing Clothes on Stage [Part 1]

"Green ants newly brewed wine, a small red clay stove,"

Xiaohe recited the poem, swaying her head, but her recitation was unclear. She glanced at the rice wine on the table, then kicked the clay stove at her feet, looked up at the sky, turned her head around with her hands behind her back, and said, "The evening sky threatens snow; shall we have a cup?"

Wang Yuelan was kneading dough on the octagonal table in the house, making large meat-filled wontons. It is a current custom to eat wontons on the Winter Solstice. There is a saying that "a big basket of wontons, one bite at a time."

She took out a delicate porcelain bowl to scoop out the noodles. Hearing Xiaohe recite this, she turned back, tiptoed to get the small jar on the top of the cabinet, peeled off layer after layer of oil paper, scooped a spoonful of honey into the bowl, and dissolved it in hot water.

"Drink up," Wang Yuelan said graciously, stirring the spoon to melt the honey before calling Xiao He over to drink.

This honey is in high demand. People believe that honey can cure all diseases. Good white honey is very hard to buy on the market. It was specially brought from Xuanzhou to Lin Xiushui by someone else.

Xiaohe put on the big red tiger-head hat. She drank a little bit without complaining. Xiaochun'e teased her, "Recite another poem for me."

Xiaohe's eyes darted around, and she held up the bowl, saying, "Sweet, the water is so sweet, I'll try to drink another bowl and a half."

Sang Ying laughed heartily, "Xiao He, are you missing her? Try to eat more."

“There’s no need to work hard at all,” Lin Xiushui patted Xiaohe’s head. Xiaohe was unconvinced and put her hands on her hips, saying, “Sister, how can you not understand? I’m the kind of person who enjoys sweetness but doesn’t work hard, and I work hard but doesn’t suffer.”

Upon hearing this, everyone present burst into laughter. Wang Yuelan raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh ho, that's ambitious."

Only Lin Xiushui truly understood what Xiaohe meant by "trying hard without suffering"—she simply avoided suffering, not just the sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, or salty flavors.

Several women gathered together, chatting and laughing. Chen Jiuchuan was very awkward, awkwardly wrapping the shepherd's purse, bamboo shoot and minced meat, lotus root and fresh meat, and shrimp three-delicacy wontons in his hands. He awkwardly took the dried shrimp, chopped the scallions and celery, and waited for the chicken soup to boil.

During this time, he hoped Lin Xiushui would pay attention to him again, but he had completely forgotten about him while joking around.

However, later on, Chen Jiuchuan preferred to be ignored.

At this moment, Zhang Musheng, with a large chrysanthemum in his hair, entered the room, carrying two black fish, a piece of tofu, a braised duck, and an old duck in his hands, walking over in a messy manner.

He wasn't at all awkward when he saw the female guests. His dark complexion made it hard to tell. He immediately said, "It's perfect timing to add a few more dishes for everyone. It's the Winter Solstice, which is a big holiday, so it's good to have some nourishing food."

Wang Yuelan didn't stand on ceremony and went to get some braised crucian carp and braised meat, asking Zhang Musheng to take them back.

Zhang Musheng nodded hurriedly in agreement, but didn't leave. He saw Chen Jiuchuan and grinned, raising his hand and calling out, "Brother Chuan, I was just looking for you. I heard you're going to Mingzhou, and I have something to give you."

Chen Jiuchuan could tell from his grinning face that he was up to no good.

"What is it?" Lin Xiushui asked curiously. "You two seem to be quite close."

Zhang Musheng lowered his head to take out his basket and excitedly explained, "It's really good. Brother Chuan introduced me to the water industry. A few days ago, he even sent our fire brigade a flatbed cart. It was very expensive, but it's much better than the flatbed cart that we've repaired more than ten times. It's also much easier to transport water and put out fires."

The members of the Firefighting Team were very grateful to Chen Jiuchuan. The Taiping cart used a lot of sheet metal, at least a dozen strings of cash. Moreover, it was made of toon wood, which is rot-resistant, shock-resistant, and very sturdy. It could transport huge tanks of water over short distances without tipping over, and the name also had a very good meaning.

Lin Xiushui was a little puzzled. Were the two really that close?

Of course not. Chen Jiuchuan didn't like Zhang Musheng very much, but he thought that Zhang was Lin Xiushui's friend. Whether friends are male or female, the more connections one has, the easier it is to make things easier. He wouldn't ruin this relationship.

He just didn't expect Zhang Musheng to bring this up, and he couldn't explain it clearly.

Sangqing Town is densely populated, and the existing military patrol posts and fire lookout towers can no longer meet the needs of fire prevention. The fire prevention department needs to expand outwards.

In the selection of the site, Chen Jiuchuan, who was in the shipping business, had a wide network of connections. He knew that a fire lookout tower would be added to Sangqiao Ferry this year or next, with the fire-fighting soldiers mainly from Zhang Musheng's Seventh Fire-Fighting Team.

Here, the lookout tower is a dividing line between wealth and poverty. Areas with many lookout towers and military patrol posts are mostly the wealthy people living in the Gold and Silver Lane and the Mountain and Water Bridge, who are very afraid of fire.

However, compared to their large mansions, shops with a lot of goods are more prone to fires.

Chen Jiuchuan knew very well that fires were not common in Sangqing Town during the summer, but were more frequent in the winter.

Stove and brazier were lit, firecrackers were set off, and every household was piled high with firewood. The winter wind was dry and flammable, and fires broke out every day, including in Nanhuofang and Sangshukou.

So before he left, he sent a fire truck to each of the sixth and seventh fire teams at Guansangqiao Ferry, in the name of Shui Ji, because although he didn't want it, it would definitely come in handy if necessary.

Chen Jiuchuan was reluctant to talk about it, but Zhang Musheng praised it highly, saying, "This flatbed cart can carry three large vats of water, which is especially useful in places like Sangqiao Ferry where the roads are difficult to travel. It's much more useful than cheap flatbed carts. In the past two days, we've put out several houses on fire earlier than usual, preventing a disaster. It's been a great help..."

He rattled off a string of words, but Chen Jiuchuan didn't show much emotion until Lin Xiushui praised him, "Chen Jiuchuan, you have the demeanor of the Qianhuo Righteous Society."

Chen Jiuchuan immediately remarked, "Then it seems we share the same ideals."

Zhang Musheng nodded repeatedly, "That's absolutely right."

After saying something sensible, Chen Jiuchuan glanced at Zhang Musheng.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Zhang Musheng finally finished taking out the basket and pulled out an enormous pink elephant flower. "Here, Brother Chuan, this is one I carefully selected. I'm giving it to you. A hero wearing a flower has nothing to fear when he goes out."

Chen Jiuchuan turned his face away in disgust. What kind of name is Musheng? Change it to Shenghua (peanut), turn it backwards to Shenghua (flower), and you can even call it Laoyanhunhua (old eyes dim-witted). What a weirdo.

Sang Ying laughed so hard she almost fell over. She clutched her stomach and reached out, saying, "Give it to me. Giving it to my brother is pointless. It's like taking his life for him to wear a flower. It's not even appropriate for the Flower Festival. I remember back in Shanglintang, we used to wear flowers in the fields."

"Sister, you understand my good intentions the best," Zhang Musheng almost cried.

Lin Xiushui tried hard not to laugh and to remain serious, but she couldn't help but laugh out loud and even glanced at his head.

It's hard to imagine what Chen Jiuchuan would look like with flowers in his hair. After all, it's become fashionable for men to wear flowers in their hair, and exchanging flowers is a normal social custom. Yet he doesn't wear any flowers at all; he's clean from head to toe.

The group laughed and chatted. Lin Xiushui, her head adorned with flowers, smiled with her eyes crinkling, and said deliberately, "How about I give you one? We don't call it 'wearing flowers to be elegant,' we call it 'adding flowers to brocade.'"

"good."

He agreed so readily, leaving Lin Xiushui stunned. She looked up, remembering that she had adorned her hair with a bunch of flowers—white, blue, pink, and purple—to look pretty, but now she couldn't tell them apart. She could only say, "Take them yourself."

She felt a hand gently brush past her ear and temple, and saw Chen Jiuchuan take off a plum blossom and tuck it diagonally into the side of his black hat. It wasn't tacky at all; it had a touch of youthful charm and elegance.

Lin Xiushui turned her head away, not looking at them much. Amidst the hustle and bustle, no one noticed the undercurrents between the two.

Then, Sang Ying exclaimed in surprise around Chen Jiuchuan, "My God, brother, where did you get plum blossoms? No, how come you have flowers in your hair?"

After circling around several times, Chen Jiuchuan didn't say a word. Finally, he stopped and nodded, saying, "The plum blossoms are very good."

"There's a poem that goes something like this: 'Jiangnan has nothing to offer, but I'll give you a sprig of spring.'"

"What do you mean?" Xiao Chun'e asked curiously.

Xiaohe showed off, holding her head high, "I know, it's because we're chatting that spring will come sooner, but she doesn't bring anything with her, she has nothing, how can that be?"

Her answer was a mess, so Wang Yuelan grabbed her and said, "Stop talking nonsense. It's the winter solstice and you're getting a year older, so read something nice."

"Amitabha, please bless me," Xiaohe raised her hands and clasped them together.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Lin Xiushui laughed too. Suddenly, she smelled the fragrance of plum blossoms, and her smile gradually softened and deepened.

There's a saying that you get a year older on the winter solstice. Everyone eats wontons together, warms themselves by the fire, talks, sits in front of the fire pit, and waits for the night to pass and the winter solstice to arrive. This is also a time for a small family reunion.

After the night before the winter solstice, on the day of the winter solstice, Chen Jiuchuan and Sang Ying had to get up early to return to Shanglintang. Lin Xiushui saw Xiao Chun'e off and then saw the two of them off at the door.

At this time, the sky was overcast and the moonlight was dim. Red lanterns were hung in every household, and a few firecrackers could still be heard popping in the distance.

Sang Ying sat on the boat, feeling drowsy. Chen Jiuchuan carried a large bundle, which Lin Xiushui had given him, and instructed him, "This is for you. Try it when we get to Shanglintang."

"I heard it rains a lot in Mingzhou, remember to wear an oilcloth."

"I'll pass on Xiaohe's words to you: Try to eat more."

She didn't chatter on and on, but simply said goodbye softly. The two talked for a long time before stopping, lamenting how quickly the night had passed.

The moon rose behind her, its halo enveloping her. In Chen Jiuchuan's heart, the moon would never set. As the days passed, it would appear both near and far, sometimes hazy, sometimes bright, until he returned here again, waiting for the full moon after their long separation.

Later, he opened his bundle in Shanglintang. Inside were two thick oilcloths and two thick round-necked robes. One was a blue brocade robe with bamboo leaf and bamboo joint patterns, and the other was blue with many small yellow apricots embroidered on it. He tried them on and they fit him well.

He didn't understand it at first, but later he realized that the pattern on it meant bamboo symbolizes peace and good fortune, and apricots symbolize good luck.

She told him everything without saying a word, through every stitch and thread, and he knew it all.

After Chen Jiuchuan left, the winter solstice arrived, and the days would grow colder and colder. Lin Xiushui was still a little unaccustomed to it and would often call out before taking her breath back.

In the cold weather, she put on her homemade tight-fitting undergarments. Not only did she wear them herself, but she also made a set for Wang Yuelan, Xiao He, Sang Ying, and Xiao Chun'e in advance. The pants were a bit tight and close-fitting, not loose, and no one could escape wearing thermal underwear.

Once you put them on, you can't take them off. It's not that they're too tight to take off, but that they're so comfortable that you don't want to take them off.

Of all clothes, wearing pants in winter is the most criticized and annoying. Wearing pants to the toilet is like wearing sweeping pants, where you have to start sweeping the floor from the hem of your pants as you squat down.

It was a great workout for my frozen hands and feet. I frantically unbuttoned my pants, then used both hands to lift the pant legs and gather the wide pants into a ball, all the while complaining about how I had two pant legs.

Because nowadays there are only two types of pants: one is worn under a skirt, which is mostly open-crotch pants, and the other is closed-crotch pants, also known as full-crotch pants, which are worn with side slits and have very wide and inconvenient leg openings.

Lin Xiushui likes to wear pants in the summer, with slits on both sides, which looks good when walking. In the winter, she modifies her pants, otherwise, when going up and down stairs, she only wears flat shoes and not pointed shoes, which makes it easy to step on her pant legs.

While others cut their feet to fit the shoes, she cut her trouser legs.

Wide-leg pants were replaced with fitted straight-leg pants and underpants, and the multi-layered belts at the waist were replaced with tighter waistbands. However, no one understood her and thought she was saving fabric, with one pair of pants equivalent to one leg of a pair of trousers with a crotch.

She does this job with a clear conscience, and when she improves trousers, others think she's secretly altering her own conscience.

Different kinds of pants cannot be used together.

Of course, some people really liked Lin Xiushui's changes.

On the day of the winter solstice, I walked through three streets and alleys, wearing clothes made by Lin Xiushui.

Aunt Ge lived near Sangling Lane, a place where even a dropped pair of scissors would attract a group of tailors. Clothing shops were as numerous as cloth shops, but she preferred to take a long detour to Shui Ji to have her clothes made.

She always said that the tailors there didn't listen to her; they always thought that she was too old to move around and that it was reasonable for her not to wear clothes at home.

Actually, Aunt Ge's requirements were very simple at that time: she wanted a pair of well-fitting trousers and an outfit that wasn't blue, green, or brown.

At that time, Lin Xiushui made her a pair of straight-leg trousers and a pair of tapered lantern trousers, which Aunt Ge loved after wearing them.

One year, Aunt Ge was wearing a pair of trousers with a full crotch, walking on a small stone bridge with many steps to climb. She was walking a little too fast, and her trouser leg got stepped on. She heard a cracking sound and thought her trousers had been torn. But then she realized that she had fractured a bone and it took her three months to recover.

“I’m not afraid to walk now,” Aunt Ge said, pulling up her skirt to reveal white trousers with tapered cuffs that reached just to her ankles. She tucked her stockings inside so she wouldn’t have to worry about the cold wind getting in.

It's good that the waistband isn't tied; she's older, moves slowly, and it's inconvenient for her to put on and take off the pants. It's easy to adjust the elastic.

"Even if it's a long way, I still want to come and thank you," Aunt Ge was overjoyed, and she wanted to tell Lin Xiushui about her joy.

Only now did she put on a set of clothes she liked: a black embroidered vest with a purple patterned jacket with a collar, the cuffs of which were not wide and were straight and tapered, and the skirt was purple and black. It wasn't particularly fancy, but it was something that Aunt Ge liked.

She smiled kindly, "Look, I even went out of my way to find a famous hairdresser in our area to style my hair in a fashionable bun so I could wear this outfit. As soon as I went out, my old friends all praised me, saying that even though I'm a year older, I look younger than before."

Lin Xiushui invited her inside for tea, smiling as she said, "I'm glad you like it, Auntie."

“I love it! My old friends and I love it too. We’ll come back and make a few more when you open tomorrow,” said Aunt Ge happily, her smile revealing her teeth. She patted Lin Xiushui’s hand and said, “You make clothes that truly touch my heart.”

After saying many more words, he put down the heavy gifts and left.

After she left, Lin Xiushui tidied up the fruit plate. She wouldn't go out today; the Winter Solstice was a major holiday, and many people would come to her door to give her gifts.

Su Qiaoniang arrived very early. She would come to her door every festival. Since the previous small puppet theater troupe and Lin Xiushui sold her puppets, she had accumulated a lot of capital and rented a small shop on the street corner to sell puppets.

With Lin Xiushui's help, she and the silk puppeteer Granny sold various cloth puppets together, and the business improved significantly. She also rented a small place in Nanwazi as a special area for the small cloth puppet troupe, where she could bring children to play and learn some skills, thus achieving self-sufficiency.

Su Qiaoniang put down a piece of cloth, turned to Lin Xiushui, and said with great energy and bright eyes, "A few days ago, Nanwazi asked me to do a puppet show and said they would give me a stage."

"But I turned them down. I did want to go back a long time ago, feeling indignant and thinking I could definitely get my face and reputation back in Nanwazi. But now, it doesn't seem so important anymore."

There are many important things, but this one is no longer important.

Last winter solstice, she ate a cold bowl of rice in the puppet troupe. This year, she has a place to stand, a livelihood, apprentices to pass on her skills, and children who love hand puppets. That is enough for her.

She was very grateful to Lin Xiushui, feeling that this kindness was hard to repay, and she always kept it in mind, thinking of it constantly, and would repay him whenever she found an opportunity.

Lin Xiushui put her arm around her shoulder and said, "You once said that you could wait one, two, or ten years to pass on this craft. Well, I would also say that it's not too late to thank me after ten years."

After she finished speaking, the two smiled at each other, everything understood without words; it was a rare and fortunate encounter in life.

One after another, people came to visit, such as Li Xixian and Pi Liu, who usually did not appear on ordinary days but would definitely come during festivals. Wang Yuelan was very familiar with the two of them.

Then there's Chen Guihua. This year, she was surprisingly willing to spend money and actually bought a pig. It wasn't very big; it was one of those small pigs that she carried on her shoulder.

Ignoring Wang Yuelan's surprised expression, she walked in on her own, saying, "It's not for you, what are you looking at? Even if you eat it later, it's still not for you. It's for my Xiu'er."

“Sister Xiu,” Chen Guihua greeted enthusiastically, her brow beaded with sweat, “Do you remember when I came to you to mend my clothes? I told you my life was worth a lot, at least a pig.”

"Here it is, your pig has been delivered."

Chen Guihua truly owes a debt of gratitude to Lin Xiushui, who guided her through difficulties and helped her forge her own path. Now, not only at home, but even at her parents' home, she is very respected.

She's genuinely wealthy now, and once she has money, she's not so stingy anymore; she's thinking about keeping the promises she made.

I'm very valuable.

When Lin Xiushui saw her like this, she almost burst out laughing. What did she mean by "the pig has arrived"?

Wang Yuelan found it amusing and stepped forward to lend a hand. Chen Guihua snorted, "Remember my kindness, this year you'll enjoy a feast for your mouth."

“Yes, thanks to you, I can also eat the pig that you, Chen Guihua, sent. Today I’ll eat pig’s trotters, tomorrow I’ll eat pork, and the day after tomorrow I’ll stew pig’s head. Thank you for the pig,” Wang Yuelan said without the slightest annoyance.

Chen Guihua rolled her eyes. Wang Yuelan was really showing off. That was a pig she bought for one string of cash and five coins!

“You can have just one piece. I’m giving some to Xiu’er and Xiaohe. You greedy old girls, you even have braised pig’s trotters,” Chen Guihua said angrily. “Xiu’er, you should eat more. I picked out some good pork. I’ll give you some more next year when I’ve earned a lot of money.”

"Alright, congratulations on your fortune," Wang Yuelan chimed in. Lin Xiushui burst out laughing, still rubbing her stomach, not yet recovered.

As Chen Guihua was about to leave, Wang Yuelan called her back, returning a piece of mutton, a pile of roasted nuts, and a packet of tea she had bought, which she estimated to be more than a guan (a unit of weight). She hadn't taken advantage of Chen Guihua for nothing.

"Eat more meat," Chen Guihua said, taking advantage of the situation. "You can have the best cut of pork belly. Stew it for a while until it's very tender."

Watching her walk away happily, Wang Yuelan felt both annoyed and amused. "Hey, look at that person."

Lin Xiushui glanced at the pig and said, "Truly honest."

"Where am I supposed to get meat? I need to find a butcher shop," Wang Yuelan thought, finding it a bit of a dilemma, especially since she wouldn't need to buy meat in the winter.

After she left, Sun Da came over with his two children. Dressed in bright red, he greeted Lin Xiushui with a cheerful bow, saying, "Young lady, may you have a happy winter solstice and prosperity in all four seasons."

"I came all the way from Lin'an to bring you money and gifts for the festival," Sun said with a grin. "Thanks to you, young lady, I, Sun, have been completely transformed, from a scoundrel to a respectable person."

Lin Xiushui chuckled. He took out nine silver ingots from his pocket, placed them on the table, and pushed them towards Lin Xiushui. Lin Xiushui had asked him to sell something, and he hadn't collected the capital in advance.

She weighed the clothes in her hand, smiled, and put them away. This batch of clothes was worth about sixty-five taels of silver, so she could make a profit of twenty-five taels of silver.

Sun Da sat down and said, "The lotus skirt business in Lin'an is very good right now, especially in temples. I've figured out a trick to it these days."

“There’s a famous fortune-telling stall in front of Lingyin Temple, run by a man named Yu Lianxiang. He’s very accurate, and people come from all over to see him,” Sun said, spreading his arms wide. “More than ten places.”

Lin Xiushui didn't say anything, but grabbed two handfuls of candy and gave them to Sun Da's two children. She told Xiaohe to go play in the yard with them. Then she heard Sun Da continue, "He has many guests every day, so I spend some money to reserve a spot next to him. After listening to him, I found that everyone asks for too much."

"For those who have been infertile for several years and want to have a son soon, I suggest wearing a lotus skirt, which is called 'lotus brings forth a son.' For those who want good luck, I suggest buying several lotus dresses, which are called 'lucky lotus.'"

Furthermore, for those who hesitate when faced with a situation, I would have someone buy a lotus crown, containing lotus flowers and lotus roots. In Buddhism, this represents cause and effect, where the cause contains the effect.

The products were already quite good, and with Sun Da's eloquence, he could leverage the momentum of others to sell his own products, and sell out most of them in a single day.

The fortune teller named Yu Lianxiang looked at the people at his stall, then turned to Sun Da's stall to listen to his eloquence, especially his ability to recite a couple of lines of poetry.

A pair of twin sisters came to buy lotus leaves, but hesitated. Sun Da said they were twin lotus flowers, and then recited a line: "Waiting for the lotus to bloom, we'll travel together; we'll meet on a boat amidst the blooming lotus leaves." The sisters happily bought a whole bunch.

Yu Lianxiang tacitly allowed Sun Da to take advantage of his business, and because of the uniqueness of the lotus-patterned clothes, it also increased Yu Lianxiang's fame.

In Lingyin Temple, there are many famous temples such as Jiang Xingtang, Hua Ziqing, Jiantang Shigu, and Jian Sanming. Yu Lianxiang is ranked later. Nowadays, it is more convenient for people to find Yu Lianxiang because of Sun Da's shop.

Therefore, when Yu Lian was moved to a better location in Lingyin Temple, she did not forget to mention Sun Da Yi, telling him to pack up and go with her.

Sun Da scratched the back of his head. "Others call it 'one person attains enlightenment, and even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven,' but for me, it's 'Baolian saves me; I can't live without water.'"

Lin Xiushui laughed and said, "What kind of talk is that? No matter what you rely on, you can only rely on your own words. You have the ability, no one else can help you."

She was optimistic about the prospects and asked Sun Dadao, "Are we going to Xiangshi soon?"

The date of Guanyin's birthday is as far away as February 19th next year, while for others it has already passed. West Lake was already bustling with activity on September 19th.

Sun took a sip of tea and shook his head. "Not yet. After the winter solstice, around the twelfth lunar month, everyone will be burning incense and praying to the gods and Buddhas. That's when things will be lively. Right now, most people are looking for marriage partners."

Lin Xiushui wasn't in a hurry after hearing this. She really wanted to earn enough money to fill half a year's worth of capital for Chi Jiao by making money during the incense season in December and February, so that she would have more money next year to make other styles of clothing.

She had already woven quite a bit of yarn-dyed fabric, which could be directly cut into clothes after ironing. She wanted to make a cape out of this thick fabric with a striking color and not too many patterns. Capes are also called lotus-shaped garments and can be made in many styles.

Hooded, non-hooded, with lace collars, with frayed edges, with velvet lining on the upper body, etc.

But instead of making it herself, she told the tailors of Manchi Jiaozhong the requirements and let them think about what kind of designs they could come up with.

Whoever does the best work gets to be sent to Lin'an to sell first, and whoever makes the first profit gets the first share. Ever since Man Chi Jiao started to make a name for herself in Lin'an, everyone in the tailor shop has a lot of faith in her.

Upon hearing this, Madam Gu said that she was just like the students at the academy when she was in the Manchi Jiao. Lin Xiushui replied that this was called "tailoring clothes based on a given topic".

She had always thought that she still wanted to rely on her hair to keep warm this winter and didn't want to lose it too soon.

For half a month starting from the winter solstice, colored woven fabrics are used, and tailors are racking their brains to come up with ideas.

Meanwhile, after visiting and delivering gifts to Jin the tailor, Gu Niangzi, Xiao Chun'e, and Sizhen, Lin Xiushui returned home for a lively meal and spent most of the night setting off firecrackers with Xiao He.

He received a festival gift from Zhang Lianhe in Lin'an, in which she talked about the booming business and hoped that she would return the twenty taels of silver that had been given as a bonus to her parents.

She also entrusted him with a message: this year she is in Lin'an, and she will remain in Lin'an in the future. Once she has a foothold, she will never return.

This winter solstice night, everything was fine except for the fact that some people weren't around.

The day after the winter solstice, the courtyard was so cold that frost formed. Lin Xiushui wrapped her head up and went to the tailor shop, where she ran into Wang Erniang leading three young ladies in a flurry of activity.

"Have you eaten roast duck yet?" Lin Xiushui joked with Wang Erniang.

Wang Erniang picked up a package of oiled paper and nodded vigorously, "I've eaten, I've eaten. I also brought you one."

“Oh dear, don’t even mention roast duck,” a young woman in a red jacket stamped her foot. “Let’s talk about things like tending the fire, not things related to keeping warm. You can’t talk about anything serious, why are you talking about roast duck?”

“They also eat roast duck at the heating festival,” Wang Erniang said, unconvinced.

Lin Xiushui smoothed things over, saying, "Let's go inside and talk."

Once inside the shop, everyone started talking at once, hurriedly exchanging their thoughts.

Lin Xiushui pieced together the information: Nanwazi was going to hold a warming party and would invite people with various skills to perform on stage. Those who stood out and won the audience's favor would be rewarded with twenty taels of silver and would be given the best stage afterward.

These five people make a living by singing and dancing. Their singing skills are not particularly outstanding. In a place full of experts, it is difficult for them to stand out. So the five of them came up with an idea and asked Lin Xiushui for advice.

“I do have an idea,” Lin Xiushui glanced at the five people with their arms around each other, “and I won’t take any money from you.”

The five women looked at each other in bewilderment. Wang Erniang asked in a low voice, "What's your idea? You're not even charging us money. We only sell our voices, not our bodies."

"Don't overthink it," Lin Xiushui was truly impressed by Wang Erniang.

She said slowly, "It's a costume change on stage."

Author's note: Thank you everyone so much [hugs], and thank you for the red envelopes!

The leave request will override the update notification and will be posted in the author announcement at that time.

If I'm in a good mental state lately, I'll update regularly. However, if I'm not feeling well, even if I write two thousand words, it will be a mess. So I apologize. In the meantime, I'll look at various materials and works to try and write well.