Tian Cuiya was very efficient; she finished what Xia Chunmei wanted in just two days.
"Sister-in-law, your craftsmanship is excellent." Xia Chunmei carefully inspected it; although the design was simple, the workmanship was exquisite.
"As long as you're satisfied."
"I'm a man of my word. Come to my house tomorrow afternoon to get the fabric and make me pants, socks, and a long-sleeved apron. The apron and socks have to be made like this..."
Xia Chunmei drew pictures on the ground with a twig and explained them to Tian Cuiya.
In this era, socks weren't called socks, but foot binding cloths. Xia Chunmei thought it was too complicated and wanted something simpler. However, since there were no elastic bands in this era, she asked Tian Cuiya to make them with straps.
...
The next day, after Xia Chunmei finished preparing the banquet, she went to the Wang family and bought a piece of soft cotton cloth and a piece of cheap coarse cloth.
Buying fabric in bulk is relatively cheaper.
Xia Chunmei spent three taels and one mace of silver on these two bolts of cloth.
"Chunmei, you've struck it rich! These two bolts of cloth would have cost at least three taels of silver. How much money have you made?"
Seeing the fabric in Xia Chunmei's hands, the villagers were all envious and started asking around.
Xia Chunmei did want to cover it up, but the two bolts of cloth were too big and difficult to conceal.
“This is money I bought on credit. The Wang family is kind; they said I'm a pitiful orphan girl and told me to pay it back slowly. Everyone knows my stepmother ran off with all the family's belongings. My sisters and I have to buy everything we eat, drink, and use now. We earn a few coins from the banquet, but we still have to buy food to prepare for the winter. Life is tough.”
The Wang family boasted that they would protect Xia Chunmei, so when Xia Chunmei said that she had bought the goods on credit, no one suspected anything.
However, upon hearing this, the villagers suddenly felt much better.
“Chunmei is right. Without land or fields, there is no security at all. Even a single grain of rice has to be bought.”
"Chen Erlan is a heartless person. She remarried and took all the family's belongings with her, leaving nothing for the children. She is worse than a pig or a dog."
The villagers condemned Chen Erlan with righteous indignation.
"Chunmei, since you can buy things on credit, why don't you buy some grain on credit?"
Xia Chunmei: "Winter is coming soon, and my sisters and I don't have any clothes or bedding, so we thought we'd buy two bolts of cloth to make bed sheets and duvet covers."
My dad appeared to me in a dream and said it would be very cold this year. I'm worried that fabric and cotton prices will go up, so I'm buying things now while it's the off-season. It would be such a waste if prices went up later.
"If the price really goes up, then it's definitely not worth it."
"If you can buy it cheaply, who would want to buy the expensive one?"
Xia Chunmei: "So, ladies, while the weather is still warm, you can prepare your things as soon as possible."
Lin Xiaojuan's eyes darted around, and she said, "Chunmei, since you have such a good relationship with the Wang family, why don't you go and talk to them and ask them to let us buy on credit?"
Upon hearing this, the other villagers' eyes lit up, and Xia Chunmei could tell from their expressions that they were interested.
Before Xia Chunmei could speak, Xia Mingshi retorted to Lin Xiaojuan: "You're shameless! Giving you all credit? If everyone in the Xia clan of Yijia Village bought on credit, how would the Wang family survive?"
Aunt Lihua immediately chimed in, "That's right, do you think they're doing charity work just because they open their doors to do business? Do you really think the Wang family are easy targets?"
"If you want to buy on credit, go ahead and do it yourselves. I'm not going to ask you to." Xia Chunmei immediately stated her position, determined to put an end to their idea.
They asked me to help them buy on credit; how could they even say that?
"Miss Chunmei."
Just then, a voice came from behind.
"Who are you……"
“I am your aunt.”
My aunt
At this moment, Xia Ping'an, who was standing next to Xia Chunmei, told her, "She is Xia Xiumei's aunt, Xia Honghua."
“I’m Xiumei’s aunt, so that’s the same as your aunt, right?” Fan Xiaohua also saw the fabric in Xia Chunmei’s hand and was so envious that her mouth was practically watering.
"Is my aunt here today because she has something to do?" Xia Chunmei immediately became alert.
"I heard you're now a professional cook, so your aunt has come to introduce you to some business," Xia Honghua said. "A family in our village is getting married and they want you to cook for them."
Which day was it?
When are you free?
Upon hearing this, Xia Chunmei sensed something was wrong and laughed, "Auntie, it's impossible for her to be getting married at the same time as me preparing the wedding feast."
"That's not what I meant. Her daughter's wedding is the day after tomorrow. Are you free?"
"I do have time, but I need to collect a deposit of fifty coins and confirm the dishes first."
Upon hearing that Xia Chunmei was free, Xia Honghua immediately said, "Then come to Jiujing Bay to find me tomorrow, and I'll take you to discuss the dishes."
"Then thank you very much, Auntie."
"It's settled then."
As Xia Honghua was leaving, she lingered, staring longingly at Xia Chunmei's fabric.
Back home, Xia Ping'an was a little worried and reminded her, "Xia Honghua is the kind of person who doesn't do things without a reason. Why is she suddenly being so kind?"
Xia Honghua is Xia Xiumei's aunt, and that alone is enough to make Xia Chunmei wary.
"Qiu Mei, go and call Sister Cui Ya over." Xia Chunmei sent Xia Qiu Mei away, then whispered to Xia Ping'an, "I'm not entirely at ease either. If she really wants to invite me to a banquet, why didn't she come with me today? Why don't you go and follow her and see what she's up to?"
“This is simple, but…” Xia Ping’an stammered, “Miss, I have something I’d like to ask you for help with.”
"What is it? Tell me."
"I have a younger sister, who is... could you take her with you when you go fishing or make money?" Xia Ping'an was not his biological daughter after all, and he was not very confident when he said this.
"I don't care how I guide people to make money, the key is that I don't like people who are bossy, disobedient, greedy, and troublesome."
"Don't worry, my sister and brother-in-law are very honest, and their children are also very honest."
"Okay, I'll go see her tomorrow when I'm free."
"Thank you, young lady. She married and moved to Xiaojiaping, which is a bit far from here. I'll take you there tomorrow."
"Sister." Xia Qiumei's voice came from outside.
She arrived with Tian Cuiya, and Xia Ping'an immediately flew away. He needed to keep an eye on Xia Honghua to see what she was up to.
"Sister-in-law is here. I bought some fabric today. This soft fabric is going to be made into bed sheets and duvet covers. Bed sheets and duvet covers are very simple. You just need to cut and hem them. I'll give you five eggs in public and five more in private."
This fabric is of slightly lower quality. Make it into trousers and a long-sleeved apron for me. Let's make the apron and trousers first. We can talk about the socks later. The trousers and apron are relatively complicated, so for the labor cost of this piece of fabric, I'll give you two catties of fish and twenty eggs on the surface, and secretly I'll give you ten more eggs and ten coins. Is that alright with you?"
Tian Cuiya was moved to tears: "That's already a lot, you don't need so much, just give me half."
"This is not much money, just take it."
It wasn't that Xia Chunmei was overly compassionate; rather, she had done the math.
The cheapest piece of cloth would cost her one tael of silver, but based on the current size of Xia Chunmei and her sisters, they could each have four pieces. If Xia Chunmei bought ready-made cloth, it would cost at least 1,700 coins.
Therefore, Tian Cuiya's compensation was not much; in comparison, Xia Chunmei "earned more".
"The secret reward, I mean, you won't be able to eat it even if you take it back. I'll give it to your three children to eat in secret."
Tian Cuiya's three daughters are so thin they're unrecognizable. If this continues, something bad will happen to them sooner or later.
Upon hearing this, Tian Cuiya knelt down in front of Xia Chunmei with a thud: "Chunmei, thank you, I... I really don't know what to say, I will repay you as a cow or a horse in my next life."
"Let's focus on living this life well first. Take this piece of cloth back with you and give it to me before the middle of next month."
Xia Chunmei packed ten eggs for her in a basket, and there were also fish caught yesterday in the bucket. Xia Chunmei picked out a carp weighing more than two pounds for her to take home.
When Tian Cuiya returned home, Xia Dengshi's expression softened considerably upon seeing the fish and eggs in her hands.
She took the fish and handed it to her eldest daughter-in-law, Niu Shi, while she put the eggs inside and hid them away.
When Niu saw the whole bolt of cloth in Tian Cuiya's hand, her eyes flashed, and she said, "Chunmei has really struck it rich, she's actually willing to buy so much cloth."
Mrs. Niu was extremely envious; she hadn't worn new clothes in years.
Hearing this, Xia Dengshi, who had hidden the eggs, said, "So Tian Cuiya, you have to work hard and take this opportunity to get along well with Chunmei. Maybe she can lead us to make money in the future, you know?"
Tian Cuiya timidly replied, "I understand."
…………
When Xia Chunmei was getting ready for bed that night, Xia Ping'an returned.
"That Xia Honghua is inhuman! Miss Xia, you can't go to Jiujing Bay tomorrow!" Xia Ping'an said angrily. "Although you are good at martial arts, getting involved in this kind of thing could damage your reputation. You can't go."
What is she going to do?
"she……"
Xia Ping'an then told Xia Chunmei everything he had gathered.
Xia Chunmei sneered: "Hmph, if that's the case, I really have to make a trip. I'll take this opportunity to deal with them all at once, and while I'm at it, I'll remove Xia Changjiang from the position of clan leader and replace him with someone more suitable."
"I think Xia Xintian is pretty good. He's a decent person, and with a large family, he can keep others in line if anything happens," Xia Ping'an suggested.
Xia Xintian is Xia Tianji's cousin. Xia Chunmei doesn't have a deep impression of him, mainly because he lives at the edge of the village, while Xia Chunmei lives in what is considered the village center. The two families don't interact much. However, Xia Ping'an's recommendation shouldn't be wrong. They can think of a way to push him up. Having a clan leader who is on their side will make life much easier in the future.
"Are you really sure you want to go tomorrow?" Xia Pingan asked again.
"I'll definitely go. I've managed to avoid it this time, but they'll do it again. I might as well take this opportunity to finish it off once and for all."
Xia Chunmei already had a preliminary plan in mind, but they were ultimately outnumbered and needed to rely on the strength of the entire village.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com