Grandma Sun's worries were not without reason. You can earn more in the city than in the countryside, but there are few good people among the wealthy and powerful in the city. Moreover, doing business in Pingnan City requires grease and haggling. Without some wealth, you'll end up with nothing. That's why the Sun family has been growing medicinal herbs for generations but has never thought of doing business in the city.
Miao'er is a girl. If she is taken by some unreasonable person in the city, they might come up with some dirty tricks to take her away. She was born into a respectable family. If she is made a concubine, her life will be ruined.
How is this any different from when the Jin family sold her to the Zhao family back then? "Miao'er, Pingnan City is a den of tigers and wolves, you mustn't go there!"
"Miao'er knows what she's doing. From now on, I'll be the pillar of our family!" Sun Miao'er assured her.
Grandma Sun felt that the girl's personality had changed drastically after what Jin had done to her last time, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Miao'er had been filial and obedient before, but she was nowhere near as thoughtful as she was now, and even had become a bit more stubborn.
Sun Miao'er had put a lot of thought into rushing the work for Liang Lao Er's family. Now that they had Gardenia Yellow, it would be best to prepare several other colors as well. Along the riverbank, several balsam flowers were in full bloom. Sun Miao'er remembered that when she was a child, the elders often used balsam flowers to dye their nails. The resulting color was bright and clear, which was said to be a practice inherited from the ancients.
What about using balsam flowers to dye cloth?
Sun Miao'er picked half a basket of balsam flowers and found some woad grass. However, these grasses alone were not enough. The juice from the grasses was bright in color, with high brightness and purity, which was too flashy for everyday wear. Different amounts of gray dye were needed to achieve the desired color.
The factory instructors had mentioned that the water boiled from wood ash and mulberry leaf ash was very good. After preparing the materials, Sun Miao'er set up an iron pot in the yard.
She started with gardenia yellow juice. She crushed the gardenia fruit in a stone mortar, and bright yellow juice splattered out. Sun Miao'er nodded in satisfaction; it was exactly the effect she wanted.
Squeeze out the juice with gauze, mix it with the prepared wood ash water, heat it in an iron pot, put the cut small pieces of cloth in, and slowly, under the high temperature, the cloth is dyed a bright gardenia color.
As the ratio of wood ash to water was gradually increased, the bright yellow color gradually turned gray, and orpiment, reddish gold, and pale yellow were all dyed out.
Even when woven fabric and linen are dyed using the same proportions, they produce two completely different textures.
They concocted various shades of flowers according to the same method, including balsam red, imperial red, sandalwood, tea color, dark blue, sand green, azure, and misty blue...
Actually, Sun Miao'er initially only planned to choose fabric for Aunt Liang from the yellow and red background, but she kept remembering that touch of indigo.
She thought the name of the color azure was very nice, and the color suited her master very well.
Once the fabric is dried by the wind, the color will be set.
Finally, the colors chosen for Aunt Liang were dark jade, chestnut purple, twilight gray, light gray-green, pool green, and shark blue.
Everything was done according to Aunt Liang's requirements—neither too ostentatious nor too understated, yet still in line with her temperament.
The smell of the burning dye was truly pungent. Jin Shi hadn't been able to sleep well during her afternoon nap because of the commotion outside. Her temples were throbbing, so she got up and rushed into the yard, yelling, "What's going on here! Can't people have some peace and quiet in the middle of the day?!"
Seeing the colorful fabrics hanging in the courtyard, Madam Jin was speechless with surprise. Where did this girl learn all these tricks? The colors were dazzling; even the silk shops in the city might not be able to find such outstanding colors.
"Oh, look, you've found a master and learned quite a bit!" Jin stepped forward and saw that the iron pot was still bubbling and there were weeds she didn't recognize on the ground. She had no idea what this girl was up to.
Sun Miao'er threw the firewood at Jin's feet, signaling her not to go any further. "I'm self-taught. My master doesn't know anything about these things. How is it? Is it pretty, Auntie? Do you like it?"
Jin thought Sun Miao'er was trying to flatter her, and stared longingly at the balsam red fabric. If she could make a jacket for it, it would definitely look good. "You think you're so capable! I'm your aunt, don't you have to show me some respect?"
Sun Miao'er smiled slightly and stretched out her palm with her hand facing up. "Auntie, these are all pre-ordered. If you really like them, I'll give you a discount. I'll make you a long jacket for three qian. Here, this balsam red one, I guarantee it will look good!"
She waited to see Jin's expression, but Jin suddenly stomped her foot in anger, threw the piece of cloth on the ground, and raised her voice several octaves, "Three coins? Why don't you just rob someone? You can make this dress and sell it to a ghost!"
"Who are you calling a ghost?" Liang Lao Er's wife stood outside, glaring coldly at Jin Shi.
Miao'er had arranged for her to come in the afternoon to decide on the color. Before she even entered the Sun family home, she could hear the woman inside cursing and swearing. Usually, Sun Lao Er's wife was quite tactful in her dealings with others outside, so how could she be so shrewish at home? Even she, the butcher's wife, felt ashamed of herself.
Jin turned around abruptly and saw that it was Liang Lao Er's wife. Thinking that she couldn't afford to offend her, she put on a smile and said, "It's Sister-in-law Liang. What brings you here? Why didn't you say so earlier? I would have prepared two cups of hot tea for you."
Liang Lao Er was a butcher, but he was skilled and kind. His ancestors had served as junior officers in the army during the war. His wife came from a wealthy family; she was the daughter of a small landlord in Dahuai Village. She also had a cousin who worked in the county town. Even Village Chief Li didn't dare to offend her.
"No need for hot tea. I arranged for my eldest niece to make me some clothes, but I didn't expect to hear such filthy things outside. How did I, a perfectly healthy person, become a ghost?" Liang Lao Er's wife didn't give Jin a kind look and pushed her away, forcing Jin to move aside.
After all, his physique is what it is.
Jin went up to her and fawned, picking up the cloth she had just thrown away and handing it to Liang Lao Er's wife. "Sister-in-law Liang, you've misunderstood me. How was I supposed to know you wanted to make clothes? Miao'er is my junior. I was thinking that since it's almost the beginning of autumn, I wanted her to make me a jacket, but she didn't want to, so I got anxious."
"Auntie, you make it sound so easy. I personally went to Pingnan City to select this fabric. It's not the same as the cheap, shoddy cloth sold by peddlers. If I gave it to you for free, I'd be losing money hand over fist. Besides, I didn't buy the cloth; Aunt Liang bought it." With the Liang family as her backer, Sun Miao'er became even more assertive. Could it be that Jin Shi even wanted to take advantage of Aunt Liang?
As expected, Madam Jin was also very interested in the fabric and subtly inquired, "So that's how it is. I was wondering where this girl got the money to buy the fabric. Sister Liang, I remember your family is also from Dahuai Village. This bolt of fabric can make several outfits. How about you name a price and give me some?"
Liang Lao Er's wife remained silent, but Sun Miao'er spoke up first, "Auntie, Aunt Liang gave me a tael of silver ingot. Have you thought it through? If you share it with me, I have no objection as long as Aunt Liang agrees."
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