Chapter 480 Carefully Prepared Congratulatory Gift
Late August, the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, but summer still dominates.
Early in the morning, before the sun had even risen, the air was already hot and dry. Sitting in the carriage, which was not well-ventilated, made it even hotter.
Cheng Wanwan took a carriage and escorted Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng to the official road leading to the provincial capital.
The two went home yesterday, and their families prepared a lot of food. With what she prepared, the food filled most of the train car.
"The provincial capital is not like home; you'll need money everywhere. Don't be stingy when you're away." Cheng Wanwan took two purses from her sleeve and handed them over. "Find a decent inn, and if possible, rent a small courtyard to stay in temporarily; it'll be quieter..."
From arriving in the provincial capital to the end of the provincial examination, it took about a month. It is said that after the examination, officials would hold the Qionglin Banquet and various poetry gatherings. After the results were announced, all those who passed the provincial examination were eligible to become officials. They would visit officials, make arrangements for their future, and so on. There were so many things to do that they had to keep busy. Before the New Year, they had to go to the capital to prepare for the metropolitan examination.
She believed that Cheng Zhao would definitely pass the exam and wouldn't be able to come back this year, so she put a lot of money in her purse.
"Godmother, this is way too much money." Shen Zheng opened his purse directly. "One, two, three, four, five... My goodness, five hundred taels of silver!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhao immediately opened his money pouch, which also contained five one-hundred-tael silver notes.
His expression immediately turned somber. Yesterday, when he returned to the Cheng family, the village head and the clan chief pooled together a total of eighty taels of silver for him. Those eighty taels of silver felt like a thousand pounds to him.
Now, there are five hundred more taels.
"Oh, right, here's two taels of silver. Your aunt saved it for you." Cheng Wanwan stuffed the two taels of silver into Cheng Zhao's hand. "Your aunt originally planned to give it to you herself, but she was afraid you would refuse, so she asked me to pass it on. This is also your aunt's way of showing her appreciation. Please accept it."
Cheng Zhao pursed his lips and gripped the two taels of silver.
“Brother Cheng, what’s with that expression?” Shen Zheng put his arm around his shoulder. “Our family gave us so much travel money, we should just accept it. When we become officials, we can pay it back tenfold or a hundredfold. It’s a pity you’re just a nephew, you can’t ask your godmother for an official title… I’m just a godson, I’m even less qualified… If we’re relying on Si Dan, it’ll be at least seven or eight years…”
Cheng Wanwan chuckled: "Your godmother's rank is already quite high, I don't need you juniors to ask for an imperial title. Alright, alright, it's getting late, let's set off quickly. Also, Cheng Ding, you and Afu have been working hard for a while, so if anything happens, Cheng Ding, you must ride back and report as fast as you can. Don't delay, understand?"
Cheng Ding cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, Madam!"
The carriage finally set off slowly. Cheng Wanwan stood on the official road, feeling a mix of emotions.
Although he's not my biological son, we've lived together for so long, and it's impossible not to worry about him suddenly going away for so long.
If Si Dan goes to take the exam in the future, she's afraid she won't be able to sleep well day and night.
Cheng Yihou, standing beside her, respectfully inquired, "Madam, shall we return to Dahe Village now, or head to the city?"
Suppressing her sorrow at parting, Cheng Wanwan said, "Let's go to Hekou County."
After the first batch of cotton was spun into yarn and woven into cloth, it was sent to Cao's dye house for dyeing. She had to see it in person.
She went straight to Cao's Dyehouse in Hekou County. Most of the Cao family's business was related to cloth, and they also had their own dyehouse. However, the dyehouse was not very big, so many of the Cao family's cloths were contracted out to other dyehouses for dyeing. To be on the safe side, Cheng Wanwan went directly to Cao's Dyehouse to experiment.
"Mother-in-law, come quickly and take a look at the newly dyed cotton fabric." Cao Defu hurriedly welcomed Cheng Wanwan in. "This cotton fabric is very soft and smooth, and the color comes on very easily, but it will fade a little during the first wash. However, the dyer has tested it, and it will be fine after two or three washes..."
Cheng Wanwan looked at the various colors hanging in the yard, mainly red, green, and cyan, with a small amount of white, black, and blue.
These colors look very vibrant after being applied. Compared to silk with its excellent drape, cotton is more skin-friendly, meaning it's more comfortable to wear. It's breathable and absorbent in summer, and warm when worn as an inner layer in winter.
But among these colors, the one she wanted was missing, so she asked, "Has Boss Cao tried dyeing it bright yellow?"
Cao Defu quickly replied, "Bright yellow is the color reserved for the imperial court. I am just a merchant and I dare not violate the law."
“This December, His Majesty will celebrate his fortieth birthday. As a sixth-rank lady, I must present a congratulatory gift,” Cheng Wanwan said. “I can’t do this myself, so I can only trouble Boss Cao for help.”
Cao Defu's expression immediately turned serious: "Please give your instructions, Mother-in-law."
The gift Cheng Wanwan was going to give was bedding, plus a set of bright yellow inner lining clothes, all made of cotton.
For items made for the royal family, every detail must be perfect. It would be impossible to have the village embroiderers do it. We had to ask Boss Cao to invite the best embroiderers from Huzhou to make the most perfect gift.
She explained her requirements in detail, and even took out several drawings to explain them to Cao Defu in detail, emphasizing the details as well.
Although Cao Defu was carefree and didn't care much about things, this matter concerned the royal family, so he dared not be careless and carefully wrote down every word Cheng Wanwan said.
“Okay, I understand.” He said seriously, “I will go to the official dyeing workshop in Huzhou first and ask the dyers who are paid by the government to help dye the cotton cloth. As for the embroiderers, my mother-in-law, don’t worry. There are many skilled embroiderers in Huzhou. I can hire them for a little money. I will definitely handle this matter well.”
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Boss Cao," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "Here's a thousand taels of silver, use it first."
"Oh, mother-in-law, you're being too formal!" Cao Defu took a big step back. "Our relationship becomes distant when money is mentioned. I was hoping to benefit from your influence, but I can't accept money from you."
Cheng Wanwan was helpless.
She knew the Cao family wasn't short of money, so she had no choice but to take the banknotes back and wait for an opportunity to give them a big gift later.
After leaving the dye house, she took a stroll around Hekou County, bought some daily necessities, and then headed home.
Just as I arrived at my doorstep, a light rain began to fall.
As the saying goes, "One autumn rain brings a chill," and after this rain, summer will truly be over.
Fortunately, the cotton in the fields has been mostly harvested, otherwise we would be worried if it rained.
Her warehouse was overflowing with dried cotton, some of which was transported to the Cao family's weaving workshop for storage. It was estimated that there were at least 50,000 jin (25,000 kg) of cotton. More would be collected sporadically, and the final number should be around 60,000 to 70,000 jin (30,000 to 35,000 kg). This was a huge amount; once it was made into quilts and clothes, it would be a fortune.
When it rains, the villagers have nothing to do. Cheng Wanwan called the women in the village to Cao's workshop so she could teach them how to fluff cotton quilts.
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