Chapter 22: Cotton Clothes Sale
Xu Nian walked over and grabbed a handful of soybeans to take a look. Regardless of their size or quality, they were not as good as those in her space.
"Girl, what do you want to do with these soybeans?"
"Make money, grandma, just wait and see."
Wang didn't ask any more questions and turned around to continue washing her cotton clothes.
Old Man Xu put away the food, and he and Old Man Wang and others unloaded the tiles.
"Dad, leave it there. My third brother and I will come and fix it."
Xu Fugui put down the shovel in his hand and ran over with Xu Youliang.
Fortunately, not many tiles on the roof were damaged, and it took a few people half an hour to replace them.
Old Man Xu looked at the replaced tiles and felt it was a pity to throw them away.
"Old Four, bring some of your wood over here so I can build a shed."
Old Man Xu felt that there were not enough rooms in his house and no place to put miscellaneous items, so he thought it would be a good idea to build a thatched shed, and these broken tiles could be put to good use.
They acted immediately and the whole yard was bustling with activity, but the results were very encouraging.
One of the five main rooms is the living room, and the other four are bedrooms. The two rooms on the east side are where Xu Old Man and his wife and Xu Fugui and his wife live, and the two rooms on the west side are where Xu Youliang and his wife, Xu Cai, and the sisters Xu Nian and Xu Ling live.
The side room on the east side was where Xu Weian and his three brothers Xu Ji lived, and the side room on the west side was used as a kitchen and dining area.
Next to the west side room is a thatched shed that was just built today, which contains sundries, tools and firewood.
Xu Weian had already prepared long benches for eating, so the Xu family finally didn't have to stand while eating anymore.
Originally, Old Man Xu's plan was to have Xu Weian make the bed used at home, but Xu Nian disagreed.
It takes at least four days to make a bed. Considering the number of beds in the house, more than half a month has passed.
Not only is it a waste of time, but it is also easy to get sick if you sleep on the floor every day for more than half a month.
The next day, Old Man Xu went to the county town and bought five large beds.
Only after the bed was installed did the room feel like a home, but Old Man Xu looked worried.
It was because the money that his eldest granddaughter gave him was almost gone.
The family had been eating dry cakes every day in recent days, and Xu Nian knew that they must be out of money. She thought about taking out the vegetables in the space, but she gave up the idea.
Once people get used to getting something for nothing, they easily become lazy.
Fortunately, the cotton clothes have been dried, so it seems that we can go to the county town now.
That evening, Xu Nian told his family about his plan.
"Grandpa and grandma, I want to go to the county town tomorrow to sell my cotton-padded clothes."
Old Man Xu also had this idea, but he was still worried and said:
"Why don't you let your second and third uncles go with you? They can protect you a little bit."
"That's right, grandma is worried about you going out alone."
Xu Nian thought so too, she would not chase after the donkey.
"My second uncle and I will be able to go. Isn't my third uncle going to go with grandpa to open up wasteland? Don't worry, grandpa and grandma, it's all right."
"I will definitely protect the eldest girl."
After hearing what their second son said, the old couple no longer insisted.
But Xu Jian, who was standing by, had other ideas and wanted to go too.
"Big sister, I'll go with you, and I'll help you sell things."
Zheng rolled her eyes and said, "Your father and elder sister are going to do some serious work. You should just stay at home."
Xu Jian wanted to say more, but was stopped by Xu Nian.
"Xiao Ji, you take them home and teach them how to read. When I return with some silver, you can all go to the village school."
When people heard about going to school, the first person to support him was Old Man Xu.
"Yes, yes, yes. You should all stay at home and learn to read. Going to school is a serious matter..."
When it comes to going to school, Old Man Xu has endless things to say.
On the second day, Xu Fugui drove a donkey cart carrying Xu Nian and a cart full of cotton clothes to the county town.
Along the way, Xu Nian tried his best to hide himself in his cotton-padded clothes. The wind in northern Xinjiang was too strong, and it felt like a knife cutting his face.
It was not until he entered the county town that Xu Nian felt that he was alive again. However, Xu Fugui looked much worse. His face was red from the wind and his eyes were a little swollen.
Xu Nian thought again of her grandfather and uncles who were working on the land. It seemed that after exchanging the silver, she would have to buy them some windproof leather hats first.
Xu Fugui had never done business before and didn't know which way to go. It was Xu Nian who pointed him in a direction.
She remembered seeing several cloth shops that day, and that was the place she asked her second uncle to go to.
When they arrived at the place, Xu Nian saw that there were already many vendors setting up stalls on both sides of the street. He hurriedly walked to the opposite side of a cloth shop and asked Xu Fugui to park the donkey cart there.
Xu Nian saw a stall selling cosmetics next to him, so he went over to greet it and asked:
"Madam, is there anything to say about setting up a stall here?"
The proprietress looked at Xu Nian, whose skin was delicate and fair, and couldn't help but praise her in her heart: What a pretty girl! It is rare to see a girl with such delicate skin and tender flesh in the frontier area because of the strong wind and sand.
"The stalls here belong to whoever gets there first."
The proprietress glanced at the donkey cart next to her and continued:
"But you can't leave your donkey here, or the police will fine you when they come for inspection.
See the shed over there? Go inside and you’ll see the livestock management area. It pays eight copper plates a day to manage fodder.”
The proprietress was a straightforward person. She was very happy to see such a pretty girl like Xu Nian, so she told her in great detail.
Xu Nian thanked her and repeated what the proprietress had said to his uncle.
"Then I will send the donkey over now."
Xu Nian nodded and counted out the eight copper coins that needed to be submitted and handed them to Xu Fugui.
After Xu Fugui left, Xu Nian began to observe. There were not many people on the street at this time, and even if there were, most of them were out buying things. It seemed that she would have to get up early before her bean sprouts could be sold.
About a quarter of an hour later, Xu Fugui came back. Seeing the pile of cotton-padded clothes that had not been moved, he couldn't help feeling a little worried.
"Big girl, is this cotton coat not selling well?"
Xu Nian smiled and said, "Second Uncle, I don't know whether this dress is easy to sell, but I know it will definitely not fall into our hands."
Seeing that more people were coming, Xu Nian jumped onto the donkey cart, took out a coat from the pile of cotton-padded clothes, held it in his hand and started shouting.
"Don't miss it if you pass by, take a look~
It’s free to look at it, and it’s free to touch it.”
Xu Fugui looked at his eldest niece standing on the donkey cart and felt that his perception was refreshed again.
Xu Nian knew nothing about this and was very enthusiastic in selling.
“There is always kindness in the world, and the quality of my clothes is the best.
If my eldest brother buys one for my eldest sister-in-law, she will definitely be very happy.
I bought one for my parents, and I have to repay them for their kindness in giving me life."
“…”
The two men who had come to watch the excitement looked around and thought, I guess they were the ones being called.
Facing the looks from the women around him, the man could only bite the bullet and ask Xu Fugui how much the coat cost.
As soon as he saw the business coming, Xu Fugui stopped paying attention and started to greet them.