Chapter 137: It turns out they are cutting corners
After breakfast, the family locked the gate from the inside and walked out together.
After living in Lingnan for so long, the family has never gone out together except for moving, especially Mrs. Shi, who has almost never left the shed.
Even today's trip to the city to purchase goods was facilitated by her strenuous persuasion.
Sang Yu and Sang Xingjia supported her on both sides, taking care of her pace as she walked forward slowly.
Suddenly remembering this, I asked curiously, "Grandma, aren't you curious about what's in Lingnan City?"
Old Madam Shi chuckled. "Haha, what's so different about the city? Everything is pretty much the same. My legs aren't very agile, and if I follow you, I'll just slow you down. It's better for me to just wait for you at home."
"What are you talking about? We're not on a forced march and need to rush. If we go shopping as a family, of course I have to go myself. Otherwise, how can I know if he likes it?"
Sang Yu felt that it was a rare opportunity to travel together as a family, let alone buy things for the new home, so of course everyone had to choose what they liked.
What she said made some sense. Besides, it was impossible to regret after getting on the "pirate ship". Old Mrs. Shi smiled and nodded, agreeing with her statement.
The most difficult part of the journey was coming out of the canyon, climbing up the ridge and then going down to the official road. Fortunately, everyone was full of energy since they had just come out, so it was not too difficult.
As for what to do if she's too exhausted to climb back? Sang Yu has also thought carefully. Isn't it still her father, a filial son, who can let him carry her grandmother back when the time comes?
Once on the official road, the road is smooth and you can reach Lingnan City by going straight east.
When passing by a place with a big rock on the way, Sang Yu paused slightly and subconsciously looked north along the position of the rock, but could only vaguely see the outline of the mountains and forests.
When she came to her senses, she couldn't help laughing. Every time she walked here, she would step on the stones and slowly jump off the official road.
I didn't expect that after forming a habit, when I saw this stone I would subconsciously feel that I was almost home. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the shed at all from here.
More importantly, there was no one waiting for her in the shed. She looked around and saw that they were all by her side.
After entering the city, Sang Yu continued to lead her family eastward until they stopped at the entrance of the market where she bought spices last time.
"I've been here once before, and they have quite a wide variety of things. Where should we go first?"
She introduced herself with a familiar manner, even though she had only been there once.
"Let's go buy some cloth first. The bed is too hard. I want to make some bedding for mom and you." It was rare for Xie Qiujin to make such a proactive request, but it was not for herself.
This was the same thing that Sang Yu had in mind, but she wanted to buy it directly: "How about we just buy the bedding?"
It would be too troublesome to make it yourself, not to mention that you have to find something to fill the inside, which is far less convenient than buying it.
"Yu'er, we can't afford it." Xie Qiujin lowered her voice and whispered in Sang Yu's ear.
She didn't know about other things, but she knew a lot about things like fabrics and bedding.
It was very boring to live in the big house on weekdays, so when she had free time, she would make some fitting clothes for her husband and children.
Not to mention expensive fabrics like silk, even the most common fabrics, after being made into finished products, the unit price will be about three times the cost.
If you add silk cotton or linen filling inside, it is normal for the price to increase fivefold. With the money they have now, they will probably spend all of it on buying a bed.
After her explanation, Sang Yu suddenly understood why she said she couldn't afford it.
Thinking back to how I boasted yesterday that this money could buy a lot of things, I felt like I was slapped in the face.
After entering the cloth shop, Sang Yu suddenly understood why Xie Qiujin only said that she would make bedding for them but did not mention herself and Sang Yongjing at all.
It’s nothing, the fabric is expensive.
The cheapest and most common material for civilians, linen, cost two hundred coins per piece.
Sang Yu secretly asked Xie Qiujin how many pieces of bedding were normally needed for a set of bedding, and the number made her dumbfounded.
A thin quilt for a single person, about one meter by one and a half meters, will require about 80% of a piece of material. If you want to make a thick quilt for two people, you will need more than one piece of material.
The material used for clothes is much less than that for bedding, and 40% of a piece of material can be used to make a set of clothes.
Adding the two together, it would cost more than seven pieces of cloth, which is a full 1,400 coins.
After quickly calculating the result in his head, Sang Yu, who had originally wanted to prepare a set of bedding and new clothes for everyone in his family, suddenly became depressed.
It’s not that he can’t afford it, after all, Sang Yongjing still has one or two taels of silver. But if he wants to achieve this goal, he probably won’t be able to buy anything else.
While other things can be saved, the bedding for sleeping at night is not something you can compromise on. She is already feeling uncomfortable with it, and it must be uncomfortable for others as well.
Thinking of this, Sang Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Just buy seven!"
Xie Qiujin ignored her and followed the guidance of the shop assistant to choose a color that was pleasing to the eye and resistant to dirt.
Although it is said to be a selection, there is actually not much to choose from. The linen material only comes in six colors: grayish white, light brown, yellowish brown, grayish black, indigo and light red.
It's not that there are no other colors, but linen is much more difficult to dye than silk. Colors like dark blue, vermilion, and golden brown over there can be bought with ten pieces here for the price of one piece, so naturally they are not within the range of choice.
Finally, Xie Qiujin picked out three pieces of cloth in brown, gray-black, and light red. She smiled at Sang Yu and said, "Yu'er, I've chosen everything. You pay for it."
Sang Yu came close to her and whispered, "Mom, three horses are not enough, you and Dad need a set of bedding too."
"It's enough, don't worry." Xie Qiujin smiled mysteriously, looking like he had everything under control.
Could it be that she thought of some other good way to save fabric?
With a skeptical attitude, Sang Yu paid the six hundred coins for the three pieces of cloth, and put the three pieces of cloth into the basket carried behind Sang Yongjing.
As soon as she left the cloth shop, she couldn't help asking, "Mom, how can three pieces of cloth be enough?"
Xie Qiujin said slowly and calmly, "The amount Mom told you before was calculated based on the quilt lining and the quilt cover. Keeping them separate makes it easier to wash and keep them clean. But if you don't mind the trouble, you can just make one layer."
Sang Yu suddenly understood. No wonder the number of pieces of cloth was reduced from seven to three. It turned out that they were cutting corners.
In this way, five quilts can be made with only two pieces of cloth, and there will even be enough left to make two sets of clothes.
"Mom, you are so smart!" Sang Yu said this sincerely. For the first time, she felt that cutting corners was not a derogatory word but a complimentary word.
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