Chapter 87 Jinjiang first release Chapter 87 Such a small thing for the child...
When Shopkeeper Jiang saw the picture, he didn't see anything special about it. It was just a little more exquisite than the styles worn by the young ladies of ordinary wealthy families.
He didn't know what Yu Qinglong was going to do with the map, so he asked, "How can I help?"
Yu Qinglong asked Shopkeeper Jiang to get him some scraps of cloth. After picking out a few colors from the scraps, he wrote down the numbers on the scraps and then wrote down the corresponding numbers on the garment diagram.
After memorizing them, he asked Shopkeeper Jiang what the colors were called.
Shopkeeper Jiang replied to them one by one.
Yu Qinglong finished writing and said with a smile, "That's it, thank you very much, Shopkeeper Jiang. If someone comes to you with a picture like this to buy cloth in the future, please give them a discount."
Shopkeeper Jiang didn't quite understand: "Isn't this for your family?"
Yu Qinglong said, "No. A girl donated a lot of money before, and I promised to give some special gifts to those who donated a lot, something that is unique on the market. That's why I came to you to get this color card."
Shopkeeper Jiang had some recollection of the Fuyue Restaurant selling Fushan cakes to donate to the disaster victims. He'd also bought some and donated them. After all, there was a red list, and the government was watching. Having their name on it wouldn't hurt their business.
But he didn't expect Yu Qinglong to come to him to make color cards. So, the people who make ready-made clothes are also likely to come to him to buy cloth!
No wonder Guo Hengan said to treat Yu Qinglong well!
Shopkeeper Jiang hesitated to ask Yu Qinglong if he'd mentioned Wangjiang Cloth Shop when he gave him the map. But then he thought, if he came to him, wouldn't that mean he was trying to befriend him? Asking now would seem deliberate and unpleasant.
So he smiled and said, "Thank you, brother Xiaoyu."
Yu Qinglong said, "I should thank Shopkeeper Jiang for giving me so many scraps of cloth last time."
Although they are small pieces of cloth, some of them are enough to make clothes for children. And the colors are so rich that there is a lot of room for creativity.
Shopkeeper Jiang said he had more if needed.
But this time Yu Qinglong didn't take it. He just matched the colors of the clothes and left.
On the eighth day of the eleventh month, the Luo family, to whom Yu Qinglong had promised to send the clothing drawings, indeed showed up as promised. However, the young lady of the Luo family did not come, but her maid came instead.
The maid said, "My young lady has important business to attend to. She said that if you have the map ready, just give it to me."
Yu Qinglong also remembered this little girl, so he handed her the envelope containing the picture. "Please tell your daughter, if you trust me, to make the dress according to the colors marked above. An exact match is best."
The maid asked suspiciously, "Why?"
"Because this dress was born to belong to your young lady. If the color is changed, it will no longer belong to her. Little sister, just tell her so. Whether to do it or not is your young lady's business."
"Well, thank you very much, sir. I will convey it truthfully."
The little maid hurried away, and Yu Qinglong returned to the building.
It had snowed last night, and the roads were slippery this morning, so Fang Shu hadn't asked him to go out. He himself was too lazy to go out. According to his master's calculations, he was probably more than two and a half months pregnant. Perhaps it was the child's age or the cold weather, but he was starting to get a little lazy.
Fortunately, after a period of rapid growth, Fushan Cake's business gradually stabilized, dropping from a peak of 2,000 cakes a day to a steady 1,200. Furthermore, there were more than one sales point; Guo Hengan had several helpful relatives spread out across the county to sell the cakes at several smaller locations.
He no longer needed to worry about it. The government had already issued a decree that anyone selling Fushan cakes would have all the proceeds go to disaster relief. Who would dare to learn this? If no one learned, there would be no competition. He could only think about how to make more money.
In the afternoon, Fang Shu returned from outside the city. The freshly fallen snow on his head had melted into water droplets, and his clothes were a little wet.
Yu Qinglong quickly poured him a cup of hot jujube tea and held it in his hand: "Didn't you have lunch again?"
Fang Shu said, "I ate a steamed bun. But fortunately, almost everyone who needs to register has done so. At least we can ensure that no one will go hungry. Even those who have houses have been given food and persuaded to return home. After that, there are still quite a few young and strong people, widows, orphans, and the lonely and the lonely who are left behind."
Upon hearing this, Yu Qinglong asked the waiter to bring some food and then asked, "How many people are there?"
"There were a total of 821 young and strong men. Not only men, but also some healthy boys and women stayed behind. There were also 354 elderly people and children. The elderly were sent to the poorhouse. The children were cared for by 30 women and boys, who were first placed in the school. During the day, they did what they could around the area, and at night they slept in the school."
"Are there enough bedding?"
"It's not enough yet. But at least we don't have to sleep outside. Those who can sew are working hard. Some kind-hearted people have donated some of their extra supplies, so at least the elderly and children can get some warmth. As for the young and strong, some are helping with transporting goods, sweeping the streets, and helping the police maintain public order... Basically, they're busy according to our earlier agreement. There are still over 330 people who haven't found work, and disaster victims are still arriving from all over seeking a living."
"How much money is left in the disaster relief account?"
"There's still about 540 taels. There's not enough housing in the workhouse, so we had some tents set up this morning. We're not selling as many Fushan cakes as before, but at least we have enough to pay the young men."
"We'll sell even less in the future. And we can't leave the remaining three hundred or so people idle. Have you asked them all carefully? Are there any who have any skills?"
"No. Most of them are ordinary farmers, just strong men. Oh, and I have an idea. I wonder if it's feasible. With so many people keeping warm and eating, they need a lot of firewood, and the price of charcoal in the city is rising. I thought we could take 300 people and send them out to collect firewood. But that's too many people, so we can't put them all in one place, or the forest will be destroyed. We could have them form teams of 20, each team ten miles apart, and set up a transport team along the way. If we don't have enough axes, we can buy some, and have Changjie make a batch."
"That's a good idea. You can ask Lord Cao about this first. But be sure to find someone who has someone at home. These people are well fed and strong, and they are holding axes. If something happens to them, it will be troublesome."
"Okay, if Lord Cao agrees, I'll have them investigate thoroughly before taking any action."
"There's one more thing, my husband. I'm thinking about whether we should buy a house in the county town. The market is average this year, so the house prices aren't high. Whether we're doing business or selling storybooks, we'll have to come here. It would be convenient to stay in the restaurant and eat there all the time, but it's a bit noisy here anyway."
At this time, the waiter brought in the food. Yu Qinglong took it, closed the door, and sat down opposite Fang Shu and continued, "Besides, many things are inconvenient to buy here and it's hard to store them."
Fang Shu had also thought about this and asked, "How much silver do we have right now?"
"Including what's at home, it's about five hundred and fifty taels."
"So many?"
"Aside from buying some things for the family, we didn't spend much. We basically saved most of the money we got from delivering the storybooks. I asked around, and a three-story house with an area of one and a half acres in the county town can be bought for around three hundred taels. After we buy it, we can find someone suitable to take care of it, so it will be convenient for us to live here on a regular basis."
"Okay, then let's ask Boss Guo for help or ask a real estate agent. If there's anything suitable, we'll buy it. I had this idea in mind since you couldn't rest well at night, but I didn't expect you'd already saved so much." Fang Shu said, "My husband is really good at managing the household, isn't he?"
"That's right, no matter who the husband is."
Yu Qinglong said with a smile as he looked at the man who had lost a lot of weight after a few days of hard work, even his hands were frozen and cracked. He quickly went to the bed and took out something he had made that morning to show Fang Shu: "Husband, look at what this is?"
Fang Shu slowed down his chewing and took a closer look: "Is this... a hand cage?"
Yu Qinglong said, "That's about right. It's just for keeping your hands warm. Try it on after dinner."
Fang Shu didn't wait to finish eating, he put down his chopsticks and tried to put his hand in. This stretch was amazing, a soft and warm feeling immediately spread through his fingertips.
The most amazing thing is that this thing is not only divided into two fingers, but also the upper four fingers except the thumb are half exposed, but there is a finger cap on top.
"This is?"
"It's padded. It's fine if you don't do delicate work, but it's inconvenient to wear this finger cap when you do. You can turn it over. There's a wooden buckle on the back. See? Fasten the little rope loop to the buckle, and your fingers will be exposed. Do you like it?"
"I like it. I like it very much." Fang Shu felt that this warmed his heart more than anything else. He treasured it like a new toy. He put on and took off the pinky cap several times. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that it was interesting and practical. "Long Ge'er, can I wear it out this afternoon?"
"Of course, I made it for you. My craftsmanship isn't very good, so I was a little slow, and your hands are frozen red."
Fang Shu couldn't help but hug Yu Qinglong, only to find that Yu Qinglong's belly seemed to be slightly bulging. It was clearly less than three months old, but it was clear that his clothes were a little tighter.
He couldn't tell for a moment whether she was showing her pregnancy or just gaining weight. He touched her and couldn't help but blame himself, "I was so busy with my work outside that I forgot to buy you new clothes. These clothes will be too small in a few days. I need to make you two bigger ones."
Yu Qinglong said, "No need. I guess Mom and Dad have probably made me a new one. I just don't know when Brother Xikuan and the others will be back."
It has been nine days since the two men took his map back. Logically, they should have brought back the first batch of small roasting pans, but they are still nowhere to be seen.
If it weren't for the news that came to Niu Quan from Qixia Town every day, and if these two people hadn't been traveling with soldiers, he would have suspected that they were robbed along the way.
Just as he was thinking about it, a waiter came up and said, "Mr. Fang, Mr. Yu, our boss wants you two to come downstairs. Mr. Yan and Mr. Ma have returned with a bunch of things."
Yu Qinglong and Fang Shu stood up after hearing this. Yu Qinglong said, "I'll go take a look first. You should eat well before coming down."
Fang Shu was indeed starving, so he didn't refuse. He told Yu Qinglong to be careful when he went downstairs and started to eat voraciously.
Yu Qinglong went downstairs and arrived at the backyard of Fuyue Restaurant. He saw a pile of small roasting pans on the ground. They had all three of the types he wanted: ten each of rabbit-head and cat-head roasting pans, and a hundred of the regular ones. Each one had a wooden handle and was about a foot long.
"Brother Xiaoyu, do you think these meet your requirements?" Yan Xikuan treated Guo Hengan leniently, leaving only a few acquaintances, and asked.
"Yes, that's it. This egg burger pot is also very good." Yu Qinglong said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard. Otherwise I would have returned earlier. This mold is too difficult to make. It took four or five days to start. Changjie and his family didn't get much sleep, and we even had to find some help to finish it."
"They can all be used. Boss Guo, starting tomorrow these things can be sold together with the Fushan cakes. If you buy more cakes, you can get a regular one for free. This is called a small baking pan. You can put the egg tarts in it, close the two ends, and then bake them without burning them black."
Most people have stoves and cooktops at home, but they don't have anything suitable for baking egg tarts. This thing only costs a few dozen coins, so it's very convenient for those who can afford to eat egg tarts often to buy one.
Guo Hengan asked, "How much is it?"
Yu Qinglong said, "The regular ones are 60 wen each. The ones with rabbit and cat heads are 150 wen. But when you ask the seller to sell them, tell the buyer that they'll have more that can be roasted two or three at a time in a few days. If you need that, you can wait a little longer."
Guo Hengan thought this was a great idea and gave the order. People continued to pick up the egg tarts, usually taking five at a time: three regular ones, one with a rabbit head, and one with a cat head.
Then Ma Qinsui and Yan Xikuan followed Yu Qinglong back upstairs.
Each of them was carrying a huge backpack, an extra-large one.
Yu Qinglong had never let his family do something this big before, so he asked the two of them, "Whose idea was this?"
Ma's attendant said, "I heard it was Aunt Wu's idea. She and Uncle Zhou made you new clothes, saying they'd be good for when you're older. But cotton clothes take up a lot of space, and they also had some other things they wanted to bring you, so they made two big bags. But my attendant and I shamelessly asked for them, and they'll keep them from now on."
Yan Xikuan said, "My close follower was shameless, and I took advantage of him. His bag contained clothes, and mine was that of Mr. Qin, and there were also some pen holders. We also saw many villagers returning home along the way, and everyone felt that there was hope for the future. You have really done a lot of good deeds here in the past half month."
Fang Shu said: "Your contribution is not small either."
Ma's attendant asked, "Didn't Lord Ma say he would reward you? You've been working so hard and haven't received a penny. There should be an explanation."
Fang Shu said, "We didn't come here for the reward. Right now, Long Ge'er and I just want to quickly stabilize the situation here, so that the people in the city can return to their hometowns safely. That way, Long Ge and I will be satisfied."
Ma Qinsui and Yan Xikuan felt a little sorry for their friend. They knew it was right to help the people, but these two had spent so much time running around, one had lost a lot of weight, and the other hadn't gotten enough rest even though she was pregnant, and yet their superiors hadn't said anything.
But think about it, seeing the disaster victims returning home with smiles on their faces, maybe this is the most important thing.
Yu Qinglong asked, "Are the elders and siblings on both sides of my family all right?"
Yan Xikuan said, "It's fine. Uncle Yu and his family haven't moved yet. They said they'll wait for you to return. Only Brother Qingye and his wife will live in the new house. We've seen Xiao Song'er too. He's plump and white. Brother Qing's injury is healed. Sister-in-law asked us to thank you for thinking about the child."
Ma Qinsui said with a smile, "Changjie also asked us to thank you on his behalf. In the north, winter is quiet because there are no farmers. The blacksmith business is quiet. In previous years, they don't have much work at this time of year. But this year, thanks to you, his family has been busy this winter and is busier than in the summer."
Fang Shu said, "Don't even think you'll have a break. You've been away for so many days, and it's been enough for you to copy."
Ma Qinsui and Yan Xikuan weren't afraid of plagiarism. They were counting on this to save money. They took the new manuscript, glanced over it, and then returned to their rooms.
With these nine days left, we have to hurry up and finish the work.
In the afternoon, Fang Shu had to see Niu Quan to inquire about forming a team to chop wood. After a short hug, Yu Qinglong left with his new gloves. Yu Qinglong packed the bag for Young Master Qin, added an extra bag, and a brand-new pen holder, and handed it to a clever servant, instructing him to deliver it to the Qin residence.
Ever since Qin Yushuang was promised a new bag by Yu Qinglong, she asked his servant every day, "Has my bag not arrived yet?"
The servant's mouth had almost learned to answer on its own: "Not yet, young master. But it should be soon."
Qin Yushuang pouted depressedly: "Wait one more day. If they don't deliver it tomorrow, go buy thirty more Fushan cakes and ask Master Yu how he is doing."
Just as the servant was about to respond, he heard a servant hurried in from outside: "Young Master! Young Master! Coming!"
"What's going on? You're so anxious."
"Here comes the schoolbag! Look!"
Qin Yushuang quickly opened the bundle and saw that there was indeed a schoolbag inside, but it wasn't the same one! One of the two schoolbags was slightly similar to one he had seen before, made of coarse cloth, but it had a jade ring embroidered on it. Inside the jade ring was a little rabbit, so adorable! This was different from anyone else's.
There was another bag made of jade-white satin, something he had never seen before. It was smaller than the previous bag, but incredibly delicate. It even had a handmade pale gold butterfly on it! When he walked around with it on his back, the butterfly's wings actually moved!
"Oh my god, this is so beautiful. And this pen holder is different from everyone else's. Mine is the best! Where's the person who sent the bag?"
"Replying to the young master, the person has returned."
"Did you leave any message?"
"I've kept it. It's said that Master Yu made some kind of small roasting pan. It's quite interesting. If you're bored, you can go to Fuyue Restaurant."
"Okay, okay, bring me my cloak, I'll go right away!"
Yu Qinglong had just tried on the clothes his family had given him.
Two sets of inner garments, one could tell by the stitching that they were made by his father, and the outer garments by his mother-in-law. The most interesting thing was that they even brought him some dried tofu skin...
There is everything here, but the thoughtfulness is rare.
Yu Qinglong took some tofu skin to Guo Hengan, thinking of discussing the meat and egg burger and making some tofu skin together for dinner. Unexpectedly, Qin Yushuang arrived in a hurry before he even saw Guo Hengan.
As soon as he entered the building, he began to untie his cloak: "Master Yu! Master Yu? Are you there?"
Yu Qinglong came out: "Young Master Qin is here, is there anything?"
Qin Yushuang said, "I have something I want to ask you. Would you mind having some tea? Or if you want something to eat, I'll treat you!"
Yu Qinglong said, "I'll treat you. I just want to release something new today."
Yu Qinglong asked Qin Yushuang to go to the private room and wait for a while. Then he met Guo Hengan and talked about how to make the egg burger.
When he was in high school, there was a stall selling these things right in front of his school. Every morning, there was a long line, and many students bought them for four yuan each.
He'd had it before, too. He knew exactly how it was made and what went into it. He'd always thought it was difficult to make without the ingredients or the molds. But here, those weren't a big deal. Even if there wasn't any toppings, there were still crushed peanuts and sesame seeds.
Guo Hengan said, "I'll prepare the ingredients first. You can go talk to Young Master Qin. Speaking of which, Young Master Qin seems to really like what you're making. He's the most favored youngest son of the richest man in Huaitong County. There's no harm in making friends with him."
Yu Qinglong nodded: "I'll go take a look."
When Qin Yushuang saw Yu Qinglong coming, her eyes narrowed with joy. "Mr. Yu, the bags you make are so beautiful! And that pen holder, I've never seen anyone else use it. But you, I haven't seen you for a few days. How come you seem to have gained a lot of weight?"
Yu Qinglong said: "Oh, I'm pregnant and I eat a lot."
Qin Yushuang: "..."
Oh my god, isn't this a man?!
If he had known that it was a boy, why would he avoid him? He would have invited him to his home as a guest long ago!
But this is better, I can see her whenever I want in the future!
Qin Yushuang excitedly gulped down a cup of tea: "That's great, Master Yu! Can we be good friends now?!"
Yu Qinglong said, "If Master Qin doesn't mind, then of course you can."
Qin Yushuang shook her head vigorously. "Of course I don't mind. I'm just trying to get ahead of myself. Master Yu, you're so talented, how could you possibly have so many? By the way, I came here to ask if you have any other interesting things. The bags and pen holders you make are so novel, I've never seen them before."
Yu Qinglong said, "Yes. What do you want?"
Qin Yushuang said, "I want clothes that are different from others, shoes, and hats. I'll think of anything else. Anyway, as long as you can make something that's not seen on the market, I can make it for you. Don't worry, I promise you won't make it in vain."
Yu Qinglong said, "I'm too busy right now. But I can draw a picture for you. You just need to find someone to make it according to the shape and color in the picture."
Qin Yushuang nodded heavily: "Okay! Then I will pay you for the painting."
Yu Qinglong laughed: "Didn't you say we should be friends? What kind of friends are we if you ask for money for drawing for your friends?"
Qin Yushuang was so moved by what she heard that she grabbed Yu Qinglong's hand and said, "Then can I call you Brother Long?"
Yu Qinglong agreed and took Qin Yushuang to bake Fushan cakes in a small baking pan.
This little thing made the child very happy. He danced in the kitchen.
Yu Qinglong: “…”
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Author's words: Qinglong: This guy is a walking brand spokesperson [smirk]
Fang Shu: Long Er, what is a "brand spokesperson"? [Starry Eyes]
Qinglong: Just like you, I like to use new things when I get them and show them off [dog head]
Fang Shu: Is, is that so? [laughing and crying]
Qinglong: Thank you, aunties! Heart!
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