Chen Dabao thought of Chen Aju and Hu Cuicui who were scared away by their mother and laughed. He also longed for the scene where he could take his mother out to play at any time. He smiled and said, "Yes, when my mother is cured, no one will dare to bully her."
After a while, the little boy's snoring could be heard.
Chen Ahfu was very disappointed and blew out the small oil lamp. He thought, Swallow, Swallow, how can I get you out... Money, money, money, how can I make some more money to get through this period...
Chen Afu racked her brains and finally came up with an idea. In her previous life, she took a clothing design course and occasionally learned to make small accessories, including fabric bracelets and fabric headbands.
She had asked Wang and learned that the silk flowers of that era were made very well. The silk flowers sold in the embroidery workshop came in many styles and were well made. She didn't think she had the ability to surpass the people here.
When she was "learning" to make a knot from Wang, she also asked about the ways to make a knot. People in this era knew how to make a lot of knots, such as the auspicious cloud knot, the brocade knot, the Chinese knot, the wishful knot, the long knot, the diamond knot, and many other knots. She didn't know many of them. But she seemed to have never heard of the four-strand braid suitable for making bracelets. The bracelets and necklaces made by the four-strand braid combined with the diamond knot and the snake knot were three-dimensional, eye-catching, and beautiful. Many people in the past liked to use this method to make bracelets or necklaces.
Her hands were not flexible enough now, so she couldn't make many to sell. Wang didn't have time to make sewing kits either. So she made a bracelet and asked Wang to take it to an embroidery shop to sell the "design". She could give Wang whatever money the embroidery shop could give her, and that would be enough to get through this period of time.
The next day after dinner, Chen Ahfu went to the east room to weave bracelets. Her fingers were not very flexible, and it took her half an hour to weave a yellow and blue bracelet. She also asked Wang to sew three small flowers on the bracelet, which were used to decorate the money needle basket. Wang made a lot of them and kept them there for future use.
"Oh my god, this chain is so beautiful. How could Ah Fu weave this?" Wang was amazed.
Chen Ahfu smiled thickly and said, "My mother taught me how to weave the Diamond Knot and the Lucky Cloud Knot. After I carefully thought about it, I came up with this method."
"My God, Ah Fu is really blessed and smart." Wang was amazed and said to Chen Ming, "We have many laces in our embroidery workshop, but this is the first time I have seen this kind of weaving method. The key is that the bracelet made by this method is beautiful. It will be even more beautiful with these small flowers to embellish it."
After hearing this, Chen Ming pinched his sparse beard and laughed.
Chen Afu suggested that Wang take the needlework to an embroidery workshop in the county town to sell it, and then tell the workshop the weaving method so that she could earn some money to help the family get through this period.
Wang has been doing embroidery work for the Jinyun Embroidery Workshop in the county town. If she takes these bracelets to sell there, the owner will not bargain too hard for them.
Wang nodded happily and cooked a pot of thick corn paste for lunch, which filled everyone's stomach. After lunch, Wang hurried to the county town.
As soon as she left, the whole family eagerly awaited her return.
As the sun was setting, Wang finally arrived with a beaming smile. She said the shopkeeper liked it very much and had never seen such a unique bracelet before, so he gave her 800 coins. She also paid back 60 coins for cloth scraps, rags, and embroidery thread, leaving her with more than 700 coins. As she spoke, she took out a small silver coin and several hundred coins.
She also bought a pound of pork, twenty pounds of brown rice, and some dates, lotus seeds and other things specifically for Chen Ming.
The whole family was very happy as they could finally have a full meal again.
Chen Afu secretly complained that it was really hard to make money in ancient times. What she sold were considered designs, but she didn't even get one or two taels of silver.
On May 8, the winter wheat in the field began to be harvested. This year was another bumper year. Chen Ye and his son were good at farming, and the yield from the field was high, with more than 200 kilograms of wheat per mu.
The four mu of land of the second wife's family was also cultivated by the first wife, who kept 40% and paid 60% rent to the second wife. The second wife's 60%, in addition to paying taxes, kept more than 100 kilograms of wheat at home to grind flour, and sold the rest for more than two strings of cash. These things were done every year by Chen Ye and his son. At the same time, there was a lot of wheat straw, which filled the backyard of the second wife's family.
With these straws, Alu and Dabao felt much more relaxed and no longer had to collect firewood every day.
If some farmers save more than two strings of silver, they can support themselves for half a year. But for Chen Ming's family, it is only enough for four months of medical expenses and medicine. This is because Chen Afu does not need to buy medicine, otherwise it will only be enough for three months of medicine.
Finally, it was May 20th, when the eldest wife handed over the grain and money to the second wife, and they also had to discuss what to plant in the fields and how to repair the house next.
Knowing that they were coming today, Wang went to buy a pound of meat, bought two pounds of liquor that Chen Ming liked to drink, and prepared a few delicious dishes. This time, they were not stewed, but fried.
Chen Ahfu wanted to show off her cooking skills, but Wang didn't want to, saying that they had guests today and she was afraid that she would not cook well and waste ingredients, so she had to light the fire. The aroma of the oil in the wok and the "sizzling" sound made Chen Ahfu's saliva overflow from time to time, but fortunately she was able to control herself now and quickly swallowed it.
Seeing Ah Lu and Da Bao constantly busy in the kitchen, Chen Ah Fu would pick up a piece of meat for them with chopsticks every time they finished cooking a dish, and asked with a smile, "How does it taste? Do you need some salt?"
The two little boys said seriously with their greasy lips, "It's delicious, you don't need to add anything."
Wang didn't say much, just smiled and shook her head.
Originally, Wang had suggested buying a few more feet of cloth to give to Hu, but Chen Ming did not agree.
Chen Ming said, "We didn't charge more rent from my eldest brother's family. Others who rent our land also charge the same. With that money, it's better to buy a few feet of cloth for my mother or eldest brother to make clothes. As soon as she asks, we will give it to her. We don't even know how much we will give. We are not as rich as my third brother's family. They even built a big yard for them." After thinking for a while, he said, "Then buy a few feet of coarse cloth for eldest brother to make clothes. He works hard all year round."
Chen Ahfu didn't know what Chen Ming and Wang meant, but he could tell that although Chen Ming respected Chen Ye very much, he looked down on Hu. After watching Hu's jaw-dropping performance, he understood.
Before the meal, Old Lady Chen, Chen Ye, Mrs. Hu, and Chen Agui all came, and later they were followed by the little tail Chen Dahu.
Mrs. Hu glanced at Chen Ahfu who was sitting there burning firewood, curled her lips and said, "Everyone says Ahfu has grown handsome, and he really has. But what's the point of being handsome? He can't even earn a little betrothal gift for his parents. I have been raising him for more than ten years in vain."
Chen Ahfu said slowly, "Although I can't earn a dowry for my parents, I will definitely respect them like a son in the future."
Mrs. Hu snorted and went into the west room.
Chen Ye first took out 2 guan (two strings of cash) and 500 wen (two strings of cash) from selling grain. Later, he took out another 4 guan (four strings of cash) to buy the one mu of land from the second wife. He had borrowed 1 guan (one string of cash) from the second wife before, and now he took out another 4 guan (four strings of cash).
Mrs. Hu watched Chen Ming take the six strings of cash and felt a pain in her heart. She thought to herself, Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang are really stingy people who only take in money but never spend it. They don't even take out some of the money to thank their eldest brother and nephew for their hard work throughout the year.
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