Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Burning Charcoal
Lin Chuntao took a look and decided to dig a little deeper. The two of them worked for a while before they finished digging.
When I cut down the fir tree, I took off a lot of branches and piled them all in the backyard. The fir branches were not thin, so they were just right for burning charcoal.
Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying took knives to trim the trees, cut them into pieces of similar length, and carried them back to the cave.
When Mrs. Sun and Aunt Guizhi learned that Lin Chuntao was going to make charcoal, they found it a little curious and followed her to take a look.
The cave is not small, it takes a lot of firewood to fill it up.
Aunt Guizhi said to Pei Ying, "Xiao Pei, if you have time, go chop down that tree at my house. You should be able to get quite a few."
Pei Ying nodded in agreement. They also burned firewood, but there was a lot of dry pine wood on the mountain, so the amount needed was not much compared to what Lin Chuntao and the others needed.
Sun also said, "I see you two are so busy, I'll ask your uncle and his men to go to the fir forest and cut some for you."
Lin Chuntao laughed when she heard that. "That won't do. We can chop the branches, but why should we ask Uncle and the others to help us? Let me try firing up the kiln. If it's a success, I'll make more and take some home with us. It'll be more convenient to warm ourselves with in the winter, and there's no smoke or choking."
Sun was also an impatient person and would do whatever she said. After she went home to rest, she asked Lin Changzong and others to cut down the branches of the fir tree. Aunt Guizhi's tree was in the forest in front, so she also asked Lin Changzong and others to cut it down as well.
In fact, if the branches of this fir tree are too lush, they will be pruned to facilitate the growth of the main trunk. Otherwise, the branches will grow very thick and the main trunk will not grow much.
Sun called Lin Changzong and others to go, and Lin Cunzheng also went with them.
Although there was a little distance between them and Lin Chuntao and the others before, the two winter clothes that Lin Chuntao bought for them before they moved completely won over the old couple. Lin Changzong and the others also felt that Lin Chuntao and the others were capable and generous.
The most important thing is that compared with the people in this village, they are already very rich, have built a new big house, and have income every day, but the sisters still work diligently and are very friendly with the people in the village.
Lin Chuntao put the fir branches into the cave. Before the cave was fully loaded, she sealed the door in the front and started to make a fire in the place where the fire pit had been opened earlier.
Not long after the fire started burning, thick white smoke came out of the chimney. Lin Duoer was so curious that she looked left and right and asked, "Sister, won't the firewood in here be burned?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Yes, so we need to watch the color changes of the smoke."
"Do we have to take out the firewood when there's no more smoke?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head and said, "When the smoke is less, or turns into a blue smoke, we will seal the chimney, and then it will become charcoal."
As she spoke, Lin Chuntao called out to the system. This kiln of wood seemed to need at least seven or eight hours to burn. "Set an alarm for me," she said. "Call me in six hours."
System: "Host, it is now Youshi, and it will be Yinshi in six hours."
Lin Chuntao nodded, and it was time to go to bed.
After it started burning, Lin Chuntao observed the smoke from the chimney and made sure that the kiln was burning. Then she sealed the fire inlet with mud bricks, leaving a small opening and let it burn first.
The beans roasted at noon were half-dried. Lin Chuntao used wood ash to simmer the stove fire at night so that it would not go out and would always remain warm. It was estimated that the beans would be almost roasted by tomorrow morning.
Previously, Lin Chuntao asked Lin Duoer if she wanted to learn tailoring. Lin Duoer thought about it and felt that it was okay, so she went to talk to Lin Chuntao.
Lin Chuntao was quite happy to hear this, and said, "Then wait for me to find a tailor for you."
Meng Yun happened to hear this and recommended Fan Li Niang to Lin Chuntao.
"Madam, my sister-in-law is very good at embroidery and making clothes. She is also teaching Meng Yue. If you don't mind, you can let Duo'er learn from her."
Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Duo'er. She and Meng Yue also got along well. Before she asked Lin Duo'er's opinion, Meng Yun said, "My dear, when we get home, I'll ask my sister-in-law to bring you some of her embroidery. You can see it and decide."
Lin Chuntao agreed with a smile.
Fan Li'niang's embroidery skills are very good, and Meng Yun is very confident about this. If Lin Chuntao likes it, it would be a good thing to let Fan Li'niang teach Lin Duo'er. If Lin Chuntao is not satisfied with Fan Li'niang being Lin Duo'er's master, that's also fine.
When Meng Yun returned home after finishing her work, Fan Li Niang had already prepared dinner.
Meng Yue and Xiao Dujuan each took a chopstick and a bowl. As the family was preparing to eat, Meng Yun said to Fan Li Niang, "Sister-in-law, Duo'er said she wanted to learn tailoring. Madam Lin is going to find a tailor for her. I told her about you. After dinner, find me an embroidery and I'll show it to Madam Lin."
"Duo'er wants to learn tailoring?" Meng Yue asked in surprise.
Meng Yun nodded and said with a smile: "If nothing unexpected happens, then you can learn to make embroidery patterns together."
Meng Yue was very happy, her eyes were curved with smiles.
Fan Li'niang looked at her sister-in-law and daughter and smiled helplessly.
Meng Yue and Lin Duoer love to play together, so Fan Li'niang knows Lin Duoer quite well. Although they are about the same age, Lin Duoer is active. Things like tailoring and embroidery are boring and uninteresting. Most of all, she has to sit for half a day, and she feels that Lin Duoer may not be able to sit still.
But what if Lin Duoer really likes it? Who knows.
After dinner, I rested for a while. There was no sun, and the sky darkened quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was dusk.
Guessing that Lin Chuntao and the others had finished dinner, Fan Li'niang and Meng Yun went over with the embroidery. Lin Chuntao and the others had just finished their meal and cleaned up.
Seeing the sample that Fan Liniang brought, it was a handkerchief made of smooth silk, with a lifelike crane embroidered on it. Lin Chuntao took it and touched it, and found that the crane part was very smooth.
Lin Chuntao had learned cross-stitch and scarf knitting when she was studying handicrafts, but her skills were only so-so. It was almost impossible for her to make these things smooth and flat.
So Fan Li Niang's handkerchief surprised her quite a bit.
She looked closely and felt that the reverse side seemed very smooth. When she turned it over, it was also a crane, but there was a slight difference in color. Lin Chuntao stared at Fan Li Niang with wide eyes, "Madam Fan, are you embroidering on both sides?"
Fan Li Niang nodded.
Although her own craftsmanship was not good, Lin Chuntao had heard of double-sided embroidery and admired these craftsmen for being able to make such exquisite things.
She looked at Fan Li'niang. If a lady like her hadn't fallen into poverty, she wouldn't have ended up in this village, right?
Fan Li Niang said, "My grandmother was a famous embroiderer in Beijing, and my mother inherited her skills. But before I could learn everything, she passed away. Although my skills are not top-notch, I believe I am still capable of being her teacher."
Lin Chuntao nodded and said with a smile: "I would be very happy if Duo'er could learn my wife's craft."
After she finished speaking, she thought about what Fan Li'niang had just said. She remembered that some skills could not be passed down from master to student. One had to become a disciple and follow the etiquette of a disciple.
Lin Chuntao thought about it and asked Fan Liniang. Fan Liniang looked at Lin Duoer and thought for a while before saying to Lin Chuntao, "Madam, Duoer has never been exposed to needlework. Why don't you give her a deadline of half a month? If Duoer can persist and is interested, you can become my disciple then."
Lin Chuntao had no objection to Fan Li Niang's proposal. She said to Fan Li Niang, "Then we will pay you the tuition for half a month."
Fan Li Niang did not refuse either.
This was settled. Fan Li Niang said, "There's a lot of work to do at home. I can't see clearly while embroidering in the evening. The sun is at its hottest from 5 p.m. to 5 p.m., so I can't do any work in the fields. I'll just stay home and cool off. I'll practice for an hour and a half every day. Duo'er will come directly home tomorrow."
After the matter was settled, Fan Li'niang and the others sat for a while and then went back.
Lin Duoer was a little excited to start learning something new tomorrow. Lin Chuntao said, "I think Madam Fan's cooking skills are pretty good. Since you said so, then I'll learn from her. I'll go to the city to buy some things tomorrow and bring them to Madam Fan."
Lin Duoer looked at Lin Chuntao's serious expression and nodded in agreement, "Sister, I will study hard."
Lin Chuntao looked at them and said, "It's raining today and the weather is a bit cold. Let's go to the county town tomorrow morning to order some winter clothes."
Lin Chunxing asked, "Sister, do you want to make shoes together?"
Lin Chuntao said: "Well, let's do it together."
The next day, at the hour of Yin, the system started calling her. Lin Chuntao called Pei Ying as well, and took a bucket of water to check on the charcoal kiln. The smoke coming out of the chimney was much less. Lin Chuntao had prepared mud here yesterday. She took some straw and stuffed it into the chimney mouth, then quickly mixed the mud and sealed the chimney mouth.
After finishing it, Pei Yingcai asked, "How long do we have to wait like this?"
"About two or three days." Lin Chuntao said.
After they finished, they came back with buckets of water. Pei Ying went to wash up, and Lin Chuntao went to the backyard to check on the beans that were being roasted. The temperature of the stove was very low, and the beans were quite dry, but they still needed to be roasted again.
She looked at the night sky. It was a little blue, with no moon and only a few sparse stars. There were signs that the weather was going to clear up.
She stopped lighting the fire, as it would be better to bask in the sun if the weather was fine.
When she returned to the front yard, Lin Chunxing had also gotten up and was packing up after washing up. Lin Chunhe and Lin Duoer were still washing up.
After finishing the work, I locked the door. I told Aunt Guizhi and the others yesterday to come back later, so they left early and came back early.
When everyone arrived at the county town, it was just dawn and the sky was slightly blue. Lin Chuntao went to the flour shop to get some flour and put all the items on the stall away. After Pei Ying and the others finished their work, Lin Chuntao asked him to watch over them while she took her sisters to measure their sizes for clothes.
The lady who managed the cloth shop saw that it was Lin Chuntao who came back and came over to greet her with a smile.
Lin Chuntao talked to her about making clothes, and she asked the tailor to come and measure everyone's sizes. The measurement was quick, and after that Lin Chuntao selected the cloth and weighed the cotton. Although the winter in Yizhou was not very cold, they had to get up early to work, and there was no sun and the temperature was low, so it must be cold.
So Lin Chuntao also ordered cotton trousers, but cotton trousers did not look very good when worn outside, so Lin Chuntao asked for a skirt to be made. The skirt was slightly longer than the trousers, and the cotton trousers could be worn as autumn trousers.
The clothes and pants have been arranged, and only the shoes are left.
There were ready-made cloth shoes in the shop. The shopkeeper brought some for them to try on and found that they were all suitable sizes. Lin Chuntao directly bought four pairs.
Buying this pair and the pair given by Aunt Guizhi, the two pairs can be worn alternately when the weather is fine, but when it gets really cold, cloth shoes are not very warm. Lin Chuntao thought about it and decided to look in a fur shop. She seemed to have seen one that made leather boots.
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