Chapter 34 Chapter 34-Two-in-one sister, this cloth is so soft...
The next day at Yin time.
Lin Chuntao was awakened by the system broadcast.
As soon as she sat up, Lin Duoer, who was sleeping in the innermost bed, also sat up with her eyes closed. Lin Chuntao looked back and said, "It's not dawn yet, you should continue to sleep."
Because they had to make clothes, Lin Duoer and the others woke up several times throughout the night, looking forward to the dawn. Lin Chuntao bought new cloth and was looking forward to wearing new clothes.
Lin Duoer really wanted to follow Lin Chuntao to the county town so that she could choose the cloth quickly.
But the bean seeds in the field were almost harvested. Her second and third sisters had to go to the field, so she had to stay at home to look after the piglets and cut grass for them.
Lin Chuntao could guess what she was thinking and said softly, "Go to bed quickly. I'll be back early after I finish selling the mushrooms."
Lin Duoer nodded and crawled back into the quilt.
Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying went out together. He talked to Lin Chuntao about how to make the clothes and how much fabric was needed for a set of clothes.
Lin Chuntao said: "The main waist, the middle coat, the shirt, the shorts, and the outer pants."
"Don't make skirts?" Pei Ying asked.
Lin Chuntao hesitated for a moment and said, "If I don't make a skirt, it's too hot in the summer. I don't think people in the village wear skirts much, just pants. I'll make the shirt longer so it covers the hips."
She gestured as she spoke, and Pei Ying understood what she meant.
"Okay, then come find me after you finish selling the mushrooms and I'll go buy some cloth with you."
"good."
After the two separated, Lin Chuntao went into the mountains. She was familiar with the route, so she picked up some mushrooms and carried them to the county market.
The mushrooms were still selling as fast as ever, and Aunt Guizhi's basket of vegetables was almost sold out along with hers, so she called her to go home with her.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Aunt, I want to go to the cloth shop and buy some cloth to make some clothes."
"Will Xiao Pei go with you? Do you want me to go with you?" asked Aunt Guizhi.
Lin Chuntao replied, "Well, if Pei Ying comes with me, will it delay Aunt Guizhi?"
Aunt Guizhi waved her hand. "It's only a short while, no need to waste time."
It was still early, and the butcher shop had just experienced a small peak in traffic. Pei Ying was busy moving meat out of the house.
Helan was very busy at the meat stall. Lin Chuntao said hello to Pei Ying and went to the cloth shop.
Helan saw Lin Chuntao come and leave quickly. She turned around and asked Pei Ying, "Xiao Pei, does your wife want to talk to you about something?"
Pei Ying smiled and said, "It's nothing urgent. She's going to buy some cloth, and an aunt is accompanying her."
Helan said, "If there's anything urgent, tell me."
Pei Ying responded and continued to work. Lin Chuntao and Aunt Guizhi drove a mule cart to the door of the cloth shop.
Yesterday, the girls were all standing at the door eating cakes. Lin Chuntao jumped off the mule cart. When Zhang Qingqing saw that it was her, her eyes lit up and she hurried over to greet her.
"Girl, are you here so early?"
"But we've just had breakfast. Do you want to eat something together?"
As she walked and talked, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "No, we're not eating anymore. We came to the market to sell things. We'll come back after we've sold them."
Listening to Lin Chuntao's words, Zhang Qingqing pulled the mule to the pillar beside the door and tied it, while asking with a smile: "What are you selling, young lady?"
"I sell mushrooms, and this lady sells vegetables. They're all very fresh. If you need anything, you can contact us."
Zhang Qingqing looked over in surprise. "We ate with the host, not cooked ourselves. Did you pick up any chicken mushrooms? Our host loves them."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I just sold a basket two days ago. Next time I have more, I'll leave some for you."
"Okay, thank you very much, young lady. I don't know what to call you, young lady?"
"Lin Chuntao."
Zhang Qingqing smiled and said, "Then I will call you Sister Chuntao from now on."
The two of them chatted and laughed as they entered the shop. Lin Chuntao told her how many sets of clothes she wanted to make, and she calculated the fabrics for them. In the end, they bought a piece of white cotton cloth, a piece of grass-green cotton cloth, and cut a few feet of fine white cotton cloth to make underwear.
The total amount is one string and one hundred and ninety coins.
Zhang Qingqing took Lin Chuntao to pay the money, and the copper coins clanged. Aunt Zhi looked at Lin Chuntao, her eyes full of the cloth in her hands. She didn't feel sorry for the copper coins she had just spent, and smiled for no reason.
After paying, Zhang Qingqing saw them out and said with a smile at the door: "Sister and Aunt, please come to me next time if you need anything."
Aunt Guizhi saw that she was gentle and polite, and said with a smile: "If I want to buy cloth in the future, I will definitely come to you."
Lin Chuntao got on the mule cart with the cloth in her arms, and went to the grocery store with Aunt Guizhi to buy some needlework and two clay basins before going home.
In the cloth shop, Zhang Qingqing was very happy after seeing Lin Chuntao off.
Although she had introduced it patiently yesterday, she also thought that Lin Chuntao's words about coming tomorrow were empty talk and did not take it to heart at all.
Unexpectedly, Lin Chuntao not only came, but also bought two pieces of cloth directly.
She went to the accounting office to put her fingerprints on the paper so that she could collect her reward at the end of the month.
Zhang Huarui watched Zhang Qingqing emerge from the accounting office, feeling unhappy. She muttered, "I didn't expect she'd actually come to buy those half-pants. But that's all they are, just two bolts of cotton cloth!"
Zhang Qingqing frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Sister, isn't it inappropriate for you to say that? The day we were sold to the boss, we were also wearing half-length pants."
When talking about the past, Zhang Huarui snorted coldly and looked at Zhang Qingqing with a squinting eye.
"How much reward can you get for two bolts of cotton cloth?"
Zhang Qingqing shook her head: "I don't know."
"Oh, didn't you ask the accountant? When your salary is paid next month, can you lend me some money?"
Zhang Qingqing's face darkened slightly as she asked, "What are you borrowing money for?"
"Buy rouge! Meixiangju will have new rouge in stock next month. I heard from the sisters there that it's really beautiful."
Hearing what Zhang Huarui said, Zhang Qingqing shook her head slightly, "I have to send the money back home, I don't have any money to lend you."
Zhang Huarui pouted. "Why don't you just tell your family that you didn't get that much? You don't give all your monthly salary home anyway."
Zhang Qingqing's eyes turned cold when she heard this, and she looked at Zhang Huarui intently.
Zhang Huarui felt a little timid and whispered, "I won't tell my family, why are you glaring at me?"
Zhang Qingqing said nothing more and walked past him.
*
On the way back, Lin Chuntao took Aunt Guizhi's mule cart.
She held the two pieces of cloth the whole time. They were just two pieces of cotton cloth, but they were much more comfortable than what she was wearing at the moment.
Aunt Guizhi was infected by her happy look and suddenly missed her daughter. She thought about buying some cloth to make some clothes for her daughter and then visiting her one day.
At this time, at the entrance of the village, women who had gone to the fields or had just returned from the fields gathered under the fir trees to hide from the sun and chat.
Seeing Aunt Guizhi driving the mule cart back, he greeted her cheerfully.
"I went to sell vegetables again today. I see that your vegetable patch is almost sold out."
Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "I won't go after I sell it. What are you guys talking about?"
One of the women smiled and said, "My Qiao'er has guests coming in on the second day of June. I was just talking to them. Guizhi, are you free to help me steam rice that day?"
Aunt Guizhi asked in surprise, "So soon? I haven't heard the news yet. Who did you choose?"
The woman replied, "We're from Xujia Village. We didn't expect it to happen so quickly. We just saw the date and decided to rush things out."
"I'm free. I have to be free when my niece Qiao'er gets married."
After exchanging pleasantries, they noticed that Lin Chuntao, who was sitting behind Aunt Guizhi, was holding two pieces of cloth in her arms. The white cotton cloth was so bright and the grass green was so watery, and they all looked at Xu Guizhi.
"Oh, you've made a ton of money selling vegetables, and you're already buying cloth to make new clothes before the New Year even starts?"
Aunt Guizhi looked at Lin Chuntao and replied to the woman: "Why would a woman like me make new clothes? Chuntao bought the cloth, and the sisters made the clothes."
The women's faces froze, and they looked at Lin Chuntao with complicated eyes. These were obviously the young girls who were driven out by Lin Laowu's family. Even their living quarters were given by Muramasa's family. How come they were already buying cloth to make new clothes after just a few days?
The atmosphere fell silent, and it was the woman who was marrying her daughter who spoke up to break the deadlock.
"Chun Tao, I didn't see you just now. On the second day of June, your sister Qiao'er is having guests. Remember to bring Chun Xing and the others to dinner."
Lin Chuntao curved her lips and smiled, "Okay, Auntie, I'll definitely go that day."
The mule couldn't stop and kept twisting and turning. Aunt Guizhi didn't get off to chat with them, but drove the cart home.
After watching them walk away, the women began to discuss the matter.
"Did you see clearly? That cloth seems to be cotton. Two pieces! That must be at least a tael of silver, right?"
"Of course I do. I went to buy some cloth the other day, and a piece of colored cloth cost seven hundred coins!"
"Oh my god, weren't they kicked out? Why are they renting cattle to grow corn, and then buying cloth to make clothes? I even heard they were cooking meat just a few days ago."
"Where do they get so much money?"
"I heard Chuntao was picking mushrooms to sell."
"Do you believe you can earn so much money just by picking mushrooms?"
Everyone shook their heads in unison, and the person who said this hesitated.
Yes, although we can pick some mushrooms to eat every year, we only pick a few kilograms each time. How much can we sell them for?
Lin Chuntao and Aunt Guizhi walked through the village and got off the mule cart and separated at a fork in the road.
Lin Chunxing and the others were still busy working in the fields behind the mountain, always wanting to finish quickly and go home to see if Lin Chuntao had returned.
But as the sun grew hotter and time passed, Lin Duoer and Lin Chunhe could no longer wait.
"Second sister, why don't we go back and drink some water."
How could Lin Chunxing not know what they were thinking? She thought about it and realized that she couldn't work properly if she was thinking about the cloth. It would be better to go back. What if Lin Chuntao came back and saw the cloth, and then she would happily come back to work.
Before they reached the outside of the yard, they saw Lin Chuntao getting off Aunt Guizhi's mule cart, holding something in her hands.
Without asking, she knew it must be cloth. Lin Duoer screamed and called out "sister" and ran towards Lin Chuntao, and Lin Chunhe also followed.
This cry of surprise made everyone look sideways. Even the people in the old Lin family's courtyard heard Lin Duo'er's joyful cry and rushed to the gate to look outside.
Lin Chuntao had just walked a short distance, and at this time one could still clearly see the two pieces of cloth she was holding.
Lin Xian'er's eyes widened and she asked loudly, "What is that she is holding?"
Qian, who was standing next to him, replied in a deep voice, "It seems to be cloth."
"It seems there are still two horses." Feng said.
Lin Changhe frowned, puzzled. "Where did this damn girl get the money to buy cloth? She rented a cow to buy seeds a few days ago, and now she's buying cloth? And she's eating meat! Where does she get the money?"
Qian rolled her eyes at Lin Changhe and angrily scolded him, "You ask me? Who should I ask? She's not my daughter."
"I've never seen a father as pathetic as you. You raised four daughters, but your son-in-law couldn't even have a cup of tea!"
Qian was sarcastic and Lin Changhe looked down on her.
"Who am I doing this for? It's for my eldest son in your belly!"
Qian held her belly, stretched out her chin and asked Lin Changhe: "Your son said he wants to eat meat, can you go buy some?"
Lin Changhe didn't have a single copper coin in his hand, and he had to look at Tian's mood to buy meat or eat an egg.
Everyone in the yard, young and old, felt jealous and puzzled, and the children also longed for new clothes.
The child will calm down after being scolded a few times, but the more the adults suppress them, the more agitated they become.
*
Lin Duoer ran over and reached out to take the cloth. Lin Chunhe hurriedly said, "Lin Duoer, your hands are full of dirt."
Lin Duoer was so happy that she lost herself in joy. She stretched out her hand and saw that it was indeed covered with dirt. She smiled and retracted her hand, jumping and dancing around Lin Chuntao.
Lin Chunhe looked at the green and liked it very much.
"Sister, how much did you buy it for? Is it expensive?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Yeah, a little bit. We've almost spent all the money we saved."
Lin Duoer widened her eyes and asked, "Then we won't be hungry, right?"
Lin Chuntao scratched her nose and asked, "Is that the expression you give me because you're afraid of being hungry?"
She chuckled and said that as long as she had new clothes to wear, it didn't matter if she went hungry for a few days.
From now on, when they go out wearing new clothes, the villagers will no longer laugh at them for being shy in wearing shorts.
Her pants were just too short, they weren't panties.
But how can she prove that it is not panties when faced with malicious intent? Should she lift up her pants to show them that she is wearing panties underneath?
Doing so will only lead to greater ridicule.
"Sister, when are we going to make new clothes?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I'll do it when your brother-in-law comes back."
"He did it?" Lin Chunhe asked.
Lin Chuntao nodded, and Lin Chunxing beside her was a little shocked, "Brother-in-law can not only kill pigs, but also sew?"
"Well, he said he did a good job."
The sisters returned home together. They quickly washed their hands and wanted to touch the cloth.
As soon as she touched it, Lin Duoer looked at Lin Chuntao with joy and said, "Sister, this cloth is so soft."
Lin Chuntao smiled, the cotton cloth was indeed much softer.
The two pieces of cloth were placed on the grain cabinet. The three sisters stood in front of the cabinet and couldn't let go of them.
Lin Chuntao stood aside and watched. Through their smiles, Lin Chuntao seemed to be able to imagine what kind of contempt and ridicule they had endured over the years.
"Let's work hard and earn money in the future, so that we can make a winter coat in a few months, and also new clothes for the New Year."
Lin Duoer looked at Lin Chuntao in disbelief and said, "So we have three sets of clothes?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Not only that, we will have so many new clothes in the future that our wardrobe will not be able to hold them all."
Lin Duo'er was completely lost in Lin Chuntao's fantasy. Lin Chunxing laughed beside her and said, "Sister, why are you teasing her?"
Lin Chuntao smiled heartily and looked at Lin Duoer with gentle eyes.
"I'm not kidding her. When we have money in the future, we can make lots of new clothes."
Lin Chunhe found it hard to imagine. She asked blankly, "How rich do we have to be? Is twenty taels of silver enough?"
Lin Chuntao frowned and looked at her.
"We've all spent more than one or two taels today. Twenty taels isn't enough."
Lin Chunhe stuck out her tongue and asked tentatively, "Do you want gold?"
"Gold is barely acceptable."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Chunxing bent over with laughter.
It was almost lunchtime, and Lin Chunxing wanted to go back to the fields to work for a while, but Lin Chuntao said, "Don't go yet. Get ready to cook. We'll go together in the afternoon after lunch."
Lin Duoer heard this and asked, "Why don't we wait for my brother-in-law to come back and eat together?"
"Wait." Lin Chuntao said, "Let's steam the rice first. I'll boil the remaining pig blood."
"Are you not making sauerkraut and pig's blood anymore? I still want to eat it."
Lin Chuntao looked at the greedy Lin Duoer and smiled. "Yes, but we can't finish all the pig blood. I'll scoop out two bowls and some pickled cabbage for you to take to Grandma and Aunt Guizhi's house. I'll cook the rest and make some cold noodles, which are also delicious."
Now, whenever Lin Duoer hears the words "delicious", she becomes full of anticipation. If Lin Chuntao says it's delicious, then it must be delicious.
Originally, Lin Chuntao wanted to boil the pig's blood into blocks and then send some to the two families, but the sauerkraut was already pickled, and she thought that sauerkraut fried with pig's blood was delicious, so she simply sent some raw pig's blood to let them try her way of eating it.
Lin Chuntao put four big bowls, two bowls of pig blood and two bowls of pickled cabbage, into a bamboo basket and asked Lin Chunxing to deliver it. Lin Duoer wanted to join in the fun and also wanted to go along.
Lin Chuntao reminded him, "Remember to tell Grandma and Aunt Guizhi how to do it."
"I understand." Lin Chunxing responded and walked out of the yard with her things.
Lin Chuntao turned around and fetched firewood, lit a fire, and boiled water to cook the pig's blood.
Before Lin Chunxing left, Lin Chuntao told her to go to Aunt Guizhi's house first and then go to Muramasa's house.
When they arrived, Aunt Guizhi was steaming rice.
"Aunt, my sister has made some pickled cabbage. I'll bring you some pig blood and pickled cabbage."
Aunt Guizhi thought of the joke she had made with Lin Chuntao before. Seeing that it was really delivered, she laughed and said, "I was just joking with your sister. Why did she really send it? You can keep it for yourselves."
Lin Chunxing smiled shyly, "My sister said it was just a little bit, and asked me to give some to my aunt and grandmother to try."
Looking at the two large bowls of pig blood and two large bowls of pickled cabbage, Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "Then I'll accept them. Go take them to your grandmother first, and then come back to get the bowls."
Lin Chunxing nodded, brought out two bowls and went to Muramasa's house.
Sun looked at the things they brought and politely declined them. Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "My sister made some pickled cabbage yesterday and found that it is delicious when fried with pig blood. Grandma, please try it. It's not much, so please don't think it's too little."
Sun pretended to be angry and said, "I'm not complaining about it being too little. I want you sisters to live your lives well. Didn't you spend a lot of money growing corn a few days ago?"
Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "This isn't worth much, it's just a token of my appreciation."
Sun looked at the two sisters in front of her lovingly, led them into the house, poured out the pig blood and sauerkraut in a bowl, rinsed it for her, and put the bowl back into the small bamboo basket.
"Sit down and play for a while." Sun said, and then she went to the cupboard and took out two small bowls and a clay pot. It seemed that she was going to make sugar water. Lin Chunxing hurriedly picked up the small bamboo basket and said, "Grandma, let's not play for now. Come back in the evening."
As he said that, he pulled Duo'er out. Sun hurriedly called out, "Sit down for a while, little girl. I'll make you some sugar water."
Lin Chunxing, who had already run to the door, shouted back, "Grandma doesn't want to drink anymore. We're going back first."
Chen Dongniang looked at the two sisters who had run away in a hurry, then looked at her mother-in-law standing at the door with a bowl in her hand, and said with a smile, "I feel like they have become happier recently."
Sun smiled and said, "I have something to look forward to in life. Whether it's food or meat, I can buy it myself with the money I earn. Of course I'll be happy."
"If it hadn't been shared out, they wouldn't even be able to eat a single piece of this bowl of pig's blood, let alone give it to anyone else."
Lin Chunxing and Lin Duoer returned to Aunt Guizhi's house. Aunt Guizhi had already cleared out the bowl and handed it to her in a new small bamboo basket.
"Did your sister pickle a lot of sauerkraut?"
Lin Chunxing smiled and said, "A small earthenware jar."
"Then tell your sister to pick some radishes and pickle them yourself after you finish eating."
"Oh, thank you, auntie."
The two sisters staggered home and met Lin Miaomiao and Lin Dujuan on the way. Lin Miaomiao and Lin Jiacai were siblings. Because Lin Jiacai fell, Lin Miaomiao put on a sullen face and ignored Lin Chunxing and the others.
Lin Dujuan was the youngest daughter of the fifth room, two years younger than Lin Duoer. The little girl didn't have much thought. When she saw Lin Duoer and the others, she asked, "Sister Duoer, what did you give to Grandma?"
Lin Duoer looked at her and shook her head, "Nothing."
Xiao Dujuan pouted and looked at Wan in the bamboo basket, obviously not believing it. Lin Miaomiao chuckled and glared at Lin Chunxing.
"You're still carrying a bowl. I wonder if you went to beg for food but didn't get any?"
When Lin Duoer heard Lin Miaomiao scolding them for being beggars, she immediately became furious and said fiercely, "We're going to deliver pig blood and pickled vegetables to Grandma's house!"
Lin Miaomiao swallowed, and Xiao Dujuan looked at Lin Duoer with envy.
"Where did you get the pig blood?"
Lin Duoer snorted coldly: "Of course my sister bought it!"
Lin Miaomiao was angry. She deliberately said in a veiled way, "Your house was just a gift for you to stay in for a few days. And you still have money to buy pig's blood to give away? I'm afraid you must have tightened your belt and bought some to give away so that they wouldn't kick you out."
Lin Duoer's face turned red with anger, and she looked up at Lin Miaomiao.
"You're talking nonsense! My sister bought a bucket of pig's blood and couldn't even finish it!"
Lin Miaomiao shrugged provocatively, "Lululu, I don't believe it."
Lin Duoer was furious at her behavior. Lin Chunxing held her back, slowly looking at Lin Miaomiao, and said softly, "Whether you believe it or not has nothing to do with us. No matter how poor we sisters are, we never go to someone's wall to see if they eat meat. Only puppies would go to someone's door to smell the food. Miaomiao, do you have several dogs like that at home?"
Lin Miaomiao's face turned red with anger when she heard Lin Chunxing scolding the Lin family as dogs.
"Lin Chunxing, you're just letting your dad's dog fart!"
Lin Chunxing shrugged fearlessly and said calmly, "I don't care if you yell at Lin Changhe and tell him to eat shit. A dog is a dog. Keep it on a leash from now on and don't come to my door to smell anything."
After she finished speaking, she took Lin Duoer's hand and walked forward, saying as she walked: "Oh, it's all because the meat we cooked at home is too fragrant, that's why the dog is so greedy."
Lin Miaomiao stamped her feet in anger and shouted, "Lin Chunxing! Just wait!"
Seeing Lin Miaomiao jumping up and down because of Lin Chunxing's scolding, Lin Duoer looked at her with admiration.
"Second sister, you are so awesome."
Lin Chunxing gave her a look of dismay, "You're so stupid! You took the bait when she tried to trick you, and you got angry after just a few words from her."
Lin Duoer stuck out her tongue. She was just very angry.
Lin Chunxing sighed helplessly and said in a deep voice, "Next time someone tries to trick you, just say you don't know and let her ask me and my elder sister."
"Why did I say I didn't know?"
Lin Chunxing: "...Forget it, it's up to you, but remember, don't tell anyone how much money we have."
Lin Duoer stared with her eyes wide open, looking innocent.
"Second sister, how much money does our family have?"
Lin Chunxing laughed out loud when she heard that. She shook her head and said, "I don't know either. Go ask my eldest sister."
Lin Duoer tilted her head, her eyes rolling around as she looked at Lin Chunxing with confusion.
"Second sister, you really don't know?"
Lin Chunxing pursed her lips and nodded, "Well, I really don't know."
"impossible."
Lin Duoer frowned and kept asking Lin Chunxing questions, but Lin Chunxing was too lazy to pay attention to her and forced herself to change the subject.
"Don't ask, run quickly, go back and see if your brother-in-law is back. Can you make clothes this afternoon?"
After saying that, Lin Chunxing started running, and Lin Duoer chased after her.
Even as they ran to the gate of the yard, Lin Duoer was still asking, "Second sister, is this what you said? You just say you don't know no matter what people ask you?"
Lin Chunxing looked at the silly Lin Duoer and laughed so hard that she bent over.
After a long moment, she nodded and said, "I guess so."
"So how much money do we have?"
"I said I don't know."
Lin Duoer angrily passed her and ran into the yard, complaining loudly: "Sister, my second sister bullied me!"
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