Chapter Seventy-Five
Perhaps because they were about to part ways, the three carpenters were much more talkative today, and Zhou Lin overheard a lot of their conversation.
Qingshui Town is a large town, not far from Beifu City. It has beautiful scenery, and living in the town is quite nice.
Besides, the Zhao family certainly owns houses everywhere, so they can live wherever they want.
When he visited the Zhao family mansion before, the maids and servants there were dressed better than those in many other households in the village.
One can only imagine how wealthy and powerful they must have been.
Mu Jin secretly admired him for a moment, then quickly put two taels of gold, five taels of silver, and one tael of silver into the money bag in the hidden compartment.
The family now has twenty-five taels of silver plus two taels of gold.
I've accumulated quite a bit.
Mu Jin put the remaining eight qian of silver into the money pouch on the bedsheet.
Household expenses have finally increased a bit.
Zhou Lin leaned closer to Mu Jin and whispered in her ear, "Now that we've saved enough money, Mu Jin, shouldn't we have a child?"
He desperately wanted a lively and well-behaved young man like a hibiscus.
The carpenters working at the Zhao residence were all married with children; his master, for example, was about to have a grandson.
Every time he heard them talk about how adorable their children were, calling him "Daddy" in their sweet, childish voices, he felt incredibly envious.
Mu Jin spread out the bedding, her face flushed, and she gave him a playful elbow in embarrassment and annoyance.
"What nonsense are you spouting in broad daylight?!"
However, he took Zhou Lin's words to heart. Once the family's dyeing business was mostly settled, it was time to have a child.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Lin insisted on getting to the bottom of things and wouldn't be satisfied until he got a definite answer.
"Ah Jin, is it okay? Please?"
Mu Jin blushed and nodded, "After I'm done with this busy period."
Zhou Lin was overjoyed, even more so than when he received the carpentry tools.
He picked up Mulan and spun her around. "Mulan, I'm so happy."
Mu Jin smiled slightly and patted his head.
"I know you're happy. Put me down quickly and rest for a while. There's a lot of work to do this afternoon."
Zhou Lin's eyes and brows were full of joy. "I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep. I'm going to go into the mountains to chop wood. You rest."
He put the hibiscus on the bed and went out happily.
Mu Jin smiled and gave his retreating figure a reproachful look, "You're so promising."
However, he had been quite busy earlier, and now he was really tired.
Not long after, he fell into a deep sleep.
By the afternoon, the house was getting busier as people sawed out the required dimensions for the roof beams.
After replacing the tiles, the next step is to lay them down.
We need to bring back another truckload of loess from Uncle Huang's place to build two large iron stoves.
The vegetable garden needs to be tidied up, and the pigsty needs to be cleaned.
They are truly busy as spinning tops, never having a moment to rest.
Every day, after delivering vegetables, eggs, and duck eggs to the town, Zhou Lin would rush home to get busy.
After working non-stop for ten days, by the end of July, Bai Qiqiu hadn't even had time to go fishing in the river.
The vegetables were worth one tael and one mace of silver. This time, the hibiscus was not put into the hidden compartment, but placed under the bedding for future use.
Thanks to the help of Mu Sheng and Mu Lingyun, the house was finally repaired.
There was a door in the wall connecting the two dyeing workshops, where Mu Jin had hired men to work.
Hibiscus swept the dusty floor with a broom and then wiped it with a cloth.
The bed, wardrobe, table, and stools in the old house were all wiped clean before being moved back to the bedroom.
In Gujia Village, the kiln space was limited, and only two dyeing vats could be made at a time. Only two of the ordered dyeing vats were made, and they were quickly sent over.
Two dyeing vats are enough now, so they were placed in the room where the stove wasn't built.
Zhou Lin built a cabinet specifically for storing dyes, following Bai Qiqiu's instructions, and its style was similar to that of a medicine shop for storing medicinal herbs.
However, each paint compartment is a little too big.
The dyes, alum, and lime were carefully moved into the dye house, and then placed in their respective categories.
Mu Jin cleaned the kitchen thoroughly, and the house was finally tidy.
"Brother-in-law, I want to write the names of the pigments on it so that I can pick up the dyes later. When you go to town to deliver vegetables tomorrow, please buy some paper and ink."
"My fourth brother has some; I'll go borrow two."
Zhou Lin thought to himself that he had spent a lot of money these days, so he should try to save as much as possible.
Mu Jin thought for a moment and said, "If we start a small dye shop at home, we'll need to keep accounts. We'll need writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones at home. Let's buy them. We can't keep borrowing. We also need to buy an account book. These things are very expensive."
Zhou Lin nodded; he hadn't thought about it enough.
"Have you finished cooking those two big pots you ordered from town the other day?"
The two stoves are almost dry enough to fit an iron pot on.
"You can take it the day after tomorrow."
Mu Jin nodded and smiled at Bai Qiqiu, "Qiqiu, we'll open for business the day after tomorrow. We're still missing some dyes or other things. Please sort it out and have your brother-in-law buy them in the next couple of days. Zhao Ran and I don't know anything about this, so just tell us if there's anything we can do."
"Okay, brother, I'll think about it carefully tonight."
As the sun set, after dinner, the group went back to their rooms to rest.
The replacement of the roof with tiles and new beams has truly put my mind at ease.
No more worrying about rain, wind, or heavy snow.
Mu Jin was quite impressed. She never expected that in just over half a year, her home would be completely transformed.
Mu Jin felt a surge of tenderness in her heart, thinking how fortunate she was to have this honest man sleeping soundly beside her.
On second thought, he realized that these roof tiles hadn't cost him a single penny.
They all used the silver given to them by Wen Zhaoran.
Mu Jin chuckled inwardly as he glanced at the money bag that was specifically used to hold those thirty taels of silver.
The silver inside was poured out and carefully counted; there were still a little over five taels and three mace left.
The five dye vats alone cost ten taels of silver.
During this period, he experienced firsthand what it meant to spend money like water.
Wen Zhaoran didn't take the remaining money in the purse, saying she would keep it and use it directly from the dye shop if needed.
After buying the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones tomorrow, I don't know how much will be left.
Not only that, when the bed was moved back to the bedroom, Wen Zhaoran learned that the bed Mu Jin and Zhou Lin slept in had a hidden compartment.
Although he didn't know exactly where it was, he only left ten taels of silver under his own bedding and put all his remaining gold, silver and valuables there.
It is said that he had nowhere good to hide, and he lived in constant fear that he would be stolen when he went out to cut pig feed.
I really trust Mu Jin and Zhou Lin very much.
Now, the hidden compartment on the bed has finally lived up to its name and found a purpose.
The next day, Bai Qiqiu thought about it for most of the night and asked Zhou Lin to buy more stones that could be dyed, such as ochre.
With brush, ink, paper, and inkstone all prepared, Mu Jin boiled a bowl of paste. Wen Zhaoran took up the brush, wrote the names of the dyes on the cut-out paper, brushed on some paste, and pasted them on.
The big iron pot was brought back, installed, and then it was opened.
With everything prepared, the Bai Family Dyehouse officially opened on the fifth day of the eighth lunar month.
When the villagers heard the news, quite a few people came to watch the spectacle.
No matter who it was, Mu Jin greeted them with a smile. She smiled gently and gracefully at Zhou Wushi and Mu Qing.
Perhaps it's true that familiarity breeds contempt, but after the family separated, Zhou Wushi's anger subsided, and the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law became closer.
"Big brother, it seems you've made quite a bit of money lately. You've even opened a dye shop, but you haven't spent a penny to support our parents."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "How could the two of us afford to open one? It's all thanks to Zhao Ran and Qi Qiu's money."
Mu Qing pursed her lips, her eyes sweeping over the newly renovated house, her heart filled with even more jealousy and resentment.
Zhou Wushi looked at her son, whom she had once despised, and saw that his life was getting better and better.
There was no joy in my heart, only the discomfort of being controlled by the hibiscus and not being able to get any benefit from it.
"Qi Qiu, Jin'er, Zhao Ran, congratulations. Please dye these three bolts of cloth two indigo and one light purple."
Mu Nianjun held Xiao Weiwei in his arms, followed by Mu Sheng carrying three bolts of fine cotton cloth.
Mu Jin smiled as she took Xiao Weiwei from Mu Nianjun's arms and called out, "Qi Qiu."
"They're here, they're here."
Mu Nianjun smiled and asked, "How much silver?"
They finalized the price yesterday.
The town's dye houses set their prices based on the type of fabric and the difficulty of dyeing it.
Linen, cotton linen, and coarse linen, simply dyed in a single color without the aid of mordants, mostly cost around one qian (a unit of weight) of silver.
Slightly better fabrics, such as the fine cotton and thin silk brought by Mu Nianjun, are often dyed with complex dyes, such as over-dyeing or mordant dyeing. The dyes are expensive, usually around two qian of silver.
I do know how to make white Qiqiu in mixed colors, but the price is high, so I'm afraid few farmers would know how to choose it.
Most of the villagers preferred the first option, and the group discussed it among themselves.
A bolt of cloth, if not dyed, is priced at one qian of silver; if dyed, it is priced at one qian and sixty wen.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Brother Nianjun, of the two colors you chose, light purple requires mordant dyeing and is more expensive, costing one qian and sixty wen. Indigo is a simple single-color dye, costing only one qian of silver."
Mu Jin's voice was quite loud; most of the villagers who came could hear it.
Mu Nianjun smiled and nodded, "It's a little cheaper than in town."
Mu Jin, holding Xiao Weiwei, smiled and said, "Today is our first day of business. Simple single-color dyeing is sixty coins, and mordant dyeing is one qian of silver. After three days, the price will return to normal."
The other women and their husbands from the village all complained that the price was too high.
“Jin’er, your dye shop isn’t much cheaper than the one in town. We’re all neighbors here, so give it a discount.”
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Auntie, Qi Qiu learned from the masters in town, and the cloth he dyes is no worse than that in town. Besides, we're all in the same village, so close by that it saves us the trouble of going to town."
That's what they say...
“Jin-ge’er, make it cheaper, I used to hold you when you were little.”
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Uncle, this is the lowest price I can offer. If it's any cheaper, there's no profit to be made."
"We all live in the same village, what need is there for profit?"
Mu Jin smiled without saying a word, while Bai Qiqiu spoke up: "These three days are the cheapest time. Everyone who wants to dye cloth should hurry up, or you'll miss this opportunity."
As the weather gradually cools down, it's the perfect time to prepare autumn clothes and winter garments.
The villagers who came over hesitated for a while, but since they had just bought some cloth at home, they hurriedly went back to get it.
Zhou Wushi, with her sharp eyes, spotted Zhou Lin, who was helping out at the dye shop.
After thinking for a moment, I walked over.
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