Chapter 14: Major Progress in Oilcloth Gloves
On the morning of the day she went to the tung oil workshop, Lin Xiushui wore a pair of Wang Yuelan's shoes.
The two people's feet were about the same width, and the soles of these shoes were hard.
"What strange thing are you doing now?"
Wang Yuelan was truly baffled, and too lazy to care. It wasn't until she reached the door that she remembered, "The oilcloth gloves you asked me to get last time, I brought back three pairs yesterday, and they're all soaked."
"Let me take a look first," Lin Xiushui reached out and took a pair of gloves. They were damp and had a slightly sour smell of alum. When she turned the gloves inside out, they were stained with a bluish-green color.
She looked closely and realized it wasn't leaking from the seam.
When they arrived at the oilclothing workshop, Lin Xiushui showed the gloves to Yu Liuniang and humbly asked her, "How exactly did these leak?"
Yu Liuniang found this stuff really strange. She glanced at the oilcloth, then touched it with her hand, and said directly, "This is tung oil on coarse linen, which is usually used to make oilcloth umbrellas. For something like this that gets soaked in water, you should at least use fine linen. And the tung oil on this isn't very good either; some are thick and some are thin."
Lin Xiushui then asked, "How can I prevent this oilcloth from leaking when it's soaked in water?"
"The first is to apply tung oil several times, five or six times is best, so that the stitches will not leak after a long time," Yu Liu Niang wiped the needle with a cloth. "The second is to soak the whole cloth in a bucket of tung oil for three to five days. The finished product will be so good that it will not leak even if you soak it in water every day."
"What, you're thinking of getting into the oilcloth business?"
Lin Xiushui was trying out new scissors and pondering these two methods, but neither of them were immediately applicable. It seemed she would have to buy tung oil first.
Upon hearing Yu Liu Niang's words, she truthfully replied, "No, I just wanted to find a way to make this work better."
"You can only make money if it's useful, right?"
Yu Liu Niang tried on the gloves and found them quite novel. She put the scissors on her hands to test them. They were cumbersome for cutting clothes and pulling cloth. They could be used in water, but they weren't durable. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
“I’ve got an idea,” Yu Liuniang suggested to Lin Xiushui, “You can sell it to tung oil producers.”
Lin Xiushui exclaimed, "That's right, how come I didn't think of that? I sell it to tung oil companies to make tung oil, Sixth Sister, you're so quick-witted."
Even if we give them the gloves for free, and then recycle the oilcloth gloves they used, they should be very waterproof.
As she pondered this matter, Xu San Niangzi came over and said, "If anyone wants to apply tung oil to make umbrellas, do it today. They're busy, so they'll pay you the same rate as a day's sewing."
Half of the thirty-odd people lowered their heads, not wanting to go over at all. Applying tung oil was more tiring than sewing clothes, and the tung oil kept dripping onto the back of their hands, making them sticky and uncomfortable.
“I’ll go,” Lin Xiushui said, standing up. Yu Liuniang followed her out, along with a few other people.
Xu San Niangzi led them to the tung oil workshop and left. Lin Xiushui went in and saw uncoated oilcloth umbrellas all over the ground, with a sour smell of tung oil. The ground was covered with oilcloth, but there were piles of tung oil here and there, making it particularly slippery.
Stepping on this will indeed turn your shoes into oil-soaked shoes.
She took a brush and a bucket of tung oil, and today she was wearing a dirt-resistant brown cloth dress. Then, amidst the crowd, she took out gloves, put them on, and began brushing tung oil onto the umbrellas as if no one else was around.
They could brush incredibly fast, without any fear of tung oil dripping onto their hands; it would all land on their gloves with a splat. They didn't need to worry about anything; they could brush with an oiled paper umbrella faster than anyone else.
Lin Xiushui's action was not surprising. She took a torch into the tung oil workshop, and it burst into flames. Many people who were applying the tung oil glanced at her, their eyes turning from sideways to direct gazes. They even stopped working and stared intently at her, whispering among themselves.
Someone asked, "Young lady, what are those on your hands?" "Those are called gloves," Yu Liu Niang said after stepping around in the area with lots of tung oil. "They're for protecting your hands from tung oil. Look at those fingers, they can grab and hold, so even if they get tung oil on them, it's fine. Just wait for them to dry."
Yu Liuniang didn't like using it, but Lin Xiushui brought her a pair, and she forced herself to wear them despite the discomfort, while bragging about it.
Lin Xiushui thought, those are just things she should brag about.
But instead of bragging, why not try it yourself? We've only just started working, and the supervisors haven't arrived yet. Everyone put one on and started using it.
"Hey, you know what, it would be even better if this stuff were a bit softer, then I wouldn't have to worry about the tung oil sticking to my hands."
"I think it's good that it's hard. If you drip tung oil on the back of your hand, you won't even know it unless you look at it."
"It's good, but it feels stuffy. It's not as good as turning it by hand."
As the message was passed around, opinions varied. Many women were quite satisfied, saying they had oilcloth and asked Lin Xiushui to make a few pairs, as they were fed up with applying tung oil to their hands every day.
Lin Xiushui readily agreed. This time, she didn't ask for money. She accepted the oilcloth, only saying that she would give her the old oilcloth gloves in ten days, with the condition that they had no holes and could not leak. She would then return a new pair.
This is clearly a bargain, and even those who don't want it say they want a pair.
Lin Xiushui collected a lot of oilcloth, which puzzled Yu Liuniang. "Why don't you charge money? You can earn more than thirty yuan for every penny you pay."
Lin Xiushui said, "We need to cast a long line to catch a big fish."
"What? You still want to go fishing at this hour?"
"I'll go paint the umbrella," Lin Xiushui said, turning around. She decided to paint her own umbrella instead.
In the afternoon, she also received an oilcloth from the person who painted the paper umbrellas, saying that she also wanted to have a pair made by her to see if this strange thing was easy to use.
On this day at the tung oil workshop, Lin Xiushui kept talking the whole time, except when he was pasting oil on umbrellas and rubbing tung oil on the soles of his shoes. He got along very well with the woman pasting the umbrellas.
Aside from the smell of tung oil, Lin Xiushui quite liked the two things that were made with tung oil and oilcloth, but after arriving here, her hair smelled strongly of tung oil.
She boils water to wash her hair every two days; she can do this simply because she has little hair.
Lin Xiushui's hair is soft and doesn't grow very fast, but it uses a lot of soap because she also has to deal with her clothes, washing them again and again.
Soapberries are cheap in Sangqing Town, only three coins a bunch.
Lin Xiushui thought the people in the town were very good at making money. The streets and alleys in front of the oilcloth workshop and the tung oil workshop were full of people selling soap beans and soap balls, as well as selling pre-pounded soapberry soup, which was stored in large wooden buckets. It cost one copper coin per bucket. People who finished work here could buy a bamboo tube, pour it into their clothes at home, and wash themselves.
They also sell hibiscus leaves. Compared to using soap to wash your hair, hibiscus leaves smell much better. Lin Xiushui mainly bought a bundle for five coins because the woman said that using it on her hair would make it black.
She only took a small bundle of oilcloth back with her, as she couldn't carry too much. On the way, she also bought a basket of bamboo shoots, which were dug up from the mountains and were cheap at the moment.
When they got home, Lin Xiushui asked Xiaohe to peel bamboo shoots while she went to do the laundry, including washing most of the scraps of cloth from yesterday. It was very inconvenient to dry clothes here; she could only dry them under the eaves of her house, or hang a bamboo tray by the window and spread all the scraps of cloth on it.
But to prevent the river wind from blowing the cloth away, Lin Xiushui still set up a bamboo pole in the yard and hung the cloth on it.
She wasn't setting up her stall today, so she mended Xiaohe's torn clothes, then complained, "Why are you so naughty? There's no good knee patch here."
Xiaohe pretended to be stupid and didn't say anything. She played a kowtowing game with Zhang Tiesheng next door, kowtowing to the fish, kowtowing to the old mulberry tree, and kowtowing to the Goddess of Silkworms.
"And your shoes are so dirty, like you've been working in the fields."
Xiaohe retorted this time, "I didn't go to the fields, I just played in the puddles."
Lin Xiushui didn't believe it at all. She washed the shoes, boiled water to cook bamboo shoots, and while waiting for the rice to simmer, she started sewing the soles, preparing to make cat-head shoes and tiger-head shoes.
Just then, someone called from outside the door. It turned out that the carpenter Zhang had finally delivered the wide planks she had ordered.
The wide wooden plank was shorter than the door, made of mixed wood, very light, and without tung oil, so it felt rough to the touch. She had to apply another layer of tung oil herself. The peach wood ruler, on the other hand, was lacquered and felt very smooth to the touch.
There were also needle clips and thread boards, made of bamboo and wood. Anyway, there weren't any major flaws, so the sewing tools were finally somewhat complete.
Lin Xiushui was sewing shoes when Wang Yuelan returned from outside. As soon as she came in, she said, "Why does it smell like bamboo shoots?"
"I saw bamboo shoots were cheap on the way, so I bought some."
Wang Yuelan took her hand out from behind the door and held the basket high. "Perfect timing! I saw that bamboo shoots were cheap, so I bought a big basket. We'll have plenty to eat."
Both of them can eat bamboo shoots, but Xiaohe looked miserable because she hates bamboo shoots the most; they make her mouth numb.
"You're so spoiled. Others want to eat but don't get any," Wang Yuelan ignored her.
He then asked Lin Xiushui, "Where did you get so much oilcloth?"
"They're from the tung oil workshop, and they want me to cut oilcloth gloves," Lin Xiushui replied, taking two long benches and preparing to put the wide wooden planks on them. She then brushed on the remaining tung oil base, saying it would be much better after drying tomorrow.
The next day, she got up and saw that the wooden plank was no longer rough and splintered. Together with Wang Yuelan, she moved it to the base of the mulberry tree and propped it up with long benches.
Now the small stall has become a large one, with a stack of fabric scraps, a peach wood ruler, a cloth bag, a pincushion, and scissors—it looks quite complete.
It's at least better than that small table before. Any clothes that are a little too big and need to be shortened have to be taken back to be altered.
“This table is nice and spacious,” said the water-fetching woman from the opposite bank, carrying a garment in her hand—a long jacket made of fine linen.
The water-fetching woman said, "I heard that you are young but have excellent skills, so I came to find you."
"First, alter this garment into a short jacket. After you've finished altering it, make a bag with the leftover fabric, and add a strap so you can carry it. Can you do that?"
Lin Xiushui stood up and held the dress up against the water-carrying woman to determine the length before saying, "It can be made. It will cost three coins to shorten it, or five coins to make a bag. However, the color is rather plain, and using it all over would be too bland. Why don't you pick out a scrap of fabric from me and sew it onto the front for just two coins?"
The fabric scraps she displayed were all pleasing to the eye and easy to match; light green, cyan, and pale red could all be paired with off-white colors.
The water-fetching woman was genuinely tempted by the color. For just two coins, she picked up each bill and examined it closely. In the end, she added four coins, wanting the light red color to be made on both sides, and gave her twelve coins.
This will take a little longer, so Lin Xiushui brought a chair for the water-carrying maid to sit on, and then took the jacket to cut clothes. She cut clothes quickly, and with the peach wood ruler, she cut even straighter, without the slightest hesitation when she cut.
She first confirmed the size of the bag with the water-fetching maid with the cut-off piece of cloth. There was still some left, so she said, "I'll sew two red strips along the edge. You can take it back and use it as a bag cloth to wrap your hair bun."
"I'm so sorry, I've taken up your time."
Lin Xiushui replied, "It won't cause any trouble. Just take it with you. Or you can make a handkerchief."
She took out the thread, wrapped it around the needle, and used the remaining short thread to pull it through the eye of the needle.
While Lin Xiushui was chatting with the water-fetching woman, the hem of her jacket was sewn up, and the bag that the woman had asked for was also made. She made a flap, which was light red, and she even cut out small flowers from the cloth and embroidered them on.
When the water-fetching maiden tried it on, she found that the length of the jacket was just right, the bag was a good match when worn around her waist, and the size was also pleasing to her. Plus, she got the bag of cloth for free, so she was extremely satisfied.
"I'll come back to you for alterations next time, instead of going to Hu San Niangzi's place on the other side," the water-fetching woman said. She looked at the clothes again and again, then happily left wearing the altered ones.
Lin Xiushui strung the copper coins together and carefully wiped away the lint from them with a cloth. Just then, Li Xunlan arrived, running up to her. "Young lady, is the jacket finished yet?"
"Alright, Xunlan, take a look," Lin Xiushui said, taking the padded jacket out of the cloth bag.
She sewed the quilted silk floss inside, so it was completely invisible from the outside. Only after wearing it would you realize that the silk floss would never fall apart again.
Li Xunlan couldn't tell at all. As long as the outer layer of the coat wasn't torn, he was quite satisfied. "Your craftsmanship is impeccable. My cat has escaped a disaster."
He readily paid, but hesitated and didn't leave. Lin Xiushui said, "Oh, I didn't pay, did I?"
"Oh, that's not it, but you really didn't give me any money."
Lin Xiushui knew that she had paid two coins and received a household tax receipt.
"Ah, that feels so good," Li Xunlan sighed. He felt a little empty inside if he didn't take the money; only after taking the money could they get down to business.
Li Xunlan said, "Didn't you ask me last time if there was anywhere near the South Goods Market where I could set up a stall? There really is a place."
"It's just not during the day, but from around 5 PM to night."
"That location is not bad, and the tax is five coins for two hours."
A note from the author:
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