Chapter 22 Making a Feather Sweater
Mending oilcloth umbrellas, sewing holes in clothes, and even patching mats and cuju balls all fall within the scope of sewing.
But plucking feathers off a rooster is unheard of.
Lin Xiushui was utterly baffled. She didn't want to pay any attention to it. Business was unusually good today, and she still had a lot of work to finish.
After she finished speaking, regardless of the people standing there, she picked up scissors and removed the stitching at the eyelets of the oilcloth umbrella ribs. She cut it in half first, then threaded the stitching through and sewed it up, making the umbrella open and close.
The man and the chicken watched her from the side. As the umbrella spun, the man and the chicken spun along with it, without saying a word, until Lin Xiushui finished speaking.
“What am I supposed to do to fix it? Am I supposed to stick a needle into its flesh and patch up its fur one by one?” Lin Xiushui emerged from under the umbrella, spreading her hands helplessly. “Its fur has all fallen out. If you don’t give it some good food to help it recover, maybe its fur will grow back.”
After she finished speaking, she realized that there seemed to be something wrong with what she said. After all, the world is a big place and there are all kinds of strange things. Not to mention raising chickens and cats as pets, there are countless people who raise crickets and other insects.
This man specialized in raising pigeons, quails, fighting cocks, and falconry; this profession was known as "xi xian" (习闲), and he was called Li Xixian (李习闲).
Li Xixian sighed and pointed to the chicken he was holding, saying, "Even if you eat it, it won't grow back. This is a fighting rooster. Young lady, have you ever seen cockfighting? Is a fighting rooster without feathers still a fighting rooster?"
Lin Xiushui had indeed seen it before. In Nanwazi, there were cockfighting games for amusement. The fighting cocks had shiny black feathers, thick red necks, and particularly sharp beaks. The two cocks would fight, biting and pecking at each other. The more intense the fighting, the louder the cheers from the crowd, until the other cock was exhausted and stopped.
Cockfighting is very popular in Sangqing Town. In addition to cockfighting, there is also cricket fighting, bird fighting, and even kite fighting. Some people make a living from this.
She didn't really like this kind of fighting and infighting, so she only glanced at it a few times before leaving.
"Then you should take good care of it. If it loses its feathers, it can't be a fighting rooster, so it'll be a domestic chicken," Lin Xiushui said, busy with her own work. She really didn't have time to argue with this person.
Li Xixian had heard from others along the way that Lin Xiushui was very skilled at mending, so he came all this way. Still not giving up, he asked, "How about making it a sweater? The price is negotiable."
Hearing this, Lin Xiushui finally stopped what she was doing and looked at the chicken in his hand. The chicken had a thick red neck, no feathers, and only bright red meat, supported by the feathers on its two wings. However, it had colorful tail feathers, making it look uglier and uglier.
She just couldn't bring herself to do it.
Li Xixian added, "I'm familiar with the chicken and duck trade. If you can do it, young lady, the price is negotiable. I'll also throw in some chickens, ducks, and eggs."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Lin Xiushui smiled and said, "Originally, it was to make clothes for chickens. I thought I could give it a try."
"If it really doesn't work out, will you still give me the chicken and duck eggs?"
Li Xixian had asked every tailor and livestock keeper, and everyone said he was crazy. Lin Xiushui, on the other hand, was kind and didn't think he was stupid. He had stayed because he believed there was hope.
He readily agreed, saying, "It's okay if it doesn't work out; I'll give you chicken and duck eggs as a thank you gift."
Lin Xiushui found it difficult to take that step in her heart. She kept telling herself, "Make money, everything is for making money."
Making clothes for people is making money, and making clothes for chickens is also making money.
She kept thinking that making sweaters would be more profitable, and she'd also get chicken and duck eggs.
Making money is something you can do without feeling ashamed.
She prepared a special measuring tape for the chicken, and had Li Xixian press the chicken to the ground. She used the measuring tape to measure from the chicken's neck to its rear end, then its breast, and finally the size of its entire body, making sure it wasn't too tight.
The pungent smell of chicken filled her nostrils, and a wave of sadness washed over her. She had never properly made clothes for a person, yet she was making clothes for a chicken.
After taking the measurements, Lin Xiushui pondered the style of the garment. Neither a beizi nor a ru would work. The sleeves had to be wide, feathers had to be added to the back, and the opening had to be below the neck. It could only be a short-sleeved open-front garment, similar in style to a padded jacket.
She rubbed her temples. "This sweater costs one hundred coins. The deposit is fifty coins, which I'll pay now. I still have some orders to make. I'll think about it some more. You can come over later."
Li Xixian hurriedly paid, afraid that if she was too late, she would turn around and say that she was not doing it anymore.
Lin Xiushui first washed her hands, mended three pieces of clothing, an umbrella, and some odds and ends, then stood up and walked around before pondering the clothes for the chicken.
The clothes aren't the problem; the problem is how to sew the feathers on.
Lin Xiushui only let go of her hand after the needle pricked her hand again. The base of the tail feather was too hard and too small to be inserted.
She switched to paste, which sticks paper and cloth well, but it doesn't stick the feather at all; it falls off as soon as you shake it.
Unable to sew or glue it properly, Lin Xiushui didn't give up. She thought about it while cooking and while sewing. Finally, she thought of Zhang the carpenter. Carpenters had a kind of fish glue that they heard was very strong.
Carpenter Zhang wasn't home, but Zhang Musheng was. Upon hearing this, he said, "This fish glue really sticks well. It's not common in the woodworking business, but it's common in the painting workshop next door. They mix lead powder and gamboge for painting on pillars, and they have to boil fish glue every day."
"We don't have any here, but I'm going to the timber shop anyway, so I'll get you some on the way."
Lin Xiushui thanked him, and Zhang Musheng pointed to himself, looking expectant, "Do you think I'm taller now?"
"I feel like I've grown taller. When I sleep at night, my legs throb like a fish. Your method really works. I'm sure I'll grow taller."
Lin Xiushui doesn't deny it, saying, "Growing taller is only a matter of time."
Later, Zhang Musheng went to the painting studio to get the fish glue in a wooden jar. He was sweating profusely as he ran. "It's free. I got it from someone. You can take it and use it."
"You can't soak this in boiling water, or it will fall apart. The fish glue is afraid of heat, and the glutinous rice paste is afraid of moisture."
Lin Xiushui remembered it, and she looked at Zhang Musheng and said, "How about I make you another pair of insoles?"
“Please spare me,” Zhang Musheng shook his head left and right. “I dare not think about it again. I even said I wanted to wear the kind of shoes with high thresholds, the kind of insoles you made. Anyone who wears them knows how good they are. My dad chased me and beat me. He ran one step and I ran two steps.”
"I'll jump up the wall a bit more, maybe I can actually go higher. You can take it and use it, don't be so polite. If you run out, I'll get you another one. I have to go now."
Zhang Musheng threw down the fish glue and ran away, but Lin Xiushui couldn't catch up with him, so she had to give up and remember the favor.
She started attaching feathers in the afternoon, and asked Xiaohe to move a small stool to sit next to her and help her sell sachets. She told Xiaohe that she would come back to pick up the other jobs she had taken on the next day or the day after.
Then, when I was gluing them, I realized I couldn't get the feathers right. I tried arranging them one by one, but nothing looked right.
Lin Xiushui got up, rolled up her sleeves, walked into the yard, picked up her own chicken, and examined it closely by prying off its feathers, making the hen cluck loudly.
"Don't shout, this is the time to use you," Lin Xiushui muttered. "So this is how fur grows, with big fur and little fur to cover it up."
Once she figured out the direction of the feathers, Lin Xiushui was able to stick them on easily, attaching each feather one by one along the grain. The fish glue was sticky and easy to use; the more she glued, the more firmly it was attached and impossible to peel off.
After the last feather was glued on, a very fresh feather garment appeared, with the texture of the feathers and the smooth lining.
A woman passing by remarked, "Hey! Where did you pluck those chicken feathers? It's a shame you're not working in the poultry trade with that skill. The skin is really good."
Lin Xiushui remained silent. She would never skin the chicken; she would give it new skin instead.
She then caught one of her own chickens. There was one bad thing about the chickens she raised: they were as thin as she was.
But there's one good thing about today: I've lost weight just enough to fit into this sweater.
A chicken wearing a black feather coat, with particularly yellow wings, and looking at people with its two little beady eyes, clucked loudly.
She spent the whole day messing with her own chickens.
Xiaohe burst into laughter, almost knocking over the bamboo pole. Wiping away her tears of laughter, she said, "How strange! It doesn't look like a chicken, it looks like some kind of weird thing."
"You'll see the real chicken monster in a little while."
Xiaohe didn't believe it at first, but when she saw the fighting rooster later, she was so frightened that she hid behind Lin Xiushui and whispered, "The red candle has a chicken's head."
A person and a chicken looked at her. Xiaohe closed her eyes and said again, "It's the chicken's head that's on the red candle."
Lin Xiushui coughed, "Kids like to talk nonsense. Quickly put a mask on your, uh, stingy guy and see."
Li Xixian was astonished that the garment could actually be made. He stammered a bit, then put the sweater on his hands to examine it. Finally, he grinned, hugged the chicken to his arms, and helped it put the sweater on by adjusting the sleeves. He then fastened the front opening and pulled the feathered fabric at the back.
Although it looks particularly strange up close, at least the back of the rooster isn't bald anymore. The original feathers lie flat, just like they were growing on its body, giving it a touch of the former glory of the miserly rooster that once dominated all the roosters in Sangqing.
The more Li Xixian looked at it, the more he wanted to cry. Overwhelmed with sorrow, he said, "These are chickens that I hatched myself."
Lin Xiushui really wanted to ask him how he personally hatched the chickens.
“From the time it was so small, I fed it with a bite of rice, a bite of worms, and it grew up,” Li Xixian said, sobbing as she spoke of the tragedy. “It was also very capable; it could peck at chickens and dogs from a young age, and it was a good chicken among chickens.”
"Other people's chickens are aggressive, so they sprinkle mustard on them, smear raccoon oil on their foreheads, and put knives on their claws. My iron rooster is naturally raised and has been a good chicken since it was a chick. We have a saying when choosing chickens: small head, big body, slender legs, and fine claws. Look at it, how well-proportioned it is."
Lin Xiushui couldn't tell; she had never seen such an ugly chicken before.
Li Xixian sighed again, "In the past, it could beat any of the hundred or so chickens without any opponent. That fighting rooster was incredibly skilled. Whenever I brought it over, the only one who would win was my stingy rooster."
“It’s old now, and its feathers have fallen out. According to the rules of our fighting cocks, it can no longer be kept.”
“But I thought, it used to help me earn money, and now that it’s old, I have to take care of it. I know that making this sweater is useless. Everyone who has seen it says that it only has a few days left to live, just these two days.”
"It always has to walk with its own feathers on, otherwise it will fall to the ground naked and the other chickens will laugh at it."
Li Xi smiled and wiped away his tears. He had raised this chicken for three years, eating and sleeping with it for three years. He had even built a chicken coop next to his bed. Now, thinking about it, he really couldn't bear to part with it.
He paid 100 coins and gave a basket of chicken and duck eggs, along with two chicks as a thank you gift, saying, "These chickens will lay exceptionally good eggs when they grow up."
"Young lady, thank you so much."
Lin Xiushui called out to him, "Wait a minute, I can't take so many of your things for nothing. Wait for me here."
She rushed back. She had a mirror that her mother had left her. She had polished it and wiped it with a cloth every day, so it reflected her image quite clearly.
She ran upstairs in a huff, grabbed a mirror, came down, and ran back out, panting heavily and almost passing out.
"You, you show this to the chicken."
Lin Xiushui had too much faith in her craftsmanship; the sweater she made was almost indistinguishable from a chicken's natural feathers. She had to call the chicken to see it.
This action was actually quite laughable, making one wonder if Lin Xiushui had truly gone mad. However, she felt that since a matter had been entrusted to her and she had received the money, she had to do it well.
Li Xixian took the mirror and did as instructed, placing the mirror in front of the iron rooster and turning the rooster's head with one hand so it could see.
This is probably the first time in the chicken's life that it has looked in a mirror and seen itself for the first time.
The chicken, which had been just sitting there blankly, suddenly started pecking at the mirror. Lin Xiushui reacted quickly, and Li Xixian hurriedly covered its mouth, surprised. "It hasn't wanted to peck at the mirror for a long time."
"Who knows, it might actually work."
Li Xixian happily took the chicken away, but two days later he came to report the good news, saying that looking in the mirror really worked. His iron rooster was now very proud and would peck at the chicken in the mirror every day.
It probably won't die; it can stay with him for several more years.
They even said they would make a noodle shop for Lin Xiushui, or a plaque that would say "Saving a Chicken's Life".
Lin Xiushui fled quickly; she didn't want to treat the chickens anymore—it was too terrifying.
But as she watched the man and the chicken leave, Lin Xiushui said, "I almost pecked my precious chicken."
Xiaohe cheered, "I want to sleep with the chicks too!"
Lin Xiushui smiled, "Of course, if your mother doesn't beat you."
“My mother will say she won’t kill you,” Xiaohe pinched her nose and imitated her mother’s voice, “Xiaohe, come here and see if I will hit you.”
Lin Xiushui laughed heartily.
It was still early, so Lin Xiushui started packing up her stall. There was nothing she could do; she had become famous yesterday, and she didn't know who had spread the rumors about her, but each one was more outrageous than the last.
Today, besides accepting some repairs she could, she also had about twenty people causing trouble for no reason. Some asked her to mend wine leaks, but these things aren't cloth, so asking her wouldn't help.
If the footstool is broken, instead of going to the carpenter, she goes to the seamstress. If the rope on the divination pole falls off, she can just tie it back up, but she insists on coming to her to sew it all the way up. If the whip for whipping cattle breaks, she wants her to connect a piece in the middle, but she simply burns both ends with a candle until the cloth melts and the two pieces are joined together.
There were also old boots, tattered trousers, worn-out covers, wine baskets, basins, and large mats.
She's a serious repairwoman; she doesn't take on just any job.
Of course, if the money is high, she'll take any job; she went against her conscience for money.
Lin Xiushui went back to count the money. She poured the money bag onto the table, and a pile of copper coins clattered as she counted them one by one while humming a tune.
Count it once, and if you don't believe me, count it again.
She earned 273 coins in one day!
She sat in the chair, wobbling so much she almost broke it. She quickly got up, saying, "That was close!"
Lin Xiushui smiled again. She divided the money into two parts. She saved the larger portion to buy fabric, thread, and tools, and used the rest to buy rice, as the rice jar was almost empty.
She was going to take Xiaohe out, and she styled Xiaohe's hair into a three-bun style, put on a newly made red hairband, adorned it with two small lotus flowers, and put on a cat-shaped sachet.
Xiaohe was very vain. She skipped and hopped towards the street. In the past, every time there was a holiday, her mother was busy, so she could only watch other children go out. She would hide behind the door and watch. She would not answer anyone who knocked on the door and pretend that she was not at home.
Now that she's out having fun, Xiaohe tells every friend she meets, "My older sister is taking me to see the excitement, and I'm going to the grocery store too."
When asked why she had stopped working, Lin Xiushui smiled and said, "I heard that Nanwazi is quite lively, so we're going to take a look."
The road was lined with flower vendors, and the young men and women passing by all wore flowers in their hair. Even the eaves and doorways along the street were covered with silk flowers or fresh flowers. Children would hang red ribbons on the mulberry and willow trees by the bridge, a custom known as "appreciating the red."
Someone was handing out red ribbons. Lin Xiushui went up and asked for one. She picked up Xiaohe, and Xiaohe held up her hand and hung the ribbon on the mulberry tree branch.
"Xiaohe, you're so heavy," Lin Xiushui said, her arms trembling as she carried her.
Xiaohe quickly jumped down, grinning as she reached out, "Then I'll hug you, sister."
"No, it's not that I'm afraid you can't carry me, it's that I'm afraid I'll fall."
Lin Xiushui saw fruit vendors by the roadside again. These fruits were not fresh, but candied fruits, including various kinds of candy, sweet dew cakes, roasted papaya, candied plums, and so on. She bought a bag of candied dates for Xiaohe.
When they arrived at Nanwazi, the Luqi people were playing with puppets suspended by silk threads, called suspended silk puppets. Lin Xiushui couldn't understand what they were performing, but Xiaohe watched with great interest.
They squeezed into the crowd and watched several shows. Even though they didn't understand them, they still cheered and applauded. Lin Xiushui then took Xiaohe for a stroll, but Xiaohe only looked around and didn't buy anything.
She said no to everything, even when she was drooling with envy. She said her stomach was small, but her eyes were big, so she would let her eyes eat first.
The two then strolled to the pumila market. Xiao Chun'e had previously told Lin Xiushui to make sachets to sell to these vendors, and she remembered that, so she brought some sachets with her.
After all, she can't sell too many at her stall, and if anyone wants to buy, it's only a few here and there. She'd rather have a more stable business selling sachets, because if she were to rely on herself, she could only sell them individually.
But there were so many stalls selling things, and people were crowding around them, one after another. Lin Xiushui heard a burst of cheers and jumping for joy, and the jubilant arms almost hit her in the face.
She quickly pulled Xiaohe away. Most of the bustling stalls selling sachets didn't need her sachets. Instead, the stalls with few customers sold things that had nothing to do with sachets.
Finally, they found a pawn shop in the corner. The person running the stall was a young woman holding a child in her arms, who looked to be about two or three years old.
The woman was very friendly. As soon as she saw them, she smiled and said, "My little girl is sleeping. Go ahead and grab whatever you want."
Lin Xiushui glanced at the items on the stall: purses, headscarves, forehead bands, and the like. The styles and colors weren't particularly outstanding, but the stitching was alright.
She guessed that the woman must have made it herself, not from the market, and that it was somewhat outdated.
Lin Xiushui was also direct, without beating around the bush. She took out her sachet from her cloth bag and asked, "Wife, take a look, can I put these styles of sachets on your stall for sale?"
Madam Yao was taken aback by her actions and accepted the item with a gentle smile. As a self-taught tailor, she could naturally tell whether something was good or bad.
When she first held the sachet in her hand, she was attracted by its cat-head shape, which was very novel. She held it in her hand and looked at it over and over, thinking that the little one would definitely like it.
Then she looked at the embroidered patterns of apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, and plum blossoms. She touched the raised patterns and pressed them; they were soft. The patterns were delicate, and the colors were pleasing to the eye—green, light red, and light yellow. She liked them very much.
Not to mention the flower pouch. She had seen other shapes before, each costing over a hundred coins, but they were beautiful and many people bought them.
She was indeed tempted. She knew her stall wasn't doing well, but ordinary sachets and pouches on the market often cost thirty or fifty coins, so she couldn't afford to buy several at once.
Madam Yao bit her lip and hesitated before asking, "How much silver do you want for this one, young lady?"
Lin Xiushui held Xiaohe's hand tightly while negotiating business with Madam Yao: "I'll sell them individually for a bit more, but if you'd like to try displaying them, I can lower the price. The cat-head sachet is at least five coins, the flower sachet is seventeen coins, and the embroidered one is thirteen coins. What do you think?"
"Really selling it for this price?" Madam Yao almost forgot about the child in her arms and tried to stand up.
Lin Xiushui nodded firmly at her, "If Madam Yao is not at ease, you can sign a contract, and this will be the price for everything you sell from now on. Madam, you don't know me, I live in the second house from the first one next to Sangshukou. I usually set up my stall at dawn, and you can see me when you get to Sangshukou."
“That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to make the embroidery so exquisite, that’s why I’m selling it at this price. You’re losing out by selling it to me,” Yao Niangzi said sincerely. She smiled and said, “Look at how many people are outside, but my stall doesn’t have much business. Even if you sell it to me, you can only make one sale. It can’t last for years.”
Lin Xiushui said, "What if your business takes off, my wife? Why not give it a try first? I don't necessarily expect you to do repeat business with me."
Madam Yao really liked them, but she didn't have much money and felt that business was not good, so she only bought five cat-shaped sachets, two flower sachets, and two embroidered sachets, for a total of eighty-five coins, from which Lin Xiushui made a small profit.
After Lin Xiushui left, Madam Yao examined the sachets from all angles and concluded that she couldn't have misjudged such fine sachets.
She wanted to take a gamble and hung the sachet she bought from Lin Xiushui under the colorful canopy, in a place where anyone could see it at a glance. She tied it with a rope so that the sachet would sway.
People are always more sensitive to things that sway, especially this flower sachet, which is swaying so much that the flowers at the opening look like real flowers moving. Today is also the Flower Festival, so everyone is paying extra attention to things related to flowers.
Two young ladies immediately came over, and when they got closer, they exclaimed in surprise, "This is actually an open bag! When I tapped it from a distance, I thought it was a big flower. The cat's head is also unique. Who came up with this? It's really funny. I'm going to try my luck."
Overjoyed, Madam Yao quickly brought over a ceramic basin, thinking that if business was good, she would go to Mulberry Tree Mouth to tell Madam Lin the next morning.
As for Lin Xiaoniangzi, whom she was thinking about, she had already finished shopping and returned home. With the money she had earned from Lin Xiaoniangzi, she bought six liters of rice. At present, one liter of rice costs twenty coins. Even if the three of them are frugal, they still need to eat one liter of rice every two days.
When I got home, Wang Yuelan had already returned. She had been working all day on the Flower Festival. The dye shop had asked her to move the dye racks, and not only were her clothes covered in blue dye, but her hair and face were also stained with it, which she couldn't wash off.
She scrubbed the bowl vigorously, then turned around and asked, "Ah Qiao, did you buy these eggs on the table? Why did you buy so many? You even bought two chicks?"
Lin Xiushui held the two corners of the rice bag and poured the rice into the rice jar. She said with a smug look, "I didn't buy that. It was a gift from someone who cured their chicken."
"Aunt, do you think I could be a female doctor now if I had studied medicine back then?"
Wang Yuelan glanced at her and said, "Look at your own face and see how big it really is."
“Not very big,” Lin Xiushui said. “It would be better if it were a little bigger.”
She teased Wang Yuelan on purpose, then pulled out two more flowers from behind her back—a peach blossom and a daphne. "Here, I bought these for you, Aunt. Put them on after you wash your hair. I'm cooking today; I earned so much money! I bought rice and a pound of meat."
Xiaohe joined in, grinning, and said, "I have flowers too!"
Wang Yuelan squatted down and leaned her head closer, saying, "Never mind if you've washed your hair or not, just put it on for me. I want to enjoy the blessing from my Ah Qiao too, and do it in the spirit of the occasion today."
Lin Xiushui tied her hair up and smiled slightly. She thought, "It's so good to have some money in my hands."
When Lin Xiushui fell asleep at night, she had another dream; she hadn't dreamed in a long time.
But the dream wasn't about the tailor; it was about herself. She dreamt that she went out every day to borrow money to buy and prepare medicine for her mother. On days when she couldn't borrow money, she would catch frogs and sparrows and help others raise the geese she feared most.
However, she was more afraid of being broke than of geese; she had suffered too much from being broke.
Of course, when the goose opened its big mouth and pounced on her in her dream, Lin Xiushui woke up in fright. She sat up, touched her pounding heart, and muttered to herself, "Gooses are still the scariest."
She wanted to eat goose.
Before Lin Xiushui could recover, Wang Yuelan called from outside, "Hey, Aqiao, go downstairs and see. Someone brought a big item to you for repair, and left it at our door."
"Okay," Lin Xiushui got up and dressed. She rubbed her messy hair, regretting that she hadn't washed it yesterday. Now she couldn't even comb it straight with a fine-toothed comb, and it was all tangled.
Ever since many people got to know her, Lin Xiushui can't even sleep in a little longer in the morning; everyone rushes to find her before she goes to work.
When asked why she didn't go to other stalls to get her supplies, someone told her that the prices were about the same, but the skills were far inferior, so she would rather take a longer route to come here.
Lin Xiushui was grateful for everyone's kindness, but she was too tired to move. She took a bite of a pancake and went to open the door. It wasn't even dawn yet.
When she opened the door, she thought there was another door.
She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was still half asleep, when she heard a sound coming from behind the door. She wondered if she was still dreaming, and that the door could talk.
Then someone behind the door said, "Young lady, I'm up ahead. I've taken the door off the house and am looking for you to fix it."
Lin Xiushui truly admires your strength.
She had someone carry the door inside and place it on two long benches so she could see if she could fix it.
The door was lacquered black, with straight latticework on top, and the latticework was lined with silk cloth, which was all torn into strips.
Lin Xiushui shook her head. "I can't mend it. The silk is torn to shreds like this. There's no other way but to replace it all."
The young man said, "I didn't come here to mend the silk. I have no idea what was used to coat this silk back then. I can't tear it off, and there's no way to replace the silk."
Lin Xiushui lifted her skirt, squatted down, and sniffed it. She could no longer smell anything. She touched the marks on the silk fabric, which had hardened into a lump, much like the fish glue she had used yesterday.
She then asked, "Can this wood be fixed by pouring boiling water on it?"
"Why not? This has been coated with Guangqi lacquer, so just pour it on."
Lin Xiushui got up and went inside. She took a kettle from the stove and placed a large wooden basin underneath it. She started pouring the soup along the very edge to see if it would work.
After watering it for a while and waiting for the billowing white steam to dissipate, she tried to tear it with her hands. It was easy to tear without bringing down the black paint.
She laughed and said, "It's glued with fish glue. It's heat-sensitive, so you can peel it off by pouring boiling water on it. If you want to peel it off here, you'll have to pay three coins. You can take it home for free."
The young man said happily, "My wife doesn't believe me, but I told you that coming here would definitely not go wrong. I'll tear it here, I trust your skills. We're clumsy, we'll tear the door to shreds in a bit."
Lin Xiushui smiled. Her hands were steady and precise. After rinsing the back, she turned to tear off the front, tearing it clean. Even if there were some glue marks, she would soak a cloth in hot water, cover it, and wipe it until it was shiny.
The young man was impressed by her thoughtfulness and said that three coins were not worth it. Lin Xiushui helped him put the door on the wheelbarrow frame and made sure it was stable before saying, "Three coins is also hard-earned money. I can't let you put in the effort and come all this way only to see me do a shoddy job."
"If you need anything next time, just come find me. Walk slowly, there are pebbles on the road."
Lin Xiushui escorted him to the intersection and saw two or three women walking together, waving at her. She then took a few more steps forward.
"Ah Qiao, you're already open for business so early, that's amazing," a woman said with a smile, then tugged at her collar and showed it to Lin Xiushui. "Last time you said to grind coarse salt into fine salt to remove scorch marks, I was a little skeptical at first, but I tried it as you said, and after the sun bleached it through, it really disappeared."
"I've come to return the favor. Here, this is silk I wound myself. I boiled it specially. You can take it and use it."
"And mine too. I wanted you to fix it, but you insisted that my hairpin was a minor flaw. You said you would just pick it out for me and fix it around the edge, and you wouldn't charge me. I'll even return it to you with silk thread."
Lin Xiushui genuinely felt these were just small favors and not worth returning the favor, but she couldn't resist being offered them, so she could only say, "Next time there's a problem with the clothes, come to me, I won't charge you."
The three women didn't leave after they finished speaking. They nudged each other, and one of them said, "Ah Qiao, why don't you let us sit here and watch? We promise we won't bother you."
"It was really interesting watching you mend lanterns that time. With your hands moving up and down, the lantern was mended. We watched with bated breath, and when it was finally finished, I felt so happy. I kept thinking about your skill even before I went to sleep."
Lin Xiushui couldn't help but chuckle. "If you ladies want to come and see, bring your own stools. But I don't have mending work to do every day."
She still didn't understand these women. What they wanted to see was her unique skill; they would appreciate any kind of repair she made.
So from that morning onward, Lin Xiushui's sewing began to attract an audience, who would clap and cheer every time she finished.
Lin Xiushui felt no pressure or discomfort at all while being watched as she sewed; she was afraid that others wouldn't see the skill she had practiced day and night.
If she doesn't show her skills to others, it's like "wearing fine clothes in the dark," which she can't do. She wants fine clothes and wants to walk around in them open.
Of course, those who come to watch Lin Xiushui are never disappointed. Even if the repairs are really ordinary, the way Lin Xiushui talks about them and the way she touches them is more comfortable than watching the Luqi people of Nanwazi spew gunpowder.
It's like mending this screen cabinet.
She had just gotten up early to remove the glue from the door, and now, so early in the morning, someone had gone to great lengths to bring over their own screen cabinet so she could get it repaired.
Lin Xiushui shook the cabinet door. It was very old, and the joints at the bottom were not very sturdy. However, the gauze was very clean, with about ten obvious cracks and the gauze was frayed.
Lin'an has had gauze since the Tang Dynasty. By now, there are even more types of gauze. Lin Xiushui had touched them in the clothing shop and found various kinds, such as plain gauze and sky-clear gauze. The cabinet in this shop uses plain gauze.
The woman watching from behind said, "I know, is it for mending?"
Lin Xiushui smiled, went back to find the needle, and replied, "Pretty much, I call this adding gauze."
The old man who came to repair the gauze cabinet didn't believe his son's words at first, but when he heard Lin Xiushui's confident tone and saw her posture, he couldn't help but feel that it was interesting, so he went over to take a look.
Lin Xiushui first removed the cabinet door, wiped the edges with a cloth, and laid it flat on her wide table. Normally, she would take the original thread from underneath, but this time, after taking the thread, she needed to thread it through the very small holes of the gauze to fill in the seven or eight places where the thread had been pulled out.
First, it tests your eyesight; if you thread the needle in the wrong row, you'll have to pull out most of it. Second, it requires a steady hand; if your hand is unsteady, the thick needle will deviate and leave a large hole in the gauze, which is very troublesome.
Lin Xiushui shook her hand, wiped the sweat from her palm, placed her left hand under the gauze, and threaded the needle with her right hand, letting the needle pass through the first hole very slowly.
The needle tip is large, while the hole is only slightly larger than the needle tip, making it very easy to break.
Fortunately, it went smoothly. She breathed a sigh of relief and then began to pick up and drop the thread in the gauze to find the gaps between the holes. It was so fast that people couldn't help but blink, but Lin Xiushui finished the whole thing in one go.
She scraped the thread with a needle, and a thin line that had been pulled out disappeared in the blink of an eye, just like it had never been damaged.
The old man clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Great!"
"This skill is absolutely amazing!"
Lin Xiushui blinked, ignoring everyone's praise, and began adding the second layer of gauze. With the feel and experience of adding the first layer, she moved faster when adding the second.
Later, I completed the third, fifth, and eighth rules in one go. After completing them, I asked the old man to look at them against the light to see if there were any gaps in the lines.
The old man clicked his tongue in amazement and said honestly, "I really can't find where the original lines were."
This made the others laugh.
Lin Xiushui charged three coins for a short piece of yarn and five coins for a long piece, and collected twenty-four coins in total.
Later, Lin Xiushui packed up her stall, and the other ladies went home satisfied. Actually, it wasn't time for her to go to work at the clothing shop yet, but she saw Yao Niangzi standing not far away.
Sewing is hard work and doesn't pay much. Anyone could watch her and count money for her. But making sachets is much more lucrative. Lin Xiushui doesn't tell anyone; she wants to make a fortune quietly.
"Young lady," Madam Yao ran up to her, "I hung up your sachet yesterday, and quite a few people came to buy it. They all benefited from your business and made more money than I usually do. I feel really bad about it and was thinking of sharing the profits."
"No," Lin Xiushui quickly interrupted, "Once something is sold, it's sold. How much money my wife makes is none of my business."
"Good business is a good thing. I want to sell more sachets so I don't have to worry about it myself."
Honest people like Yao Niangzi are never at ease doing business if they take advantage of others, even if she is indeed short of money.
"Then, how about..."
Lin Xiushui smiled and said, "Come in and sit down. I don't have many sachets, after all, I only have two hands. But I do have some other things, like cat-head shoes and tiger-head shoes. If you like them, you can set them up for sale."
Speaking of the cat-head shoes she sold last time, she only sold a few pairs, and no one came to buy them after that. But all the children in the alley were wearing cat-head shoes. It's too easy to learn the pattern.
So Lin Xiushui still had several pairs of shoes left over. Just then, Yao Niangzi took a liking to them, so she sold them to her first for a total of sixty-five coins.
As for the sachets, Lin Xiushui didn't finish making them. She had cut out the designs but didn't have time to sew them together. Since Madam Yao wanted a lot, she could only make a few for her.
After a day off, it's time to go to the garment shop to iron the fabric again. Lin Xiushui sometimes feels lazy and doesn't want to go to work. She really admires her aunt for being able to go to work on time 350 days a year.
She arrives at the exact time; the earlier she arrives, the earlier she irons, and she doesn't get paid a penny more.
As she entered the clothing shop, Madam Gu called out to her, "Ah Qiao, there are about ten pleated skirts that need to be ironed today."
Lin Xiushui turned her head blankly and pointed to herself with her index finger. "Me?"
Madam Gu asked in confusion, "If it wasn't you ironing it, then who was? Is there a second person here?"
The sky collapsed, the mountains crumbled, and the water dried up. Lin Xiushui really wanted to find someone to help her hold up the sky.
“My lady,” Lin Xiushui tried to defend herself, “Is it really just me ironing it? There are so many folds. I have to sort out the folds first, then iron out the heavy creases, iron flat and iron inside out. It’s really quite troublesome. Most of the time is spent ironing this skirt.”
And she really wanted to tailor and sew clothes, not just repeat the same thing over and over again every day.
Madam Gu understood her unspoken meaning: hiring someone would cost extra money. Of course, she didn't want Lin Xiushui to only iron cloth in the future; someone else would have to take over her work.
“Well then,” Madam Gu said, fiddling with the abacus for a moment, “I’ll call Second Sister Xiaochun’e over to help you. See if she’s suitable.”
Lin Xiushui nodded happily. After thanking Gu Niangzi profusely, she turned to tell Xiao Chun'e the news.
“You mean,” Xiao Chun’e said, emphasizing each word, “that Da Chunling, who has incredible strength and can lift me up and toss me around with one hand, is going to iron the cloth?”
"Why don't you just iron me like a piece of cloth..."
Author's note: I've been updating around midnight these past few days. Sorry for disrupting the schedule. I'll resume normal updates once I'm back online.
Sending red envelopes! [cheering emojis] [confetti emojis]
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