Chapter 30 Year after year, we continue on.
The rain comes frequently in Sangqing Town.
Lin Xiushui, dressed in an oilcloth and wearing an oilcloth hat, walked down the street. Rain poured into her neck with the wind. She stepped into a puddle and wondered if someone was performing a ritual by burning paper horses and releasing a rain dragon.
Rain dragons are paper horses used to pray for rain, while those used to pray for clear skies are called "pointing-to-the-day barbarians." The most common items in the store are stacks of paper horses used to prevent infection with epidemics, called "heavenly travel posters."
Lin Xiushui walked around the puddle, and the shopkeeper said, "Young lady, what kind of paper horse would you like?"
She cleared her throat and said, "I want a money horse."
The shopkeeper glanced at her, quietly moved his hand away from the scepter, and began rummaging through the treasure chests, saying as he searched, "These are all goods from the twelfth lunar month. If you want them, you have to put them in a sachet and hide them carefully. Burn them during the sacrificial ceremony this twelfth lunar month, and they will be useful."
"Why are you only thinking about buying paper horses now?"
Lin Xiushui had a lot to say, but she gave him six copper coins. She had been having a lot of bad luck these past few days. She burned her left hand while ironing satin, and went to Li Daihua's facial cleanser to have the blister pricked and treated, which cost her thirty coins. She couldn't set up her stall for two days.
She even lost a needle without realizing it, or someone might have stolen it. Now she has to buy a new one, which will inexplicably cost her thirty coins.
It was really infuriating, so she got a sore throat and hoarseness. She tried to tough it out, but it didn't get better. Her aunt gave her a stern talking-to and told her to go to the Li family's throat medicine shop across from the clothing store and next to the perfume shop to buy medicine. She bought a bottle of prepared medicine for thirty coins and felt better after taking it for two days.
But she didn't believe in superstitions and bought a fortune horse to try her luck.
After thinking for a moment, I bought two more and put them in my sachet. I walked through the puddles to the clothing shop. There were two or three street officials on the way, wearing raincoats and wielding mops to dip into the water in the puddles so that the carts wouldn't get splashed with water when they passed by.
Two other people followed behind, dragging the yellow dirt from their feet, huffing and puffing until it turned into yellow water and flowed out. They even laughed and said that thanks to the rain, they didn't need to carry water to wash themselves.
"Young lady, off to work," the old steward of the street office greeted Lin Xiushui. "The roads are slippery in the rain, so be careful. Someone just tripped and fell up ahead."
Lin Xiushui took two steps over and said, "You should be more careful, everyone in your street office should be careful, it looks like it's going to rain for quite a while today."
Having received the old steward's reply, she hurried on, bumping into familiar faces from the street office along the way. They all waved their mops and greeted her, making her happy. She walked briskly to the clothing shop.
He hung the oilcloth outside, and after going inside, he gave Da Chunling and Xiao Chun'e a fortune slip.
"Here, one for each person, may you get rich soon."
Xiao Chun'e carefully put it away and said in a very serious tone, "I'm going to get rich! I'll hire someone to make charcoal for me, and I'll go out and buy things all day long."
Da Chunling glared at her, and Lin Xiushui raised her scalded left hand and said, "I agree, and no one but Da Chunling disagrees."
"Take a break, especially your mouth."
Lin Xiushui wanted to rest, but her hands were not cooperating. The clothing shop couldn't do without her; she had almost finished mending this piece of yarn, and the other garment was waiting to be made.
"Come here, Sister Ling, let me teach you how to iron. You really have to be careful when ironing this gauze, or it will turn into roasted meat. I'm talking about myself, oh dear, don't say that, it all came true."
Lin Xiushui, a sailor with a weak will, is fortunate to have her left hand. She has mastered the skill of ironing cloth and mending yarn using only her right hand, and nothing can stop her from making money and earning scraps of cloth.
She couldn't set up her stall today, so after taking a break, she went to the laundry shop and went in openly. Before, she could only sneak in from the corner, but this time the gatekeeper recognized her and let her in.
The first time she saw a laundry shop, she was overwhelmed by the smell of soap, which was pungent and foul. All she could see were hemp cloths hanging on bamboo poles. She crouched down and crawled under and to the side, and heard the rustling sound of cloth being rubbed coming from all directions.
Some of the washerwomen glanced at Lin Xiushui, their hands gloved, and they held up wooden sticks to beat the cloth, beating it again and again. Others, also gloved, scooped up the linen clothes from the vat, wrung them out, shook them, and hung them on bamboo poles.
Lin Xiushui glanced at them quickly and saw that more than a dozen people were wearing gloves. She breathed a long sigh of relief and then searched with her eyes. She found the skinny Xiao Jiu in the corner, wringing burlap by himself, his face flushed. She went over and helped him.
"Who is it? Ah, what brings you here?" Xiao Jiu couldn't contain her excitement and asked again, "Why did you come here?"
Lin Xiushui could only use her right hand. She helped wring out the water and replied, "Why didn't you come looking for me? I didn't even know if the gloves had gotten wet."
She felt responsible for the products she sold, so she kept them in mind and took some time to come over.
Xiao Jiu tugged at the burlap, carefully slipped it over the bamboo pole, turned back and smiled, "It has a few minor problems, some water did get in, but..."
She really didn't want to speak up. Even though Lin Xiushui repeatedly said that they would take the leaking parts to be repaired, everyone was unwilling, fearing that they would think they were being too fussy and that they would not sell to them again.
There are many kinds of soap beans, bath beans, and soap balls on the market, as well as various methods of washing clothes, such as starching and washing with wood ash. There are also cloth-beating stones and clothes-beating sticks, but none of them are gloves.
Compared to soapberries and washing sticks, people in the laundry industry need gloves more.
So even if it gets wet, I never let Xiao Jiu say anything. I just patch it up, turn it over and let it air dry, and then I can use it again tomorrow. The oilcloth is very durable.
Xiao Jiu felt embarrassed and annoyed, "It's my fault for letting it slip."
"Actually, there's really no problem. We'd even like to do a second and a third business deal with you."
"The person next door who washes fine silk, satin, and silk fabrics also said they wanted to buy a few pairs."
Lin Xiushui wiped her right hand. "You should have told me that water damage is a serious problem."
"Don't worry, I will do business with your laundry for the long term."
But when it came to silk and satin, Lin Xiushui couldn't help but hesitate. There was no way around it; the oilcloth gloves she made would scratch these fine fabrics.
Sometimes she finds it laughable that cloth is worth more than people these days.
She decided to put in more effort to see if she could make soft oilcloth gloves.
"Xiao Jiu, when are you going to take a break? Ask your wife. I'll take those wet gloves back and mend them. I also brought some new ones; please ask them to try them on."
The laundry workers didn't actually have a fixed time to stop working. Like the porters who carried grain sacks in Qinghewu, they would receive a token from the foreman on the right after washing each garment, and each token was worth two coins.
Here, the more you wash, the more you earn, so the laundry ladies all prefer gloves.
Xiao Jiu was watching over the foreman, who had gone to his shift to eat. She called out, "The young lady who sells gloves is here! Everyone come quickly!"
Upon hearing this, everyone who was washing clothes, pounding hemp cloth, or scooping out cloth stood up, their gazes sweeping over Lin Xiushui, and their previously indifferent expressions becoming lively.
Someone exclaimed, "So you're that young lady! I knew it at a glance, you're the glove seller!"
“I recognized it at a glance; it’s more delicate than the gloves.”
Lin Xiushui found it increasingly strange; it didn't sound like anything good.
Everyone gathered around to look at her, which made her look very thin and frail. Most of the washerwomen were strong and powerful, with large, rough hands.
Lin Xiushui then stood in the middle and said, "If this gets wet, come to me for repairs. I don't mind the trouble; I want to do long-term business with everyone."
No one spoke, they just laughed awkwardly. Lin Xiushui couldn't do anything about them. Like the people in the dye shop, they could use dye sticks or bamboo clips instead of gloves, so as soon as they got wet, they would immediately make a fuss about changing them or cutting them up to make something else.
Laundry services are truly needed.
“There’s really nothing wrong with it,” a woman said as she walked up. “Even though it’s damp and stuffy, it’s much better than having your hands soaked in water all day long. At least your hands don’t hurt every day.”
"We've already agreed on a fair price; it's kind of you to go to such lengths, young lady."
"Yes, yes, let's buy a lot more this time, please don't complain that we didn't buy enough."
Lin Xiushui glanced at their faces, her gaze so earnest, and smiled, saying, "Okay, any number is fine, we'll sell them in pairs."
She didn't say much after that. She took out the new gloves she had made. She also bought a whole bolt of oilcloth. The material was good, and she added silk floss paper inside.
Sangqing Town has abundant silkworm silk and silk floss, and produces a lot of silk floss paper, which is relatively cheap. A good roll costs about sixty wen. She brushed a thin layer of tung oil on it, let it dry, and then applied paste to the oilcloth, pounding and kneading it until it gradually softened.
The gloves made this way are much more waterproof than before, but they will be a bit tight and uncomfortable, and they will cost ten dollars more.
The laundry women still preferred the original model and praised it highly, but not wanting her to make a wasted trip, they introduced her to the workshop next door that sized the hemp thread.
To make starch for hemp thread, you need to boil rice straw water and ash water to leach it. After leaching, you still need to use rice starch. But now there is a new method: after leaching with ash, you use talcum powder or add clay. It's sticky and makes your hands prone to cracking and rotting, which is annoying.
“This thing is strange,” an old man said, somewhat skeptical. “It looks weird, and you can’t even move your hands after putting it on. It’s just a waste of time. You can buy it. I don’t want to use this thing.”
But when he put on the hemp thread to scoop out the jar, the familiar stinging sensation didn't come. There was only a slight scraping from the silk paper inside the gloves. Moreover, the gloves were stiff and not slippery, making it easy to scrape the sizing from the hemp thread without having to exert a lot of force like with his hands.
He coughed. "Give me two pairs first, no, three pairs, please."
“Uncle Da Kuan, didn’t you say we shouldn’t use this thing?” someone laughed at him.
The old man snorted, "Aren't useful things meant to be used by people? I love using them, I use them every day, I use them year after year."
So her new gloves sold very well at the hemp thread workshop. Anyone who used the gloves and then went to get hemp thread would immediately buy them.
After all, the discomfort of wearing gloves is far better than having your hands raw and then having to immerse yourself in alkaline straw ash or talcum powder.
When Lin Xiushui came out, she was followed by a lot of people who wanted her to come over often and bring more good things, saying that the people in their laundry business were not picky.
Lin Xiushui also enjoys doing business with people in the laundry industry; they are quick to pay and don't like to be picky.
Lin Xiushui's empty purse now contained seven or eight strings of cash, making her bag feel heavy. It was heavy, but she liked it, and she didn't mind if it got a little heavier.
She took the money to buy cooking oil, which the seller called an oil bowl and the buyer called an oil jar. She had said earlier that she was going to buy it for her aunt.
The silver-lidded jars were expensive, while the ceramic ones were cheaper. She couldn't smell anything, but they were fragrant. A jar cost fifty-six coins. Hair oil was cheaper, but it was sticky.
Lin Xiushui also bought two hair combs, which can be used to comb her hair and also to be inserted into her hair bun. She plans to buy two bunches of fresh spring orchids early tomorrow morning.
On the way back, I whispered to Xiaohe for a long time, and this time Xiaohe promised, "I'll sleep with you, sister, and I'll get up early."
When Wang Yuelan heard about this at night, she felt a little strange, but she didn't say anything. She was very tired. She had been busy from morning till night at Ran Si, so she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next day, when Wang Yuelan got up, she went downstairs to cook porridge. She was surprised to see Lin Xiushui and Xiaohe behind the stove and asked, "What are you two doing?"
"It's probably past 5 a.m., but you lazybones are up too."
Xiao He yawned repeatedly, and then cupped her hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "We're celebrating your birthday, Mother."
"My sister said that things that make people happy should be done sooner rather than later."
Wang Yuelan was born at the end of the second month of spring, when the spring orchids were in bloom, so she was named Lanhua (Orchid).
But then I thought, since everyone who used to call her Orchid has left, I changed it to Moon Orchid.
"It's such a big fuss, but I'm really happy," Wang Yuelan said, holding the noodles Lin Xiushui had cooked, the steam getting into her eyes.
Lin Xiushui said, "Birthdays should be a time for joy."
Wang Yuelan accepted the sachet made by Xiao He and the things from Lin Xiushui. She especially liked the pair of shoes Lin Xiushui made. She thought that it wouldn't be good for her to just look at them herself, so she had to go out and show them off, preferably to Chen Guihua.
Lin Xiushui watched her leave, and after a short while, she heard Chen Guihua's sarcastic voice coming from the doorway, "You're really something, enjoying the blessings of your niece."
“That’s not true. I won’t be angry no matter what you say today,” Wang Yuelan said with a clear smile.
Chen Guihua said, "Then lend me some money."
Wang Yuelan turned and walked away, having a wonderful idea. Anyway, she was wearing those satin embroidered shoes, two combs in her hair, fresh spring orchids, and her face was smeared with oil. She shuffled back and forth in the alley.
You shouldn't flaunt your wealth, but you shouldn't keep your love to yourself.
Before long, most of the people in the alley knew about it, and they would always say a few words to Lin Xiushui when they came to her stall. Lin Xiushui would always say with a smile, "It's my birthday, so I'll have to trouble you ladies to say a few more words of praise."
Another woman asked her if her hand was better. Lin Xiushui shook her left hand, saying it was recovering quite well, with only a mark that would fade away slowly. She said, "It's much better now, the medicine is very effective."
"Then we really need to be more careful next time."
Lin Xiushui exchanged a few more pleasantries when a customer came in. It was a young woman about her age named Sizhen, the daughter of the former private school teacher. She brought a large stack of papers.
"Sizhen, what do you need?" Lin Xiushui looked down at the paper and found that most of it came with pastry packages. It had words printed on it, a large pile of them scattered around, but they were very neat, with not even a crease on the edges.
Sizhen smiled and said, "Aqiao, can you make me a book bag?"
"Making book bags to hold these papers?"
“Yes, yes, this isn’t called paper scraps, it’s called paper wrappings,” Sizhen said, glancing at the few people around her. She picked up a stool, sat down, and spread out the pile of papers. “I collected all of these little by little.”
"Look at this one, I took it off the tea box. It says Maojian on it, Tonghe Tea House is printed at the bottom, and there are even lines at the very bottom, from Pingjiang Prefecture to Sangqing Town in Lin'an."
"This red label with black lettering is a bottle of wine from Shaoxing Prefecture. It says it's a top-quality, extremely spicy wine."
"And another thing, look, this is the 'Three Honest Pharmacy' from Xiuyifang. It says on the label that it doesn't adulterate products, doesn't shortchange customers, and doesn't cheat people."
Sizhen showed a few of the items and excitedly told Lin Xiushui, "I find collecting these things quite interesting. You can tell what each item is, where it came from, and which company made it. You can also tell from these items which are local and which have gone through many twists and turns before reaching my hands. My dad said this is also a kind of item marking."
Lin Xiushui didn't have this hobby, so when she first heard it, she kept nodding and said, "It is indeed very interesting. Next time I have this kind of paper, no, wrapping, I will keep it for you."
“I can’t accept that,” Sizhen said, her eyes widening. “Please, you must give it to me.”
Lin Xiushui laughed out loud, "Then you have so many other papers?"
“These are all from the pastry shop,” Sizhen said in a low voice. “Whenever I want to eat something but don’t know what to eat, I just grab one from here and eat whichever one I pick.”
Lin Xiushui was amused by her, "Okay, I'll make a book bag for your wrapping, with multiple compartments, okay? I'll give you several compartments so you can put everything in. Twenty-five coins should be enough."
"Can I choose the fabric myself?" Sizhen looked at her expectantly. "I've been eyeing the fabrics on your stall for so long, but unfortunately the scraps I bought weren't as good as these. I'll just pick the outer layer."
Lin Xiushui's stall had neatly arranged scraps of cloth on the top shelf, including silk, brocade, and fine linen, in striking colors such as green, blue, and red. Anyone who saw them would stop to take a look.
"You can also pick one you like and buy it. This material is more expensive, costing eight coins a piece, but it can be used to make sachets and pouches."
Gu Niangzi gave her a lot of cloth, and Lin Xiushui sorted it out one by one, selling the scraps in small pieces. Sometimes she earned more from selling scraps of cloth than from sewing, and if she did, she could earn a hundred or so coins sooner or later.
Sizhen had some money, so she happily picked out the scraps of cloth. While she was choosing, Lin Xiushui started making the inner compartments of the book bag. In her memory, this kind of bag was called an accordion bag.
Take a long strip of wide, thin fabric. If it's too thick, you'll need to fold it later, and the needle won't be able to go through. Press three lines of roughly the same width, fold it in half, press it down, and sew the whole circle together, leaving an opening.
Flip it over and sew it vertically, then flip it over again and fold it vertically. Anyway, Sizhen didn't understand it. It didn't look like a bag. Especially since Lin Xiushui sewed it quickly and her movements were fast, she simply gave up and stopped looking.
But when she received the bag, the outside was made of the blue silk she had chosen. She touched it again and again, loving it dearly. But when she opened it, she was extremely surprised. She looked at the bottom of the bag and found no trace of stitching.
There are six identical compartments inside, which can hold a lot of things. Her hand-sized wrappings can all be stuffed in without bending. The wrappings that Sizhen carefully collected are also well preserved. Lin Xiushui even made a button out of cloth, which can be tied with the other end of the rope so that it will never fall off.
"I can only say that your craftsmanship is amazing, truly amazing. You are the most skilled craftsman among skilled craftsmen."
Sizhen was full of compliments. After counting the money, she took her book bag and scraps of cloth and left happily, intending to show them to her parents.
After she left, Lin Xiushui gave her two more jobs, jobs that left her speechless.
The first one was a man, dressed in a Taoist robe, but his demeanor was different from that of a Taoist priest. He asked her mysteriously, "Do you know that the wind can be captured?"
Lin Xiushui said, "I don't know."
“Sew this oilcloth for me, without missing a single stitch, and I can tell you,” the man said, handing her a rather long piece of oilcloth.
Lin Xiushui took five coins first, fearing he might not pay her back later, and sewed it up for him.
He held the corners of the cloth in both hands, placed the oilcloth bag on his left side, and ran back and forth along the alley entrance. People on the road looked at him and muttered, "Is this guy going crazy?"
Lin Xiushui didn't understand, but when the oilcloth bag filled with wind and became bulging, the man grabbed it and hurriedly ran back. He jumped up and shouted, "This really caught the wind!"
Then, she lost her grip on the bag's opening, and the air inside blew directly into Lin Xiushui's face. She remained expressionless, looking at her upturned hair.
Whether he's involved in any scandals or not, I don't know, but he's definitely gone mad!
Her newly styled sideburns, which she had done on a whim early in the morning, were ruined by this anger!
The man then came to his senses and apologized repeatedly, "I'm really sorry. My son's academy gave us a question about investigating things and extending knowledge. They wanted the child to catch the wind. I thought about it for many nights before I came up with a solution."
"Find someone called 'Wind' and grab him," Lin Xiushui said, tidying her hair, offering a bad suggestion in a bad mood.
The man started to ponder, wondering if that was really what the gentleman meant. He needed to hurry back and ask his son if that was the case, and if so, he wondered if changing his name to Feng Xing would be appropriate.
With a smile, Pi Liu said to his lean senior brother, "That young lady I mentioned before, don't underestimate her because of her young age, she's really skilled. She's perfectly capable of repairing the cuju (ancient Chinese football) balls, no doubt about it."
The eldest brother was having a headache because no one was going to help him with the football match. If Pi Liu hadn't said he knew someone and asked him to come and take a look, he would have turned around and left.
He calmly uttered the insult: "Did you get confused because the bartender hit you on the head while you were being beaten?"
"Hey, hey, hey, it's really not true, senior brother, don't go. I'll ask this young lady to show you her skills." Pi Liu went back and forth, forcibly dragging his senior brother back. He then stuffed a few coins into Lin Xiushui's hand, begging her to show off her skills, hoping to impress his senior brother and make him look down on him.
Lin Xiushui was good at getting things done because she was paid, and it was also thanks to her good hands that she was able to take on Pi Liu's job.
After successfully destroying three footballs, and through the refinement of mending yarn, Lin Xiushui has basically figured out the nature of footballs and can mend the yarn without leaving a trace, and the inside of the ball will not explode.
This is a good opportunity to showcase her hard-earned skills.
"Come, come, sit down," Lin Xiushui said, bringing out two chairs for the person. "Sit down first, and see my skills before you decide whether you're coming or not."
The eldest brother sat down and said very politely, "Young lady, it's alright, please feel free to make the medicine."
Pi Liu was furious. He was fuming. He had been trying to pull the man away for so long, but he couldn't get him to sit down. Fine, he would sit down too.
The two men brought a basket of Cuju (ancient Chinese footballs) and asked Lin Xiushui to pick one at random. With such a grand display, a crowd of onlookers gathered around.
"Repairing a football is not easy; if you try, your hand will explode."
"If you can't speak properly, get out of the way. Do you think Ah Qiao is like you? She watches whatever she wants. Shut your mouth."
A group of people were talking amongst themselves, but Lin Xiushui didn't listen at all. She chose the worst football, the skin of which was completely torn and hanging down, revealing the pig's belly inside. It was so thin that you could see her hands underneath.
She turned the football around to show everyone, and the football looked tattered and torn like a tattered piece of burlap.
Someone muttered, "If I threw it on the ground, I'd kick it far away. I thought some piglet had escaped."
Lin Xiushui chuckled, took out a needle and thread, found the thread that best resembled the shape of Cuju (ancient Chinese football), pulled it out, wrapped it around the thread, and threaded it through.
He gently patted the dust off the football, and his wife covered her ears, afraid that it would explode with a loud bang, which would be quite frightening.
She didn't care and sat down. The most important thing in repairing a football is to be steady, not fast. She took a breath, pressed her left hand on the cracked skin of the football, and used her right hand to insert a needle from the inside of the skin, pressing it tightly against the core of the ball.
Some people squinted as they looked, leaning back and clenching their fists, as if afraid that the first needle would burst.
No, not at all. Lin Xiushui used the hidden needle method. After the first stitch was made, she inserted the needle diagonally to the left and right, threaded the needle and pulled it tight. Her movements were not fast, but they gave the impression of being slow yet fast.
At first glance, it was not obvious. Even Pi Liu and his senior brother, who were used to watching Cuju (ancient Chinese football), only felt that he was not as fast, accurate and steady as the old cobbler.
But then things became clear. As she carefully pulled the thread with her inner and outer needles, the edge of the ball skin gradually tightened. On the turned side, there were signs of damage, but no obvious stitches.
Pi Liu clenched his fist and glanced smugly at his senior brother. He knew he had made the right choice.
Suddenly, a loud "bang" rang out, exploding in my ears.
The onlookers were on tenterhooks, glancing quickly at the ball in Lin Xiushui's hand.
Lin Xiushui's heart trembled but her hands remained steady, revealing the intact ball. She continued to sew slowly and methodically, and she even had the leisure to say, "The puppet in front of Nanwazi is using a new formula. It will add some gunpowder from time to time. There will be a few more shots later, so don't panic."
Don't panic when you should, and don't panic unnecessarily when you shouldn't.
Anyway, the football in Lin Xiushui's hand didn't explode until the gunpowder was completely used up. It was completely repaired, with no stitches showing at all. She threw it to Pi Liu and said, "Look, how about we play a free game for everyone and let us see if the ball shows any stitches?"
She went to call her aunt and Xiaohe to come and see.
Pi Liu readily accepted the offer, smiled at everyone, and generously said, "I'll give you a performance, please excuse my poor skills."
Thank goodness his butt is healed, otherwise he would have really made a fool of himself.
Bai Da is a one-man game, and Pi Liu is a master at it. He turns the ball around in his hands, bends over, and the ball is on his chest in the blink of an eye. It rolls around but never falls. The senior brother says from the side, "This is called rolling and playing."
Pi Liu immediately got up, and the ball quickly rolled off his body. Just before it hit the ground, he hooked the ball with his foot and kicked it upwards, then used his knee to push it up. He tossed the ball up and down, then bent down and headed it, then tilted his head to let the ball fall rapidly, making everyone's hearts jump up and down.
The eldest brother said slowly, "This is called Flying Play."
After the ball touched Pi Liu's feet, shoulders, head, hips, chest, and abdomen, it slowly fell back into his hands. He bowed and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "I've made a fool of myself in front of everyone."
The crowd cheered and urged him to sing another song.
Pi Liu then helped his senior brother up, without hesitation, "Then let's do another piece for everyone, a two-on-one kicking match."
Cuju (ancient Chinese football) is a game that attracts spectators and cheers, making it easy for people to kick the ball a few times.
The eldest brother took the ball and kicked it with his foot. The ball hovered in the air for a moment, which is called "twisting". He switched feet and kicked it again. The ball flew right to Pi Liu's feet. The two kicked back and forth in this small field. There was no perfunctory play. They went back and forth, and the situation was intense. They played with great enthusiasm, and everyone was treated to a good watch.
Xiaohe raised both hands, clapping, jumping, and shouting "Good!"
Pi Liu, sweating profusely, picked up the ball from the ground, patted it in his hand, and said to everyone, especially his senior brother, "Hey, this patch is pretty good. It's not broken, and it didn't give away the flaws. Unlike the previous patch, which looked like it was patched on the surface, it was exposed after just one game."
"Come on, let's give our young lady a shout-out too."
Lin Xiushui accepted the cheers gracefully and bowed with poise, deeming it well-deserved.
Wang Yuelan was beaming with pride, while Xiao He ran off to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with other children. She also had Cuju and wanted to play it too.
After the excitement subsided, discussions about paying for the football match had to be kept secret.
Pi Liu said, "The original price of five copper coins per piece?"
"You," the senior brother rolled his eyes at him, "have you been cheating people out of their money? You're only paying five coins for this kind of craftsmanship? It should be at least twenty coins per piece."
“Young lady, I swear to God,” Pi Liu glared at his senior brother and protested to Lin Xiushui, “He’s so stingy, he used to only give five coins each. I didn’t take a single penny of kickback. Don’t judge me by my appearance.
He muttered, "Dad, I've done all the good deeds for you."
Lin Xiushui laughed heartily, "You can even play the villain."
"No, I'll make him a monk so I can enlighten him!"
The group then had a serious discussion: they agreed to pay half the price upfront, with ten balls to be replenished every three days, and one hundred coins for today.
Lin Xiushui thought that hard work would eventually yield something, such as a whole basket of Cuju balls or a bag full of silver coins.
After making money, she would close up shop and go to work, leaving the land for everyone to gossip about. She also had to deliver sachets to Madam Yao. This time, the sachets she embroidered were actually made by sewing patterns on two different types of fabric.
For example, in the butterfly-shaped sachet, she used pink on one side, cyan on the other, and added a touch of green in the middle. She had completely mastered the color matching of pink, cyan, and green, and the combination was particularly refreshing. She also paired it with pink, cyan, and green tassels.
Madam Yao said that this time the sales were good, and that other imitations were not as good-looking as hers.
Lin Xiushui collected eighty-five coins and wandered around the area, discovering that the sachets from other stalls were actually quite interesting, no worse than hers.
There are also imitations; most of them are made by whatever is in high demand on the market.
She walked and looked around, and casually bought three or four sachets with outstanding color combinations, to take back and examine them further.
Along the way, there were murals, wall paintings on pillars, and shop signs. She would carefully examine anything with color and try to remember it, only to find that she couldn't remember it at all.
Because the fabrics come in different colors, it is difficult to find one that matches these colors perfectly.
She figured it out slowly; for her, this was a subject that would take a long time to learn and couldn't be mastered in a short period of time.
After finishing work and returning to Sangqiao Ferry, Su Qiaoniang, without makeup, ran over to tell her excitedly, "I've taken on a female apprentice." "She's not very smart, but she's very skillful with her hands. Her mother told me this the other day. Although she's not as clever as other children, she's very engrossed in watching people carve things. Her father is a carpenter."
“But her father wanted to pass on his skills to his son, and her mother wanted to find a way out and a livelihood for the child, so she came to me for help. The child is really good.”
Su Qiaoniang smiled and said, "Others say she is dull-witted, but I don't think so. She can sit still and do one thing wholeheartedly without paying attention to outside distractions. That's already very rare. Our line of work needs this kind of girl."
She was also a little worried, "I'm afraid she won't be able to endure the hardship. Making puppets is very tiring. The cloth bag I learned from outside is relatively simple. But later I have to teach her to make string puppets. She has to make the puppet head, the cage, the limbs, the strings and the hooks. She has to work hard and endure every single one of them. If she doesn't do well at all, she has to give up and start all over again. Sigh."
Lin Xiushui laughed and said, "You see, when there are no people, I worry that the skills will not be passed down. When someone comes to learn, I worry that they can't endure the hardship."
"Actually, it's impossible to do any job without suffering. You just need to do your best to teach her so that she has a way to make a living."
Su Qiaoniang stood side by side with her at the bridgehead, gazing into the distance. "I plan to move out of Nanwazi and teach her properly. I want to make more puppets to pass on. Who knows, one day, when people talk about puppet shows, they will mention glove puppets or puppets."
Lin Xiushui said, "That could take many years."
"One year, two years, ten years, one generation, two generations, three generations, just wait patiently."
Author's Note: Red envelopes are being given out in this chapter! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
On the last three days of the second month of spring, some people living at the entrance of the mulberry tree alley got up early to take a bag of money, while others borrowed money everywhere to repay the debts they had incurred from mortgaging their belongings and to redeem their possessions.
Property tax is paid twice a year, but mortgages are paid monthly. Moreover, most of the items pledged in the pawnshop are sold off in March after the current term expires.
In the few days since Wang Yuelan arrived, she has told Lin Xiushui to reduce her stall and not to open her own shop, for fear that people would come to borrow money, as she herself is already burdened with debts.
These days, she has earned five or six hundred coins by making mops for the street office. She was counting the coins and hanging them up with a rope, saying as she threaded them, "At least what I pawned was a boat. That family in the west gate is bold enough to pawn land deeds. I say they are not as smart as Chen Guihua. She only pawns worthless things."
“My due date is almost here too. If I don’t pay it back soon, they’ll take my boat away. I’ll pay you back one string of cash and two coins. They can sell the big boat, but I can redeem the small boat for you to use.”
Wang Yuelan's plan was this from the beginning. Lin Xiushui was not familiar with the roads of Sangqing Town. He could get used to it by walking every day, but now it would take a month, so it would be faster to take a boat.
To row a boat, you need to go past the bamboo and wooden planks at the very front, and after turning a corner, you will reach Sangling Lane.
Lin Xiushui went upstairs to get the money. She put the money bag on the table and pushed it in front of Wang Yuelan, saying, "I have to pay the lion's share, otherwise I won't use this boat."
“I’ll let you pay, how much do you want?” Wang Yuelan picked up the money bag, which was surprisingly heavy. She emptied it out and counted it; there were eight hundred coins.
"You're not doing business anymore? You've paid such a high price!"
Lin Xiushui still has a couple hundred coins left. She will receive her monthly salary in a few days, which will be enough to cover the difference. She also needs to send some things back to Shanglintang.
The two hadn't calculated the money clearly; Lin Xiushui wanted to pay more, and Wang Yuelan could only let her have her way. Taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people around, the two went out early to the pawnshop to get a slip of paper to pay for the boat.
The pawned boats were all sent to the boarding pavilion at the east bank, and the two of them took the pawnshop's boat to retrieve them.
The man who died before Wang Yuelan used to be a boatman, so the small boat she mortgaged was different from the others. You could tell at a glance that the boat's canopy was made of wood, square and tall, unlike other boats with bamboo canopies that were turned upside down, requiring you to bend over to sit down when you got in.
The ship was meticulously constructed, coated with tung oil and hemp fiber to ensure it was completely waterproof. As a result, it remained docked for more than half a year without requiring much repair; only minor maintenance was needed.
Lin Xiushui saw the new boat and said she wanted to switch boats with Wang Yuelan, saying she would just use the old, broken one. Wang Yuelan glanced at her and said, "Don't be silly. If you row a broken boat to Sangling Lane, what will people think of you? And are you not going to take any extra jobs after this? You need a place to put your tailor's belongings. With a good boat, you can take any job in town."
"Just keep shaking it."
Lin Xiushui was very good at handling boats, whether it was rowing, punting, or paddling. Basically, everyone who grew up in a water town, men and women, was a skilled boatman. Lin Xiushui started rowing when she was ten years old. She rowed her small boat to take her mother to the old doctor to get medicine.
But after learning tailoring, she didn't use the boat much. Rowing too much would cause her hands to break and develop calluses. Once the calluses formed, she would snag the fabric when sewing. So she decided to wear gloves when rowing.
When they rowed back to Sangshukou, Wang Yuelan asked the boatman on the other side of the river to come and inspect the boat. She paid him 100 coins to have it repainted, repaired, and have the bow raised so that Lin Xiushui could put more effort into it.
So when Lin Xiushui returned in the afternoon, she saw a brand-new small boat, its hull gleaming with tung oil paint. She liked the boat very much. At the front was a high canopy made of four sticks, so she wouldn't get wet when rowing on rainy days. The cabin at the back was a little lower, but it was spacious enough to seat one or two people and store rice bags, oil, salt, and other miscellaneous items, so she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of crossing several bridges until her knuckles turned red.
Wang Yuelan patted the hull and said, "This boat is new. Don't stop at the other end of the dock. If someone pries off the planks at night, you won't know. Pay a couple of coins and row back to the boat cave at the west end. There are guards there at night."
Lin Xiushui agreed. After tonight, she would no longer walk; she would row her boat to work.
Sailing through Sangqing Town is quite different from the wide riverbanks of Shanglintang, where one can see layers of distant mountains and patches of green fields. Here, the river is narrow, and both banks are lined with houses with black tiles and brick walls. Someone shouts from a second-floor window downstairs, and someone across the street opens their back door and throws out a basin of water. When a wood-burning boat comes into view, she has to carefully row to avoid it, sometimes brushing past clothes hanging between the houses on both banks.
Lin Xiushui was a bit clumsy and was feeling around in the riverbed. It was early morning, and she was sweating profusely from shaking her head. Just then, someone with sharp eyes called out to her from across the dock, "Young lady, wait a minute."
She quickly stopped the boat, bent down and peeked out from under the awning. She didn't recognize the woman who called her.
But the woman knew her very well. She waved her hand and said, "Why did you suddenly decide to row the boat? But it's convenient for you to pass by here. I've been busy pruning mulberry trees these days and haven't had time to go to your place. I have a linen garment that I would appreciate it if you could mend it for me, and a baby bib that has come undone. My hands are too rough to mend it, so could you sew it for me?"
"I'll give you the money. I'm not in a hurry. Just call me when you've finished mending it. That way, I won't have to go all the way to your Mulberry Tree Pass."
Lin Xiushui never expected that going to work by boat would bring her business. She took off her gloves, bent down and stood at the bow of the boat, stretched out her arm to take the clothes, examined them carefully, and hurriedly explained to the man, "Madam, give me twenty-five coins, I will bring them to you tomorrow."
"Alright, please come by boat more often. We're busy with work here and we don't always run into you. Take your time."
Fortunately, Lin Xiushui got up early, and there weren't many boats coming and going. If it were midday and she stopped to talk, she would be scolded by those behind her.
She hadn't expected any business; she'd arrived with an empty boat. It seemed she'd have to buy two clean baskets to put on the boat.
People lived on both sides of the river. She didn't know anyone else, but many people recognized her. Most of them had done business with her. In particular, her boat was very eye-catching, different from other boats. People would always take a look at it, and once they saw her, they would always call out to her.
"I was wondering who was rowing the boat, all crooked and wobbly," an old woman laughed, leaning against the door. "It was you, little tailor."
"I caught two fresh fish yesterday, and I have one left. I was thinking of taking it to Sangshukou, but it's a long way around. I just happened to run into it. You can take it and eat it."
The old woman carried the fish down the dock and insisted on giving it to Lin Xiushui. Lin Xiushui couldn't refuse. She had never done business with the old woman before, but she knew her and would come over to watch the excitement every day.
"Xiu-jie, don't go yet," another woman leaned out of the second-floor window and called out to her, "I have something to mend, wait for me, I'll be right down."
Lin Xiushui squatted at the bow of the boat. She had originally thought that traveling by water would be faster, but it was even more tedious. She hadn't rowed for more than a few steps before she had to pick up another job. This morning, she thought that she was not familiar with the waterways, so she packed up her stall early and finished all the jobs on the river.
“The silk cloth covering this window has been torn into three or five holes by some stupid bird. I’ve been urging my husband to bring it to you for repairs, but that damned man keeps putting it off. My little baby is only three months old, and I can’t get away.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for almost half a month now. Seeing this window makes me feel annoyed and angry. I’m so glad I saw it today. Now I don’t have to keep thinking about it.”
After the frail woman finished speaking, she hugged the wooden window, slowly turned sideways and stepped down, looking down at the stone steps, and handed over the rather heavy window.
Lin Xiushui reached out and took it; it was quite heavy. She glanced behind her; there was no boat. Then she looked down at the wooden window.
It really did look like it had been torn by bird claws. The window, which was originally covered with white silk cloth, should have been clean and beautiful, but now it was torn and ripped. She counted five places, which made it more and more distressing to look at.
She leaned the wooden window against the side of her cabin, then walked to the bow and said with a smile, "Although there are many tears in this thread, we can still get a lot of thread out from underneath. Don't worry, my wife, I'll work on it tonight and fix it for you first."
"It's just that there are many holes, so it costs more money. It will cost fifty coins to repair this window."
This was indeed quite expensive for the woman, but the window had cost more than a string of cash, and replacing it with a single piece of silk would require replacing all the remaining fabric, which was not just a matter of fifty cash.
She immediately replied, "I trust your skills. I'll go get the money for you. Thank you for your help."
Lin Xiushui was indeed trustworthy; she paid the full amount instead of half. Fortunately, Lin Xiushui had brought a large cloth bag with her today, otherwise she would have had nowhere to put the money.
She finally made it to the middle of the river, having traveled halfway. When no one called her, she saw a bamboo pole extending from the distance, with a small bamboo basket hanging on it, the contents of which she couldn't make out.
She tried to row the boat to the side, but then she saw someone waving at her. She rowed back and saw a bamboo pole extended onto the boat, and a bamboo basket placed at the bow. It turned out to be a pile of sweet cakes.
Lin Xiushui stared at the couple on the dock. She had a vague impression of them, but she couldn't recognize them at all.
“Young lady, this is homemade. Take it and eat it. Last time you mended my daughter’s clothes. I bet you don’t remember. You’re that chubby girl who wanted to eat fish and went to the river to catch them, but she fell in and cried and shouted, ‘Where’s my mother? Where’s my father?’”
The father spoke without any mercy, and Lin Xiushui then remembered that the girl was really fat. She had never seen such a strong girl before, and she couldn't lift her up even though she tried her best and her face turned red.
You have to accept this sugar cake whether you want to or not.
Along the way from Sangqiao Ferry to Sangling Lane, Lin Xiushui would take one or two jobs every now and then, and the people would force her to give them some things, so that the cabin was filled with all sorts of odds and ends even though no one was sitting inside.
So much so that even though they left early, they arrived right on time, had to stop the boat at the boat pier, paid two or three coins to have someone look after it, and even bought a small basin to fill with water and put fish in.
"You went to kill fish?" Xiao Chun'e asked, puzzled.
Lin Xiushui rubbed her hands vigorously until they foamed. She said, "Someone gave them to me. I rowed the boat here myself today. I haven't rowed in a long time, and my shoulders and neck are really sore."
“Your river is so narrow and flat that you can’t even get any leverage. If you ask me, it would be faster to walk.”
“That’s true,” Lin Xiushui said, not intending to continue walking, “but many people still need my help.”
Lin Xiushui only learned today that even those living near Sangqiao Ferry, separated only by a bridge, couldn't find time to repair anything because they were too busy making a living.
I always think I'll wait until I'm less busy next time, but there are taxes and fees, and for money, for myself or for others, there's never a moment of leisure.
Even though the waterway was indeed difficult to navigate, Lin Xiushui was willing to row her boat across the Zhenxi River every day for the sake of the people living along the river.
So, in the evening after she got home, she first found the basket for the clothes she was going to use for work, and the basin for the other odds and ends. She had previously asked Zhang the carpenter to make some bamboo tokens, which were just bamboo strips, but her tokens needed to be perforated.
She learned this from the laundry business. Originally, she could remember everyone, who gave her what, and where the repairs were needed. But now, with work on both ends and too many things, she has mixed things up several times.
The tokens were made by punching holes and hanging different colored strings on them. Two strings of the same color were used; one string was placed on the item being repaired, and the other was given to the person who came to repair the item, who would then collect the tokens according to their own tokens.
She brought it along this time too, but she still didn't feel quite right because sometimes she would forget what part needed to be touched up, especially if there were special needs.
She sat by the window pondering and realized something: if only she could write, she could write down and remember everything.
With her past memories, she could indeed recognize quite a few characters, but she only had a superficial understanding of them, let alone be able to write them. She truly couldn't write, even though she could draw paper patterns very fluently.
In her past, she worked in the fields, raised silkworms, chickens and ducks, and wove cloth to make a living. She also spent a lot of time mending clothes, so she had no extra time or money to learn to write.
But now that her livelihood is gradually stabilizing and she will soon be able to receive her monthly allowance, she might be able to set aside some money to buy some writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, and then find someone to teach her.
She thought about it slowly, knowing there was no rush. She first divided the work to be repaired into urgent and slow tasks, opened the window, stood up the wooden window frame in her hand, and gradually tilted it to see how many threads were torn. Then she took the thread and carefully repaired it.
When she got tired of taking a nap, she went to pour herself some tea. After drinking the tea, she came back to find someone calling her from outside the window. She took a few steps and saw a boat moored in front of her window. She didn't recognize the three women on the boat at all.
"You must be Miss Lin, a seamstress? Zhu Qiniang said we can come to you if we need any work," a sturdy woman walked to the bow of the boat and easily rowed it over. As she rowed, she said, "We've come to you to have our clothes sewn."
"What do you three ladies want sewn?" Lin Xiushui leaned out and asked them. She felt that the three of them were not ordinary women who did manual labor. Even though they were wearing clothes that covered their flesh, they still looked very large, but their faces were not fat at all. They looked like they were martial arts practitioners.
The plump woman who spoke reached out and handed over a garment. Lin Xiushui didn't have time to examine its design, but she could tell it was very thin and light.
She took it inside, shook it, unfolded it, and raised an eyebrow. It was a collarless, short-sleeved shirt, the kind of clothing she was used to seeing in her memory. Here, only one type of person would wear it.
That is female sumo, also known as female sumo wrestler.
Sumo wrestling was very popular in the Song Dynasty. Among men's and women's sumo wrestling, women's sumo wrestling matches were the most popular. They mostly wore collarless short-sleeved clothes, revealing their waists, abdomens and strong, powerful arms, and wrestled in pairs.
Lin Xiushui had never watched sumo wrestling, and she didn't particularly like either male or female sumo wrestling, but she had still heard of many female sumo wrestlers by name, such as "Sai Guansuo," "Xiao Sanniang," and "Hei Sijie."
The three female sumo wrestlers in front of her were completely unknown.
After examining the garment, Lin Xiushui couldn't find anything that needed mending, except that it was a bit thin.
The female sumo wrestler, Zhuang Sanjie, leaned closer and whispered, "It's not about patching, it's about sewing a thicker layer of sole inside, just like this, so that your collar won't get torn during a fight."
"Sew another layer of lining onto this material?" Lin Xiushui repeated her question. She touched it again. This material was thinner than fine cloth. She gently tugged at it, and the fabric was stretched until it had slight cracks.
She wasn't very strong, and Lin Xiushui frowned as she looked at the clothes. "You're going to wear this?"
Sister Zhuang said calmly, "Those of us in this line of work have always worn this kind of clothing. It's just that the material used to be better, so no matter how hard we fought, we wouldn't tear each other's clothes."
“But things are different now,” another voice came from the back of the boat. “Is this supposed to be clothing? It’s like paper; it’ll fall to shreds if I hit it. I really want to pick up that bastard and beat him for stealing our money and buying old cloth.”
Even if they were unwilling to say it outright, Lin Xiushui understood what they meant. If they needed her help, she would naturally do her best without hesitation, and she didn't want to dig into the story behind it.
He simply smiled and said, "Even if it's shattered to pieces, there are ways to mend it. As for this kind of clothing, adding one layer is not as good as adding two. I guarantee it won't tear. You can relax and fight with peace of mind."
She took two pieces of fine cloth, stacked them together, and told Zhuang Sanjie to hold them in her hands and pull them. Zhuang Sanjie was stronger than many men. She spread her legs and pulled hard to both sides, deforming the cloth, but not tearing it.
"Hey, I'll give it a try."
The two women behind also tried to pull, but they couldn't tear it. You should know that they can break thick wooden sticks with their bare hands.
Sister Zhuang asked again, "If we continue to mend it like this, when will it be finished? We have to go on stage tomorrow. These clothes only just arrived in our hands, and there are still two left."
"It will be quick. Come and pick it up at dawn tomorrow. As for the money, I won't take it. I've never seen a female sumo wrestler play with a condom before."
The three women were amused by Lin Xiushui's words. Zhuang Sanjie said, "Okay, we'll invite you to come and see. Come to Nanwazi tomorrow morning."
In fact, Lin Xiushui felt that sumo wrestling wasn't very interesting. It was just two people fighting, regardless of gender, so what was there to watch?
But when she was on the stage in Nanwazi, she saw Zhuang Sanjie dressed in short clothes fighting with another woman who was also tall. The two were strong, but their movements were particularly agile, and their moves were very fast.
Lin Xiushui considered her needlework to be fast, but it was no match for their techniques. They were strong, agile, and their attacks were swift as the wind. Zhuang Sanniang dodged a kick, her back touching the ground, and then she leaped up to fight back, engaging in a serious and earnest battle.
Compared to simply playing games for fun, Lin Xiushui felt that this was already a unique skill.
The audience cheered, and it had little to do with how he was dressed; his movements were what truly deserved applause.
“You female sumo wrestlers are all like the wind, whooshing away in a flash, I don’t even have time to turn my eyes, especially you, who lay flat on the ground and then suddenly leaped up, like a fish flicking its tail, oh my,” Lin Xiushui said to Zhuang Sanjie as she stepped off the stage.
Zhuang Sanjie tugged at her clothes. She was sweating a lot and her face was flushed, but she smiled and said, "Thanks to your clothes, we can play our game without worry."
“That’s right, my work is impeccable,” Lin Xiushui replied. “I thought about it all night yesterday. Rather than worrying about the clothes that are sent, I might as well wear my own clothes.”
She had actually asked Sister Zhuang and the others if they had considered changing careers, since female sumo wrestling was considered less respectable by many. But they all said, "Why would we want to change?"
Sister Zhuang said, "I won't change it. I like to gamble fairly and squarely. We all want to gamble until we become famous."
So Lin Xiushui said, "I can make clothes of this style, according to each of your body shapes, to fit you closely. They will be a bit thick, but they won't tear."
"You'll have to pay this time; you're using up quite a bit of fabric."
Zhuang Sanjie said proudly, "Of course it uses a lot of fabric. I eat ten bowls of rice a day. Do you think I'm just eating for free? I'll gain weight from eating. I can lift two men with one hand. If we do it freely, we can earn a lot of money."
So Lin Xiushui received her first order for undergarments, priced at 45 coins per garment. The fabric needed for just the short tops alone cost 35 coins. Each garment was twice her size, which was quite a waste of fabric and her hands.
But she was also very happy. The clothes she made could not be torn, at least in the context of female sumo wrestlers, respect for both sides was preserved, and that was all she could do.
After that, Lin Xiushui continued to row her boat back and forth on the river as usual. In the morning, she would row the boat, stop it on the riverbank, and then stand at the bow and shout to the side.
"Grandma Zhang, I've finished mending your sleeve. Please bring the basket down from the second floor; I've put it inside."
“Mrs. Li, here is the sachet you wanted. Put the money in my basket.” Lin Xiushui stretched out her bamboo pole, which had two wooden planks at the end and a small square box attached to it. That was the box she made to collect money.
The woman who had her window repaired came out and happily replied, "The window was repaired so well, you can't even see a trace of it. If I had known it was repaired so well, I wouldn't have been angry next time."
She would accept the ones she could, and send the ones she couldn't to elsewhere.
Lin Xiushui had thought that her boat would carry people, grain, bean bags, or firewood, but she never imagined that she would be carrying a bunch of messy, dilapidated things that urgently needed mending back every day.
Then they patched up all the broken and tattered items, and sent them back to each household, so that they could go to the places where they were needed, intact.
Of course, the presence of businesses on both sides of the river mouth did not mean that Lin Xiushui's mulberry tree stall would stop operating.
In her opinion, the people living at the river mouth are simple and honest. The things they ask her to mend are always quite ordinary, and their clothes, pants, and shoes are basically all made of cloth.
Business in Sangshukou was much more interesting; anyone who had even the slightest connection to her would come to her.
For example, right now, Lin Xiushui vowed that next time she would really put up a sign that read, "No Livestock Allowed."
Lin Xiushui turned her head to face the parrot. Its little beady eyes blinked, and it opened its mouth, tilting its head and shouting, "Help—me—wa!"
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