Chapter 35: The Man Chen Jiuchuan
"cousin?"
Lin Xiushui went around to the front, turned her head and called out to Chen Jiuchuan. She just wanted to know, after only three months apart, who had the nerve to secretly elevate her seniority?
Chen Jiuchuan remained expressionless and said, "Aqiao, your cousin has come to see you."
Lin Xiushui glanced at him; he really had a big face.
She smiled at the woman watching the commotion, "He's my cousin from Shanglintang. Ah, he's quite handsome!"
Hearing the praise, she glanced at Chen Jiuchuan. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a slightly dark complexion. She couldn't say whether he was handsome or not, but he looked presentable, wearing a blue cloth overcoat with his hair tied up, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. He looked very dashing.
"You've struck it rich?" Lin Xiushui exclaimed in surprise. Seeing the grain sack at his feet, she took it herself. "Now that I'm rich, I'm going to help out poor relatives like us."
“Not only that, I can also help you raise your two chickens,” Chen Jiuchuan said, kicking the small bag next to him. “Wheat bran, rice, shrimp shells, that’s enough to raise two fat chickens.”
"You're so thoughtful."
"I'll explain it again later."
Lin Xiushui invited Chen Jiuchuan in. He put down the grain sack, patted his shoulder, looked around, remained expressionless, frowned, then turned around and smiled, saying, "The rain in front of Shanglintang is bad; we're missing something."
"What do you need?" Lin Xiushui asked casually as she poured out the water.
"How utterly immoral."
Lin Xiushui laughed heartily. The two had grown up together since childhood, and she understood his meaning from just those three words. He must know that Yu Jin had bullied her and flooded her house and fields, so there was nothing more to say.
She handed the teacup to Chen Jiuchuan and said, "Aren't you busy in the fields this year? Don't you need to help out at home? And you must be exhausted after coming back from Mingzhou, having to make a trip to town to deliver things to me." "Brother Jiu, you're so thoughtful."
"Stop it, just say what you want to say."
Chen Jiuchuan hissed. You see, from childhood to adulthood, Lin Xiushui would call him Chen Xiaochuan when she was happy, Chen Jiulang when she was unhappy, and his full name Chen Jiuchuan when she was serious. In between, she would call him Chen Dachuan or Chen Jiu.
He can't accept being called Ninth Brother.
Lin Xiushui and he really couldn't see eye to eye. She sighed and became serious, "Are you really not busy? How are Sang Ying and Auntie? Did they receive the things I sent? What about Aunt Xi? Has her son come back this year?..."
"All is well, I received it. I missed you. You're back now. You won't go to the gambling den anymore. If you lose too much, you'll stay home and work in the fields..." Chen Jiuchuan replied to each person in turn. "I'll clear out the land around your shed after the busy farming season and sell it to you for a good price. The fields can't be brought back this year because of the heavy rains and the high lake level."
He just got back yesterday, and he knew everything that had happened before he came, so he knew what she would ask.
This answer was exactly what Lin Xiushui expected. Originally, her family's fields were fèng fields, formed from silt deposited from the lake. There were wooden frames in front of the fields with ropes tied to trees to prevent them from being washed away by rain. However, the rain at the beginning of the year was too heavy, and the ropes were not tied securely.
Chen Jiuchuan didn't stay long. He was actually very busy. He was escorting mulberry seeds to Qingyuan Prefecture and transporting silkworm eggs on his way back. He didn't even have time to rest. He just passed by Shanglintang briefly and then rushed over overnight. He was heading to Qiantang tonight.
He sent Lin Xiushui five dou of winter-pounded rice, two dou of various beans, and a bag of flour, fearing she would starve. He also brought her odds and ends from the neighborhood, such as dried ginger, dried bamboo shoots, sesame seeds, and so on. He also brought snacks for Xiao He and some things for Wang Yuelan.
After explaining everything, the two reminisced for a while. Lin Xiushui talked about her business, how good her aunt was to her, and that she would go back to Shanglintang later that night.
She saw Chen Jiuchuan off, and the two walked one after the other. After Chen Jiuchuan boarded the large boat, she stood at the bow and said to her, "When I come back from Qiantang, I will pick you up and take you to Shanglintang."
Lin Xiushui thought it would be too much trouble for him to come, so she declined, saying, "I'll take the Guandu bus."
Chen Jiuchuan was puzzled, "I'm cheaper than Guandu."
"I don't want money."
"Are you going against me or against money? Save your money and eat a few more bites of food."
Urged on by those ahead, Chen Jiuchuan didn't linger. He told Lin Xiushui to go first, and as he boarded the boat, someone inside called to him, "Brother Jiu, where to first?"
Chen Jiuchuan took off his clothes and put on a short brown shirt. "Don't call me."
“Brother, cousin, elder brother, what’s wrong with you again?” His cousin rolled his eyes. He was acting like he was having an episode every day. It would be so much better to go directly from Shanglintang. Why did he have to go all the way to town?
He'll unleash his dogs on Chen Jiuchuan sooner or later, unleash his dogs.
When Lin Xiushui returned, Xiao He was excitedly telling Wang Yuelan, "A cousin came and brought things for my sister and us. He's so tall!"
"What kind of cousins are they?" Wang Yuelan asked, turning over the rice jar in bewilderment. "They sent such good rice."
Lin Xiushui came in and said, "The grain was sent by Chen Jiuchuan, and some was saved up by Aunt Xi and a few others. They brought it all together. I've accepted it all, and I'll send some back later."
Wang Yuelan touched a handful of beans. Since the two had known each other since childhood, she didn't think much of it and just said, "Why didn't you invite A-Chuan to stay for dinner? He used to always bring things here, but he never stayed long."
"He's busy, I'll thank him later," Lin Xiushui thought to herself. This came too suddenly, and she didn't have anything nice to offer.
Lin Xiushui ate winter-pounded rice at night. The rice was very fragrant. She even dreamed about her childhood, before her mother got sick, when her mother took her to the Chen family to pound rice. Winter-pounded rice was her favorite food.
She woke up feeling a little lost. She sat up in the dark room, covered herself with a blanket, and felt a pang of homesickness and longing for the locust blossoms.
The birds outside kept chirping, and all the emotions she had managed to cultivate were ruined by those damned birds. She got out of bed, opened the window, and glared at the extremely unpleasant-sounding bird.
"Cuckoo," the bird cried out in a long, drawn-out voice.
Lin Xiushui really wanted to call Abao over and teach the bird how to sing properly.
A bamboo-awning boat passed by downstairs, then slowly stopped, calling out to her, "Sister Xiu, are you awake? We have work to do."
"What kind of work?" Lin Xiushui asked, sticking her head out from under the covers.
"Come down first, and come to the mulberry tree mouth."
Lin Xiushui got dressed and went downstairs. Wang Yuelan handed her a freshly baked pancake and said, "When you have time later, go to the fishmonger and buy a fresh fish."
She agreed and went out the door. She saw several little girls being led over by an old woman with a blue cloth sash tied around her waist. They were wearing various kinds of makeup. She found it a bit strange and took a few more glances.
The first question was, "Have you eaten?"
"I haven't eaten yet. I came to find you earlier. I came several times yesterday, but your business is so good that I had to go back," Aunt Chun smiled, her hair was gray and her face was full of wrinkles. She pointed to the little girl behind her and said, "I came to ask you to make something for me."
"What are you making?" Lin Xiushui took a bite of her biscuit. Looking at these girls, who seemed quite young, she couldn't quite figure out what they were making—silk flowers, skirts, collars?
Aunt Chun laughed and said, "Don't underestimate our young family members. They are quite capable. You may not have heard of our profession, but we are called the Little Girl Elephant Voice Singing Society."
Lin Xiushui thought for a moment. There were many kinds of entertainment in Nanwazi that she had never heard of, but she had heard of this imitation of the cries of vendors in the marketplace.
Seeing her deep in thought, Aunt Chun tugged at a tall, thin girl and said, "Little Sanhua, teach this young lady a bit of the local dialect."
Learning the local dialects involved learning various regional dialects. Xiao Sanhua didn't even need to clear her throat before she started speaking: "The little boy is really good at cooking, shooting arrows on the high bridge, and carrying boats on the field bank."
"Poor little pear tree, three bushels of millet have fallen into the rice paddy..."
Lin Xiushui listened with admiration, only to realize that the first part was Lin'an dialect, where they liked to call children "little kid," and "real sha zao" meant "powerful."
The archery scene at Gaoqiao was in Pingjiang Prefecture (Suzhou) dialect. The tone changed from hard to soft, then to Chai Panjiang, and finally to Qingyuan Prefecture (Ningbo) dialect. Later, Shaoxing dialect was also spoken. Nowadays, it is popular to learn the local dialects and speak the local dialects of these places.
She saw that Xiao Sanhua was thin and small, probably no more than ten years old, but she didn't expect her to have so many skills.
Aunt Chun laughed and said, "Young lady, you're probably not used to this. This is nothing. Xiao Sanhua speaks the local dialect, this is Qiao Yingjiu's, that's Qiao Jiaoxue's, and these three are Qiao Zhaijuan and Qiao Zhuoshe."
She didn't understand, but Aunt Chun had someone demonstrate it to her one by one before Lin Xiushui realized that Qiao Yingjiu was imitating the wine cellar's new wine, Qiao Jiaoxue was imitating how a teacher teaches, and Qiao Zhaijuan was imitating the ladies and young women in a wealthy family, as were Qiao Xieshen and Qiao Zuoqin, which were imitating weddings.
Aunt Chun said a lot of things, and finally stated the purpose of her visit: "I heard that you can even make puppet costumes, and you get a lot of work. The children in our community have been practicing their skills for a long time, but they have never worn proper clothes or performed on stage. Besides, we are from out of town and we are not very familiar with the tailors here. There are no clothes in the market that they can wear. I wonder if you could make some according to their measurements? We can provide the fabric."
Lin Xiushui thought she was being asked to make something, but she never expected that she would be asked to make clothes. This was the first time she had ever received a proper job making clothes.
This was the first time Lin Xiushui had taken on a clothing-making job, and it was quite challenging. It wasn't as simple as making a dress for a little girl; it had to fit all kinds of outfits, something Lin Xiushui had never done before.
She hesitated, worried that she might not do a good job, and asked, "Why not hire a professional tailor? I'm not very skilled at this."
“We can’t hire them anyway. It’s not easy for us to make a living in this line of work,” Aunt Chun said. “I’m the one who’s raised them. I can’t afford the ones who charge high prices, and the ones who charge low prices don’t do a decent job.”
She said softly, "They are all children their parents didn't want. I'm keeping them so I can make a living."
"Everyone says your product is cheap and well-made. We don't mind if it's not good enough, as long as it looks decent. Let us kids go on stage and earn some money to support you."
These girls were young, mostly around eight or nine years old. They were small and didn't require much fabric. Lin Xiushui couldn't bear to do it, as it wasn't easy to make a living these days.
“It would be difficult for me to do all of them. Aunt Chun, what do you think?” Lin Xiushui said, “I work in a tailor shop and I have a lot of experience with Qiao’s family’s clothes. I can learn quickly. How about we start with this? A complete set will cost 150 coins.”
Aunt Chun immediately agreed. Lin Xiushui took out a measuring tape and measured the height, arm span, chest and abdomen of the two little girls. They were all so thin that their sternums protruded and their faces were small.
She didn't say anything. Don't underestimate her just because she's young; she earns her living through her skills. She simply took out her own paper, sat down, dipped it in ink, and started drawing patterns. Thanks to Su Qiaoniang for asking her to make clothes for the dolls, she spent her free time looking at the clothes in the clothing shops, observing how the colors were matched and the styles of the garments. She also sewed collars and linings in the clothing shops, taking apart each piece of clothing one by one, which made drawing patterns a breeze for her.
She drew more clothing patterns than she practiced calligraphy, stacking them high in piles. She spent a lot of her earnings on paper.
Aunt Chun took the paper pattern and thought it was good no matter which one she looked at, but she didn't have any money, so she only ordered two sets. The cloth that came with it wasn't very good either; it was coarse cloth and came in two colors: blue and cyan.
She was a little embarrassed and wanted to say something, but Lin Xiushui smiled and pulled out a piece of cloth. "The size I bought is long enough to make two sets. Aunt Chun, don't worry, I'm best at sewing and mending. I'll just add some cloth in and it will still look great."
This was the skill she had honed through sewing. The families in Sangqiao Ferry weren't very wealthy, and when it came to altering clothes or mending items, she had to do the patchwork. Not only did she have to sew well, but she also had to make sure the stitches looked good. Lin Xiushui put a lot of thought into it, and even if she only earned two or three coins, she couldn't let people's money go to waste.
The appliqué and embroidery techniques used in mending are very suitable for this. They use little fabric but produce beautiful results. They can be cut into various flower patterns and sewn into a riot of colors.
The Qiao family's clothes needed to include a long jacket, a bodice, a pleated skirt, and trousers. These two pieces of cloth needed to be ironed, and Lin Xiushui borrowed an iron from a tailor shop. She insisted on paying Gu Niangzi for it.
“You’ve taken on quite a lot of work,” Madam Gu said without saying anything else. “It seems that it’s a waste of your talents to only have you sew collars and blouses. I’ll go and take a look today, and then I’ll have you sew jackets.”
Lin Xiushui readily agreed, "I can sew the whole thing myself, and I guarantee I can do it well. I've been practicing my needlework lately, so if you trust me, just leave it to me."
Gu Niangzi asked in bewilderment, "Where do you get so much strength? Look how thin you are, yet you're so capable."
“I used to work in the fields, and sewing was much more comfortable than planting rice,” Lin Xiushui said matter-of-factly. She would rather hold a needle and thread than work in the fields again.
After ironing the fabric at the tailor shop, Lin Xiushui began cutting clothes for the little girl. It was actually like making clothes for a doll, but the size was a bit larger, and it was easier to make than small clothes. The sleeves of small clothes had to be carefully turned out with tweezers, which was very laborious.
But when it comes to sewing long sleeves, it's quick to turn them over.
She spent four or five days making the two sets of clothes. She slept a little late at night and got up very early in the morning. She didn't take on difficult sewing jobs. If it was really difficult, she would only take on jobs that she could wait for and that no one else could do.
So five days later, when Aunt Chun brought her sisters, they saw that the two bolts of coarse cloth they had been given had been transformed into a very fashionable, stylish and beautiful outfit.
"Try them on quickly, you'll be fine for going on stage," Lin Xiushui picked up the clothes and gave them to the two stunned sisters. Aunt Chun then came to her senses and gently nudged them, "Take these and change."
The two sisters hurriedly went to change their clothes. They had never worn such fine clothes before. When they came out to show Aunt Chun, they wore long blue cloth jackets with embroidered collars. The back of the bodice underneath was made of coarse cloth, while the front, which was visible to others, was made of pink satin embroidered with plum blossoms. The blue cloth skirt was decorated with small white flowers that had been embroidered on. They also wore shawls and floral knots. Even though they were thin, they looked fuller.
The two sisters wore clothes in reverse colors: one wore a blue top and a blue skirt, while the other wore a blue top and a blue skirt.
"How come even the tube top fits so well? I was afraid it would fall off," Aunt Chun said, pulling it from side to side to check it. She was very satisfied, her face crinkling with smiles. She felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders; at least she could go out and earn some money, otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford food.
One of the sisters pulled open her long coat, revealing the straps hanging from her shoulder; her bra was firmly attached, making sure it wouldn't fall off.
After counting the money, Lin Xiushui asked again, "When will we go on stage?"
“There’s no platform here,” Aunt Chun said with her smile still intact. “In Nanwazi, Li Xunlan found us a public place. I’m taking the two of them there today to earn some money for food. If you have time, young lady, you can come and take a look.”
"And we'll also need to trouble you to make a few more sets of other clothes, young lady. We're not in a hurry, it's up to you."
On an early morning, Lin Xiushui had some free time. In fact, she was afraid that if no one gave her a reward for her first performance, she would lose face, so of course she had to go and support her.
The public land that Li Xunlan found for them was quite good. It was located on the left side of Nanwazi. Although it was only a small area, there were quite a few people coming and going. The twin sisters were only nine years old, so they were naturally afraid of people and their singing was a bit stumbling.
After the song was finished, Lin Xiushui led the applause and gave ten coins.
Actually, their singing wasn't particularly good, and their voices were still quite immature, not as outstanding as Xiao Sanhua's rural dialect. But their beautiful dresses made up for it, and their movements attracted many ladies to stop and admire them. This gave the two of them a lot of courage, and they started singing loudly, performing most of the skills they had learned from the Qiao family.
Several women cheered and gave some money as a reward, encouraging everyone to sing another song. Aunt Chun and her little girl sang like a troupe, which was considered to have made an appearance in Nanwazi and established a foothold, allowing everyone to temporarily earn a decent meal.
In Nanwazi, a place teeming with Luqi people, gaining a foothold is no easy feat. It all depends on skill; if you sing well, you'll have food to eat, and if you don't, you'll go hungry.
Lin Xiushui could at most make their clothes a bit more fancy, enough to attract people to stop and give them face; the rest was up to their own fate.
After she returned home, she realized that she had sewing work to do right now. She should make a few garments for people to hang on a table, starting with two small and two medium sizes.
She drew the upper body of the mannequin and then went to find Zhang the carpenter.
As a result, he was beating his unfilial son.
Carpenter Zhang was so angry that his eyebrows stood on end. He swung his stick at Zhang Musheng, who was clinging to the wall, and yelled, "You little brat, get down here!"
"Dad, do you think I'm stupid? I'll come down and let you hit me," Zhang Musheng said, kicking hard against the wall and sticking his butt out, trying not to turn into a monkey. He didn't want to be beaten until his butt was red.
Lin Xiushui cautiously peeked halfway in, ready to run at any moment. "Uncle Zhang, are you two... putting on a fight scene?"
“I’ll put on a monkey show,” Zhang the carpenter said, his beard bristling and eyes wide. “I’ll make a monkey for you to see.”
Zhang Musheng was unconvinced. He leaned against the wall and tried to turn his head to Lin Xiushui, saying, "You be the judge. I'm saying I've grown taller and I'm going to recruit soldiers in the future."
“The recruitment process involves tattooing characters on the face or hands. I don’t think I can be a coward and a coward who’s afraid of tattoos. So what if I ask for money to work as a needle and pen maker and get some embroidery tattooed on my back? I’m not going out naked for everyone to see.”
"If you want to see it, you can, but you have to pay."
The victim, the needlesmith, stood up from behind Zhang the carpenter. He was quite old and said shakily, "You didn't even say what you wanted pierced?"
“It’s just the Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right. When you enter the army, you can’t not show your arms,” Zhang Musheng clicked his tongue twice. “And there’s also the man with the tattoo on his back, Zhang Musheng, the Flower-Haired Gentleman from Sangqiao Ferry in Qingzhen, sixteen years old… I’m afraid that when I go to the battlefield in the future, no one will recognize me. These are all legitimate things.”
"Finally, it must be engraved that this person is five feet four and three inches tall (1.7 meters)."
Zhang Musheng believed that he would grow that tall sooner or later.
The pen maker said, "You wish."
"I don't care about being beautiful, I just want to be tall. What do you know!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiushui waved her hand and went out. It's better to keep Zhang Musheng in check.
Instead of asking Zhang the carpenter to make the doll, she went to Su Qiaoniang, since Su Qiaoniang's rented house was near Sangqiao Ferry.
Su Qiaoniang and her apprentice were carving a figure when she came out to open the door. Upon seeing the paper pattern given to her by Lin Xiushui, she paused for a moment, then sighed, "You've really gone to great lengths to keep me from starving."
Her simple-minded apprentice pulled a crumbly piece of cake from his pocket, licked his lips, and handed it to her, saying, "Master, you're hungry, here you go."
"Good apprentice, you keep it for yourself."
Su Qiaoniang pointed to the strange object and nodded, "This half-human is only missing a human, so it can be considered a human."
When she brought the doll to her door back then, she never imagined things would turn out this way. It's true what they say, fortunes change.
“This is nothing,” Lin Xiushui said with a look that said, “We craftsmen need to be ingenious; we can’t just stick to our old ways to make a living.”
Su Qiaoniang thought it was a good idea, and turned to hand Lin Xiushui a silken puppet that reached her calves, saying, "Then I'll trouble you with these clothes, and I won't charge you."
Lin Xiushui was stunned, shocked, and said plaintively, "I thank you so much."
She had been making clothes late into the night for some time now, and when she got tired, she needed to mend some clothes to change into.
Just as I set up my stall, a man walked over and said, "I just had a litter of kittens. Could you make a few hats for them so people will know that I, Ni Qilang, made them?"
Lin Xiushui asked curiously, "Where are the kittens?"
Muddy Seven began to rummage through his pockets, and under Lin Xiushui's watchful gaze, he pulled out a nest of mud cats, sculpting them into strange shapes.
Lin Xiushui was both annoyed and amused, but she actually folded the cloth and put hats on each of the mud cats.
Niqilang pointed to his head and said seriously, "Why don't you make a top for me too, otherwise people won't be able to tell that I'm a cat."
Whose cat has two little whiskers? It's obvious that you made this cat. Lin Xiushui was speechless and finally just said, "I'll do it if you pay me."
As long as the money is enough, Lin Xiushui can make cat clothes for him, even if he wants to pretend he is a cat.
"Really?"
Lin Xiushui smiled, "It's fake. A person can't turn into a cat."
Nishichiro then asked, "Can a cat turn into a human?"
Lin Xiushui smiled again and pointed ahead, "After you pass Qiao's Eye Medicine Shop, go up to the east end. There is a Zhenzhi Academy there. Go there and ask the teacher for advice. He even makes his students catch the wind, so he should be very happy to discuss this issue with you."
Later, she learned that the academy teacher had indeed given a topic, asking the students whether cats could become adults and then speak human language, because he had six cats at home.
Of course, it's not unusual for others to have six cats. What's unusual is that Xiaohe actually resisted the temptation of the candy and trinkets on the peddler's stretcher and saved up enough money to hire a cat. She will soon have a cat.
On the way to Cat Lane, Xiaohe sat at the bow of the boat and said excitedly, "I want to call it Xiaoye, we are the Lotus Leaf Sisters."
Lin Xiushui rowed the boat and smiled, "So what are your expectations for the cat?"
Xiaohe chuckled, "I hope it can go to the river and catch catfish by itself. I want to earn money from catfish so I can buy lots and lots of candy."
Lin Xiushui rubbed her temples, speechless. So this is how the money for hiring the cat was saved up.
She felt bad for the cat.
Author's note: Sending red envelopes to everyone, wishing you and your families a happy and healthy Dragon Boat Festival! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Hugs][Hugs]
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