Chapter 46 Clothing Cures All Diseases
A bunch of vests embroidered with the characters for "rain" and "water," and others including but not limited to "river," "stream," "vast ocean," and "sea"...
Lin Xiushui has recently become quite literate, studying diligently day and night. She has already mastered all the surnames in the Hundred Family Surnames, and she is indeed skilled at embroidery. Moreover, the fire vests are not the kind of armor worn by firefighters or made of perforated iron plates, but rather made of silk, with an orange-red hue, and bearing the numbers of each team on them.
According to the firefighters, the main purpose of the clothing was not for fire protection, but to protect the property of the house on fire from the possibility of someone sneaking in to steal while they were fighting the fire.
"Then why embroider other characters?"
Lin Xiushui was curious and puzzled. Looking at the few firefighters in front of her, she wondered if they could stop fooling around with Zhang Musheng.
A tall firefighter said, "This story begins last night at the alleyway by the east and west gates of the city, next to the incense and candle shop where the small broker selling paper lanterns works."
Recently, there have been many fires near the inner city of Lin'an, and small fires have been frequent in Sangqing Town. Especially in towns where sericulture is important, after the silkworms hatch in April, fire pits are set up to keep the silkworm room warm so that the silkworms can eat mulberry leaves and spin silk. There is a saying: "If you know the April weather, you can eat in the silkworm bed all year round."
So to ensure a bountiful silkworm harvest, the "clever people" in the town came up with all sorts of crooked tricks. Some bought paper horses and incense sticks carved with silkworm mothers and burned them all over the streets and alleys. During the silkworm season, the silkworm gates had to be closed, so they didn't burn them in front of their own doors, but burned them in front of other people's doors. As a result, they burned other people's bamboo frames and banners, but luckily, no big fire broke out.
Later, someone very clever bought lanterns decorated with red paper-cut silkworm flowers and went to a candle shop to buy a pair of candles with carved silkworm flowers. As a result, they burned the lanterns piled up in front of the small lantern shop, and the flames soared into the sky.
The firefighters on the West Street lookout tower immediately struck a gong, lit special lanterns at night, waved flags during the day, and called out to the Seventh Firefighting Team. The Seventh Firefighting Team was the one Zhang Musheng was in. He had barely eaten a few bites of food and was dozing off when he heard the gongs and drums. He jumped up, grabbed his water bag, and ran out like the wind, knowing that delaying the fire would get him beheaded.
Moreover, the wind was blowing fiercely today, and all the lanterns in the courtyard of the small lantern shop caught fire. A row of long bamboo poles crackled and popped as they burned, with sparks flying everywhere. The people inside were in a panic and hurriedly moved the lanterns to the back.
The firefighters quickly used bamboo poles with more than two pounds of loose hemp tied to them, dipped them in water and mud, and used them to beat out the fire. Two other firefighters carried water bags, each holding one end, and threw them into the fire.
Zhang Musheng jumped up and threw the water bag, hitting the tallest bamboo pole that was burning the brightest. He continued throwing it tirelessly, the water bag crackling and popping in the fire. The fire was right in front of him, and he kept chanting, "Rain, rain, water, water, all the rain is coming."
The frustrating thing is that this alley is not near a river. Without river water, the water bags and pouches brought by the firefighters, even if they have water in their buckets, have to be bought from nearby water shops and wait for the water shopkeepers to bring the water over.
As the saying goes, distant water can't quench a nearby fire. Zhang Musheng was sweating and panting. He had run out of water in his hand, so he went to someone else's house to get a bucket of water to quench the fire, and kept shouting for water and rain.
The firefighters heard this and glanced at him. They thought, "If you're praying for rain, why don't you throw in two paper rain dragons?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a few raindrops suddenly landed on everyone's faces. Someone reached out and touched them. What was that? Rain? Could it be that Zhang Musheng could really summon rain? As the raindrops grew larger, everyone truly believed in the supernatural.
Looking up again, I saw that the street officials had climbed up from behind the wall, swinging large, heavy cloth mops and making a rumbling "rain." A group of street sweepers rushed in and slapped the mops, splashing water and raising dust, trying to get the water people to come over.
It was like water came and rain came; in the end, the fire only burned about a hundred lanterns and the small courtyard, without burning anyone. They wiped away the ashes with a mop.
Of course, besides expressing their deepest gratitude to the Street Office and listing mops as fire-fighting equipment, the members of the Seventh Firefighting Team also deeply appreciated Zhang Musheng's actions.
What if this unconventional method of praying for rain or water actually works?
They couldn't always put out the fire. In places without rivers or far from water, their efforts were like a drop in the ocean, and the result was the complete destruction of houses, the death of people and the loss of their families, or the burning of all their possessions.
It's not easy for ordinary people to accumulate property. They may work diligently for more than ten or even decades, but a single fire can reduce it to ashes.
An old firefighter said, "I was thinking that if we could be of any use, we could put out the fire sooner and salvage something. Like that time when we were fighting a fire, it was burning so fiercely. We tried everything we could, but we couldn't put it out. Luckily, the heavens were kind and sent rain, so we still had some things left."
It's not that embroidering a word is useful, but I just thought that in this line of work, getting a little bit of water is always good.
Lin Xiushui remembered the mops she had made for the Street Office before, and she never expected them to come in handy now. In fact, Wang Yuelan made dozens of mops intermittently afterward, but the Street Office always arrived very early, so Lin Xiushui never ran into them.
Later, she sold the method to them for a few hundred coins and didn't ask about it again.
Lin Xiushui snapped out of her reverie and tapped herself. "Then you've come to the right person. After all, my name has the character for water in it. Rivers, lakes, and seas are all formed by water, and water can overcome fire."
In fact, she didn't have much to help the firefighters with firefighting, except for embroidering water-related words and adding the word "peace" to the corner of each person's fire vest.
They returned safely from the flames.
Peace and joy are rare in a person's life.
Of course, she was really tricked by Zhang Musheng and came up with an unreliable idea: buy Yulong's paper horse, put it in a sachet, and maybe it would really bring rain.
The key point is that everyone actually believed it. They bought Rain Dragon Paper Horses and asked her to make special sachets for them to keep close to their bodies. Later on, not only the Seventh Fire Team, but also the Sixth Team and the Fifth Team all came to ask for a Rain Sachet. Water generates rain, and rain extinguishes fire. Everyone really believed it.
There are a total of eight teams, and some of the firefighters have bought them. They jokingly call it "Eight Directions of Wind and Rain Gather to Protect the Homeland, Where Water and Rain Come but Fire Does Not."
Zhang Musheng, the source of everything, said seriously for once: "Whether it's useful or not, we all know in our hearts. It's just that we're willing to go through fire and walk through fire for peace of mind."
He was at ease once the fire was extinguished, and he was happy that the people's homes were safe. Even wood could be born from fire.
Who would have thought that before, he was just trying to save face by being a firefighter, to make his parents and neighbors say that he was successful, for the sake of face and a better future.
They were greedy at the moment, but suddenly they had a responsibility to save houses and people from fire and water.
He said with a firm and resolute voice: "I want to be a fire poker, a fire stick, a stove, and I will not shy away from fire when I am at the stove!"
"You should probably avoid him," Lin Xiushui said, covering her face. She had originally wanted to say that Zhang Musheng had not only grown taller but had also enriched his mind, but upon hearing this, she shook her head.
As Sun Da once said, "He's got a blockhead's heart; you can't get through to him."
Carpenter Zhang said his son was stubborn, but the family stopped work for a day, took a boat to Zhaoqing Temple, and got him a Taoist talisman, a specially made fire-repelling talisman.
When she returned to make a table for Lin Xiushui, Wang Yuelan snatched back a pile of bamboo and wood, complaining that the wide wooden plank at Lin Xiushui's stall was too shabby and the chairs weren't high enough.
The wages for the silk trade were only calculated in the middle of the month. After receiving the money, Wang Yuelan thought about it and bought new shoes for Xiaohe, catfish for the cat, and a large blue cloth oil-paper umbrella for Lin Xiushui.
The oil-paper umbrella was very large, enough to cover three to five people when opened, but it was quite difficult to open, as it had to be stuck into a tall wooden stump with a hole drilled in it.
Lin Xiushui held up the umbrella with all her might and said, "Auntie, is it because it's getting hot lately? Are you worried that I'll get too hot?"
“No, that’s not it,” Wang Yuelan said, taking a string of meat inside. “I’m afraid the mulberry tree will start to get infested with insects that will fall on your head. It’s not even the summer solstice yet, what’s the heat?”
Xiaohe ran in from outside, her face flushed and covered in sweat. She had been playing with Xiaohua, flying kites, and walking Xiaoye. Before she even entered the door, she exclaimed, "It's hot, so hot!"
She fanned herself with her hand and looked up at her mother, asking, "Mother, can I go to Aunt Guihua's to wash my body? Xiaohua wants to go. She says Aunt Guihua washes very well, and the bath powder smells wonderful."
Wang Yuelan paused in her chopping of meat, glanced at Xiao He, and asked, "Did I wash it badly?"
She would never give Chen Guihua money! Dream on!
Xiaohe covered her mouth, not daring to tell the truth. Lin Xiushui also looked at her, so she dared not speak even more. The two of them washed her body without any gentleness.
Her mother washed her clothes with great care, so hard that she screamed and felt like she was being scrubbed raw. Her older sister, on the other hand, washed her clothes with such care that it felt like she was sewing clothes.
Lin Xiushui, always eager for drama, put away her umbrella and said, "Let her go. She can earn her own money anyway."
Wang Yuelan was distressed about the money, and even more distressed that it would end up in Chen Guihua's hands. First, she took Xiaohe to the nearest perfume shop for a stroll, and then they came back. Boiling some water to wipe her body felt like a robbery.
In her opinion, there was a reason why Chen Guihua could keep working at the bathhouse. So she decided to make a decision and let Xiaohe pay for her own bathing, while Chen Guihua would do the hard work.
The conflict between the two adults has nothing to do with the child.
Xiaohe emerged from the bath, her skin smooth and slippery, her purse empty. She sniffed the scent of bath soap on herself and said with a mournful face, "It's all gone. The money washed away like soap bubbles."
Wang Yuelan and Lin Xiushui had already anticipated this, and they were both laughing at the moment. Only Xiaohe was sad, suffering from the pain of a child who couldn't save money.
But she wants to go again next time.
Lin Xiushui has been making a lot of money lately, and has also received a lot of inexplicable concern. Every time she goes out, she receives friendly inquiries from the street officials. She wonders if it's because she sold a mop to the fire brigade and made them stand out, or if she mopped the floor so well that it's gleaming. Of course, this remains a mystery.
The explanation is that the first time she took on an unconventional job, making clothes for fighting cocks, Li Xixian brought his half-feathered iron rooster to give her as a gift—a gift of a feathered rooster.
When Lin Xiushui saw the hundreds of chicken and duck eggs she received, she could only think, "It's really hard work. It's hard for the chickens to lay eggs, and it's hard for the ducks to lay eggs. It's hard for her whole family to eat chicken and duck eggs for three months and still not be able to finish them."
Lin Xiushui had no choice but to distribute them everywhere, to Xiao Chun'e, to Su Qiaoniang, to Zhang Musheng, to the tailors, and so on. For several days, instead of greeting people first, she would ask, "Do you want eggs? How many can I give you? Is that enough? If not, I'll give you more."
She was really worried about the eggs; it was rare for her to have such a difficult situation.
In April, the weather gradually becomes muggy, especially in places like Sangqiao Ferry where houses are close together and high walls stand along the alleyways. It's cool in the morning and sweltering in the evening.
Since someone shared her sewing work, Lin Xiushui, although still having a lot of work, was no longer in a hurry as before. When she was really in a hurry, she would go to Hu San Niangzi. She started mending things in the morning, whether it was Sun Da, Song San Niangzi, or other people of all kinds.
She comes back in the evening to take on alterations and sewing jobs, and now she finally has time to do them, whereas before she could only do mending.
She alters clothes and keeps them in her own tailor shop, mostly for taking measurements for women. At this time, spring clothes are still thin, and it's not very convenient to do so in public with so many people around.
Many people have asked her to alter their clothes.
Like Li Niangzi, who sells steamed cakes and mantou on the front street, she brought two skirts and stepped into the doorway to ask, "Ah Qiao, can you take a look and see if these skirts can be turned into vests? Make them look nicer."
"It was so stuffy that day. When I kneaded some dough, I was sweating like steam from a steamer. My back was soaked with sweat after just one morning of steaming something."
Lin Xiushui echoed, reaching out to take them. She hung one on her arm and stretched the other out with both hands. She glanced at the size; the peach-colored dress had no pleats and wasn't very wide. The other one was light green, also without pleats, but much wider.
"Wife, wait a minute. Can you make a vest for me? Let me take your measurements first."
She wore three or four cloth rulers around her neck, some two feet long and some three feet long. She wore a light green apron with two pairs of scissors, one large and one small, stuffed in the large apron pocket in the middle. In the side pocket at her waist, she had a peach wood ruler and an eyebrow pencil, which she used to draw points and remember things.
Lin Xiushui, having worked in the tailor's workshop surrounded by tailors, had picked up some of their fine manners. She laid the skirt out on the flat table, took out a two-foot measuring tape, measured its width, and then, with her right hand, took out an eyebrow pencil and wrote on a piece of paper that it needed to be a little wider, as she would need to iron it later.
"Wife, let me measure you. Raise your arm in a moment."
Lin Xiushui took the measuring tape, closed the door, and went over to talk to Li Niangzi.
Song Dynasty vests had draped fabric cuffs that curled up, giving the appearance of sleeves. The length of the vest was below the waist, with a straight collar and a front opening. Women would wear vests and bodices alone at home in the summer, but most of the time they would wear them over an upper garment or a jacket when going out.
Lin Xiushui measured the width of the collar, the shoulder width, from the outermost part of the left shoulder bone to the right shoulder, the chest circumference, to measure the fullest part, the arms, the cuffs, the length of the garment, and the hip circumference, to cover below the buttocks.
This kind of measurement usually requires a certain amount of fabric. Lin Xiushui also has to make print patterns. Li Niangzi is a bit hunchbacked, has strong arms, and a big butt. These factors need to be taken into account so that they can be covered up.
After all, no one wants to spend 156 coins to alter a piece of clothing only to have it reveal flaws in their figure.
Even when altering clothes, one must accentuate strengths and conceal weaknesses.
Li Niangzi said, "I only trust you. Others always say, 'Why bother altering the fabric? Just buy a vest.' But I can't wear this skirt anymore. I have to get up at the third watch of the night every day. Just by making steamed buns, I only earn enough money in five or six days to buy a vest."
What's even more embarrassing is that someone of her build doesn't dare to go to a clothing store to buy clothes. Unlike others who are slender, she is rather clumsy. Even at thirty, she often has unspeakable difficulties because of clothes, envying them but unable to express it.
Lin Xiushui had already figured it out. From the moment she started taking her measurements, Madam Li asked her if she was strong or fat, if it was easy to make, and if it would use a lot of fabric.
She put down the peach wood ruler and the piece of paper, thinking about the two pieces for the front and one for the back, plus a collar, and then looked up at Madam Li and smiled, "I guarantee you'll look good, Madam."
"As a tailor, I only find the fabric difficult to work with, not the person. No matter how good the fabric is, it has to complement the person, not the other way around."
To be honest, even if Madam Li were to become much fatter today, she would still try her best to make clothes that would make people look slimmer, rather than telling them to lose weight and fit into unsuitable clothes.
Lin Xiushui reassured Li Niangzi, and two days later, Li Niangzi came to try on the vest.
Lin Xiushui pieced together the two skirts and transformed them into a pink vest with a green back. Green embroidered collars were added to the cuffs and hem, and there were ribbons on the chest. The silk fabric was thin and wrinkled easily, so she carefully ironed it.
After putting it on, Li Niangzi used the mirror that Lin Xiushui had placed high to take two steps back and walk a little further away to see how she looked in it.
The light streaming in through the window was bright. She turned around and looked at the parts of herself that she cared about: her shoulders, hips, and arms. Only then did she notice her clothes, which made her focus on those areas less noticeable.
Moreover, the peach pink color complements her no-longer-young appearance, and her smile adds a touch of delicate beauty and freshness.
Seeing her happily tugging at her clothes, Lin Xiushui smiled and told her to bring the cloth if she wanted to alter her clothes again. She had recorded the measurements she had taken for Li Niangzi separately.
It should be said that her notebook contained the body measurements of several women, all of whom were no longer young and had changed drastically due to managing household affairs.
Especially as the weather gets warmer and clothes become thinner, concerns about body shape and clothing increase.
This kind of worry is quite normal, like a discarded silkworm cocoon, an unresolved thread that gets tangled in your heart, becoming harder to untangle the more you try to unravel it.
But when it comes to her, Lin Xiushui has her own tricks.
For example, there's the fat one, like Wang Liu Niangzi, who has never been thin since childhood and became even fatter after giving birth. She's round all over and short. As soon as she entered the store, she joked, "When I go to the clothing store, I don't need to look at anything. I just tell them, 'Give me the widest and shortest one.' Sometimes I can't even fit into it."
Lin Xiushui glanced at her; she was wearing brown clothes and a brown skirt, trying to make herself look like a tree root.
Actually, you should wear bright colors and remove unnecessary embellishments, such as colorful patterns. Also, you shouldn't wear anything too heavy, as the heavier the clothes, the more clumsy you'll look.
Lin Xiushui dressed her up in a light green-blue skirt that covered her midriff, and then added a contrasting vest. She was initially very resistant, thinking that she would look terrible in it.
As soon as Wang Liu Niangzi put it on, she exclaimed in surprise, "My God, a miracle doctor!"
All the ailments like insomnia and loss of appetite, and the mere thought of summer's anxieties, were cured. It's truly as if clothes can cure even the most illusory illnesses.
After leaving Lin Xiushui, she told everyone she met that no matter what was wrong, it was not her fault. She blamed the cloth, the needle, the thread, and the clothes, but not her.
Lin Xiushui's principle in mending is to mend clothes so well that they are as good as new. As for altering clothes, she believes that clothes can cure all ailments, from being fat to being thin, from being short to being ugly.
We must never let anyone be trapped by a piece of clothing.
However, long lines of people came to her to have clothes altered and made, some of whom simply wanted to buy clothes that fit and didn't care about anything else.
So Lin Xiushui came up with another crooked idea: it's better to modify than to do, better to mend than to mend, and better to buy clothes from a secondhand clothing store, then modify and mend them.
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