Chapter 84 - Lotus in the Breeze
After the Qiantang River tide recedes in August, the river becomes calm and tranquil in September.
However, in the cabin of the ship bound for Lin'an Prefecture, a group of people were restless. Apart from Zhang Lianhe, who was preoccupied with family matters and was herself uneasy, the rest of them were on their way from Sangqing Town to Lin'an to their new shop, and were inevitably panicked and sighing.
Before I left, I was told that Lin'an was wonderful in every way, but now it feels like I'm about to go to a big prison.
Especially when it's drizzling outside, the raindrops are like spider webs, sticky and wet. On days like this, one's thoughts are also like a spider web.
The middle-aged woman in the dark red peony-patterned shirt took off the white cloth from her waist and wiped away the non-existent sweat from her temples. Leaning against the wooden wall, she said to Lin Xiushui, "Manager Lin, why am I so anxious? If I can't make money, how can I explain it to the Gu family? People in the capital are very picky."
“Who says otherwise? Life there is so different from our town. We wear green silk and blue cloth, but most of the people you see walking around on the street are wearing blue silk and red brocade. If a plaque falls down and hits someone, their family is probably an official,” said a woman in her early twenties who spoke with a Lin’an accent. She placed her hand on her lotus-patterned silk skirt. “When I think about it, I haven’t slept well for several nights. And to save face, I’m wearing a silk skirt that I had kept at the bottom of my trunk when I got married. It’s just adding insult to injury.”
Zhang Lianhe sat in the far corner of the cabin, clutching a large bundle in her arms. She didn't speak, but lowered her head and listened to everyone's chatter.
Lin Xiushui wore a light blue silk top and a peach-pink plain silk skirt. Standing among a group of women older than her, she looked somewhat young, but her expression was much more composed.
“Now that we’ve arrived in Lin’an, we should respect local customs,” Lin Xiushui said, well aware of everyone’s concerns. She showed no sign of worry, but instead asked with a smile, “I wonder if anyone has heard of a common saying in Lin’an?”
"Could it be that vegetables are from the east gate, water from the west gate, firewood from the south gate, and rice from the north gate?" the woman sitting by the right window blurted out. "Is this meant to make us focus more on finding our way?"
The woman who spoke the Lin'an dialect chimed in, "Maybe it's the fish vendor outside the Baiguan Gate, the silk basket vendor outside the Dam Gate, the horse racer outside the Zhengyang Gate, or the salt vendor outside the Luosi Gate—that's how it sounds."
The conversation was getting more and more off-topic, so Lin Xiushui shook her head and said, "There's a saying: 'If you want to get rich, hurry up and sell wine and vinegar at the imperial court.'"
The term "行在" refers to Lin'an, which was also known as "行在所". Wine and vinegar were among the two most profitable trades out of hundreds of trades.
The others were baffled and didn't understand her meaning. Selling alcohol was none of their business, so why should they be jealous?
Lin Xiushui said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you want to get rich, then drink wine and vinegar for good luck."
"As for the wine, it's not the wine jars outside Houchao Gate. They just brewed new wine in September, mostly water chestnut wine. Water chestnuts are also a part of the pond scenery. We'll buy some to offer to the Flower Goddess later."
Everyone listened in a daze. Lin Xiushui cleared her throat and said, "There's one more thing we can't do without, which is vinegar. Vinegar doesn't taste very good, so I've been looking for something else."
"What is it?" a woman asked curiously.
Lin Xiushui brought in a bag of green tangerines from outside. She had specially bought these wild mountain tangerines from a street vendor; they were sour enough.
"One for each person. This orange also has another name, called 'sour orange vinegar.' It is a bit sour, but eating it will bring you good fortune."
Lin Xiushui relied entirely on her words to deceive the women, who took the oranges with some skepticism. They broke one open and tasted it, only to find it so sour that they grimaced. All their worries, discomfort, and unease turned into disbelief at where the oranges came from. They were both sour and bitter.
Zhang Lianhe took the orange, silently peeled it, and put a segment into her mouth, expecting it to be extremely sour and bitter, but instead she tasted a sweet flavor.
She was quite shocked and forgot to chew. It was a tangerine, not the green orange that everyone eats. It wasn't sour at all, and her mouth was filled with a sweet taste. But suddenly she couldn't stop her tears and burst into sobs.
There were no strange looks; everyone just assumed the oranges were making her feel sour and kept comforting her.
Lin Xiushui then came over and said, "It's all my fault, what kind of sour oranges did I buy?"
"I'll go find them next time. They clearly said they were selling oranges, but they sold me eye drops instead."
Everyone laughed upon hearing this. Zhang Lianhe laughed and cried at the same time. Finally, she wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. After crying her heart out, she felt much better. She also got to know some of the people through this experience, which eased her anxiety considerably.
As they approached the gates of Lin'an, she went to the stern of the boat to thank Lin Xiushui. Lin Xiushui looked ahead and asked, "Do you know where we are?"
"have no idea."
“After crossing this river, the city gate ahead is called Xinkai Gate, also known as Xinmen,” Lin Xiushui patted Zhang Lianhe’s hand, “Once you cross Xinmen, it’s like starting all over again.”
"I," Zhang Lianhe also looked towards the city gate. She hesitated, not knowing what to say. At this moment, it was raining heavily outside the boat, and it was raining lightly inside her heart. She could only murmur, "Thank you."
As we entered Lin'an and passed through the newly opened gate, the banks of the river were lined with blue bricks and white walls. The river was wide, with many boats carrying scholars and officials, as well as large boats with the words "Huzhou" written on them, which were rice boats transporting rice from Huzhou.
Along the way, grain transport ships from the Transport Bureau docked at the wharves. Over a thousand bushels of rice were loaded and unloaded by junior officials from the Anshan District Office, who were dressed in blue robes and carried the rice sacks. There were also red-clad boats from the Palace Guard Office. Regardless of the type of boat, soldiers wearing military caps, scarlet robes, and carrying black lacquered canes would shout orders, and the boatmen would either turn around immediately or stay close to the shore, with the boatmen standing at the bow and saluting to let the red-clad boats go first.
Lin Xiushui had never seen such a scene in Sangqing Town before. Watching five or six large ships sway past without making a sound, only the sound of the ships passing by, she probably didn't dare to breathe loudly.
However, I heard that it was because of the annual Mingtang Grand Sacrifice, which takes place every three years, and all the waterways needed to be inspected. Only then would the red-plated boats of the Palace Guards be allowed to roam around each waterway.
Lin'an was a prosperous city. Even on rainy days, there were more boats than cattle. There were many waterways and streets. It only took a little over half a day to get from Sangqing Town to Lin'an, but it took half a day to get from the new gate of Lin'an to the flower market.
Lin Xiushui's legs went numb from sitting. She went from being excited at first to being so sleepy that her head was nodding off. She slept at her rented place that night. The next day, she still thought she was in Sangqing Town. When she was woken up, she said, "Auntie, I'm getting up now."
Zhang Lianhe, who knocked on the door, looked bewildered. She tentatively answered, "Yes."
"My aunt's name is Wang Yuelan. You changed your name?" Lin Xiushui asked as she stepped out the door.
"What name do you want to change to?" Zhang Lianhe asked earnestly, following behind her. "I can change it. How about I take your surname and drop the Zhang surname?"
Lin Xiushui said, "Okay, I'll give you the character 'water'. What's that saying again? 'No lotus can grow without water.'"
When choosing a shop location, Madam Gu kept repeating this phrase, which is why there is a large river in front of the Manchijiao shop.
But this time the weather didn't cooperate. Lin'an, which hadn't seen rain for over a month, experienced ten consecutive days of rain starting from the end of August. Today the rain has subsided a bit, and it's a cloudy and rainy day, so we're hurrying to open for business.
They hired a folk singer from Lin'an and a variety of performers from Luqi. Dozens of people dressed in pink and green were playing music and setting off fireworks, including fast and slow ones, which made a lot of noise and attracted a crowd to come and watch the opening ceremony.
As the drumbeats grew louder and louder, more and more people gathered, and Man Chi Jiao officially opened for business.
When the plaque was hung up, Lin Xiushui breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, she hadn't had a full night's sleep for quite some time because of this opening. She dreamed that the hard work of dozens of people had gone down the drain.
Finally, we took our first small step in Lin'an.
Unlike the joy she felt when she started making clothes for Shui Ji, her shop was now a place where she made clothes for everyone in the town, and she was willing to earn as much as she could.
But Man Chi Jiao is different. It has to make money, pay the wages of dozens of people, and be worthy of the fabrics that dozens of people have been buying day and night from Pingjiang Prefecture, Huzhou and other places. In order to open the business for a month, everyone traveled back and forth between Lin'an and Sangqing Town, covered in dust. This is not just her shop.
Many people have high hopes for it.
Everyone in the shop was all smiles, eager to attract customers. "Madam, come in and take a look. We sell all kinds of lotus-themed clothes and pond scenes, called 'Full Pond Beauty.' Everyone is welcome to come in and have a look."
Lin'an has many shops, and countless shops sell all kinds of novel clothes. Among the women coming and going, there are those wearing gold-embroidered satin skirts, pomegranate skirts, and sixteen-panel tulip skirts. There is also a white silk shirt with painted gold trim and a pleated skirt embroidered with various flowers and plants.
I've seen plenty of fine clothes, but I'm still drawn to the lotus-shaped skirt on display.
“Look, look at that skirt, how beautifully it hangs! This pink color complements my blue gauze skirt perfectly,” said the woman wearing a crown, pointing to the lotus-shaped skirt hanging out.
Her companion, a woman with rosy cheeks and dressed in plain white, chuckled upon hearing this, "Why is it pink? This year, pure white is all the rage. I won't wear anything that isn't white."
The woman in the tall hat turned around, her face darkening. "So much for the fashion of pure white! A group of scholars think colorful clothes are ugly. Now everyone's dressed in white, acting crazy, like they're in mourning. Wherever they go, all they see is white."
Some people, like them, collectively uphold filial piety to Heaven, even wishing they could dye their hair white.
She held her crown and snorted, "If you won't wear it, I'll wear it myself."
"You dare to wear this from some unknown shop?" the woman in the plain white dress said angrily.
The man completely ignored her. But once inside the shop, his eyes lit up. The jacket was no longer the same old straight-sleeved or narrow-sleeved style. She lifted it up and saw that the sleeves were made in the shape of lotus petals, with exquisite embroidery. The fabric was pink silk and had a beautiful sheen.
"How much is it per piece?" the woman in the tall hat asked.
Li Sanniang in the shop quickly replied, "Madam, it's three strings and two qian of silver. Our silk fabric comes from Changzhou, and the embroidery thread is all top-quality refined silk that won't scratch at all. You see, the soft fabric used for the lining can be altered to fit different body shapes, and we can even make it to your measurements."
Lady Gao Guan disliked dressing the same as others, and after stating this, she looked at the others and left.
Li San Niang was somewhat annoyed that the business deal hadn't been finalized, but fortunately there were other business opportunities available.
"This skirt has an interesting design, but it's too plain," a woman in a yellow silk skirt with silver embroidery said as she entered the shop. Among the row of lotus skirts hanging by the window, she casually picked one out without changing her expression, lifted the hem, and said, "Only the waistband is interesting. Why isn't the edge sewn with gold, embroidered, or woven with gold thread?"
"There's still six hundred coins for a dress. Who do you think you are?"
The others were attending to other customers, while Lin Xiushui was tending the counter. Only Zhang Lianhe was beside her. She blushed at the words and looked at everyone, who were all busy with their own business. After trying to calm herself down, she stammered, "Madam, we can also make custom orders here."
"Tell me about it?"
Zhang Lianhe swallowed hard. Having studied it before, she tried to speak smoothly: "Our skirt is called 'One Color Cut,' which comes from the poem 'Lotus Leaf Skirt, One Color Cut, Hibiscus Opens on Both Sides of the Face.' The pink used on this skirt is specially dyed lotus pink. If you are not satisfied, we have other colors, such as peony red, lotus petal red, first lotus red, lotus red, and water red."
“If you think the skirt is too plain, we can make it embroidered with gold,” the woman in the yellow silk skirt interrupted Zhang Lianhe. “If you want it fully embroidered and woven with gold, I’ll change the design of this skirt. Money is no object.”
Zhang Lianhe was so overwhelmed by the order that she kept nodding, "We can do it, we can all do it."
She gripped the rope tightly, like someone climbing upwards, refusing to let go.
After closing a deal, she gained the courage to speak up, and her words became more and more fluent. Even when she was rejected one after another, she was still ashamed but tried her best to keep smiling.
On the first day of business, we earned twenty-five taels. After deducting the cost of cloth, thread, and gold thread, we made about twelve taels, which was not bad.
Everyone who came from the town to the inner city of Lin'an was worried and anxious all the way, fearing that there would be no business. Now they were finally relieved and felt that if things continued this way, Manchijiao could support dozens of people.
Based on this calculation, Lin Xiushui can return to town in two more days and leave everything to everyone's care.
But the next morning, as everyone in the shop was tidying up their clothes, a sudden gust of wind blew up, and before long, a torrential downpour began. The rain was louder than fireworks, pattering down from the eaves and accumulating puddles in front of the shop. Passersby hurried along, and no one paid any attention to the newly opened shop there.
After waiting for a long time, the rain did not ease; on the contrary, it got heavier and heavier, continuing until evening before gradually subsiding. I didn't earn a single penny today.
Inside the house, about a dozen people were either sitting or standing. Some of the women leaned against the eaves, glanced at the heavy rain, and cursed the awful weather. Others sat on embroidered stools and sighed, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing down on them as they thought about how several hundred taels of silver were going to go down the drain.
"Manager Lin, what should we do?" Finally, someone spoke up in the silence. "The rain is going to keep falling for so long, and no one is coming. What are we going to do?" "How could we run into this kind of weather? It was fine when we left Sangqing Town. I'm really scared now. Just like two years ago, we ran into eight months of torrential rain. Then everything would be over," a woman squatted on the ground, covering her face, speaking haltingly. She had convinced her family to give up everything in the tailor shop and come to Lin'an City from the town in order to earn more money. She didn't want to go back so easily.
The rain outside intensified, and the room was dark and filled with anxiety. Everyone was waiting for Lin Xiushui's decision, and the rain wasn't going to stop so easily.
Lin Xiushui pressed her aching brow bone, straightened her back, and in the pouring rain, made her voice louder and more resolute than the sound of the rain, "If God wants it to rain, then let it rain."
"If it doesn't rain today, it will happen again in the future. We are human, and if we don't collapse, we will find a way."
She took out a candle and lit it, providing a small light in the dark room. Amidst the chaos, she calmly and methodically made arrangements, "We've made quite a few lotus leaf umbrellas this time. Li San Niang and Zhao Qing, you two go and count how many there are in total."
"There are also oil hats and oil clothes. Lianhe and Xiaoquan go to the back room to count them, and Sister Zhang and Chen Li go together to count them."
"The rest of you go and turn over the oilcloth, cut it to the size of the shoes and sew it up. We'll have the two stoves for ironing the cloth lit tomorrow as well."
"Let's hurry up and sew these shoe covers tonight. Don't rush, I'll go buy some food later, let's eat first."
Lin Xiushui made very detailed arrangements, and her tone was both gentle and powerful. No one disagreed with her, and everyone worked together to get things done.
She took the umbrella and went outside. The rain was still pouring down, and everything was shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see the road. She didn't know where to buy it.
At that moment, a tall figure strode over from not far away.
Strangely enough, even though the sky was overcast and the rain was shrouding the fields, and she was in Lin'an, not Sangqing Town, she could still tell who was who at a glance through the blurry rain.
Chen Jiuchuan, wearing a straw hat, walked hurriedly, then suddenly stopped and raised the lantern under his umbrella to his face.
"No need for a photo, I saw you a long time ago. What, did you not go back after transporting the cargo?" Lin Xiushui stood under the eaves and watched him walk over.
Chen Jiuchuan wiped his face, which was wet from the rain, and took the food box hanging on his arm, saying, "No matter how important the matter is, we should eat first. Let's have the duck soup first."
"I didn't go back, and it's not convenient to go back."
Lin Xiushui took the heavy gift and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to stay here for a while. When you go back, please pass on a message to my aunt and the tailor, Jin."
“Okay, you eat first. You’re not familiar with the area,” Chen Jiuchuan lifted his straw hat and peeked inside. “How many of you are there? I’ll bring it over for you.”
"I," Lin Xiushui began, then turned back to look at the crowd, "twelve people, just bring whatever you like."
Chen Jiuchuan stepped into the heavy rain, and Lin Xiushui suddenly called out, "Brother Jiu."
Her voice wasn't loud, especially under the cover of the rain, but Chen Jiuchuan turned around, waved, and strode away.
It's strange, though. People she never expected to appear never showed up when she was happy, but they were always there when she was a little vulnerable.
Lin Xiushui stood under the eaves, watching the rain, which fell in countless strands.
It was a tough night. Everyone slept in the shop, hoping the rain would stop in their dreams, but it never did.
Breakfast was delivered by Chen Jiuchuan again. He was even more punctual than the dawn herald, and the food was always piping hot.
Lin Xiushui remained silent; it was unusual for her not knowing what to say.
However, with a mess behind her, she could only hurriedly say, "You'd better change your clothes quickly, or you'll get sick."
“I’m as strong as an ox,” Chen Jiuchuan said.
Lin Xiushui said, "Okay, great, you're very good."
After seeing Chen Jiuchuan off, everyone went back and rolled up their sleeves, shouting with enthusiasm: "What's there to be afraid of in the rain? If we can't sell the lotus skirts, we'll sell umbrellas and oilcloths!"
“A few older women stayed in the shop with their umbrellas and shoe covers, while the rest of us went out with me,” Lin Xiushui said.
They borrowed umbrellas, not to lend them to others on the road. Ahead was a Grand Canal with merchant ships from all over the country, and those who didn't have umbrellas usually had to walk a distance in the rain.
A thin woman with two children came out of the cabin. She had come from elsewhere without an umbrella, so she took off her clothes to wrap around the children's heads. When she saw how hard the rain was, she thought it was terrible.
Suddenly, a green lotus leaf umbrella appeared above her head. She hurriedly looked up and saw a round-faced girl saying, "Where are you going, madam? If it's a short distance, I'll take you there. If it's a long distance, you can borrow our umbrella."
"We're from Man Chi Jiao's shop. Look, it's that one. Just return it to us next time you come."
"But look at you two kids, it's inconvenient for you to walk in the rain. Our shop is a place for you to rest your feet, and we have a stove so you can dry off before you go. We also have oiled shoe covers so you won't have to worry about walking through water."
The thin woman thought to herself that she wouldn't have to get wet in the rain, and repeated, "What's the name of your shop?"
“Call her Man Chi Jiao.”
Such conversations occurred to many people. Gradually, people who were running around in the rain and getting wet held up lotus umbrellas. This is what it means to "lift the lotus leaves in the wind".
Originating from an umbrella to shield from the rain, an eave to shelter from the wind, and a stove to dry clothes, many people know the three characters "满池娇" (Man Chi Jiao).
Author's Note: Thank you for the red envelopes in this chapter. I'm currently adjusting my mindset.
I missed August 1st, but I hope everyone is doing well! [heart emoji]
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