Chapter 143 Chapter 143 Update.
It snowed in the winter. Although it was so cold in Guanzhong that people were shivering, it was not entirely without benefits. The vegetables were even sweeter than those in her hometown. Tian picked large cabbages and plump white radishes from the snow.
The benefits of living in a big yard are obvious. You can eat fresh vegetables even in the cold winter. Nowadays, vegetable prices have increased a lot compared to spring and autumn.
Fortunately, there were two plots of land near her kitchen, and she had more fresh food than she could eat, so Tian gave some to neighbors like Qiu Gu and Liu Lao Gu. Their houses were narrow, and they didn't know what kind of vegetables to eat. When they got these bright cabbages and radishes, they all said they were delicious.
It was difficult for the ox carts to travel in the snow, and it was impossible to go to Huai City. There was nothing that could be done about it. When Ji Xu decided to stock up on wool to save some money, he also expected that the heavy snow in winter would block the roads, making it difficult to do business in Huai City, and he was afraid that he would not be able to repay the loan.
Now that the family's one hundred dan of wool had been safely stored in the west house, Tian tidied up the house, washed a double-collared pot, and dried some cabbage and radish to make pickles.
The pickled vegetables she made were praised by all the neighbors in her hometown. They were as red as gold hairpins, crisp and refreshing.
However, Tian was idle at home and could not earn any money, so she felt a little uneasy and hoped that the price of wool would go up.
The neighboring Jin family was always at odds with the Tian family, so naturally they didn't have those vegetables. They did grow some in their yard, but they were just green onions and coriander, small vegetables that didn't take up much space.
The green leafy vegetables we eat on a daily basis have to be bought from the store, not to mention making pickles with the leftovers.
That day, he gave Ji Zhi ten cents and asked her to go to the market to buy two heads of pickled mustard greens. The money was calculated very accurately. After she bought the two heads of pickled mustard greens, not a single grain was left. Ji Zhi was still reluctant to go.
However, since she arrived in Chang'an and bought other people's pickled vegetables to eat, she realized how bad the pickled vegetables at home used to taste.
No wonder when she took the pickles to Shengchangli to sell, everyone held their noses and said her pickles had a bad smell and refused to buy them.
Jin couldn't smell it, and always said that the pickled vegetables she made were no different from those sold by the young men outside. It was just that the place at home was not big enough to grow two heads of vegetables, so she had no chance to show off her skills.
Every time she said this, her brother-in-law Du Xian pretended to have something to do, polishing his leather boots, adjusting his hat, and looking very busy.
The snow was falling heavily, and Ji Zhi was so cold that she had to hide her hands in her sleeves. Fortunately, she made some money from the rice and meat soup business, and she begged Jin to make her a thick cotton coat a few days ago. It was much warmer than the reed-quilted coat she brought from her hometown. Otherwise, how could she withstand the weather in Guanzhong that could freeze a person's nose off?
Fortunately, it was just across the street, and Ji Zhi quickly got into the Jiaomen Market. She first saw her brother-in-law Du Xian, who was trying to hide along the wall.
Ji Zhi first called him brother-in-law and said:
"My sister was just saying, 'It's so cold outside, why doesn't my brother-in-law know how to go home and get warm on the kang?' The mayor's not here, and my brother-in-law's off duty, so who's going to discipline him?"
"We have to go back, we have to go back."
Du Xian was about to leave when Ji Zhi asked him:
"Brother-in-law, what's the price of wool now?"
Du Xian often went into the city to drink with his brothers who worked in the market. Every time he came back, Ji Zhi would ask him the price of wool, because she had secretly bought wool worth one hundred coins.
Her mother, Jin, believed the news about her son-in-law and did not dare to buy the wool. Ji Zhi had known about Ji Xu's powerful abilities before, so he gritted his teeth and used the private money he had earned from selling rice every day to buy all the wool.
But there were not many. They were mixed with pine wool in sacks and placed in an inconspicuous place in the firewood shed. She didn't dare let Jin find out. She asked Du Xian about the market price of wool every day, but he didn't move. She couldn't help but feel discouraged. Was Ji Xu no longer effective?
Du Xian couldn't hide, so he had to tell her:
"It has gone up now, by three hundred coins per stone. Don't tell your aunt. Just pretend you don't know. Your brother-in-law will buy you some Hu cakes."
This was because he was afraid that Mrs. Jin would blame him. He had never imagined that the price of wool this year was so strange. He had boasted a lot in front of Mrs. Jin that day, and now that the price had gone up, he was too embarrassed to tell his wife.
Ji Zhi agreed. He thought that the little bit of wool he bought was not a bad purchase. He could earn some money and keep it for himself to buy food and entertainment in the future. He would not have to ask Jin for money.
Thinking of this, running errands to buy pickled vegetables didn’t seem to be in vain. After eating the Hu Bing, he happily packed his food basket and went home.
But Jin himself was also doing business in the store, so he would always hear rumors.
This day, as she hurried home, Ji Yuan brushed off the snow beads on her body, and she said with regret:
"Now, a stone of wool has risen to one ounce and eight coins of silver. If I had bought it back then, it would have increased by a full six hundred coins by now!"
She now regretted listening to Du Xian and should have bought some wool to stock up earlier. Ji Yuan was also surprised.
Ji Zhi urged her to buy again, but now the price has risen, she dared not buy, fearing that it would fall again after buying, and said:
"I heard that this is because the Wei River is frozen three feet thick, so the grain ships can't pass. Wait until the merchants who travel by land have transported wool from the border markets to Chang'an. The price will surely return to its original level. Then we can buy some from them. That would be a wise plan."
Jin has her reasons.
I'm just waiting for the wool from the border market to come in and make some money.
The vendors set up their stalls as usual that day, and a piece of news was spreading among the vendors in Jiaomen City.
"The border market is closed, the border market is closed! Things from outside the Great Wall can't get in!"
The gold, copperware and cloth from Guanzhong were also sold to foreigners outside the Great Wall through border market trade. Now that the border market is closed, the merchants doing this kind of business are naturally worried.
Jin was greatly shocked. She had been hoping that wool from outside the Great Wall would come into Guanzhong so that she could buy some cheap wool to stock up. But nothing happened. She hurriedly asked why. Guo Dalang, the liver seller, said:
"I heard the Huns are harassing the border, and the imperial court is planning a war with them. Word has spread throughout Chang'an. Tomorrow, the troops will be assembled at the East Suburbs camp. The Han army is heading to Youzhou to fight!"
"It would be great if both sides could get along with each other. If there is such a commotion, the border market will be closed and business there will be impossible." The peddler sighed.
As a result, the price of wool was still rising. Jin wanted to buy it, but he was always hoping that it would drop a little bit. He was afraid that he would buy it at a high price and lose money like he did when he sold grain in his hometown, which would delay his life for a long time.
The Tian family next door encountered a snowy day, so Teacher Fan of the elementary school also gave them a holiday, saying that they would resume classes after the snow stopped.
They all helped Ji Xu sell braised food in Jiaomen City for half a day, and the whole family rested at home in the second half of the day.
Tian's face was full of joy now. After all, the price of wool was rising rapidly, and the wool and mats in the west room of her house were becoming more and more valuable.
Even though I couldn't go to Huai City to set up a stall, I felt more at ease. I didn't have to worry about not being able to pay back the loan next month or about thugs blocking the door to collect the debt. My daughters and I took apart some wool to make something to keep warm.
Nowadays, wool is expensive, and Tian is reluctant to waste it. She washes it repeatedly, spreads it out in the main room to dry, and then uses a brush to loosen it into pieces.
This was a good time to kill time. The bamboo couch was covered with snow-white wool. There was a hand-cranked spinning wheel on the table. Ji Xu was spinning it. The wool was spun into rolls of wool thread. The thread was not very fine, so it might not be suitable for spinning cashmere cloth, but it could be used to weave wool mats.
Tian was an excellent needleworker. She not only wove a warm and soft mat but also spread it on the bamboo couch.
I also made two large woolen quilts for them to cover themselves with at night. They all said they were extremely comfortable. The wool lining had been processed and had no sheep smell.
I also found time to make them each a woolen hood in the fashionable pointed-top style, which is warm. I also made a neck coat, hand coat, and knee pads in succession to ensure they would not get cold. Doing needlework in heavy snow is not an easy task. If you don't work in front of charcoal fire, your fingers will become stiff.
Not only the three of them did it, but the youngest one as well. Tian said she would bring it to her when the elementary school reopened.
"Sister, what are you doing?"
Ji Zhu saw Ji Xu holding a bullnail with a thick felt pad underneath and poking the ball of wool. She found it interesting and came over to ask.
"Poke an animal out."
Ji Xu said, I have fallen into the trap of wool felt in my previous life, and now I can think of it as a fun thing.
It took her two hours to poke out a vivid lamb with button-shaped eyes embroidered on it. Feng, Zhu and the others loved it so much that Yang Jixu also poke one for them to play with.
The windowsills are decorated with cute little animals made by Ji Xu, which add a lot of fun to the boring winter days.
Ji Xu also dyed wool black and made a cat in the shape of the carved Hu cat at home. One day he gave it to Xiaoyao to play with, which surprised her.
"I don't know when I can see Xiaoyao again. I don't know if she is eating well or sleeping well at the Yan family."
Ji Fengdao said, "I was just thinking about Xiaoyao when someone came from the Yan family. It was a servant from the Song family's courtyard. She came home and said:
"Madam has brought the little one home. Relatives and elders have met him recently. They all say it's pitiful that he can't speak, but it's a blessing for family members to meet again. Madam is grateful to you and your family. The little one misses his mother and sisters very much. It's almost the end of the year, so I'd like to invite Aunt Tian and her family to our home to sit and chat."
A date was set, and a carriage was sent to pick them up that day.
The braised food stall at Jiaomen City hung a sign saying it was closed for the day. Ji Xu also put on good clothes, a hood and gloves made by Tian, and went to visit the guests in warmth.
The carriage stopped on the street and the neighbors were all looking around.
"Where are you going? Have you hired a carriage?"
The neighbor asked, and saw that although the carriage was not the red carriage that only officials with a salary of 600 dan could use, it was just an ordinary soap-colored one, but it was also a large carriage with lacquer wheels, much more imposing than an ox cart.
In their alley, apart from Jin's son-in-law who was a market official and often rode a skinny brown horse in and out of the streets, no one else kept horses. After all, in the market, the families were not rich and powerful, and they did not care about style. Having an ox cart was very economical and practical.
So he took a few more glances at the carriage and asked Tian curiously.
"Why would we waste money to hire an oxcart? These are the children's aunts, and they insist on using a car to pick them up."
Tian's face was particularly bright, but she had never ridden in a carriage before, and she tried to climb on as if it were an ox cart. She lifted her skirt and tried to climb on, making a fool of herself in front of the coachman and maid of the Yan family. It was only after Ji Xu pointed it out that they realized there was a special horse stool that they had to step on to get on.
But these are all trivial matters. Sitting in the carriage, Tian was in great spirits and didn't care about much else.
Ji Xu's three sisters also came in and sat down, looking at everything curiously.
Ji Feng went to lift the curtain, only to see Jin rushing out of the courtyard. Seeing the neighbors pointing and talking about the carriage, she looked down on them and muttered:
"It's not some high-ranking official's car, is it worth looking at in the snow?"
She heard that there was a peddler near Wei Bridge who sold wool every day, but now the price of wool has risen to four taels of silver per stone, and it is no longer available anywhere.
So he rushed to rob them early in the morning, clasped his hands together and held a bundle of burlap bags, rolled his eyes and walked away without stopping.
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