Chapter 80: Buying Winter Clothes and Quilts; Gentle Copying Books to Make Money
After reading in the library for two months, Yao Xiaoyu lost interest in staying there any longer—it was too cold!
Books are afraid of fire, water, insects, and rats. Coal stoves for heating cannot be brought in, and food and water are also prohibited. There is no heating, so it's as cold as an ice cave in this weather.
That's not all. The key issue is that the sky is dark early and light is dim, and there's no electricity inside. I was engrossed in reading when the words started to become blurry. I had to use candles or kerosene lamps for light.
The study is a restricted area; candles are strictly prohibited!
Yao Xiaoyu really didn't want to get up early and work late in the cold. One day, she accidentally slept in and then let herself go. She started showing up for work on an irregular basis. The people working in the library were initially surprised, but they got used to it later. Yao Xiaoyu was just here to read books, so she was a relatively troublesome person with connections. If they had reported her and replaced her with a difficult person, they would have regretted it too late.
Days passed, and the weather grew colder. After piling clothes all over the bed but still waking up shivering, Yao Xiaoyu finally realized that winter was coming.
Her hometown was magical, with fierce winds blowing all year round. Although it was in the south where the four seasons were distinct, it only had two seasons: winter and summer. She got used to the gales and torrential rains that could blow windows away and the sudden drop in temperature overnight. This kind of weather that slowly cooled down made her like a frog being boiled in lukewarm water.
Previously, Yao Xiaoyu's parents prepared all her clothes for all four seasons. She didn't live with them, but it was only a five-minute walk away. Whenever the weather changed or the seasons changed, there would always be a phone call, and a few more bags would be placed at the door. So Yao Xiaoyu never worried about the changing seasons—there were always suitable clothes in her wardrobe.
But now that she's traveling far away, it's time for her to pick up the self-care habits she developed during university.
Yao Xiaoyu forced down the chili pepper stuck in her throat and then drank a large glass of milk, but she was still brought to tears by the spiciness.
"We're not in a rush to go back today. Winter is coming soon, and we need to buy some new clothes... Have you grown taller too?"
As Yao Xiaoyu spoke, her gaze fell on Tao Xiaoxiao's sleeves, which were noticeably too short. Tao Xiaoxiao followed Yao Xiaoyu's gaze and looked up in confusion.
Her family always treated her like a strong laborer. If her clothes were torn or her sleeves had holes, she would learn to sew them up with needle and thread, just like others. But she hadn't mastered the skill of estimating sizes with her eyes. Whether the clothes fit or not... there were no patches on the clothes, and they didn't feel tight when worn. So what was wrong with them?
Tao Xiaoxiao didn't say anything, and Yao Xiaoyu didn't care. She pulled her into the tailor shop, and the people in the shop eagerly came up to her. In just half an hour, the two of them came out and changed their clothes.
"For the other outfit, are you planning to buy a ready-made one, or order one from a shop?"
Dressed in a light pink outfit, Yao Xiaoyu pinched the white pom-poms hanging from the sides of her hat and asked excitedly. Tao Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, but still chose the more time-consuming custom-made option.
When she was delivering firewood to wealthy families in winter, she saw a three- or four-year-old girl on the road. She had dark eyes and a face like a snowball, wearing a light yellow dress and holding a string of candied hawthorns bigger than her head. Her father held her in his arms with a loving expression, and the soles of her shoes were clean.
It had just rained that day, and every step you took on the ground left you covered in mud.
"I want clothes in this color."
Tao Xiaoxiao pointed to the light yellow fabric and said, "I can't believe it." Yao Xiaoyu saw the expression on her face, swallowed her disappointing words about how the color would fade quickly and how difficult it would be to wash, and just watched the tailor gesturing around Tao Xiaoxiao before readily paying.
After buying clothes, you have to buy blankets. Last year, the two of them squeezed into one second-hand blanket because of limited funds. This year, with more money, Yao Xiaoyu wants two blankets by herself, one mattress and one cover-up.
She didn't want any high-end silk quilts, just the right amount of new cotton, with a smooth and nice quilt cover, which would feel warm and comfortable against her skin. The shopkeeper was so pleased with the deal of four quilts for the two of them that he even gave her a small padded jacket as a gift. Yao Xiaoyu checked the size and gave it to Yao Xiaoli as soon as she got back, receiving a string of compliments in return.
From six people sharing three beds to five people sharing three beds, Yao Xiaoli did not enjoy any benefits. The distribution of bedding changed from the original father-son-mother-in-law-daughter-in-law pairing to husband-wife-mother-in-law-grandson pairing. Yao Tianrui, as the eldest son and grandson of the Yao family and a promising student, was able to enjoy a quilt all to himself.
Yao Xiaoyu didn't care about the intricacies of the situation. She simply took Tao Xiaoxiao out to buy winter gear. Today they brought back two hot water bottles, tomorrow a pair of little boots, the day after a rabbit fur scarf, and the day after that a pair of hand warmers... turning the room and herself into a cozy and warm place, laying a solid foundation for getting through the winter.
...
Get some rest.
Zhou Chunhua rubbed her aching shoulders, making the stairs creak as she gently packed her things. Instead of immediately turning off the kerosene lamp, she took out a piece of discarded paper with typos and Yao Ping'an's fountain pen, and began practicing calligraphy on the discarded draft.
Wenrou had to do housework and handicrafts at the Yao family home. The lack of rest during the day consumed most of her energy, making it difficult for her to concentrate when practicing calligraphy. Coupled with the chill in the air, her already unruly fingers could hardly write any decent characters.
But Wenrou simply put down her pen, pinched her ears hard, and felt a burning pain followed by a searing sensation. Her senses were awakened through both ears and then focused entirely on the paper.
One horizontal stroke and one vertical stroke, one left-falling stroke and one right-falling stroke.
The words on the paper began to take shape, but a wave of drowsiness washed over her again. She gently put down her pen, but this time her movements were not as gentle.
"Smack!"
A crisp slap echoed in the cold wind. It was Wenrou who had slapped herself hard across the face with her five fingers together. Her head was buzzing from the slap, but her sleepiness was definitely gone.
Wenrou gave up the idea of continuing to copy the article and only practiced the character "永" stroke by stroke. She was not very knowledgeable, but her second daughter said that the character "永" contained all the strokes, and if she could master this character, she would be able to write the other characters well.
It's hard to persevere when you're exhausted, but Wenrou always had a breath left in her heart—working on handicrafts from morning till night, she could only earn a few cents at most, but as long as she could copy books, she could earn at least four yuan a month!
Hanging on the radish with four silver dollars, Wenrou persevered day after day. Her originally crooked handwriting has now started to look somewhat decent. Once it becomes neater, she will be able to earn money.
Let's practice on an extra sheet of paper today.
The cold wind made Wenrou shiver. In a daze, she thought of Yao Xiaoyu's pen that never stopped writing—did her daughter write all day long back then, and did she also stay up all night to write her articles?
...
"Each book will be settled in silver dollars, and the remaining silver coins will be settled together with the next book."
Yao Xiaoyu flipped through the papers in her hand, making sure that Wenrou had no objection to this way of paying. She then planned to bring back a book to copy in a couple of days. Considering that this was the first time Wenrou had earned money with her pen, she planned to choose a thin book of about 30,000 to 40,000 words as a bonus for the newcomer.
With Wenrou no longer engaged in handicrafts, Zhou Chunhua also had some ideas—her daughter-in-law hadn't performed as well as her when she was learning to read, but now she could earn money by copying books, so why didn't she give it a try?
In response, Yao Xiaoyu said that the more the better. She had more books than she could copy. If it weren't for the deeply ingrained idea that students should study hard, she would have wanted to bring Yao Tianrui and Yao Xiaoli over to join the book-copying army as well.
...
Yao Xiaoyu took advantage of busy times at the bank to exchange all the bank drafts and US dollar remittance slips, earning a considerable amount of silver dollars, as well as large yellow croakers that brought her joy.
She and Tao Xiaoxiao chose a lucky rickshaw driver to head home. Even though they hadn't reached the turn yet, the driver suddenly stopped. The two of them were thrown forward by inertia. If Tao Xiaoxiao hadn't steadied herself in time and held Yao Xiaoyu back, they would have almost rolled off the rickshaw.
"What's wrong?"
Yao Xiaoyu understood the reason as soon as she peeked out halfway – a skinny child had fallen in front of the rickshaw, and the driver's foot was halfway up; if he hadn't stopped in time, his foot would have landed on the child's waist.
"Put it in the car and take it to the clinic."
Yao Xiaoyu spoke, but the driver remained unmoved.
"This beggar is filthy, but my car is clean..."
Tao Xiaoxiao was about to make a move when Yao Xiaoyu grabbed her and took out two silver dollars from her purse.
The driver wasn't dressed well and didn't look very strong, but the rickshaw was relatively new, obviously rented from a rickshaw depot. If he got it dirty, he wouldn't have the money to pay for it; he was just trying to earn a living, and Yao Xiaoyu didn't want to make things difficult for him.
"Here's your money for the car wash."
Silver dollars are very valuable now. No matter how dirty the cart is, two dollars are more than enough. If the driver is resourceful, he can wash the cart himself and keep both dollars for himself. Even if he doesn't pick up any passengers that day, it's still worthwhile.
Once the money was in place, things became much easier. The driver nimbly picked up the child, and Yao Xiaoyu turned around and hailed another rickshaw.
"Is there a rickshaw that's still running? We can take you to the clinic."
A rickshaw sped by, and the two got on. They followed the rickshaw carrying the child to the clinic. After this brief incident, the streets returned to their bustling state, with stalls and shops thronging about, showing the peace and prosperity of a peaceful and prosperous era.
"This girl fainted from hunger; she just needs some food."
The child was rushed to the clinic, where the doctor took one look and made a definitive diagnosis. Only then did Yao Xiaoyu realize that she was a girl.
Since there was nowhere to buy food nearby, Yao Xiaoyu spent money to buy some honey from the clinic, made a cup of honey water, and fed it to the child.
The girl woke up quickly, and the reason was quite clear—her father died, her mother remarried, her stepfather refused to support her, so she became a beggar. She hadn't been able to get any food for the past few days, which is why she fainted from hunger.
Yao Xiaoyu wanted to send the girl to an orphanage. The girl didn't mind, but the old doctor shook his head and said it wouldn't be feasible.
“Those places are already full, and the children inside just barely survive.”
In this era, there were institutions similar to modern orphanages, funded mainly by government appropriations and social donations. But nowadays, officials are so arrogant that they think they are above the law. They are already considered excellent officials if they don't raise taxes or plunder, yet they still allocate funds to orphanages.
The old men don't even have enough money to spend, what are they dreaming of!
As for social donations...
"If you can't even make a living, where would you get the money to do good deeds?"
The old doctor sighed. He had secretly taken a bag of cornmeal over there the other day, and the children there looked like wolf cubs. The girl in charge of them was so hungry she wanted to kneel down to him. They were clearly starving.
This little girl was already quite lucky to be rescued. There are so many children who collapse on the streets in winter that even the morgue teams can't keep up with the volume of their bodies.
Seeing the girl's timid appearance, Yao Xiaoyu sighed and asked one of the drivers waiting at the door to go and buy two sets of old clothes and a pair of cotton shoes; the other to go and buy some steamed buns, eggs and other food to fill the child's stomach.
"I'd like to ask you to take care of this child for a while."
Yao Xiaoyu took out a few silver dollars and placed them on the counter of the clinic. The doctor, who had originally wanted to refuse, immediately shut his mouth. Yao Xiaoyu took one last look at the clinic, sighed, and went home. That night, as she counted her gold bars and silver coins, she still felt a tightness in her chest.
This world shouldn't be like this.
...Oh well, the cash she has, plus royalties, is enough to buy the most expensive villa with a garden, and to achieve her other small goals. She doesn't care about that thorny money anymore...really...sob sob sob...
Strange crying sounds came from the Yao family's house late at night. Passersby thought it was haunted and were so frightened that they walked around it.
A few days later, Editor Lü of the Daping Daily received another manuscript from Ms. Qiu, along with a statement announcing that she would donate her royalties to an orphanage.
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Author's note: To clarify in advance: the little girl will not be adopted by Yao Xiaoyu.
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