Chapter 171 Settling Accounts: New Clothes, New Quilt, Silver Bracelet
This timeframe was meticulously calculated by Pan Tiefeng.
Yao Xiaoyu's salary was two yuan per month, including room and board, with additional benefits for the three major holidays each year. Pan Tiefeng didn't care about the benefits for now; she could earn 12 two-yuan sums a year, which was 24 yuan, and over five years, that would be exactly 120 yuan, far exceeding the basic redemption fee of 60 to 90 yuan she needed.
The exact amount is uncertain because the bride price can fluctuate depending on various factors. Silver dollars are usually a round number of sixty, but the price of clothing and jewelry varies.
But that's not how you calculate it.
Pan Tiefeng didn't know the specifics of Yao Xiaoyu's treatment. In order not to attract attention, Yao Xiaoyu didn't write details such as covering all four seasons' clothing in the contract. Pan Tiefeng could only guess at her own life based on her friends who worked for similar families.
The free room and board meant no expenses for lodging and food, but people can't go without washing their hair and taking a bath. Even if you could wash yourself in the house, you still had to pay for firewood to boil water, plus the cost of soap. Pan Tiefeng had never bathed outside, but she had heard from apprentices that they received two cents a month for washing their hair, getting haircuts, and buying shoes and socks.
Pan Tiefeng didn't know if this amount of money was a lot or a little, but since others could live like this, she figured she could too. She decided to treat it as just the right amount of expense. That would amount to at least two yuan and forty cents a year, and twelve silver dollars over five years. That would leave her with only 108 yuan, and that was assuming she received her wages every month. And her expenses would be much more than that—
You can dress casually when working at home, but when working for someone else, even if your clothes and shoes aren't made of good materials, you can't at least wear patched-up clothes. The thick quilt at home was originally pawned in the summer and redeemed for winter, so you definitely can't let her take it. Clothes, shoes, socks, and winter quilts, even if they're secondhand, don't come cheap.
When she came back, she went to the pawnshop and saw a decent cotton quilt that cost two silver dollars. A summer outfit that she could wear to work would cost at least one dollar, and a second-hand one would cost seven or eight cents. Spring, autumn and winter clothes would be even more expensive because they were thicker.
Even with extreme frugality, only one set of winter clothes was bought, and the minimum number of other clothes for washing was also purchased, requiring at least ten yuan to prepare. Adding the cotton quilt that had been eyeing, only ninety-six yuan remained for usable items. And this money couldn't all be saved—
After she gets a job, she will have separate social obligations. The banquets are indeed a treat, but they can't be exchanged for money. She has to prepare at least one yuan a year for gifts. The fact that she can agree to give money means that she can earn money. She will need money to pave the way for her to return to her parents' home in the future. She also has to prepare at least one yuan a year.
Even excluding other miscellaneous expenses, she only had eighty-six yuan, which was indeed more than seventy-five. But being sick was like swallowing money, so she always needed some cash on hand. If she lived frugally for five years, she might just be able to scrape together enough to redeem herself.
Father Pan puffed on his cigarette, which was really just some tree leaves. The smoke was quite pungent, but no one dared to speak. Even the youngest child covered his mouth and listened to the conversation between father and daughter.
"OK."
Mr. Pan hesitated for a long time between marrying his daughter off immediately in exchange for a dowry of fifty or sixty yuan and seventy-five silver dollars five years later. His love for his daughter eventually prevailed, and he chose the latter. Fifty or sixty yuan might be less, but it was an amount that could be obtained immediately. Compared to the more that would be received later, families who could not afford any risk preferred to choose the smaller amount that they could get now.
Pan Tiefeng said she would pay in five years, but that statement itself is uncertain: What if she doesn't earn the money? What if she earns it but doesn't want to take it? What if she earns it and runs away? What if she gets sick halfway through earning it and loses both her money and her life? What if she gets targeted by a scoundrel and is taken away without paying her...? So many things can happen in five years. Pan's father only agreed because of their father-daughter relationship.
Sometimes I think it's absurd, but that's just how the world is.
"I won't ask where you are, what you do, or how you earn your money. After the New Year, I'll treat you as if you've gotten married. Just act like a married woman returning home."
Married women rarely return home except during special periods, and when they do, they always bring something with them.
Pan's father took another puff of his cigarette. The idea of marrying oneself sounds abstract, but once you get used to it, it doesn't matter. As long as you can support yourself, you're an adult, and there's no need to interfere too much.
“When you get married, according to the family’s rules, you should have a new set of clothes and a new quilt. Your parents will also give you a silver bracelet as a private subsidy. But since the betrothal gifts haven’t arrived yet, the dowry will be withheld. You will receive the gifts when the money is paid.”
Ignoring the stunned expressions of the other members of the Pan family, Pan's father spoke to Pan Tiefeng in a serious tone. Pan Tiefeng didn't find this kind of discussion particularly... indescribable, and even nodded earnestly.
"A bride price is necessary for a dowry; it's only right."
Pan Tiefeng treated the Pan family members around her as mere radishes and potatoes, and even seriously made demands regarding the dowry.
"I want my clothes to be white with a small floral pattern, and I want to go and see the fabric myself when I buy it."
These are all lessons learned by Pan Tiefeng's friends who got married. One of her friends was told that she would have new clothes when she got married, but when she did get new clothes, the colors were so old-fashioned that only her mother-in-law could wear them. When she asked her husband's family what happened, they said that she hadn't mentioned a favorite color and they had just picked one randomly.
That was fine, she put the clothes away, intending to take them back for her mother to wear during the New Year, but the next day she saw the clothes on her mother-in-law!
In the 21st century, with the explosion of resources, it's common to buy new clothes and not wear them, or even just throw them away. But in this era, poor families have to be frugal with everything. A girl might only wear a new set of clothes once in her life when she gets married. So Pan Jinfeng's friend was furious and had a fight with her mother-in-law on the spot. The two women became enemies from then on.
But that wasn't the end of it. When she was pregnant and in postpartum confinement, her mother-in-law took excellent care of her. While she was grateful, she was also upset about the new clothes. During a conversation, she found out that the color of the clothes was deliberately chosen by her husband and father-in-law to make her and her mother-in-law get along badly.
Her husband told her that his mother had chosen the dress, and her father-in-law told his mother that the dress was bought for her, but it got dirty while she was outside, so he asked his daughter-in-law to wash it for her so she could wear it directly later. Just as they had expected, the two women started fighting like chickens, while they were served very well.
When Pan Tiefeng's friend learned the truth, her face turned green. After finally finishing her postpartum confinement, she went straight to find someone with her equally furious mother-in-law—and they happened to stumble upon the scene of catching her husband cheating!
The man's red underpants were still hanging on the father and son's belts!
After a brief breakdown, the friend and her mother-in-law accepted reality. Due to economic needs, they did not choose the most straightforward way to fight back. Instead, they quietly closed the door and waited until the two of them came out satisfied. Then they put two sacks over the person, packed them up and handed them over to the slave trader. They then quietly went back, pretending that they had never left the house.
Pan Tiefeng's friend married into an economically developed area where women could earn money through textiles. Their family only owned one mu of land, and the two women could manage the farm work even with some hardship. If her friend hadn't been pregnant, she probably wouldn't have made such a decisive choice. But now that she had a son, she could support the idle old man if he didn't cause trouble, but he couldn't even control his own finances...
In short, my friend is now making money in the textile factory, and his mother-in-law used the money from selling her husband and son to buy a cow. When they are busy, the cow works in the fields, and when they are not busy, it hauls goods. The family of three is much better off than the family of five.
"I want an eight-pound quilt, and it can't be filled with willow catkins or reed fluff; it has to be real new cotton."
Pan Tiefeng emerged from her reverie and continued speaking.
This is another friend's lesson. She was not favored by her family, but her dowry included a large quilt. It was new on the outside and heavy on the inside, and looked quite decent. Her in-laws took a liking to it at first glance and took it to their own room. As a result, the young couple had to sleep with an old cotton quilt on their wedding night. My friend cried half the night in anger, and then the next day she found that her parents-in-law were gone.
She had just married into the family when a funeral was held. People outside were making a fuss, and even the relatives were puzzled. In the end, it was the mischievous child who tore open a small gap in the quilt and discovered the truth—the seemingly nice quilt was stuffed with cattail fluff. The day she married into the family was exceptionally cold, and her parents-in-law froze to death.
While it's sad to see someone red today and white tomorrow, it's not necessarily a bad thing for the young couple. The friend's husband is the adopted son of his parents, but they only think of themselves and don't treat him well. He's lived a life of hardship since childhood, otherwise he wouldn't have married Pan Tiefeng's friend, this little bitter gourd.
The young couple were prepared to endure more hardship and outlive their ailing but well-fed and well-clothed in-laws. But then, a stroke of good fortune came their way, skipping all the frustrating moments and leading them straight to the grand finale where they were in charge. Even their friends sent them money to quell the trouble, and the family went from being penniless to having some savings.
"The silver bracelet should be worth at least one silver dollar. Don't try to fool me with fancy carvings; I want something substantial."
Pan Tiefeng recalled the pitfalls her friends had encountered, which solidified the dowry she hadn't yet received. After thinking about it, Pan's father agreed.
"Once the bride price is given, go and prepare the dowry. You can see for yourself."
Seventy-five yuan! These things, according to Pan Tiefeng's request, should cost at most five yuan, so Pan's father really didn't feel reluctant to part with them.
"Remember to send a message home after you leave, so that we can reach you if anything happens."
Pan's father didn't ask about his daughter's wages, but he did want at least a way to contact her. Pan Tiefeng knew her family's concerns and readily agreed. After settling the remaining minor details, the conversation officially ended. Apart from the father and daughter, the rest of the Pan family was basically out of it. Looking at the dazed expressions of everyone, Pan Tiefeng couldn't help but think of the past.
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Author's note: I originally intended to write about the next hired worker, but Tie Feng really stole the show.
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