Tang Baozhu ate a late breakfast, thinking that she had now completed her embroidery apprenticeship and could start earning money for herself. She had embroidered some handkerchiefs and purses before, and selected some of the best ones to post in the red envelope group. After all, she had received so many red envelopes but hadn't given anything back herself, so this was a small token of her appreciation, even though they weren't very valuable.
She's been using her savings for years, so she doesn't feel any urgency. After all, she has a lot of jewelry in her warehouse, so she's not short of money. But after all this learning, she wants to put what she's learned to good use.
Tang Baozhu said to Tang Lishi, "Mother, can you come with me to the embroidery shop today? I want to take on some embroidery work so that all the years I've studied it won't be in vain."
Tang Li said with a worried look, "Baozhu, why don't you rest for a couple more days? Wait until you're well-rested before taking on any more work. I'm worried you'll overwork yourself."
"Mother, no, I slept very well last night. I'm just taking on some embroidery work to pass the time."
"Alright, then I'll go with you."
"Thank you, Mother."
"Old woman, I'm back. Open the door quickly."
The mother and daughter were talking when they heard Old Tang's voice outside. They figured he had come back from the market and quickly ran over to open the door for him.
"They're here, they're here."
When Old Man Tang came in from outside, Tang Li quickly closed the courtyard gate, worried that others would see that they had bought too many things. Fortunately, the oxcart had a carriage, so the things could be hidden inside and no one would know what they had bought.
"Father, you've worked hard."
Looking at her father's face, which looked much younger because he hadn't worked in the fields for the past few years, Tang Baozhu felt that her idea of arguing with her parents to come out was absolutely right.
Seeing how much his daughter cared for him, Old Man Tang quickly shook his head, "Father is not tired at all. It's all worth it for Baozhu so that she won't go hungry in the future."
"Father is so good."
"Old man, how's it going outside? Is there any chaos at the market?"
Despite her advanced age, Tang Li had only experienced such a natural disaster once before, when she was a teenager. Fortunately, the head of her household was quite capable and managed to save everyone's lives. However, she still knew about the selling of children and even cannibalism outside, and she really didn't want to experience it again.
"Don't worry, although many people are rushing to buy things today, the prefect is a very good official. He sent people to maintain order, so the streets won't get chaotic. But I just don't know what will happen in the future. From now on, the three of us should stay at home and try to go out as little as possible!"
Old Tang felt that his family of three, with its mix of old and young, was in too much danger and he had no sense of security at all. It seemed he should buy a few sharp knives to keep in case of emergency.
“I just discussed it with my daughter. We’re going out in a bit. She’s mastered her craft and wants to practice more at home. We were also thinking of going to the embroidery shop later to buy her more embroidery thread and fabric. But looking at the current situation, I don’t know when we’ll be able to go. Let’s go together later! We can buy her more so we don’t have to go every now and then.”
"Okay, let's go together later. I'll take you to the embroidery shop, and then I'll go to the blacksmith's shop to buy a few knives. It's too dangerous without something to defend yourself."
Tang Baozhu knew that natural disasters in ancient times could kill many people, not only those who starved to death, but also those who were robbed and killed. Seeing her parents buying weapons, she thought she would ask the people in the group that night to exchange some weapons with them, thinking that their weapons should be better.
"Father, what did you buy today?"
Speaking of these things, Old Man Tang was particularly proud. "I searched all over the street and every shop to buy these things. I thought our family wouldn't lack food, so I stocked up on a lot of salt and sugar. These things will definitely become harder and harder to buy in the future. I also bought two pork patties. I was worried that if we couldn't buy meat outside in the future, what would Baozhu do if she wanted to eat meat? So I bought more meat and asked your mother to cure it into cured meat. Then Baozhu won't lack meat to eat in the future."
"Father, you're so kind. We'll eat together as a family then."
Tang Li nodded in satisfaction when she saw the two pork patties. "The old man's idea is good, but we can't just eat cured pork! We also need to buy more eggs, but eggs don't keep well, so we can't stock up on too many at once."
"Mom and Dad, there's no need to prepare so much meat and eggs. Everyone will eat more of the health-promoting vegetables. Our house will be the only one with the smell of meat, which will attract attention. If we're not careful, someone will notice us. Let's just forget about it. We can just pickle more vegetables. Pickled vegetables can be stored for a long time and won't spoil easily."
"My daughter is right. It seems I was wrong. Your father and I will listen to you."
They put the salt and sugar they bought into the cellar, and temporarily left the pork in the kitchen. Then the family drove the oxcart out again.
"Mother, do you know which embroidery shop has a better reputation?"
Tang Baozhu had been practicing her embroidery skills non-stop for the past few years and hadn't paid much attention to what was happening outside, so she could only ask her own mother for help.
"I've heard that Jinxiufang is quite good. It seems to be a dowry shop belonging to the wife of a high-ranking official, and it has a good reputation. However, Jinxiufang usually only accepts the better embroidery pieces. They won't accept the ordinary ones. Although Baozhu is quite good at it, I don't know if she can meet their requirements."
Tang Li's daughter was learning embroidery, so she would definitely inquire about it beforehand. This is called being prepared, and now it's come in handy.
"Mom, let's go buy fabric and embroidery thread first. After we finish embroidering, we can bring it over and see if they'll accept it. If they don't, then forget it. We can just keep it ourselves or sell it to someone else. But the embroidery business probably won't be very good these next two years. With these natural disasters, embroidery shops will probably be very aggressive in lowering prices. Let's just keep it after we finish embroidering!"
"Okay, I'll do as Baozhu says."
Tang Baozhu hadn't been out on the street for a long time, and this time when she came out, she felt that the streets were filled with a restless atmosphere. Everyone was in a hurry, and the shops that sold anything related to daily life were doing incredibly well.
Tang Baozhu was always worried about whether unrest would occur, but she thought that the prefect would protect the city, and since her family was hiding inside the city, such things should not happen.
Midway through the journey, Tang Baozhu and Tang Lishi got off the oxcart and looked at the three golden characters of the Jinxiufang signboard in front of them. They thought it was truly worthy of being the dowry of a high-ranking official's wife. It was so extravagant. They wondered if it was made of pure gold.
As soon as they entered the shop, a waiter greeted them with great respect, clearly well-trained. "Madam, what would Miss like?"
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