As he spoke, Uncle Wu led Lin Ying toward Uncle Wu's shed.
Uncle Wu's shed is on the left side of the house. It looks like it used to be a cowshed, but the family couldn't raise cattle anymore, so it was left vacant.
Lin Ying went over and saw a straw mat that was half-finished being made, and a place next to it where hemp rope was being made.
Lin Ying glanced around and noticed that the materials here, besides rice straw and wheat stalks, were mainly Ula grass: "Uncle, don't we have reeds here? Why didn't we use reeds to weave mats?"
Uncle Wu never expected this: "Everyone makes those mats, every household has them, they don't sell for much money."
Lin Ying chuckled, "Uncle, reeds aren't everywhere. Why don't you get some and try? Right now, the conditions here don't allow villagers to do business like you do, so you should be able to sell them."
Although Uncle Wu wasn't sure, he listened to advice. Besides, it was all stuff picked up from the reeds, not worth much money, and everyone was skilled at weaving mats; it would only take a little while.
"Okay, I'll get a few and take them to the commune to ask today."
Hearing him say that, Lin Ying said, "How about this, I'll go with Uncle and get some reeds. I want to try and see if I can come up with something new."
Uncle Wu was more than happy to oblige: "I don't need you. I can manage on my own. You stay home and chat with your aunt. The reed marshes in our village aren't far away; it'll only take a little while. You'll be back just in time for dinner."
Lin Ying thought for a moment: "Can I touch the things here?"
Uncle Wu waved his hand: "They're all worthless things. You can take whatever you want!"
Hearing this, Lin Ying smiled and said, "Okay."
After Uncle Wu left, Lin Ying went to the place where they made straw ropes.
Lin Ying knew that compared to the rough kang mats made in the village, the fine rice mats were the most valuable. Because they were soft and didn't hurt the skin.
However, the straw ropes they make nowadays are very thick and definitely not up to standard.
So Lin Ying went to the straw rope. She tried weaving it into a thin strand, and then tested it; it came apart with a gentle pull. Lin Ying thought for a moment, then made an even thinner section, then made three strands and joined them together.
The thickness is finer than when she first did it, and it will be durable enough to withstand wear.
Lin Ying sat there and tried to make some, then temporarily made a frame for weaving a straw mat. It was basically just a stool and two wooden sticks.
Lin Ying divided the straw rope into several sections and then tied them to the wooden stick.
The other end was also tied to the wooden stick in sequence.
Then, using the principle of a loom, they began to put Ula grass into the thread.
"You can do that?"
Uncle Wu's voice startled Lin Ying. Looking at Uncle Wu's eyes, Lin Ying knew he was interested in this, so she stood up and gave him her seat.
Uncle Wu followed Lin Ying's movements for a while and found it wasn't difficult.
Then I looked at the finished product, and it not only didn't have any handles, but it also looked very nice.
Uncle Wu thought for a moment, then, ignoring Lin Ying, ran over to his wife, Jiazhen, "Jiazhen, look! If we let the women in our village do this, would they be able to do it well?"
Yang Jiazhen was still cooking noodles when she saw her husband holding something the size of a handkerchief. Upon closer inspection, she couldn't help but exclaim with curiosity, "Wow, this is really exquisite!"
Uncle Wu realized his wife hadn't listened, so he added, "Oh dear, look, could the women in our village do this?"
Yang Jiazhen then looked at it and said, "It can be done. It's just spinning some fine threads, like weaving cloth. However, if you want to make it this fine, you'll need to make a few things like a loom. That would make it easier."
Uncle Wu never expected this: "No problem at all. Old Li only knows how to do woodworking. Let him make a few. Hahaha, if we can make these things, we can definitely sell them for a good price."
Yang Jiazhen handed the things to her husband: "No matter what, we have to wait until we've eaten. Where's Comrade Lin Ying? That's great, call her to eat."
Uncle Wu then remembered that he had left his guest in the cowshed: "Oh dear, I was too excited just now and didn't even have time to greet her. Okay, I'll go call her first, and we'll have lunch first."
Unexpectedly, Lin Ying gave Uncle Wu another surprise as soon as he left.
Lin Ying had gotten used to carrying a notebook and the Little Red Book when she went out.
When Uncle Wu came out, Lin Ying was drawing something on a piece of paper. He walked over and Lin Ying had just finished drawing.
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