Chapter 56: Watertight
Although she knew that Jiang Chunshi was fine, there was no reason not to go and see him since they were already at his doorstep. And when Fang learned that they were coming to the county town, she asked them to bring some new clothes in case something bad happened.
Zheng naturally had no reason to refuse, so she ordered her servant to take them to the backyard to look for Jiang Chunshi.
However, after searching for a while, he still couldn't find it. After asking around, he learned that Jiang Chunshi went with Chang Yongan to measure the size of furniture for someone and would not be back until the afternoon.
Jiang Youcheng handed the small bag of clothes to the waiter and said, "Please pass it on to me, little brother."
"You're welcome. It's my duty. I'll give it to him when Brother Chunshi comes back." The young man agreed readily.
Jiang Chunshi is a kind and honest person. He never refuses anyone who asks him for something. The shop assistants all have a very good impression of him.
After the things were handed over, Jiang Youcheng, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun said goodbye to Zheng.
Zheng saw them out of the shop.
Jiang Mixia and his group went all the way to Xishi.
The West Market is bustling with stalls selling vegetables, fruits, benches, baskets and other groceries.
They found a vacant space and settled down.
Bamboo baskets are common, and there are quite a few stalls selling them. The bamboo baskets from Jiang Mixia's home are not conspicuous here. Occasionally, someone comes to ask the price, but they don't even have time to wait for Jiang Mixia to say that her bamboo baskets are watertight. When the other party hears the price of two hundred coins, they shake their heads and leave.
Some people were even very dissatisfied. "A bamboo basket costs two hundred coins? You can obviously rob the money, but you have to give me a bamboo basket. What's this?"
After this happened several times, Song Jingyun scratched his ears and said, "This is not a good situation."
"It's not good, we have to think of a solution." Jiang Mixia looked around and said, "You and Dad wait for me, I'll be back soon."
After saying that, he went into a nearby shop selling rice and flour.
"Sir, would you like rice or flour?" the waiter in the shop came forward.
"I'm not buying anything. I just want to ask for a bucket of water." Jiang Mixia took out two coins from her purse and stuffed them into the shop assistant's hand, "Don't let the young man work in vain."
Two cents is not a lot of money, but the water is drawn from the well and is free. It's just a matter of going to the backyard to fetch some water, which is not difficult.
The shop assistant thought it was a good deal, so he only asked Jiang Mixia to wait for a moment, and then went into the backyard. After a while, he came out with a bucket of water, "You didn't bring a bucket with water, where can I pour this water for you?"
"Pour it here." Jiang Mixia picked up the basket in her hand.
"Put the water in the bamboo basket?" The waiter was startled and looked at Jiang Mixia in disbelief, "Are you sure?"
"Sure." Jiang Mixia nodded.
"I've never seen a bamboo basket that can hold water in my life, and I've never even heard of it." The shop assistant still couldn't believe it.
"Really, there's no water leakage at all." Jiang Mixia said with a smile, "If you're worried that the floor of the shop will get wet due to water leakage, why don't we go to the door to pour water?"
"Okay." The shop assistant also wanted to see if there really was a bamboo basket that didn't leak.
The two of them walked out of the shop together. Jiang Mixia simply put the bamboo basket where the stall was set up, picked up the bucket and poured the water into the bamboo basket.
Carrying a bucket of water out of the rice and flour shop had already attracted the attention of the people around him. Now Jiang Mixia poured the water into the bamboo basket, which made the people around him stare with their eyes wide open in shock.
"Is this young lady out of her mind, pouring water into the bamboo basket?"
"Don't worry about whether your brain works well or not. Let's move our things to the side quickly. The water will flow everywhere and get our things wet."
"This guy is really troublesome..."
A group of people were grumbling and busy moving things, but when they saw that the water poured into the bamboo basket did not leak out at all, they were shocked again.
"It must be fake. Can this bamboo basket really hold water?"
"Not only can it hold a lot of water, but not a drop of water leaks out. Wow, this is really an eye-opener. This is the first time I've seen a bamboo basket that doesn't leak."
"No wonder they poured water into the bamboo basket. It seems they knew."
"Well, since this bamboo basket can hold water, why would we need a wooden bucket to carry water? Wouldn't it be better to use this bamboo basket? This bamboo basket is light and easy to carry. How much effort can it save?"
"How much does this bamboo basket cost?"
Seeing someone asking the price, Jiang Mixia smiled and replied, "Two hundred coins each, no bargaining."
"The price is really not cheap." The person asking the price shook his head slightly.
"It's light to use." Jiang Mixia added, "We wove this bamboo basket with several layers. The inside is thin enough, and the outside is strong and sturdy. Ordinary people can't do this kind of work. This bamboo basket is expensive because of the workmanship."
"It's really good that it doesn't leak. I sell wontons on the streets, so I have to add water to it. This wooden barrel is heavy to carry, and the bamboo basket is just right on the cart. Let me have one."
The man who asked the price took the purse, counted the money and gave it to Jiang Mixia, then picked out a bamboo basket that looked good.
He was worried that the bamboo basket was of poor quality, so he scooped some water and poured it into it. When he saw that it did not leak, he took the bamboo basket and left with great satisfaction.
This is how business works. If you don’t open, it will remain closed. If you open, it will start your fortune and business will continue to come.
It is the same now. When people see the wonton stall selling bamboo baskets, they come over to other stalls and shops to take a look. After hesitating for a moment, most of them buy one as well.
When he came to the county town, he brought more than ten bamboo baskets. Excluding the two he gave to Zheng, he has only sold seven or eight of them, and he still has the last three left.
“Is this thing really watertight?”
The one asking the price was a handsome and gentle young man, wearing a cotton robe that had become a little white from washing. The fingers holding the bamboo basket were slender, but obvious thin calluses could be seen on the knuckles.
He looks like a scholar.
"It doesn't leak." Jiang Mixia pointed to the bamboo basket filled with water next to her, "Look, it's right here. It doesn't leak a single drop of water."
The scholar looked carefully at the bamboo basket that held water without leaking and nodded repeatedly, "It does not leak."
But he looked at the round basket in his hand again, gestured for a while, and looked at Jiang Mixia, "Is this the only round bamboo basket you have?"
"Yes, there are only round ones." Jiang Mixia saw the scholar's hesitant look and asked, "Do you want another shape?"
"Well, I want a square bag with a lid." The scholar was afraid that Jiang Mixia didn't know this, so he gestured and said, "It would be better if it had a strap so that I could carry it. That way, it would be convenient to put my brush, ink, paper and inkstone in it."
In order to avoid being in poor condition during the spring competition next year, I plan to set off before winter and arrive in the capital early to stay for a while. The journey is long and the weather will naturally be changeable.
Ordinary bags and boxes are also made of bamboo, but most of them are not waterproof. If it is cloudy and rainy, the clothes inside will be destroyed, and even the books may not be preserved. It is really troublesome.
Nangxie, nang (second tone) qie (fourth tone), is a square box carried by ancient scholars to store books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstone.
In addition, an important notice, this book will most likely be available on the shelves this Friday (tomorrow), the time is very tight, and I felt it was very sudden when I received the notice, because it has never been available on the shelves so quickly...
I will sort it out later and send out the instructions for listing...
(End of this chapter)
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