Chapter 58 Finding a Tailor
Su Zhizhi said it with certainty, but she and Xue Che didn't know where to find a tailor.
So when Su Zhizhi went to Taoli Hall the next day, she asked her classmates.
"Do you know where to find a tailor? I want to find a tailor."
Gu Qingning: "Are you looking for a tailor to make clothes? There are one or two families who make clothes in my hometown."
The boy sitting behind Su Zhizhi leaned over and said:
"Su Zhizhi, my second uncle owns a tailor shop, you can ask him to make clothes for you."
Su Zhizhi shook her head: "There are many people in our village, and we need to make a lot of clothes. I'm looking for a tailor who provides food and accommodation and makes clothes in our village all year round."
After Su Zhizhi said this, the classmates were stunned for a moment.
Baiyun County does not have as many embroiderers and tailors as the wealthy Chang'an.
There are many families in the county who can make clothes, but they only make one or two pieces in their spare time and are not dedicated to making clothes.
There are only two or three tailors who specialize in making clothes. They all run their own small tailoring shops on the street and will not travel far to the village.
Liu Xiangxiang, who was holding the rabbit, suddenly had an idea:
"Zhizhi, why don't you go to Thatched Alley and take a look?"
"Thatched Alley?"
Su Zhizhi and Gu Qingning both looked confused. They didn't know much about the county town and had never heard of this place.
Some classmates whose families lived in Baiyun County frowned when they heard the name Maocao Lane.
"Liu Xiangxiang, what's your stupid idea? Thatched Alley is so messy and smelly, how can there be a tailor shop there?"
Liu Xiangxiang muttered:
"What's wrong with being a little random and smelly? People in Thatched Alley also have to wear clothes. Maybe we can find it."
Maocao Lane is the poorest and dirtiest street in the county town, where many poor families live crowded together.
People were so poor that many houses were made of thatched roofs. When the wind blew, the thatch would fly all over the sky, so everyone called it Thatched Lane.
In order to make a living, people in Maocao Lane often set up errand stalls near the entrance of the lane.
If anyone is in need of help, they can come to Maocao Lane and find two people to help.
People in Maocao Lane take on all kinds of jobs, from carrying coffins to crying at funerals and pushing carts.
The classmates explained to Su Zhizhi:
"Going to Thatched Alley to find a good tailor is like panning for gold in shit, isn't it?"
"My mother said that the people in Thatched Alley would be so hungry that they would eat children."
"There are no good people in Thatched Alley..."
Ordinary children would probably give up the idea after hearing this.
However, Zhizhi has never been an ordinary child.
After hearing this, she became curious and wanted to take a look:
"People don't go there to find tailors, but that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't any there."
"It's okay if I can't find it. I can go and look. Do you know how to get to Thatched Alley?"
Liu Xiangxiang volunteered to lead the way:
"My home is not far from Thatched Alley. I can take you there next time I go back for my day off."
Gu Qingning actually wanted to go, but after listening to her classmates' description, she felt a little scared.
Plus, her mother would come to the county town to see her, so she whispered:
"Zhizhi, I'm sorry, I may not be able to go..."
Su Zhizhi waved her hand: "It doesn't matter. It's our village that's looking for a tailor. It's our village's business."
While eating in the kitchen that day, Su Zhizhi told Xue Che about the incident in Thatched Alley.
Xue Che, who had the trauma of being kidnapped, immediately expressed his disagreement:
"It might be dangerous if we go there rashly."
What if they were all abducted?
He was kidnapped once and luckily ended up in Black Bandit Mountain, but if he was kidnapped again, he would not be so lucky.
But after Xue Che refused, he also realized that his refusal was never effective in front of Su Zhizhi.
Xue Che then said, "Then we should ask Kong Wu to go with us."
Su Zhizhi: "No problem."
So, when the academy had its next holiday, Su Zhizhi and Xue Che followed Liu Xiangxiang to Thatched Alley.
Kong Wu followed behind.
When Liu Xiangxiang saw Kong Wu, her mouth opened wide:
"Hello, big brother Zhizhi!"
She finally understood why Su Zhizhi was so bold to come to Thatched Alley.
If she had such a strong brother at home, she would be able to walk around everywhere with her head held high!
Kong Wu couldn't speak, but he didn't need to. He just stood there with a stiff face and didn't smile, and the people in front of him automatically parted to make way...
The thatched alley was filled with a damp and rotten smell, but fortunately it was winter and the smell was bearable.
If it were summer, smelling it suddenly would make people dizzy.
There were many people leaning on both sides of the alley, men, women, and children sucking their fingers.
Both adults and children are very thin.
At the end of the alley, a woman of middle age was sewing clothes at the door of a thatched cottage.
Compared with other people in Thatched Alley, the woman was not thin, but her face was sallow and haggard.
Her hands holding the needle and thread flew up and down like a flapping butterfly, and her stitches were smooth and fine.
"Chun Niang! Have you sewn my son's clothes?" someone shouted from the thatched hut.
"It will be fine soon."
Lu Chunniang rubbed her aching waist and brought the clothes she had sewn into the house.
If time could go back half a year ago, Lu Chunniang would never have believed that she would end up in this situation.
She has been good at sewing clothes since she was a child and her hands are very dexterous.
Although her family was poor, she was fortunate to meet an old tailor who had a good eye for talent. The old tailor took her as an apprentice and took her to Chang'an to make clothes for wealthy families.
Later, the palace's Shanggong Bureau was short of staff and was looking for tailors and embroiderers. Lu Chunniang was recommended to the palace by her employer and entered the Shanggong Bureau with her outstanding tailoring skills.
She worked diligently in the palace for more than ten years, rising from the lowest palace maid to the position of Sizhi in the Shanggong Bureau, in charge of clothing and sewing.
Clothes are the face of the women in the harem and also a magic weapon to win favor. The concubines in the harem are very picky about clothes.
Lu Chunniang has always been cautious in her work, fearing that any slight mistake would lead to punishment from the nobles.
But one day, a beautiful lady in the palace developed a rash. The Empress found out that the reason was that the clothes sent by the Shanggong Bureau were not clean.
Lu Chunniang was dismissed from her official position, beaten with a stick, and almost thrown out of the palace.
Lu Chunniang felt that even if she opened her mouth a hundred times, she still couldn't explain it.
Lady Shu is a concubine who is favored by the emperor.
She did not dare to be careless when making clothes. She checked them repeatedly and ironed the clothes from beginning to end with a copper iron filled with charcoal.
The clothes were folded neatly and sent to you, how could they possibly cause you to have a rash?
No empress had ever before complained of a rash arising from unclean clothes she had sent.
After all, Lu Chunniang had been in the palace for more than ten years, so she probably guessed that she was being made a scapegoat.
The concubines in the harem were scheming and fighting against each other, and the first ones to die were those under them.
So what if she had been in the palace for more than a decade? Some people had stayed there for decades, but once they ran into trouble, they would disappear without a trace.
No matter how talented and resourceful those people working at the lower levels are, they cannot outweigh the accusation imposed by their superiors.
Lu Chunniang was beaten with a stick and was seriously injured. She had to find a place to stay in Chang'an City first. When she felt better, she wanted to find a job in a wealthy family.
But when people asked around, they found out that Lu Chunniang had made a mistake in the palace and was expelled. They either didn't dare to accept her or thought it was unlucky.
Anyway, there are plenty of tailors and embroiderers to recruit in Chang'an, so there is no need to hire this one.
Chang'an is a den of illicit goods, and gold and silver are flowing like water that cannot be held in one's hands.
Lu Chunniang's savings could not last long, so she had to return to her hometown in Lingnan to live with her family.
The journey back to Lingnan for a woman was not safe. She was almost kidnapped several times and finally returned to her hometown.
But Lu Chunniang never expected that the situation after returning home would be the most terrifying.
She entered the palace when she was young and was isolated from the outside world for more than ten years. She was suddenly expelled from the palace, and the unfamiliar environment made it difficult for her to adapt to it for a while.
My mother passed away long ago, and there are only my eldest brother, his wife and two nephews left at home.
My eldest brother, whom I haven't seen for more than ten years, has become a compulsive gambler. He has squandered all the family's money and is still in debt.
The small courtyard of the house had been mortgaged to pay off debts, and the family was reduced to living in a thatched alley.
Lu Chunniang originally wanted to take out some money and open a small shop with her elder brother and sister-in-law so that the family could live a good life again.
But before she could open her mouth, her eldest brother asked her for money.
When Lu Chunniang refused to give it to him, she was beaten and kicked, and then all the money she had was taken away.
"You little bastard, you've been out of town for over a decade. Who knows where you've been?"
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