Aunt Ma does needlework here, and now the soldiers from the garrison also bring clothes over to have them mended and washed.
Upon seeing Song Liyun enter, the women all stood up and made way for her.
Song Liyun had been in Suijin Town for so long, and she had never seen a gathering of women.
Seeing that everyone was quite reserved, she quickly smiled and said, "Sisters, aunts, and grandmas, please sit down, don't be shy!"
Not long after Song Liyun arrived in Suijin Town, she met Aunt Ma through Boss Mu's introduction. All the clothes, shoes, and socks for the three siblings were made by Aunt Ma, and she was the most familiar with Song Liyun.
Seeing that everyone was acting awkwardly, Aunt Ma immediately stepped in to smooth things over: "Come on, everyone sit on the kang (heated brick bed). Don't be afraid, Miss Song is a very nice person."
You've all heard from the gentlemen that Miss Song delivered grain and firewood to the nursing home this winter.
Old Master Zhang has praised it several times, both in public and in private, saying that the kang (heated brick bed) in the main hall will be warmer this year.
The women here had all seen Song Liyun before, but they weren't familiar with her. They were also frightened by her hitting someone in the street, and privately they all said that she was probably not someone to be trifled with.
Seeing Song Liyun speaking with a smile and a friendly demeanor, without the terrifying aura she had shown that day, and with Ma's words, they relaxed as well. However, they spoke cautiously, afraid of angering Song Liyun and getting slapped a few times.
Song Liyun brought out cotton and cloth, and the women naturally started talking about clothes and clothing.
Aunt Ma had already received the news. Two days ago, Song Liyun said she wanted to make three sets of blouses. Now that she saw the new cloth being brought over, she knew that she was alive.
He snatched the cloth bundle and exclaimed, "Wow! This is top-quality blue cloth, thick and durable. This piece must be worth at least three hundred coins!"
In her hand was a piece of thick, dark blue cloth, which Song Liyun had bought for the two brothers in Qili County.
The two were small in stature, and one piece of cloth was enough to make two sets of clothes of different sizes.
When Aunt Ma said it cost three hundred coins, Song Liyun smiled and didn't mention that the cloth cost five hundred coins. She simply said, "I also bought a piece of twill cloth. Sister-in-law, please make me a set too."
Previously, Song Shuirong had sold her red wedding dress and other clothes in her trunk to secondhand clothing shops, and one of them was even bought by Xu Yan'er.
The three siblings were all wearing old clothes that had been altered. Even though they didn't care much about their appearance, they should have worn new clothes for the New Year.
Aunt Ma looked through the fabrics and new cotton prepared for Han Ming and Hei Jin, praising them with admiration: "These are all good fabrics! These few items together will cost you one or two taels of silver."
She was asking for a certain amount of money, and several other women gathered around, touching and looking at her with envy in their eyes.
They lived in town and rarely had the money to buy new clothes.
Now the Song family sells acorn tofu and vegetables to the garrison; their lives are getting better and better.
Finally, a young woman spoke up: "Miss Song, I heard from Old Master Zhang at the nursing home that they're willing to pay you if you ask them to peel acorns?"
Song Liyun smiled and said, "I always ask people to help with the work, so of course I have to pay them. I just didn't give them money; I gave Uncle Zhang and the others acorn flour and firewood."
Although the young woman was shy, she mustered up her courage and said, "We can help you with the work too, and we'll also need acorn tofu and firewood, is that alright?"
It's only December now, and it's still a long way from March when we can dig for wild vegetables. Moreover, I've heard that there's been renewed fighting on the border, and grain prices have risen sharply in various places.
The isolation of Broken Gold Town has its advantages. Everyone is self-sufficient, few families buy food, and even news travels slowly.
Even these few scattered words caused everyone to worry, fearing that they would return to those terrible days.
Now, each family can only make the porridge thinner and try to eat it with mixed grain acorn flour.
If we could get the Song family's acorn tofu that doesn't taste bitter, we could save a lot of grain.
Previously, Song Liyun might have needed to consider polishing her image and concealing her talents, but now that she and Song Zhenping have become famous overnight, she can no longer keep a low profile.
In addition, although he had never made a big fuss about his fresh vegetables, now that Xue Zhuang has started selling them, the fact that he is making a lot of money will soon become a household name.
She no longer needs to hide.
I had originally thought there would be many opportunities to hire people in the future, but since the question has now been brought to me, I might as well start now.
However, she didn't know most of the people in Broken Gold Town. People are meant to be used, so she should observe them first.
Song Liyun didn't answer for a moment. The young woman was also anxious and couldn't help but ask again: "My husband and I are farmers. Although we have more than ten acres of land, we have a lot of people in our family, seven or eight people, young and old. We can't make a living just by farming, so we want to find some work to do."
"Your family has seven or eight people, how could this be..." Song Liyun was somewhat surprised, as there weren't many families in Suijin Town where the whole family could exist.
The young woman looked to be only twenty years old and was a quick-witted person; she was clearly quite proud of her large family.
“Miss Song, I know what you want to ask. To tell you the truth, I am the only one in this house with my family all together.”
My parents-in-law used to be honest people. They didn't dare to wash gold dust, so they just farmed and collected pine nuts and wild fruits to exchange for money.
When the bandits came, my whole family was collecting acorns and stayed in the mountains, so we escaped the calamity.
The young wife chattered on and on, explaining that she hadn't married into the family yet, and that she only got married six months after the tragedy. By then, Broken Gold Town had returned to peace, which didn't prevent her from getting married, having children, and becoming a mother, so she couldn't understand the pain.
But several women in the room had tears in their eyes; these were women whose families had been robbed or killed.
Song Liyun had no intention of hurting anyone's feelings, and simply said to the young woman, "Of course your family can help me with the work, but it's almost New Year's and everyone is busy preparing for the holiday, so let's do the work after the New Year!"
Hearing that she could get work, the young woman was overjoyed. After the New Year, it was fine. Anyway, she could take some washing and sewing work from Aunt Ma to supplement her family's income.
The other women were also interested when they heard that they could take on the job. They were willing to do it because an extra pound of mixed grains would make the porridge thicker.
Song Liyun saw through their thoughts and agreed to give them work after the New Year, which made them all smile.
After exchanging a few more words, the young woman named Chuntao happily left, carrying a few pieces of clothing that needed washing.
The other women didn't stay long either, and all said goodbye to Song Liyun and left.
Aunt Ma watched from the side, and seeing that Song Liyun had agreed to find things for everyone to do, she was also happy.
Now, the only thing these women can do is wash clothes for the soldiers in the garrison, earning one coin for two pieces of clothing.
These women had nothing better to do than sit around doing nothing. The stove that heated the kang (a traditional heated bed) provided hot water, and they could barely earn a few coins.
When the weather warms up, the soldiers can wash themselves, and the women can't even earn those three or five coins.
If Song Liyun could do some work, such as peeling acorns at the Respect for the Elderly Hall, she could have a few more pounds of acorn flour to fill her stomach during the spring famine.
At this moment, Aunt Ma was in a good mood. While taking Song Liyun's measurements and making clothes, she chatted about the gossip of the various households in the town.
She never used to mention those sad things.
Listening to her speak, Song Liyun finally understood why Boss Mu's family, who were originally from Qili County, still kept their shop in Suijin Town.
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