Chapter 269 The First Snow
Jiang Xiangzhong's head gradually drooped.
He really thought so. Even though he helped take care of the babies along the way and knew how difficult it was to take care of two babies, he was still dissatisfied when his mother did not arrange other work for his sister-in-law, and wanted to give the dirty work of feeding chickens and geese that was assigned to him to his sister-in-law.
In his sister-in-law's place, it was considered not working, and he was too embarrassed to argue that it was considered working in his place.
Forget it, he has food, clothing and shelter at home, so he doesn't need to spend money. He makes his own brushes, so if there are defective ones, he can use them, so he won't have to spend money on buying pens in the future.
You can find a broken bowl or a concave stone for the inkstone, and you don’t need to spend money;
Only paper and ink cost money, so he could buy them by running errands for his brothers and sisters-in-law or finding a new way to make money...
Shen Qing changed the subject and said, "Although you think raising a child is a blessing, I think it is still very difficult.
How about this? Originally, you were paid twenty cents a day for feeding the chickens and geese, but since you think taking care of the kids is easier, I'll give you a compromise of ten cents a day. How about that?
When educating children, if you are not strict, they will not become useful; if you are too strict, unexpected things may happen.
Lessons should be given, but he should also be given a chance to correct his mistakes.
Jiang Xiangzhong originally thought he had no money at all, but when he heard that he could earn ten cents a day, he was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes: "Thank you, mother. I will take good care of my two nieces!"
Then he thought of the other ten cents and felt sad. If he didn't have those messy and unrealistic ideas, he would be able to earn twenty cents a day now.
Besides, I just mixed chicken feed and fed them two or three times a day. The rest of the time was my own. I could read and write, and even help my sister-in-law make soap to earn some extra money. It's all my fault!
Shen Qing nodded: "Okay, you've been working hard for several days, let's go back to the house and sleep."
Unlike when they were quick and efficient in leaving after assigning tasks, everyone seemed a little reluctant to leave at this moment.
They felt at ease sitting in the main room, listening to their mother talk about the family's financial situation and the arrangements made one by one.
Although there was a lot of work, life was getting better little by little. Mother did not keep all the income in her own hands, but distributed it to them, regardless of whether they were families or individuals, and regardless of whether they were men or women. Their wages were measured only by the work they did...
The door opened and a gust of cold wind rushed in, stinging my face like a knife.
The three people who were going back to the east wing seemed to have not experienced it, with bright and satisfied smiles on their faces.
When they rushed into the cold wind and stood in the dark courtyard, they felt a wet sensation in their faces, causing the three of them to exclaim, "It's snowing! What a heavy snow~"
"It's surprisingly dense, much bigger than the one in Qili Village before!"
"If it snows all night long, the ground will be covered in white when you wake up tomorrow."
Hearing the exclamation, the others stopped on their way back to the house and looked towards the dark yard.
It's snowing. Starting tomorrow, I can no longer go up the mountain to dig medicinal herbs, nor can I go out of the mountain to buy them.
I wonder what will happen to the disaster victims gathered outside the city gates in the blizzard? Will they turn to wandering and committing crimes...
*
When Shen Qing got up in the morning, he saw that the sky outside the window was bright and he thought the snow had stopped. But when he opened the door, he found that it was just the reflection of the snow. Heavy snow was still falling from the sky.
The snow on the ground was ankle-deep.
The snow has accumulated so heavily in just one night. If it continues to fall, it will probably reach the knees and thighs.
She gathered her outermost rabbit fur coat, put on a matching rabbit fur snow hat and fur collar, and put her hands in her sleeves, then walked towards the brush workshop with difficulty in the cold wind and heavy snow.
Liu Cuihua and the others were right. Here, cotton clothes are not enough to keep warm, leather clothes are also needed to block the wind!
Otherwise, the pervasive cold wind would penetrate from every angle, and even the thickest cotton-padded clothes would make the back feel cold, and the head would be extremely painful when the cold wind blew - she finally understood why people in the north love to buy minks!
Chinese fabrics are already incredibly windproof and waterproof, but they still cannot replace leather, not to mention in ancient times when there was only linen and cotton.
"Auntie, why are you here?"
"It's so cold today, Auntie, are you worried about us? Don't worry, the sheepskin jacket you gave me is always windproof!"
"Yes, I was freezing cold when I went out, but after I put on my jacket, it seemed like the wind couldn't get in no matter how hard it blew!"
"There's obviously no fur anymore. I thought fur was the only way to keep warm."
.....
Shen Qing listened to everyone's discussion.
The leather materials purchased in the workshop are nitrated and the hair is shaved off to make brushes. The leather materials are not wasted and are made into padded jackets for the workers.
She originally thought that it was the fur that kept her warm, but considering that Chinese furs all had the fur on the outside, she thought that its main function was to block the wind.
Since it is used to block the wind, it doesn’t make much difference whether it has fur or not. Besides, when you are poor, it is good enough to have something to wear, so don’t be too particular about it.
She looked at Spring, Summer, and Autumn, the three people in charge of tanning the wool, and asked, "How much tanned leather is left? How many jackets or cloaks can it make?"
Lei Chuntian glanced at the inventory and calculated, "I can make five or six padded jackets without any problem, but the cloaks are more wasteful than padded jackets, so I estimate I can only make four at most."
There are a lot of leather materials that have been tanned at home or in advance, but there are so many people in the workshop, and each person has to make fifty or sixty padded jackets.
This is the money Aunt Shen Qing saved because she didn't use the leather to make door curtains for her own door, otherwise one piece would not be enough for each person.
It has only been eight or nine days since the start of the operation, and she has just finished the first batch of raw materials. She added: "It will be soon. We can ship the finished materials every few days."
Shen Qing thought that a padded jacket was equivalent to a vest, and a cloak was equivalent to a coat, so naturally it would use less fabric than a padded jacket. However, Granny Qin and Master Jiang were the oldest, and old people were most afraid of winter, and they could easily not survive it if they were not careful.
They can't save on fabric, so let's make a cloak, and then get the other items together.
She looked at Chuntian and said, "Chuntian, I don't know how much leather is needed to make a set of cloak, snow hat, and fur collar. Can you help me make two?
One for Granny Qin, one for Second Master Jiang. After they're mixed, I'll ask Qin Dazhu to run an errand and deliver them to the two of them."
"Okay!" Lei Chuntian responded quickly.
He turned around to find the leather that had been nitrated and began to prepare it according to Shen Qing's instructions.
Shen Qing said loudly to all the workers: "The workshop will have a constant supply of tanned leather materials, but they are not given away for free, but at half the purchase price. When you go back, tell your families;
If you want to buy something for a jacket, cloak, hat, leather boots, door curtain, etc., you can come here. Those who arrive early will get priority."
Since the wool is gone, it naturally cannot be priced the same as wool with wool, but it has been tanned and can be used to make clothes when you get home, which also saves a lot of time and tanning costs.
There will be a steady supply of leather coming out of the workshop. Since they can’t use it all themselves, they sell it to the villagers at a low price, which is beneficial to both parties.
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