Only then did she realize that she hadn't told them how she bought the Xuan paper and clothes since she returned from selling things that day, and they hadn't asked either. More than ten days had passed, and she still hadn't received any money.
"I've been busy these past few days and forgot to tell you that the small sheets of Xuan paper are one tael of silver each, and the large sheets are six taels of silver each. As for the silver, we'll divide it up after the cholera outbreak is over and Baomozhai comes to take the Xuan paper away."
After she finished speaking, Xia Hua continued, "Unlike Xuan paper, which can be bought outright, we have to find our own sales channels for dresses. Ordinary fabric costs five taels of silver per dress, and silk costs ten taels of silver per dress. The dresses I'm having them made now cost three hundred taels each. They will be taken away once the cholera outbreak is over."
"after……!"
"Sister-in-law, you're lying!"
"Hahaha," An Shuyi laughed again after hearing that.
"Swallow your food before you laugh, be careful not to choke," Xia Hua reminded him, then looked at Lin Changwen who was speaking, and then at the others, "Wenlan, go and get one of the dresses that you've finished making."
"Okay, Auntie." Wenlan ran to the workshop next door, which was very close, just a few steps away. She took out a set of clothes, wrapped them up, held them in her arms, and ran back.
"Open up the clothes and let them see."
"Xia Meizi, isn't this dress a bit short?" Liu asked. She thought the dress was beautiful, very beautiful, especially the embroidery and beads on it.
She didn't want to ask, but her husband kept nagging her, so she had no choice but to ask.
“I know you all think it’s too short, but this isn’t a dress that ordinary girls wear. It’s a dress that courtesans wear for dancing.” Seeing their surprised looks, Xia Hua continued, “You might think, how could I possibly make a dress for that kind of person?”
"But think about our journey of fleeing famine. There were people who sold their children, and some refugees even ate human flesh. So why can't we make clothes for those girls in brothels? We are all suffering people, and no one is more noble than anyone else."
"Of course, this doesn't mean you should expand your business into brothels. It just means you shouldn't focus all your attention on ordinary people. There are plenty of wealthy families out there, so you should focus your attention on them."
Xia Hua pointed to the pearls on her clothes and said again, "In the jewelry shops of Jinnan City, a pearl slightly larger than this sells for fifty taels. Look at how much this dress costs."
“Aunt Xia, with so many pearls, isn’t it a waste to put them all up there?” Lin Wenming said.
Lin Wenhao said, "Wenming, are you stupid? Would Aunt Xia do something that doesn't make money?"
Xia Hua nodded, "Yes, I wouldn't do business that doesn't make money. I'm showing it to you so you know I'm not lying. If I were lying, I wouldn't have put on this dress. Wenlan, put it away."
After she finished speaking, An Shuyi continued, "Hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, you should rest. Tomorrow, you can go back to work and do more. Once it stops raining, build two more workshops during the day and then go back to work in the workshops at night."
Lin Changwu said, "Aunt An, let's build another room for cooking and eating. Everyone else has agreed to eat together. I'll be responsible for buying grains and meat from now on."
“Yes, Sister An, we all agree. Only a fool would disagree with such a good thing,” Lin Changwen echoed.
Xia Hua said, "Then let's decide on the person to cook, and how much money to give them."
Village Chief Lin came over and said, "Sister-in-law, you can let the women who make braised meat do it. There are more than 30 of them, so they can take turns. A few people can cook each day. The day they cook is considered as if they are working in the workshop, and when it's time to distribute the money, they can get the same amount."
Xia Hua looked at the group of more than thirty people and asked, "Do you think this is acceptable?"
"Yes, there's no problem with that."
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with that, we're all very willing."
Xia Hua nodded, "Okay, let's settle on this. We'll build the cooking and dining areas first, right next to the braised meat workshop. We'll start construction as soon as it doesn't rain."
The heavy rain began to subside by the evening of the second day. The tribespeople, seeing the drizzling rain, were no longer worried and began to work with renewed vigor, seemingly unaware of fatigue, going to bed very late every night.
As soon as he got up in the morning, the rain stopped. Knowing that the villagers of Xinglin Village would be coming to work today, Village Chief Lin asked his son to open the gate at the village entrance early in the morning so that the villagers could come in.
The villagers didn't work in the workshop; instead, they built houses for cooking next to the braised meat workshop. On the other side of the braised meat workshop was the ice workshop, and past the ice workshop was the brewing workshop.
The skincare workshop was built next to the paper workshop. Only the men were needed to build the house, while the young women and wives continued to make clothes, since they were in demand. The older women took turns cooking.
More than ten days passed, and it was now early April. The crops in the fields were growing better and better because of the heavy rain, changing every day. Three houses had been rebuilt at the workshop. An Shuyi and Xia Hua were glad that they had brought in a lot of bricks and tiles.
The pool has been covered and lined with cement. It is very large; once filled with water, it will be enough for the villagers to use for two years. The cave dwellings have also been dug. Once the villagers of Xinglin Village return today, they will not need to come back.
The villagers of Xinglin Village said, "Village Chief Lin, if your village still needs people, please be sure to let us know."
Village Chief Lin nodded, "Don't worry, if we need people to build our houses, we'll definitely come back to you." Actually, in his opinion, these villagers weren't incapable of building houses; they could easily do it themselves.
But his two sisters-in-law disagreed, saying that the house needed to be built by professionals. Since that was what they said, he had no choice but to do as they instructed.
The villagers of Xinglin Village did not come to work the next day, so they did not go to open the village gate early. They waited until it was broad daylight before going. When Lin Wenyu arrived, he heard knocking on the door. He hurriedly opened the door and found many people already standing outside.
"Brother Wenyu, we've come to get some ice. Do you have any now?" a manager asked as he approached.
Although the weather is not as hot after that rain, it is still hot, and we still need to buy ice. It may not cool down until late August.
The others were also looking at him. Today, as soon as Jinan City opened its gates, the master and mistress of the house ordered them to come and buy ice. However, when they arrived, they found that the gate of Taoyuan Village was closed, and there was a sign on it saying that they were not doing business.
They planned to wait there for a while, and when the door opened, they would ask if there was any ice left, and buy a little bit if they wanted.
"Young man, we're here to buy Xuan paper!" said the manager of Baomozhai. More than twenty days had passed, and the Xuan paper was selling very well. People kept coming to inquire, but the city gates were closed, so he could only wait.
Now that the city gates were open, he and his men rushed over. Unexpectedly, they encountered many carriages along the way, and he began to worry that Sister An might have sold the Xuan paper to someone else. After asking, he learned that they were there to pick up ice.
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