As the group left the grain shop and headed towards the dock, they came across a cloth shop dealing with a batch of scraps of cloth. These were irregular pieces of cloth, or unevenly dyed pieces, ranging in size from over a meter to about two feet.
It's not enough to make long gowns, but it's good enough to make short outfits, and there's still a lot of scrap fabric left.
Several women were immediately captivated by the sight!
Nothing else, it's too cheap. Large pieces are five copper coins each, small pieces are three copper coins each, and scraps of cloth are five copper coins each.
Many people are already making their selections.
When the stall owner saw that the group had stopped, he greeted them warmly.
"Ladies, although my fabric has some flaws, the price is incredibly cheap!"
This fabric is so economical for us farmers to make short jackets and other clothing!
Even if you're making a long gown, buying several pieces and piecing them together is still more cost-effective than buying it from a shop!
Moreover, these scraps of fabric could be used to make shoe uppers, forehead bands, or hats for children—how wonderful!
"You guys just happened to stumble upon this inventory clearance sale; you wouldn't normally get this price!"
After the stall owner said that, the group was even more reluctant to leave!
Indeed, even in normal years, they wouldn't find fabric this cheap when they go to the market!
Everyone here is a farmer, and a piece of clothing is new for three years, old for three years, and patched up for another three years. The clothes they wear now are covered with patches, and they are reluctant to throw them away. Although some of these fabrics are unevenly dyed, some are irregularly shaped, and some are obviously leftovers from making long gowns, they are all good things to them. For a moment, they were so envious that they could not walk away.
Xie Yushu simply shouted at the few who were walking fast ahead.
"Hey you guys in front, wait a minute, come and take a look too. This fabric is really cheap. Anyway, nobody can go without clothes. Buying it here will save you a lot of money, and the fabric won't spoil. Even if you don't use it this year, you'll still need it later. Think about it, don't go back and regret it!"
The first few who walked quickly were all young and strong, and they didn't care about these things. But after hearing Xie Yushu's words, they realized that it made sense. They told the grain deliveryman to wait a moment and all turned around to look at the cloth.
Xie Yushu didn't care whether they bought anything or not, and squatted down to pick out clothes herself. There had been a severe drought in the past two years, and everyone was short of food, let alone clothes. They were all old clothes from a few years ago, faded from washing, patched up when they were too short, and mended when they were torn. They should have been replaced long ago. Otherwise, she was thinking of going to buy some fabric later and then go to Li Daniu's blacksmith shop on West Street, which Xiao Yi had mentioned. But since she had come here, she might as well buy some fabric first.
After buying the fabric, go back to him, give him the blueprint for the scalpel, and see if he can perform the procedure.
She drew the blueprints after she arrived in Tai'an Prefecture, distributed the grain, and took a break. She bought an eyebrow pencil and asked Han Zhongyu for paper.
She originally intended to describe it directly, but later felt that it would be more intuitive to draw it. Fortunately, she had studied traditional Chinese painting for two years, and with simple drawings and sketches, she was quite good at it.
Xie Yushu picked out thirty pieces of fabric, each over a meter long, in various colors including blue, green, brown, black, red, a pink piece, a white piece with red flowers, and two pieces of fine cotton fabric with small floral patterns in matching colors. She also bought fifty scraps of fabric. Realizing she had no needles at home and probably not much thread left, she picked out six bundles of cotton thread and ten needles, spending one hundred and eighty-three copper coins.
Those who had been observing immediately rushed forward to choose when they saw Xie Yushu pick out so much fabric for just over a hundred copper coins. Even the young men who had been called back later plunged into the pile of fabric, especially the women, who secretly regretted not acting sooner, as several nice pieces had already been bought!
After Xie Yushu finished making her selections, she saw the shop assistant waiting there to deliver the goods. She went over and explained the situation to him. The shop assistant was kind-hearted and said that since it was afternoon and the shop wasn't busy, a little delay wouldn't cause any trouble.
After selecting the fabrics, Xie Yushu planned to go to the blacksmith shop on West Street to save some time. She was about to ask Qu Xiaodie if she wanted to come with her, but Qu Xiaodie was still in the pile of fabrics.
It could be said that among this group of people, only the three families who didn't go to rummage through the cloth piles and pick out cloth in the mountains watched with envy: a woman, an old man in his fifties, and a boy of sixteen or seventeen. These three were the pillars of their families.
Xie Yushu vaguely remembered that each of the three families received a wolf skin. Apart from the boy who sold a few snake skins and snake gallbladders, the woman and the old man probably didn't sell anything else!
I doubt they can even survive the winter if they split those eight or nine hundred coins in half. Although the court said there would be relief grain, there is still a long winter ahead. How could these elderly, weak, women and children dare to spend it recklessly?
In the end, she still felt bad that the three people hadn't made it out of the mountains alive. She wanted to give them some money, but she was afraid they wouldn't accept it. So, Xie Yushu picked out six pieces of cloth, each a meter long, and ten scraps of cloth for each family. She also bought two bundles of cotton thread for each family, estimating that this would be enough for each of them to make a set of clothes and a pair of shoes.
Not knowing whether they were willing to eat, Xie Yushu bought fifteen steamed buns and distributed them to them.
None of the three families were unreasonable or greedy. They were all aware of the situation in the mountains, and they couldn't blame Xie Yushu for their family members not returning. When Xie Yushu offered them things, the woman quickly declined.
"Sister Xie, this is unacceptable! Your money didn't come easily, and besides, you gave us wolf pelts, which we sold for money!"
The old man and the teenager also said repeatedly
"We sold the wolf pelts, so we have money in hand!"
Xie Yushu whispered
"This is my heartfelt gift, please don't refuse it. It wouldn't be good if others saw it. Life is long, let's all live well and let the departed rest in peace!"
The three glanced at the crowd frantically grabbing the fabric and silently accepted their belongings.
Xie Yushu told Xie Tianqi that she would go directly to the dock later, and then dragged Qu Xiaodie out of the crowd. Qu Xiaodie was holding three pieces of light pink cotton cloth. When Xie Yushu pulled her out, she complained...
"I haven't chosen yet! All the good ones will be gone in no time!"
"Alright! Pick out a couple to make underwear. Come with me to West Street, and when we get back we'll go to the fabric store and pick out a few nice ones!"
No woman dislikes shopping, so Qu Xiaodie immediately agreed after hearing Xie Yushu's suggestion and begged Xie Yushu to let her go.
"Give me the money, I don't have any change!"
Xie Yushu readily paid her, but remembering that she had stubbornly handed over all the monthly allowance and jewelry from the Zhang family, leaving her with only the twenty taels of silver Han Zhongyu had given her, she felt more secure having some money on hand. So she slipped her another two taels of loose silver.
"Keep your money as your dowry! Spend mine first!"
Qu Xiaodie put away the fabric, but didn't take the money.
"No need, I'll break the silver in half and return it to you later!"
"Why are you being so polite with me! I'm rich, I can afford to support you!"
Besides, I'm not asking you to freeload; you're supposed to be doing the work!
"But they've all stayed in Tai'an Prefecture. Do they still need me to teach them martial arts? And the yamen doesn't need female instructors!"
"I also have two younger children at home!"
"Alright then! But don't exploit me too much!"
"That's hard to say!"
"Huh? So you think you can buy me with just two taels of silver! You heartless landlady!"
"You're wrong about that. We've been poor farmers for eight generations!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
