"Wanzi's mother, why are you so late? We've been waiting for you for ages." Erhua's mother grumbled somewhat discontentedly, as the round trip alone took two or three hours.
If it weren't for the large amount of stuff the mine needed to buy this time, and the fact that she was too tired to do it alone, she wouldn't want to wait here for so long in this freezing weather!
He Tiantian smiled apologetically as she climbed onto the oxcart and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting. I have two children to take care of at home, so I'm a little late."
These women, each with three or four children, completely disregarded He Tiantian's excuse for being late.
The oxcart had only taken two steps when it heard someone shout from behind, "Uncle Li, wait for me!"
When everyone turned around, they saw that it was Widow Zhang.
He Tiantian felt a little embarrassed when she thought about how she had eavesdropped on someone yesterday. She turned her face away and shrank back, trying to minimize her presence.
Widow Zhang was probably around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Her husband had died and she had no children, so she looked younger than she actually was. Moreover, she paid great attention to her appearance.
Wearing a bright red coarse cotton-padded jacket, she stood out among the crowd of gray and black people.
Widow Zhang boarded the carriage with a graceful figure and smiled at Uncle Li, who was driving, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Li."
"Don't mention it, we're all from the same village." Uncle Li tightened his grip on the rope and continued driving the cart.
As soon as Widow Zhang boarded, everyone had to squeeze in even more. The already small oxcart became even more crowded.
He Tiantian felt like she was only sitting on half of the car, her body squeezed so that she could only sit sideways.
Erhua's mother and a few other women were quietly gossiping about Widow Zhang, who had just boarded the carriage, pointing and whispering about her. Apparently, they were saying that Widow Zhang's husband had died, and how could someone so young endure such a tragedy?
Every family must keep a close eye on their men, lest they be bewitched by widows for no reason.
He Tiantian's face darkened as she listened, thinking that these women were worrying unnecessarily. The men in Changfeng Village were all ugly and unattractive; no one would want them if they were just sitting on the street.
He Tiantian secretly glanced at Widow Zhang, who was leisurely fixing her hair, completely unconcerned about the gossip going on behind her back.
He Tiantian suddenly admired this widow quite a bit; she had a strong will.
The sky was overcast, but it hadn't started snowing yet. The oxcart crunched and groaned as it rolled over the thick snow.
After about an hour, the oxcart finally arrived at the town gate of Changning Town.
The town was much more lively than the village. Despite the heavy snow, there were many more merchants and pedestrians coming and going.
The city gates and roads inside the city were swept clean, with no snow in sight.
A woman suddenly jumped off the car and exclaimed, "This town is wonderful! When my son passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, we must buy a house here."
"Haha, Zhao Yan's mother, your Zhao Yan is also a good student. I heard from the teacher that he has a good chance of getting first place in next year's county examination. Congratulations in advance!"
Zhao Yanniang grinned from ear to ear, her face beaming with pride. After all, her son was the only bright and studious person in the entire Changfeng Village.
It doesn't matter if she suffers a little now; once her son passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, she will enjoy endless wealth and honor.
"I'm not going to chat with you anymore, I'm going to the academy to see my son." Zhao Yan's mother waved her hand, picked up her basket, and went into the city.
The other women also went into the city. Erhua's mother instructed, "Wanzi's mother, I'll go buy salt, and you go buy some radishes and cabbages. We'll meet at the oxcart at the city gate in two hours."
After Erhua's mother finished speaking, she turned and left before He Tiantian could react.
He Tiantian rolled her eyes. This Erhua's mother really knew how to pick and choose her tasks. She gave herself the easy ones and left the heavy ones to her, the pregnant woman.
"Ha, that Erhua's mother is really good at shirking her duties. We're both cooks in the mine, earning the same money, so why do you get to do all the heavy and tiring work?" Widow Zhang strolled up from behind and spat disdainfully at Erhua's departing figure.
He Tiantian didn't want to argue about it too much. Letting her go buy groceries was fine; it would also give her more food to stock up at home. When she had free time, she could make some pickled radishes and sauerkraut—they were incredibly delicious.
Widow Zhang swayed her body as she walked into a cosmetics shop, while He Tiantian went to find a place to sell vegetables.
Changning Town is quite large, with shops lining the streets selling all sorts of things.
Although He Tiantian's family lacked nothing, she dared not spend money lavishly on shopping. First, she couldn't afford it. Second, if those gossipy women saw her buying so many things, it would be difficult to explain.
She quickly bought radishes and cabbages. Because she bought a large quantity, He Tiantian not only negotiated the lowest price for the vegetables but also got the farmer to give her a few extra cabbages and a few pounds of radishes.
It's fine to assume that she bought the extra vegetables; she got such a great benefit for free without spending a penny.
He Tiantian thought to herself, "Indeed, purchasing has always been the most lucrative business since ancient times."
He Tiantian had the vegetables she bought delivered directly to Uncle Li's oxcart at the town gate, and then she strolled around Changning Town.
She saw a silk shop with customers coming and going, and it seemed to be doing very well.
The shop was small, with only one woman enthusiastically introducing the fabrics to customers, so busy that her feet barely touched the ground.
When He Tiantian came in, the woman only glanced at the door and showed no intention of coming over.
He Tiantian wasn't in a hurry. She looked around at the various colors of fabrics and embroidery in the shop.
After Hong Erniang happily saw the guests off, her eyes finally fell on He Tiantian. Seeing He Tiantian's shabby appearance, she said impatiently, "I'm telling you, you've been looking for so long, are you going to buy anything or not? If you're not going to buy anything, don't touch anything, or you'll break it and won't be able to afford to pay for it!"
He Tiantian quickly withdrew her hand, smiled at Hong Erniang, and said, "I'm not buying anything for now. I just wanted to ask if you take on embroidery work here?"
She already had a small idea for making money: to find some jobs in town and bring them back to the women in the village to do, so she could earn a small profit from the difference.
Anyway, it's the dead of winter, and there's no farm work to do in the fields. The women in the village are getting restless from staying at home all day. If there were any jobs that could earn money, no matter how small, someone would definitely be willing to do them.
Hong Erniang scoffed coldly and refused firmly, "No need, the embroidery in my shop is all done by embroiderers from a special workshop. They are all top-quality."
After saying this, Hong Erniang looked very proud.
“Oh dear, but those embroiderers charge high prices. If you contract out all the work in your shop to me, I'll only charge half the price,” He Tiantian said.
She had already inquired about it; now, a handkerchief from the embroidery workshop costs thirty coins, and a sachet costs twenty. And that's just for simple single-sided embroidery; more complex double-sided embroidery is even more expensive!
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