He said solemnly, “But only for spring plowing, and people must watch over it, so that refugees are not allowed to be bought and sold into slavery.”
Zhang Liao understood.
Everything else in winter is manageable, but winter clothing is far from sufficient. Refugees are dressed in thin clothes, so if refugees are to be sent out to work, providing them with warm clothing is the top priority.
Today, Qi Nuan and Jiang Yu also went to see it. Although they had provided ready-made clothes for the refugees, only one-tenth of them received them.
People are already in charge of sewing the winter clothes. Manpower is not the problem; the problem is that the cotton inventory is too low.
"Nowadays, almost every household raises poultry, so could we use poultry feathers instead of cotton?"
Qi Nuan thought of modern down jackets.
Zhang Liao thought for a while, recalling how he had huddled with a dog while fleeing, warming himself by looking at the dog's fur. "It should work, but the clothes made from them will have a strong fishy smell."
"The fishy smell isn't a problem; keeping warm is what's important." Jiang Yu knew that since Qi Nuan had brought it up, she must know how to do it.
He looked at her and said, "Tell us what you need, and we'll send people to collect it first."
Zhang Liao watched the two of them without saying a word. He knew that Jiang Yu trusted Qi Nuan very much, and Qi Nuan's ideas were indeed quite unique at times.
"Duck feathers, chicken feathers, and goose feathers are all acceptable." Although chicken and duck feathers are not as good as goose feathers, keeping warm is the most important thing right now.
She gestured with her hands, "I want the kind with fine, tiny downy hairs."
However, considering that the most important thing now was to produce a large quantity of winter clothes, she added, "Others are also acceptable. They can still be used after some processing."
"Sister Ahua and I will first experiment with the feathers of the poultry in the manor. You can find a few people to learn from us. Once the materials arrive, we can make it in large quantities."
Jiang Yu nodded. "I will talk to the Prefect. First, let the embroiderers in the manor learn, and then find women skilled in sewing among the refugees to come and learn."
After everything was agreed upon, Jiang Yu escorted Qi Nuan back to her room.
The next day, Qi Nuan and Ahua began making down jackets.
The weather has been cloudy for a long time, but today the sun finally came out, which is a rare treat.
Qi Nuan sat in the courtyard, lazily basking in the sun. There were still freshly cleaned down feathers in the courtyard. The sun had come out at just the right time.
Two women, who were drying their down jackets, glanced at Qi Nuan lying on the rocking chair. Seeing that she seemed to be asleep, they huddled together and whispered to each other.
"I heard that someone from the master's family is coming?"
"Why are they suddenly coming? They haven't come in so many years..."
"I think there's going to be some excitement in the manor."
The first embroiderer glanced at Qi Nuan, then whispered in the ear of another embroiderer, "Who in the manor doesn't know that the magistrate has never married? Now that a young master has suddenly appeared and is so highly regarded by the magistrate, isn't he getting anxious?"
"That's too shameless, but..."
She lowered her voice, "Do you think this young master is really the Lord's son? He doesn't look like him at all."
She glanced at Qi Nuan again, "So young and already has a child. These two aren't exactly siblings, nor are they father and daughter. It's really a mess."
Qi Nuan suppressed her anger. She was unaware that there were people in the county government gossiping about her and A Yu.
"Let me tell you, things are even more chaotic at the master's house."
"Ah? But the relationship between the master's family and the prefect is not good, so it probably has nothing to do with our prefecture."
The two chatted about this and that, sometimes about the maids and servants in the county government, sometimes about the young lady of the Wang family. When Qi Nuan saw that the two of them couldn't say anything meaningful, she opened her eyes.
She touched the down feathers with her hand; only the surface layer was slightly dry, while the inside was still damp.
She glanced at the two of them, her tone indifferent, and told them to dry the down feathers and put them away properly.
After saying that, he went to find Jiang Yu.
The remaining two looked at each other in bewilderment. Qi Nuan had always been very polite to them, so why was she suddenly so cold today?
Qi Nuan had no idea what they were thinking. If she did, she would have sneered. Politeness is only for those who deserve it. They talked badly about others behind their backs, and they expected others to be polite to them?
Qi Nuan returned home listlessly, only to be told that Jiang Yu was not in the prefectural government, but was outside the city providing relief to disaster victims.
Jiang Yu is getting busier and busier these days, and she rarely sees her even once a day.
Why are you here all alone?
Qi Nuan looked up and saw Song Jingning walking by with a book in his hand. Now that Jiang Yu was sharing the burden, he could finally steal a moment to bask in the sun and read a book.
"I'm here to see A-Yu."
Upon hearing her answer, Song Jingning understood why Qi Nuan looked so downcast.
"Tell me how you met Ayu!" Song Jingning and Qi Nuan sat in the pavilion.
Qi Nuan recounted her story with Jiang Yu in detail, and concluded by saying, "Ayu is a good person."
Song Jingning said, "Yes, he and his mother are both kind-hearted."
"Did you adopt A-Yu as your son because of A-Yu's mother?"
Song Jingning wasn't surprised that Qi Nuan knew Jiang Yu wasn't his son, and he nodded.
"What about your other relatives?" Seeing the emotions in Song Jingning's eyes, Qi Nuan knew that Song Jingning and Qi Nuan's mother had a story that was hard to tell.
However, the book does not mention Song Jingning and Jiang Yu's mother, nor does it mention his family. But based on what the two embroiderers said earlier, Song Jingning clearly has a family.
Moreover, his family members were not ordinary people, but the reason not mentioned in the book is simply because he was an insignificant supporting character.
“I was born into the Song family in the capital, but I was sent to my aunt’s house when I was young and grew up with A-Yu’s mother. Later, I was brought back to the Song family, and some things happened during that time.”
He looked at the blinding sunlight, his tone indifferent.
"Later, I separated from my fourth sister and broke with the Song family. Apart from my name, I could never be considered a member of the Song family from beginning to end."
He turned around, smiled at Qi Nuan, and comforted her, "Now you are my family. As for the others, I will handle them myself. You don't need to worry about them or take them seriously."
Qi Nuan shook her head; she had never been afraid.
However, looking at Song Jingning's gentle smile, she felt inexplicably sad. Song Jingning was not yet forty years old, but he already looked like an old man in his twilight years.
Perhaps it is precisely because of his magnanimous attitude that people feel even more sorry for him.
Life can be summed up in just a few words, but the joys and sorrows within it are difficult to explain to others.
Watching Song Jingning's departing figure in the sunlight, Qi Nuan felt an indescribable sadness.
This world has always been both real and illusory to her; she seems to be detached from it, yet she is truly living.
"Ah Nuan!"
Jiang Yu's cold yet soft voice brought her back from her reverie.
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