Chapter 62: The Temporary Worker’s Gift
Lin Sanniang measured the layout over and over, while Taoya and Xing chimed in with ideas. The mother and her two daughters racked their brains, ultimately deciding to patch the two pieces of cloth together vertically and hire someone to embroider a bamboo design over the seam in the middle.
They would use the bamboo to conceal the patchwork on the garment.
Fortunately, Lin Sanniang knew a few day-labor embroiderers from her past work, and the moment the outfit was completed, she took it over that very night to ask for help.
Lin Sanniang offered half a catty of old rice as payment, and the embroiderer who took the job was absolutely thrilled. In a time of famine, which household didn’t lack food? Furthermore, the rice Lin Sanniang brought was quite decent—it couldn’t compare to modern grain, but it had come out of the Zhang Estate. The rice of a wealthy family was better than what the embroiderer’s own family could afford to buy.
“Don’t you worry, I’ll have this embroidered perfectly for you in a single night.”
With them rushing the work so fiercely, the outfit was finally delivered to the Zhang Estate on the third day.
Manager Fang was an expert in needlework, and in the end, she still managed to spot that the back panel of the clothing was patched together. “No wonder you refused to sell the fabric to me.”
Lin Sanniang felt awkward in her heart and didn’t dare speak.
Fortunately, the embroiderer’s skill was excellent; she had stitched three or four bamboo stalks of varying heights, covering the inner and outer seams so well that it couldn’t be easily noticed.
Manager Fang deemed it passable and calculated one tael of silver for Lin Sanniang.
Lin Sanniang was overjoyed. Holding the money, she went to fetch another day’s worth of Motherwort Paste for Lin Daniang.
Over the course of those three days, Lin Daniang’s body gradually improved, which made the whole family very happy, yet they still had worries. Over these past few days, Convoy Guard Mu had taken the cargo out to sell piecemeal, but unfortunately, it wasn’t rice or flour. High-quality goods that were usually valuable couldn’t command a decent price now. If they couldn’t sell them soon, they would have no choice but to send them to a pawnshop at a heavily slashed value.
Lin Sanniang hated to see them go to waste, so after thinking it over, she discussed it with Lin Daniang. “Leave a portion of these goods with me. Maybe I can find a way to barter them away.”
Lin Daniang used to support her younger sister, and now that the roles were reversed and she was receiving her sister’s help, she naturally wouldn’t oppose her wishes.
When Convoy Guard Mu returned from another fruitless trip outside, Lin Daniang joined him in picking out a few items to hand over to Lin Sanniang’s disposal.
This time, Convoy Guard Mu had transported timber rather than rice or grain, which was why the journey had been relatively peaceful. Aside from some everyday household objects that the merchants didn’t want, the most precious items were two red sandalwood bracelets. They had a few flaws, and because the beads themselves weren’t large—barely bigger than a fish’s eye—they were rather difficult to sell.
Those who could afford them looked down on the small beads and the flaws. Those who couldn’t afford them went without saying; caught in a famine year like this, who would be willing to spend money to buy two strings of wooden beads?
Consequently, Convoy Guard Mu had bartered his other items for a bit of money, leaving only these two bracelets. He was loath to sell them off cheaply, yet he couldn’t find a suitable buyer.
They gave these to Lin Sanniang, hoping that in her role as a hired maidservant, she might cross paths with some wealthy people who might take a fancy to them. To set Lin Sanniang’s mind at ease, Convoy Guard Mu and Lin Daniang told her with immense gratitude that she could dispose of the bracelets however she pleased.
“It matters not even if you cannot sell them for a good price. They were just sitting idle in our hands anyway.”
Lin Sanniang merely nodded and said nothing.
On the very day after she received the bracelets, Lin Sanniang received the message for recruitment.
Ever since she had seen the recruitment prompt in the fire, even though the children had been cooking the meals while she rushed out the clothes over the past few days, she still checked the stove during every single meal. On this day, the flames were rocked back and forth by the wind once more, revealing the silhouettes of the Goddess shrine and the cave tunnel.
Lin Sanniang was overjoyed. She quickly changed into the “work clothes” she and Taoya had sewn, carried her basket, tucked the prescription and the bracelets away, and hurried out of the city.
She rushed as fast as she could, terrified of arriving late.
But Jian Xingxia had no such anxieties—the system handled the timing on its end. In any case, once she posted the recruitment notice, the temporary workers would invariably arrive within ten minutes to less than half an hour.
Listening to Lin Sanniang recount her experiences over the past few days, along with Lin Daniang’s situation, Jian Xingxia felt a lingering fear. Having a unique timeline for the system was all well and good, but it didn’t give her a single hint about exactly how many days had passed. She had almost ruined things.
However, when she heard Lin Sanniang say that her family had pulled together, and that their relatives, friends, and neighbors had all helped out, managing to scrape together four days’ worth of Motherwort Paste for Lin Daniang, she felt genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart.
Ever since her parents divorced, she had taken care of herself entirely on her own. Now that she had this estate and system, with great power came great responsibility, but she disliked encountering people who only thought of parasitizing her. Lin Sanniang and Taoya’s family were wonderful; they were the type of people who would seize an opportunity when it appeared, and if there was no opportunity, they would fight to forge a path of their own.
Lin Sanniang had brought the prescription along. Jian Xingxia accepted it, finding it exceptionally fascinating.
“So this is what ancient paper feels like…”
The yellowish-white paper felt a bit rough to the touch, much like the paper of the school exercise books from her childhood. There were no printed grids, but the doctor’s handwriting was remarkably neat and orderly, as if written against a ruler. Jian Xingxia noticed that the doctor’s signature and the date were written with a more casual stroke; it seemed he had intentionally written the names and quantities of the herbs with extra neatness.
Jian Xingxia had no idea how much these Chinese medicinal herbs cost, so she first opened her phone to check. Good grief, they weren’t cheap either. Furthermore, ordering online wouldn’t arrive in time, as Lin Sanniang had to head back today.
After a brief thought, Jian Xingxia asked Lin Sanniang about that Motherwort Paste.
Lin Sanniang handled matters thoroughly. “When I fetched the medicine, I inquired with the matron. This Motherwort Paste is brewed by the clinic itself. The ingredients used are similar to those on the prescription, except they extended the brewing duration to form honeyed pills.”
Jian Xingxia checked her phone again and instantly cheered up—for the modern era, mass-produced traditional Chinese patent medicines were actually cheaper than buying raw herbs!
The price of Motherwort Paste online ranged from a few yuan for a small bottle to dozens of yuan, and even the most expensive variety didn’t exceed a hundred. Even if the pharmacy in town charged a higher price, Lin Sanniang’s wages should be more than enough to cover it.
Jian Xingxia immediately told Lin Sanniang, “I’ll head to town this afternoon and buy the medicine for you.”
Hearing this, before Jian Xingxia could even react, Lin Sanniang fell to her knees and firmly kowtowed three times.
“Thank you, Proprietress, Miss! Thank you for saving my sister’s life!”
Jian Xingxia helped her up, smiling. “Let’s not get carried away. When it comes to your sister’s matter, I am merely adding a finishing touch. You all are the ones who truly rescued yourselves from the depths of hardship.”
Lin Sanniang was filled with gratitude, nodding frantically at whatever Jian Xingxia said. But in her heart, she felt that if Jian Xingxia hadn’t hired Taoya to work in the beginning, they never would have survived to see the day they could rescue themselves.
With the greatest hurdle resolved, Lin Sanniang brought out the two bracelets.
What she had told Lin Daniang and Convoy Guard Mu was that maybe a wealthy person would take a fancy to them and trade them for some silver coins. But from the very beginning, she had been thinking that perhaps the young mistress would like these things. The young mistress had helped them so much during this period; she ought to give her some kind of return within the scope of her abilities.
When the time came, she would gift the bracelets to the young mistress and carry her wages back to give to Lin Daniang and Convoy Guard Mu, claiming a wealthy person had rewarded her with the money—a perfect solution for both sides. Lin Sanniang felt happy in her heart; she was finally able to come work at the mountain estate again today.
On her end, Jian Xingxia accepted the bracelets, merely finding them smooth and heavy to the touch, radiating a faint fragrance, but she had no idea what kind of wood they were made of. She was in a hurry to buy the medicine, and her mind was also occupied with the instructions for Lin Sanniang regarding her encounter with Liang Chengcheng inside the old house, so she didn’t pay too much attention to them.
Not to say she was relying on stereotypes, but given the financial background of Lin Sanniang and Taoya’s household, combined with their recent string of illnesses, whatever they gifted her probably wouldn’t be anything too valuable. It was likely just a piece of ancient handicraft.
She quite liked them, so she slipped them onto her wrist, thinking to herself that she would give one to Liang Chengcheng when she went back in a bit.
She never anticipated that the moment Liang Chengcheng caught sight of the bracelet, the girl would instantly let out a piercing shriek.
