Chapter 73: The First Pair of Cloth Shoes
To upgrade the estate, she was still short of money and arable land area.
She couldn’t rely on the temporary workers for the money, but they could certainly help with the arable land. Jian Xingxia posted the recruitment notice based on the conditions of Dahei and Lin Sanniang.
Timing it carefully, she posted the notice mid-journey. With a dozen minutes left before she reached home, the temporary workers should arrive right on time.
Sure enough, she had just stepped into the old house and hadn’t even finished a single cup of water when she heard movement in the backyard.
The first to arrive was surprisingly Lin Sanniang.
Jian Xingxia had no idea how the system adjusted the flow of time across multiple worlds. Logically speaking, since Dahei was already in the mountains, he could come over the moment he found a cave tunnel, so he should have been the fastest. Yet in reality, the first to arrive was Lin Sanniang, who lived in the city.
Anxious about Lin Daniang’s illness, Jian Xingxia asked about it the moment Lin Sanniang stepped inside.
Lin Sanniang was deeply grateful. “In reply to Miss, the medicine has been delivered. My sister feels passable after taking it. I just went to see her this morning, and she said she feels the medicine bestowed by Miss is even better than the ones she drank from the clinic.”
Only a single day had passed, so the effects shouldn’t have been that obvious, but Lin Daniang had to wake up every double-hour during the night to feed the little monkey. She had discovered that the volume of bleeding between the two intervals had clearly decreased significantly.
Jian Xingxia also felt at ease. “It’s good as long as it’s effective.”
With Lin Daniang showing signs of recovery, Lin Sanniang felt overjoyed. The worry finally faded from her expression, and she sounded much brighter as she spoke.
“How did Miss and Miss Chengcheng find yesterday’s dishes? Do you still require me to cook today?”
Jian Xingxia smiled. “No cooking today. You’ll be helping me farm.”
If she hadn’t been worrying about Lin Daniang’s condition—terrified that failing to hire Lin Sanniang on consecutive days might lead to a vast time gap on her end and disrupt the treatment—Jian Xingxia would have chosen to hire two “farming hands” instead.
Fortunately, living in the Daliang Dynasty without various modern technologies and services meant the common folk had to do everything themselves. If it hadn’t been for last year’s drought, Lin Sanniang would have regularly tended to her own family’s two mu of land anyway.
As they were talking, Dahei arrived as well.
While only a day had passed on this side, ten days had already gone by on Dahei’s end. The seeds Dahei had planted previously, along with the sprouted potatoes and sweet potatoes, had grown quite a bit taller.
Dahei had plucked a seedling and brought it over to show Jian Xingxia.
“Master, I grew them.”
He had constantly kept in mind what Jian Xingxia told him previously—she was going to inspect them!
Jian Xingxia showered Dahei with praise before assigning today’s tasks.
“We’ve already planted a small half of the upturned soil, and the young seedlings I nurtured can be transplanted now. I’ve mapped out the remaining space for you. Follow the divided plots and sow the seeds.”
Dahei nodded diligently. Picking up a hoe by the back door with practiced ease, he prepared to head out to the fields.
Lin Sanniang stood to the side like a shivering quail, her eyes full of shock and suspicion, not daring to utter a single sound.
Heavens above!
Although she had previously heard Taoya mention that the young mistress had a “large black fellow” working for her, this was the first time she had seen him with her own eyes despite coming here for several days. Lin Sanniang was terrified to the point of fainting.
What kind of person was this? His skin was so black, his eyes and teeth were so white, and he stood incredibly tall. It was only because the ceilings of the young mistress’s house were high; if placed in the Daliang Dynasty, many households wouldn’t even build their doorways this high!
Dahei, however, barely spared Lin Sanniang a glance. The loyalty and martial valor inherent in his blood meant he only recognized Jian Xingxia as his master. Aside from his master, no one else mattered.
Dahei was just about to step into the fields when Jian Xingxia hurriedly called him back. “Oh, wait a minute. I’ll get a set of clothes and shoes for you.”
Dahei felt a surge of joy. But very quickly, he said, “Master, I ruin shoes fast. Won’t wear them.”
As a Kunlun slave, his status was highly restricted. Few people treated them like human beings; they were raised like pigs, cattle, or sheep—given a bite to eat and a hemp sack to cover their bodies, and that was it. Shoes were something he didn’t dare dream of.
Furthermore, to adapt to walking barefoot, a Kunlun slave’s soles were inherently wider and larger than an ordinary person’s. Combined with how tall Dahei was, his already massive feet had grown to resemble a duck’s webbed feet. Even if he wanted to wear shoes, there likely wasn’t a size large enough to fit him.
As Dahei spoke, Lin Sanniang waited with her head lowered, taking it all in. She felt it made sense; with a pair of frighteningly large feet that were three inches bigger than Taoya’s father’s, where could one possibly find shoes that big? Making shoes for him would require begging someone to custom-draw such massive soles and shoe uppers!
As the two impoverished temporary workers harbored their own thoughts, they only watched as Jian Xingxia entered the house. A brief moment later, she emerged carrying a pair of colossal cloth shoes.
“This is the absolute largest size I could buy. Size 52. See if you can wear them.”
Size 52?
Neither Lin Sanniang nor Dahei knew what that size meant. But seeing the massive shoe soles in Jian Xingxia’s hands, which were practically as large as cattail-leaf fans, both of them were thoroughly stunned.
Even though Lin Sanniang was cautious in word and deed, she couldn’t help but gasp—the young mistress actually possessed shoes this massive!
Dahei, meanwhile, trembled all over with excitement. He looked at Jian Xingxia in disbelief. “Master, these are my shoes?”
“Of course,” Jian Xingxia smiled. “Aside from you, who else would need to wear shoes this big?”
The largest size available was actually 53, but it was out of stock and didn’t have a discount; rushing a custom order would require extra money. Jian Xingxia: …had no money. So she settled for the next best thing and bought size 52.
Anyway, they were cheap—five or six yuan a pair. If they really didn’t fit, she would just have Dahei cut off the toe area and wear them open-toed. Cost-effectiveness had to be maximized.
Holding the shoes, Dahei cradled them against his chest and unexpectedly burst into tears. This was the very first time anyone had ever given him shoes to wear.
He didn’t even quite know how to put them on. After fumbling around barefooted for a long time, he finally managed to slide his feet inside under the guidance of Jian Xingxia and Lin Sanniang.
“They fit! Master! I can wear them!” Dahei shouted in excitement.
Plucking up her courage to check for Jian Xingxia, Lin Sanniang reached out to press the toe area and pinch the heel. Finally, she raised her head, saying to the large black fellow in a trembling voice, “Please take a few steps so Miss can take a look.”
Dahei looked toward Jian Xingxia.
Jian Xingxia nodded.
Only then did Dahei begin walking around the courtyard. Wearing shoes for the first time felt incredibly awkward; it felt as though something was wrapped around his feet, and he constantly wanted to shake it off. But after walking half a lap, he grew more and more accustomed to it.
Dahei said in pleasant surprise, “These shoes, no stones!”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Jian Xingxia didn’t understand.
Lin Sanniang, however, caught his meaning and explained from the side, “Miss, Dahei probably means that these shoe soles are stitched very sturdily. Unlike straw sandals, no stones pierce through the gaps in the soles.”
Jian Xingxia came to a sudden realization.
But even as they spoke, Dahei slipped the shoes back off and cradled them in his arms again.
“What’s wrong now?”
Dahei bared two rows of big white teeth. “I do chores, won’t wear shoes.”
Shoes this excellent would be far too much of a waste to wear while working.
Lin Sanniang felt exactly the same way. The style of these shoes was actually quite similar to those of the Daliang Dynasty—patchwork-soled, sturdy, and with thick shoe uppers. The coarse black cloth was obviously high-quality fabric, not something cut from old clothes. Shoes this excellent were meant to be worn only when meeting guests or going out in public; one could never bear to wear them into the fields.
