Chapter 91: Selling Clothes for Money
The moment the elders saw Jian Xingxia, they pulled her aside, urging her to be careful with her spending.
“Xiaxia, you shouldn’t be so spendthrift.”
“In a village like ours where people don’t even farm the land anymore, we can’t afford to run a greenhouse.”
“Xiaxia, hurry up and stop spending all that money on paving the road. Living in the mountains is inconvenient; you should just move down to the village.”
“Yeah, our village is already half empty. Go ask Hu Da; you can rent a room for just a hundred-plus yuan a month.”
Jian Xingxia secretly loved the elders’ rambling, detailed concern. Ever since her parents’ divorce, she had barely received any care at all. She had to learn everything slowly on her own, making mistakes and correcting them bit by bit. The village elders weren’t her blood relatives, yet they treated her like family.
Jian Xingxia sat down right in the middle of the crowd of elders.
“Grandpas, grandmas, aunties, and uncles, you don’t need to worry about me. This money isn’t mine; it belongs to a partner. They leased my family’s mountain peak to build a homestay and open a fruit-picking orchard.”
Jian Xingxia said with a bright smile, “As for me, I’m just responsible for working for them—keeping an eye on the place and hosting the guests.”
“It’s not yours, Xiaxia?”
Jian Xingxia shook her head. “Where would I get that kind of money? I didn’t put in a single cent.”
The elders believed her. “True, if a young person had even a little bit of money in their hands, who would be willing to come back?”
Although everyone still felt that paving a road and building a greenhouse in the deep mountains was an absolute waste of money, as long as it wasn’t Jian Xingxia’s own money, they were more or less at ease.
After chatting with the elders for a while, Jian Xingxia went down to the fields to find Auntie Lu.
“Xiaxia, you want to custom-order tables, chairs, and benches? What about the ones in the old house? Are they broken?” Auntie Lu didn’t agree immediately, instead advising Jian Xingxia to save her money. “I’ll have your Uncle Lu go over later to fix them up for you. If they can be used after a repair, don’t make new ones.”
Auntie Lu worried that Jian Xingxia lacked restraint in spending money; young people nowadays only knew how to buy things rather than repair them.
Jian Xingxia then explained her plan to open a homestay and a fruit-picking orchard to Auntie Lu.
Sure enough, Auntie Lu was skeptical. “You child, are you really messing around with all this random stuff? How much money is that going to cost?!”
Upon learning that Jian Xingxia wasn’t the one paying for it, Auntie Lu still wasn’t entirely on board. “Xiaxia, earning money isn’t that easy. In several villages around our town, people have tossed and turned, yet few made money while many suffered losses!”
Jian Xingxia smiled and said, “Auntie, the worst it can be is how it is right now. If we give it a try, there might just be a chance.”
Hearing this, Auntie Lu felt another wave of sympathy for Jian Xingxia. It was true; other people’s children, like the young people in their own family, would always have the backing of their parents no matter what. If they couldn’t help with money, they could at least help with labor, right? But Jian Xingxia was all by herself; she had no one to back her up.
Thinking of this, Auntie Lu felt a dull ache in her heart and could no longer bring herself to stop Jian Xingxia.
“So you need two long sofas, six chairs, sixteen small stools… plus four low tables and a front desk counter?”
Jian Xingxia nodded. “I’ll make these first. If the homestay truly takes off in the future, I might need to add more.”
After hearing the request, Auntie Lu told Jian Xingxia to go back and wait for news. “I’ll ask around with your Uncle Lu to see who is selling timber and negotiate a price.”
Jian Xingxia asked about the labor fees. Auntie Lu didn’t say she wouldn’t charge, since aside from farming, the villagers relied on these odd jobs to earn money.
“I’ll ask your Uncle Lu. If you aren’t in a rush, your uncle can take his time. Once he finishes the chores in the fields, he can just make them for you on the side.”
“But if you need them urgently, he might have to charge a bit of labor fee.”
Jian Xingxia smiled. “Auntie, I do need them urgently. But even if I didn’t, it’s only right to pay for the labor!” Jian Xingxia added, “If it’s convenient for Uncle Lu, please help me make one set consisting of a sofa, a low table, and a chair first.”
According to the construction crew’s schedule, they should be able to finish by noon the day after tomorrow at the latest. Spending another day or two painting and tidying up the first floor meant she could open for business in just a few days.
Auntie Lu agreed. “Then I’ll tell your uncle to work faster.”
When Jian Xingxia returned to the old house, the construction crew was still working diligently.
By evening, Lin Sanniang was about to finish her shift, and she still chose fabric. Taking refined rice and flour back to exchange for things was just too conspicuous. After all, half of the Daliang Dynasty was currently suffering from famine, and even fresh rice was hard to come by in their town, so where would such high-quality rice come from? Fabric and clothing were far safer, and the profit margin was substantial.
Jian Xingxia didn’t interfere with Lin Sanniang’s choice either. Everyone had their own difficulties and their own ways of coping. She couldn’t take things for granted and assume that just because they were facing a famine, she should stubbornly insist on Lin Sanniang taking grain. Seeing that Lin Sanniang preferred fabric, she could guess the reason in her heart.
Fabric could be stored, it was inconspicuous, and when made into clothes, according to Lin Sanniang, a set of cotton clothes could easily sell for eight or nine hundred copper coins at market price. Hard-wearing cotton clothes made from this thick cotton fabric could sell for at least one thousand two hundred copper coins a set. Furthermore, it wouldn’t draw uncalled-for disasters in a famine-stricken land due to “hoarding grain.”
Practiced by now, Lin Sanniang carried the fabric and returned from the estate back to the Daliang Dynasty.
After putting the items down at home, she went straight to Lin Daniang’s house. Having taken the medicine for a few days, Lin Daniang’s bleeding had stopped over the past two days, and she could now get out of bed to walk around.
Although the outside was a barren expanse of yellow earth, Lin Daniang was still willing to cradle her child and stroll around the courtyard. The wood-transporter and the older children had all gone out to look for work, leaving only the two younger ones who couldn’t perform hard labor. They stayed home to serve tea, pour water, and look after Lin Daniang.
Seeing through the door crack that it was their maternal aunt, the little ones opened the door with great joy.
“Auntie!”
“Aye!” Lin Sanniang patted her niece’s sparse, yellowish hair and pulled a small pouch of dried peaches out of her basket. “Take these and eat!”
The little ones loved their aunt the most; every time she came, she would bring them something to eat.
Seeing Lin Sanniang arrive, Lin Daniang was also very happy. The two sat under the eaves to talk.
Lin Daniang said, “My body is already much better. Yesterday your brother-in-law even ran into the midwife on the street. She asked a few questions, assuming we had fetched medicine from another clinic.”
After all, for Lin Daniang’s illness to heal on its own was practically impossible. She had to take medicine continuously and nurse herself carefully before she could recover. The wood-transporter hadn’t said too much to the midwife either, giving a few vague responses to brush it off. Anyway, times were bad right now, and he didn’t intend to let Lin Daniang and the younger children step out of the house, so the midwife wouldn’t see Lin Daniang either.
Lin Sanniang felt happy inside, but she was also secretly alarmed. This medicine was still too eye-catching. Fortunately, Lin Daniang rarely went out; if the midwives and doctors at the clinics saw her, they would definitely grow suspicious.
Fabric was definitely better. It was low-profile, secure, and brought in a higher profit.
These days, Lin Sanniang worked for Jian Xingxia during the day and returned to make clothes at night, with Lin Daniang helping her out. Coupled with Taoya and Xingya helping as extra hands, they had rushed out two more sets of clothes.
One set was a mix of dark gray and brown, made according to a man’s build. The other set was a mix of light beige and pale blue, made according to a woman’s build. Lin Daniang had already ironed them at home, so she handed them over to Lin Sanniang to sell.
It was better to deal with familiar clients than strangers, so Lin Sanniang headed straight for the Zhang residence first.
