Chapter 92: Manager Lady Lin
She was currently acquainted with two managers at the Zhang residence, and both had left messages for her at the side gate.
When the young maid at the side gate saw Lin Sanniang, she asked and confirmed that Sanniang was here to see Manager Fang this time, passing the word along without making things difficult for her.
After inspecting the clothes, Manager Fang was not particularly satisfied.
“There are far too many patchwork seams here. It looks quite unseemly.”
Lin Sanniang clasped her hands nervously, only daring to whisper softly as she guided Manager Fang’s attention to the fabric itself.
Manager Fang was in exclusive charge of the needlework department, so there was no need for Sanniang to point it out. However, after picking them apart for a bit, Manager Fang still accepted them. “Two sets of adult clothes. This one has a slightly better color, so I’ll give you one thousand seven hundred copper coins for it. This other one is a bit inferior, so let’s call it one thousand six hundred copper coins. Are you willing to sell?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely.” Lin Sanniang nodded hurriedly.
Before coming here, she had thought in her heart that one thousand three or four hundred copper coins would be perfectly fine.
Manager Fang took them, but she still gave Lin Sanniang a piece of advice.
“In the future, you shouldn’t bother making adult clothing anymore. Make some children’s ready-made clothes instead. The set from last time was quite decent; the Second Madam liked it very much. You can make a couple more sets and bring them over, and the price will remain the same as last time.”
Lin Sanniang was overjoyed inside—children’s clothes only used half the material of an adult’s. Calculating it this way, she would earn even more.
Seeing Lin Sanniang agree, Manager Fang reminded her again, “Find a way to handle the patchwork seams on the back a bit better. Don’t let people spot them at a glance.”
The patchwork seams on these adult clothes were indeed far too obvious. The masters would likely refuse to wear such clothing, but fortunately, there were still some managers in the residence and shopkeepers at the businesses who should be perfectly willing to wear them.
Lin Sanniang departed while pouring out thousands of thanks.
When she went back and told Lin Daniang about it, Lin Daniang was also filled with deep emotion. “They truly are a wealthy household after all. To think they spend so lavishly just to make clothes for a child.”
For ordinary households like theirs, a single piece of clothing was passed down from the older child to the younger child, and in the end, it would still be used as stuffing for lined jackets. Therefore, after making a single set of children’s clothing, they wouldn’t dare make any more, fearing they wouldn’t sell. After all, large-sized ready-made clothes were usually easier to sell.
Yet they never expected that a wealthy family would actually buy three sets of clothes of the exact same size for the exact same season!
Lin Sanniang had also realized it. “This fabric is excellent, and the price is even higher than what the ready-made clothing shops outside sell them for. Ordinary households can’t afford it either.”
Those who could afford it were all wealthy households. The young masters and young mistresses of wealthy houses naturally wouldn’t have the same seasonal wardrobe as commoners.
Lin Sanniang left a bit more fabric at Lin Daniang’s place.
“Sister, from now on, you can rest easy and make clothes at home. I’ll split the money with you!”
Back in the day, Lin Daniang had also been just like her, performing hired labor outside. As a result of a careless mistake during work, she had injured her hand, and now three of her fingers were missing a small section. While it didn’t affect her daily chores too drastically, she could no longer find work as a hired hand outside, as employers all disdained such a physical flaw. Because of this, Lin Daniang had fallen into low spirits and rarely stepped out of the house. The household had also gradually become strapped for cash.
But now, her health had recovered, and Lin Sanniang had received the aid of a benefactor, allowing Lin Daniang to rest easy and make clothes at home. Lin Daniang truly couldn’t have dreamed of such a wonderful thing.
Particularly since Lin Sanniang was highly generous with the money. “Sister, out of these clothes, I will take one thousand copper coins as the material cost for our capital. The two of us will make them, and after deducting the wages for the embroidery work, the two of us will split the rest.”
Lin Daniang did a quick calculation and was thoroughly astonished. “So much?!”
If nothing else, for the two sets of clothes sold today at one thousand seven hundred and one thousand six hundred copper coins, after deducting the costs, one thousand three hundred copper coins remained. These clothes had no embroidery, so there was no need to pay extra for embroidery work. Splitting it between the two of us meant six hundred and fifty copper coins per person.
And they had only worked on them for four or five days from start to finish!
Lin Daniang could hardly believe it.
But Lin Sanniang was very certain. “Sister, in the past, it was always you who backed me up. When Taoya’s father passed away, Brother Shu was still a babbling infant. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it through.”
If it weren’t for the fact that Lin Sanniang truly couldn’t explain the origin of the fabric, she could have even split the entire sum equally with Lin Daniang. However, the mention of the midwife inquiring about the medicine earlier had raised an alarm in Lin Sanniang’s heart. The matter of going to the estate to work could only be known to her and Taoya; even Xingya and Brother Shu had to be told as little as possible. Therefore, she had to factor in the cost of the fabric.
Consequently, for the two pieces of clothing, Lin Daniang received six hundred and fifty copper coins, while she took two thousand six hundred and fifty copper coins.
Lin Daniang felt it was an immense amount, and Lin Sanniang felt exactly the same way. An entire year’s worth of living expenses in the past had now been earned in a matter of days.
Lin Sanniang comforted Lin Daniang, “In another month, there will be vegetables in the fields. The famine will pass in three months at most, and we have plenty of good days ahead of us.” By then, there would only be more people who could afford clothes.
Lin Daniang tightly gripped Lin Sanniang’s hand. Yes, the good days were coming!
Over the next three days, Jian Xingxia similarly hired only Dahei and Lin Sanniang. After all, with two construction crews of mysterious origin currently on the estate, she didn’t want any extra complications to arise. Furthermore, Dahei and Lin Sanniang were simply far too useful!
Dahei shouldered his hoe every single day to clear the wasteland. He possessed immense strength and long limbs, so a single person could match three able-bodied laborers. As long as Jian Xingxia kept him fed, he didn’t spare a single ounce of his strength at all, digging into the earth the moment he laid eyes on a plot.
Lin Sanniang was even more impressive. Jian Xingxia had taught her how to use the chest freezer, the refrigerator, the electric rice cooker, and the electric kettle—she had even taught her how to use the washing machine!
Jian Xingxia could no longer bear to look at the flimsy hemp sack Dahei wore. Yet Dahei was in the Great Yu Dynasty and stuck in the deep mountains, so there was no place for him to acquire new clothes. This single garment couldn’t be replaced or thrown away, so it could only be washed. Dahei had hand-scrubbed it a few times, but Jian Xingxia still felt it wasn’t quite clean. So she tried to teach them to use the washing machine.
But that clumsy fellow Dahei had pressed down with a single finger and snapped the handle of Jian Xingxia’s water faucet clean off.
Jian Xingxia: “…”
Oh well, out of ten fingers, some are bound to be longer or shorter. The land that Jian Xingxia couldn’t clear in ten days could be dug up by Dahei in a single day. As for the laundry, Jian Xingxia simply handed it over to Lin Sanniang. Lin Sanniang learned much faster and mastered it in no time.
The old house currently had two washing machines; one was bought secondhand, so Jian Xingxia left that one for Lin Sanniang to use.
“In the future, whenever new workers arrive, everyone except first-timers must change into work uniforms.”
“The uniforms will be kept uniformly by you and placed in the woodshed. For those who come frequently, give them a dedicated set; for those who come less often, keep a few sets for public use.”
“From now on, you are the manager of this estate.”
Jian Xingxia thought it over; she wouldn’t bother spending the effort to teach the other workers how to use modern appliances in the future anyway—learning it wouldn’t be of much use to them either. The only exception was Lin Sanniang. Jian Xingxia felt Lin Sanniang possessed the highest adaptability and was the easiest to modernize. She prepared to train her into a guesthouse manager.
Lin Sanniang had originally been watching the washing machine spin with great enthusiasm. Hearing Jian Xingxia’s words, she froze for a moment before she reacted. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she slowly raised a finger to point at her own nose.
“Miss, I… I am a manager now?”
