TATLC Chapter 17 – Making New Clothes

With an extra seven taels of silver suddenly in his hands, Chen Xiaomi became more generous with his spending. He went directly to a clothing shop and spent one tael on a bolt of high-quality cotton fabric.

After buying the fabric, Xiaomi spent another fifty wen on needles and thread. In the cloth shop, ready-made clothes cost more than twice the price of fabric, so buying fabric was more economical.

After buying cloths, Xiaomi went to the pawnshop and bought two used cotton quilts.

Quilts were useful things. Whether for keeping warm in winter or taking apart to use the cotton padding inside for clothes, they served multiple purposes.

Since arriving at Chen’s home, Lu Lin had been sleeping on a wooden plank. Originally, Chen Xiaomi thought Lu Lin would rather die than marry into another family, so he didn’t take him seriously.

Seeing Lu Lin work hard recently, Chen Xiaomi’s opinion changed, and he considered making their life together more comfortable.

The weather was getting colder. In previous years, when winter came, he would layer all his clothes and wrap himself in animal hides and blankets to get by. This year, they might not need to suffer so much.

When Lu Lin saw Chen Xiaomi buying quilts, he knew they were probably for him, but he had other ideas. He heard that winters here brought heavy snow, so he thought building a heated kang bed would be more reliable.

Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin and said, “When we get back, find an old woman in the village to help make clothes.”

Lu Lin nodded, “Alright!”

There were many poor people in the village, and after the autumn harvest, they would have free time. At this point, offering a few copper coins would surely get someone to help. Who would turn down money? Life was hard for the villagers. His reputation was probably better than Chen Xiaomi’s, which was probably why Chen Xiaomi entrusted this task to him.

After spending a significant amount on fabric, Chen Xiaomi went on to buy salt, rice, flour, dishes, shoes, and more.

After buying all sorts of necessities, Chen Xiaomi also bought two strings of tanghulu¹ for the two children at home.

When they had purchased everything they needed, Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin headed home.

“Da-ge, there are so many things!” Chen Xiaocai exclaimed excitedly.

“Yes!” Xiaomi felt a bit guilty. He spent almost two taels of silver in total, which was a bit more than he planned to spend. But thinking about it, he realized some expenses couldn’t be avoided. Only when they were well-fed and warmly dressed would they have the energy to earn money.

…

After returning home, Xiaomi considered who to ask for help making clothes. After thinking it through, he decided on Grandma Shen.

Grandma Shen was also a pitiful person. Her son died during military conscription three years ago, and a year ago, her daughter-in-law ran off with a peddler, leaving behind a half-grown Shuang’er. With her son dead and daughter-in-law gone, Grandma Shen and the young Shuang’er, Shen Chi, depended on each other in the village.

Grandma Shen owned three mu of land. Although life was hard, they managed to scrape by, though they often went hungry.

Lu Lin didn’t send all the fabric over at once; he cut off a quarter to send first, just to test the waters.

One bolt of fabric was already quite a lot, so he still needed to be careful.

Shen Chi happened to see Lu Lin just as he came back with firewood.

Seeing Shen Chi, Lu Lin once again sighed at how children from poor families grow up fast. Chen Xiaomi wasn’t the only child suffering in the village. Many children started doing household chores at a very young age.

Lu Lin greeted Shen Chi briefly before leaving.

Shen Chi hurried into the house and asked, “Grandma, why did Lu Lin come here? What did he want?”

Grandma Shen smiled and said, “It’s good news. Chen Xiaomi is skilled at hunting, but he doesn’t do any needlework. Lu Lin may have married into the family, but he’s still a man after all and doesn’t know needlework either, so he asked me to make some clothes for them.”

With a beaming smile, she added, “Thirty wen for an adult outfit, twenty for a child’s. It’ll help supplement our income a bit.”

Shen Chi nodded and let out an “Oh.” Then he asked, “How did Lu Lin know to find you, Grandma?”

Grandma Shen smiled and said, “I don’t know!” Logically, such good business would normally go to one’s own people, but considering how things were at the Lu family, if the fabric entered the Lu family’s door, who knew who would end up wearing those clothes.

Shen Chi hesitated before saying, “I feel like Lin-ge seems different somehow.”

“Different how?” Grandma Shen asked.

“He seems more energetic.” Shen Chi’s family had one mu of land adjacent to the Lu family’s, so Shen Chi often saw Lu Lin when going to the fields. Lu Lin would always keep his head down and rarely spoke, but this time, Shen Chi felt the man looked much livelier, more vibrant.

Grandma Shen smiled and said, “All the villagers say Chen Xiaomi is no good, that he’s a wolf cub. But in my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with Chen Xiaomi. Lu Lin has probably come to terms with things.”

If Chen Xiaomi were truly cruel, would he take such good care of his two younger brothers? And if the Chen family elders hadn’t pushed too hard, would things have turned out this way?

Grandma Shen’s house was also quite remote. Only the old hunter who had helped Chen Xiaomi lived nearby. She had seen Chen Xiaomi bringing gifts several times and knew he was someone who remembered kindness, which was why she had readily accepted this job.

Shen Chi nodded and said, “I also think Xiaomi-ge is quite nice.”

Grandma Shen narrowed her eyes and said, “If that old self-righteous woman from the Chen family hadn’t forced her son to go into the mountains, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

Shen Chi touched the fabric in his hand and said with surprise, “This is fine cloth!”

Grandma Shen nodded and said, “It’s good fabric. It should be very comfortable to wear.”

Such a large piece must’ve cost a fortune, she thought. Chen Xiaomi’s really something. After paying a ten-tael bride price, he still has money to spare. Lu Lin’s landed himself a treasure.