stingy landlady

Chapter 7 Buying Cloth

Guizhi understood that her family had already divided, and logically she should take care of her own small family before looking after the larger family. But in this day and age, filial piety was paramount. Why not spend a little money to silence those who were gossiping and to save face for the elders? Besides, her grandfather had saved two taels of silver, which had been used to buy things for her grandparents for 460 coins. Since adding thirty food boxes to sell dumplings, they could sell 600 coins a day. After deducting the cost of meat, vegetables, rice, and flour, the daily profit was around 400 coins.

When Guizhi discussed it with her two older sisters, they both agreed. After buying the fabric for their grandparents, Erya suggested, "Why don't we take advantage of the fact that Dad has some money on him now? Let's buy the fabric together and make new cotton-padded clothes for the whole family, as well as quilt covers and linings. We also need to buy cotton."

Da Ya suddenly felt a little panicked when she thought about how much money she would have to spend. "Second sister, third sister, we are still children! We haven't grown up yet, and we're making decisions to spend so much money and buy so many things. What will people say? I'm a little nervous."

Guizhi thought for a moment and said, "Eldest sister, second sister, let's move these to the oxcart first. Ask Father, and let him decide. It won't be a problem for us children anymore."

On the way, the three sisters discussed how to persuade their father to buy the things together. They had a car, so they could buy fabric for their grandparents and buy more to get a better price. The three sisters sold food and dumplings every day, going from shop to shop. They didn't know the exact prices, but they had some understanding of the shopkeepers' character. Honesty and generosity were always a safe bet.

Back at the wonton shop, Grandpa and his eldest son had already finished eating and were chatting while waiting for the three of them. Grandpa saw the large bags and packages the three were carrying and was displeased, but he didn't show it, silently smoking. Wang Dazhu asked, "What did you buy? So much! You can't waste money!"

“Grandpa, Dad! I didn’t waste money. I just thought that since Grandpa finally made it to town with us today, I wanted to bring Grandpa and Grandma some things back.” Er Ya said sweetly.

"Yes, Grandpa helped buy food from the oxcart today but didn't get to eat. He waited until we sold food so late before we finally got to eat. My sisters and I bought this for our parents to show our respect to Grandpa and Grandma," Daya quickly added.

Grandpa immediately smiled and said, "Why buy so much! Grandpa also wants you to save money wherever you can. As long as you live a good life, this old man will be happy!"

"Father, I didn't think things through today. Luckily, these girls were very thoughtful. When we get home, Mother will be happy to have all these things." Wang Dazhu looked at the fabric, pastries, cigarettes, and alcohol he had bought. He nodded. His daughter was indeed meticulous and had considered everything.

"Let's put everything in the car and go home!" Grandpa said.

Guizhi tugged at Wang Dazhu's sleeve. "Dad, do you still have any money on you? We just discussed it and decided to buy all the fabric we need for the house at once. It's cheaper if we buy more at once. Mom needs to buy quilt covers and linings for making quilts, and we also need to buy cotton-padded clothes and trousers for all of us. We can take them all back with a cart."

Wang Dazhu hesitated upon hearing that it would cost a lot of money. "Yes, Dad, these are all necessities for the house. It's cheaper to buy them all at once now, and it'll get cold soon," Er Ya quickly chimed in. Daya also looked at Wang Dazhu expectantly. Well, girls are usually more enthusiastic about buying new things. Men don't pay much attention to these household matters. Wang Dazhu looked at his children and remained silent for a moment.

Grandpa looked at the patched clothes of the group of people, which were washed very clean, but then he thought about how cold it would be on the way to and from town in winter. He also looked at the fabric he had bought for himself and his wife and said, "Dazhu, since you'll have to buy it sooner or later, just buy it! It will look good for the young girl to go out and sell things in new clothes. She'll be more popular selling food when she's clean."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dazhu nodded repeatedly in agreement. Guizhi giggled, "Grandpa is the best! Daddy listens to Grandpa the most!" Although the family had separated, her son still listened to his father and supported her, which made Grandpa happy. They drove the oxcart to the cloth shop they had just bought from, and the three sisters jumped off the cart.

"Da Ya, Er Ya, want to buy some more fabric? I always say buy it now while it's cheap, because the price will definitely go up in a few days when it gets cold. It's like this every year," the shopkeeper said enthusiastically.

They had just finished eating, and there weren't many customers yet. A few people came in to pick out fabrics. "Waiter, we don't have much money. Could you please show us some cheap and durable coarse cotton fabric?"

"These colors of coarse cotton cloth are two hundred coins a bolt, while the silk fabrics here are more expensive." Neatly arranged fabrics of different colors and materials were displayed on the counter. The shop assistant pointed to red, blue, green, black, white, and navy blue coarse cotton, explaining, "This is of good quality; it feels thick to the touch, and clothes made from it will be very comfortable."

"Brother, how many clothes can be made from one bolt of cloth? My mother isn't here, and we don't know either!" Guizhi asked, puzzled.

"This bolt of cloth can make two adult garments. It can make three pairs of trousers, and probably four shirts for a child your size," the waiter gestured to Guizhi.

Daya counted on her fingers, looking troubled: "Then how should we buy the cloth? Is one bolt of cloth enough for the four of us sisters? What kind should Mother buy?"

Er Ya was at a loss: "We need to make pants too. They need to be dark-colored so they won't get dirty. With so many people, we need at least one and a half bolts of cotton fabric to make pants."

Guizhi tilted her head and pointed with her little finger: "We need one bolt of red cotton cloth to make tops for us sisters, one bolt of blue for Mother, and two bolts of navy blue for trousers and Father's top. That's four bolts of cloth. How much is the cotton?"

The shopkeeper recognized this as a big customer and became even more enthusiastic: "The weather is getting colder, and the demand for cotton is increasing. The shopkeeper said the price will be raised! But I'll still sell it to you at the same price as last time, twenty-five coins!"

"Waiter, let's buy another twenty catties of cotton to make cotton-padded jackets and trousers! Since I've bought so much stuff, can you give me some needles and thread for free?" Guizhi playfully asked the waiter for a discount.

"Alright, we've known each other for so long, let me talk to the shopkeeper." The waiter asked another waiter to call the shopkeeper over to settle the bill.

"Oh! It's Brother Wang! Da Ya! Bringing your sisters to buy cloth!" The shopkeeper came out from the accounting room and greeted Wang Dazhu and Da Ya with a smile.

After listening to the waiter's story, they not only agreed to give him needles and thread, but also picked out some scraps of fabric to give to the sisters so they could piece together a few purses.

Wang Dazhu paid one or three taels of silver, which really stung! The shop assistant helped pack the cotton cloth and cotton, and several people carried it onto the oxcart together. After waving goodbye, Wang Dazhu called out to his father, "Dad, let's go home! We're not buying anything else! The money you saved by helping us buy the ox today is all gone! Sigh!"

Looking at the truckload of goods, the old man couldn't help but shake his head: "Oh dear! You really bought a lot! Let's go home! Everything will be new now, so let's not buy anything for the New Year."

Back in the village, whenever they bumped into someone, the old man would lower his head and remain silent. As they neared home, the old man glanced around the yard to make sure no one was there, and whispered, "Hurry up and move back into your house, don't make a sound!"

Dazhu nodded, carrying the cotton cloth, while Daya and Erya carried the cotton, and Guizhi quickly ran to open the door. They carried all their belongings to the back of their own house and told Li to keep quiet. The group then went out to carry things to the old house for the two elders.

Hearing the noise, Zhao opened the door and came out. "Father! Why are you driving an oxcart? Whose oxcart is it?" The second son also came out to see, and touched the ox. "This ox is really strong, it's well fed!"

"It was your older brother who bought the oxcart!" the old man said with a smile.

"Big brother bought it!" the second brother exclaimed in surprise. "Big brother bought an oxcart! How much did that cost?!" Zhao exclaimed in astonishment.

"What are you shouting for! Always making a fuss!" The old lady came out of the house to look at the oxcart.

Li also brought Siya out to see. Dazhu led the children to unload food boxes and spare meat and vegetables from the cart, and pushed Li into the house: "Hurry up and take Siya inside! Quickly wash the food boxes, we've spent all our money and still owe people money, hurry up and work to earn money to pay them back!"

After entering the house, Dazhu whispered, "Hurry up and pack everything up, in case my second sister-in-law comes in and starts gossiping again."

Then he shouted, "You guys hurry up and get to work. I'll go with Dad to put the oxcart away and then go find some grass to feed the oxen."

Li's mother and her children put away the newly bought fabric and cotton, and covered up the old clothes that needed to be covered. Then they washed the food containers and tidied the stove. While preparing dinner, Li said to her two daughters, "You two are not young anymore, it's time to learn needlework! From now on, when you come back from town, you won't go anywhere else, you'll stay in the house. I'll teach you how to make clothes and quilts. Your second aunt's daughter, Taozhi, can already do needlework and embroidery."

Feeling guilty for not having given birth to a son, Li had no choice but to make her daughters do more work, fearing that her two elderly parents, her younger brother, and her sisters-in-law would look down on her family, thinking that girls were too weak for farm work. Although she saw Erzhu's daughter being pampered at home, she dared not utter a word.

When the family first separated, they were worried about not being able to support the children. They had heard stories of poor families where newborn daughters were drowned. When she gave birth to her third and fourth daughters, she was filled with anxiety, fearing the old lady would take them away and abandon them. Fortunately, the old lady only scolded her a few times and still managed to raise the children. Li was quite grateful to the two elders and didn't let her do any work during her postpartum period. Although the separation was unavoidable, she couldn't blame anyone. Now that their own family's life was getting better and better, her daughters were even learning needlework.

After dinner, the two old people chatted in the room. The old lady, while making the bed, said, "Old man, we're relieved that the eldest son is doing well after the family split up." "I wonder if the second son will have any thoughts. If he also wants to split up and live separately, we can't let them. The eldest son had no choice but to let them go. The fifth son still needs to take the imperial examination, so the land at home must be cultivated well!" The old man sat on the edge of the bed, smoking.

"The fourth son is getting on in years. He should get married before the new year! That way, he'll have someone to help with farming after the New Year. But what about the house?" The old lady started worrying about her fourth son again.

The old man said, "Let's build a thatched house for the fourth son. It should only take about ten days to build! We'll hire a few more people to help, and we'll finish it before it freezes. We can move in after heating the kang (heated brick bed) for a few days."

"How much silver would that cost?" The old lady was afraid that spending too much money would be unbearable.

"I estimate the bricks and materials for the thatched house will cost two taels of silver. Hiring help will require food and wages, which will also cost two taels of silver. Finding a carpenter to make doors, windows, cabinets, tables, and chairs will probably cost one tael of silver. Building a kang (heated brick bed), a stove, and digging a well in the outer room will also cost one tael of silver. All in all, it will cost at least six taels of silver." The old man was quite adept at calculating.