in spring

Chapter 97
Easier said than done.Chunying thought about it carefully, and realized that making money is by no means an easy task.

Her daily time was basically occupied by housework, and she could only help Aunt Cheng in her free time. Although shopkeeper Shi and Aunt Cheng did not prohibit her from going out, she would be found out once she went out.The residents on Funing Street are all familiar with each other, and no matter what she does outside, someone will tell Shopkeeper Shi's siblings.

Besides, she has neither money nor time, how else can she make money?Unless... needlework? !
She is still a little confident in her current skills. She may not be able to accept large embroidery work, but small items such as embroidered handkerchiefs, purses, belts, fan covers, and shoes are not a problem.However, everyone outside knows that she works under Mrs. Cheng, and usually they will not go to Mrs. Cheng to find her, but once Mrs. Cheng finds out, no matter how hard she works, the money will only fall into Mrs. Cheng's hands At most, there are two extra pieces of meat left over for her meal.After getting along for a few months, she has a deep understanding of Mrs. Cheng's greedy and stingy nature.

What if...she privately finished the finished product and consigned it to someone?She usually buys some needles and thread for Mrs. Cheng, and she also knows a few women who can sell embroidery work for others, and only charge [-]% commission, because there are also girls from rich and noble families among the entrusted people, and their mouths are relatively tight, so find them. Should be pretty safe, right?Handkerchiefs and purses are small things, but they are easy to make. As long as they are embroidered more delicately, they can be sold easily. Although the money earned is less, it is better than nothing.

But the problem came again - the materials were not easy to handle.In addition to doing trivial work for Mrs. Cheng, she also practiced privately in order to improve her skills, but Mrs. Cheng paid close attention to needlework and fabrics. She would yell at her if she made a slight mistake and wasted some materials. She would put it away, saying that she would save it for her son to make hats and shoe uppers. If Chunying used silk, even if it was only the size of a palm, she would be scolded by her.Therefore, Chunying usually only uses some threads or rags to practice, and is best at small-area patterns, and the cutting accuracy has also been greatly improved.

In this case, she could only find a way to buy other materials.The money she carried in her pocket had to be exchanged for copper coins by shopkeeper Shi before she could buy these small things. Otherwise, she would suffer a big loss if she asked the needlework dealer to change it. up.We can only ask shopkeeper Shi for help in this matter, otherwise Aunt Cheng will find out... Chunying shuddered, remembering that in the past few months, every time she went to the street to buy vegetables, she had to calculate carefully and racked her brains Bargain with others, otherwise Mrs. Cheng will always pick on her for spending too much money, and often complains that she wants to get it back from Manager Xiao Chen. If the other party finds out that she has money, who knows if she will find a way to get it?

After buying the materials, what should I do?How about some muslin or tulle material embroidered with little flowers for a veil?It's hot now, and it's the time when handkerchiefs are popular. Unfortunately, people rarely buy shoes and socks, and purses have a different meaning. Few people sell them on the street, but... She seemed to see someone chewing betel nuts a few days ago. , maybe make a few betel nut bags to try?

Chunying thought carefully in her heart, made up her mind, and took advantage of the opportunity to go out to buy vegetables, and asked shopkeeper Shi for some change, then went to a safe grocery store to buy two feet of fine white cloth and a pack of needles and threads, and went back to hide. In the room, do the housework quickly every day, and then hide in the house to do work under the dim light.She could only carve out a limited amount of time during the day to do it, and although the progress was slow, she was very happy to see those beautiful handkerchiefs taking shape little by little.

Even when Chunying was doing her private work in the dark, Aunt Cheng was not idle.After she finished all the work at hand, she stopped picking up new ones—this made Chunying feel much more relaxed—and concentrated on preparing for her husband who was about to return.

For example, she was very active in making new clothes, new shoes and socks for him, and bought a lot of medicinal herbs for his body, planning to boil them for him as soon as he came back. When they come back from school every day, they have to go home to see if their father is back, and they repeatedly remind them what to do when they see their father.Brothers Cheng Suluo and Cheng Suyi were frightened by her nagging, and they disappeared as soon as they came back. She had no choice but to talk to her younger brother while making new clothes.Chunying was sweeping the floor aside, feeling like her ears were getting callused.

Shopkeeper Shi was tightly entangled by his sister, and couldn't help saying: "My sister really loves my brother-in-law, so why don't you let him travel far away! He only stays at home for a few days all year round. No matter how much he makes up, what's the use?"

"What stupid things are you talking about?" Mrs. Cheng gave her younger brother a disapproving look, "If he doesn't go out to do business, isn't our family going to drink the northwest wind?!"

Shopkeeper Shi hurriedly said: "My sister really underestimated my brother-in-law too. He has been out of business for more than ten years, so he hasn't saved any money? My sister is alone at home with the child and does embroidery work all day long. Money has never been tight. Exactly? Take some money out and open a shop too, wouldn’t it be nice for my sister to be the proprietress comfortably?”

Seeing his sister's indifference, he simply leaned in front of her and whispered: "I have already thought about it for my sister. The shopkeeper of Fumanlou's water occasionally acts as a middleman for others. He said a while ago that there is a prosperous place on the east street. The store needs to be sold for only 120 taels. If my sister wants to buy it, I will negotiate with him again. There is a warehouse behind the store, not far from my sister’s house. I have a friend who is eager to sell the cloth in his hand , my brother-in-law bought it at a low price, and it will be opened in less than a month. At that time, my brother-in-law will go to the store every day to do business, and then hire a guy, my sister will do housework at home, and buy a little girl to do some chores—not that I said, My sister also saves too much on weekdays. Before the family had so much work, she refused to buy someone to take care of it. She paid for it all by herself, and she had to do needlework for others every day. It was better to have Xiaochun in the past few months. It hurts to see it - with a girl, my sister's life will be easier. Su Luosuyi brothers, simply change to a better school..."

The more he talked, the more excited he became, but before he could finish, Aunt Cheng's eyes widened and she interrupted him: "How much money will this cost?! Buying and hiring people?! Our family of four has hands. If you have feet, why can’t you do it?! When you buy a girl, you have to take care of her food and clothing, and also prevent her from being greedy for the master’s money. Don’t even think about it, how much money did Xiaochun spend on us here for free?! What can she do?! I am much better than her! Also, why do we need to buy a shop? It is not worthwhile to spend so much money!"

Chunying couldn't help but rolled her eyes, sneered in her heart, and simply walked away a few steps, not wanting to listen to her anymore.Shopkeeper Shi glanced at her with some embarrassment, and persuaded in a low voice: "Sister, what you said is really... How much food can a young person like Xiaochun eat? She lives in a house that we don't need... She can do it too." A lot of work, so it’s not free to eat and live..." Clearing his throat, he got back to the topic: "I am planning for my sister and brother-in-law's family. Think about it, my Yunxiang Pavilion is working for the owner's family. Reasonable, the money I earn every year, in addition to the dividends handed in, I can also save two hundred silver. Even if my sister's shop is a little smaller, it is enough for your family to spend. Wouldn't it be far better than the separation of sister and brother-in-law's family? , don’t see each other a few times throughout the year?”

"It's easy for you to say!" Mrs. Cheng couldn't help but refute him, "How can opening a shop be so smooth? Is the store bought or rented? How much does it cost? Where do the goods come from? Can they be sold? Who knows when the time comes? Is it a profit or a loss? Yunxiang Pavilion is not yours, and if you lose money, you will not lose money, but we have to take risks when we open our own shop. It is a steady profit compared to your brother-in-law who is now selling Songjiang cloth outside. No compensation deal?!"

"But brother-in-law is out all day, and it's too hard. The two nephews are so old, how many times have they met their father? My sister is here to feel sorry for brother-in-law. It's better to let him stay at home for a few more days, so as not to travel outside Shopkeeper Shi said until his saliva dried up, and hurriedly went to find tea to eat, "It's not that I am careless, my brother-in-law is out all year round, if there are other thoughts, my sister can't find a place to go even crying... "

Mrs. Cheng paused, her face became solemn, but she returned to the original state after a while: "He is not that kind of person! Please give me 120 confidence!" After finishing speaking, she glanced at her younger brother again: "Don't say anything else. , just you, brother, is enough for me to worry about. You are so old, and you don’t have a confidant around you. I can still take care of you here. If I move back home, who will take care of you? As soon as possible I can rest assured that my son will marry a daughter-in-law who satisfies my sister!"

Shopkeeper Shi said awkwardly, "It's hard to satisfy you" in his heart, and then left the backyard in a hurry under the pretext of going to greet the guests.

Mrs. Cheng continued to sew new clothes for her husband, as if she didn't take her brother's words to heart at all. Chunying finished her work, took advantage of her unpreparedness, and retreated into the room, secretly angry.

She cooks non-stop all day long, and eats leftovers from their family. Only shopkeeper Shi is kind enough to give her extra meals occasionally. Is this also called eating for nothing? !

She took a deep breath, turned out her needlework, and tried to embroider.

Two days later, Mrs. Cheng called Chunying again, and they went back to their house together, planning to clean the house again.Unexpectedly, when he got to the door, he found that the door lock was missing, and there was still an old carriage parked in the yard.Aunt Cheng was overjoyed immediately: "Master, you are back?!"

A male voice came from inside the room, and Mrs. Cheng's eyes turned red: "Your enemy, since you are back, why don't you go find me?!" Then she took out her handkerchief and covered her nose and cried.

A middle-aged man came out of the room. He was tall and thin, but unexpectedly fair-skinned. He had good features and a goatee. He was wearing a commoner suit, which seemed narrow and didn't fit well.He didn't look like a businessman, but a scholar, but the glint in his eyes revealed a bit of a businessman's nature.When he saw Mrs. Cheng, he smiled slightly: "I just came back, I haven't had time to wash up yet, I was planning to take a rest before going to find you."

Aunt Cheng smiled through her tears: "Let's go into the house and talk." Turning around, she told Chunying: "Go and scrub the carriage, and get some hay to feed the horses." Then she dragged Uncle Cheng into the house.

Chunying curled her lips, fetched a bucket of water, and wiped the carriage with a rag, only to find that the interior of the carriage was much more gorgeous than the outside, and there were small tables and cabinets made of wood.After wiping it casually, she felt that there was something stuck under the rag, and when she dug it out, it turned out to be a gold earring caught in the gap in the floor of the carriage, and gossip suddenly ignited in her heart.

This is a woman's thing, right?How did it fall into Uncle Cheng's carriage? !Could it be that he also committed the common problem of men, raising concubines outside without telling his wife? !
Chun Ying was holding the earring to look at it, but heard someone calling her outside the door, turned her head and saw that it was the woman whom she met once that day, waving at her.Chunying walked over suspiciously, and the woman dragged her out the door, looked back and forth on the steps, approached her in a low voice and asked, "Is the head of your family back?"

Chunying thought she might be referring to Uncle Cheng, so she nodded, "Uncle just came back."

The woman looked back and forth again, and then lowered her voice a little: "My man came back with him all the way, but he arrived a day earlier than him. You remind your aunt, and tell her to be careful that Cheng Da is outside... People!"

Chunying blinked, and was about to ask more clearly, but when she heard a creaking sound from the opposite door, Moustache came out. When she saw them, she was taken aback for a moment, then lowered her head and handed over a bowl: "Mother, thank you for your kindness." meal."

The woman took the bowl with a smile: "You're welcome, you're welcome." The mustache gave Chunying a careful look, then turned around and went back to the courtyard a little uncomfortably.Chunying came up to him strangely and called: "Young Master Hu?" But Mustache ignored him and closed the door.

Chunying was puzzled, so the woman asked her: "Do you know this little brother?" Chunying hurriedly said: "I met you a few times before."

"That's right." The woman sighed. "Persuade him when you have time. The old man's funeral has been taken care of. It's not an option for him to stay at home like this every day. Although our family has a lot of food for him, he always has to find a way to make a living." Okay. Originally, we heard that he had studied, so we asked him to help in the school, but who knows he can’t do chores, and the husband thought he was from a businessman’s family. The husband has taught for many years, so we don’t want to offend him. Fortunately, Uncle Zhiliang at the alley found him an errand and asked him to work as a waiter on the second floor of Fumanlou. He couldn't keep his face, and later he worked as a waiter in a tea shop, and almost drove away the guests. We know that he is the young master of a rich family, but this is really not possible."

Chunying opened her mouth, and hurriedly said: "I will find an opportunity to persuade him, he..." Before he finished speaking, Mrs. Cheng's scream came from the courtyard: "What is this?! Is it some vixen?! "Then there was another bang.

The woman quickly said "persuade me more" and ran away. Chunying looked into the courtyard and suddenly felt a little headache.

(End of this chapter)