Chapter 237: Twelfth Lunar Month
As the weaving workshops in Pingjiang City resumed their busy operations, in the Yu Family Cloth Shop, directly opposite Yueyang Cloth Shop, Da Lang Yu stood in a corner by the counter, his mood heavy as he watched the comings and goings at Yueyang Cloth Shop across the way.
When the weaving workshops inside and outside Pingjiang City shut down, he had seen it as an opportunity, but at the time, he hadn’t dared to act. Later, when he heard that Yueyang Hao had hired many weavers, and then again when they started collecting autumn silkworm cocoons, he had almost made up his mind. However, his mother and his wife both told him he was too reckless, especially his wife.
Da Lang Yu shot a sideways glance at Wu Da Nainai, who was half-sitting, half-lying in a chair.
Wu Da Nainai ate persimmon cake, watching the busy shop assistants. She gently stroked her abdomen with one hand, as if caressing it. She was pregnant and not yet showing, so she had to touch it from time to time to remind everyone who could see her.
A pregnant woman was precious and could not afford to be bumped.
Seeing the shop assistants carefully maneuvering around Wu Da Nainai, Da Lang Yu impatiently shouted, “Stop sitting there and getting in the way. Go home. Don’t come to the shop every day.”
“Hmph! If I don’t come to the shop every day, who will watch over it? You want me to leave just like that? Even if you don’t leave, look at you, your eyes are glued to the outside.” Wu Da Nainai thought of Yueyang Cloth Shop across the street and snorted.
Da Lang was definitely still thinking about Li Jia Lao Er; she had to keep an eye on him!
“What are you looking at? Can you sell goods or manage accounts?” Da Lang Yu was in a bad mood, and his temper flared.
“If I could sell goods and manage accounts, why would we need them?”
Wu Da Nainai threw the persimmon cake crumbs at a shop assistant. She pushed herself up from the chair, holding her waist, and walked to Da Lang Yu’s side. Following his gaze, she craned her neck to look outside.
“You’ve been staring out there for a long time, what are you looking at! For the past month or two, the only person coming and going from that shop is Yin Saozi, no one else!”
Wu Da Nainai glanced at Da Lang Yu from across the way at Yueyang Hao, her words laced with sarcasm.
“They’ve all gone to collect autumn silkworm cocoons.” Da Lang Yu was solely focused on making money and didn’t notice the barbs in his wife’s words.
Wu Da Nainai’s face immediately fell, and she glared at Da Lang Yu.
Where Li Jia Lao Er had gone, he knew very well! He was keeping tabs on him all the time! And he dared to tell her about it!
Wu Da Nainai bit her lip, contemplating how to reprimand him, when Da Lang Yu continued:
“I said we should buy a few weavers and collect some autumn silkworm cocoons, and you tried your best to stop me. Look at us now, look! Yueyang must have collected a lot of autumn silkworm cocoons this time. They don’t have to do anything but resell them to the weaving workshops, and that’s a huge profit! Later, with this big profit, they’ll lower the price of fine cloth. How can we compete!”
Da Lang Yu became more and more agitated as he spoke.
Wu Da Nainai let out a sound and, after a moment of stunned silence, frowned and asked, “How do you know they’ll make a big profit? Maybe they’ll be stuck with it. Mama Miao inquired, and they say the weaving workshops can’t even operate for half the year!”
“The weaving workshops are already operating.” Da Lang Yu was even more impatient, he retorted, and turned to leave.
“Operating? Hey, don’t go!” Wu Da Nainai rushed after him.
………………………………
With two days left until the Kitchen God Festival, as evening approached, Li Yuzhu and Li Jinzhu hurried home one after the other.
The house immediately became lively.
Li Yuzhu arrived home first. A Wu and Li Xiaonan had just returned from fishing by the lakeside. A Wu had just neatly arranged the fishing rod and line he had tidied up behind the screen wall. Hearing the commotion, he poked his head out and saw it was Li Yuzhu. He quickly shouted a greeting, rushed out to the courtyard gate, and took a large bamboo basket from the cart driver, hoisting it onto his shoulder.
Mei Jie was the first to rush out. She sidestepped A Wu, snatched the bundle from Li Yuzhu, and said with a smile, “I was just telling A Nan when you two would be back, and you’re here before the words were even out! Are you cold? Are you tired?”
Yu Ting and Li Xiaonan rushed out one after the other.
“Come inside, it’s cold out here.” Mei Jie handed the bundle to Yu Ting and, while ushering Li Yuzhu inside, patted her from head to toe, dusting her off.
“Mei Jie, stop patting me, look, the dust is flying onto me,” Li Xiaonan said with a laugh.
Mei Jie was very strong now, and her patting hurt.
“Indeed, look at me, I get flustered when I’m happy. Come inside and sit down, wash your face first, and take off your clothes to wash them. A Nan, make your second sister some tea, that good tea you like.” Mei Jie scurried to the kitchen and returned with a large kettle of hot water.
Surrounded by everyone, Li Yuzhu took off her outer coat, washed her hands and face, sat down, took the tea, and looked around. “Where is your brother? Has school let out for the holidays?”
“It’s holiday time. Today there’s a literary gathering and some night activities,” Li Xiaonan replied.
Li Yuzhu drank the tea in one gulp and gestured to Yu Ting, “That whole bamboo basket is full of A Nan’s favorite things. Hurry and take them out, don’t crush them.”
“Did Second Sister buy all of this? You bought so much?” Li Xiaonan’s eyes widened in surprise.
Her eldest sister would try to make every copper coin last twice as long. When her eldest sister was splitting coins, her second sister would watch closely; if even a speck of dust fell, it had to be picked up.
Second Sister actually bought so many of her favorite things?
The things she liked were all very expensive!
“I don’t have spare money to buy snacks. These were all given to you by the various schools. They said you ate at their homes and liked their food. The schools I visited all had things you liked. Did you eat at all of them?” Li Yuzhu asked Li Xiaonan.
A Wu burst out laughing, “She even deliberately went back for another meal!”
“Second Sister must be very thirsty, let me pour you another cup. How was your trip, Second Sister? Have they started preparing for the New Year? Will you have a good New Year?” Li Xiaonan said solicitously, picking up a cup to make tea for her second sister.
“They are all poor families; the New Year bonus alone is enough for the holiday. The various schools received gifts from many students’ families, all sorts of things,” Li Yuzhu said, watching Yu Ting take things out of the bamboo basket. She gestured, “I’ve written labels for each item, indicating which school it’s from. You can show them to A Nan.”
Yu Ting handed Li Xiaonan the variety of food items one by one. Li Xiaonan looked at them while listening to her second sister speak.
“More than a dozen schools said they would only close for the thirtieth and the first day of the lunar month, so they only have these two days without students. I replied as you instructed: they can arrange it themselves. The number of students in each school is in that booklet; it’s increased quite a bit since the last time.
“Along the way, I ran into Fourth Aunt Tang and Second Sister-in-law Tang several times. Their business of selling looms is very busy, and they said they won’t be home until the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month.
“They said they don’t have enough looms now and can’t produce them. Regarding the looms, you’ll have to ask Hong Family Master later.
“On the road, I met Da Tang Shen. She was returning from Yangzhou and gave me a ride for a while. She’s going back to Li Family Market. Da Tang Shen said that when we get back to Li Family Market, she’ll tell you more about the cotton thread.
“A Wu, Mei Jie!”
A shout from outside the main gate interrupted Li Yuzhu’s words. A Wu leaped out, “Eldest Sister is back!”
Everyone followed and rushed out, surrounding Li Jinzhu, talking and laughing as they entered the main hall.
