Chapter 13: The Persimmon Ripened

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  Perhaps it was Qi Fang's persistence in wanting to make money that touched Qiang Niang's deeply hidden softness, and she also remembered how she had struggled to make a living after her family fell on hard times, almost exactly like the second young mistress in front of her.

  Returning to her own courtyard, Qiangniang sat on the kang and pondered for a long time, finally sighing softly, "Alas, everyone has their own difficulties, if one can help, then help!"

  At this moment, Qiangniang did not think that it was precisely because of her sincere help this time that she gained Wang Qifang's trust for the next few decades, and also got unexpected wealth and glory. Years later, when Qiangniang redeemed all the industries of her family, she was excited and grateful for her kindness at that time, good deeds will be rewarded, heaven is watching.

  Of course, these are all afterwords anyway.

  At noon, Qiangniang came to Qifang's yard with a lunch box in one hand and a bundle in the other.

  "What is this?"

  Wang Qifang looked at the silver-red taffeta spread out in front of her, two pieces of white lace ribbon each two feet long, and a small silver ingot. The ingot was no more than one or two taels in volume.

  "Sister, it's like this," Qiangniang said, seeing Wang Qifang's puzzled expression. After serving the meal, she walked over and pointed to the things spread out on the package skin, saying, "Yesterday I saw that your needlework is very good, and coincidentally, I have a task here that I'd like you to help me with."

  "Household chores? You mean you want me to help with sewing?"

  Wang Qifang seemed to have understood something, her eyes shining with a soft and grateful light, staring steadily at Qiangniang, as if confirming the guess in her heart.

  "Yes," Qiangniang sat on the other side of the package, picked up the two pieces of lace trim, and smiled: "Actually, it was this little thing that caused the trouble. Last time I went to the county town, I happened to meet Wang Zhuangui from the fabric store who had just brought in new flower patterns. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be none other than this rare lace trim..."

  It just so happens that last year, Qiangniang followed Feng Tizhu to the provincial capital on business and saw that the fabric shops in the city were just starting to popularize this lace. It is said that this was also spread from Beijing, and those officials' wives and daughters all used lace to decorate their clothes.

  It was just that the price was too expensive at the time, and she couldn't bear to part with it. Now that she had encountered it again right in front of her own home, and the price was more than half lower than last year's, Qiangniang didn't hesitate and directly bought all the lace from Wang Zhuanggui's hands.

  It was said that they had a full stock, but in fact there were not many, because Wang the shopkeeper did things very cautiously, fearing that this kind of thing would not sell well, so he specially ordered a few to try out the market.

  Qian Niang, having seen how city women use lace, bought some back and immediately made a lace-trimmed quilted jacket, which she wore to the market and when visiting others, causing several local ladies to be envious and admire her.

  Among them, Mrs. Wei, who lived next to Qiangniang's villa, liked Qiangniang's new clothes the most and ran to the fabric store in the county town to buy lace that day. After asking around, she found out that Mr. Wang was regretting not stocking up enough, as many wealthy ladies had come to buy lace that afternoon, but the few sample pieces he had brought in had already been taken by Mrs. Feng, and he was planning to go to the provincial city to restock.

  Mrs. Wei heard this and her desire for lace became even stronger, but ——

  Waiting for him to go to the provincial city to stock up? Sorry, I'm not waiting. Besides, even if he brings in a large batch of lace, everyone will have it, and she can't show off even if she buys it. Mrs. Wei's mind is very active, and at the first moment, she thought that Mrs. Feng must still have inventory in her hands. So, the next day, she took the fabric for making clothes and two silver ingots to Qian Niang's house, asking her to help make a similar style of skirt.

  "Oh, I see," Wang Qifang nodded after listening to the whole process, "Actually, that lady just wanted lace, and making clothes was just an excuse, right?"

  "That's right, ah, sister is really clever, a little bit of insight," Qiangniang nodded her head, she liked to deal with clever people. Seeing that Gui Fang had only heard half of the story and had already guessed the result, she was very satisfied, pointing at the silver ingot and saying: "Recently our village is busy with spring plowing, I don't have time to do it, if you're still in good health, can you help me do it?"

  "Can do, just don't know if there are any style requirements?"

  Wang Qifang was so shaken by the glass bead incident that she had lost all confidence, fearing that she would make another mistake, and asked cautiously.

  "What's the big deal? She just wants lace trim on her dress, and it'll be fine if we make a regular cheongsam or long skirt!"

  "Alright, I'll give it a try then, but this silver..."

  Although she wanted it very much, Wang Qifang did not want to be pitied by others. The fact was clear: people were willing to pay a high price for clothes made with the lace in Mrs. Feng's hands, not because of Wang Qifang's craftsmanship. This money cannot be accepted, even if it is accepted, it is not this amount.

  "Hehe, don't be shy, sister. Mrs. Wei gave me two silver bars. I'll keep one as the material fee for lace, and this one is my labor fee," Qiangniang said with a smile, seemingly knowing what Wang Qifang was worried about. "Sister can help me out by making the clothes for me. Of course, if the needlework isn't good, I'll have to ask you to redo it!"

  Receiving Qian Niang's kind intentions, Wang Qifang nodded, "Alright, I'll do it, and I'll do a good job."

  "Finally, I've got one thing off my mind! Little sister, go eat first, this matter isn't urgent!"

  Qian Niang saw Wang Qifang leading her own emotions, feeling great, thinking of Qifang's haggard appearance early in the morning, and added another sentence.

  "Don't worry, I've got it under control," It's not a big deal anyway, we have modern tools to help us out. Wang Qifang put things away and remembered the can of seeds, so she called out to Qian Niang who was getting up to leave, "Oh right, Auntie Feng, when I was cleaning the room, I found this under the bed, what kind of seeds are these?"

  As she spoke, she pulled out a black porcelain jar from the corner of the wall, lifted off the small bowl covering the mouth of the jar and asked.

  Qian Niang was taken aback when she saw the black jar, as if she had recalled some past event.

  "Feng Dashi, isn't this something very important?" Wang Qifang noticed the other person's gaze and cautiously inquired.

  "Oh, no, it's just some seeds," Hearing Wang Qifang's voice, Qiangniang came back to her senses, shook her head and said nonchalantly, "They've been left for so many years, they're probably all dead. If you want to pass the time by planting them for fun, then take them!"

  "Oh, okay!"

  Since they don't want to say, we can't be blind either. Wang Qifang quietly put the jar back in the corner of the wall and planned to try going to space after finishing lunch.

  In the afternoon, Wang Qifang took the fabric and lace into the space to prepare for work. Alas, others said there was no hurry, but she was in a hurry. The sooner she delivered the goods, the sooner she could use that silver.

  But as she passed by the empty space in the small courtyard, a bright red color caught her eye.

  "Impossible! Weren't these tomatoes just moved in this morning? How did they ripen so quickly in just half a day?"

  Wang Qifang looked at the tomato seedlings with three bamboo stakes in surprise, on which four or five baby-fist-sized red tomatoes were growing on the green stem!

  PS: Waaah, I'm having a cold, and someone is holding a box of tissues while typing, my nose is all red... Dear friends, seeing how pitiful I am, please give me more support! Recommendations, collections, long comments, whatever you can give, thank you~~~