Chapter 50: The Quilt Is Wet
Prefectural City.
In a narrow building in a deep alley, Wang Xiuxiu had just finished breastfeeding her child. Seeing her husband sitting on the threshold in silence, she walked over and asked, “What’s wrong?”
The man sighed. “Little sister is sick again. I had someone send five hundred copper coins back. I just came back and paid the rent, and now there are only these few dozen copper coins left. It’s only been a few days since the beginning of the month. How are we going to get by…”
Hearing this, Wang Xiuxiu also became worried. “My little stall, on a good day, I can sell two or three, enough for food. If I’m unlucky, I can’t even sell one. It’s also difficult.”
“Last time, a young lady bought ten dolls from me at once, and she didn’t even bargain. If she could come again, and buy five or six, it would be enough for us to buy rice for a few days.”
“If it really doesn’t work out, let’s go back to Jizhou,” the man said.
“Go back? How long has it been since our old kiln was fired? The two mu of land at home are not enough to feed a large family. If we go back, what will we use to treat your younger sister’s illness? At least we can earn a little here.”
The man said with a grievance, “Father’s skills are one of the best in our village, but no one comes to our door. But those shoddy goods outside sell better than anyone else’s.”
“Even good wine is afraid of a deep alley. Who told our family not to know how to hawk?”
“How can hawking work? Our throats are all blocked. With those few big households around, where is our turn to hawk?”
“Forget it. Let’s do it for half a year first. The rent has already been paid. We have to earn the rent back.”
The two of them sighed for a while before they went back to their room to sleep.
This morning, Wang Xiuxiu, as usual, after breakfast, pushed a cart with her baby on her back to the old place, arranged her things, and started her stall.
Unfortunately, by noon, there were still no customers.
Just as she took out her lunch box, planning to eat some porridge to fill her stomach, two people came to her stall.
The taller one had a cold and beautiful face. The slightly shorter one was gentle and delicate, with a faint smile on her face.
“Oh, it’s you, miss. See what you want to buy—” Wang Xiuxiu immediately recognized the two women who had bought ten of her clay dolls at once last time. She quickly closed her lunch box, stood up, and greeted them.
Lin Shuang smiled. “Sister, you still remember us.”
Wang Xiuxiu quickly said, “How could I not? Not to mention that you’re so pretty, I can’t forget you after just one look. Besides, at my stall, there are only a few who can buy ten dolls at once. How could I not remember?”
Lin Shuang bent down and touched a few of the small figurines on her stall, couldn’t help but pick one up and examine it carefully.
Wang Xiuxiu said, “Miss, if you want more, I can give you a discount.”
Lin Shuang asked, “Didn’t you say before that these dolls are all made by your own family? If I give you a portrait, can you make them according to it?”
Wang Xiuxiu was stunned for a moment and asked cautiously, “Miss, are you thinking of ordering a lot of goods?”
“Yes, quite a lot. A few hundred or a thousand.”
Wang Xiuxiu stood there. The moment her words fell, it was as if she had been hit on the head by a huge wave of joy. It took her a long time to come to her senses, and she quickly said, “We can make them. No matter what they look like, we can make them. I guarantee that we will make them beautifully for you, without a single flaw.”
With that, she added, “If you’re not at ease, I’ll have my husband come and talk to you later—”
Lin Shuang smiled. “Can’t you make the decision? Do you have to find your husband?”
Wang Xiuxiu wrung the corner of her clothes and said uneasily, “I’m afraid you’ll think that I, a woman, am not trustworthy…”
“We are also women. Does sister also think that we are not trustworthy?”
Wang Xiuxiu’s throat was instantly choked, and she quickly stopped. “I believe you, of course I believe you. I can make the decision. No matter how many you want, I can make the decision.”
“Then when you close your stall, let’s find a place and discuss the details?”
“No need to wait until I close the stall,” Wang Xiuxiu said anxiously. “I’m free now. We can discuss it now.”
She might not even be able to sell a single doll a day at her stall. If she didn’t follow up on this big order, she would be out of her mind.
“Alright then. There’s a teahouse in front. I’ll treat you to tea, sister,” Lin Shuang said.
Wang Xiuxiu quickly asked the sister next to her to help watch her stall, and then followed her to the teahouse with her baby on her back.
Jiang Huaizhen asked for a private room. The few of them entered the room, and the waiter brought them tea and then left.
Only then did Lin Shuang take out a drawing from her robes. It depicted a few of the mohele doll portraits that had become popular in her past life, and she handed it to Wang Xiuxiu.
Wang Xiuxiu looked at it carefully and said, “We can make them. To be honest with you, miss, my father-in-law has been making ceramics for forty years. In our place, there are not many people who are better than him. These things of yours don’t look difficult. No matter if you want ceramic, painted ceramic, or plain clay, our family’s kiln can fire them.”
Lin Shuang had also done some research before she came and asked, “What are the prices? And the production time?”
“Clay sculptures can be done in about ten days, ceramic blanks in ten days to half a month, and ceramics, including transportation, can be done within a month.”
Wang Xiuxiu said, “The price depends on the quantity. I won’t give you a high price. For over a hundred, a clay sculpture is 5 copper coins each, a ceramic blank is 20 coins, and a ceramic is 100 coins. Top-grade white porcelain is a different price. If we do the painting, it will be calculated separately. If it’s any lower, my old father-in-law won’t agree. He said that if it’s any lower, we won’t even make back the cost, and even if we can make it, it won’t be the same thing.”
This was indeed something an old craftsman would say.
Lin Shuang was not someone who would make a decision on a whim. She had carefully examined the few dolls she had bought back before. She had even deliberately taken two of them to be rained on, and the surface had not dissolved. They were indeed genuine.
According to the market in her past life, when it was popular all over the city, a mohele clay sculpture could sell for about 50 copper coins, a painted ceramic blank for 500 coins to 3 taels, and as for Jizhou’s top-grade white porcelain, the price was even as high as 10 to 30 taels of silver or more.
Any higher, and it was not something she could come into contact with.
But she was not aiming too high. She just wanted to do a little business with the common people and earn a little money, that’s all.
And the base price that Wang Xiuxiu had quoted was in the normal to low range.
Lin Shuang decided to order directly from her.
For the first batch, she ordered 200 clay sculptures, 100 ceramic blanks, and 50 ordinary ceramics. She had originally planned to paint them herself when she got back, but considering that her skills were not as good as a professional old craftsman’s, in the end, she had Wang Xiuxiu and the others do it all.
Including the painting and glazing, the first batch of goods cost exactly ten taels of silver.
Seeing that the deal was done, Wang Xiuxiu suppressed her excitement and asked cautiously, “Miss Lin, according to the market in our place, we have to pay half of the deposit when we place an order… You also know that these things are not easy to sell now. In case…”
The batch of goods she was selling now was left over from a merchant who had broken the contract and run away. She had been selling them for a long time and still couldn’t sell them all.
Lin Shuang smiled. “I know. We’ve found an intermediary, a head constable from our Jinyang County. He will be our intermediary. He will be here tomorrow, and we will give you the deposit then.”
“When we sign the contract, we will all bring our travel permits, so we don’t have to worry about anyone running away in the future,” Lin Shuang said.
Seeing how thoughtful she was, Wang Xiuxiu’s heart also settled, and she smiled. “My husband’s family and my own are all in Jizhou. We are a proper ceramic and clay sculpture business. If you’re not at ease, you can go and check. We’ll write our family’s address and my old father-in-law’s name on the contract.”
“But once the contract is signed, I’ll have to go back. I have to take this drawing back. If you have any changes, Miss Lin, you can just let me know. If you have time, you can also go to Jizhou with me.”
Lin Shuang shook her head. “No need to go to Jizhou. It’s enough to make it clear with you.”
She was just doing a short-term business, and the total price was only a dozen or two taels of silver. She didn’t want to go as far as Jizhou. Besides, there was an old woman with poor health at home. It was alright to be out for one night, but Jiang Huaizhen would not be at ease for two or three days.
And she couldn’t leave Jiang Huaizhen.
Not even for a day.
The next day, Lu Qing came. Wang Xiuxiu’s husband had also specially taken the time to come and sign the contract with them. The matter was thus settled.
When Lu Qing was about to leave, Lin Shuang gave him a red envelope with fifty copper coins, which he refused.
“Not to mention that my wife has earned a lot of money with you making sauce flatbreads, and this big black horse, I thought it would be crippled even if it didn’t die, but you managed to treat it so well. I have to admire your judgment, uncle. I think this mohele business, if there are no accidents, will definitely earn a lot of money. If there are any good jobs next time, don’t forget to include your Uncle Qing.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle Qing. You’ve been good to Huaizhen, so you’re my great benefactor. As long as you don’t mind us, we’ll definitely come to you for help if we need anything.”
“Alright. I’ll go back first. You be careful on the road later.”
Seeing that Lu Qing had left, Lin Shuang turned her head and saw that Jiang Huaizhen was looking at her. She blinked and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Huaizhen shook her head, her mind still on what she had just said, “You’ve been good to Huaizhen, so you’re my great benefactor.”
They had come in a carriage. If they went back now, it would be the middle of the night by the time they reached Whitewater Village, so they had to stay for another night.
They stayed at the same inn as last time, which was quite clean and tidy.
They randomly chose a shop nearby to eat. Jiang Huaizhen’s appetite was clearly not as good as at home. She ate a few mouthfuls of rice and then stopped.
Lin Shuang asked, “Is it not delicious?”
Jiang Huaizhen hummed in agreement. “It’s not as good as yours.”
“I just make some home-cooked dishes. How can I compare to the chefs outside? You’re just picky.”
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t reply.
Lin Shuang asked, “Are you worried about Grandma?”
Jiang Huaizhen was indeed quite worried about Old Madam Jiang. “She’s old. Although she can cook for herself now, I’m afraid that if she accidentally falls, and we’re not at home, she’ll be in the valley, and no one will hear her if she calls for help.”
Lin Shuang said, “Then we’ll try not to stay out overnight in the future, or we won’t both go out at the same time…”
But if they were separated, she would be reluctant.
Jiang Huaizhen’s eyes lowered slightly. “It’s not good for you to go out alone either.”
Lin Shuang was now in her late teens and was also good-looking. It was not safe for a lone woman to be outside.
Lin Shuang smiled. “As if I’m at ease with you going out alone.”
“I can protect myself,” Jiang Huaizhen said.
“That’s not for you to say,” Lin Shuang said, giving her some food. “At least eat a little. We’ll get up early tomorrow and go home early, so Grandma won’t be waiting.”
Jiang Huaizhen was comforted by her and picked up her chopsticks again, eating a little more.
After dinner, they walked around for a while. Seeing that it was getting dark, they went back to the inn, washed up simply, and prepared to sleep.
Just like last time, they had booked a room with two beds, one for each of them.
But Lin Shuang was very reluctant. She wanted to sleep in the same bed with Jiang Huaizhen, just like at home.
In this life, after being reborn, from her initial gratitude to Jiang Huaizhen, to the later self-blame and guilt for abandoning her, and then to the pity she felt when she learned of her childhood past, her feelings for her were no longer pure.
She wanted to take a step further at all times.
She wanted Jiang Huaizhen to be close to her, to hug her, and even… to do more excessive things.
But would Jiang Huaizhen resist her closeness?
Lin Shuang couldn’t help but feel a little insecure. Jiang Huaizhen’s character, and her behavior in her past life, she was sure that she would never abandon her.
But she was also worried that her shocking feelings might make the other feel disgusted and distant.
But if she had to just silently guard this feeling and do nothing, she would feel unwilling.
She turned to look at the person by the bed. In the dim lamplight, the tall and slender woman was bending down to fold the dirty clothes they had worn today neatly and put them in a bundle to be washed when they got back.
Her usually straight back was bent softly.
Her thin single layer of clothing after her bath outlined her graceful curves.
Lin Shuang couldn’t help but remember that day on the kang, when she had pressed against her back, the soft feeling against her side, and a ripple went through her heart.
She forced herself to look away and sighed softly.
If Jiang Huaizhen weren’t so good, perhaps she could have restrained herself a little.
But she was just so good, and so beautiful. She felt that she was about to lose control of her emotions.
She hesitated for a moment, but the desire in her heart won.
She moved the cup that was originally in the middle of the bedside table to the edge, and with a slight touch of her wrist, the cup was “accidentally” knocked over onto the quilt.
“Ah—” she cried out in surprise.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Huaizhen turned her head and looked over.
“I accidentally knocked over the cup—” Lin Shuang was in a flurry, tidying up.
Jiang Huaizhen quickly walked over, reached out to feel the quilt on the bed, and a large patch was already wet.
“It’s all wet. How can I sleep?” Lin Shuang stood up.
Jiang Huaizhen’s hand, which was holding the quilt, tightened. “I’ll sleep on this bed. You go and sleep on that one.”
Lin Shuang didn’t have to think to know that she was the kind of person who would say such a thing. She glared. “I can’t sleep on a wet quilt, but you can? I’ll go and ask the apprentice for a new one.”
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t stop her. Lin Shuang was a little disappointed but still opened the door and went out.
She came back after a little while, but her hands were empty.
“They said that if the quilt is wet, we have to pay an extra twenty copper coins to change it. I couldn’t bear to pay. Forget it. It’s not a big deal if it’s a little wet. We’ll just make do.”
Jiang Huaizhen’s voice came over. “Let’s sleep together. We sleep like this at home anyway.”
Lin Shuang turned to look at her. “Won’t you feel crowded?”
Her eyes were filled with unconcealed anticipation.
Jiang Huaizhen shook her head.
By the time the two of them lay down, Lin Shuang was sleeping on the inside, on her side, her cheek gently pressed against Jiang Huaizhen’s left arm.
Jiang Huaizhen lay flat on her back, feeling the warm touch on her arm, but her eyes were fixed on the dark beams of the roof, motionless.
Her mind replayed the scene of Lin Shuang deliberately moving the cup to the edge of the cabinet just now.
“Jiang Huaizhen…”
She heard the young woman’s soft call of her name but did not reply. She then gently closed her eyes, as if she had fallen asleep.
They’ll get there! Eventually!