Huo Xi followed Yang to see the cloth woven by Zhao Qian.
The Zhao family has a dedicated weaving room, which is the size of a room.
There is a loom in the middle, with a small amount of cloth woven on the machine. There are shelves on the left and right sides of the room, with twenty or thirty pieces of cloth neatly stacked on them, wrapped in hemp paper to prevent them from getting dusty.
As soon as Mrs. Yang came in, she couldn't stop sighing.
When she was a child, she also longed to have a loom. Like countless women in the south of the Yangtze River, she had a loom and would use it as a dowry in the future. With a craft that she could make a living on, she wouldn't have to worry about it in her husband's family.
But at that time, her family only gave birth to her, and her parents couldn't bear her hardship, so they never took care of it.
Huo Xi stood in front of the loom and looked at it curiously, and then looked at the woven cloth.
Zhao Qian saw that her mother and daughter were interested, so she introduced them to them patiently.
"Auntie, you weave so much cloth, why don't you sell it? Are you keeping it for your family?"
Zhao Qian laughed and said, "We don't need so much at home. Cloth merchants come once every half month, and everyone saves and sells them together. It takes a lot of effort to go to the city for two or three pieces of cloth. Ordinary weaving
A worker can weave a piece of cloth in one day, and a quick hand can weave a piece of cloth. A trip to the city will delay things."
"Can you knit one piece in a day?" That's amazing. That's a very fast hand.
Zhao Qian nodded: "Yes. If there is a young lady at home, she will not be allowed to do other housework, but weave in the weaving room. If she does housework, her hands will become thicker, calloused, have burrs, and her hands will become inflexible.
He said it would scratch the cloth. I don’t have many people in my family, and only my mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are at home during the day. My mother-in-law does all the housework, so I usually just concentrate on weaving."
Yang secretly took a look at her hand. It was long and delicate, much stronger than her black and thick claws. She quietly hid her hand behind her back.
Huo Xi happened to see this scene and felt a little distressed.
Afraid of embarrassment, Yang asked: "Auntie, how much does a piece of cloth cost?".
"It depends on what kind of cloth. Cotton, cotton and linen, fine linen, coarse linen, and kudzu have different prices. Cotton is the most expensive, four cents per piece, cotton and linen three cents, fine linen two cents and five cents, and coarse linen.
Hemp is two cents, kudzu is one cent and five cents."
"Then why not just weave cotton? You can also sell it for more money."
Zhao Qianshi laughed and touched her head: "Although cotton is expensive, it must be fine. If the threads are not connected well, the price will be discounted. I can't weave half a piece in a day. I'll do cotton and linen."
I can weave one piece of kudzu in a day, and if my hands are fast, I can weave two pieces of kudzu."
"Weaving two pieces a day? Doesn't that mean you can get three coins a day?" Yang's jaw dropped in shock.
Zhao Qian covered her mouth and laughed. Huo Xi also laughed. Yang looked left and right, not understanding why they were laughing.
"Mom, I also need to spend money to buy my aunt's yarn ball."
Only then did Yang react, blushing and feeling quite embarrassed.
Zhao Qian then said with a smile: "It's like a mountain across the street. It's normal for you not to understand the inside. But a diligent young lady can still save three to five taels of dowry money for herself a month."
"Three to five taels is a lot!"
"It's quite a lot. But when you get married, you have to take care of your husband's family and take care of the children, so you don't have that much time. And you can't even knit for a few years before your eyesight gets blurry."
Yang then sighed, yes, every line of work is not easy.
"We young ladies from the south of the Yangtze River who know how to weave cloth really don't have to worry about getting married. With this craft, we can not only support ourselves, but also support our husband's family after we get married. The looms used in the boudoir will be made by the mother-in-law who loves her daughter.
The dowry goes with you."
Yang nodded and glanced at Huo Xi, what will Xi'er do as a dowry in the future? A boat? No, no, fishing is too hard. How about letting Xi'er learn weaving? Also a loom in the future?
Huo Xi shivered when she caught her gaze.
He walked quickly towards the wrapped cloths and said, "Auntie, can I touch and see?"
"Touch it. Why don't you let people touch it when you buy cloth? Feel free to touch it."
Yang came back to her senses, and stood in front of the cloth with Huo Xi, rubbing her hands on the clothes again and again. Although her hands were clean, she was still afraid of getting dust on the clean cloth.
Seeing her mother and daughter like this, Mrs. Zhao Qian was even more impressed. She enthusiastically introduced them to them.
Huo Xi started to touch it.
Cotton is the most comfortable to touch and feels soft. Cotton and linen have small bumps and feel rougher than cotton. Fine linen is cool, while coarse linen is rough to touch and a bit stiff. Kudzu is based on linen.
With kudzu added, it feels rougher than pure linen.
Cotton is soft against the skin and absorbs sweat, but linen is stiff and breathable. Although kudzu is the lowest and cheapest, it is the strongest and most durable, and is the most popular among ordinary people.
While Huo Xi was looking at the cloths, she was thinking about the money at home.
The family has now bought a new boat, which they got from selling bald butter. Adding the remaining money from before, the available silver is about twenty taels.
Suddenly a bold idea came to her mind.
"Auntie, what kind of cloth do you have here, and how much kudzu do you have?" Huo Xi said as she pulled Yang's clothes.
Yang looked down at her and saw her blinking at her, and her heart skipped a beat. The child was holding back his thoughts again. He didn't speak and just listened to what she said.
Zhao Qian looked around the shelves and said: "Kudzu has the largest number, with seventeen pieces. There are three pieces of cotton, two pieces of cotton and linen, and two pieces of fine linen."
Huo Xi rolled his eyes: "Auntie, if I buy all the cloth from you, can you sell it to me at the same price as the cloth merchant?"
I felt a little uneasy after asking.
Weavers like them should have a stable cloth merchant. If the cloth merchant fails to receive the goods at her house next time, he will not come to collect the goods in the future, which will delay her family's business.
He forced a smile again: "How about I pay a little more for each horse?"
Hiss, have you bought all the cloth here? Yang was stunned at first, and then felt a pain in her body. This child had an idea every now and then, and would hold back a big move from time to time, which scared her.
Zhao Qianshi was also stunned: "All, all?"
Huo Xi looked up at her and nodded at her.
Zhao Qian looked at Yang again.
What can Mrs. Yang do? This child has big ideas. He also smiled at her and nodded.
"Then there's no need to pay more. If you want it, I'll sell it to you at the same price as the cloth merchant."
"Then the cloth merchant will see that you don't sell cloth to him and won't come back to collect it next time?" Huo Xi was a little worried.
When Yang heard this, he looked at her with some worry.
Zhao Qian laughed and said, "There is more than one cloth merchant in the village who comes to collect the cloth. If you don't receive the cloth, you will think that I sold it to someone else. You will only ask for it from me next time. Don't worry."
Huo Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing that she really wanted to buy it, Zhao Qian asked her mother and daughter to look at the pieces of cloth one by one. Without any doubt, the two parties began to settle the price, which totaled four taels and eight hundred and fifty wen.
Huo Xi gave her five taels and said he could use the remaining money to get her some vegetables.
Zhao Qian then led them to the vegetable garden.
In the vegetable garden, Grandma Zhao was holding Huo Nian, watching Yang Fu watering the vegetables and pulling weeds, stopping him again and again, but still failed to stop Yang Fu who was rushing to work.
I feel deeply in my heart that children from poor families are sensible and considerate.
