When the second round of snow fell in the mountains, the water in the Qinglai River was completely frozen. The children started to ride the ice cart and hit the ice. The weather was so cold that it was scary. The fine powder was frozen into ice blocks before it was hung on the pole. The workshop had to be temporarily suspended.
Feng Nianen and Wang Maocai urged everyone to finish their work and carefully counted the harvest during this period of time. After deducting all the costs, they still made a net profit of 1,260 taels. According to the contract, Wang Maocai received a full bag of more than 500 taels of silver!
He planned to listen to Mr. Feng's advice and leave behind 100 taels of silver to buy a sacrificial field for the village after spring. Then, he would use the production of the sacrificial field to help orphans and widows and fund children to study.
The 400 taels were divided according to the number of people, regardless of gender or age, each person had two taels. The remaining bits and pieces were bought and sent to the school.
That night in King Village, every household in the village shone with a dazzling silver light under the dim tung oil lamp. Not to mention the money they had earned from their previous work, this alone exceeded the sum of the money they had saved for the past three to five years.
In their excitement, the young were overjoyed, the young were full of ambition, and the old were in tears…
Wang Maocai had just ordered his wife to cook a few good dishes and planned to have a good meal with the family tonight. His eldest grandson, Xin He, ran back.
"You're off school?"
" No, Sir wants me to teach us how to compose poems. He wants to go out for a walk later. It's Mr. Feng who asked me to call Master, Father, Second Uncle, Third Uncle…"
"What's the matter?" Wang Maocai quickly slipped down from the brick bed."Hurry up and go to that room to call your uncle!"
"Hey!" Xin He ran off again.
In the main room of the east courtyard, Feng Nianen hosted a banquet. Wang Maocai and Wang Fugui sat on the left and right. Below them were Wang Maocai's three sons, the two grandsons of the seventh granduncle, Wang Kui, Wang Jin, and Shan Shitou.
Needless to say, the Chunsheng brothers and Wang Kui brothers had been working diligently during this period of time, taking the lead in the dirty and tiring work.
Shan Shitou had been noticed by Mr. Feng ever since he found him that day. This young man didn't talk much, but his heart was honest and his thoughts were lively. He was the first to learn how to leak fine powder. Later, he even thought about changing the filter and leaked out several kinds of fine powder. The key was that he could always find a roundabout and ingenious way to solve the problem when facing his unreliable grandfather and grandmother. It was rare to protect his parents, take care of the weak, and not be stupid.
Mr. Feng had always followed the principle of rewarding those who did well.
The six of them, each with ten taels of silver, took the silver. The six of them were so happy that they couldn't see their eyes. Even Chun Shu, who had always been prudent, drank three cups in a row. During this period of time, he was busy supervising the shop in the county town.
Wang Maocai's sons were valued and rewarded. He felt his entire body relax. He was even happier than if he had received a lot of money. He raised his wine glass and drank it in one gulp. His expression was filled with pride that could not be hidden.
When Xiao Fei came in with Feng Huang and Wang Qi, the pride turned into surprise. The three high-spirited teenagers each carried a large bag of plain ink. The morning sun shone in their movements.
Tearing open the bundle, three identical wolf-skin jackets were revealed. Hidden in the gray smoke were strips of mysterious and spiritual gray-black. The fur was rich and glossy. Coupled with the plain snow satin, it attracted everyone's attention as soon as it was unfolded.
Women loved fox furs not only because they were warm and soft, but also because fox furs could make women look delicate and charming. What they wanted was the slight tremble of the fingertips of the person they liked when the setting sun passed through the wind and cast a faint yellow shadow on the cheek.
To a man, a wolf fur coat was the pride of dominating the mountains and looking down on all living beings. It was domineering and satisfying!
This kind of pursuit did not care about class or age. Even men like Wang Maocai and Wang Fugui who had spent half their lives in the ravines were the same. The psychological satisfaction that the wolf fur coat gave them far exceeded the cold wind blocked by lamb skin and dog skin.
Little Fei: " Uncle Li Zheng, these are the wolves that the master brought us to hunt in autumn. He asked the embroidery lady in the shop to make them specially. Uncle, try them…"
"What, what…for me, for me?”，Wang Maocai put down the cup in his hand and stammered.
Little Fei nodded and opened her coat.
"Oh, oh, okay, okay!"
Wang Maocai stood up, and his sons hurriedly helped him change. Wang Fugui, who was beside him, also put on the one that Wang Qi had given him.
Wearing the wolf fur coat, he felt that his temperament was different. The two brothers looked at each other, pulling up their sleeves and tugging at their clothes. They were extremely satisfied. Their rough hands gently stroked the softness of their chest, as if they had returned to the night of their wedding more than twenty years ago.
"Huang 'er, why didn't you get one for your dad?" Wang Maocai asked after showing off.”
Feng Huang could not help but grimace when he imagined his father wearing a wolf fur coat over his long robe."My father looks like a scholar wielding a saber in this.”
"Little brat, who are you dirtying!" Feng Nianen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He put down his wine glass and smiled at the two of them."The two elder brothers are so majestic. Not bad, not bad. The embroidery lady's craftsmanship is good, and the children's intentions are even better!”
Wang Qi said," Well, Father, my kung fu is not as good as Little Brother Fei and Second Brother Feng. That arrow hit the wolf's butt. Here, fortunately, the embroidery lady's skills are good. It's not too obvious, not too obvious…"
Feng Huang turned his head away. He really didn't want to look at this silly guy. His master had said," hit the snake at its seven inches, hit the wolf at its lower back." This guy shot the wolf's lower back with an arrow. It was quite accurate, hitting the wolf's butt.
Wang Fugui touched his son's head, and sure enough, he felt a little different. He raised his hand and slapped the back of his son's head."Stinky brat, you're wasting your skin instead of practicing properly!”
Even a fool could see the pride and satisfaction on his face. Wang Maocai wanted to beat him up.
"This one is for 7th grandpa. It's inconvenient for him to go out in the snow. I'll have to trouble brother Kui to bring it back later!”
"What? The two brothers, Wang Kui and Wang Jin, quickly stood up and took it with both hands."Thank you, thank you, Little Lord. I, I will definitely be so happy that I won't be able to sleep…"
"Seventh Grandfather and Li Zheng Uncle have put in a lot of effort for the people of the village to eat and wear warm clothes.”
In the wing room of the small courtyard, Yang Ping was leaning against a comfortable pillow, biting two crispy honey walnuts from time to time and occasionally flipping through a few pages of leisure books. Beside her, Aunt Wang and Jin Qiao were fiddling with a big bag of things sent by the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
"It's hard for Mrs. Sun to think things through. This must have been made by Mother and the others who stayed up all night, right?”，Aunt Wang and her husband had been depressed for a long time because of Dacheng. They felt sorry for troubling everyone. After that, they even gave generous gifts to the Li Zheng family and Wang Kui's family. They made a pair of cotton shoes for the Jin family of three."Speaking of which, it's because of my Dacheng that my sister spent money on…"
"Why are you bringing this up again?" Kim glanced at her. All these years, they've been very dedicated and have taken care of a few children in private. I originally planned to give some things to the three of them. I don't have a daughter, so I don't need those things. Sister-in-law, you don't have to feel sorry for me. I have a lot of good things. Haha…When Yulian gets married, I'll prepare ten times the amount of gifts for her to give my daughter some prestige!”
Aunt Wang was furious. She slapped her." I've never seen someone like you. You don't have a daughter. Don't you need to prepare something for your daughter-in-law?" Don't mention Lian 'er. The last letter she sent back said that her grandfather had given her a lot of good things. Good heavens, if she really used them all as dowry, the Li family would be scared to death!”
"You think too much. If the Li family really has any ideas because of Amelia's dowry, then he's not worthy of marrying our daughter!”
"Hey, but…"
"No buts. As long as a person is upright, thinks highly of himself, and relies on his own ability to make a living, no one will despise him. When I married him, he was just a small steward under my father. There was no room or land, so it was still the same!”
"That's true!"
Yang Ping lowered her head and snickered. Kim glanced over and said,"What's wrong? Shouldn't he be afraid of his wife? Right, Sister-in-law? I think Big Brother listens to you too!”
"I…" Aunt Wang's face turned red, and she was a little embarrassed to come over. She patted Kim again."The more you talk, the more useless you are. Pingping is still young!”
The needlework of the people in the mountains did not have dazzling gold and silver threads, nor did it have complicated patterns that dazzled people. The simple knee pads were made of the plain silk that his uncle had given to his family when he came, but it was light and practical, and the stitches were fine. It was obvious that it was prepared for the men who often rode horses. It was obvious that they had put in a lot of effort.
" Is this made of rabbit fur?" Kim took out a piece of felt the size of a square table and pulled out a few threads to carefully identify it.
"The rabbit fur is short and smooth. This is mixed with wool. Sister-in-law Sun has fine hair, and the felt she weaved also has fine hair.”，Aunt Wang also reached out her hand and gently rubbed it, feeling the thick and soft touch from her fingertips." If anyone in the village had two or three feet, they would use it for the children's bodies. Once they used it, there would be several children. It wouldn't break even after eight or ten years. Sometimes, if they weren't weaving enough, they would put it in the grass nest to warm their feet..."
Jin Shi knew that the grass nest Aunt Wang was talking about was a kind of straw sandals woven from reed wadding in the winter. The soles were made of wood, and a circle of fine holes were drilled on the edge. The reeds that had been produced in the past were twisted into strands, and they were woven bit by bit from the fine holes. It could be used to step on water and snow. The mountain people would wear out several pairs in a winter.
"Heh, don't say, this is a good thing!”
"Younger Sister doesn't know. This felt is very precious. It's also difficult for Sister-in-law Sun. I'm afraid she has been saving it for two years.”，Seeing Jin Shi's surprise, Aunt Wang smiled and said,""This wool was cut in the summer. After it is washed, it is steamed and kneaded. The rabbit fur isn't good, so we sell it as a whole. Only when we get a rabbit skin with a bad fur color would we be willing to twist the rabbit fur and then twist the rabbit fur and wool together to weave them into threads. -- Mm, seven…"
"Is it difficult to weave this felt?"
" It's not difficult. It's like weaving a Kang mat. If you want it to be thinner, you can spin the rope thinner. If you're good at it, you can even weave flowers. It's just that the gray wool doesn't look good. It'll be even better if you change it to white goat…You can weave flowers, round ones, and plum blossoms…It's warm and beautiful…"
Jin stared at the felt thoughtfully. Yang Ping got off the bed and straightened her body."Auntie Qiao is planning to do business with this felt?”
"How is it?"
"It's feasible!"
Yang Ping nodded. The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Aunt Wang was confused.
"Wool, rabbit fur, cotton, hemp, silk…Dyeing them and weaving them into patterns can be used as cushions, blankets, curtains…It feels warm just looking at them in winter!”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。