Chapter 226: Chapter 162: Tidying Up the New Courtyard (Part 2)

The car stopped at the entrance of the alley, and the two got out and walked inside.

Cheng Hongli pointed not far ahead, “It’s just ahead. A woman needs to properly rest during her confinement period. It’s good this way; I can often check on you here, so you can go back with peace of mind and wait for the reunion at the end of the year. The master here is very busy, starting from July all the way until the end of the year.”

Lin Lishan followed her and noticed there were places making clothes and shoes in this alley, “It seems there’s a dedicated shoemaker here; we can check it out later.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll come with you again, but let’s skip today. Some people take in clothes and shoes to work on at home, their craftsmanship is excellent. You should leave your curtain and quilt covers to someone else, don’t bother with them yourself. They do a good job and quickly too; deliver them tomorrow, and you can get them the day after.”

Lin Lishan thought for a moment and shook her head, “Forget it, these things just need a few straight lines on the sewing machine, I can finish them quickly in the evening at home. Clothes, on the other hand, need to be made. I brought a lot of fabric; all of Jiao Jiao’s and Xiao Wu’s clothes are patched or heavily faded. Tomorrow, let’s look at some clothing styles; I plan to make several outfits for Jiao Jiao.”

“Okay, I’m just planning to make clothes for the kids for the new year. How about overalls? They look quite nice on girls.”

Lin Lishan burst out laughing, “I was thinking of making overalls too. Last time I went to the Friendship Mall in the provincial city, I bought some fabric suitable for making pants. Tomorrow, I’ll bring the fabric; if you need any, you don’t have to buy it, I have a whole piece.”

“Great, I won’t be polite then. If there’s extra, I’ll also make a pair of pants for my Yuanyuan; otherwise, when she sees Jiao Jiao wearing them, she’ll pester me. We’ve arrived. Master Fang, this is Zhang Guoqing’s mother-in-law, here to see if there are any ready-made thick quilts and mats.” Cheng Hongli saw Master Fang inside and hurriedly pulled Lin Lishan in, calling out to Master Fang.

Master Fang, a middle-aged man in his thirties, was a renowned maker of cotton quilts and wedding blankets in the county. He worked two months more a year than others, with people even coming during the New Year.

Seeing them, Master Fang smiled and said, “Oh, even Xiao Wu didn’t prepare thick quilts for his mother-in-law? This kid can be muddle-headed sometimes. You should talk to him about it later. Are the in-laws just here? If others asked in this cold winter, I wouldn’t have any. But since you’re here, for Xiao Wu’s sake, even if I don’t have any, I’ll make some for you. What size do you want and how heavy? Are the mats for the kang or the bed?”

Lin Lishan looked at the mats on the shelf, all narrow, “Master Fang, thank you so much. I’m going to need three thick quilts, weighing 8 jin each, for double coverage, the largest size; Xiao Wu is tall, so smaller ones wouldn’t be warm. The mats are for the canopy bed, need to be thicker and softer. Could you see what size is needed?”

Master Fang nodded, “I know what you want. For Xiao Wu’s height, just buy as big as wedding quilts. I’ll first give you the wedding quilts I was making for next January and rush theirs later. About the mats, does Xiao Wu’s family have any old quilts? They can be repurposed as mats. The ones I have here are made with old cotton of poor quality. If you want to buy them, how many do you need?”

“I’ll buy them directly from you; old quilts can be used back home later. These are for them to use in the county town. Please show me all the ready-made mats you have, so I can take a look.”

Master Fang laughed, setting aside his tools, and brought out five or six mats from inside, “Here you go, these are the ones. Usually, people make their own mats. These are specially sold to people like Mr. Cheng, all new, filled with the materials collected from the village, not very good quality.”

Lin Lishan calculated, planning to leave two military quilts at home and take apart the others to remake larger ones. She wanted to ensure having everything ready just in case buying cotton might become as challenging as it is in Beijing later.

“I’ll take all six mats. The children are small, making it easy to change if they wet the bed. Also, you need to give me three thick quilts.”

“I also have native cloth, do you want it? Great for making quilt covers and sheets; it’s thick enough, doesn’t shed lint heavily, and if you want something nicer, you can buy satin sheets from the supply and marketing cooperative and sew them on.” Master Fang pulled out three thick quilts and tied them with a string.

Lin Lishan’s eyes lit up, realizing she’d forgotten about native cloth. With beautiful colors, even curtain fabric could be made from it, and the purchased fabric could be saved for later. She looked at Cheng Hongli, who nodded in approval, and said to Master Fang, “Master Fang, I want to look at the colors first, could you show me?”

Master Fang nodded repeatedly, clearly excited about the large transaction, “Follow me inside; the cotton fibers fly everywhere outside, so I keep everything inside.”

The two women followed him inside and watched as he unfolded layers of native cloth. Cheng Hongli was so excited she blurted out, “Master Fang, you weren’t fair. Why didn’t you show me these before? There’s a lot, and the patterns are beautiful, the fabric is thick and sturdy. Shanshan, I’m buying some too. You can use the thinner ones as curtain fabric. At your place, I’ve seen the fabric you use for curtains is suitable for making clothes.”

“Yes, the curtain fabric I bought is originally thick summer material with small flowers, perfect for making dresses. I’ll save it to make more summer dresses for Jiao Jiao and Yuanyuan, and also shirts. Master Fang, I’d like four pieces of the thinner checkered native cloth. The weaver here must be smart to not follow the crowd. I’ll take all the thicker checkered native cloth as well. Hongli, don’t you think a matching set of curtain fabric and quilt covers looks great?”

Cheng Hongli rolled her eyes, having experienced it firsthand, “Yes, it’s nice, the money is also nice, but will you use it all?”

Lin Lishan replied with a smile, “It’s fine, it doesn’t spoil when stored. My Jiao Jiao is thrifty; with more, she has to use it. I’ll make several sets for her to change. If there’s extra, I’ll send it to Little Ya for cleaning; her small frame can’t handle it. And it can also be used for tablecloths. If it wasn’t too far, I’d bring some back to Beijing myself.”

Cheng Hongli nodded and suggested, “Since you’re buying a lot, get a couple of rolls of floral cloth for variety. Otherwise, in time, without fresh patterns, only checks might be boring.”

“Good idea, you have keen eyes. I’ll take two rolls of big red florals too, perfect for their bedroom, it’s quite festive. They’re still newlyweds, only married for a couple of years.”

“Alright, the new ones in the county town are all set. The ones at home can stay back in the village, and you won’t worry about not having quilts there. You’ve thought everything through as a mother. Master Fang, could you tally up how much in total? These two rolls of cloth I’ll pay for myself. Shanshan, don’t refuse. I’m not being polite, but you must reserve some fabric for Yuanyuan’s pants for me, and also keep some of your curtain fabric for next summer to make dresses.”

Lin Lishan grinned, retrieving her hand without arguing, nodding in agreement.

Master Fang calculated the total, waived the odd change, accepted 30 yuan, and helped carry it to the car. After saying goodbye, the two got into the car.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep