Chapter 70: Chapter 41: Warmth from the New Quilts

Seeing it was getting late, she cooked another piece of beef, chopped up a juicy white radish to go with it, and put it all in a clay pot to simmer over a small charcoal stove.

By the time she finished, Mother Yang and Qingmu had returned.

Qingmu carried a load of quilts so large it looked like a small mountain on his shoulder pole. Despite his height, he was buried under the load, with only his head visible.

Juhua’s eyes crinkled in delight as she looked at the tall stack of quilts. She felt a warmth spread through her, as if she were already nestled in a soft bed. Even Zheng Changhe grinned from ear to ear at the sight of the new quilts, feeling as though their little mud-brick, thatched-roof house had suddenly become much warmer and more prosperous.

Seeing her daughter’s happy expression, Mother Yang’s heart ached with emotion. ’Spending all that silver today was worth it, after all,’ she thought.

She then took out a thick stack of colorful new bedsheets and said to Juhua, “I figured since we were spending money anyway, we might as well get everything at once. I had all the bedsheets replaced with new ones too.”

Juhua nodded repeatedly. “We needed to. Didn’t you say it yourself, Mother? ’You won’t become poor from eating or dressing well, but you’ll be poor for life if you don’t plan ahead.’ As long as our family works hard from now on, we won’t have to worry about earning money.”

This time, Mother Yang had really gone all out, buying seven new quilts.

There were three top quilts, each weighing five jin, and two mattress quilts, each weighing Liujin. She had also taken another mattress quilt that was supposed to weigh Liujin and had it re-fluffed into two top quilts, each weighing three jin. The children could use these thinner ones in the spring and autumn. As for her and her husband, they would just pile all their old cotton batting onto their bed, which saved them a mattress quilt.

Juhua complained upon hearing this, “Oh, Mother, really. Since you were already having so many quilts made, why skimp on that one mattress quilt? And why didn’t you have one more thin quilt made for spring and autumn? Don’t tell me we’re supposed to use the five-jin ones then? We’d boil to death!”

Qingmu chimed in, “I told you Juhua would complain when we got home. But Mother wouldn’t listen.”

Mother Yang laughed. “The top quilts and mattress quilts from all three beds are now layered on your father’s and my bed. Isn’t that good enough? Why be so fussy? Besides, it’s not good for people our age to sleep on something too soft.”

Zheng Changhe also laughed. “Why wouldn’t it be good enough? I think layering two of the old quilts is plenty. We can save the rest and add them if it’s not enough. Your mother and I won’t freeze. And in spring and autumn, we can use the old ones. We won’t overheat.”

Juhua knew it would be difficult to change their minds. She figured that although the old quilts were old, they wouldn’t be cold if they layered enough of them, so she couldn’t be bothered to argue about it.

She asked, “So how much silver did all this cost?” ’Seeing how pained Mother is,’ she thought, ’it must have been a huge expense.’

Who would have thought Mother Yang would reply with a pained expression, “Tell me about it! It cost a full four taels and two maces of silver. The cotton was thirty cents a jin, so forty jin cost one tael and two maces of silver. The bedsheets and the labor for fluffing the cotton cost a full three taels.”

Juhua asked in surprise, “Why was it so cheap?”

Seeing that her daughter had no idea about prices, Mother Yang said reproachfully, “Hey! You call this cheap? In previous years, cotton was only twenty cents a jin. There was a disaster up north this year, so the price shot up. And you still call it cheap?”

Juhua pressed her lips into a smile and didn’t argue with her mother. ’She thinks four taels and two maces of silver is expensive for such a huge pile of things,’ she thought. ’I was afraid we’d spent all the silver we recently earned, but it turns out there’s some left over. That makes things easier.’

’My brother doesn’t need a matchmaker anytime soon, and the family has no other major expenses. If we work hard and save up, it might not be impossible to build a house and buy land in the future.’

That evening, after a fragrant dinner of beef stewed with radish, Juhua’s family didn’t go to bed early as they usually did. Mother Yang and Juhua had to hurry and get the quilts ready to be used.

Two oil lamps were lit in the main hall, brightening the thatched ceiling and earthen walls considerably. The old wooden door blocked the cold wind from outside. The whole family stayed in the main hall, each busy with their own tasks. The atmosphere was warm and peaceful.

Perhaps because they were in such good spirits, the sound of the wind, which usually seemed desolate and bleak, now had a different feel to it. It was like the soft humming of a carefree person under a lamp, bringing a sense of tranquility to the quiet night.

Mother Yang and Juhua spread a quilt on Qingmu’s bed. First, they measured it to sew a cover, then they slipped the cover over the quilt and stitched the four corners shut. Working together, the sewing went quite quickly.

This had been Juhua’s idea. It not only saved money on a fancy quilt top but also made covering the quilt much more convenient.

Zheng Changhe sat by the foot warmer, watching the mother and daughter bustle around the bed. He wanted to help but couldn’t find a way to join in, so he could only get up from time to time to add wood to the kitchen fire and keep the pig offal warm.

Meanwhile, Qingmu sat at the old table, reading and writing by lamplight. The bean-sized flame flickered and danced, casting shifting light and shadow across his face.

With a focused expression, he held a stick as thick as a brush, his wrist poised as if holding a real one. He first practiced the new characters he had learned that day in a sand tray, while silently reviewing Mr. Zhou’s explanations in his mind.

Only when he had practiced enough did he dip his brush in ink and write on paper. He wrote with extreme care and concentration. After finishing one sheet, he would set it aside and start on a second. Once the ink on the first sheet was dry, he would pick it up again and write on the back, not wasting even a tiny bit of it.

Mother Yang had bought bedsheets with a light green bamboo branch pattern for Juhua’s bed. She felt that her daughter didn’t like the gaudy, brightly colored floral patterns, and this one was fresh and clean, so she bought the same pattern for both the top and bottom sheets.

Juhua was indeed very pleased when she saw the pattern. ’Mother really knows me best!’ she thought. Stroking the soft cotton fabric, she thought, ’Now my room will finally have some life and warmth. I’ll make a couple of small throw pillows when I have time. There should be some fabric left over.’

While twisting the end of a thread and squinting to thread a needle in the lamplight, Mother Yang asked Juhua, “Did Mr. Zhou not come for lunch today?”

Juhua nodded. “He didn’t. Didn’t Brother say the village chief invited him to eat?”

Mother Yang said, “I was just asking. We can’t forget about him. Tomorrow, let’s bring him some more braised pork head meat and peanuts. The weather is cold enough that they won’t spoil. If he wants to eat, he can just put the clay pot on the stove whenever he likes. And pack some extra spicy cabbage and a jar of crispy rice for him, too. The master really likes those two things.”

Juhua agreed.

This Mr. Zhou was an easygoing person. He had been very satisfied with the meals they had sent over these past few days. It was surprising that at his age, he loved to munch on crispy rice. That, along with the spicy cabbage, had become indispensable to him when he drank. Of course, the pig ears were also a must-have.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep