Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 118: Protecting the Calf_1

Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Protecting the Calf_1

Following that was the harvest of corn, peanuts, and sweet potatoes, with Qian Yeejin taking a three-day break from farm work. Now, Lady Wu and Qian Manxia, along with Qian Yeejin, no longer needed to work the fields themselves; they merely had to give some guidance from the side. It didn’t take long for the two strong men, Huang Tie and Qian Hua, to finish the work on just two acres of land.

After the harvest was over, the land was not rented out, but instead kept for planting winter wheat for the family’s own consumption in the coming days.

Then, the fields of Mengxi Village were also handed over. That day, Qian Sangui, accompanied by Huang Tie and Qian Hua, went to Mengxi Village to sign the tenancy agreement with the tenant farmers there, who even called him Master Qian. From then on, sixty percent of the produce from these fields would belong to their own family, and Qian Sangui’s face flushed with excitement.

On the way home, passing through the entrance of Mengxi Village, he told Qian Hua to get off the cart to buy two jin of pork while he waited on the ox-cart.

He could hear the passing villagers discussing how Landlord Qian was this and that. Qian Sangui could not help but laugh; in the mouths of others, he had now become a Landlord Qian, just like Landlord Zhang and Landlord Fang. It all felt like a dream.

After returning home, he had someone invite Old woman Qian, Qian Dagui, and Qian Ergui over for drinks and meat, with Huang Tie and Qian Hua sitting at a small table beside them to join the drinking.

Lady Wu, who had become the landlady, was also pleased. Thinking that from next year on, most of the produce from the fields would belong to their own family, the saying that a surplus in the granary means an ease of mind truly applied.

As the season entered into autumn, the weather gradually became cooler. Yixiu now only had two sets of clothes she could wear, one set in peach blossoms shaded clothes and a blue coarse cloth one, both newly made this summer. In planning for the long term, both were made slightly larger so she could still wear them if she grew taller or gained weight. And if it got cold, she could wear them with an old piece of clothing underneath.

But old clothes were a bit small and uncomfortable to wear, and patches over patches made them look really shabby. She had mentioned several times before that she wanted to make two new sets of clothes. However, Lady Wu did not agree, saying that aside from Jinwa, she had the most new clothes at home. Qian Manxia’s clothes didn’t cost any money, while Qian Sangui, Lady Wu, and Cheng Yue each only had one set of newly made coarse cloth clothes.

She complained to Qian Sangui, who also agreed with Lady Wu’s view. With so many people in the household, in addition to eating, they also had to pay their wages, making their days somewhat tight. It was enough for her to have clothes to wear, and it was not necessary to be so particular. The few bolts of fabric at home had to be used sparingly over time.

Today, seeing Landlord Qian in high spirits with a flushed face from drinking, Yixiu thought it was an opportunity to ask her grandfather for new clothes again. After Qian Yeejin had escorted Old woman Qian and the others out of the gate, she tugged at Qian Sangui’s clothes and said, "Landlord Qian, all the other landlords wear satin clothes, yet our own landlord doesn’t even have a fine cloth jacket. Tsk, tsk, not a bit of a landlord’s style."

Qian Sangui knew his granddaughter’s thoughts and laughed, "Yixiu just doesn’t understand, does she? The majority of landlords’ money is saved up, and your grandpa is much more generous than they are. Grandpa eats meat every day, while they might not get to eat meat even once in half a month. Even that satin outfit is mostly for appearances, only worn when going out."

Yixiu was frustrated. The house still had so much silver stored. Why were they only thinking about living a better material life and not considering improving their spiritual life a bit?

Seeing her daughter pouting, Cheng Yue left the main house and returned after a moment with a piece of satin in hand. She said, "Father, mother, Yueyue’s duck embroidery is finished. If it’s sold for silver, give Yixiu one tael of silver and make her two satin outfits."

Lady Wu sighed, "Give her one tael of silver, and on top of that, make two satin outfits? How much could two ducks’ embroidery be worth?"

Yixiu took the embroidery from her stepmother’s hands and saw that although the design was not complicated, the colors were elegant and the embroidery work was exquisite; the little ducks seemed to come to life.

Couldn’t help but praise, "So beautiful, it can definitely sell for a few taels of silver." As she spoke, she looked at the other side and suddenly stammered, "I—it’s—it’s... it’s double-sided embroidery! My goodness, my mother is so skillful!"

Hearing this, Lady Wu quickly took the embroidery and examined it again, also saying joyfully, "It is lovely, really beautiful! Yueyue is capable, and she can do double-sided embroidery. This piece will surely fetch a good price."

Cheng Yue added, "Well, after selling for silver, give one tael to Yixiu and make her two silk dresses." Fearing Lady Wu might refuse, she quickly added, "Neither Yueyue nor Jinwa need anything, just for Yixiu alone."

Making two dresses could be considered, since there was still fabric at home, but Lady Wu didn’t want to give the silver. She said, "We can make dresses for Yixiu, but she’s just a child, what does she need so much money for?"

Seeing that her mother-in-law did not agree, Cheng Yue’s eyes filled with tears, she said, "Yueyue likes Yixiu, seeing her unhappy makes my heart ache, so much that I can’t even sleep at night."

Seeing this, Qian Sangui spoke up to Lady Wu, "Since the daughter-in-law married into the family, she’s never asked for anything for herself, just wanting a bit of silver for her daughter to make a couple of dresses. Just fulfill her wish."

Left with no choice, Lady Wu said, "Fine, fine, I’ll go get it now."

After finishing her statement, she went into the room very generously and came back with a few pieces of silver, handing them to Qian Yixiu, "Here, just don’t waste it all away."

Qian Yixiu, holding onto the hard-won pieces of silver, was full of gratitude. Her mother had struggled for so long and had even shed tears to get them. This wasn’t just silver; it was pure love.

She hugged Cheng Yue and said, "Thank you, Mother."

Cheng Yue smiled, "If Yixiu is happy, Mother is happy."

The next afternoon, Lady Wu returned from the county town where she had gone to sell the embroidery, beaming with joy. Qian Yixiu, who had opened the door, laughed and said, "Look how happy Granny is, the embroidery my mother made must have sold for a good price."

Back inside the house, after Lady Wu had a drink of water, she took out her purse and said, "Well, it sold for thirty-five taels of silver. Shopkeeper Jin said that the double-sided embroidery was delicate and beautiful, the fabric good, and its size just right for a small screen or a kang screen."

Old woman Qian knew that Lady Wu was going to sell Cheng Yue’s double-sided embroidery today, so she had come to wait. Hearing the price, her mouth hung open in surprise, she said, "No matter how good it is, it’s still just embroidery. To think it sold for more money than a farming family earns in ten years!"

Qian Sangui laughed and said, "Mother doesn’t know, but when I was escorting goods, I guarded an embroidery piece once that was valued at a thousand taels, and they said it was as big as half a room."

After clucking her tongue for a while, Old woman Qian turned to Cheng Yue and, for the first time, cracked a genuine smile, "Hmm, not bad, our Qian family has married a talented daughter-in-law."

Cheng Yue, who only cared about her children and the few people from the third chamber, ignored everyone else. She disregarded Old woman Qian’s show of goodwill and negotiated with Lady Wu, "Yueyue will embroider an even finer piece, and the silver earned will be used to buy a maid just for Yixiu."

The old lady, already displeased at being ignored, became even more unhappy upon hearing this and scolded, "Are you dreaming? We’ve already got so many freeloaders, and you want to buy more? A little peasant girl wanting her own maid, it’s laughable."

Cheng Yue stubbornly said, "Yueyue likes Jinwa, and also likes Yixiu. If Jinwa has a boy servant, then Yixiu must have a girl servant."