Chapter 32: Chapter 032 Misunderstanding
Translator: 549690339
Maybe i’ll even have to pay money back.
Life is getting hard, and without any other option, I can only go to her family to borrow some grains and get through.
“Zhuang Qingning, stop talking. Your aunt knows your situation,” Mrs. He softly said, “Never mind, I’ll give you two twenty kilograms of cornmeal. It’s not a lot, but you two sisters can get by with it for now.”
“Things are tense at home too. Xiaosi is frail, always catching colds and coughing, so we spend quite a bit on medicine annually. 1 know it’s tough for you two sisters. I should give more, but 1 just can’t afford it…”
Zhuang Qingning was dumbfounded, realizing that she had misunderstood.
She hastily explained, “Aunt, 1 came to you not to borrow grain, but for something else.”
“Then what is it…” said Mrs. He, startled. If not to borrow grain, could it be to borrow money?
Yes, it must be because they can’t sell tofu, and perhaps owe Mrs. Wen for the beans. They need to reimburse her.
“Ever since Qingsui and I moved out on our own, we don’t have any clothes to change into. Today, there happened to be a market in town, so we bought some cloth. But neither of us knows how to tailor clothes, let alone sew them. I remember your needlework skills are excellent, so we thought of asking you to help us make a few clothes and shoes.”
Zhuang Qingning explained, “But we will not expect you to do this work for free. We will pay you.”
Mrs. He was thinking about how much money Zhuang Qingning might ask for and how much she could give when she heard Zhuang Qingning mention making clothes and paying her. She was taken aback.
“What did you say?” Mrs. He looked incredulously at Zhuang Qingning and looked again at the clean, new cotton cloth in her hand. Her eyes widened noticeably, “Ning, this cloth…”
“Did you earn some money?”
“We go to the town every day to sell tofu, and we earn a bit. Not much, but enough for me and Qingsui to get by.”, Zhuang Qingning replied with a smile.
Mrs. He felt immensely relieved, even slightly happy.
Having tofu to sell meant they had a source of livelihood, and they should be able to stop worrying about their future.
“You always were a smart girl. You’ve proven your worth. Just keep up the good work, and things will gradually get better.”
With a broad smile on her face, Mrs. He said, “I only have my sewing skills to offer, but 1 promise your clothes will be well-made. Don’t worry about the cost. I certainly would not accept money from you. If you mention money again, it will make things awkward.”
“In the future, Qingsui and I will need more clothes and shoes. We will need your help, aunt. If we don’t pay you and just have you work for free, that won’t be fair.”, Zhuang Qingning insisted.
“You just started making money from selling tofu, and all the money should go to your daily expenses or be saved for future use. Let’s talk about this matter later when you are more financially stable.”
No matter what, she must not take their money.
“Well, I can only say thank you, Auntie. We will settle our debts in the future.”, reluctantly, Zhuang Qingning agreed.
Her aunt could bring up the topic again in the future, so she didn’t put much pressure on herself about it at the moment.
“This tofu was made by Qingsui and me. I brought a block for you and your family to try.”
“I have a general idea of your sizes. The clothes will be slightly oversized so you can wear them longer. As for the shoes, 1 will measure your sizes when 1 start making the soles.”
Mrs. He said, “Fortunately, 1 don’t have much to do these days. If all goes well, it will only take me two or three days.”
“As for the tofu…”
Mrs. He didn’t hesitate and pushed away Zhuang Qingning’s hand, “You two should keep them for yourselves.”
Zhuang Qingning laughed, knowing her aunt was only trying to be considerate, “It’s just a piece of tofu, Aunt. Please just enjoy it. Besides, the fact that we’re making new clothes shows that we’re making money, right?”
Mrs. He was momentarily stunned.
Isn’t that just the perfect logic? They’ve bought cloth, which suggests the tofu business must be going well. At least they didn’t need to worry about being able to feed themselves.
“Well then, 1’11 gladly take it and try your craftsmanship,” Mrs. He accepted the tofu with a beaming smile.
A small smile curled at the corner of Zhuang Qingning’s mouth.
“Aunt, You can find us at lunchtime or after dark. We usually go to the market in the morning. After that, we usually go home to rest.”
“You don’t need to make our clothes too long. It’s not comfortable to wear and inconvenient to work in. If they end up being too small, we can always make new ones.”, Zhuang Qingning said.
After all, being young meant she was somewhat more ambitious. The tofu business was just starting to pick up, and they were already thinking about eating and dressing nicely with just a small income. They didn’t seem to be thinking about the future at all.
Mrs. He felt that something was not quite right, but thinking about how Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui had just set up their own household, they had finally emerged from the grip of Zhuang Ruman and Mrs. Song. They could finally lead their own lives, and having been poor for so long, they wanted to dress a little better now.
If they insisted on not making the clothes too big, they wouldn’t make them too big. The leftover cloth would be saved for them. If the clothes were too small the following year and they didn’t have money for new ones, they could simply attach a patch.
Many families had to be frugal. When the children’s clothes became too small, they would simply patch them up. No one laughed at anyone else for their patched-up clothes. It was just the way things were.
“Alright then, don’t worry. 1 promise to make you some good clothes,” Mrs. He readily assured.
“Thank you, Aunt,” said Zhuang Qingning, “Qingsui is still at home. We planned to hoe up the courtyard, then go to the market to buy some vegetable seeds and seedlings. 1 must hurry back to work.”
“Why bother buying vegetable seeds? It’s a waste of money,” said Mrs. He. “1 have plenty of pumpkin and wax gourd seeds at home. Once you’ve prepared the ground, you can come and take some.”
“The pumpkins 1 planted last year were quite big and sweet. When you’re ready to plant, just come and take some.”
It’s common among farming families to have their own vegetable plots, with loofahs, wax gourds, and pumpkins climbing all over the walls of houses. If a plant grew well, they would save its seeds for planting the following year. If someone didn’t save seeds or saw that someone else’s vegetables were growing well, they could ask for some seeds. It was just an everyday occurrence.
Mrs. He felt that she could not help Zhuang Qingning very much, but she could still provide vegetable seeds.
“Alright, when the time comes, 1 will shamelessly ask you for some,” Zhuang Qingning said with a smile.
“Don’t be so modest, I have plenty of these things,” Mrs. He laughed, “I also have garlic and chives, which you can transplant from the fields.”
“Alright then,” Zhuang Qingning agreed readily.
The two women chatted for a while longer. Zhuang Qingning was eager to get back to her hoeing in their yard, she promptly said goodbye and left.
Mrs. He rolled up the piece of cloth and planned to store it in the house. She would start cutting out the patterns early the next day and prepare to sew.
“Is Ning coming to borrow grain?” Zhuang Yonghe, who was weaving straw sandals under the light of the oil lamp in the house, stopped his work when he saw Mrs. He..
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