Eighties Sweetheart Wife
Chapter 160 Dragon Boat Festival’s Sachets and Gourds_1

Chapter 160: Chapter 160 Dragon Boat Festival’s Sachets and Gourds_1

Then, Song Yunuan made several gourds out of colored paper. She did a demonstration, which was different from the traditional four-corner and two-corner gourds.

These were gourds in the literal sense.

Both items took only a short while to make.

She had wanted to make knot buttons, but sadly, there was no silk thread.

Old Mrs. Song’s eyes, however, bulged with amazement; a verbal description didn’t do justice to the actual creations.

Just like Little Nuan described, something about a visual impact, it really was quite striking, especially the little sachets, so exquisitely made.

Wearing them, you could not only repel insects and ward off evil but also feel instantly more noble.

And those gourds without corners looked rounded and complete.

Old Mrs. Song wanted to say something, but Xia Guilan interjected, "Mom, Little Nuan is right. These items are seasonal, we can’t sell them for many days. If we all do it together, make some money, we can afford to make dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival. Why not enjoy it?"

Actually, Old Mrs. Song was quite smart. Even if these items were seasonal, wasn’t the novelty what sold?

But with everyone being so generous, she could only say, "Do what you like; I really can’t be bothered to interfere."

Song Yunuan took the two samples to the commune office.

Lian Xiang came along as well.

Chu Zizhou hadn’t expected they would turn out so exquisite.

It was just a pity that they could not be easily sent to the capital city.

The mugwort in these sachets was of the highest quality.

Old Mrs. Song followed soon after, panting with exertion.

Song Yunuan looked at her in surprise and said, "Grandma, what’s wrong? Don’t hurry. Take your time and speak."

She then went over to the cupboard, took out a new teacup, and poured a cup of sugar water for her grandmother.

It was mainly because Old Mrs. Song’s face looked a bit pale, and some sugar water might help her feel better.

At this casual display, Chu Zizhou was speechless.

Old Mrs. Song didn’t hold back, pointing to the items on the table and addressing the others, "Don’t rush to make more. Let me ask you, have you forgotten the custom of our Nanshan County Town during the Dragon Boat Festival?"

Song Yunuan’s eyes gleamed as she suddenly clapped her hands with an "aiyo": "Indeed, it had to be my grandma reminding us, otherwise, we might end up losing..."

Chu Zizhou was ignorant of these things.

Lian Xiang, who had come along, hurriedly explained. They had been so preoccupied with making these items that they had forgotten.

There’s an old saying: Every ten miles the villages change, every hundred miles the customs.

Every region has its own way of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival.

In Nanshan County Town, the tradition is that before the sun rises, families should put on their children the sachets and colorful threads dampened with the previous night’s dew.

Willow branches hung with gourds should be placed at the entrance, symbolizing a rejection of illness and calamity; after the midday of the Dragon Boat Festival, they must be discarded.

These aren’t the primary concerns, though.

The most important is that the children must throw their sachets into the nearest big river after the first rain of the Dragon Boat Festival.

It symbolizes that all illnesses and calamities have been washed away.

To put it simply, these are not meant for long-term wear; ordinary families wouldn’t splurge on such fine sachets.

And as for the gourds, a few pieces of colored paper folded up could yield quite a number.

Chu Zizhou went to see Song Yunuan.

Song Yunuan didn’t have the heart to say that she had no intention of selling to those families in hardship; instead, she intended these for families with salaried workers who were well-off.

Here’s how she put it, "Nowadays, people don’t get time off for the Dragon Boat Festival. In our county, where many households have both spouses or multiple family members working, they might even have to work overtime. By making these ready-to-use items for them, we save them from staying up late and also contribute to the four modernizations."

Old Mrs. Song: ...

If it comes to being articulate, it has to be my eldest granddaughter.

"Moreover, we won’t make too many. Starting tomorrow, we only have two days. I suggest every household contributes one person to work in the large canteen, where we’ll implement an assembly line operation..."

Listening to Song Yunuan rattling on, Chu Zizhou felt it was time to yield his place to her.

As the head of a rural commune, he couldn’t help but feel his position wasn’t nearly as secure.

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On the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, three hundred limited edition sachets were finished, each priced at one yuan. The gourds were not just gourds—there were four-cornered and two-cornered ones too, after all, these hollow gourds rightly represented warding off ailments.

When there were just a few, their significance wasn’t obvious, but seeing many together, they were a riot of colors that caught the eye.

The gourds were made in abundance, causing the colored paper to completely run out.

A total of eight thousand were made.

Priced at five cents each.

Not counting labor, there’s still more than half a bag of sewing thread and more than half a bag of scrap fabric left in the brigade’s warehouse.

Subtracting the cost of paste and such, the estimated cost of the handicrafts this time is projected to be two hundred yuan.

Whether we can make a profit depends on whether we can sell them.

So, following Song Yunuan’s suggestion, they first went to see President Huang and incidentally managed to transfer Grandma Xia’s family registration to Erdao River Village.

Chu Zizhou felt that Song Yunuan was too good at seizing opportunities.

Chu Zizhou and President Huang went to the county.

Deputy County Mayor Zhao gave strong support and cleared a counter in the department store specifically for selling sachets and gourds.

Who would go?

Of course, it was Song Yunuan.

Chu Zizhou didn’t go, but he asked Accountant Li to follow along to help with the money collection.

There was also Xiaohua, who got along quite well with Song Yunuan.

Her full name was Zhou Xiaohua.

There were six girls in her family; the eldest was called Dahua, and she was the youngest, hence Xiaohua.

Song Yunuan thought the Zhou family was not bad, at least they didn’t give her a name like ’Zhao Di’ or something.

The department store was always bustling with people, and suddenly there was an additional counter, which besides an old man wearing glasses and holding an abacus, also had two young girls.

One of the young girls was as beautiful as a movie star.

Displayed on the counter was a sign for Sunflower Commune’s Erdao River Village, along with a red paper notice:

Dear Comrade Customers, there are only three hundred sachets available; please hurry if you want to purchase. Thank you for your support from all the villagers of Erdao River!

The goods were not placed inside but were all hung up.

Bright and colorful, they looked like an ocean of flowers.

Xiaohua’s legs were shaking with nerves, mainly because she had never seen so many people.

Song Yunuan told her, "What are you afraid of? We are not robbing them, we are selling to them, and they should all be smiling at you".

Xiaohua suddenly understood.

Right, she was the sales clerk at the counter, the impressive one.

Still, Chu Zizhou couldn’t help but worry, and even Branch Secretary Guan both came over, keeping an eye on the situation from the crowd.

Old Ho, who just returned from a business trip, came with a spirited look. Hearing about the situation, he also arrived and started to maintain order.

Once the order was maintained, he quietly left.

The whole affair only lasted a day and a half.

After all, the Dragon Boat Festival was the next day, so they had to stop selling then.

In this era, the good thing about selling goods was that there was no bargaining, so seven hundred yuan was neatly collected.

Not a cent more, not a cent less.

The other communes were envious, and President Huang was too, but Erdao River was also within his jurisdiction.

He had to be fair to all.

After returning, they began to distribute the money.

People queued up at the brigade headquarters to collect their earnings; those who worked came to receive the money, and their families were not to interfere.

One hundred sixty-nine households, each receiving two yuan and half a pound of pork, ensured that the brigade headquarters didn’t lose out, and the villagers were overjoyed as if it were New Year again.

Song Yunuan also queued up, and when it was her turn, she happily collected her two yuan and half a pound of pork.

Watching Song Yunuan’s joyous departure, Chu Zizhou thought anyone unaware would think she was desperately poor.

To his knowledge, her bonus along with the manuscript fees she received yesterday, must amount to a few thousand yuan.

She was even wealthier than him.

Furthermore, all that money was under Song Yunuan’s control.

Chu Zizhou felt a bit jealous.