Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside
Chapter 77 - 077 Ma Cuilan

Chapter 77: Chapter 077 Ma Cuilan

Shopkeeper was afraid they would drive down the prices and added, "This price is already very cheap. Our Jianghuai region, close to Jiangnan, has not suffered disaster, so we can have these prices. If we were in Central State and other areas, the price of cotton and cloth would be exorbitantly expensive. It’s said that in Central State, old cotton is already selling for three hundred cents a pound—goodness, three times more expensive than new cotton. Further east, money can’t even buy cotton."

"About the food prices, I heard that in Central State, rice and flour are already selling for one hundred cents a pound, and one has to rush to buy them or they’ll run out."

Third Grandpa quickly asked, "Hasn’t the government already provided disaster relief? Why are the prices in Central State still so high? Surely the prices in He’an Prefecture won’t soar to such outrageous levels like in Central State?"

"The government did provide disaster relief, but it only managed to stabilize our region of Jianghuai before the New Year. Central State will need to wait until after the New Year to stabilize," the Shopkeeper said and added with a smile, "Don’t worry, sir, He’an Prefecture and Linhe Prefecture are close to Jiangnan. In order to preserve Jiangnan, the government will make sure to stabilize He’an Prefecture and Linhe Prefecture. Even if prices rise elsewhere, price hikes are not allowed here with the government’s involvement."

If it wasn’t for the government’s directive, he would have raised the prices on cotton and cotton cloth long ago.

Third Grandpa breathed a sigh of relief. They had been struggling for over half a year and had just settled down; they couldn’t afford more turmoil.

"Old man, how much cotton and cloth do you need?" the Shopkeeper asked with a smile, knowing these people lacked warm clothing and probably needed quite a bit of fabric.

Third Grandpa said, "Ten feet of cotton cloth, one bolt of coarse gourd cloth, and six pounds of new cotton."

The smile on the Shopkeeper’s face nearly faltered. Coarse gourd cloth was not warm and was cheap, costing only three hundred cents a bolt.

Gu Jinli didn’t want Third Grandpa to cope with disdain from others and followed up, "My family needs two bolts of cotton cloth, three bolts of coarse gourd cloth, and twenty pounds of new cotton."

Upon hearing Gu Jinli’s order, the Shopkeeper beamed ear to ear and quickly shouted to his assistants, "Quick, fetch the fabric!"

When Gu Dashan heard Gu Jinli’s order, he was shocked and hastily whispered to her, "Xiao Yu, isn’t this too much? We don’t need to buy cotton cloth; coarse gourd cloth is enough for us. We don’t need new cotton either; mixed cotton would suffice."

"Father, new cotton once dried can be used for many years, whereas mixed cotton doesn’t keep warmth, and old cotton is damp yellow cotton, unusable after two years. Let’s buy the good stuff, so we can keep using it in the future."

This amount of material wasn’t much at all; their family of six needed it. Each person needed ten pounds of cotton to make cotton clothes and trousers, plus at least three cotton quilts, each requiring three pounds of cotton to withstand the cold, so twenty pounds of cotton actually might not be enough.

Third Grandpa said, "Xiao Yu is right, if we buy cotton, we must buy good quality. Buying inferior quality means it won’t last till next winter."

Doctor Du also said, "It’s still cold, and it’ll be cold up till March of next year. We must avoid catching cold, as getting medicine would be even more expensive."

Upon hearing this, Gu Dashan did some calculations and agreed.

Doctor Du also bought half a bolt of cotton cloth, half a bolt of coarse gourd cloth, and ten pounds of new cotton.

Qin San Lang bought quite a bit too, taking two bolts of cotton cloth, two bolts of coarse gourd cloth, and fifteen pounds of new cotton.

The Shopkeeper was delighted, and soon had his assistants bring all their items.

Gu Jinli asked the Shopkeeper, "Uncle Shopkeeper, do you have any fabric scraps? We’ve bought so much from you, you should throw in something extra. This extra might just sweeten our relationship and bring good fortune to both our families."

"Oh, you little lady, such a smooth talker. Sure, there are three packs of fabric scraps left, I’ll give you one pack as a sweetener for our families this New Year."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jinli quickly asked, "Uncle Shopkeeper, how much does one pack of your fabric scraps cost?"

The mixed cotton contains fabric scraps mixed with lint and cotton, as these scraps won’t all be given out for free.

Shopkeeper said, "It’s not expensive, ten jin per pack, and if you want it, one pack is just twenty cents."

Calculated, it’s two cents per jin, very cheap.

Gu Jinli said, "We will take them all, thank you Uncle Shopkeeper."

These scraps could be used to stuff pillows, even to make quilts for warmth. If large enough, they could also be pieced together to make cloth bags or shoe uppers, very versatile indeed.

The shopkeeper then had the clerk bring her three packs of scraps, and also gave her two clean burlap bags to use for storing items.

Gu Jinli thanked the shopkeeper and gave him forty cents, then sorted the items with Dashan, placing the fabric into the basket and securing the cotton before hooking it on the shoulder pole and walking away.

When they were leaving the cloth shop, two playful individuals, a man and a woman, came rushing towards them and almost collided with them.

The man, being the first to accuse, scolded them, "How do you walk? You almost bumped into my Sister Lan, apologize quickly!"

Gu Jinli frowned, looked up to clearly see the faces of the two, and immediately pointed at the man, "Third Grandpa, Dad, take a look, this is Uncle Junwang from Scholar Zhong’s Family, who fled the famine with us, and his foster sister, Ma Cuilan."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on the hands held by Zhong Junwang and Ma Cuilan, tsk tsk, was this turning into a melodrama?

This Zhong Junwang already had a wife and children, what was the meaning of him holding hands with Ma Cuilan?

Upon hearing their words, and realizing they were fellow famine refugees, Zhong Junwang instantly backed down.

Ma Cuilan hurriedly pulled back her hand, lowered her head, stepped back two steps, and kept her distance from Zhong Junwang.

The shopkeeper, appreciating Gu Jinli’s group for buying a lot of goods, immediately sided with them: "Oh, such boldness, one would think he was a young master from the town if they didn’t know he was a refugee from a famine."

The shopkeeper shook his abacus and said, "Our cloth shop does not offer credit. If you want to come in, you need to have silver."

Although the shopkeeper didn’t like the refugees, he disliked even more those of the same plight yet still bullied other refugees. Such people are the worst.

The women nearby who enjoyed the drama added, "Foster sister, turns out they’re not related, what’s with holding hands then? It’s indecent!"

Zhong Junwang’s face turned ashen upon hearing this, and Ma Cuilan glared unpleasantly at Gu Jinli, then turned and ran away, with Zhong Junwang hastily chasing after her.

Third Grandpa watched Zhong Junwang and Ma Cuilan run away, feeling immensely relieved, thankful that they had not adopted Ma Cuilan back then. Otherwise, who knows how much it would have tarnished their family’s reputation.

This old Zhong family, I’m afraid they won’t have good days ahead.

After the brief commotion, they left the cloth shop.

Upon leaving the cloth shop, Doctor Du bid them farewell, "Brother Gu, Chen Village is a bit far from town, a three-hour walk, and I have two children at home, I need to return first. When you come to town next time, remember to visit Xuanhu Fang, we’re all fellow townfolks, so let’s keep in touch."

"Sure, go ahead. Next time any of our families come to town, we will definitely visit you at Xuanhu Fang," smiled Third Grandpa.

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