My Principal Jiang is amazing!
Author's Note:
Speaking of labor classes, we post-80s generation are having a really tough time. When we were kids, we had to clean the classrooms at the start of the school year; now that we have kids, we have to go to school to clean for them! It's outrageous! It feels like the whole of China is exploiting the post-80s generation. Apparently, we're about to face a property tax and delayed retirement. Fine, let's just destroy it! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2021-11-12 11:52:34 and 2021-11-13 10:30:18!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Xijiangyue (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: a little fairy who gave 10 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 10
Since Jiang Baichuan could find someone to cook for him, Jiang Xiaoman decided to take two and a half days off. Besides Banligou, he also wanted to visit Shangtang Village. If possible, he also wanted to visit Boss Tang. He just didn't know if Boss Tang, now that he was so wealthy and powerful, would have time to entertain a poor student like him.
Regardless, Jiang Xiaoman wanted to make a trip to Shangtang Village to see how others did it.
After lunch, Jiang Xiaoman carried a basket on her back and first went to the village store to buy some cakes and brown sugar. It took her more than an hour to walk from the village to Jiangwan Village.
It was truly a case of "looking at the mountain makes the horse run itself to death." Jiangwan Village didn't seem far from the mountain, but after descending, it was quite a long walk along the river to get there. Fortunately, the houses in this area were all built along the river, making them easy to spot. Jiang Xiaoman asked Aunt Chen for her location beforehand and asked her to help guide her, which led her to Grandma Cuiping's house.
Surprisingly, Grandma Cuiping's house looked quite nice; it was a two-and-a-half-story building with tiles on the outside!
Only after asking did I learn that Grandma Cuiping had three daughters, and the small building was built with the help of her three sons-in-law.
Who would have thought? The woman who had several sons back then is now destitute and living in a drafty old house, with none of her sons wanting to support her. On the other hand, Grandma Cuiping, who had three daughters, is enjoying the blessings of her daughters and sons-in-law in her old age.
Grandma Cuiping's three daughters give her 500 yuan a month for living expenses, so the elderly couple doesn't have a hard time making ends meet. However, this is common among the older generation, especially in rural areas. As long as they can still work, they always want to save as much as possible for their children. When Grandma Cuiping was young, she was very skilled at embroidery. Now that she's older, she can still save some money every year to give her grandchildren red envelopes for the New Year, thanks to this skill.
When Jiang Xiaoman mentioned wanting to order custom-made floral cloth shoes, Grandma Cuiping nodded, then shook her head. The business was indeed reliable, but hand embroidery was a time-consuming and meticulous task, and she worried that the clients Jiang Xiaoman mentioned wouldn't be able to wait that long.
"Don't worry about that. I only take orders from people who aren't in a hurry to get the goods. They're willing to wait, and they've already paid a deposit. Even if they can't wait and don't want the shoes anymore, I'll still pay you the original price. I'm not worried about buying shoes, so why are you, the seller, afraid?"
Jiang Xiaoman had done the math. In the Hanfu community, custom-made items based on size usually require a deposit. In fact, the deposit is basically enough to break even, and the remaining balance is all profit.
Even if the customer cancels the contract, he will at most break even and not make any money. He can give the deposit to Grandma Cuiping, and he can resell the shoes that the customer doesn't want on Xianyu (a second-hand marketplace app).
All things considered, this is a sure-fire way to make money.
Not only Grandma Cuiping, but he also plans to find a few more aunties and sisters-in-law in the village who know how to make these old-fashioned embroidered shoes to work together.
"Really? Can I do it? I can also embroider with a bamboo frame. I embroider all the pillowcases and pillow covers in my house myself," Mrs. Chen said with delight.
"Of course! Aunt Chen, could you help me ask around and see how many people in the village still know how to make these old-fashioned embroidered shoes? Or if there are any who can make embroidered shoes based on the patterns I provide? I'm planning to open an online store to sell these shoes. A lot of city girls who like Hanfu are looking for these embroidered shoes right now, they're sure to sell well!"
"That's great! Anyway, we don't have much to do at home, and there's no work to be found in the village. Making a pair of embroidered shoes can earn us a dozen yuan, which is good." Aunt Chen was quick to speak, and she couldn't help but start complaining to Jiang Xiaoman.
For women like them who stay in the mountains to take care of their elderly parents and children, it's incredibly difficult to earn a living! Their families need constant care, so even knowing that picking crops in Banligou can earn them a couple hundred yuan a day, they can only secretly envy them because they have to take care of their families every night. They simply can't abandon their families to earn money.
After all, the recruiter said that during the ten or so days of concentrated harvesting, the pickers would live and eat in Banligou. How could they possibly abandon their children for half a month?
As for jobs near home, there are basically none. Every year, they grow some potatoes and sweet potatoes, which are only enough for their own family to eat. All expenses have to be covered by the men earning money outside.
“My husband makes furniture in a factory. He earns more than 4,000 yuan a month. After deducting his own food and drink expenses and saving a little, he gives me 1,000 yuan a month to support our family of four. We also need to save some money for our children's education. Sigh! If only our place could be like Banligou, with a large-scale mushroom grower!”
"I'd be happy to earn even just a few dozen yuan a day, let alone over a hundred." Chen's voice was full of envy when she talked about Banligou.
Jiang Xiaoman also fell silent.
He thought that maybe we could find work right here in our village in the future, but he didn't dare to make that guarantee yet. Everything would have to wait until he went to Shangtang Village and met Boss Tang before it could be settled.
However, putting aside the distant future, there is a business opportunity right now that can earn some pocket money, and we can take everyone to try it out.
Having already arranged with Grandma Cuiping the quantity and size of the custom-made floral cloth shoes she wanted via private message, Jiang Xiaoman also asked Aunt Chen to help him find out how many people in the village knew this craft and how long it would take to make a pair of shoes. This way, he could calculate the approximate final price based on the working hours.
However, this suggestion was rejected by Aunt Chen.
“I’m afraid if I sell them for too high a price, people won’t be willing to buy them. How about this, you wait and I’ll go ask first. In my opinion, how about this: you decide on a price for a pair of shoes. If you’re willing to make more, you can work harder yourself. If you don’t have time, you can make a pair every three or five days. This money is like free money. I can make them while watching the kids do their homework at night.”
Aunt Chen was afraid that Jiang Xiaoman would break up with the deal and ruin the business. In fact, a few years ago, when winter came, she also made cotton shoes and sold them at a stall in town. A pair of shoes cost fifteen yuan, and after deducting the cost, she could make three or five yuan, which was not bad.
This business only lasts for a couple of months before the Lunar New Year at most. Many migrant workers don't have time to prepare the goods themselves, so they buy ready-made ones from the street. After the New Year, no one buys them anymore. But from what Jiang Xiaoman said, as long as the goods are of good quality and inexpensive, it can be done all year round, making it a reliable business.
"Okay! Then, Sister Chen, could you ask around for me? I'll buy a pair of single-layer cloth shoes for spring and autumn at thirty yuan each. We'll see about the autumn and winter shoes later, but they'll definitely be more expensive than single-layer shoes. Also, could you find me a few skilled craftsmen? I have some people here who want their own patterns made to order, and those will be a bit more expensive. I'll pay according to the complexity of the pattern; simple ones will be eighty yuan a pair, and we can discuss the more complex ones. What do you think?"
"What else can we do? This is definitely going to work! I'll be the first to sign up! If you don't believe me, bring me a pattern later and let me try. I'm not bragging, when I was young, I could even embroider a phoenix!" Aunt Chen said proudly.
"Really? Do you have one at home? Can you take me to see it?" Jiang Xiaoman didn't expect such an unexpected gain and was a little itchy to try it out.
“Sure, let’s go! Let’s go to my house now, and I’ll show you the pillowcases and shoe uppers I embroidered when I was a young girl.” Aunt Chen was very straightforward and immediately wanted to take Jiang Xiaoman home to see the samples.
Just then, Grandma Cuiping finished her conversation. Since she was getting old, Jiang Xiaoman was worried that she wouldn't be able to accept new styles. After thinking about it, she decided that it would be better to let her make the basic styles in the future. For innovative styles, she would need to find more young wives like Aunt Chen.
Chen's house was also a two-and-a-half-story building built along the river. The layout of the houses here was similar. Because the riverside was too damp, the top floor had an attic built specifically for storing grain to prevent it from getting damp. However, Chen's house was not as well-off as Grandma Cuiping's. The whole building was just a frame made of red bricks and cement. There was no white cement or tile decoration on the outside. Some of the exposed red bricks had even started to grow moss in the cracks.
Upon entering the house, there was an old dining table in the center, and a stove made of red bricks next to it. Presumably because they couldn't afford to install glass windows, the windows on the first floor were covered with plastic bags. Due to poor ventilation, there was a musty smell in the house, and the light was also very dim.
Jiang Xiaoman sat somewhat awkwardly on a small stool at the dining table. Her family was poor, but because her father had learned carpentry in his youth, all their furniture was handmade, sturdy and durable. Looking at Chen Sao's house, their only dining table had a broken leg, held together by a mismatched stick, and a section was missing. A red brick was placed underneath. The stools around the table weren't all the same style—some had backs, others were small, square stools—making the place look shabby and pitiful.
Of course, he wouldn't laugh at Aunt Chen for this. In fact, in their Langshan area, there are many families living in the mountains who can't even afford a two-and-a-half-story brick house. His own family only has a two-story mud house, the kind of house built with mud bricks from decades ago. There's a saying that goes, "When living in such an old house, you mustn't talk loudly while eating, otherwise you'll shake down a layer of dust and it will evenly cover your food."
Aunt Chen poured him a cup of tea first, then went upstairs to her bedroom. She quickly brought out an old-fashioned bundle. When she opened the bundle, she found layers of neatly folded embroidered bedding and shoe uppers. It was clear that the owner of the embroidered items had kept them very carefully, and even the rough edges of the trimmed fabric were clearly visible.
Looking at the embroidery on it, Jiang Xiaoman knew that it was the same technique used by Grandma Cuiping. This was the most common bamboo-framed clay embroidery in their area.
Jiang Xiaoman was picked up by his father at the market. Jiang Youliang was so poor that he never got married. Logically speaking, his family shouldn't have embroidery. But, who told him to be the child who was praised by the shaman as having "great fortune"?
Ever since Jiang Youliang carried Jiang Xiaoman out of the shaman's house, the prophecy has spread rapidly throughout the surrounding villages.
The mountain people of that era were very superstitious, mainly because they were afraid of being poor. When they heard that God had bestowed a "blessed" child upon them, the villagers living nearby all wanted to form a good connection.
What's a suitable gift for a baby in swaddling clothes?
Besides their own old hens, eggs, and noodles, the most common gifts they give are homemade clothes and quilts. This is the custom in Langshan. Children's bedding and clothes are embroidered with patterns of the Five Poisons. Jiang Xiaoman's clothes and shoes have all been made this way since she was a child, so she is very familiar with this local embroidery technique!
"Great! This is wonderful! It's so beautiful!" Jiang Xiaoman's eyes reddened slightly as he thought of the little clothes his neighbors had made for him in his camphor wood chest. At this moment, he thought that even if it was just for those clothes he had never lacked throughout the four seasons since he was a child, he would still take the plunge!
If Boss Tang can do it, he might be able to do it too! Even if he can't learn it perfectly, it would be good if he could earn some pocket money for the villagers to buy meat and noodles.
Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 10:30:18 on November 13, 2021 and 12:50:48 on November 14, 2021!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 30 bottles of Qihua Yushu; and 1 very large bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 11
Aunt Chen wasn't exaggerating; her embroidery skills were indeed more exquisite than Grandma Cuiping's. However, Jiang Xiaoman was puzzled—
"Sister Chen, your craftsmanship is so good, why don't you make your own embroidery and sell it?"
Isn't this more profitable than farming?
"Who would we sell them to? Young people these days don't like embroidered ones anymore; they all want machine-embroidered ones. Those are prettier, cheaper, and more comfortable to use. Nobody wants ours anymore~" Aunt Chen's tone was filled with unconcealed melancholy.
She remembered when she was a girl, her mother always forced her to practice embroidery. The older generation said that a girl who couldn't embroider her dowry would never get married, and that if she learned this skill, she would never have to worry about food or drink for the rest of her life. But what about now?
She did manage to get married as she wished, but life after marriage wasn't easy. No matter how skillful a young woman is, there's always endless hardship in these mountains.
“There will always be someone who likes him…” Jiang Xiaoman replied softly, it was unclear whether he was comforting Aunt Chen or encouraging himself.
After chatting with Aunt Chen about what to do next, Jiang Xiaoman realized that the two families lived not far apart, so he asked her to help him inspect the goods. He had been studying away from home for many years and was not very familiar with the aunts and sisters-in-law in the nearby villages, so he simply entrusted the inspection to Aunt Chen.
"Sister-in-law, your skills are excellent. I can't tell if other people's work is good or not, but you definitely can. From now on, you can be in charge of receiving my goods. I'll give you two yuan for each pair of shoes as an inspection fee. How about that?"
"What's wrong with that? Don't worry, I'll definitely check it out for you!" When Aunt Chen heard that she could earn money by helping with the inspection, she immediately beamed with joy.
Earning two yuan per pair doesn't seem like much, but ten pairs would be twenty yuan. This job isn't strenuous, and twenty yuan is enough to buy two jin of meat for the kids.
Jiang Xiaoman borrowed a dark-colored bed sheet from Aunt Chen and took photos and short videos of the embroidery pieces she had brought out, intending to use them to attract customers—he hadn't registered an online store yet, but he could collect these product materials first, which would definitely come in handy later.
It was only a little past four in the afternoon when they left Jiangwan Village. Checking the time, Jiang Xiaoman ran to the ferry crossing and bought a silver carp from a fisherman. These fish were very cheap, only three yuan a pound from the river, and this big fish only cost seventeen yuan. He ran all the way home; his father, who had been digging potatoes, hadn't returned yet.
Jiang Xiaoman ran to the kitchen and saw nothing but potatoes. She sighed and went to the food storage room on the second floor. She took a handful of sweet potato vermicelli, two handfuls of dried bean curd sheets, and a handful of dried wild mushrooms, and soaked them in warm water.
Then I took the silver carp I bought to the sink by the door to clean it thoroughly, cut it into pieces, and didn't throw away the fish belly and roe. I washed them clean and put them together for later use.
Take a piece of ginger from home, wash it clean, and stir-fry it in oil with garlic and chili. Then add half a bowl of homemade soybean paste, pour in the fish pieces, and stir-fry until the fish skin turns a yellowish-brown color. Then add the prepared wild mushrooms and bean curd sheets, add water to cover the ingredients, cover and simmer for about ten minutes.
While the fish was stewing, Jiang Xiaoman scooped out some flour and cornmeal, added water to make dough, and used a small pot to bake ten flatbreads. These flatbreads were similar to the flatbreads in mutton stew, but they were a perfect match for soaking in fish soup. With the flatbreads, there was no need to cook rice.
The flatbread was ready, and the fish was almost cooked. Jiang Xiaoman brought over a double-handled iron pot, put the soaked vermicelli and some freshly picked Swiss chard leaves from the garden at the bottom, and finally ladled the fish out of the pot and put it on top. This big pot of stewed fish was enough for them to eat for two meals.
It's a pity there's no tofu. His home is too far from the market. To buy tofu, he has to go down the mountain and then take a bus. He can only buy some to eat when he goes to the market, or make a lot at home during the New Year. At that time, it's cold, and water in the mountains freezes instantly. If the tofu is made and frozen, it can be eaten for a long time.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiaoman said to her father while eating, "Dad, shall we buy a refrigerator?"
"Why buy that? There's a vegetable garden right in front of our house." Jiang Youliang was reluctant to spend money. Buying a refrigerator would cost a lot of money, and the monthly electricity bill would be another expense. His family didn't buy meat often, so what would they put in the refrigerator?
"Oh, I'm filming a short video right now, so we need a refrigerator at home." Jiang Xiaoman's eyes lit up, and she immediately thought of a way to deal with her dad.
If you say you want to improve the family's meals, his dad will definitely disagree, but if you say you want to give him money for work, his dad will definitely agree.
Sure enough, as soon as he heard his son say that he needed it for work, Jiang Youliang nodded without hesitation: "Okay, let's go to Banligou tomorrow and stop by Shuangwan Town on the way. The appliances there are cheaper than here. I heard that many families are buying their appliances there when they get married."
The father and son discussed it for a while, and after finishing their meal, they quickly found out what they needed to bring when visiting relatives the next day.
The wild mountain tea here is a local specialty; you can't buy such authentic tea anywhere else. We bought a few packs, and the old village chief of Shanrong gave us two packs. We also took one pack from each of the other families we knew to try.
We packed a few bottles of our own freshly harvested honey to share among the families. That's about it; we didn't have much else to bring. We also had some camellia oil, but Jiang Xiaoman sold it all on her WeChat Moments earlier this year…
"We'll go to a shop in the village and buy some cakes, cigarettes, and alcohol. After all, we're going to ask for favors, so it's not appropriate to bring such a small amount of stuff." Jiang Youliang reluctantly counted out five hundred yuan. After thinking for a moment, he counted out another two thousand yuan. Besides the refrigerator, the rice cooker at home had also broken down long ago. Since he was already going, he might as well buy one as well.
When his son wasn't home, he made do with what he had. Since he didn't have a rice cooker, he cooked over a wood-fired stove. But when his son came back, Jiang Youliang refused to let him suffer.
Jiang Youliang works too hard during the day, so he goes to bed early at night. He goes back to his room and soon starts snoring loudly.
Listening to the deafening snoring from next door, Jiang Xiaoman thought that if he were to do a live stream in the future, he would have to do it downstairs, otherwise the netizens might go deaf from listening to his dad's snoring.
Jiang Xiaoman opened her phone, quickly edited the footage she'd taken at Aunt Chen's house during the day, posted it to her personal account first, and then selected a few good photos to share on her WeChat Moments. Back in school, Jiang Xiaoman was always sweet-talking and hardworking, often helping her seniors and juniors with chores, and had added many of them on WeChat, exchanging likes and such. She hadn't expected that as soon as she posted this on Moments tonight, she'd immediately receive several private messages, all asking where she bought the hand-embroidered shoe uppers and wanting her to buy them for her…
It's pitiful. After being ruined by the mass-produced machine embroidery in Caoxian, girls have to rely on luck to get any unique hand embroidery done.
Jiang Xiaoman quickly replied to each one. At this moment, he finally understood why online stores need to hire a dedicated customer service representative. The questions from the "customers" were incredibly varied. Some even sent money and designs to place orders without saying more than a few words. Wasn't that a bit too much trust in him?
However, just by looking at the profile picture, Jiang Xiaoman immediately understood why this senior student blindly trusted him—
This senior student had bought his camellia oil before, and later even sent him a message to thank him, saying that the camellia oil was very effective and that her nephew's diaper rash cleared up quickly after applying it...