Chapter 57: Going to the County with Mrs. Yang

Xiaoguo could now get her share of the profits at the end of every month, so she was very free. She didn’t need to go to the market to sell potato starch noodles. Now, she cut grass at home every day, cooked, strolled around, and made clothes for Zhuang Zhuang, and studied with him. Xiaoguo liked this kind of life very much. It was a dull life, but it wasn’t boring.

During this time, Xiaoguo made a trip up the mountains and checked out the trap that she had set up in the woods. There was no prey inside, and there were no animal feathers or feces around. Xiaoguo guessed that the trap was of no use, so she threw a lot of branches and leaves to fill up the hole.

One afternoon, Xiaoguo was putting away the dry clothes that she had taken off the clothesline, and bringing them into the house, when she realized that she had not seen Zhuang Zhuang around. She wondered where he had gone. “Zhuang Zhuang! Zhuang Zhuang!” She came to the courtyard with the clothes in her hand and shouted for the boy.

“Mother!” Zhuang Zhuang’s voice came from the kitchen. The door was closed, Xiaoguo did not try to go in either. She stood at the door and asked, “Zhuang Zhuang, what are you doing in the afternoon? Why is the door closed?”

The sound of Zhuang Zhuang laughing came from behind the door, accompanied by the sound of water. He said in embarrassment, “Mother, I’m taking a shower. I’m going to be wearing new clothes today.” In the morning, when Xiaoguo was hanging up the set of freshly washed and newly sewn clothes, Zhuang Zhuang was busy thinking about washing himself thoroughly before putting on the new clothes.

Amused, Xiaoguo covered her mouth and giggled for a while. After calming down, she said, “Alright then. I’ll bring them into the house for you. You can put them on later.”

“Yes, yes!” Zhuang Zhuang replied.

When she returned to the house, she took out the undergarments that she had made earlier and placed them on the bed. Zhuang Zhuang could come in later to put them on.

Soon, Zhuang Zhuang ran in, butt naked. He rolled into bed and hid under the covers. From the bed, he looked at Xiaoguo and started laughing softly.

Xiaoguo looked at him and burst into laughter. Just now, when she wasn’t paying attention, she saw a bundle of white light rush under the covers. When she took a closer look, she realized that it was Zhuang Zhuang.

“The kid still knew to cover his private parts. Hahahaha.”

“Zhuang Zhuang, why didn’t you put on some clothes?” After laughing, Xiaoguo sat on the bed and wiped Zhuang Zhuang’s dripping hair with a handkerchief.

“I cleaned up really well. I’m afraid that I will get dirty again if I wear my old clothes,” Zhuang Zhuang explained.

Hearing Zhuang Zhuang’s sincere words, Xiaoguo was overjoyed. She dried his hair and set aside the handkerchief. “Okay, you can get dressed now.”

Xiaoguo handed the undergarments to Zhuang Zhuang. When he put them on and got out of bed, Xiaoguo helped him put on the clothes. Zhuang Zhuang obediently raised his hands and feet.

“Mother, these pants are so special.” Zhuang Zhuang looked at his clothes curiously. There was no big robe or belt. The outfit consists of only a simple top and wide pants. Although they were simple, they were so beautiful!

Xiaoguo knew that people nowadays wore long-sleeved undergarments with long pants on the inside. They wore a robe on the outside and used a long belt to adjust the tightness on the waist. For Zhuang Zhuang’s new clothes, Xiaoguo had instead sewn the straps directly to the waistline of the pants so that it could be loosened and tightened accordingly.

“This is the new set of clothes that I made for you. How is it?” As she spoke, she taught Zhuang Zhuang to secure the belt on his pants. After Zhuang Zhuang tied it himself, he asked Xiaoguo if it was done right. Xiaoguo praised Zhuang Zhuang for his efforts. She had always been encouraging towards him.

As she spoke, Xiaoguo helped Zhuang Zhuang put on his socks and shoes. She had bought these shoes at the market the last time and had kept them aside till now. When she asked Zhuang Zhuang to wear them previously, he always said that he would wear them together with the new clothes. Xiaoguo eventually gave up and put them away.

“It’s beautiful. Mother, I’ve never seen anybody wearing such a style before.” Zhuang Zhuang walked around in circles. He had tried on the top before, but he had never tried on the pants. Now that he was wearing them, Zhuang Zhuang felt so comfortable. He felt awesome when strutting in those pants.

After changing, Zhuang Zhuang called Xiaoguo to go play with him outside. Xiaoguo knew that he wanted to show off his new clothes. Since she had nothing to do, she locked the door and went out with him.

Although Peach Blossom Village was not small, there were not many places to play. There were some people at the entrance of the village, gathered together and chatting. They didn’t really bump into anyone along the way. Xiaoguo brought Zhuang Zhuang to the fields and saw that the corn and wheat that had been planted a month ago had already sprouted. Xiaoguo went in and to see how tall they had grown. They were about a leg’s length. In another two months, or even sooner than that, they might be able to harvest the crops.

When the time came, she would turn the corn into popcorn and bring it to the county to sell. She would then be able to make more money. Xiaoguo happily led Zhuang Zhuang around the fields. After looking at both plots of land, she walked along the road and came to the river. At this moment, a breeze was blowing. Swaying in the light wind, the willow trees by the river looked like they were dancing.

Xiaoguo sat by the river with Zhuang Zhuang and admired the scenery. In the clear water, she could see small fish swimming. There weren’t many children in the village. Up until now, Zhuang Zhuang had only played with Xiaohua and Xiaohu from Mrs. Yang’s house. They sat by the river for a while and didn’t see anyone. Zhuang Zhuang then started pulling Xiaoguo and walked towards the Yang residence.

Xiaoguo followed Zhuang Zhuang to the entrance of the Yang residence. Zhuang Zhuang pushed open the door and shouted, “Sister Xiaohua, Brother Xiaohu!”

Xiaohu poked his head out of the window and saw Zhuang Zhuang. He immediately grinned, revealing his big white teeth. “Zhuang Zhuang!”

When Xiaohua heard that it was Zhuang Zhuang, she put down what she was doing and ran out. She greeted Xiaoguo warmly and led Zhuang Zhuang into the house. Mrs. Yang was seated on the brick bed. She called out to Xiaoguo, “Quick, come and sit! You haven’t been here for a while.” As she spoke, she made space for Xiaoguo to sit.

Xiaoguo walked over and sat down. Looking at the needlework in Mrs. Yang’s hands, she asked, “Mrs. Yang, why are you sewing so many handkerchiefs?”

Mrs. Yang was sitting on the brick bed and there were many embroidered handkerchiefs scattered around her. She was holding on to a half-embroidered piece in her hand. Xiaoguo picked one up and took a look. Embroidered on the handkerchiefs were an assortment of flowers. Some of them had peony flowers, and some had lettuces. The handkerchiefs all came in varying designs.

Mrs. Yang put down the needlework in her hands. “I will sell them at Qingxi Street for two copper coins each.”

Xiaoguo nodded. There were two famous brothels on Qingxi Street. The girls there loved to buy these handkerchiefs. “When are you going?”

Mrs. Yang looked at the handkerchiefs around her and thought that it was about the right time. “Tomorrow is fair day. Let’s go tomorrow.”

It just so happened that Xiaoguo had to go to the county too. As it was the end of the month, the accounts for Ruyi Noodle Shop had to be cleared. She had also arranged to meet with Ruyi on this day. “Then come with me. I have a donkey cart at home. You can save two copper coins.”

Mrs. Yang was overjoyed. “That’s good.” However, she couldn’t recall that Xiaoguo had a donkey cart, so she asked her about it.

Xiaoguo didn’t hide anything and told Mrs. Yang about how she came to have the donkey cart. She did have a lot of trust in Mrs. Yang.

When Mrs. Yang heard this, she didn’t look jealous. Instead, she looked very happy. “This is great. You and your son would not have to worry about starving! This is great!”

Xiaoguo smiled happily. At that moment, Xiaohu led Zhuang Zhuang out from inside the house. Xiaohua ran in front of them and came to the brick bed. “Mother, look at Zhuang Zhuang’s clothes. They’re so beautiful!”

Mrs. Yang only noticed Zhuang Zhuang when she heard that. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. “Oh my, really. Why haven’t I seen such a style before?” As she spoke, she called Zhuang Zhuang over and asked him to turn around, so that she could take a look. Zhuang Zhuang obediently turned around for her.

“I went to the county previously and saw someone wearing this. It looked pretty good to me. I came back and tried making it for Zhuang Zhuang.” Mrs. Yang believed what Xiaoguo said.

Mrs. Yang studied Zhuang Zhuang’s clothes as she said to Xiaoguo, “Teach me tomorrow. I’ll make one for Xiaohua and Xiaohu too. This will save me a lot of trouble as they were always dirtying their robes and sleeves.”

Xiaoguo agreed and set a time with her to go to the county the next day. She then brought Zhuang Zhuang home.