Chapter 66: Rushing Orders Before New Year

Chapter 66: Rushing to Fill Orders Before the New Year

After autumn arrived, the work in the fields came thick and fast. Yan Fuqiu's big order certainly pleased Yan Shichang, but the most pressing matter was still the autumn harvest.

Once the rice in the paddies was fully ripe, Wen Xi, who had been setting up his stall in town for several days straight, put aside his embroidery work and threw himself wholeheartedly into the farmwork alongside the Yan family.

With so many people in the family, they also had a lot of land to tend—over twenty mu of paddy fields alone. Every year at this time, the whole Yan family was run off their feet. Except for the two little ones and the pregnant Li Wan, everyone else took a sickle and headed into the fields.

This kind of work was nothing new to Wen Xi. Though he and He Jin couldn't match Yan Shichang's speed at cutting rice, they didn't slow anyone down either.

Besides their own family, the able-bodied laborers from neighboring households also came to help. Yan Shichang had arranged with Aunt Li's husband and Granny Wang's son that during the harvest, their families would take turns working each other's fields, so everyone could share the burden and make things easier.

When noon arrived, Wen Xi and He Jin put down their tools and went home to cook with Li Wan.

Neighbors who helped each other out didn't charge for their labor, but they had to be fed well for the two meals each day. Steamed rice and white mantou buns to fill their stomachs were a must, and meat had to be on the table every single meal. Some households even bought a jug of wine to help the workers unwind.

The Yan family never skimped on food, and Yan Shichang and his sons never slacked off when working for others, so the villagers were all happy to exchange labor with them.

After cutting the rice came threshing, drying, and storing—each step had its own hardships. It had been a long time since Wen Xi had worked this hard. For those two weeks, he was so exhausted every day that he could barely straighten his back, and by the time he lay down at night, he didn't even have the strength to turn over. But watching the golden grain pour into the granary basket after basket, he felt an indescribable sense of security and satisfaction.

The heavens had been kind this year—both granaries were filled to the brim, and the family's hard work had finally paid off.

After helping the neighbors finish bringing in their harvest, Yan Shichang and his sons rested for less than half a day before heading straight to the lumber yard to haul back a large batch of chestnut wood. This year's work had come earlier than usual, and though it was tiring, all three of them were delighted. After deducting labor and material costs, this batch of cabinets would net them over ten taels of silver.

Never mind the other carpentry jobs that might come their way later—this single order alone was enough to see the family through a comfortable New Year.

Farming families didn't fear hardship or exhaustion; what they feared was a year with no harvest and no income. This year's grain would feed them well into next year, and on top of that, they'd earned such a substantial sum. A life with such promise was something other families could only dream of—how could Yan Shichang and his sons feel bitter about it?

After the cabinets were finished and delivered to the agreed location, Wang Zhengde was thoroughly satisfied and settled the remaining payment without hesitation.

With twenty taels of silver in hand, Yan Shichang and his two sons felt a joy and relief that words couldn't quite express.

While the men of the family were earning money, Wen Xi and He Jin hadn't been idle either. The embroidered goods they'd collected from the village had sold quite well in town, and the two had gathered more stock during this period.

He Jin had also made a special trip back to his natal family and collected a good number of embroidered pieces from Lian Tang Village as well. All together, they had enough to keep them selling for quite a while.

After the busy autumn harvest concluded, Wen Xi's stall routine became fixed—as long as it didn't rain, he and He Jin would head into town every day.

Once winter set in and the roads became difficult to travel, they probably wouldn't have as many chances to set up their stall. So while the weather was still warm, they'd earn whatever they could.

Having a fixed stall in town had its advantages—it was easy to run into repeat customers. The young husband who had bought a pouch from his stall last time had sent the maidservant who'd been following him to place an order with Wen Xi for New Year goods.

Though the New Year was still far off, festive seasons were exactly when embroidered goods sold best. Wen Xi's craftsmanship was excellent, and he estimated he wouldn't be short on orders by then, so Young Master Zhou had come early to reserve his.

The maidservant handling the purchases was sharp, spelling out the terms clearly: "Our master wants fifteen lucky money pouches to give to the younger members of the clan, plus ten handkerchiefs and ten sachets to reward the servants. As a repeat customer, Shopkeeper Wen, you'd better give us a fair and favorable price."

Pouches for younger family members and sachets for servants naturally didn't require luxurious materials like brocade. After discussing with He Jin, Wen Xi said, "For the lucky money pouches for the younger ones, I'll use patterned silk with a subtle design, eighty coppers each. For the handkerchiefs and sachets for the servants, I'll use plain silk and plain satin—twenty coppers per handkerchief and forty coppers per sachet. Can you accept that?"

The maidservant silently calculated for a moment. Her master had given her two taels of silver to purchase these items. If she could push the price down a bit, she'd be able to pocket some extra for herself.

She smiled sweetly and haggled: "How about five coppers less on each item? Our master said that if this order goes well, we'll come back to you next time."

Though landing such an order was rare, Wen Xi couldn't afford to shortchange himself either. He considered for a moment and conceded: "I can knock five coppers off the pouches and sachets, but for the handkerchiefs, I can only reduce them by two coppers at most."

The maidservant did some quick mental math and agreed readily: "Deal. Can you deliver by the first of the eleventh month? I'll come pick them up then."

If it were just Wen Xi and He Jin doing all the work, completing an order of this size would be a real crunch. But Wen Xi didn't plan to make the handkerchiefs and sachets by hand anyway.

By this time, the villagers were gradually slowing down from their busy season, and he could follow the example of the embroidery shops—farming the work out.

After buying the materials and returning home, He Jin said, "When I was collecting embroidered pieces, I made sure to check—Shunzi's husband and Young Master He's skills are both pretty good. We can have the two of them make the sachets. As for the handkerchiefs, they're not difficult, so Aunt Li can handle them. The pouches, we'll make ourselves."

That arrangement sounded reasonable. Wen Xi asked, "Should we pay them by the day or by the piece?"

He Jin calculated: "Definitely by the piece. Let me think—last year when Shen Liang came to us for work, he charged us two coppers per handkerchief for hemming. Ours need hemming plus embroidered patterns, so let's pay six coppers each. That way, if we give out more work in the future, there's room to raise the price. Sachets at fifteen coppers each."

Wen Xi nodded in agreement: "Alright, let's go with your plan—by the piece."

Back home, Wen Xi and He Jin first cut the materials for the embroidered goods, then called Shunzi's husband, Young Master He, and Aunt Li over to their house.

Not just anyone in the countryside could get work from embroidery shops or peddlers. Shunzi's husband and He Dong had rarely dealt with embroidery shops before—despite their decent skills, they barely earned a few coppers a year.

When Wen Xi took the initiative to give them work this time, the two of them were absolutely overjoyed.

He Dong's family was poor. He had a younger sister and brother at home, and his father's earnings throughout the year weren't even enough to buy rice. So from a young age, he'd followed his mother in doing embroidery to supplement the family income. On lucky days, he could sell a few pieces in town.

Even if he and Shunzi's husband each embroidered five sachets, he'd still earn seventy-five coppers. Never mind buying new clothes for his younger siblings—at least he could buy two jin of meat for the family, who hadn't had meat in ages.

Shunzi's family was also struggling. In their village, the number of well-off households could be counted on one hand; most people existed in a state of neither full nor starving. So getting this opportunity meant a great deal to both of them.

Seeing their excited faces, Wen Xi encouraged them: "Do good work, and orders should pick up soon. If the customers are satisfied with the quality, I'll keep giving you all this work in the future."

Wen Xi wasn't just blowing smoke. When he went to set up his stall on time next, the maidservant from Lady Lu's household came to find him, bringing the managers from the rice and grain stores.

They didn't need the more expensive embroidered pieces for now, but everyone needed things to reward their servants during the New Year.

Three households altogether needed thirty-five lucky money pouches, forty handkerchiefs, and forty sachets, all to be delivered before the twentieth day of the twelfth month. If Wen Xi and He Jin had to do it all themselves, they'd work themselves to the bone and still miss the deadline. Fortunately, they'd already found helpers.

Aunt Li embroidering forty handkerchiefs on her own was also a stretch, so she had her daughter-in-law embroider the designs on the handkerchiefs first. After showing them to Wen Xi and getting his approval, she had her daughter-in-law work alongside her.

Making the pouches and sachets with just two people was also tough. Seeing Aunt Li bring in her daughter-in-law, He Dong plucked up the courage to ask his mother to help too.

He Dong's mother was an honest soul—slow but careful, never skimping on fabric or thread.

As for the pouches, He Jin set aside ten for his own mother to make. Last time he'd returned to Lian Tang Village to collect embroidered goods, he'd bought quite a few nice things for the family, which had finally shut his sister-in-law up.

Around the fifteenth day of the twelfth month, the finished embroidered pieces came in one after another. Wen Xi inspected each one—except for two handkerchiefs with visible loose threads that needed redoing, everything else was well done.

Coincidentally, Yan Fengan had just returned from the academy. Afraid he might mess up the math, Wen Xi asked him to help—one worked the abacus while the other handed out money, the two of them in perfect sync.

He Dong and his mother had made twenty-six sachets, earning three hundred and ninety coppers total. Shunzi's husband had made fourteen, earning two hundred and fifty-two coppers. Aunt Li and her daughter-in-law had embroidered handkerchiefs, earning two hundred and ten coppers.

Yan Fengan looked at them and said, "If you want to double-check the math, feel free to count again."

Aunt Li clutched her coppers, beaming, and said, "If the great scholar did the counting, what's there to doubt? Earning this many coppers—we really have to thank Xi Ge'er."

Aunt Li's family was relatively well-off, so earning over two hundred coppers, while pleasing, wasn't overwhelming for her. It was a different story for He Dong. Adding the seventy-five coppers he'd earned earlier, he and his mother had earned over three hundred coppers in total. With that much money, he could buy meat and even get two bolts of cloth to make new clothes for the family.

Clutching his over three qian of silver, he looked down at his patched clothes, and tears suddenly streamed down his cheeks.

Watching him, Wen Xi was suddenly reminded of how he'd felt when he'd earned his very first money. Back then, he'd been just like He Dong—clutching the coppers, fingers trembling, having earned only a few dozen coppers but unable to resist sharing his joy with Yan Fengan.

When he thought about it, all these orders combined didn't earn him as much as selling one brocade pouch. But the happiness Wen Xi felt was just as great as before.

Being able to provide earning opportunities for people as pitiable as he once was—that felt truly meaningful.

Author's note:

I must get Young Yan to the provincial exam within three chapters!

The following is from the author's back-of-the-envelope math:

Money pouches: 15×75=1125, 35×75=2625

1125+2625=3750 (made by Xiao Xi and the others)

Sachets: 50×35=1750, workers 50×15=750

Xiao Xi gets: 1750-750=1000

Handkerchiefs: 50×18=900, workers 50×6=300

Xiao Xi gets: 900-300=600

Total: 3750+1000+600=5350

"Hope I didn't miscalculate"

After deducting costs, should make around four thousand coins in profit, roughly four taels of silver.

The embroidery prices in the story are loosely based on Ming-era prices, though I wrote them a bit higher than the real historical ones (making too little would just be too sad).