Chapter 13: Need Lots of Cotton
Leng Chen and Leng Yun were momentarily stunned, thinking: Does their family still have anything left to trade?
Leng Tian was also puzzled, but seeing his sister-in-law signaling him with her eyes, he wisely kept quiet.
“Second Brother, Little Brother, after you finish eating, rinse your mouths and go back to your rooms to sleep. I need to talk with Eldest Brother,” Wen Nuan Nuan softly instructed.
Leng Chen and Leng Yun obediently stood up, nodded to Wen Nuan Nuan, and returned to their rooms.
“Sister-in-law, does our family still have anything to trade?” Leng Tian asked the same question the other two had in mind, waiting until they had gone back to their rooms.
Wen Nuan Nuan explained unhurriedly: “Did you see the fresh pork belly in the kitchen just now? It’s about three jin. There’s also one and a half jin of spare ribs and two pig’s trotters. Tomorrow, we’ll have these foods again. I’ve calculated that we can’t finish all of it at the moment, and the current temperature won’t allow it to be stored for long. We also have Cured Meat, which is enough for now, so we don’t need to make more. I was thinking, why not just trade it for cotton? What do you think?”
Leng Tian suddenly understood and immediately agreed without hesitation: “Good idea! Cotton is twelve wen per jin, and pork belly is thirty-five wen per jin. One jin of pork belly can be traded for almost three jin of cotton. Three jin of pork belly can get nearly nine jin of cotton. After removing the cotton seeds and accounting for waste, we could probably make a seven or eight jin heavy cotton quilt!”
This way, Sister-in-law wouldn’t have to use the ready silver.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have another large piece of pork belly like this. Take the spare ribs and pig’s trotters along to trade as well. Probably tomorrow, we’ll have six jin of pork belly, three jin of spare ribs, and four pig’s trotters. Trade it all for cotton to make two eight-jin cotton quilts. Bring the rest back to me.” There was no other way—as a girl, what she cared about most was, of course, the monthly “relative” that arrived without fail. She had to prepare thoroughly to feel secure.
Fortunately, she loved reading ancient novels and knew that poor girls used things like plant ash and reed catkins, while those with better conditions used cotton wadding. Since it concerned personal hygiene, she naturally wanted to take better care of her body, given the opportunity.
And there was the long winter ahead. When heavy snow sealed the mountains, making travel impossible, even having silver might not guarantee buying cotton. Of course, she had to prepare sufficiently now to ensure they wouldn’t be caught off guard during the cold winter months.
“Sister-in-law, two quilts are too many. Second Brother, Little Brother, and I can share one. We still have two quilts now!”
“I’ve seen your current quilts. They’re dull, dark, and lumpy, with little warmth left. They’re not suitable for covering anymore. They could still be used as padding on the kang. You’re tall, and sharing one quilt with Second Brother and Little Brother would leave either your head or feet uncovered, which would seriously affect your sleep quality.”
Leng Tian didn’t understand what “sleep quality” meant, but he knew Sister-in-law was thinking of him. Instantly moved, his eyes welled up with tears!
Wen Nuan Nuan looked up and saw Leng Tian, whose features were growing rugged, with bright, glistening tears in his dark eyes. She was startled!
What was going on?
Had she done something?
“Sister-in-law, it’s so good to have you here! I’m glad you couldn’t bear to leave Eldest Brother and came.” Leng Tian held back his tears and said sincerely.
Wen Nuan Nuan chuckled foolishly. Could she say she hadn’t wanted to come either?
She had no idea how it happened—she just opened her eyes and found herself here.
Having inexplicably crossed over, if she didn’t change her fate, would she just wait to die miserably? She could only strive to change the plot that belonged to her.
Of course, she couldn’t tell them any of this.
Moreover, she wasn’t that well-off either. The main reason was that the dowry quilts were sufficient, so she didn’t need to purchase more for herself. She exchanged for extra cotton mainly to save the remainder for when her “relative” visited.
However, this wasn’t something she could explain to the boys.
Wen Nuan Nuan could only offer an awkward yet polite smile…
Late at night, lying in the soft and comfortable quilt, Wen Nuan Nuan thought about the urgent tasks ahead.
This home, which lacked almost everything, was missing far too many necessities, and there were too many things to buy.
If she remembered correctly, Leng Xiao would be personally appointed by the emperor as the top scholar in the palace examination the year after next. Before that, he would need to take the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination. Regardless of which exam he took, the expenses for travel, accommodation, and the exams themselves would be a significant sum.
It was possible that Leng Xiao would take the first provincial examination in the second half of next year. After completing the provincial examination, he would travel to the capital for the metropolitan examination and palace examination the following year. The four brothers would endure hardships and live frugally along the way. If she wanted a more comfortable journey to the capital, she would need to save up a considerable amount of silver.
She should try to exchange for things using food as much as possible and save the silver for when it was truly needed.
Once she entered the city, she would explore further to see what opportunities there were to earn money. It would be best to find a way to generate income, as relying solely on savings wouldn’t last.
No matter where she was, having silver on hand was the most practical.
If she ever left Leng Xiao and the Leng Family brothers to live independently in the future, having her own small business would ensure a better quality of life.
She was truly grateful for the good refrigerator, which prevented her from facing destitution and hardship. Heaven had treated her well.
With a satisfied smile, Wen Nuan Nuan fell asleep.
The first thing Wen Nuan Nuan did after waking up the next day was open the refrigerator!
It was filled with food, exactly as she had stored.
Vegetables, rice, flour, oil, salt, and the empty glass jars from which she had eaten yesterday were now refilled with yellow peaches, bayberries, oranges, Red-Braised Pork Trotters, Braised Pork with Small Abalone… The entire refrigerator was fully restocked, exactly as before.
Wen Nuan Nuan’s smile bloomed like a flower.
She delightedly examined the food, finding more joy in it than in any jewelry or ornaments.
As she looked, Wen Nuan Nuan’s eyebrows lifted slightly in disbelief.
Huh, was her refrigerator a bit different?
It seemed… larger?
Wen Nuan Nuan carefully observed and measured with her hands.
Finally, she concluded that the space had indeed expanded!
The right side of the refrigerator had gained about half a fist’s worth of space. It wasn’t much, and if the refrigerator door hadn’t been opened fully, she might not have noticed it.
Moreover, only the top three shelves of the refrigerator section had expanded, while the bottom two shelves and the five shelves in the freezer section remained unchanged.
Strangely, even though it was the same space, only the top three shelves had expanded, yet it didn’t look odd. Instead, it appeared just as harmonious as before.
Well, it was already incredible that the refrigerator had appeared out of thin air before her eyes and could automatically replenish food endlessly. What was the point of pondering why the top three shelves had expanded while the bottom two hadn’t, yet it still looked harmonious?
Instead, she should think about why it was three shelves that expanded, not four or five, or just one or two.
Was there a pattern?
How could she expand the remaining shelves?
Would food placed in the expanded part of the refrigerator also replenish automatically and endlessly?
…
Wen Nuan Nuan tried hard to recall what she had done or said yesterday, and whether any special event had triggered some condition that caused the refrigerator to expand invisibly.
“Wuwu, why do others who transmigrate into books get a system that clearly explains what to do and how to do it, and even occasionally offers a newbie gift pack or system rewards? Why do I have to rely entirely on guessing?”
Guessing is one thing, but there isn’t even the slightest hint!