Chapter 75: Our Family is Truly Special

Looking at the fine stitches on the clothes, Hu Zhaodi was overjoyed.

“Sister Chunhua, if I draw some clothing patterns for you, would you be able to make clothes based on them?”

Ji Chunhua thought for a moment. “It should be fine. Why don’t you give it a try? We still have plenty of fabric left.”

“Alright, I’ll think about it tonight and get the patterns drawn for you in a couple of days. If you can make them, I’ll pay for it and open a clothing shop. You can work as the seamstress and help me make clothes. We can make money together.”

Ji Chunhua’s eyes sparkled. “Really? Zhaodi, are you serious?”

“Of course. It would be a shame to let such skills go to waste. We need to learn how to use our strengths to make money.”

“Okay, I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll follow your instructions.”

Hu Zhaodi nodded with a smile, her heart already blooming with happiness.

Sister Chunhua was truly a gem! In the future, she would definitely make a name for herself in the clothing industry of Lingxiao Kingdom.

However, making clothes by hand was too labor-intensive. If only she could somehow invent a sewing machine, she would dominate the clothing industry in Lingxiao Kingdom.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t interested in needlework, and there was no sewing machine in her space. It wouldn’t be easy to make one herself!

Even though she understood the principles of sewing machines, creating one wouldn’t be simple, especially since she hadn’t studied them in her past life.

It was a dilemma!

Well, she’d have to research it slowly in the future—perhaps there would be unexpected gains.

Before long, it was the afternoon, and the Shen hour arrived.

The long wooden table was piled high with wild boar meat and a set of scales, waiting for the villagers to come and buy.

Hu Dashan arrived first. His family was going through a tough time, and they couldn’t afford to buy the pork. He came early in the hopes of purchasing some pig offal to improve their meals.

He stood outside Ji’s yard, inhaling the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen, and couldn’t help but swallow.

He shyly asked, “How much is the offal?”

Uncle Ji looked up, saw it was Hu Dashan, and replied with a stern face, “The offal isn’t for sale. It’s almost cooked. We’re keeping it for ourselves.”

Hu Dashan twitched his mouth, secretly thinking: “The Ji family eats meat every day and isn’t short on it, so why are they still eating that stinky offal?”

Wait a minute!

Didn’t they say the offal was almost cooked? Why couldn’t he smell any foul odor?

The Ji family must be deliberately refusing to sell the offal to his family.

There were about a hundred households in the village, and most couldn’t afford meat. Many of them were eager to buy the offal. Hu Dashan refused to believe the Ji family had actually cooked it.

Before long, the villagers from the eastern part of the village who had helped build the private school came to collect their wild boar meat.

Most of them felt that one jin of pork wasn’t enough to eat. They needed to gather more food to ensure they had the energy to work.

And with Hu Zhaodi’s unbelievably low price of seven wen per jin, most of them bought more.

However, many didn’t have money on them, so the old scholar stood by, taking notes with pen and paper. They would take the meat now and pay later when they had money.

There were also some poorer families who asked about the offal, but they were told it was already cooked and not for sale.

By now, Hu Dashan had given up on trying to buy the offal. He came to the table to pick out some pure lard to render, leaving the scraps for Hu Yaozu.

He pointed at the pork fat and asked, “How much is the lard per jin?”

Uncle Ji answered, “Twenty wen.”

Hu Dashan frowned. “Why is it seven wen per jin for the meat, but twenty wen for the lard?”

Uncle Ji rolled his eyes and replied, “They helped build the private school, did you help? Old Scholar Ji should have told you that anyone who didn’t help build the school has to pay fifteen wen per jin for meat.”

“Board lard is rare, so it’s twenty wen per jin.”

“You can take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, please step aside, you’re blocking the neighbors from getting their meat.”

The villagers who had helped build the private school all looked at Hu Dashan with disdain.

“Exactly! You think twenty wen per jin for lard is too expensive? If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Didn’t your family raise pigs? Go home and slaughter one yourself.”

“If it were me, I wouldn’t sell it to you even if you had the money! Pfft! What a joke!”

“Exactly! Your family can afford meat. When Zhaodi cut ties with you, she even gave your old mother three taels of silver. You’ve already spent it all?”

Hu Dashan’s face turned red with shame. Since Hu Zhaodi left the Hu family, they had been eating wild vegetables and tree bark for quite a while.

But Hu Yaozu didn’t eat wild vegetables, so the family had to scrape together money to buy some grain for him.

The Hu family was still hoping to send Hu Yaozu to school, to make him the family’s pride and glory.

So, Yang didn’t allow Hu Dashan and Zhang to waste money, and insisted they save it to fund Hu Yaozu’s education.

Hu Yaozu remained as fat as a ball, while Hu Dashan and Zhang had lost a lot of weight.

Hu Dashan dared not buy any meat. He needed to go back and discuss it with his mother, because if he bought meat without her approval, he would surely be scolded terribly.

Meanwhile, villagers continued to come to buy meat. Those without money were generously allowed to take it on credit by Hu Zhaodi.

One person who surprised Hu Zhaodi was the former village head, Yang Dahui.

Yang Dahui tightly clutched a few copper coins. He wanted to buy meat, to gain enough strength for the upcoming grain harvest.

Since his position as village head was stripped, he no longer had a steady income.

Though his family had a bit of savings left, he was reluctant to spend it, thinking he might need it to buy a wife for his disabled son if a matchmaker came.

Yang Dahui approached with a flushed face, his voice hoarse and unpleasant as he asked, “Nephew, have you sold the pig offal?”

Uncle Ji glanced at Yang Dahui and coldly replied, “The offal isn’t for sale. You’re late, it’s already cooked, we’re eating it later.”

Yang Dahui twitched his mouth. “Your family eats meat every day, yet you’re so picky about that stinky stuff?”

Uncle Ji proudly responded, “Oh, we really do cherish it. Can’t you smell it? The whole yard is filled with the fragrance of the cooked offal. Who wouldn’t cherish that? If you don’t care for it, why come asking to buy?”

Hu Zhaodi overheard Yang Dahui and smirked.

She sliced off the pig liver and heart, then carried the pig lung over to the long wooden table, setting it down.

“Uncle Ji, let’s sell the pig lungs for eight wen!”

Yang Dahui’s eyes lit up. “I’ll take it, eight wen, I’ll buy the pig lungs.”

A burly villager shoved Yang Dahui aside. “I was here first! I haven’t even bought any yet, and you’re trying to steal my turn?”

“Uncle Ji, give me two jin of meat. I’ll take the pig lungs too. It’s great to make pig lung soup after washing it properly.”

“Alright, I’ll weigh it for you.”

Watching the villager take two jin of meat and the pig lungs, Yang Dahui was furious.

The pig lungs had been taken, so now Yang Dahui set his sights on the large bones.

In that era, pig offal and large bones were the cheapest cuts.