Chapter 18: Accidentally Succeeding

Jiang Mixia paused for a moment before continuing, “How about this? I can see that Manager Zhou is quite busy with the tea garden and probably doesn’t have time for minor matters. If you give me sixty coins for each basket, we’ll prepare and attach the shoulder straps for you. They will be made with adjustable hemp ropes and reinforced with thick fabric at the shoulder to ensure durability without causing discomfort. What do you think, Manager Zhou?”

The girl before him was considering everything thoroughly, even down to the details of the hemp rope chafing the shoulders.

Zhou Xing nodded in agreement. “Alright, as you say. Sixty coins for each, fifty in total, which amounts to three taels of silver. When can you deliver?”

“About half a month,” Jiang Youcheng roughly estimated. In truth, it could be done in about ten days, but since it was their first major deal, he wanted to err on the side of caution and added a few extra days.

“That works. How much for the deposit?” Zhou Xing inquired.

“Two taels of silver,” Jiang Mixia replied.

Zhou Xing agreed, then instructed a worker to bring paper and a pen to write a simple contract.

After writing the contract, Jiang Chunshi inspected it to ensure it was accurate. Jiang Youcheng pressed his seal at the spot designated for his signature. Zhou Xing paid the deposit, and with that, the deal was firmly sealed.

Leaving the tea garden, the group made their way back to the Jiang family’s village. On the return journey, Third Uncle Jiang drove the ox cart faster than before.

Upon arriving home, Jiang Youcheng busied himself with tasks, and he had Jiang Chunshi assist in cutting, sawing, and splitting bamboo strips at home. This way, he could rightfully pay Jiang Chunshi for his work and also repay the hundred coins that Jiang Youfu had given to the family earlier.

The entire family worked until nightfall. After Jiang Chunshi returned home, they had dinner, completed a few more tasks, and as the night grew late, everyone yawned, tidied up, and went to bed.

After several busy days, Jiang Chunshi had become adept at his work, producing qualified bamboo strips. He even helped modify the chopping knife used for slicing the bamboo strips.

The original knife was not sturdy enough. While the blade was sharp, its thinness caused it to get stuck in the gaps, making it difficult to smoothly slice the bamboo.

By thickening the blade with wooden pieces, it made splitting the bamboo strips much easier as it allowed the strips to be separated more smoothly.

“This new chopping knife that Chunshi made is really impressive,” Liu Shi praised. “This child is so resourceful. He’ll succeed in whatever he does.”

“We shouldn’t let him hear that. Otherwise, who knows how high his head will grow,” Fang Shi chuckled, running the needle across her scalp before piercing a thick piece of fabric.

Liu Shi felt that her own sewing skills weren’t up to par for sewing the shoulder straps for the bamboo baskets. She was worried that her clumsiness might cause a problem in such a significant business deal. Hence, she enlisted the help of Jiang Chunshi’s wife, Fang Shi, to do the sewing. She planned to pay Mrs. Fang for the work according to the quantity.

With the cotton planting done in the past two days, there wasn’t much work in the fields. Third aunt (Jiang Chunshi’s mother) workload is much lighter, so Mrs. Fang came to help.

As for the payment, she wasn’t worried about it.

“Never mind where his head grows, as long as he remembers to work,” Liu Shi joked. She took a piece of fabric, tore it into thin strips, and tied it into Jiang Maihua’s hair, a plump and lively two-year-old. She excitedly pointed to Fang Shi, “Pretty!”

“Beautiful, Maihua is the most beautiful,” Fang Shi complimented.

Jiang Maihua happily went off to play with the bamboo ball that Jiang Youcheng had made for her, kicking it back and forth with great joy.

“It’s getting late. Why haven’t Xia and the others returned yet?”Fang Shi looked around.

Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun had gone to cut bamboo and had taken the handcart with them.

Originally, Jiang Chunshi was supposed to go, but Jiang Mixia insisted that he might struggle to pull the cart, so it would be more suitable for her to go instead. When it came to other matters, Jiang Chunshi could argue a few points, but in this case, he couldn’t refute it. Not only was he physically weaker than Jiang Mixia, but even combined with Jiang Youcheng, they could only be considered evenly matched.

So Jiang Chunshi agreed to stay home and split the bamboo strips, while Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun went to cut bamboo.

“I bet this girl wants to cut more before she comes back, but it’s fine. Jingyun is with her,” Liu Shi remarked.

 Fang Shi smiled in response, “Third Auntie’s  faith in her son-in-law is quite something.”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Jingyun is thin and not very strong. He’s quite childish in his words and actions. He always needs to be with Xia. Normally, this kind of behavior would make people uneasy,” Liu Shi raised her eyebrows. “But strangely, when he’s with Xia, I feel particularly reassured. I can’t explain it, but I just feel very secure.”

“Speaking bluntly, I’ve never felt this secure even when your Third Uncle is with Xia,” she continued.

“That’s because your son-in-law is a perfect match arranged by the heavens for Xia. Their characters are complementary, and they bring good luck. Who knows, maybe great fortune awaits them in the future,” Fang shi replied.

“Then I’ll take your good words…” Liu Shi said.

Meanwhile, Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun were busy cutting bamboo. When they felt they had cut enough, Jiang Mixia decided that after they finished cutting their respective bamboo plants, they would bring the bamboo back home.

As Song Jingyun made the final cut, putting his full strength into the swing, a loud “crack” was followed by a swift “whoosh.” Jiang Mixia suddenly saw a flash of white light pass in front of her.

When she looked again, she noticed that Song Jingyun was left holding only the handle of the machete.

Stunned by this sudden turn of events, Song Jingyun stood motionless, unsure of what to do next.

“It seems the machete handle came loose due to the prolonged cutting time and the force you exerted,” Jiang Mixia observed, momentarily abandoning her own cutting to look around. “Let’s search for it.”

The blade was made of pure iron, quite heavy, and therefore quite valuable. Losing it would be a considerable loss.

“Alright,” Song Jingyun agreed, bending down to carefully search the area where the machete had flown.

Soon, Song Jingyun stopped and crouched down, picking something up.

“Did you find it?” Jiang Mixia ran over to him.

“I think so, I believe so…” Song Jingyun replied as he lifted the object.

It was a plump, hefty rabbit, blood trickling from its neck. Embedded in the flesh was none other than the machete belonging to Song Jingyun.

Jiang Mixia was momentarily speechless.

“Well, well, what a stroke of luck! This rabbit is quite large. We can cook it for lunch when we get back,” she said.

“Is rabbit meat tasty?” Song Jingyun inquired, having never tasted it before.

“If Mom cooks it as a braised dish, it’s delicious. Wild rabbits run around all day, so the meat is bound to be fresh and tender. I promise you’ll want seconds,” Jiang Mixia replied, taking a moment to swallow, her mouth watering. She couldn’t help but feel eager for the meal.

Fresh and tender indeed.

Song Jingyun clicked his tongue, feeling a bit regretful.

With only one rabbit, they could only have one meal. If they had more rabbits, they could have had two…

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