Chapter 29.1

The next day, after selling all her pastries, Li Hehua moved straight into the rented courtyard.

Before leaving, she told Cao Simei that she planned to take the next day off from business to settle in.

The courtyard was fully furnished and livable after a simple cleaning. However, she still needed to buy daily necessities. Li Hehua mentally made a list, finished tidying up, locked the door, and headed to the shop to make her purchases.

Since she needed both household and business items, she decided to buy everything at once. She bought ten small bowls for home use and fifty large bowls for her business. Then she added chopsticks, spoons, seasonings, and other kitchen tools. The shop also sold wooden buckets and basins, so she bought three small buckets, three small basins, and two large basins.

Pleased with the large purchase, the shopkeeper offered her a discount and free delivery. Li Hehua was relieved—she had no idea how she would’ve carried all that back by herself.

After wrapping up her purchases there, she headed to the blacksmith’s shop and bought two large pots, two small pots, a wok, a spatula, and several other essential tools for her cooking business.

The last thing she needed was a stove. In this era, there were no electric or gas stoves. Most merchants built simple brick stoves and burned firewood. But the alley in front of her courtyard was narrow, if she set up a brick stove there, it would block the path and likely draw complaints from neighbors. Instead, she decided to buy a portable stove that burned firewood. It would be much easier to manage.

During her preparations, she had seen a model in a stove shop that could burn either charcoal or firewood. Its heat output didn’t match that of a built-in stove, but it was comparable to a modern gas stove—perfect for cooking rice and simple dishes. The only downside was the price, which kept many merchants from using it.

Li Hehua returned to the stove shop and picked the largest model, spending three hundred copper coins. Though the price stung, the convenience was worth it.

……

The first day was spent entirely on shopping. On the second day, Li Hehua woke up early and carefully organized her purchases, putting everything in its place. She worked nonstop until noon, and finally, the small courtyard began to feel like her first real home.

Exhausted, she collapsed into a chair to catch her breath. Her clothes were damp and sticky from her busy day, clinging uncomfortably to her skin. She decided to heat a large pot of water, pour it into the bathing tub she had specially purchased, and treat herself to a proper bath.

When she had been staying with the He family, she hadn’t dared to bathe daily. In rural households, people rarely heated water for bathing unless it was summer. Most just washed their faces and feet before bed.

For Li Hehua, who had been accustomed to daily showers and soaks, this was a major hardship. Now that she had her own place, she could finally bathe whenever she pleased—and she could afford the extra firewood too.

After her bath, Li Hehua changed into clean clothes—only to find they were even looser than before. They hung awkwardly off her frame.

She had lost more weight.

Li Hehua took off the clothes she had just put on and looked down at her body. What she saw surprised her. Her waist was noticeably slimmer, and the “spare tire” on her abdomen had shrunk. Even her legs looked thinner—visibly reduced by five or six centimeters.

Though she was still plump, she had lost a significant amount of weight since arriving in this world. When she first transmigrated, she estimated she weighed around 160–170 pounds. Now, she figured she was closer to 140–150 pounds—a loss of about 20–30 pounds.

A wide smile spread across her face, and the whole world seemed brighter. At this rate, she’d reach her ideal weight in no time. Becoming a slender woman again was totally within reach!

She wanted to jump up and spin around three times to celebrate, but considering her current weight, it would probably cause a ruckus. She forced herself to stay still, standing there grinning foolishly for a long time before regaining her composure.

However, her clothes no longer fit. They drooped awkwardly, making her look sloppy and unkempt. This wouldn’t do. It was fine for lounging at home, but now that she was running a business, appearance mattered.

She didn’t need to look stunning, but at the very least, she needed to be neat and presentable. Looking messy would only drive away customers.

She decided to visit the cloth shop and have two new outfits made. Even if she continued to lose weight and these clothes didn’t last long, she couldn’t cut corners on appearances right now. With that in mind, she took her money and set out.

…….

Most cloth shops at the time primarily sold fabric. Women would typically buy cloth and sew their own clothes at home—it was cheaper that way. But Li Hehua didn’t know how to sew, so she had to pay someone to make her clothes.

She entered a shop that looked decent and began browsing. After a while, she settled on coarse cloth. It wasn’t as soft as fine cotton, but it was cheap, and she wouldn’t mind discarding it later. Once she reached her ideal weight, she could have better clothes made.

“Shopkeeper, how much is this cloth?” Li Hehua asked, pointing to a bolt of navy-blue coarse fabric.

The shopkeeper glanced at her and gestured toward several colors. “These are all five wen per foot.”

“Do you also make clothes here?”

“Yes, but there’s a separate tailoring fee—three wen per foot of fabric.”

Li Hehua nodded, deciding to place her order. She picked out a lotus-root-colored fabric and said, “I’ll take both of these. Could you make two sets of clothes for me? How much fabric would I need for my size?”

The shopkeeper looked her up and down. “Most women need three or four feet, but you’ll need five feet per set.”

Li Hehua felt a bit awkward. This shopkeeper really doesn’t mince words. But she wasn’t offended—after all, he wasn’t wrong.

“Alright. Please cut five feet of each and make two ordinary women’s outfits. When can I pick them up?”

“Two days,” the shopkeeper replied as he measured the fabric. “But you’ll need to pay half as a deposit now.”

Li Hehua was just about to reach for her money when her eyes fell on a bolt of soft sky-blue fine cotton. She instantly thought of the Shulin. This would be perfect for him—it would surely look adorable.

His clothes were always oversized and ill-fitting, probably made by Madam Zhang. The old woman always cut children’s clothes too big, hoping they’d last for years. They ended up baggy and shapeless. Worse, she never used soft cotton for the Shulin’s clothes, only coarse cloth. With his delicate skin, it must’ve been uncomfortable.

Li Hehua picked up the cloth. “How much is this?”

“Top-quality fine cotton. Very comfortable to wear, but it’s pricey—ten wen per foot,” the shopkeeper replied.

Twice the price of coarse cloth. Still, Li Hehua was willing to splurge. “I want to make a set of clothes for my child. He’s about this tall—” she gestured to her thigh. “Very slim, about thirty jin. How much fabric would be enough?”

The shopkeeper was experienced. After a moment of thought, she said, “For a child that size, two chi should be plenty.”

Li Hehua nodded. But she wasn’t sure what style would suit a young boy. “Madam, my child is a boy. What kind of outfit would look especially nice?”

“Wait here,” the shopkeeper said, disappearing into the back. A moment later, she returned with a completed set of children’s clothing. “This was made for another customer. It’s quite stylish. Would you like something like this?”

Li Hehua examined it. The outfit was a two-piece set: a small cloth shirt with two pockets and a belt, paired with neatly tailored pants—not overly loose like many children’s clothes. The overall look was tidy, lively, and full of childlike charm.