Chapter 325

“Shuiqing thinks Shanshui Village is quite nice.

Indeed, with mountains and water and good air, the most important thing is that we have fields, land, and forests here. It’s convenient for building houses, growing vegetables, and raising livestock.

The villagers are mostly simple and kind-hearted, so when Wang Guifen came to ask for her opinion on organizing a village banquet, she helped provide suggestions.

The two then discussed the specific dishes for the village banquet, and after Wang Guifen expressed her thanks, she happily returned.

Shuiqing got up and went to the medicinal herb workshop, announcing that uniforms would be made for everyone.

Older women like Wu Aunt and Zhao Lan thought they misheard—it was unbelievable. They had only been working at the herb workshop for less than two months, and now Shuiqing was making clothes for them?

Four sets of clothes! And they were made of fine and coarse cotton!

You know, the money for one set of coarse cotton clothes could make two sets of hemp clothes, and for one set of fine cotton clothes, it could make four sets of hemp clothes. Strange, how many sets could these four sets make if converted to hemp?

They couldn’t even count.

Young girls like Li Tiantian, Xu Ting, and Fan Xiang were deeply moved. It was fine cotton fabric—they had never hoped for it!

They had already thought it was great to buy a piece of fabric, but now Sister Shuiqing had directly made four sets of cotton clothes for them!

Especially since they got to keep the leftover scraps, which could make several pairs of cloth shoes!

Sister Shuiqing made it clear that as long as they ensured they had their four sets of clothes, they could decide how to distribute the rest on their own.

The young girls who couldn’t make clothes had already figured it out: whoever helped make clothes at home would get the extra fabric. This way, they saved time and effort, and those who helped make clothes wouldn’t lose out.

Li Dani, Zhou Yu, and the other five women were at a loss.

They received monthly wages, didn’t they?

Madam said they were part of the herb workshop, so of course they would. But these were cotton clothes! Madam just gave them away!

“As for the colors, I was thinking that for the herb workshop, whether old or young, bright or dull colors aren’t suitable. I suggest a uniform light green for inner clothes and dark green for winter clothes. Light inside and dark outside makes for a natural transition and doesn’t look dull. Also, darker colors on winter clothes are more dirt-resistant, right?”

People in the courtyard thought, why wouldn’t it work?

They didn’t care about old or dull colors—they were cotton fabrics, and Sister Shuiqing gave them away for free! How could they not accept?

“Works! Whatever works, you decide, I’ll wear whatever!”

“Same here, all good fabrics, no need to choose!” Sister Shuiqing was too polite, even asking for their opinions. Such good fabrics would make anyone happy. It showed Sister Shuiqing valued them, even asking about their color preferences.

“The Madam’s choice is definitely better than ours; we’ll follow whatever she decides.” Zhou Yu respectfully said.

As soon as she finished, all the women and girls from Shanshui Village looked at her with slightly open mouths.

Oh my!

They all spoke for themselves, but it sounded like they didn’t mind. However, when Zhou Yu spoke, she affirmed Sister Shuiqing’s choice and expressed her stance. Compared to them, they seemed like ignorant children.

Others immediately respected Zhou Yu, making a mental note to speak like her next time!

After discussing the colors, Shuiqing instructed them to come to the main house courtyard after work to receive the fabrics.

She bought the fabrics from the shopping mall, where she had already activated all the spending options. With over a million in balance and no major purchases needed recently, despite buying odds and ends, the balance kept increasing. Now, using it to buy fabrics was truly cost-effective for her.

The people from the herb workshop happily returned home with their fabrics.

When their families saw the good fabrics they brought back, their eyes widened in astonishment!”

“Is this… too much all at once?” Wang Guifen looked at the fabric Zhao Lan brought back in disbelief. Zhang Hui kept touching the fine cotton fabric repeatedly, unable to help but praise, “This fabric feels so smooth and comfortable.”

“Shuiqing said these four sets are ‘work uniforms,’ and everyone must have them. Otherwise, if we catch colds in winter and take sick leave, it’ll be her loss. Losing wages is one thing, but delaying the preparation of medicinal herbs would be a bigger loss. So, we must ensure everyone stays warm every day.

But she also said the extra fabric is ours to distribute as we see fit. I’ve estimated we could make seven or eight pairs of cotton shoe uppers. One pair for Dad, one for each of the elder and younger sisters-in-law, and the rest for the children at home. Their feet are small; one adult pair can make two child pairs.” Zhao Lan shared her thoughts.

The children at home wear grass shoes even in the depths of winter; if it gets too cold, they stuff them with reeds. It was truly a hardship, especially during last year’s unusually cold winter!

Whenever she heard the children complain about cold feet, feeling helpless, she didn’t want to go through it again.

Zhang Hui shook her head, pulling her hands away from the fabric immediately, and hurriedly said, “Dad and the elder sister-in-law need shoes, but I don’t. I’ll save my share for the children, especially Changlin, who needs a pair for school.”

Wang Guifen looked at the two sisters-in-law, each considerate in their own way, not only accounting for her share but also thinking about Changlin. She felt a tingling sensation in her nose.

She took a breath and said, “Have you forgotten who will be making the clothes and shoes at home? It’s me, so it’s only right that I decide.

Dad is elderly; we can’t skimp on his share. Lanlan works at the herb workshop, and as you mentioned, Shuiqing gave you the fabric so you can stay warm and avoid illness. So your share can’t be spared either! The leftover fabric should be enough for several children.

Don’t worry; listen to me. We all have hemp fabric left over from Lan Lan’s previous winter clothes. Now, we can use it for the three heads of the household and for me and Huihui to each make a pair of shoes. They’ll be thick and we’ll still have some left over! The remaining fabric can be used to make a pair for each of the children, ensuring they have both cotton and hemp shoes for winter. Isn’t this arrangement perfect?”

Wang Guifen looked proud, and Zhao Lan and Zhang Hui praised in unison, “Sister-in-law, you’re amazing! Your plan is clear and thoughtful!”

Previously, they had only thought about shoes for the three men of the household, and the children’s couldn’t be skimped on, so they could only save their own.

Unexpectedly, after Sister-in-law’s arrangements, everyone in the house immediately had a pair! And it was even more appropriate.

“We’ll listen to Sister-in-law!”

The wrinkles around Wang Guifen’s eyes became even more pronounced with satisfaction. After discussing the shoes, she mentioned the village banquet, “Dad suggested holding it on the day the village schoolhouse officially starts.

I asked Shuiqing about it, and she thinks it’s very meaningful. It shows that we value literacy and arithmetic, and when adults show that they care, children will follow suit and take it seriously.”