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Jiang Mixia explained, “The weight has its advantages. In rural areas, people carry heavy loads with these. The bamboo baskets my father weaves use thick base pieces, making them durable. The only downside is that they’re a bit heavy. However, most rural folks are strong and don’t find them burdensome.”
While weaving a bamboo basket, Jiang Mixia observed Jiang Youcheng struggling with the frame’s curvature. She curiously asked why he didn’t make it thinner, making the weaving process easier. Jiang Youcheng’s response was what she had just mentioned.
“I see,” the man said as he turned the bamboo basket over, noticing the sturdy base. He nodded in agreement, “What you said makes sense.”
“Can you weave lighter bamboo baskets, smaller and designed for lighter loads? They should be more portable,” he inquired,
Jiang Mixia looked at Jiang Youcheng.
She knew little about the technical aspects.
Jiang Youcheng nodded, “Yes, by using thinner and narrower bamboo strips and weaving them into single layers, they can be sturdy and durable for lighter loads.”
“Got it. I wonder how much you’d charge?” he continued.
The father and daughter, one simple-minded honest man and the other clever, were quite interesting.
The man smiled playfully, tapped the bamboo basket, and said, “I’ll take these two for now. As you suggested, using thinner and narrower bamboo strips to create a similar model, just smaller than this one, should work.”
As he spoke, the man gestured to indicate a rough size. “I’ll take fifty.”
Fifty? Today, they had brought fifteen items, already making 300 coins. Fifty more was a significant deal. It was equivalent to two or three months’ income! Jiang Youcheng was excited at the prospect.
However, Jiang Mixia smiled and said, “That’s quite a few, but considering it’s custom-made, it’s best if we create a sample first. Once you approve, we can proceed. If not, it wouldn’t work for either of us.”
“Why don’t we make a sample first? Tomorrow, we’ll bring it to you. If you approve, we can set the price, agree on the delivery time, you can pay a deposit, and we’ll sign a simple contract. This way, the deal will be settled. How does that sound?”
Calm and methodical, the business arrangement was well-organized, and she made the key points clear.
“Good plan,” the man nodded approvingly, looking at the young Jiang Mixia. “Let’s do it your way.”
“I’m Zhou Xing. I manage a small tea garden for my master in the west. I’ve just taken over, and we’re short on supplies. I came to town to buy some useful items,” Zhou Xing explained. “Once you have the sample ready tomorrow, deliver it to our tea garden. If it’s good, we’ll finalize the deal. To get to our tea garden, head west to the hillside and look for Shaoji Tea Garden. Everyone in the area knows it, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”
On the western side of the town, there are several hills. Although Jiang Mixia had never been there, she had heard that there were tea gardens, orchards, and flower fields owned by wealthy families. The products from these estates were exclusively supplied to the privileged, not available to the public.
“I’ll send it tomorrow, as per Manager Zhou’s instructions,” Jiang Mixia replied with a smile. She added, “Let’s give him a discount on these two bamboo baskets. Let’s say 40 coins for both.”
Silly girl. When Jiang Youcheng heard her words, he became somewhat anxious. Selling the items instead of giving away these two bamboo baskets when they were about to make such a big deal? If they didn’t give them away and Manager Zhou got upset, they might lose the whole deal.
Jiang Youcheng desperately tried to signal to Jiang Mixia.
Jiang Mixia felt helpless, she couldn’t explain at this moment, so she acted as if he hadn’t seen it.
“Brother, stop, your eyes are about to pop out,” Zhou Xing laughed, took out a pouch, counted out 40 coins, gave them to Jiang Mixia, stacked the two bamboo baskets together, and carried the bottom one on his back.
Then, he patted Jiang Youcheng’s shoulder. “Your daughter is much sharper than you. Listen to her more often in the future. It’ll be beneficial.”
As Zhou Xing walked away, Jiang Youcheng scratched his head. He then turned to Jiang Mixia with a bewildered look. “What does that mean?”
“It means that even though it looks like a big deal, until we actually have the money in hand, we can’t be sure it will end up in our pockets. Giving these away now means we might end up with nothing if the other party lies,” Jiang Mixia explained.
“What if the deal is genuine?” Jiang Youcheng inquired.
“If it’s genuine, that’s fine. If we feel the price is good tomorrow, we can always add a little extra, offer some additional benefits, as long as the deal is settled,” Jiang Mixia said. “In general, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Each matter should be handled separately. Don’t start preparing the soup pot just because you see a pie ahead. Otherwise, you might end up with neither pie nor pot.”
After pondering for a while, Jiang Youcheng vigorously nodded. “That makes sense.”
He chuckled, “It’s my daughter who sees through things and understands clearly. At this age, I’m the confused one.”
“Without a dad, how come there’s a daughter?” Jiang Mixia pulled Jiang Youcheng’s arm. “Dad, let’s hurry to buy the meat.”
“Let’s go.” Jiang Youcheng picked up his bamboo basket, straightened the hemp rope, and led Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun to the butcher’s shop.
This time, they bought three pounds of pork belly, preparing to stew it for lunch, with the rest for later consumption.
After buying the meat, Jiang Mixia suggested getting a piece of tofu as well.
The son-in-law had been working hard all evening to assist the family, so the thought of having braised pork and pan-fried tofu for dinner was a well-deserved treat.
With enough money earned today, Jiang Youcheng was quite generous and was also heeding Jiang Mixia and Song Jingyun’s advice.
At lunch, the family enjoyed another satisfying meal.
After the hearty lunch, they were ready to work in the afternoon, contemplating the weaving of small bamboo baskets. The bamboo strips needed to be thinner and narrower, and the base bamboo pieces required careful consideration.
As Jiang Youcheng pondered and experimented, trying to determine the appropriate thickness for the bamboo strips, Jiang Mixia was seen drawing and writing on the ground with a wooden stick.
Curiously observing, Song Jingyun asked, “What are you doing?”
“It’s a design,” Jiang Mixia called Jiang Youcheng over. “Dad, look at the pattern I’ve drawn. Which one is more suitable for weaving?”
Jiang Youcheng came over to take a look.
There were two designs. One was a normal basket, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. The other had a wide mouth and a small base, but the middle was narrower, and the belly slightly protruded.
“This one looks like a vase. It might be impractical,” Jiang Youcheng remarked. “The narrow middle might cause problems for larger items.”