Chapter 381: 377: She Looks Like Your Daughter_1

Soon after, Yingbao carried a few apples to Chen Zhao’s house.

Chen Zhao had just closed his stall for the day and was happy to see Yingbao. “You’re here! Come in and sit down.”

Yingbao placed a few apples and tangerines on the table and asked, “Why I don’t see your eldest sister?”

“She went to cook for our grandparents. Chen Wan and I, although we live here in the market, we still have to go back home every day to cook and do laundry for our grandparents.”

Xubao walked over and peeled a tangerine.

Yingbao hesitated for a moment, then asked: “I heard that Chen Wan is going to the county town?”

Chen Zhao paused and nodded his head, “Yingbao, have lunch at my place today, I have something to tell you.”

“Alright.”

Yingbao sat next to the table, watching Chen Zhao busily preparing the meal.

Xubao peeled the tangerine, gave a segment to Yingbao and another to Chen Zhao, and then stuffed the remaining ones into his own mouth.

Chen Zhao cooked rice, made a radish soup, boiled two eggs, and fried a small salted fish with radish.

During the meal, Chen Zhao gave one egg to Yingbao and the other to his younger brother Xubao, then said, “My dad found a family for my eldest sister. The groom is a county magistrate.”

“The county magistrate?” Yingbao immediately thought of a middle-aged man named Cao Can.

Shocked, she thought, ‘Chen Changping wants to give his eldest daughter to Cao Can as a concubine?’

Or did he asked for Cao Can’s help to send Chen Wan to another place?

Yingbao asked, “Does Chen Wan agree?”

“Her? She’s just a sniveling worm. She has no backbone at all and only knows how to conform.”

Chen Zhao let out a cold laugh. “I told her not to agree, but she said the father’s command is hard to resist.”

Yingbao was silent.

She didn’t know that Chen Wan was that kind of person.

Oh well, even Chen Zhao couldn’t wake someone who chose to sleep, hence she didn’t need to take it personally.

After the meal, Yingbao went to check on the textile workshop.

In a couple of days, they would give the weavers a day off, so the place was slightly relaxed now.

The weavers were laughing and discussing their wages, predicting how much they would get.

When they saw Yingbao, each of them greeted her as ‘Lady Jiang’.

Wang Wuniang slightly bowed towards her, “Lady, please come with me.”

Yingbao returned the courtesy and followed Wang Wuniang into the weaving room.

There were several processing areas in the workshop, some for spinning yarn, and others for weaving cloth.

All of this cotton yarn and cloth were white, which would be shipped elsewhere for dyeing before being sold.

Yingbao only earned money from the white cloth, and she has nothing to do with the dyed ones.

Yet even so, she could make over a thousand taels of silver a year.

Wang Wuniang took out two pieces of furry white cloth from a box and handed them to Yingbao. “This is woven with white rabbit fur and cotton thread. The Mistress said to give it to you for your clothes.”

Yingbao received it and felt it; it was very soft and smooth. She was surprised, “Can rabbit fur be woven into cloth with cotton thread?”

Wang Wuniang nodded, “We first spin the rabbit fur and cotton threads together. When we weave the cloth, the fur won’t shed anymore, but the material will be somewhat thicker.”

“Thick is good, it will be warm to wear in winter.” Yingbao was fond of this fabric and thanked Wang Wuniang, “Thank you, Sister Wuniang.”

Wang Wuniang smiled, “If Lady Yingbao likes it, we can also get some grey rabbit fur and spin some cloth.”

Yingbao shook her head, “No need.” Having two pieces is enough, there should be enough to make clothes for her two brothers. After all, the workshop doesn’t belong to her alone, she shouldn’t trouble Wang Wuniang too much.

As she came out of the textile workshop carrying two pieces of fabric, she suddenly ran into Chen Changping with a strange man.

Chen Changping glanced at her, his face indifferent.

The man was about his age, sporting a long beard and possessing leering eyes.

Yingbao evaded them and went straight home.

The man watched Yingbao walk away, then turned his gaze back onto Chen Changping, tut-tutting a few times, “Was that young lady just now your daughter?”

Chen Changping shook his head: “No, her surname is Jiang.”

“Then why do I see a resemblance to you?” the man joked, “Could it be that she’s your illegitimate daughter? Hahaha!”

Chen Changping looked stern, “How can she resemble me? She’s just a wild child. Brother Yan, you jest.”

Yan Jinshan, with his hands behind his back, accompanied Chen Changping toward Chen Zhao’s thatched cottage, and as they walked, he said, “I’m serious, that child really looks like you, and she also bears some resemblance to your eldest daughter. If you can bring her along, the influential person over there will certainly be pleased.”

Chen Changping’s expression shifted, he asked, “Do you truly think she resembles my eldest daughter?”

“Absolutely. If you let the two of them stand side by side for a comparison, it will be clearer,” Yan Jinshan declared confidently.

Chen Changping squinted, but said nothing in the end, leading Yan Jinshan to his second daughter’s place.

Chen Zhao was kneading dough at home, preparing to make dumpling skins for the afternoon meal. She was taken aback when she saw her father.

Her father never came to the eatery, even avoiding the place when he strolled around the marketplace, as if he feared he would get dirty.

But today was a surprise, he even brought a friend with him.

“Father.” Chen Zhao hurriedly brought over a long bench for Chen Changping and his friend to sit.

Chen Changping didn’t sit down but glanced around the thatched hut, his brows furrowing.

He never really paid attention to his daughter’s business before, and this was his first visit, he felt embarrassingly dishonored.

Yet Yan Jinshan insisted on coming to see, so he had no choice but to bring him over.

Yan Jinshan looked over Chen Zhao, then shook his head, saying to Chen Changping, “Brother Chen, this one won’t do. She’s not even half as good as the one from before.”

Chen Zhao didn’t understand, but she felt a surge of disgust.

She was not dumb, she could hear that this man was criticizing her.

But her father remained silent.

Chen Changping turned around and left the hut without looking back.

Yan Jinshan followed close behind, saying, “Brother Chen, what I want to say is, that influential person actually prefers children like the one from before. Older ones or those who are average looking are not suitable.”

Chen Changping suddenly turned around, coldly saying, “Brother Yan, are you suggesting I steal a child for you to bring?”

Yan Jinshan blinked, “That works too, as long as you can steal her. I can tell the influential person that she is your own daughter.”

Chen Changping furrowed his brows, “I can’t do this.” He was still worried about that girl ruining his plans.

Yan Jinshan shrugged, regretfully saying, “Brother Chen, you are too honest. How about reconsidering it?”

···

Now back to Yingbao.

Upon returning home, she handed the rabbit fur cloth to her mother, asking her to make underwear for her younger brothers to wear under their robes for warmth.

Chunniang was seeing this kind of cloth for the first time and explored it curiously, “It’s smooth and white… is it really woven from rabbit fur?”

“It’s the fur of domestic rabbits.” The fur of wild rabbits was only soft around the belly, the rest being as coarse as dog hair.

Chunniang: “This type of cloth must be expensive, right?”

“Mm.” Yingbao nodded, “That’s why I only got two pieces.”

Chunniang laughed, “I suddenly remembered that in the past when your father caught rabbits, he would cut off their tails. When we had accumulated enough tails, I took the fur from the tail to make string, and then used it to make a pair of footwraps for him.”

Yingbao, curious, asked, “How did you make it?”

“Like this.” Chunniang fetched a ball of cotton thread and two thin bamboo needles, wrapping the thread around her finger and threading it through the bamboo needle. “It’s just like spinning thread. I used to weave your father’s belts this way, and they were sturdy.”