Chapter 266: The Fluttering Heart of a Young Girl
In the following days, Bai Ruozhu, her mother, and Lai Fu’s wife worked together to crochet more little hats, both for boys and girls. All of them were extremely delicate and cute.
It wasn’t because they didn’t want to crochet for adults, but the women of this period all wore hair buns adorned with jewelry. How could they then wear hats? As for the men, they might just be able to manage, but Bai Ruozhu was concerned about the acceptance level of adults, so she decided to start from the children to avoid disappointment from the get-go.
She purposely knitted two more stunning hats for Niuniu. Lai Fu’s wife, feeling quite shy, said, "Who destroys their own merchandise in business?"
Bai Ruozhu shot her a reproachful look and said, "How is it wasted if Niuniu wears it? She’s a living billboard standing right in front of the stall. When other women see how beautiful it looks on her, they’ll want to buy one for their children."
Listening to this, Lai Fu’s wife realized it made sense and laughed, "You know so much more."
Over the past few days, Bai Ruozhu had been calculating the costs of yarn provided by Fusa’s mother-in-law, explaining that these costs needed to be deducted from the profits. Then, the remaining amount would be evenly divided among the four of them, essentially splitting the profits between the two houses.
Fusa immediately objected, "My mother-in-law said that spinning yarn doesn’t take much effort, there’s no reason to count this as her share of the work! And you taught me how to do this. Without you, I wouldn’t know anything. You want to share half with us?! Aren’t you allowing us to take too much advantage?"
Bai Ruozhu knew the Lin family to be honest and not greedy. She smiled and said, "You and your mother-in-law invested time into this. It’s what you deserve. Plus, splitting everything in half makes the accounting easier. Don’t make it overly complicated. I get a headache from all the math."
Fusa was speechless. Does Bai Ruozhu even seem like the kind of person who’d get a headache over doing a bit of math? She wanted to say something else, but Bai Ruozhu cut her off, "Sister-in-law, if you’re going to calculate it all out like that you’re going to seem like a stranger. Let’s not let business affect our feelings."
After hearing this, Fusa didn’t say any more. She was very grateful to Bai Ruozhu and sent several blocks of tofu over to the Bai household as a gesture of thanks. Bai Ruozhu accepted it warmly and cut the tofu into pieces for the soup pot.
"We have quite a few small hats now. Let’s start selling them tomorrow. Remember to have Niuniu as our living billboard." Bai Ruozhu, having finished the work at hand, said to Fusa who was on the neighbouring stall.
Fusa nodded, "Sure, I’ll dress her up beautifully."
In the afternoon, Bai Ruozhu took Dengdeng back home to rest. Lately, she had been a bit distracted and often found herself looking out the window towards the backyard. She was worried about Jiang Yichun, who had been gone for a few days but she knew he had said he would either be back within five days or half a month, so what was she rushing for?
In the yard, Fang Guizhi was making shoes. Bai Ruozhu couldn’t resist teasing her when she saw they were men’s shoes. "Wow, Guizhi, are you making shoes for a lover?"
She remembered the pair of shoes her oldest brother brought back from Wan Family and the look of happiness on his face. It seemed in this era, the tokens of love women gave to men were handmade pouches, shoes, and the like.
Fang Guizhi’s face instantly turned bright red. She glared at Bai Ruozhu, complaining, "What are you talking about? These shoes are for Brother Zepei, Aunt Lin asked me to make them."
Recently, Lin Pingr has been busy crocheting small hats, so the sewing work was passed on to Fang Guizhi. As the two families became more familiar with each other, Lin Pingr started treating Guizhi like her own daughter and stopped being so polite.
Actually, Bai Ruozhu had already taught Fang Guizhi the needlework for crocheting. Since Fang Guizhi is a fan of showing off and Bai Ruozhu felt that even if they cooperated with the Lin family, having too many people on their side would be inappropriate, so she didn’t let Guizhi participate.
Wan Caiyue was responsible for crafting Bai Zehao’s shoes, and Lin Pingr had taken charge of Bai Yihong’s shoes, so Lin Pingr asked Guizhi to help make a pair for Bai Zepei, especially since Zepei often had to go out and couldn’t wear old or dirty shoes.
Guizhi’s skills were pretty impressive. Because these were winter shoes, she added cotton inside the vamp and used quilting stitches to fix it in place, making the shoes warmer without appearing bulky.
Seeing Guizhi so focused on sewing every stitch, Bai Ruozhu tilted her head and studied her.
Guizhi had gained some weight, seemed to have grown taller, and her hair had grown thicker and darker. Clearly, her current living conditions were far better than those at the Fang family’s home.
Bai Ruozhu subtly adjusted Guizhi’s complexion, causing her face to blush, making her look more energetic and beautiful. Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but ponder who would be lucky enough to marry Guizhi in the future. She felt like the proud matriarch of a grown daughter.
As she observed Guizhi, she noticed a sweet smile creep onto Guizhi’s face as she worked, making each stitch as though it were an incredibly happy task.
Feels shot through Bai Ruozhu, could it be Guizhi...
Her second brother was indeed handsome and scholarly. If he weren’t her biological brother, she would have fallen for him herself. Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if Guizhi had feelings for him. Spending every day under the same roof, and especially with such a remarkable man, would any woman be able to resist?
The fluttering heart of a young girl is inevitably doomed to shatter into a thousand pieces.
Bai Ruozhu knew her second brother had high standards, and she had no clue what type of woman he liked. However, she could clearly see that he only treated Guizhi like a younger sister, or perhaps even more indifferently. If Fang Guizhi was indeed in love with her second brother, she was marching down a dead-end road, destined to be left heartbroken.
She opened her mouth to say something but swallowed the words. Perhaps she was overthinking it. It was better to wait and see, so as not to make any potential misunderstandings and create an awkward atmosphere for Guizhi in the Bai family.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day. Between the Bai and Lin family stalls, a small one was set up resembling a peddler’s cart. On it hung a banner that read "Hand-made Crocheted Hats".
True to her word, Fusa dressed Niuniu up beautifully. She was wearing new clothes and a cute peach-coloured hat, standing there attractively, immediately catching the attention of many bystanders.
"Fusa, your daughter is dressed up as if it’s New Year. She looks so beautiful!" A woman not too far away admired Niuniu’s look and praised her.
Hearing this compliment, Fusa felt especially pleased. She beamed, her eyes practically sparkling. Niuniu, on the other hand, blushed from shyness.
Bai Ruozhu, carrying Dengdeng, also stood at the stall. Dengdeng was wearing a small tiger-shaped hat, which also attracted a lot of attention. Today she had specially summoned Xiaosi as well, who was also sporting a small hat on his head. It was a less cute model that featured ear flaps.
Soon, people started to inquire about the prices, and before long, a little girl’s coloured hat was sold. This greatly encouraged Fusa, and she became more determined to crochet small hats at home.
Just then, a person walked over, causing everyone in the Bai family to freeze.