CTF 0047

“Yinyin, what do you plan to do with this fabric? Aunt Fen just came over, and when she saw it, she said she wanted a few yards. Are you selling it?” 

The loud voice of Mother Xu echoed through the living room. 

“Yes!” Xu Yin lifted the door curtain and walked out of her room. “These are defective fabrics on special sale from the Tongcheng Fabric Factory, but I’ve examined them closely, and the defects are not very noticeable.”

“You’re right; I couldn’t tell it was defective fabric until you mentioned it.”

Mother Xu looked closely and only then noticed that the dyeing wasn’t very even in some places, and there were a few missed stitches. These defects didn’t matter that much, and the fabric didn’t look very different from regular ones. 

“Aunt Fen wants to make two monk’s robes for her granddaughter’s full-month celebration and a skirt for her youngest granddaughter. She’s interested in these patterns. How much for a metre?”

“If Aunt Fen wants it, I’ll sell it for 1.2 yuan per metre.”

“That cheap?” Mother Xu was surprised. “This is printed fabric, right? Even at the cheapest fabric store, it would cost at least 3 or 4 yuan. These minor defects won’t even show when you wear them. Are you sure you’re not selling it at a loss?”

Xu Yin explained to her that she bought it for 20 yuan per bolt, and each bolt contains 30 metres. When she did the maths, Mother Xu regretted only giving her daughter 50 yuan earlier. 

If she had given more, her daughter could have brought back more bolts.

Xu Yin couldn’t help but smile at her mother’s expression. “Mom, it’s not easy to get these defective fabrics. For just these few bolts, my sister-in-law and I had to make several trips to the wholesale market.”

Mother Xu stopped feeling bad. She looked down at the pieces of fabric, then decisively picked out two good-looking ones and carried them into her room.

“I’ll keep these for you as a dowry. It’d be a pity to sell such cheap and beautiful fabric to others!”

Xu Yin: “…”

Finally, after a lot of persuasion, she convinced her mother to take out the defective cloth and sell it.

What use was there in keeping it? Even if she got married in the future, she wouldn’t need several yards of defective fabric as her dowry. Really!

By the time Xu Yin’s family had harvested their rice and ploughed their fields, they had sold most of the fabric and woollen threads they had bought wholesale in Tongcheng. 

Those who bought the defective fabric she sold didn’t even take it home; they had Xu Yin turn it into clothes. This way, she earned a fair amount. Xu Yin intended to keep what remained to make sweaters and pants for her parents before the start of the academic term. 

After a rough calculation, Xu Yin figured that she’d earn enough to cover her living expenses for her first school year by September.

Once their fields were fertilised, they began planting rice. 

Xu Yin’s task was to pick up the ordered fish fry from the fish farm. She had become a regular customer at the farm by now. Several of the security guards recognized her. 

They knew that she used to be a student at No. 6 High School and had been admitted to Tsinghua University on special recommendation. 

They knew that the rice paddy fish her family raised for three months were more plump and tender than those that the farm had raised in a year. 

They knew that the watermelons she grew were in high demand by the Watermelon Variety Optimization Research Institute, a privilege not afforded to the farm’s watermelons. 

They even knew that she was a skilled hand at ploughing with a tractor, faster and better than many other experienced farmers.

With so many honours to her name, it was hard for people not to recognize her. 

Xu Yin remained composed and nonchalant. She parked her electric bicycle, carried her jar of sauce, and went straight to the farm manager’s office.

“Little Comrade Xu, you’re here!”

The manager saw her and pointed to a nearby sofa, indicating she should sit.

“Please, sit. What are you carrying?”

“My brother sent it from Tongcheng. It’s a speciality there. Steam it and cut it into pieces. It tastes good with rice. You can take it and try it when you’re home.”

The field manager accepted it after politely thanking her. 

“You came just in time. The final payment for those watermelons from your family came in from the research institute this morning. I was going to ask Old Yu to run over to your village to deliver it. Since you’re here, we won’t trouble Old Yu. Here’s the payment check; just go to the finance department later to claim it.”

Xu Yin glanced at the payment check and saw that it was for 500 yuan. This meant that her family had earned 1,000 yuan from the two acres of watermelon they had grown. 

What was this…

Her family had harvested over 7,500 kilograms of watermelons from their two acres of land. Calculating it, they had earned 0.66 yuan per kilogram. The current unified purchase price for watermelons was 0.25 yuan per kilogram. In other words, her family’s watermelons were selling for more than twice the market price.

“Is this too much?”

Even though she had confidence in her family’s watermelons, this was a bit hard to believe.

“Don’t worry,” the manager chuckled. “My classmate said your family’s watermelons are the best variety he’s seen in this country. So, this isn’t just payment for the watermelons. It’s also payment for the seeds. That’s why he’s willing to pay this much.”

With that,  Xu Yin felt reassured.

She collected the money from the farm’s finance department and then headed to the fish farm to pick up the fish fry. 

Since Old Yu wasn’t using his tractor, she borrowed it to transport the fish fry back home. 

Most people in the village were out in the fields planting rice, and they couldn’t help but watch as she drove the tractor back and forth.

The neighbours of the Xu family, who had adjacent rice paddies, asked Mother Xu from across the field ridges, “Jinhua, where did you buy your fish fry from? We heard that Dajiao’s family bought theirs from Chengnan Reservoir, and it wasn’t cheap.”

Mother Xu proudly lifted her chin and replied, “My daughter is the one who runs around for these things. I’m just responsible for paying.”

“Your Yinyin is not only filial but also capable.”

Xu Yin had no idea that her mother was showing her off again.

After releasing the fish fry, she drove the tractor to the dry land at the foot of the hill and ploughed the two acres of land that had been cleared of watermelon vines. 

After fertilising it for two days, she planted white cabbage and radishes. 

The withered cabbage leaves would become fertiliser for the field, and she would continue growing watermelons in the spring. 

The late-maturing watermelons on the other acre would be ready for harvest next month. After that, she’d plant carrots and overwinter chilli peppers. 

She had already prepared the seeds for her father. 

After finishing the fieldwork, she returned the tractor and headed back home. It was almost evening by then. She quickly started preparing dinner. 

Her uncle, aunt, and two skilled rice planters from the village had come to help; otherwise, they couldn’t finish planting in a day. Of course, her family would give them dinner before they left.

Xu Yin was generous with the ingredients. She cut fresh lamb into chunks for a potato stew and then took a cleaned duck to make a stew with tea tree mushrooms for them. She also stir-fried some vegetables that’d been picked from the field.

Mother Xu came back early from the field to prepare the meal. However, by the time she arrived, she saw that the dining table was already full of dishes. 

“This… Yinyin, did you cook this?” Mother Xu was shocked.

Could her daughter cook? Why didn’t she know?

“Ahem, yeah. I learned how to cook from my sister-in-law when I was in Tongcheng.”

“What? Is your sister-in-law harsh on you? Did she make you cook all their meals?”

She seemed ready to rush to Tongcheng to settle the score with his daughter-in-law.

Xu Yin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Mom, I was the one who wanted to learn how to cook. Once I learn it, I can make it for you and Dad at home.”

“But…”

“Oh, what!? Wash your hands. I’ll call Dad and the others to come eat.”

“Why are you shouting? They’ll come back after planting all the rice.”

Mother Xu glanced at the dishes on the table sourly. She nearly clutched her chest and cried out because of the sight. This prodigal daughter of hers couldn’t just cook one meat dish; she had to cook three!

“By the way, Mom, we got 500 yuan as the remaining payment for the watermelons.” Xu Yin smiled and took out the money.

Pap…

The towel in Mother Xu’s hand fell off.