Quickly wear it with your skills

I got up and made breakfast. Lou Xiao came back just as I was finishing breakfast. He must have gone to the fields that morning. As we were eating, Lou Xiao said, "Mushrooms are growing on the mountain now. Do you want to go up with me?"

Lan Hanlu used to love going up the mountain with him to pick mushrooms and wild fruits, but now… she shook her head. “My body is sore, so I won’t go. I’ll go with Sister Zhao and the others tomorrow.”

Sister-in-law Zhao is Aunt Zhao's daughter-in-law. Women here all take their husband's surname. Except for those of the same age who she knows as Daya and Erya, she doesn't know the names of other older people.

People call each other by their surname and generation. People of the same generation will tell each other who is from that family. Everyone knows it anyway.

Lou Xiao nodded when he heard her words but didn't say anything. After finishing his meal, he put on his bow and arrow, water bag, and a fire starter and went straight up the mountain.

Lan Hanlu finished packing and went back to take a nap. She felt better in the afternoon and took out the newly bought embroidery cloth. The fine silk shone with a faint luster.

Wash your hands, apply ointment, and carefully place the embroidery cloth on it. These days, you will mainly be tracing the base and splitting the embroidery thread, which are all delicate work. You must take good care of your hands to avoid scratching the embroidery cloth and making it fuzzy.

She planned to embroider a Guanyin image. Most people here believed in Buddhism, so embroidered Guanyin images or the Guanyin who delivers children would be easily sold.

Lan Hanlu had been preparing the base for the embroidery cloth these past two days! The prey Lou Xiao brought back were all small, such as pheasants, hares, and bamboo rats.

If they are still alive, keep them and sell them when you have enough. Otherwise, it is not worth the trip. After all, these little things are not worth much.

Lan Hanlu either stewed the dead ones or dried them for storage. By the way, she had also exchanged a dead wild duck for some eggs.

Forget about the other things, she asked Lou Xiao to pack up the rabbit skin and put it away for future use.

Whatever Lou Xiao brought back, Lan Hanlu would do with it however she wanted, and he never expressed any opinion.

That day he brought back five smoked hares and three pheasants. Lan Hanlu saw them and wanted to help take them, but Lou Xiao took a step back and dodged them.

"Don't take anything too dirty. I've saved up quite a bit. On my way down the mountain, I ran into the village chief's youngest son. I gave him a chicken and borrowed his donkey cart. I'll take it to the county town to exchange it later. If you need to buy anything, just tell me."

Lan Hanlu listened to his words, hurried back to the house, took out a sack, and said, "These three chickens just died, you can take them to exchange. If you have any, buy some rapeseed oil, pork, and pig offal.

After thinking about it, she was worried and wanted to buy some seasonings. How about I write you a list? I want to braise some meat. Don’t forget anything, otherwise it won’t taste good when you cook it.

As Lou Xiao packed up the creatures, he said, "Okay, then write one for me. I'll try to buy it back if it exists."

Lan Hanlu hurried into the house and wrote a note with a charcoal pencil. She handed it to him. Worried, she added, "Some of the things here aren't available at the grocery store. Ask at the pharmacy."

She was referring to some seasonings. There are many seasonings now, and people here use them as medicinal herbs or spices.

At this time, a voice came from the door, "Brother Lou, Brother Lou, are you ready?" The boy's voice might be unpleasant due to his voice change period, but he seemed full of energy.

"Okay, come here and help carry it." Lou Xiao ordered bluntly, and the boy didn't care and ran in.

The man who came was thin and dark-skinned, about thirteen or fourteen years old. He was the youngest child of the village chief's family and his name was Li Dong. Although it was just an ordinary name, there were not many children with such a name in the village.

Girls here are usually called Daya, Erya, and Daniernier, while boys are called Damao, Ermao, Goudan, and Niudan. There are few with proper names.

It is enviable that Li Dong has such a formal name. This is because the village chief attended a private school for two years when he was young, which allowed the child in his family to have a formal name.

"Dongzi, I'm sorry to bother you again. Do you want to go with Lou Xiao?" Lan Hanlu had a good impression of the village chief's family. At least it was he who helped arrange the burial of the scholar and his wife.

Dongzi was so polite that he scratched his head and laughed. "Sister-in-law, why are you being so polite to me? My brother even gave me a pheasant. Today I'm going with Brother Lou. I've already learned how to drive a cart."

He puffed out his chest as he spoke. There were only two families in the village that owned donkey carts, and he was the only one of his age who learned to drive a donkey cart. He was not proud of it.

Among the people in the village, the ones he respected the most were his father and his brother Lou, not even his eldest brother.

The two men had already loaded their belongings onto the donkey cart, and Lan Hanlu gave them a warning. "It's still early, so drive slowly. It doesn't matter if you buy anything or not, just don't rush back."

Lou Xiao felt a warm glow at her words. He turned his donkey cart around and said before leaving. "When we get to the county town, this guy and I will have something to eat first. You can eat at home by yourself. You don't have to wait for me."

Watching the donkey cart swaying as it moved, Lan Hanlu closed the door and went to wash her hands. Just as she sat down in front of the embroidery frame and was about to start working, the door was knocked again.

She quickly put down the embroidery thread in her hand, stood up, and asked as she walked.

"Sister Lulu, it's me." A clear and loud voice came.

Lan Hanlu knew it was Sister Zhao the moment she heard it. She hurried to the door and pulled the bolt. Standing outside was indeed Sister Zhao, wearing a patched blue cloth dress, but it was clean.

He was very thin and his face was a little dark and red, with high cheekbones, but he was in good spirits. He spoke directly when he saw Lan Hanlu.

"Sister Hanlu, my mother-in-law and I are going up the mountain to pick mushrooms tomorrow. She asked me to ask if you want to go. If you do, we can go together."

Lan Hanlu opened the door wider and said, "Sister-in-law, come in quickly. You must wait for me when I come."

He has been staying at home for more than a month, and he doesn't want to go out and chat with the village women. She is very happy to go to the mountains tomorrow, where she can pick mushrooms and coconuts and relax.

"Oh, I won't go in. It's almost time to cook. Since you're going, I'll go back and tell my mother-in-law that I'll come see you tomorrow."

After saying this, Sister Zhao turned around and left, not giving Lan Hanlu time to react.

Lan Hanlu locked the door again and returned to the yard. This time she didn't embroider anymore. She just packed up her things and covered them with a piece of cotton cloth.

Then I started packing things to take up the mountain tomorrow, old clothes, a headscarf, a basket, and most importantly, a small knife made from a sickle blade.

In those days, the mining of iron mines was controlled by the imperial court, and iron tools were very expensive. People had to have kitchen knives and scissors, but few people had daggers.