I played as an assistant in ancient times

Chapter 138 Guidance 12

Since the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, we often hear about immigration from all over the country. Shen Xiaoye heard from his uncle that this was due to the destruction of agriculture in the Central Plains by wars in the previous dynasty and the previous dynasty for hundreds of years, which caused population depletion and the current situation of north-south division.

After Taizu unified China, he had to resort to relocating people in order to bridge the gap between the north and the south, reset the population structure, and restore farming in the north.

The main reason why her grandfather abandoned his property in Qiu County and returned home was that he heard that the imperial court wanted to relocate some of the people nearby to the Ganliang area in the northwest.

The reason why Shen Xiaoye asked Aunt Yi this was because the other party's accent was very similar to that of Beijing.

"No, I brought my two children to the capital to look for my relatives." Aunt Yi felt much more relaxed when she saw her two daughters being warmly entertained by the two old ladies, who poured hot soup and gave them cakes.

She said, "My hometown is in Jiangnan, and my family name is Yuan. The child's father has been away for several years. After I found out where he was, I came here to look for him."

Shen Xiaoye was slightly stunned and quickly looked at the two grandmothers. It was not easy for a woman to bring two children thousands of miles north in that era.

Not to mention the pass, just the safety of the journey is worrying.

Now she still needs help to raise the child, but she probably hasn't found anyone.

"Mrs. Yuan, have you gone to the government office to inquire?" Lin stroked Xiao Jiaer's head. Seeing that both children were very thin, she couldn't help feeling pity for them.

Aunt Yi (Yuan) shook her head: "I didn't find out.

But in the past few months in Beijing, I found that as long as I am willing to work hard, I can support my mother and me."

Seeing that she didn't want to ask any more questions, Lin didn't ask any more.

But Shen Xiaoye asked, "Is it okay for the two sisters to stay in the rental place when Auntie comes to help?"

"I've asked the landlord to take care of them. Besides, Wen'er and Jia'er are already grown up, and can help the landlord clean the yard and feed the chickens and ducks." Yuan's cooking skills are good. The previous customer quit his job as a helper because he was going back home for the Chinese New Year.

Lin said: "This is not bad, I think..."

Before she finished her words, she heard Shen Shanxin's voice outside: "Xiao Ye, Master Miao is looking for you."

Because there was a female guest present and Sui Ge'er and Geng Ge'er were not at home, Shen Shanxin did not invite the Miao family to move to the second courtyard.

"Eh?" Shen Xiaoye was a little confused. On the first day of the new year, this person and her family exchanged New Year greetings. "Grandma, I'm going to go out and take a look. Auntie, please sit for a while."

Having said that, she quickly walked out of the room and went to the back room at the entrance to the courtyard to receive guests.

When Mr. Miao saw her, he smiled and said, "Ms. Shen, I have a good business opportunity, so I came to find you."

Shen Xiaoye was delighted: "Oh, thank you Mr. Miao for coming over. What is the business?"

I saw Miao Dongjia pick up a roll of cloth he brought and open it, revealing fine white silk and plain satin inside.

He handed them to Shen Xiaoye and said, "I wonder if Miss Shen might dye a batch of Rainy Sky Blue in the near future with these two?"

"I have to try it." Shen Xiaoye took it and looked at it carefully. She had not touched much silk and satin, so she could not judge its quality for the time being.

She said, "Miao, the starch dyeing of this kind of delicate things requires a lot of dye, especially the rain-blown sky blue color. If it costs less than five cents to dye one foot, I can't do it."

“The other party said that price was not an issue, he just wanted the color he wanted.

It would be best if the goods can be delivered in February." Mr. Miao set a time limit.

After Shen Xiaoye finished looking at the material, he said, "Please wait a moment. I need to let the elders take a look."

"Okay, okay." Mr. Miao had seen her sky-blue cloth and thought that dyeing silk would not be a problem.

Shen Xiaoye asked her great grandfather to help entertain the guests, and she quickly returned to the main room and asked her grandmother: "Do you know these two materials?

Will the silk shrink significantly after being rinsed several times? "

"This is made of top-quality material, but I've only seen it and never washed it." Grandma Lin was immediately embarrassed, and Qian beside her was even more clueless.

Yuan, who was sitting in the guest seat, opened her mouth to say something, but Shen Xiaoye glanced at her movements, quickly handed it to her and asked, "Aunt, do you know?"

Yuan nodded slightly but did not touch it: "I know, if you want to use it to make clothes, it is best to use it only as the lining of the inner garment.

If it deforms after one washing, it won’t be a big problem.”

"Once?" Shen Xiaoye and the two grandmothers asked at the same time.

Yuan nodded again: "When this kind of silk is woven, due to too many adjustments and changes in the warp and weft, some kind of dark pattern will be faintly revealed.

But because of this, it is very easy to deform in hot water, and many wealthy families use it to make clothes, but they only wear them once. "

She looked at the plain silk again and said, "Silk can be starched several times."

"Luckily, my aunt came here today. Thank you so much. You've been a great help." Shen Xiaoye nodded to her in thanks and decisively returned to the back seat with the material.

She said directly to Miao Dongjia: "Our family can't take this job. Silk is too precious. We can't control the time of starching and washing, and it is easy to damage the original material."

"Ah?" Miao Dongjia was a little surprised, then he understood and said, "Okay, I'll ask them to find another printing and dyeing company. Sorry for disturbing Miss Shen."

"No, no, it's you who helped to make the connection. We are unable to do so, please forgive us." Shen Xiaoye also knew that the other party meant well.

After seeing the people off, she took a deep breath. It seemed that not all business could be taken. She almost accepted it.

To this end, Lin prepared a sumptuous lunch to entertain Yuan's mother and daughter at noon.

Of course, grandpa and my cousin had to make do with it today and set up a separate dining table in the side room.

It has always been easy for people to get closer at the dinner table. Shen Xiaoye learned that when Yuan was in her hometown in Jiangnan, she often helped in the kitchen of a weaving and spinning family, and thus learned some methods to distinguish different kinds of fabrics.

“Aunt, this is more than just a few points.

Are you interested in helping out at my house and giving me some pointers on fabrics? I'll pay you double the wages.

Also, you can take both Jiaer and her sister with you, and they will be provided with food, lodging, and a set of clothes for four seasons." She is very attentive to talents.

However, Yuan declined politely, saying that she only knew a little bit.

Shen Xiaoye felt very sorry about this. Two days later, when his uncle Shen Changsui came home for acupuncture, he said, "Talent is hard to find."

“You don’t pay enough. A cook’s wage is twenty cents a day, and double that is only forty cents.

If you offer her 80 cents a day, she might agree.

Besides, everyone has his own expertise, let's first manage the cotton cloth business, and then think about other things." Shen Changsui tapped her forehead and asked in a low voice about his family's reaction after he joined the camp.

Shen Xiaoye spread his hands and said, "That's it, accept the reality.

But you're going into the barracks so early, aren't you planning to go home with us?

Since July last year, you haven’t been home for half a year.”

“After the acupuncture today, let’s see what the old imperial physician says.

If you can bear strenuous exercise, go home to see your elder brother and sister-in-law. " As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the voices of his nephew and the old imperial physician talking.

Shen Changsui touched his eyes and felt a little nervous about today's diagnosis, and so did Shen Xiaoye.