She boiled two full pots of hot water.
The well-behaved child was stripped bare, plopped into the basin, and scrubbed thoroughly from top to bottom, left to right.
Then her fine, sparse hair was washed too.
“Xiaogu, add some hot water—the water’s getting cold!”
“Coming, coming!” Xiaogu immediately brought over a ladle of hot water. The ladle was a gourd one that Aunt Wu Xiang had given them.
The wooden basin for bathing the child was borrowed from Auntie’s house too. The household truly had nothing—bare to the bone.
Everything had to be acquired slowly, one piece at a time.
She gave the child a quick wash, then, taking advantage of the good weather, carried her outside to sit for a while so her hair could dry in the sun.
By the time they were done, the sun was still hanging high.
“Let’s go—we’ll make another trip.”
This time, they brought nothing but themselves and money. It was rare to be this unencumbered, and they were curious about everything, looking around as they walked.
They’d taken this route plenty of times before, but always either carrying heavy loads or rushing—they’d never really taken a good look around.
“Sis, this is the first time I’ve noticed just how big this place is!”
“Right? We always used to head straight out to set up the stall—when did we ever have time to look around?”
To the left of the entrance was a row of concrete stalls. They’d heard the stall fees in there were pretty high, much more than the spots marked with yellow lines outside.
To the right was the route they usually took, with shops lining both sides.
There was a gate there—once you passed through, you were at the spot where they set up their stall.
This was the slowest time of day—no business at all. The vendors inside were either sleeping or scrolling through their phones out of boredom.
Many of the shops had their rolling shutters half-pulled down.
“Sis, there’s so much produce here—what a waste to leave it!”
Next to the green dumpster, piles of vegetables were stacked so high you could barely see the dumpster itself.
There wasn’t a single person around at this hour.
“Let’s pick through it—see if there’s anything we can use.”
Seeing so much food going to waste broke Lin Xiaohe’s heart.
Xiaogu rummaged around and pulled out a green mesh bag. “These vegetables look pretty fresh—why are they throwing them away? Such a shame.”
She quickly peeled off the outer layer—the inside was still fresh, only the outer leaves were a bit yellowed.
She packed the good ones into the sack.
While sorting, Lin Xiaohe kept her eyes peeled, scanning for anything useful.
“Move aside—garbage coming! Don’t get hit.”
A carefree voice called out nearby.
Lin Xiaohe pulled her sister aside and stepped back to watch from a distance.
Yuan Fei glanced curiously at the two kids, then casually tossed his load and walked off, hands in his pockets.
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes went wide! He’d thrown away things they could actually use!!
What a stroke of luck.
In a cardboard box, neatly arranged, were a number of items.
A low table with folding legs that could be pressed down flat against the top.
Several notebooks, a few books, and a pencil case.
Plus two collapsible little stools!
This was incredibly practical—everything they could use.
“Sis, we saved so much money! We can use these notebooks and pens for learning to read.”
Xiaogu happily touched the notebooks. “What a waste—some of these only have a few pages written on, and some are full but only written on one side. Both sides can be used!”
“There are so many pens in this pencil case! Life’s so good over here—they just throw away such precious things.”
“After all, they’re willing to spend on wild greens—wild greens sell for more than meat here. Everyone must be well-off.”
Yuan Fei glanced over curiously but didn’t pay much attention. The market had all kinds of people—at most, you’d give an unusual sight a second look.
They’d collected a big bag of vegetables and a cardboard box full of other things.
“Let’s head back first—drop these off at home, then come back.”
They ran home, dropped everything off, and rushed back.
“Let’s go to the grain and oil shop and ask Aunt Chen where to buy fabric and cotton.”
At the grain and oil shop
Chen Fang spotted them from a distance and waved them over warmly.
“What are you two here for today?”
“Aunt Chen, we want to buy some fabric and cotton, but we don’t know where to go.”
“There aren’t many places selling that stuff anymore—hardly anyone makes their own clothes these days. But you came to the right person.
My sister-in-law next door sells some fabric and cotton too. Don’t worry—she’ll get you the best. Oh, and stop calling me ‘Aunt Chen’—just call me Aunt Fang.”
Chen Fang walked them next door.
“Sister-in-law, these two kids want to buy some fabric and cotton—show them some good stuff!”
Cheng Chunyun heard the commotion and quickly responded. “Of course! Tell me what kind of fabric you’re looking for, and I’ll show you around!”
“We want something sturdy and dirt-resistant.” Lin Xiaohe had only two requirements for clothes right now.
“That’s easy. For durability, you can’t beat this polyester-cotton blend—though it’s not as comfortable as pure cotton and not very popular these days.
Let me pull some out and show you.”
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes flickered—polyester-cotton? That was good stuff.
A whole pile of fabric samples was spread out before them.
It was dizzying.
“Auntie, what are the prices?”
“The prices are per meter—1.5 meters wide. This is basic cotton, 15 yuan per meter. Next to it, the polyester-cotton blend is 10 yuan per meter. There are cheaper ones too, but those aren’t as nice—they’re usually used for lining.”
Lin Xiaohe nodded. “If my sister and I each want a set of clothes, how much fabric do we need?”
“For two kids, 3 meters should be enough—more than enough. If you’re good at sewing, a little over 2 meters would do. 3 meters gives you some leeway and room for mistakes.”
Lin Xiaohe did the math—cotton fabric would cost 45 yuan.
“If we want thicker clothes with cotton padding, we’ll need lining fabric too. How much is the lining?”
“Go with this one—it’s cheap and feels nice.”
Cheng Chunyun brought out a thin fabric. When Lin Xiaohe touched it, it was indeed very soft.
“This is 7 yuan per meter. For both of you, 3 meters should be enough for the lining.”
“It’s not quite cotton season yet—the cotton’s still in storage, leftover from last year.
If you want some, I’ll give it to you at cost. Last year I sold carded cotton batting for 16 yuan per jin—I’ll give it to you for 10.
New cotton will be out in a couple days. If you wait, you can get fresh stuff.”
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