Chapter 46 - 046 Xue Baimei at Dawn (Seeking a Patron!)
The Jishui Production Team and the Li Family Village Production Team are separated by a stretch of road; once you cross it, you’re in Jishui Team. The two production teams are very close, and plus, for over a decade, there’s been a tradition of mutual marriage between them, with girls from Li Family Village marrying into Jishui, and Jishui boys taking wives from Li Family Village. As a result, most people know each other, and in-laws are connected everywhere.
Mr. Li was leading the way up front, with Li Xianglu carrying a big bundle behind him. Along the way, quite a number of people greeted Mr. Li, and some curiously observed Li Xianglu who was donning brand-new clothes.
Initially, Li Xianglu felt somewhat uncomfortable, but who was she? A fine young adult from the 21st century. Back in her university days, she often chatted up handsome strangers, so being looked at a few times now was trivial. Before long, Li Xianglu was accustomed to it and continued walking forward, ignoring the stares of the people around her.
And Mr. Li, walking ahead of her, noticed this scene and kept nodding his head. This girl was quite interesting indeed.
The Jishui Team, like the Li Family Village Team, also had members sent down to toil. Some were sent here because they had a "bad class background," others because they had erred; due to these reasons, treatment could vary. The Jishui Team’s senior tailor Xue Baimei was such a person; sent here because of a bad class background. However, because of a kinship with the team leader’s family, the leader had specifically brought Xue Baimei over to work on the team.
During the slack farming season, Xue Baimei would make some clothes for the peasants, free of charge, only asking for some grain in return. The Xue Family was pretty savvy in dealing with these matters, and every year they provided the team leader’s family with considerable benefits. The team leader’s family received free tailoring as well, so no one reported them, and life was relatively peaceful as a result.
But this family was also smart not to tailor clothes for unfamiliar outsiders, only offering service to acquaintances who brought them in.
Mr. Li and Xue Baimei were indeed acquainted, although the specifics of their acquaintance remained a mystery. Upon meeting, the two greeted each other cheerily.
As for Li Xianglu, she froze for a moment. Why was Xue Baimei a middle-aged man? Blinking, she saw Mr. Li introduce with a beaming smile, "Xiao Xue, this is my granddaughter, Li Xianglu. We’ve come today to make some trousers for the girl."