During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"Buy them all?"

Li Chunyan's eyes widened.

"Yes, we're buying for the whole family—cotton coats, shoes, socks, hats, and so on. No one can be left out."

Sister-in-law, see if there's anything else we need at home, let's buy it all together.

Ye Qingqing said nonchalantly, "Money is meant to be spent. I'm not going to do something as foolish as hoarding money and eating coarse food, going hungry and freezing!"

Having money in your pocket gives you peace of mind!

Li Chunyan's eyes lit up. "That makes sense!"

The cloth shop had a fairly grand storefront. In the past, Li Chunyan would never have dared to go inside.

Upon entering the fabric shop, a wave of heat mixed with the smell of starch hit you.

She took a deep breath, her eyes immediately fixed on the large red peony-patterned silk fabric on the shelf, and her voice suddenly rose.

"My goodness! Second daughter, look! This bright red flower pattern could be used to make the exterior of a new jacket. If we wore it for the New Year, everyone in the village would be envious!"

Ye Qingqing reached out and pulled her back, pointing with her fingertip to a pile of dusty, coarse cloth beside her.

"That kind won't withstand the cold. We need this kind of 'old fabric,' with a dense weave that keeps out the cold wind."

She picked up a corner and examined it against the light, then rubbed it between her fingers to feel its thickness.

"Shopkeeper, bring me five zhang each of these: blue, dark blue, and brown."

The shopkeeper came over with a smile to greet her, but Li Chunyan rushed to the other end, touching a piece of blue-printed cloth and smacking her lips in admiration.

"This is great! This is dirt-resistant! Dali, come and feel it, it feels so solid!"

She tugged hard at her husband's sleeve.

Ye Dali grinned sheepishly and nodded haphazardly, "Yeah, as long as you think it's good."

He had never been to a cloth shop before, and he was a little unsure of what to do with his hands and feet. He stood between the rows of wooden shelves by the entrance, afraid of knocking something over.

"The cotton must be of good quality. Let me see the fiber length."

The man carried out a bag, untied the rope, and revealed snow-white cotton.

Ye Qingqing squatted down, pulled out a small tuft, examined the fibers against the light, and then rubbed it in her palm to feel its elasticity. "This is it. Give me twenty pounds, and make sure it's freshly made this year."

Upon hearing the numbers, Li Chunyan was so frightened that she grabbed Ye Qingqing.

"Twenty catties? Second girl, how much silver is that! Our family's nineteen taels and five qian can't withstand this kind of consumption..." She lowered her voice very low, her hot breath blowing on Ye Qingqing's ear.

Ye Qingqing calmly pried her hands away and said...

"A thick cotton-padded coat takes three or four pounds of cotton. For Dad, Mom, you, me, Dali, Dazhuang, and the two little ones, it's just twenty pounds. If we don't save on cotton, we'll get sick from the cold in winter, and the cost of medicine will be more than that."

She turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Excuse me, please cut the cloth first, and we'll calculate the bill together after we weigh it."

Li Chunyan listened and thought about it, and it made sense.

But looking at that pure white cotton, my heart still aches.

She leaned closer and whispered, "Is...is the fabric enough? Make sure it's not too short."

"Add three extra feet to the original size; honesty and integrity towards both young and old."

The shopkeeper smiled, took out a ruler, and began measuring with a clatter.

Ye Qingqing stared at the shopkeeper's hands, watching him measure one bolt of cloth and then measure the broken piece of cloth again before nodding slightly.

Li Chunyan had no such patience. She hugged the piece of dark blue cloth she had just torn off, rubbing her face against the cloth.

"Great! Great! Now we can finally wear a thick, windproof coat!"

Her face flushed with excitement, as if the colors of the cloth were reflected onto her skin.

Ye Dazhuang stood quietly at the door, like a statue.

Ye Qingqing ignored him and just picked out the items according to her own taste, then helped him step onto the steps.

The cloth and cotton were all wrapped up, and Ye Qingqing was about to take out her money when Li Chunyan suddenly remembered something, slapped her thigh, and...

"Oh dear! I almost forgot about my feet! Our shoes have holes almost the size of car wheels!"

She grabbed Ye Qingqing and ran towards the shoe stall behind the cloth shop.

The shoe stalls were set up under the eaves, with rows of cloth shoes with multi-layered soles neatly arranged.

Li Chunyan squatted down, picked up a men's shoe, and examined the sole from all angles.

"Shopkeeper, how many layers are there on this base?"

She bent it forcefully, then poked the stitches with her finger. "These stitches are tight! How much is a pair?"

"Thirty coins, guaranteed sturdy," the old shoe seller said slowly.

Li Chunyan gasped, "Thirty coins! That's enough to buy two pounds of coarse grains!"

But when she looked at her old shoes with her toes sticking out, she gritted her teeth and looked up at Ye Qingqing.

Ye Qingqing had already picked up a pair of children's shoes, with simple tiger head patterns sewn on the toes; they were undeniably cute. She then asked…

"Do you have a smaller one? For the two little ones in the family."

Yes, yes, yes!

The old man pulled out two smaller pairs from underneath, with a red trim around the top of each shoe.

Ye Qingqing held the shoes in her palm; they fit perfectly. She then asked, "Can you give me a discount on all four pairs, including the two larger pairs from before?"

The old man counted on his fingers: "Four small pairs, one hundred coins. Two large pairs, sixty coins. Let's round it up to one hundred and fifty coins."

These cotton shoes were sewn by my wife and daughter-in-law, stitch by stitch. They're sturdy and will last all winter.

Li Chunyan muttered again from the side.

"One hundred and fifty coins, that's several kilograms of rice..."

This time, however, she didn't object; she just stared longingly at Ye Qingqing.

Ye Qingqing took out a string of copper coins from her purse, counted out 150 coins, and added a few more.

"Could you please add two more hemp ropes for sewing shoe soles? The uppers of the shoes at home are almost worn through and need mending."

The old man happily accepted the money and gave her an extra piece of scrap leather, saying it would be useful for mending shoe uppers.

After buying the shoes, Li Chunyan was still reluctant to leave and dragged Ye Qingqing to the stall selling general merchandise.

"Second daughter, now that you have a new coat and shoes, you should also change the clothes underneath!"

Look at that white cotton cloth, make two close-fitting undershirts for the two little ones, to absorb sweat.

"Get a few more feet of white cloth for Dad to make socks, with cotton wadding inside, they'll be warm!"

As she spoke, her hand touched a roll of white cotton cloth.

Ye Qingqing let her choose, while she picked up several pairs of socks woven from cattail fluff.

"Wear this over your cloth socks, and it won't let water seep in when you walk on snow."

She asked the price; five coins a pair, so she bought four pairs. She then pointed to a type of knee brace made of old cloth bandages.

"Tie this to your parents' knees; it'll help with their chronic leg pain."

Upon hearing "old cold legs," Li Chunyan immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes! My dad always complains of knee pain in winter, this is perfect!"

Li Chunyan had already prepared the white cotton cloth, and then she saw the soap on the stall. She picked up a bar and smelled it.

"Second daughter, we've run out of soap. Shall we buy a new one? It smells wonderful!"

Ye Qingqing took it, broke off a piece to check its quality, and asked the price: eight coins a piece.

She thought for a moment, "I'll buy it, so I can wash my face and clothes cleaner from now on... Boss, give me ten dollars, there are many people in my family."

Pig pancreas is soft and falls apart easily when soaked in water; it cannot be used.

Buy a few more and keep them at home for later use.

Li Chunyan happily took it, brought it to her nose and took a deep sniff, her eyes squinting from the fragrance.