Chapter 77: The First Finished Bag!

Xie Cheng handed the basket to Xie Zhao. “I’m going to wash up and go to sleep. I still have to deliver river snails tomorrow.”

With that, he opened the door to head out, but stopped after a few steps as if remembering something. “Oh, right. Sanliuzi brought back the processed wild rabbit fur today. See if you can use it. It’s all piled up in the corner of the kitchen.”

He shut the door and went to wash up.

Xie Zhao held the heavy basket.

His heart pounded as he looked down at the basket of antique items.

This was worth tens of millions!

For a split second, Xie Zhao thought about selling them, but he quickly suppressed the urge.

Now was not the time.

First of all, the origin of these items was unknown. If he sold them and they were traced back to him, he might even lose his life.

Second, they wouldn’t be easy to sell.

Without money or influence, trying to sell antiques out of the blue would only get him cheated or robbed.

He gradually let go of the thought and calmed down completely.

No matter what, he had to hide them first.

There would always be an opportunity in the future.

*

The next morning.

At the crack of dawn, Xie Zhao got up and went to the kitchen.

Tian Xiufen was not up yet.

He walked over to where the sweet potatoes were stored in the kitchen and saw a large carrying basket filled to the brim with wild rabbit pelts.

He picked one up, examined it closely, and silently marveled at the old hunter’s craftsmanship.

After all, wild rabbit fur could not be sewn directly into a bag once skinned. It contained a large amount of grease and protein, which had to be removed using special techniques to prevent it from rotting and smelling.

The one who processed the pelts was Sanliuzi’s master, an elderly hunter who had long been unable to go up into the mountains.

He lived a tight life as an old bachelor, relying on the little money Sanliuzi gave him to get by.

Xie Zhao had hired him to process the pelts, paying him fifty cents per piece.

Now, the first batch of processed pelts had been returned, totaling thirty pieces.

Xie Zhao gathered the wild rabbit pelts and carried them to the main hall. When he turned around, he saw Tian Xiufen walking out of her room.

She had dark, bluish circles under her eyes and looked exhausted, but at this moment, her eyes were bright, shining with excitement and pride.

“Er Xiaozi, look! Mom made it for you!”

What she held in her hand was indeed the bag with the auspicious cloud pattern, a classic, vintage design of a certain luxury brand.

The embroidery added a sense of weight and sophistication, and the handmade craftsmanship was flawless, from the corners to the stitching.

The bag was designed as a handbag. For the handle, Xie Zhao had asked Xie Youzhen to bend the most resilient bamboo over a fire, coat it with paper pulp, and finally wrap it in matching fabric.

It had an excellent texture and felt substantial in the hand, looking high-end and luxurious at a glance.

The body of the bag was not just plain cloth either.

A single layer of fabric would be too soft and lack structure, so Tian Xiufen had come up with a method. Just like stitching shoe soles, she pieced together scraps of cloth, brushed them repeatedly with starch paste, covered them with a layer of white cotton fabric to hide the scraps, pressed them down with wooden boards and stones, and let them dry overnight. This made the fabric stiff and sturdy.

Thus, despite the bag’s small size, a great deal of effort and ingenuity had gone into making it.

Otherwise, why would it have taken until now?

Xie Zhao tested the zipper and found that it slid smoothly.

The decorative metal buttons and the edge stitching were all perfect. The only thing missing now was the wild rabbit fur.

Xie Zhao decided to do the final assembly himself.

He moved the square table into the yard, pulled up a stool to sit on, and held the bag in one hand and a whole piece of wild rabbit pelt in the other. He carefully measured them against each other, rapidly visualizing the finished product in his mind.

Finally, he selected the most suitable position and shape. He then picked up a pencil and began sketching the outline bit by bit on the soft rabbit pelt.

*

Two hours later, the sun was fully up, and Xie Zhao was finally finished.

Xie Tian, who had just woken up, rubbed her eyes and saw the rabbit fur bag sitting on the square table as soon as she stepped outside.

Her eyes immediately went wide!

Oh my goodness!

Was this the bag her second brother had made?

It was so beautiful!

The pattern and the rabbit fur looked incredibly exquisite!

She walked over, unable to resist reaching out to gently stroke it, her face lighting up with a broad grin.

“Second Brother! This bag is so beautiful! The fur is so soft too! It looks really expensive! Are you really going to sell it in the county seat? Will anyone buy it?”

Xie Zhao was rinsing his mouth and washing his face. Hearing Xie Tian’s words, he turned around and smiled. “Not only am I going to sell it, but I’m also going to sell it for a hundred yuan.”

What?

Xie Tian was so shocked she almost bit her tongue!

A hundred yuan for one?

That was three or four months’ salary for an ordinary worker!

Who would be willing to spend that much on this?

No matter how pretty it was, it couldn’t put food on the table!

Seeing Xie Tian’s look of disbelief, Xie Zhao didn’t bother to explain.

Wealth classes existed in every era. If one wanted to make money from the upper class, they couldn’t attract them with discounts and cheap prices.

What they pursued was uniqueness, vanity, and a lofty sense of superiority.

By the time Xie Cheng and Xie Youzhen got up, Tian Xiufen had already prepared breakfast.

She had boiled a whole pot of tea eggs. Turning to Xie Zhao, she said, “Take a few to Teacher Wei when you go later! It’s a hassle for him to cook breakfast for himself. Tell him not to bother and just come over to our place for a bite!”

Xie Zhao nodded in agreement.

He wolfed down three eggs and drank two large bowls of sweet potato porridge, feeling warm and full.

Meanwhile, word had spread to the neighboring villages over the past two days that Xie Lao’er’s family was buying river snails. Since the Lantern Festival, the daily volume of river snails collected had reached over two thousand catties.

Consequently, when they set out today, they had three handcarts.

The extra cart had been rented from the village by Xie Youzhen.

Donkeys weren’t like oxen; they were primarily used for pulling cargo. Since it wasn’t the busy farming season for delivering goods to the county seat, the donkeys would otherwise be sitting idle at home. Renting them to Xie Zhao earned the owners a daily fee, so everyone was happy to do it.

The young man driving the cart was named Mao Yong, a distant relative of the village chief. He had been squeezed in to drive the cart, earning one yuan per trip.

He was a bit reserved, but he worked quickly and honestly, paying close attention to detail.

Xie Zhao was very satisfied.

Three wooden carts loaded with more than twenty-three hundred catties of river snails set off, their wheels leaving deep ruts in the damp earth. The early spring mist carried a chill, and accompanied by the jingling of bells tied around the donkeys’ necks, they rolled slowly toward Hudong County.

As Xie Zhao passed by Wei Qingzhi’s house, he was surprised to find the man waiting for him.

He wore a dark long gown, and his half-gray hair, tousled by a damp mountain breeze, clung wetly to his forehead.

Seeing Xie Zhao arrive, he walked over, pulled out a package he had been sheltering in his coat, and handed it to him.

“I know you’re busy, so I hand-copied a selection of English vocabulary words for you. Take them and memorize them on the road. I’ll test you tonight.”

Wei Qingzhi added, “And don’t forget the two-hour lesson you promised me. If you really don’t have time, I’ll go to your house tonight. I’ve already put the lesson materials together. You must make time for your studies. Do not delay.”