"Want fabric? Sure, three eggs for one foot of fabric, any pattern you like. If you want some, bring your eggs to me. Don’t think you can take advantage of Zhao Xiuli that easily!" Mrs. Lin didn’t care what others thought of her. She accepted the bad reputation for mistreating her adopted son with peace of mind, let alone the fact that her exchange terms were reasonable. A meter of fabric is about three feet. To make a summer dress, you need about one and a half to two meters of fabric, which is about five to six feet. One egg exchanged in town wouldn’t even fetch fifteen cents, while a dress at the department store costs three to four yuan! With less than twenty eggs, you could exchange enough fabric for a dress. Mrs. Lin thought her price was very fair. But those aunties obviously didn’t think so. "Xiuli, we have no problem exchanging eggs for fabric, but aren’t you being too greedy? Three eggs for just one foot of fabric, why not just rob us?" "Exactly! We’re all neighbors, no one’s saying you should give it for free, but you shouldn’t take advantage either!" "How about this, one egg for one foot of fabric, we’ll all trade with you, how about that?" No matter how eloquent the aunties were, Mrs. Lin remained unmoved. She rolled her eyes grudgingly. "Now you want to talk about relationships and feelings? After what happened to my husband, when I asked for help, you all avoided me like I was some kind of debt collector." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩 "When the Lin Family was at its worst, none of you helped out. Now you have the face to talk to me about feelings? What feelings do I have with you?" "Anyway, that’s all the fabric there is. Take it or leave it!" If they didn’t want it, she’d just keep it for herself! But exchanging for eggs was good too; it had been a long time since she’d had boiled eggs. Either way, she wouldn’t lose out! Mrs. Lin didn’t even blame Lin Xiang for wanting to exchange fabric and continued leisurely eating her big meat bun. Since Chunya liked to drink silver ear soup, she’d save that for her. She could just eat a couple of meat buns instead. The cotton spinning factory’s chef wasn’t any less skilled than Chef Shen, and they used plentiful ingredients. Mrs. Lin took a big bite, and the aroma of meat filled the main room. Everyone’s stomachs lacked any oil or water, and as they smelled the aroma of meat, they swallowed their saliva with difficulty. But no one dared to ask Mrs. Lin to share half of the meat bun with them. Asking for food and asking for fabric were not the same thing! "Alright, alright, we’ll go back and get the eggs, okay? But please keep the fabric for us!" They feared if they stayed any longer, they wouldn’t be able to resist snatching the meat bun from Mrs. Lin’s hand. Mrs. Lin continued smacking her lips, showing no quarter, "I can’t promise that. There’s only so much fabric. If someone gets here with the eggs before you, I’ll have to give it to them first." A few mumbled as they left one after the other. Mrs. Lin couldn’t make out what they were mumbling, but it surely wasn’t anything nice. Only one person lingered, hesitating to leave. "What else is there? Want to haggle? I’m telling you, that’s impossible!" The person smirked, "Three eggs for a foot of fabric, that’s fair. I’m not here to haggle. I just want to know if you have any red fabric. My family’s Chunya is getting married at the end of the year, and I thought about getting some red fabric to make her a dress." Red fabric, Mrs. Lin indeed had some. When Director Chen asked her to choose fabric, her eyes immediately fell on the red one. Mrs. Lin glanced at the person speaking, then took another bite of her meat bun before saying, "Winter clothes require a lot of fabric, how about this, I’ll give you eight feet of fabric, and you bring fifteen eggs to exchange. After you make a wedding dress for your Chunya, you can make two sets of clothes for my girl as well." "No, first you have to make clothes for my girl. Anyway, your Chunya isn’t getting married until the end of the year, there’s still time. My girl needs to wear nice clothes sooner." Fifteen eggs for eight feet of fabric; Fifth Aunt could hardly believe these words came from Mrs. Lin’s mouth. Seeing her not speaking, Mrs. Lin sneered, "If you’re not willing, forget it, anyway, there are others in the village who can make clothes..." "I’m willing! Sister-in-law, I’ll go get the eggs now, but make sure you keep the fabric for me!" Mrs. Lin finished the last bite of her meat bun and drank some water, "Come back tomorrow. If the village gossip queens see you and give me fewer eggs, I’ll come and demand the loss from you!" "Okay, okay, I’ll come back tomorrow and won’t bring anyone else along. I won’t tell anyone about this!" Fifth Aunt left happily, her steps much lighter than when she arrived. After everyone had left, Lin Xiang approached Mrs. Lin, "Mom, why did you give Fifth Aunt the red fabric? And only asked for fifteen eggs for eight feet of fabric. Why are you being so generous with her?" Mrs. Lin reached out and pinched Lin Xiang’s ear, "You little girl, daring to make fun of your mom? Even though I have some faults, I do remember who treats me well! When your dad just had his accident, neither your uncles nor your aunts wanted to help us." "If it weren’t for your Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt, a woman like me wouldn’t have managed your dad’s affairs. And when the village folks bullied us orphans and widows, your Fifth Aunt was one of the few who didn’t. Plus, Chunya is a good kid. Despite our bad reputation, she still greets me whenever she sees me." Our bad reputation, wasn’t it because of your doing? But thinking about it, after Mr. Lin passed away, the villagers knew that Lin Yun was adopted, and openly and secretly snubbed her and her daughter. Although Mr. Lin didn’t leave any inheritance, in the countryside, especially in the 1960s and 70s, it was common for people to try to seize land from widows without heirs. Aunt Lin dared to propose selling Mrs. Lin and Lin Xiang for bride price because of this reason. Mrs. Lin might be domineering and unreasonable, but she has a clear sense of gratitude and keeps track of those who treat her well. Even if Chunya greeted her only a few times, Mrs. Lin remembered it. Not a heinous villain, after all. In the book, the things Mrs. Lin did to Lin Yun were partly Lin Yun’s tacit indulgence, and also because the author decreased their intelligence to highlight the male lead’s tragic fate. Now, it seems Mrs. Lin might still be redeemable. "I’m heading out for a bit. If anyone comes with eggs to exchange for fabric, you should measure out the fabric. Remember, three eggs for one foot of fabric, measure the yardstick straight." As soon as Mrs. Lin left, Lin Xiang went to the yard, and together with Lin Yun, assembled the semi-finished machines into two machines for making sweet potato starch. "I saw you brought back plenty of hardware parts, so I made two sets. Do you want to make sweet potato starch today? I’ll go to the cellar and get some sweet potatoes for you."