The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 35 Trivia
"Hey, Teacher Song, what happened?...Why are you so happy?" Hou Qiaomei poured half a bucket of water into the big pot and was about to start boiling water to wash clothes. When she turned around, she saw Song Wenru's face was full of joy. Dei walked from the alley, holding a horse-faced skirt in one hand and a few pieces of paper in the other. His steps seemed unusually brisk.

"My son has a letter!" Song Wenru shook a few pieces of letter paper in her hand, with infinite joy on her face.

"That kid from Yanliang wrote a letter?...That's a good thing!" Hou Qiaomei put down the bucket, straightened up, and said with a smile: "You don't need to worry too much now. Why, he is going back to China for a vacation. ?"

"No." A trace of disappointment flashed in Song Wenru's eyes, "He was assigned to serve in Xizhou."

"Xizhou?...Where is that place?"

"In India." Song Wenru explained softly: "A governor-general located on the northwest coast of India."

"Hey, then in India, there shouldn't be a need to fight."

"..." Song Wenru was startled when he heard this, then shook his head and said, "Maybe there is no need to fight. But... who can think of the army?"

"Oh, what a pity for such a beautiful woman. Her man died young and she didn't remarry. She managed to bring up her son by pooping and pooping. But she never thought that when her son grew up, he would not be in trouble and would go to be a soldier. Serving... What do you call this? This makes Teacher Song anxious all day long." Hou Qiaomei said with sympathy as she watched Song Wenru leave with concern.

"What do you know!" Chen Chunquan, Hou Qiaomei's husband, secretly withdrew his gaze and said with a straight face: "That kid from Yanliang got out of the military academy and is a serious officer, not an ordinary soldier. Being transferred from Shazhou to India is a promotion. Who knows, we will have a general in our compound in the future!"

"Whether it's an officer or a private, on the battlefield, guns and cannons don't have eyes, and they just avoid officers."

"You bitch, please have some virtue in your mouth!" Chen Chunquan glared at her, "In the past, Yanliang's child called you aunt one after another, and even helped take care of several boys in our family."

"I...I didn't curse that child Yanliang, I just...just said that being a soldier is still dangerous. If a gunman comes across it, wouldn't Teacher Song be heartbroken to death!...Hey, Bah bah..., what a mouthful I am! Forget it, taking advantage of the good weather these days, I'll wash the pile of clothes quickly. There are a lot of dirty clothes for the old and the young, which is quite a busy job! "

During this period, washing clothes is undoubtedly a heavy workload, which requires a large amount of heat energy, a larger working space and a longer time.Because, on weekdays, both adults and half-grown children who can do things are very busy and cannot take time to clean the clothes they change daily.

A diligent woman would start by inspecting the clothes for holes and tears in the fabric; any small rip would quickly turn into a large hole during the vigorous starching process.Therefore, the areas that need to be stitched must be sewn quickly before washing.Next, sort the laundry by stain level and fabric type.Generally speaking, woolen clothing requires more careful care than cotton and linen, and some types of cotton fabrics are more resistant to scrubbing and twisting than others.

Once the repairs and sorting are completed, most fabrics will be soaked. Once the clothes are soaked, they will not take much effort and energy to clean.

In the process of washing clothes, women in Qi State actually worked in a similar way to women in other countries. They would use washing rods to stir or pound the clothes. Just like later washing machines, the clothes were vigorously stirred in the water and then cleaned.However, the difference is that women in Qi will use more soap, or toilet soap (only used by families with better conditions), to clean collars, cuffs and other key areas that are prone to grease or sweat.

Oh, by the way, soap is very ineffective when used in cold water. Therefore, in order to wash clothes better, women will boil a large pot of hot water in advance so that the soap can react better with dirt.

During the industrialization period, when the pace of life and the intensity of work were accelerating, the gradually formed middle class and a large number of working class people basically washed clothes once every seven or eight days.Although laundry day usually lasts for several days as it also includes paddling and ironing the clean clothes.For some wealthy families, this routine may not be so common.

In this era, the frequency of washing clothes has decreased, which also proves the affluence of the people in Qi.Because people are washing batches of clothes every time, rather than one or two pieces of clothing that need to be replaced at any time. Ordinary people in Qi have enough changeable clothes, so they will postpone the time of washing clothes.

Obviously, if a person only owns two or three sets of underwear and wants to keep them clean, he must wash them frequently.If you brag that you only do three or four loads of laundry a year, you're telling others that your entire family has enough laundry for a few months.Some items of clothing, such as diapers and sanitary napkins, of course have to be washed immediately after use, but sheets, duvet covers, towels, shirts and robes can be piled up and awaiting intensive cleaning on a slightly free day.

In countries and regions where survival materials are extremely scarce, ordinary people cannot even have more than one set of clothes. For them, changing clothes is an extremely unrealistic thing.Unless the family washed their clothes overnight and lay naked on the bed all night before changing into clothes the next morning - there was a high chance that the clothes would still be wet.

In cities, if your wallet is big enough, you can not wash the large amount of clothes accumulated at home yourself, but send them to a laundromat or a part-time laundry worker in the community.Although the hours are long and the pay is low, the job is easy to get started and requires little in the way of capital investment and training.It is also an occupation that combines work and family. Women who work at home can work part-time as laundry workers while taking care of young children, and occasionally ask older children to help with the work.It is said that some greedy businessmen are also interested in the expanding laundry industry - in Daxing City alone, there are [-] women engaged in full-time or part-time laundry work. They are instigating various research institutes and machinery factories to test the production of a steam washing machine to Instead of traditional manual laundry operations, we are trying to use machines to free up a large amount of labor from laundry work.

However, once this move is implemented, it will undoubtedly be opposed by the majority of full-time and part-time laundry women.Because, after the birth of this kind of machine, its high price will inevitably make ordinary families prohibitive and unable to afford it. Only large laundries can afford to purchase it.By then, manual laundry will inevitably be eliminated by machines, which will reduce an extra income for ordinary families engaged in the laundry industry or women who lack skills.

As a primary school teacher, Song Wenru is not very concerned about what changes will happen to the laundry industry in the future.Now, in addition to worrying about her son who was far away in Shazhou, she also felt a little helpless and hesitant about a guest who suddenly visited her home.

"You clearly know that gambling is harmful to people, why do you have to get involved in it?" Song Wenru looked at the tired-looking middle-aged man in front of her and scolded sternly: "You have to bear the sins you have done yourself. Don't try to hide. Go overseas and run away!”

"Sister-in-law, please save me." Li Dewu fell to his knees on the ground, with tears and runny nose streaming down his face, and begged: "If I don't pay 500 yuan, those people will beat me to death if they find me. ... Even if, If I can spare my life, I will definitely be sold to overseas plantations or mines and tortured to death!"

"Xiao Wu, you said you could find a good job in Daxing. Although you won't be rich, you can certainly support a family of five. But why do you want to gamble?... Nine times out of ten you will lose! Song Wenru said bitterly: "It's so good now that you actually go to a loan shark to gamble... You are leading yourself to death!"

"Sister-in-law, I was wrong!" Li Dewu stretched out his hand and slapped his face hard. "I was also fooled by lard. I believed other people's words that there was an inside story in the football game. I wanted to take a big shot and win for the whole family. Fugui. Sister-in-law, I really know I was wrong. Please save me. Those people have taken care of the house that Xiaoping and several children rented. If they can't pay back their money, I'm afraid there will be an unexpected risk! In Daxing, only you can save our family..."

"But..." Song Wenru felt angry and helpless at the same time.

Li Dewu is the youngest brother in his husband's family. He may have been doted on by his parents since he was a child. He has an eccentric personality and doesn't like farming. Before he was 15 years old, he went to Daxing to make a living.I work in a factory and can't stand the strict control there. I work as a handyman in a shop and don't like being called around all day long. I work as a handyman in a trading company and work as a guard. I hate running around here and there, and I'm afraid of getting into trouble on a boat.

After hanging around for more than ten years, he achieved almost nothing and failed to achieve anything. A few years ago, he found a job at the Daxing Tiansheng Football Club, responsible for maintaining the safety and order of the stadium, and occasionally helping the betting spectators buy chips and place bets.

Influenced by what he heard and saw, he actually followed others to gamble on football and horse racing, spending almost all his monthly salary, leaving the family constantly hungry and without a source of livelihood.As the daughter-in-law of the Li family and the sister-in-law of Li Dewu, Song Wenru had to help out from time to time for the sake of her deceased husband.

But today was a good day. In order to make a big profit out of a small thing, this guy actually listened to other people's rumors and borrowed loan sharks to gamble on football, hoping to make money in one fell swoop and become rich.

500 yuan. It takes more than three years for an ordinary family to save so much without food or water!

As a senior primary school teacher, Song Wenru's monthly salary is only 15 yuan, which is considered a middle-income level in China. Even so, she would have to save for more than 30 months without spending any money.

Of course, her son Li Yanliang is an army officer and has a monthly salary of 12 yuan. He spends almost nothing in the army. Everything is sent to her via bank draft, allowing her to save almost 200 yuan every year.The total savings over the years amounted to nearly a thousand yuan, but this was all prepared for his son's future proposal and marriage.

"...You can go to the police."

"Sister-in-law, it's useless." Li Dewu looked at Song Wenru pleadingly, "Those people will use various means to make our lives worse than death. Even Xiaoqing and the other children might not let go...Sister-in-law, Please save us! I swear, I will work peacefully in the future, and when I earn money, I will return it to you. Sister-in-law..."

"..." Song Wenru sighed silently, and then said bitterly: "Okay, I'll lend it to you. But I have to go with you to pay back the money!"

"Sister-in-law..." Li Dewu wanted to dissuade her, but when he saw the determined look on Song Wenru's face, he opened his mouth and did not dare to say anything. He just burst into tears of gratitude and showed an expression on his face that was uglier than crying.

(End of this chapter)