Li Lanyan calmed down and snorted, “He’s probably playing games every day. I still don’t know him.”
“I don’t care about him either. Tongtong and I can manage without him. Earning money isn’t something only he can do.” Li Lanyan mumbled to herself for a few moments, then awkwardly added, “Enough about me. Qingmi, you have the baby working must be hard, right?”
Jiang Qingmi thought, finally, the question was about her.
“Of course, Lanyan-jie. I’ve been worrying about finding something to do. Any bit I can earn helps. I came here hoping you could give me some advice.”
“Ah, you really are the one to be asked, just like a master asking her apprentice. Remember? Back when we were at that yarn factory in the west of Beicheng, it was you who taught me. Handmade items are popular in Beicheng. You could just make some at home and sell them at a stall, and you could take care of the baby at the same time. The winters here are long and cold knitting sweaters then is even more profitable. Rich people prefer handmade stuff, not machine-made.”
She glanced at Qing Yanshen. “Setting up a stall might not be glamorous, but being able to meet here again both of us…”
Jiang Qingmi felt awkward. The person who could knit was the original owner, not her.
She still wanted Li Lanyan to teach her.
“I haven’t knitted in a long time. I’m a bit rusty.”
“That’s nothing. Once you start, it’ll come back.”
Li Lanyan had plenty of yarn at home bright and colorful and she usually knitted at home before selling her items. She picked up the yarn, her fingers flying across it like flowers blooming, and began to knit.
Jiang Qingmi watched for a few moments, then tried a few motions with her empty hands. It seemed… she could actually do it.
Ah…
The original owner’s muscle memory had been reawakened?
“Lanyan-jie, try it for me.”
Jiang Qingmi picked up the yarn and hook. At first, her two stitches were slow and tentative. Soon, though, her hands moved together like dancing strings, her fingers spinning nimbly. The yarn seemed to come alive in her hands.
“I told you you could do it, yet you still pretend to be modest,” Li Lanyan laughed. “Young mothers in Beicheng like all sorts of designs. Add some creativity, a few little animals, and you’ll sell well.”
Jiang Qingmi looked at her hands, amazed she could pick it up so quickly. It really was muscle memory.
She also realized how much Beicheng loved yarn products. Whether on pedestrians or in shops, there were more or less yarn-made items everywhere.
“Take some of this yarn home and practice. With a child, you have to make do, but you can’t let the baby be uncomfortable.”
Jiang Qingmi was genuinely grateful to Li Lanyan. Most people would worry about competition, but she didn’t care at all.
Li Lanyan explained that now that temperatures in Beicheng were dropping, handmade yarn products sold very well. She made seven to eight hundred yuan a day, and sometimes over a thousand. They were in high demand.
However, this only applied during the winter months. In summer, even if people loved handmade yarn, they wouldn’t wear it. At most, there would be small yarn decorations on short-sleeved dresses.
Jiang Qingmi felt her heart ignite with excitement. “Lanyan-jie, once I start earning, I’ll treat you to a big meal.”
“Don’t be so polite with me. When I first joined that yarn factory, I was clumsy and slow to learn. The team leader was always watching me with a dark look, and I wanted to quit. But you patiently taught me again and again. That’s why today I can even make a living. I should be thanking you.”
So that’s how it was the original owner had built good relationships.
Eager to knit, Jiang Qingmi finished a small sweater at Li Lanyan’s house. It fits Tuantuan perfectly. She looked at it, feeling both joyful and amazed.
She hadn’t expected she could really knit.
For a moment, she felt a full sense of accomplishment that she could finally earn money.
As long as she could earn money, nothing else seemed like a problem.
As long as she could earn money, life had hope.