On the other side, Lin Cheng walked for a long time and found the fabric wholesale market that Hu Mao mentioned.

There were not many customers coming here to buy, and the market seemed a bit deserted.

Lin Cheng walked inside a store.

Seeing a customer coming in, the proprietor sat up from the recliner.

“What are you looking for? We have curtains, bed sheets, and sofa covers here. We have them in sets and in bulk. We can sell finished products and fabrics wholesale. You can also choose the fabric you like and we can make them to order. If you are interested, come and have a look.”

Lin Cheng walked into the store, and the boss immediately began pulling items from the shelves and began introducing them to Lin Cheng.

“Our fabrics are all purchased from S City. They are all of good quality. Here, you can touch them. We have as many pieces as you want and there are many styles. There are also finished products here. These are obtained directly from the factory. The goods are all from the same factory used by big brands. We just process them here… All the things in my store are the same things supplied to big hotels. You can see for yourself whether the workmanship and quality are good or not. There are also branded items available. Please have a look.”

Lin Cheng didn’t pay attention to the boss’ sales enticements but asked directly, “Do you have single items or leftover fabrics in your store?”

Lin Cheng learned about this from Hu Mao’s family next door: in the fabric wholesale and processing market, most of the merchants process the fabric into sheets, quilt covers, and curtains. Some were then used for display, only to be replaced with new ones after a while. Also, some of the remaining items in the inventory would also be taken out and disposed of after the bulk of that particular design has already been sold. In addition, after the store completed some customers’ orders, there would be a lot of fabric left over just taking up space at the warehouse.

These were available at very cheap prices.

Hearing Lin Cheng’s question, the boss’ expression changed slightly. He no longer actively recommended the items in the store to Lin Cheng. He asked, “Yeah, how much do you want?”

“Just a few single items,” Lin Cheng said.

The boss frowned.

“There are too many things piled up in our warehouse. It’s hard to find them. There’s a pile over there. Go check it out for yourself. If you like any, you can buy it. If you don’t, there’s nothing I can do.” 

The boss was pointing to several boxes behind the store’s door. They were filled to the brim with cloths.

Lin Cheng nodded, walked over to the boxes and started rummaging around.

Finally, Lin Cheng brought out a leftover bed sheet, two sample pillows of different designs and colors, and a thin quilt that had been wrongly sewn.

“The quilt is charged a cost price of 16 yuan. Not counting the fabric used for the two pillows, I will only charge you for the filling, which is 5 yuan for one and 10 yuan for two. For the bedsheet, it costs 16 yuan for big one, I’ll give this small one to you for…,” the boss fiddled with the calculator, “16 plus 5 plus 5… a total of 32.”

“26,” Lin Cheng said.

The boss glanced at Lin Cheng and said with some dissatisfaction, “It’s only a few things and you still have to bargain.”

Lin Cheng: “…” 

It wasn’t that he wanted to bargain, but after buying their meals and all the things earlier, Lin Cheng only had 36 yuan left.

He wanted to save the remaining 10 yuan as he planned to go to the other side of the market for some foam mattress after this.

“30 for you.”

“26,” Lin Cheng insisted.

The boss waved his hand helplessly, “Okay, okay,  just to make some space in the store, I’ll give in to you.”

“Thank you.”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

[Fuck, can this still happen?]

[Although it is a mix and match, 26 yuan is too cheap.]

[Indeed I don’t have enough experience…]

[I feel like I’ve learned a lot of strange knowledge in this program…]

… …

Lin Cheng walked all the way to the other side of the market.

He found the right shop that sold foam mattresses.

Lin Cheng only needed a small area, so the boss found a piece for Lin Cheng from some scraps left over from cutting. He didn’t charge him much for it: only 7 yuan.

……

Lin Cheng took these things back and washed them by the well.

The newly washed bed sheets and quilt covers were hung to dry by the fire where their next door neighbors cooked tofu and soy milk. By nightfall, they were already dry.

Father and daughter worked together to make the bed.

Lin Cheng used sandpaper to polish the bed frame that they had dismantled this morning. Only the inner wooden frame was left. Then he carefully wrapped some still ragged and bumpy places with rags to ensure that Lin Momo would not hurt herself or get pricked by wooden barbs.

After tidying up, Lin Momo looked particularly excited when she saw the ‘new’ bed, and couldn’t wait to jump on it.

“This foam mattress is super soft!” Lin Momo said with a smile on her face, rubbed against the quilt again, and said, “I like it so much.”

Seeing the satisfied look on Lin Momo’s face, Lin Cheng couldn’t help but smile. 

He said to Lin Momo, “Later, you can follow Aunt Yang and the other kids next door to wash up and then sleep obediently.”

“Do you still want to go out?”

“I’m going out to work and can’t take you with me, but I will come back as soon as possible,” Lin Cheng said.

While Lin Cheng had been reinforcing the house earlier, many neighbors came over to help and chat. Lin Cheng got a general idea of the situation in this neighborhood through talking with those people.

A large part of the people living here were blind migrants. Without their personal documents and residency permits, it was almost impossible to find a regular job.

Therefore, most people here choose to do some small businesses or find odd jobs such as moving goods at night or early in the morning.

“But then you have to come back earlier tonight,” Lin Momo said to Lin Cheng, rubbing her already sleepy eyes. 

Although she didn’t know what Lin Cheng did yesterday, she felt that he only slept for a short time this morning. She didn’t know at the time and even woke him up early.

“Okay,” Lin Cheng promised.

… …

Once Lin Momo was settled in bed, Lin Cheng went out.

Serve as Contrast Team in a ‘Dad with Baby’ Show translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 84.1 — Knowledge is Power
Chapter 84.2 — Knowledge is Power