The girl bringing mantou to Jian Shuangshuang was called Du Xinning, and she was Jian Shuangshuang's good friend. She was dressed so lightly not because of the heat, but because her family couldn't afford fabric.
For ordinary families, fabric is very precious and is the best item for barter outside of currency. To some extent, cloth can also substitute for money.
The village where Jian Shuangshuang lived had very poor land, producing little grain each year. The villagers were gathered refugees fleeing from hardship, so the village had people with every surname.
This place was called Hundred Families Village, a well-known poor village. The village had many bachelors because girls tried hard to marry out, and girls from other villages were unwilling to marry in.
