Cao Xueqin’s ancestors lived in Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing, and Cao Xueqin also lived in Nanjing when he was young. Cao Xueqin’s “A Dream of Red Mansions” actually contains many dialects from Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing.

The word "make do with it" here should actually mean "use it with a mumble", and the "neng" in "can use it" is just a misspelling of "neng". In any dialect, , "can" doesn't mean "make do".

People living in Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing actually have a word in their mouths called "Nun". This word actually expresses all the bitterness and difficulty of life.

Looking at the "Yangzhou Dialect Dictionary", there happens to be the word "Nun", but since the Yangzhou dialect does not distinguish between l and n, "Nun" is pronounced as long, and written as "Duo + Nong".

The "Yangzhou Dialect Dictionary" explains the word "Nun" as follows: "Reluctantly using something that is not very satisfactory or adapting to an unsatisfactory environment." This explanation is basically consistent with the explanation of the word "Jianji" in "Modern Chinese Dictionary".

The "Yangzhou Dialect Dictionary" also lists two examples:

This old clothes can last another summer.

I didn’t find a hotel, so I spent the night muttering at the station.

Since our place is not far from the Yangzhou area, the dialects are very close. A word often used by the poor people here is "Nun". People rarely have satisfactory material conditions and environments in terms of daily food, clothing, housing and transportation, and they always make do with poverty. This can be summed up in one word, "Nun".

So, I believe that the word "Nun" should also be included in Cao Xueqin's works. The so-called "just use it if you can" should be a transcription error of "just use it mutteringly".

The experts on red science at the Institute of Red Studies may not understand the word "Neng" in the dialects of Yangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing, so they have to bluntly interpret the "neng" in "can use it" as "will" "Just", in fact, "Neng" should be corrected to "Neng", and according to the interpretation of "Neng" in the "Yangzhou Dialect Dictionary", the "Neng" in "Nengnuo just use it" should be interpreted as "Neng" which is easy for the majority of readers to understand. Make do”.