Sister Shun: Of course!
In Zhou Xiaofeng’s house, there was originally an old sewing machine bought many years ago, but it had been covered in dust and unused for nearly a year. When they recently unearthed it, they found it broken and in need of repair.
Zhou Heqiang found it troublesome and decided to save up and buy a new sewing machine later on. So, they didn’t plan to repair the old one.
In this era, buying a new sewing machine wasn’t easy. Even with the money and the ticket, timing was crucial. If they were sold out, they would have to wait for the next batch.
Coincidentally, Zhou Xiaofeng needed a sewing machine to make her wedding dress, but there wasn’t enough time to buy one. Her cousin’s wife took the initiative to offer hers, saying it was new. The Zhou family decided to buy a new sewing machine for their daughter after the wedding.
Su Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaofeng followed her cousin’s wife, Xu Qin, to her house next door. Xu Qin had only been married for a year or two, and conditions were average, but she had recently added a sewing machine. She was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to show it off every day.
“This one was produced in Shanghai this year, it’s a new model. Look at this brand, it’s all brand new.”
The sewing machine in front of them was excellently maintained by Xu Qin. It had been bought several months ago, cleaned every day, and still looked brand new.
Seeing Su Xiaoman, Xu Qin hesitated a bit. She had agreed to lend it to Zhou Xiaofeng, but that didn’t mean she was willing to lend it to Su Xiaoman. She didn’t know what kind of person Su Xiaoman was and whether she would damage her precious sewing machine.
“Be careful with it.”
Since becoming Su Xiaoman, she hadn’t used a sewing machine. Now, sitting in front of one, Su Xiaoman felt a strange sense of nostalgia. There was a tense yet hopeful feeling spreading through her body.
Although this sewing machine was considered a new model, it was still an old-style sewing machine to Su Xiaoman. She had never used a treadle sewing machine before, but she knew how to use it. Sitting down, she tried sewing a few stitches with an old piece of fabric and instantly regained her former skill.
After seeing her familiar technique, Xu Qin dispelled her doubts.
She teased Zhou Xiaofeng, “Su Xiaoman is much more careful than you.”
Zhou Xiaofeng pursed her lips, her gaze still fixed on the ruined red fabric. Her worries didn’t diminish at all. She turned to Su Xiaoman with hope in her eyes, “Sister Xiaoman is skilled…”
After trying the sewing machine, Su Xiaoman stood up, picked up a sharp pair of scissors, and started cutting the fabric next to her. Xu Qin and Zhou Xiaofeng watched nervously.
Especially Zhou Xiaofeng. She had already ruined the fabric, and now Su Xiaoman, she…
Zhou Xiaofeng’s heart sank to the bottom. She felt like an ant in a hot pan, watching helplessly as the person across from her acted.
She had prepared for the worst.
Xu Qin’s face was filled with a skeptical expression as she watched the beautiful girl named Su cutting the red fabric. She didn’t see her using a ruler to measure; instead, she just held the scissors and cut away.
It seemed like she was cutting randomly.
“Why are you doing this?” Xu Qin couldn’t help but speak out.
“Don’t worry.”
Su Xiaoman sat down in front of the sewing machine, holding the fabric, her hands overlapping. This action seemed like she had done it countless times before, rehearsed it countless times in her mind. The sound of the treadle sewing machine started echoing in the room.
Soon, a traditional Chinese wedding dress top took shape under her hands. The stitching of the dress was exceptionally neat and beautiful, with almost imperceptible thread ends. Although it was made from several pieces of red fabric, it formed unexpectedly smooth vertical stripes. These stripes extended from the chest to the waist, forming a curved line, with two symmetrical lines in front of the chest.
“This…” Zhou Xiaofeng’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
The skirt was a pleated skirt, and Su Xiaoman’s hands were very skilful. She painstakingly crafted this pleated skirt bit by bit.
After a long time, the prototype of the dress was completed. Although parts such as the neckline, sleeves, and hem still needed further work, it could already be worn.
Su Xiaoman first let Zhou Xiaofeng try it on to reassure the anxious girl.
Zhou Xiaofeng looked at the set of clothes in front of her, feeling extremely excited. She quickly went to the next room to put on the clothes.
Even though the clothes weren’t fully finished yet, Zhou Xiaofeng felt exceptionally comfortable wearing them. They were even better than the clothes her mother had made for her.
Zhou Xiaofeng had never worn such a well-fitted outfit in her life.
She shyly walked out wearing the red dress, the unique design of the top perfectly outlining her slender body curves. Her chest was prominent, her waist slim, and underneath was the spread-out pleated long skirt, just covering her cloth shoes but not touching the ground.
Zhou Xiaofeng had never worn such a long dress before. She thought it would be uncomfortable to walk in, but when she tried to take a step in front of the mirror, she felt the red skirt fluttering with her every step, like a gorgeous peacock spreading its tail feathers, blooming under the bright sunlight, exceptionally beautiful.
Although the design was simple, the skirt swayed with such grandeur. The dress was eye-catching in bright red, making her face appear even rosier.
For the first time, Zhou Xiaofeng saw herself so charming and beautiful. She stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror, lost in thought.
“Xiaofeng! Xiaofeng!” Xu Qin outside knocked on the door. Zhou Xiaofeng had been changing for a while, and Xu Qin wondered if something was wrong. “Xiaofeng, why haven’t you come out yet? Is there something wrong with the clothes? Can’t you…”
Upon hearing the voice of her sister-in-law outside, Zhou Xiaofeng blushed and subconsciously lifted the hem of her skirt, walking to the door and opening it.
“Xiaofeng—” Xu Qin widened her eyes in disbelief as she looked at Zhou Xiaofeng before her, feeling like she was meeting this little cousin for the first time.
Her amazed expression lingered without pause in her eyes, fixed on the red dress on Zhou Xiaofeng’s body, unwilling to look away.
After a few seconds, Xu Qin, still amazed, found her voice again. “Xiaofeng, come, take a few steps to try it out.”
Su Xiaoman walked out and stood against the wall, looking at Zhou Xiaofeng with satisfaction.
Zhou Xiaofeng smiled shyly and lowered her head, listening to Xu Qin’s urging before finally letting go of her skirt and taking a few steps forward.
In this era, clothes were simple, and there were only a few basic styles. Many people even wore patched-up clothes.
New clothes were rare, and beautiful new clothes were even rarer. Putting on such a beautiful new dress for the first time, Zhou Xiaofeng couldn’t contain her joy. She walked back and forth several times, unable to resist going to look at herself in the mirror again.
“Xiaofeng, this dress looks amazing on you. It’s so beautiful. With this gorgeous red dress, you’re the most beautiful girl in our village, the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen,” Xu Qin exclaimed.
Su Xiaoman smiled and said, “Don’t worry, the dress isn’t finished yet. Adding some beautiful embroidery will make it even better. Xiaofeng, come here, sit down, and let me do your hair.”
She made Zhou Xiaofeng sit on a stool and loosened her hair, dividing it into two sections and braiding them separately. In the gap when Zhou Xiaofeng changed clothes, Su Xiaoman used some scraps of red fabric to make several delicate red flowers, clustering them together and adorning Zhou Xiaofeng’s hair with them.
Zhou Xiaofeng held the mirror and looked at herself repeatedly, happily adjusting the flowers on her head, feeling like a bride already.
“Sister Xiaoman, it’s so pretty.”
“When it’s my wedding day, Sister Xiaoman, you must help me with my hair too. Sister Xiaoman, you’re going to stay in our village for more than ten days, right? If you don’t mind, you can stay at our house for a month or two.” Zhou Xiaofeng nervously grabbed Su Xiaoman’s hand, afraid that she would leave before her wedding.
“It’ll be a while before I leave. I’ll definitely stay for your wedding and have a drink with you. By then, you’ll have to give me a big red envelope.” Su Xiaoman smiled and agreed, “My skills are just average, but if you want, I’ll definitely help you and make you look beautiful.”
“When your fiancé sees you on your wedding day, he’ll be dumbstruck,” Xu Qin added with a somewhat forced smile. She was also a woman who loved beauty and was envious as she looked at the outfit on her cousin. She used to think her own red floral dress for her wedding was pretty, but now she suddenly felt disdainful of it, thinking that the dress Zhou Xiaofeng was wearing now was much prettier. Hearing Su Xiaoman’s suggestion, she even planned to help embroider flowers on the dress.
Xu Qin felt a pang of sourness in her heart. Why couldn’t she be the one wearing such a beautiful dress?
“Xiaofeng, our body shapes are similar. Why don’t you let me try it on?” Xu Qin thought to herself that she had kindly lent her sewing machine to Su Xiaoman, and this dress was made using her sewing machine. It wouldn’t hurt to let her try it on, right?
Zhou Xiaofeng hesitated, clutching the sleeves of her dress. This dress was her wedding dress, the one she would wear when she got married. How could she let someone else try it on first?
“Sister-in-law, this is my wedding dress.”
“What’s wrong with a wedding dress? Am I not your sister-in-law?” Xu Qin insisted.
Zhou Xiaofeng replied with difficulty, “I… can’t! Sister-in-law, my dress may not fit you.”
The two of them were on the verge of arguing when Su Xiaoman, who was on the side, intervened. “If Sister-in-law likes it, and if there’s fabric available, I can make a similar outfit for you, but in a different colour than red.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Qin became delighted. After all, having her own clothes was better than wearing someone else’s. She no longer thought about Zhou Xiaofeng’s outfit. “That sounds great! I’ll go get some fabric, Su Xiaoman, you must help me make a beautiful outfit.”
“Wait a moment, don’t leave yet. Help me measure the size first.”
Zhou Xiaofeng, reluctant to take off her red dress, walked several circles in it before reluctantly taking it off and handing it over to Su Xiaoman to continue working on the details.
“Xiaofeng, go back and tell Aunt not to worry. We have a solution for this.”
Zhou Xiaofeng nodded. “Sister Xiaoman, I’m sorry for delaying you today. I was supposed to take you to my cousin’s house.”
Zhou Xiaofeng’s cousin was skilled in silkworm rearing. She raised plump silkworms that produced the best quality silk. Zhou Xiaofeng had promised to take Su Xiaoman to her cousin’s house earlier, but now, because of the wedding dress, it was postponed.
“It’s okay. We can go see her later.” Su Xiaoman knew that most people in this village were surnamed Zhou and had some sort of kinship. Zhou Heqiang’s family had a different status in the village, and by winning the favour of the Zhou family, it would make future dealings much easier.
Excited, Zhou Xiaofeng ran back home, where she coincidentally met Yang Changgui, who had come to comfort her after hearing that she had cried earlier. Yang Changgui had been thinking about her after leaving work, feeling uneasy, and decided to gather cloth vouchers and go to the county tomorrow with his uncle’s car to buy some red fabric.
As he left work, Yang Changgui remembered Zhou Xiaofeng, and his soon-to-be mother-in-law said she had cried today. He wanted to come and comfort her in person.
However, as soon as he arrived at Zhou’s house, he saw Zhou Xiaofeng, who was in high spirits. He was stunned on the spot.
“Xiaofeng.”
“Hey.” Zhou Xiaofeng saw Yang Changgui, feeling happy and a bit embarrassed. “Why did you come over?”
“Xiaofeng, I’m here to tell you not to worry. Take a day off tomorrow and go to the city to buy fabric.”
“Buy fabric? What fabric?” Excited, Zhou Xiaofeng hadn’t realized that Yang Changgui knew about the morning incident.
“Isn’t the fabric ruined? Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you look beautiful on our wedding day.”
Only then did Zhou Xiaofeng understand and quickly intervened. “You don’t have to do that. My dress is perfectly fine. Don’t waste your money. Just wait for that day to see.”
Thinking about the dress she wore earlier, Zhou Xiaofeng felt genuinely happy. Imagining the joy of her beloved seeing her in that red dress made her even happier.
“You can go now. Don’t worry about it. Just wait.”
Zhou Xiaofeng had to persuade Yang Changgui persistently before he finally agreed to go back. She warned him not to waste money anymore, saying, “If you go buy fabric again, I won’t marry you. I mean it.”
“You don’t have to say it. I won’t compromise myself.”
“Sister Xiaoman’s tailoring skills are excellent. Just wait. I can’t show you now.”
When Zhou Xianxiong returned home, he saw his wife, Xu Qin, humming happily in front of the mirror, clearly in a very good mood.
“We had visitors at home today.”
“Xiaofeng came to use the sewing machine to make her wedding dress.”
“What’s going on?” Seeing her so happy, Zhou Xianxiong couldn’t help but tease her. “Our cousin is getting married, and you, as her sister-in-law, are as happy as if you were the bride yourself.”
Xu Qin glared at him. “I’m going to the city tomorrow.”
“Why are you going to the city?”
“I’m going to get some fabric to make clothes.”
“What clothes?”
Xu Qin shrugged proudly. “You don’t need to worry. Just wait to see my new clothes.”
“I’ve been saving cloth vouchers for a long time.”
“You’ve been saving them for so long and haven’t made me a set of clothes.”
“Get out of here.”
During the day, Xie Mingtu and a few other men followed Zhou Heqiang to learn how to operate a tractor in the village. They quickly learned, and Zhou Heqiang let them try driving up the mountain to help transport goods for the villagers.
“We have a few more drivers in our village.” A nearby old man joked as he drank water.
“I want to drive a tractor too.”
Among the young people in the village, driving a tractor was fashionable and easy. Many people wanted to do it but hadn’t had the chance. Now that these outsiders had come, and each of them had a chance to drive a tractor, it made the local young men feel a bit envious.
“If you’re willing, you can also come up. I’m just afraid you won’t drive well.”
He Liang wasn’t very good at driving a tractor, and he complained that the one he got wasn’t new enough. He had driven through muddy terrain yesterday, and now the car was covered in mud, which wasn’t clean.
“Young people learn fast. Come with me up the mountain.”
Now was the season for raising autumn silkworms. Zhao Qingqing and Zhang Lili followed several women from the village to pick mulberry leaves on the mountain. There were countless mulberry fields of all sizes. Women and children of all ages went up the mountain to pick mulberry leaves.
The lush green mulberry fields stretched endlessly. People here used special bags to collect the leaves. Each bag could hold fifty kilograms of mulberry leaves, and they piled them up on the side of the road for people to transport down by car.
“These mulberry leaves, look, they’re all good leaves.”
“They’re divided for the day laborers. About two or three bags are equivalent to one cent of payment.”
“Even children can earn a few cents of payment. Children learn to pick mulberry leaves when they’re very young.”
Zhao Qingqing and Zhang Lili helped the women pick mulberry leaves, wearing hats to shield themselves from the sun. The women guided them while picking, telling them some things to pay attention to when raising silkworms.
“Look at these leaves. These leaves are suitable for feeding small silkworms.”
“We need to cut the leaves into smaller pieces for the small silkworms, which is quite troublesome.”
Zhang Lili wiped the sweat from her forehead. Compared to some rural work, picking mulberry leaves was relatively clean, but it was still tiring.
The mulberry fields were fresh and beautiful. Standing tiredly on the side, watching the wind blow through the green leaves, it made people’s mood extremely pleasant.
“Why hasn’t Su Xiaoman come over?” Zhang Lili frowned.
“Why isn’t she joining us?”
“I don’t know. She said she was held up by something.”
“It’s okay. Grandma is going to take us to the silkworm room later, and we can learn there.”
Zhang Lili chuckled inwardly. Su Xiaoman was indeed showing her true colours. Knowing that she had to come here to pick mulberry leaves and work, she didn’t want to come over.
When she came, she kept saying she would actively learn, but now she’s showing her true colours.
…..
Su Xiaoman had made plans with Zhou Xiaofeng to go to Shun’s house the next day. Su Xiaoman returned to her room at night and lit a lamp to hurry up and work on the wedding dress. Su Xiaoman didn’t really like the idea of a “red wedding dress,” as the term always reminded her of some chilly things.
After confirming the specific time for Zhou Xiaofeng’s wedding banquet and the customs of their village, Su Xiaoman began to plan her work. The wedding dress couldn’t be made the day before the wedding, so the completion time naturally needed to be earlier.
Plus, there were still some modifications to be made, so she needed to finish a few days in advance. She had other things to do during the day, so she tried to use her spare time to help Zhou Xiaofeng finish the dress.
Therefore, Su Xiaoman didn’t choose too complicated embroidery patterns. The upper garment had double lapels with peony flowers on the lapels, floral patterns on the cuffs, and butterflies playing among flowers on the skirt.
Her embroidery skills were good, and she didn’t feel tired. Also, in this era, there weren’t many other entertainment activities. For someone who liked embroidery, embroidery was like a game to Su Xiaoman.
Su Xiaoman cherished her eyesight, so after playing “games” for a while, she stood up to relax her body and eyes.
She thought she was just entertaining herself, but the people around couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
Xie Mingtu sat on a stool, his starry eyes falling on the red wedding dress in Su Xiaoman’s arms, and he didn’t know what he was thinking.
Su Xiaoman turned her head to look at him, thinking he was curious about what she was holding. So she casually showed off the dress and said, “Look at this fabric, isn’t it beautiful? It’s said to be the best red cloth in the city.”
Yang Changgui and Zhou Xiaofeng liked each other, and as lovers, they eventually became a couple. Su Xiaoman was happy to make wedding clothes for them.
“Xiaofeng looks beautiful in it. She’ll definitely be a happy bride.” Su Xiaoman continued her sewing without stopping.
“You too,” Xie Mingtu said seriously, looking at her.
Su Xiaoman paused, not sure what Xie Mingtu meant.
“You’ll look good too.”
Su Xiaoman smiled and shook her head, feeling it was unlikely she’d wear a wedding dress herself. Not to mention, she was technically already married on the surface now. Even if she got divorced in the future, Su Xiaoman might not remarry. She might open a shop or a clothing factory…
As the silver needle passed through, Su Xiaoman’s eyes glanced over Xie Mingtu’s body. She thought that in the future, when she had succeeded in her career, if this Xie Mingtu wanted to remarry, she wouldn’t mind customizing a wedding dress for him.
However, just to avoid suspicion, the prospective wife probably wouldn’t want her to make the wedding clothes.
Thinking of this, Su Xiaoman inexplicably felt a strange and indescribable emotion. She suppressed the annoyance in her heart and jokingly asked Xie Mingtu, “Do you want me to make this kind of red wedding dress for your wife in the future?”
Xie Gouzi decisively nodded.
Of course!
He believed that Xiaoman would look very beautiful wearing it.
Su Xiaoman lowered her head and focused on the needle and thread in her hand. Her voice was lower than before, “If you bring fabric to me in the future, I will definitely agree to help you make it.”
But it depends on whether your wife is willing to wear it.
The next day, Su Xiaoman got up earlier, of course, Xie Mingtu got up even earlier and went out with Zhou Heqiang. It seemed that someone had come to invite Zhou Heqiang to repair a tractor in the neighbouring brigade, so Zhou Heqiang took Xie Mingtu with him.
He felt that Xie Mingtu had a talent for repairing tractors.
On the way, Xie Mingtu met Yang Changgui and quietly asked him about something. Yang Changgui told him without hesitation.
Yang Changgui learned that the wife of the person in front of him had made wedding clothes for his unmarried wife, and immediately increased his goodwill towards him. He took the initiative to invite:
“Brother Xie, why don’t we go to the county together?”
“We can call a few people there to run the car. I can see that you also have talent. Why not give it a try?”
“It’s not about driving a tractor, it’s about those four-wheeled transport trucks.”
“Our boss Zhou said you learn things very quickly.”
Yang Changgui heard from Zhou Heqiang that Xie Mingtu, this young man, was a clever person who learned things quickly, was naturally skilled in mechanical gears, had excellent hearing and vision, and was also good at driving.
Their county had quite a few factories, and sometimes the factories lacked drivers for transporting goods. People like Yang Changgui, who had some connections and technical skills, would temporarily work as drivers to earn some extra money.
Su Xiaoman wasn’t sure what Xie Mingtu went to do. After breakfast, she followed Zhou Xiaofeng, who had dark circles under her eyes, to the house of Aunt Shun, who raised silkworms.
“You didn’t sleep well last night?”
“Where did you get that? I slept very well,” Zhou Xiaofeng said with a bright smile.
After trying on the clothes yesterday, Zhou Xiaofeng was so excited that she couldn’t sleep for most of the night. She couldn’t help but imagine herself wearing the wedding dress and getting married. She was overly excited and only fell asleep in the latter half of the night.
She had slept for one or two hours and even had a good dream.
Even though she had dark circles under her eyes, she felt that she had slept well last night.
Zhou Xiaofeng pointed ahead, “Aunt Shun’s house is over there. She manages three silkworm rooms.”
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