Chapter 53

With thoughts on her mind, Tian Mi, for once, didn’t linger in bed the next day. She crawled out of the blankets when her husband got up to do his morning exercise.

“Sleep a little longer; I’ll go to the cafeteria to get breakfast,” Lou Luhui, assuming his wife intended to make breakfast, tried to tuck her back into the blankets.

Tian Mi shook her head and got up again. “No more sleeping. I made plans with Da Jie for something today.”

Hearing this, Lou Luhui didn’t stop her. He reached over to the foot of the kang to hand her clothes and casually asked, “What plans? Why so early?”

Naturally, it was to take care of the duck feathers—if she could get it done sooner, she’d be comfortable sooner, but not wanting to admit it, Tian Mi said stubbornly, “It’s a secret; not telling you.”

Lou Luhui chuckled, buttoning up the last button at his collar, then turned back to pinch her cheek with a proud look. “Then you’d better keep it well-hidden. Your family’s Regiment Commander Lou has sharp eyes.”

Tian Mi playfully swatted his hand away and bared her teeth at him. “Already noticed.” Otherwise, how could he spot the problem with her so quickly?

Picking up on her slight annoyance, Lou Luhui rubbed his nose and didn’t say anything further.

Seeing this, Tian Mi hummed with satisfaction.

Lou Luhui left for his morning exercises.

Tian Mi went outside to check the sky.

After a night had passed, icicles once again hung from the eaves, forming crystal-clear strings like beaded curtains. 

She genuinely thought these icicles were beautiful, naturally formed in a way that had a unique charm, different from artificial carvings.

However, her husband insisted the icicles could fall and injure someone, so they needed to be removed daily, especially around doors and windows.

Tian Mi stood at the doorway, admiring the scene for a bit, then stretched, stomped her feet, and shut the door, heading to the kitchen.

Since she was up early, she decided to make a hearty breakfast. It wouldn’t hurt to show a bit of wifely diligence every now and then…

After her husband left for work with a satisfied expression, Tian Mi grabbed the two burlap sacks and headed straight for Da Jie’s house.

With plans for winter swimming in the afternoon and a seafood expedition with Lou Luhui in the evening, she only had the morning to process the feathers, so she had to make the most of it.

As soon as she entered Da Jie’s house, she immediately asked, “Jie, did you get the soda ash?”

Tian Yu was sitting on the sofa, knitting a sweater. She replied, “Got it. It’s not much, though. I borrowed a bit from each household in the family compound, so it’s about a small bowlful. Is it enough? If not, we’ll have to get some more from the kitchen staff.”

Tian Mi beamed. “A small bowl should be enough, at least for today. Yesterday, Lao Lou brought back two sacks of duck and goose feathers from the village. Let’s try to make one vest and see how it goes.”

Tian Yu’s eyes lit up. Yesterday, her younger sister had enthusiastically explained all the benefits of feather-stuffed clothes. If it turned out as well as Tian Mi claimed, she’d find a way to make them for the whole family. “Do you think we can finish a vest today?”

“Hmm… probably not. I’m busy this afternoon, but I should be able to process enough feathers for a vest this morning.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get to it! I’ll go borrow another pair of scissors.”

In certain ways, the sisters were very alike. Rolling up their sleeves, they got straight to work.

However, with no experience, they were unsure how much down a single vest would require. They snipped and estimated, and when they thought they had about two taels’ worth, they paused.

Processing the down was quite a chore. Tian Mi didn’t let her elder sister do the hard work and only asked her to tend the fire.

She herself alternated between soaking and scrubbing with salt water and steaming with hot water, repeating the process several times, and finally soaking the feathers in soda ash.

After two or three hours, she had just barely managed to eliminate the pungent smell.

Though there was still a faint residual scent up close, it was tolerable, and Tian Mi felt very satisfied.

Especially when she spread the hundred or so grams of down on a basket to dry, her sense of accomplishment soared.

Even the strain in her back seemed to lessen, and she sighed, “Oh my gosh, Jie, I’m amazing!”

Tian Yu agreed, “This was exhausting! Half a day’s work and we’ve only got this little bit. And we don’t even know if it’ll be enough or if it’ll work.”

“It should be enough for just one vest. By the way, Da Jie, I’ll give you my Lao Lou’s measurements. Could you cut out the vest pattern for me?”

Tian Mi had already been practicing sewing with her elder sister’s machine.

When her mother-in-law had last visited, she brought some lovely fabrics. Frustratingly, in these times, if she wanted to wear something pretty, she’d have to make it herself.

The sewing machine wasn’t too hard to learn; after a few days, she could sew a straight line.

Vests weren’t difficult either, so she could make it herself, but cutting the pattern was more complex and not something she’d learn in just a day or two.

Tian Yu agreed right away. “Alright, where’s the fabric? Tell me what style you want, and I’ll have it ready in half an hour.”

“Bring the fabric over this afternoon.”

Before heading to winter swimming in the afternoon, Tian Mi brought the fabric to her elder sister.

To better prevent the down feathers from escaping, Tian Mi decided to use the silk fabric her mother-in-law had given her as the inner lining.

Though her elder sister poked her forehead, scolding her for being wasteful, she didn’t have much choice—silk was the only high-density fabric she had on hand.

For the outer fabric, she chose a black, twill-weave cotton—simple and stylish. Paired with Hui Hui’s well-defined waistline, she was sure that, even with a down vest, he’d look sharp and effortlessly cool.

After hearing her reasoning, Tian Yu looked a bit worried. “Silk is too expensive. You two can manage with just the two of you, but my family has so many people to think of.”

“It doesn’t have to be silk. Cotton works too—just find a high-density cotton fabric.”

Tian Yu gave her a sideways glance. “That kind of cotton isn’t easy to find. You’d have to have someone source it from the south.”

“No rush. If we can make a vest, then we’ll think about sourcing more fabric… Jie, I’ve got to go for my winter swim. I made plans with Lao Lou.”

“Go on, go on, and come over for dinner tonight.”

“Got it,” Tian Mi replied. After giving her sister a quick description of the vest style, she grabbed her gear and headed to the winter swimming spot.

Due to an upcoming competition, Lou Luhui and the other soldiers’ winter swims during the day were not considered a breach of discipline.

In fact, even if there were no competition, the troops wouldn’t object to soldiers swimming in winter, as it was seen as a form of exercise.

Once again, Tian Mi dominated the challenge, leaving all others behind.

Of course, her hard work had paid off, and her impressive skills had now made her a winter swimming sensation after three days, with everyone talking about her elite skills.

Because of this, she and her husband had become the envy of all—who wouldn’t be tempted by fifty pounds of pork?

This was an era when no one ate shrimp or crab.

However, abalone and octopus had a long history as ingredients.

Especially abalone, which reportedly graced human tables as early as the Han Dynasty.

Legend has it that during the Qing Dynasty, high-ranking officials along the coast would also present the emperor with abalone, known as “soft gold from the sea.”

For her first gift as a daughter-in-law, Tian Mi thought it through and decided against delicious yet unfamiliar shrimp and crab, opting for the more prestigious abalone instead.

With a target in mind, her plan became clear.

So, after her winter swim, Tian Mi grabbed the burlap bag she had borrowed from Da Jie’s house and headed to the spot she’d previously explored underwater.

Hui Hui still had to work, but they’d agreed he’d come pick her up after work.

This gave her a chance to stay underwater for over an hour…

The seabed was a wondrous, dazzling world.

There was soft seagrass underfoot, rivaling the softest carpet, along with corals in hues of red, pink, orange, and white, as well as other plants whose names she didn’t know, but which looked stunning.

With plenty of time, Tian Mi didn’t rush to find the abalone but swam freely and joyfully through the underwater world.

Sometimes she stopped to admire the beautiful corals, wondering if she could bring some back, and at other times, she dove into schools of fish, mimicking their odd movements, floating along with the waves, then scaring them off on purpose, laughing at her little pranks.

Lost in her fun, she almost couldn’t stop herself… Until she came to her senses and realized the sun was dipping low in the sky, and visibility underwater had noticeably decreased.

Annoyed, she knocked her own head and knew she couldn’t delay any longer.

Untying the sack from her waist, she surfaced to about thirty meters from the seabed and began her search for the abalone, known as the finest of seafood.