Chapter 18

Ruan Xi laughed all evening because of Ruan Yuehua, and even when she lay in bed before sleeping, she would occasionally burst into laughter.

Ruan Jie lay beside her, not thinking about anything else, just savoring the taste of the chicken.

After finishing her laughter, Ruan Xi remembered something important, turned to face Ruan Jie, and said, “By the way, tomorrow afternoon, watch the height of the sun. When it’s halfway down in the west, go to the road leading to the Jin Guan Brigade and wait for me.”

Ruan Jie thought for a moment, “To study?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “Yes, I’ll take you to find Ling Yao and have him teach us.”

Ruan Jie responded, “Okay.”

After working at the sewing machine all day and walking over ten miles of mountain roads to get home without resting, Ruan Xi was already very tired. Her body was used to going to bed early, so after speaking, she yawned and quickly fell asleep.

With nothing troubling her mind, Ruan Jie also fell asleep quickly after closing her eyes.

The night was quiet, with occasional coughs coming from another room in the side house.

In the west room of the main house, Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui lay side by side, filled with frustration. They felt like their hearts were being clawed at, making it hard to sleep. They stared at the ceiling in the dark, breathing heavily.

After a while, Sun Xiaohui spoke, “I can’t figure it out. What skill does Xiaoxi have to make the old tailor so fond of her? He stands up for her, supports her, and even pays her.”

Ruan Changgui took a deep breath, “How would I know? If I knew how to win people over, I’d have become a tailor and lived a good life instead of working myself to death on the construction site for those few work points.”

Sun Xiaohui hesitated and slowly said, “Do you think it might be because Xiaoxi is pretty?”

Ruan Xi’s looks, her neat and clean dress, her never-wearing patched clothes, and her two shiny black braids tied with red ribbons made her considered one of the prettiest girls in Fengming Mountain.

Ruan Changgui instantly felt something was off when he heard this. He frowned and said to Sun Xiaohui, “Don’t have any dirty thoughts. The old tailor is over seventy, and Xiaoxi is only fourteen. What are you talking about?”

Sun Xiaohui muttered softly, “I didn’t say anything. You’re the one thinking wrong…”

Ruan Changgui, suppressing his anger, said, “Shut your filthy mouth!”

Sun Xiaohui knew her words were indeed inappropriate. Not only was the old tailor too old for such thoughts, but his proud and aloof nature wouldn’t entertain such ideas even if he were ten years younger. So she kept quiet. But the more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t understand. Given the old tailor’s proud and aloof nature, he looked down on everyone and had never officially taken an apprentice. Why was he so good to Ruan Xi?

Could it be because she was good at her craft?

Impossible. Ruan Xi had never been good at needlework since she was a child.

Sun Xiaohui lay there, taking deep breaths, and after a while, said, “Why don’t we let Yuejin try too?”

Ruan Changgui thought she was dreaming, “Do you think the old tailor will take him?”

Sun Xiaohui turned her head and said, “How do you know if you don’t try? Didn’t Xiaoxi just go and try, and it worked out? Our Yuejin is much smarter than Xiaoxi. Maybe the old tailor will like him even more.”

Ruan Changgui didn’t want to bother, turning over and saying, “You first gather half a basket of eggs, then we’ll talk.”

The family had only five old hens, laying three to four eggs a day, sometimes only two. Gathering half a basket of eggs would take quite a while. By the time they had enough to offer as a gift, who knew how long it would be.

Sun Xiaohui felt a pang of pain at the thought of half a basket of eggs. When Liu Xinghua gave half a basket of eggs to Ruan Xi, it was the catalyst for her decision to split the family. She still felt reluctant.

But after a moment of pain, she thought—no pain, no gain!

She had never considered this before because it seemed impossible, but now that Ruan Xi had achieved it, it showed that the old tailor wasn’t as unyielding as a stone. As long as they could win him over, it would work.

If Ruan Yuejin could learn from the old tailor, and considering the old tailor’s age, he wouldn’t live for many more years. Their family would have an easier life in the future. If they could push Ruan Xi out of the old tailor’s favor, it would be even more satisfying. That girl had really made her feel suffocated recently. She couldn’t keep this frustration bottled up forever; it had to be released eventually.

After eating meat and laughing all evening, Ruan Xi had sweet dreams and woke up in a good mood. Like a bird in the mountains, she hummed a song while washing up and tying butterfly knots at the ends of her braids.

After breakfast, she prepared to go to Jin Guan Village. Ruan Xi took two books from the camphor wood box and put them in her bag—first-grade Chinese and math. She was afraid Ruan Jie wouldn’t take care of them, so she carried them herself.

Basking in the morning sunlight, she walked leisurely to the old tailor’s house, where he was cutting tobacco in the yard.

On the mountain, they couldn’t get fancy cigarettes, so the men smoked pipes, and the tobacco was grown on the edge of their fields, dried, and cut into pieces to fill their pipes.

Ruan Xi found a place to put down her bag and went to the old tailor, saying, “Master, do you need my help?”

The old tailor, seriously cutting his tobacco, didn’t look up and said, “No need, it tastes better when I cut it myself.”

Ruan Xi smiled and didn’t say anything more, thinking he probably just wanted to enjoy the smell while cutting.

After watching for a while, she thought of something else and asked, “By the way, Master, can I leave early this afternoon?”

The old tailor still didn’t look up, “It’s up to you. I don’t mind.”

It wasn’t him learning the craft, so whether she came or not was up to her convenience.

Seeing him seriously cutting tobacco, Ruan Xi didn’t bother him further. She turned around and found some work to do, cleaning the house inside and out until it was spotless.

When the old tailor finished, she learned a few things from him.

The old tailor’s teaching had no set pattern; he taught whatever came to mind. Luckily, Ruan Xi wasn’t a novice; otherwise, she would have found it difficult to learn anything substantial from him. As others had said, being the old tailor’s apprentice wasn’t easy.

At noon, in the main room of the Ruan family house.

Ruan Changgui didn’t come home for lunch today. Sun Xiaohui and her sons, Ruan Yuejin and Ruan Yuehua, sat at the table eating. Ruan Yuehua still had a long face, thinking about the chicken he almost got to eat last night.

Ruan Yuehua, being young and naughty, was ignored by Sun Xiaohui.

She discussed her thoughts from the previous night with Ruan Yuejin, starting with, “Yuejin, do you want to be a tailor?”

The question came suddenly, and Ruan Yuejin was taken aback, looking at Sun Xiaohui, “What do you mean?”

Sun Xiaohui explained, “I mean, if you want to, I’ll save up half a basket of eggs for you to take to the old tailor and ask to be his apprentice. If you learn the craft, you’ll be the only tailor on Fengming Mountain.”

Ruan Yuejin was still a bit confused, “Hasn’t he already taken Ruan Xi as an apprentice?”

Sun Xiaohui dismissed Ruan Xi, “So what? If he’s willing, he can teach ten or eight more. Besides, can Xiaoxi really learn? She can’t. She can only do odd jobs.”

Seeing Ruan Yuejin not responding, she asked again, “Do you want to or not?”

After a moment of silence, Ruan Yuejin nodded, “I do, but I’m afraid he won’t take me.”

Who wouldn’t want to be a tailor on this mountain? Every day, sheltered from the wind and rain, respected by everyone, living comfortably without hard labor, relying solely on their craft. Even a fool knows that being a tailor is a great job, better than being a clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Ruan Yuejin knew the old tailor’s personality and character, and he had many concerns, thinking this would be very difficult. But Sun Xiaohui had great confidence in him and said, “What are you afraid of? Just go and try. Do you think you’re not better than that girl Xiao Xi? She’s just a girl, not as smart as you, and she’s lacking in many ways. If she can do it, why can’t you?”

Ruan Yuejin had grown up with Sun Xiaohui’s praise, and his confidence was quite strong. He thought for a moment, then looked at Sun Xiaohui and said, “I am indeed better than her in every way, but I’m afraid the old tailor won’t like me.”

Sun Xiaohui replied, “How could that be? My son is so smart and sensible, always liked by everyone since he was little.”

Looking into Sun Xiaohui’s eyes, Ruan Yuejin instantly felt like the most capable person in the world. He even thought that just walking into the tailor shop would win the old tailor’s favor, so he didn’t hesitate anymore and nodded, “Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

Sun Xiaohui couldn’t help but feel happy, “Just wait a few days, and I’ll quickly gather the eggs.”

Relying on her five old hens was obviously not enough. She had decided that as long as Ruan Yuejin was willing to go, she would borrow eggs from others. Borrow a little here and a little there, and half a basket of eggs would only take a few days. She would give the eggs to Ruan Yuejin and slowly repay them later.

After discussing this with Ruan Yuejin, she felt relieved, as if she could already see him becoming a tailor. Feeling motivated, she finished her meal and immediately took a basket to borrow eggs from various households.

In the afternoon, as the sun hung in the western sky.

Ruan Xi watched the time, greeted the old tailor, and left with her backpack.

Walking along the road to Fengyan Brigade, she saw Ruan Jie squatting by the roadside, playing with stones. She quietly approached Ruan Jie and tapped her on the head, startling her.

Seeing it was Ruan Xi, Ruan Jie smiled and quickly stood up, “Sister, you’re here.”

Ruan Xi walked with her, “Have you been waiting long?”

Ruan Jie replied, “No, I came by watching the sun.”

The sisters chatted as they walked, with Ruan Xi leading Ruan Jie to a few familiar hills to find Ling Yao.

Finding Ling Yao at their usual spot, Ruan Xi waved from a distance and brought Ruan Jie over.

Ling Yao smiled warmly at Ruan Xi and greeted Ruan Jie politely, “Hello.”

Ruan Jie had never interacted with Ling Yao before, and she felt a bit awkward because he was from the big city. She shyly replied, “Hello to you, too.”

Hearing this, Ruan Xi couldn’t help but laugh.

Feeling more embarrassed, Ruan Jie lightly tapped Ruan Xi, “What are you laughing at?”

Ruan Xi stopped laughing, took out Chinese and math textbooks from her bag, and placed them on a rock, “Let’s get started. We’ll begin with first-grade language and math. Thank you, Teacher Ling.”

Ling Yao gently said, “No need to call me teacher.” He then rummaged through his bag and took out two or three pieces of white chalk. He handed each to Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie, placing them on the rock, “I found these on the mountain. Without paper and pen, we can write on this rock. Once it’s full, we can erase it and write again.”

Ruan Xi held the chalk in her hand and smiled at Ling Yao, “You thought of everything.”

Studying without writing is indeed difficult. Without pen and paper, they had to find alternatives.

Since Ling Yao had agreed to help Ruan Xi, he took it seriously. That’s how he always did things—either not at all or done well, never half-heartedly.

He and Ruan Xi, along with Ruan Jie, leaned over the stone, starting with the language textbook. He asked for their opinion, “Shall we start with language? What do you think?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “Yes.”

Ruan Jie had no opinion, so she agreed with Ruan Xi.

Ling Yao looked at the Chinese textbook for a while, then asked, “Do you know the twenty-six letters of the alphabet?”

Ruan Xi, without much thought, nodded, “Yes.”

Ruan Jie hesitated for a moment and then said softly, “I only remember ABCDEFG; I can’t recall the rest.”

Ling Yao nodded at her and began teaching the alphabet. He started with pronunciation, planning to teach it thoroughly before moving on to consonants and vowels. They would start from scratch, progressing slowly, as one couldn’t become proficient overnight.

For the rest of the afternoon, Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie studied by the stone. They listened to Ling Yao, looked at the textbook, and wrote the letters on the stone with chalk, each letter written ten or more times.

Ruan Xi didn’t actually need to learn, but she had to keep up appearances, so she was very serious. She remained focused until the evening and only relaxed when at home. However, Ruan Jie didn’t relax at all. Whether walking or working at home, she kept muttering the alphabet.

Liu Xinghua, curious about her muttering, asked, “What are you reciting?”

Ruan Jie snapped back to reality and quickly said, “Oh, Grandma, I’m studying.”

Liu Xinghua was even more confused, “Studying what?”

Ruan Jie looked at Ruan Xi, who explained, “Just learning to read, recognizing more characters.”

This Liu Xinghua understood, and she nodded approvingly, “Learning more characters is a good thing.”

Sun Xiaohui happened to walk by and overheard their conversation. She couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “That girl is always coming up with pointless ideas. What’s the use of recognizing so many characters?”

No matter how many characters you know, even if you know a whole bucketful, can those characters turn into a bucketful of grain?

Look at the family in the stilt house. They know a lot of characters, but they’re still poor and wear straw shoes.

She muttered to herself as she went into the main house, carefully taking out and storing the few eggs in her basket.

Her mind was entirely focused on her eldest son, Ruan Yuejin, and she had no time to worry about Ruan Jie. Once she gathered enough eggs for Ruan Yuejin to apprentice with the old tailor, she would have time to deal with that girl later.

To help Ruan Yuejin, Sun Xiaohui went out every day for the next few days to borrow eggs. Sometimes more, sometimes less, she saved each one, stacking them layer by layer in the basket.

Ruan Xi didn’t pay attention to Sun Xiaohui’s actions, mainly because she had no time or energy to waste on her second aunt. She continued her routine of going to the old tailor’s house in the morning and meeting Ruan Jie in the afternoon to study with Ling Yao.

Ruan Jie was a slow learner, but she was diligent and never slacked off.

After teaching them the twenty-six alphabet letters, Ling Yao began teaching consonants and vowels. He also had them memorize the multiplication table, reciting it whenever they had time, from “one times one is one” to “nine times nine is eighty-one.”

In the past few days, no one had come to the old tailor for clothes, so Ruan Xi would leave in the afternoon, timing her departure by the height of the sun.

It was nothing unusual for the past few days, but today, as she was about to leave with her backpack, the old tailor suddenly said, “You don’t need to come tomorrow.”

Ruan Xi was stunned—what did this mean? Had he decided to let her go after less than half a month of apprenticeship? He hadn’t even taught her the most important and core skills, like the patterns and cutting for different clothes!

Was he upset because she left early? He could have just said so!

The old tailor, seeing her expression, didn’t rush. He slowly took out a small ticket and some money from his pocket, handed them to Ruan Xi, and continued, “Go to the commune and get me half a pound of wine. I’m craving it.”

Ruan Xi relaxed—Master! Why did you have to speak so dramatically?

She took the ticket and money, replying, “Got it.”

The old tailor lay back in his rocking chair, leisurely adding, “There’s a wine gourd in the cabinet. Use that to get the wine. There are also a few pieces of peach crisps in there. They’ve been there for a while; if you don’t eat them soon, they’ll go bad. Take them.”

Ruan Xi thought for a moment. It would take four days to walk to the commune and back, so she said, “Then I won’t be polite.”

The old tailor responded with a simple “Hmm” and said, “Go ahead.”

Ruan Xi took the key, retrieved the wine gourd from the cabinet, and packed the peach crisps into her backpack. The crisps were wrapped in kraft paper, and there were only three left, but they were a luxury in those days.

With the wine gourd and her backpack, Ruan Xi started to leave but then turned back.

She stood before the old tailor, hesitated momentarily, and asked, “Master, do you have any more wine tickets?”

The old tailor opened his eyes and looked at her, “What do you want to do?”

Ruan Xi’s eyes curved into a smile, her voice sweet, “Can I borrow one?”

The old tailor looked at her for a moment, sighed lightly, and took another ticket from his pocket, handing it to her.

Ruan Xi quickly took it, her smile brightening and her voice even sweeter, “Thank you, Master!”