Chapter 30

As agreed before the busy farming season, Ruan Cuilan brought her husband and children to visit Ruan Zhigao and Ruan Changsheng. When they arrived, they greeted Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui but didn’t say much else or visit their house.

Ruan Cuilan had always been like this. If she didn’t like someone, she would only greet them briefly, even if they were her brother and sister-in-law. She felt that talking more was a waste of her time.

After lunch, Ruan Changgui napped in the house, and Sun Xiaohui sat by the bed doing needlework. The house was very quiet.

Meanwhile, the adjacent room was bustling with people standing and sitting, both adults and children, chatting lively. This made Sun Xiaohui’s room seem even more deserted, almost like a slap in the face.

After chatting for a while, Ruan Zhigao estimated the sun’s position and led the family, each carrying a small stool, to the village committee. When they arrived, many people were already there, gathered and talking.

Ruan Zhigao and a few village cadres sat down at the table behind the podium, waiting for more villagers to arrive. Once another group of villagers joined, they began the commendation meeting. The process was simple: first, speeches of praise, then distributing the rewards.

Zhou Xueyun and two other men had been notified earlier to come and receive their commendations and rewards. Their families also came to share in the honor. The reward was a practical measure of a dou of rice, along with a certificate of commendation for doing good deeds in the spirit of Lei Feng.

In the crowd, Ruan Xi saw Ling Yao and waved at him with a smile.

Ling Yao smiled and waved back, no longer looking like a wooden figure in the crowd.

When Zhou Xueyun received her certificate and rice, she smiled brightly, accepting everyone’s recognition and praise with ease.

The rewards were handed out by Yanzi’s parents, who thanked them countless times as they gave them the rewards.

After distributing the rewards, Ruan Zhigao loudly addressed everyone, “They are our role models. We should all learn from these three comrades!”

Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd, and Ruan Xi clapped until her hands were numb.

After the commendation meeting, Zhou Xueyun almost immediately became a popular figure in the village. People no longer called her “Sister Zhou” or “Little Sister Zhou” but respectfully addressed her as “Doctor Zhou.”

As Ruan Xi had predicted, whenever someone in the nearby villages fell ill or a child was sick and crying, they would bring some vegetables, fruits, eggs, or sugar to the stilt house to seek her help.

To make it easier for her to see a doctor, Ruan Zhigao arranged for someone to take her to the town health clinic to get a medicine box. The contents of the medicine box were not much, just some ordinary tablets, a syringe, and a few pieces of gauze, which could treat some common minor illnesses and pains.

With just these few items, Zhou Xueyun became a respected person in several nearby villages. Because the brigade subsidized her with extra work points, and the members would also spontaneously bring her things, their family’s life improved. The main thing was that their mindset changed, and the spirit and temperament of the whole family underwent a very noticeable transformation.

Because of this, Ruan Xi’s relationship with the Ling family became closer, and sometimes, she would go to Ling Yao’s house to play.

The leaves on the trees all over the mountains and plains turned yellow and fell, and after late autumn, winter set in.

During the winter, the members were more relaxed, as there was not much farm work to do.

As the New Year approached, every household began to prepare for the festivities by slaughtering pigs and making cured meat. Of course, not all the pork was kept for themselves; each household had a quota to hand over, and only the remaining portion was kept for their own consumption.

Besides eating meat, new clothes were also made and worn for the New Year, so every household took their cloth tickets and money, and a few people would go together to the town to buy cloth, then come back and find an old tailor to make clothes.

Liu Xinghua, being old and unable to manage, handed over the task of preparing New Year’s goods to Ruan Cuizhi. No matter how much she saved, the New Year still had to be celebrated well, so everything needed for eating, drinking, and wearing had to be prepared.

Ruan Cuizhi had been living in the mountains for three or four months, and now was the perfect time to visit her four children.

Liu Xinghua gave money and tickets to Ruan Cuizhi to buy cloth and food and also gave Ruan Changsheng the surplus oil, salt, and meat tickets accumulated over the past six months, asking him to go to the black market after going down the mountain, find someone to sell them, and bring back the money. Of course, the surplus tickets did not include grain and cloth tickets, as the eldest, Ruan Changfu, never sent any. The reason for not sending grain tickets was that people grew their own food in the countryside, unlike in the city where grain tickets were needed to buy food. As for cloth tickets, he had many children to support, and he didn’t even have enough. He would send back any other tickets he could.

The siblings, Ruan Cuizhi and Ruan Changsheng, took on the task and went down the mountain together. When they arrived in town, they bought snacks from a store but didn’t buy any proper New Year’s goods yet.

Ruan Cuizhi took the snacks and sweets they bought and went with Ruan Changsheng to find Daniu, Erniu, Sanniu, and Little Tiger.

At this time, the students were already on winter break, so Daniu, Erniu, Sanniu, and Little Tiger were all at home.

Ruan Cuizhi didn’t want to see Liu Xiong, so she asked someone to call Daniu, Erniu, Sanniu, and Xiaohuzi out. She and Ruan Changsheng waited in a corner of the playground at Tianfeng Primary School. Having not seen her children for such a long time, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. When she saw Daniu, Erniu, Sanniu, and Xiaohuzi appear in her sight, her eyes instantly became wet. However, she didn’t cry; she sniffed and smiled.

She walked up to the four children with the food, holding back her tears, and said, “Did you miss Mom?”

Daniu, Erniu, Sanniu, and Xiaohuzi didn’t show much excitement or joy at seeing their mother. They all looked at Ruan Cuizhi with blank faces, blinking their eyes, and no one spoke.

Ruan Cuizhi stuffed the food into Daniu’s hands, sniffed, and said to them, “Mom bought this for you.”

Daniu looked at the food, then at Ruan Cuizhi, and handed the food back to her.

Ruan Cuizhi was stunned and looked at Daniu, “What’s wrong?”

Daniu didn’t speak, but Sanniu said, “Dad said you ran away and didn’t want us anymore.”

Ruan Cuizhi quickly looked at Sanniu and explained, “I didn’t run away. I’m at Grandma’s house, and I’ll come to see you often.”

Erniu said, “Dad said that as long as you don’t come back, we are not allowed to see you.”

Sanniu then asked, “Mom, when will you come back?”

Looking at the four children in front of her, Ruan Cuizhi suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Ruan Changsheng came over from behind and said to Sanniu, “What? Do you want your mom to go back and get beaten to death by your dad?”

Sanniu looked up at Ruan Changsheng, “My dad won’t beat my mom to death!”

Ruan Changsheng snorted, “Right! Not to death, just half to death!”

Sanniu looked at Ruan Changsheng and said sternly, “It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, Mom wouldn’t have left!”

If he hadn’t gone to their house and beaten their dad, taken their mom away, and instigated their mom to get a divorce, their family would still be fine, and they wouldn’t have become children without a mom.

As the song goes, children without a mom are like grass, and now they are four blades of grass.

Ruan Changsheng frowned and said to Sanniu harshly, “You deserve to be without a mom!” As he said this, he snatched the food from Ruan Cuizhi’s hands, opened the kraft paper, took out the peach crisp, and stuffed a big piece into his mouth in front of the four children, chewing and saying, “You don’t deserve to eat!”

Little Tiger looked at him and swallowed but didn’t ask for any, as he was afraid of him.

Finally, Daniu spoke up, looked at Ruan Cuizhi, and asked, “Are you really going to divorce Dad and never come back?”

Ruan Cuizhi looked into Daniu’s eyes, took a deep breath, and, after a moment, said, “Yes.”

Daniu’s eyes dimmed, seemingly disappointed by Ruan Cuizhi’s answer. She pursed her lips and didn’t say much more to Ruan Cuizhi, only calling Erniu, Sanniu, and Xiaohuzi, “Let’s hurry back. Grandma will be worried if she can’t find us.”

Ruan Cuizhi stood still, watching as Daniu, Erniu, and Sanniu walked away with Little Tiger. The four of them turned back to look at her one by one, but only once. It was clear that she had become the bad mother in their hearts.

Ruan Changsheng, standing next to Ruan Cuizhi and eating peach crisps, said, “All four of them are ungrateful. Sis, you shouldn’t have come to see them. Your concern for them is wasted; they’re all ungrateful!”

Ruan Cuizhi blinked and said softly, “Let’s go buy the New Year’s goods.”

Ruan Cuizhi and Ruan Changsheng wandered around the commune, buying cloth, food, couplets, and firecrackers—everything needed for the New Year. Since it wasn’t easy to come to the commune, they made sure to buy everything they needed.

After buying the goods, Ruan Cuizhi found a place to sit and rest, while Ruan Changsheng went alone to the nearby black market. He sold the tickets Liu Xinghua had given him at a suitable price.

After completing these two tasks, they headed home with large and small bags.

On the way back, they coincidentally ran into Sun Xiaohui, who was going to the commune with two friendly women from the village. Seeing Ruan Cuizhi and Ruan Changsheng, the two women smiled and greeted them but didn’t say much and went on their way.

After walking a bit further, the short-haired woman said, “Do you think she went to see the children at Liu’s house?”

The long-haired woman replied, “Would Liu’s family let her see them? She’s the one who insisted on the divorce. Since she didn’t go back, she’s no longer considered part of Liu’s family. The children belong to Liu’s family, and they definitely won’t let her see them.”

Short-haired woman: “The children are so grown up, and life in town is better. What do you think she’s thinking?”

Sun Xiaohui sneered, “What is she thinking? Someone instigated her. You can tell she’s not the type to do such things on her own; someone must have pushed her.”

Long-haired woman: “Your two elders are indeed not ordinary people.”

Sun Xiaohui laughed, “Who would teach their own daughter to do such things? Most people would try to stop her.”

The short-haired woman said, “It’s good you separated from the family early. Otherwise, you would have been dragged into this mess.”

The three women chatted as they walked to the commune to buy New Year’s goods.

Because the work points were settled at the end of the year, and they had sold a fat pig for some money, Sun Xiaohui had a bit more money on hand. It was enough to get through the New Year, and she could buy everything she needed. She and the two women bought all the New Year’s goods in town and then hurried back.

Having bought food and new cloth, the three of them were happy and started talking about making clothes.

The short-haired woman said to Sun Xiaohui, “I heard the old tailor will come to our village first this year to make clothes, and after finishing our village, he’ll go to other villages. Your son Yuejin has been learning the craft from him for half a year, right? We’ve heard you praise him for half a year, and now we can finally see his skills.”

Naturally, hearing praise for her son made Sun Xiaohui happy. She smiled and said, “When we get back, I’ll invite the old tailor over. He’ll make the first set of clothes for my family. I’ll tell the old tailor to let Yuejin use the machine, and you can all come and see.”

The long-haired woman said, “We’ll definitely come and see. If Yuejin does a good job, we’ll have him make our clothes too, and he can keep the wages. Your Yuejin is really promising; no one else has learned the craft from the old tailor yet.”

Sun Xiaohui beamed with pride, “My Yuejin’s strength is his patience.”

This topic pleased Sun Xiaohui the most, and she didn’t want to stop talking about it. She and the two women continued to praise Ruan Yuejin, making it sound like he was about to open his own shop.

Every year, the old tailor would go to people’s homes to make clothes for the New Year, arranging to visit one village after another to avoid running back and forth. This year, he was going to Fengyan Village first, so the people of Fengyan Village had already gone to the commune to buy cloth.

On the appointed day, Ruan Zhigao arranged for four strong men to go to Jinguang Village to carry the old tailor and his sewing machine.

Since the old tailor was coming today, Ruan Xi and Ruan Yuejin didn’t go to the tailor shop and waited at home instead.

As the sun rose to the treetops, the strong men carried the old tailor over.

Sun Xiaohui had arranged for the old tailor to make clothes for her family first, so the four men carried the old tailor and the sewing machine directly to the Ruan family’s door. The old tailor got off the sedan chair outside, holding his tobacco pipe, while the sewing machine was taken inside.

Seeing the old tailor arrive, Ruan Xi came out from the side room, smiling and greeting him, “Master, you’re here.”

Behind her were Liu Xinghua, Ruan Cuizhi, and Ruan Jie, who also politely greeted the old tailor.

The old tailor didn’t waste any words and said directly, “Let’s get to work.”

Ruan Xi didn’t need further instructions and turned to the room to set up all the tools needed for making clothes. From scissors and measuring tapes to chalk and irons, she laid everything out neatly within easy reach.

Sun Xiaohui saw this and sneered inwardly—what a sycophant.

Since Ruan Xi had taken care of these small tasks, it meant her son Ruan Yuejin didn’t have to do them. Ruan Yuejin wasn’t meant for such menial tasks; he was supposed to work on the sewing machine, doing the real work. Those without real skills could only do these odd jobs.

In those days, making clothes was a big event in the village, especially for the New Year. The old tailor’s arrival had already caused a stir in the village, and now many people had gathered at the Ruan family’s house.

With nothing else to do, some came to watch the old tailor make clothes, while others saw Ruan Yuejin show off his skills. After all, Sun Xiaohui had been boasting for half a year that her son Ruan Yuejin was the only one who could inherit the old tailor’s craft.

As for Ruan Xi? She was just a helper doing odd jobs.

Of course, Sun Xiaohui didn’t think she was boasting; she was genuinely proud. Every time Ruan Yuejin came home during the past six months of learning the craft, he would tell her how well he was doing and how smoothly he operated the machine.

Among those who came, only Zhou Xueyun and Ling Yao were there to see Ruan Xi. They liked to join in the village’s lively events, and with nothing to do at home, they came out to chat and pass the time.

Ling Yao went straight to find Ruan Xi, patting her on the shoulder from behind.

Ruan Xi turned around and saw him. Her face instantly filled with a smile, and she asked, “Are you here to play?”

Ling Yao nodded, “My mom is here too. She said she wanted to see you make clothes.”

Ruan Xi smiled, “Then I have to perform well.”

She immediately turned to find Sun Xiaohui and raised her voice to ask, “Second Aunt, whose clothes are we making first?”

Sun Xiaohui heard her and walked over, seeing the measuring tape in her hand, she smiled and said, “Just tidy up the things. You don’t need to do these tasks. Let Yuejin do it. I’m afraid you won’t do it well.”

Ruan Xi understood instantly, smiled, and handed the measuring tape to Ruan Yuejin. She then turned to the old tailor sitting at the workbench and said, “Master, my second aunt doesn’t think I’m good enough. She specifically asked for Ruan Yuejin to do it. You can just call on Ruan Yuejin for anything.”

The old tailor looked up at Sun Xiaohui and asked, “Are you sure?”

Sun Xiaohui smiled, “Of course, he’s my son. How could I not be sure?”

The old tailor snorted, “As long as you’re sure. He’s not my son, so I can’t be sure.”

Sun Xiaohui: “…” What kind of talk is that?

The old tailor, not one for small talk, directly called Ruan Yuejin, “I’ve taught you this. Measure the sizes.”

Ruan Yuejin wasn’t nervous at all. He was confident and composed, looking like a proper tailor. He took the measuring tape and walked to Sun Xiaohui, saying formally, “Mom, let’s start with yours.”

Sun Xiaohui was pleased and stood straight for him to measure.

He measured and noted down each size on paper.

Seeing him so professional, the onlookers commented, “He seems to have learned well.”

Sun Xiaohui, hearing this, smiled broadly, her mouth almost reaching her ears.

After measuring, Ruan Yuejin handed the sizes to the old tailor. The old tailor put them aside and immediately started drawing the paper pattern. Since they were making regular-style clothes, drawing and making them would be quick.

The old tailor finished the paper pattern and handed it to Ruan Yuejin, telling him, “Cut it.”

Ruan Yuejin responded and cut out the paper pattern, then took the fabric and used chalk to trace the shapes. As he bent over and traced the paper pattern, Ruan Xi watched from the side, pursing her lips—anyone with eyes could see how wasteful Ruan Yuejin’s method of arranging the patterns was. Fortunately, it was his own family’s fabric.

The onlookers, who initially thought Ruan Yuejin seemed quite professional, now subconsciously pursed their lips.

Sun Xiaohui’s smile gradually faded. She walked over to Ruan Yuejin and whispered, “You’re wasting too much fabric.”

Without looking up, Ruan Yuejin replied, “You don’t understand.”

“…”

Sun Xiaohui took a deep breath—what did understanding have to do with it?!

Good grief! Use your brain to save some fabric! Anyone who knows how to sew would know that!

Sun Xiaohui was momentarily at a loss, unsure whether to tell Ruan Yuejin to stop. If she did, both she and her son would lose face. If she didn’t, there wouldn’t be enough fabric for even one piece of clothing!

Then, as Ruan Yuejin continued drawing…

He realized he had run out of fabric…

He finally looked up and said to Sun Xiaohui, “Mom, the fabric you bought isn’t enough.”

Someone nearby cleared their throat, even raising a hand to touch their neck, looking as awkward as possible.

Ruan Xi stood to the side, pursing her lips. Her eyes and mouth were full of suppressed laughter, on the verge of bursting out.

Sun Xiaohui’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she quickly cleared her throat and said, “Yuejin isn’t used to these odd jobs; he usually works directly on the machine. These tasks are better left to helpers.”

Sun Xiaohui brushed off the chalk marks from the fabric, picked up the chalk, and retraced the pattern herself.

After retracing, she cut out the fabric pieces with scissors, completed all these tasks, and handed the fabric pieces to Ruan Yuejin, saying, “Alright, you said you’re good with the machine, so go ahead.”

The old tailor, who had been smoking his pipe leisurely on the side, didn’t intervene.

Unfazed by the cutting mishap, Ruan Yuejin calmly took the fabric pieces from Sun Xiaohui, set up the sewing machine, and selected the appropriate thread, threading both the top and bottom threads.

Seeing his skilled threading, Sun Xiaohui relaxed and smiled at the nearby women, saying, “My Yuejin is mainly good with the machine. Learning tailoring is all about mastering the machine; the rest are just minor details.”

One of the women agreed, “That’s true.”

Just as she finished speaking, there was a loud “snap” as the thread in the needle eye broke.

“…” The onlookers pursed their lips again.

Ruan Yuejin remained calm as if this was a common occurrence. He rethreaded the needle and continued with the sewing machine. This time, the thread ran smoothly for a while without breaking, and the stitches looked decent.

Sun Xiaohui’s expression changed several times in three seconds, from tense to relaxed. But just as she relaxed, the pedal under Ruan Yuejin’s foot suddenly jammed. He tried to force it, stomping twice.

The old tailor, smoking his pipe nearby, said, “Stop! The needle hole is clogged!”

Ruan Yuejin quickly stopped, lifted the presser foot, and found a tangled mess of thread clogging the needle hole.

This was another common issue for him, so he calmly began to untangle the thread.

Among the onlookers, someone cleared their throat and pursed their lips, raising a hand to touch their forehead.

Sun Xiaohui’s face showed embarrassment, wishing she could find a hole to hide in.

Ruan Xi watched from the side, laughing silently, her shoulders shaking with mirth.

Ruan Jie, standing next to her, couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Hearing the sound, others looked over, seeing Ruan Xi’s face flushed with laughter.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Ruan Xi quickly took a deep breath and stopped laughing.

Seeing this, Sun Xiaohui became embarrassed and angry, snapping, “What are you laughing at? Do you know how to use the machine? Have you ever used it? Yuejin at least knows how to use the sewing machine, even if he’s not skilled. What do you know? All you do is show your big teeth and laugh!”

Ruan Xi sneered, “Who told you I’ve never used the machine?”

Sun Xiaohui, feeling humiliated, took her anger out on Ruan Xi, “You go to the tailor shop with Yuejin every day. Do you think I don’t know if you’ve used the machine? You’re just a helper, laughing at someone using the machine?”

Ruan Xi didn’t bother to look at her and said to Ruan Jie, “Xiao Jie, go get our fabric.”

Sun Xiaohui, still angry, rolled her eyes and sneered.

She dismissed Ruan Xi and called to Ruan Yuejin, “Ignore her. Let’s do our work.”

Ruan Yuejin, confident in his skills, adjusted the sewing machine and continued sewing the fabric. However, he kept breaking the thread, having to rethread and sew again, breaking several times along one edge.

The onlookers, seeing his level of skill, couldn’t help but scratch their chins.

Ruan Xi ignored Ruan Yuejin and waited for Ruan Jie to bring the fabric. She measured Ruan Jie with a tape measure. Since the old tailor hadn’t taught her how to cut yet, she gave the measurements to the old tailor to draw the pattern, which was still a regular style.

Seeing Ruan Xi busy at work, the onlookers instantly perked up, feeling that today’s excitement was worth it.

Ruan Xi worked seriously. After the old tailor drew the paper pattern, she directly traced it and cut the fabric. Once done, she walked to the sewing machine with the fabric pieces and said to Ruan Yuejin, “Stop messing around and move aside.”

Ruan Yuejin looked up at her, annoyed, “Can you stop causing trouble?”

Ruan Xi stared at him, her gaze cold and stern, “You’re the one causing trouble, along with your mom.”

If not for Sun Xiaohui insisting that he do it, the old tailor would have drawn the pattern, and she would have cut and sewn it, finishing a piece of clothing quickly. Since they were making regular thick coats, the rough sewing and fitting wouldn’t require much alteration.

Ruan Yuejin and Ruan Xi stared at each other for a moment, and he lost the confrontation. He stood up with a sullen face, taking his fabric pieces and moving aside, saying, “I want to see what you can make. You’ve never used the machine, and you think you can make clothes? That’s laughable.”

Ruan Xi ignored him, selected the thread, and sat at the sewing machine. She removed the thread Ruan Yuejin had used, threaded her own, and replaced the bobbin. Her movements were skilled and swift, every step done without a second thought, her fingers never pausing. This skill was ingrained in her, as natural as breathing. After setting up the bobbin, she held the thread coming out of the needle eye, gently pressed the pedal, and easily pulled up the bobbin thread. Then she aligned the fabric pieces, placing them under the presser foot. She used her fingers to hold the fabric in place, her foot pressing the pedal, and the machine started smoothly. The needle moved quickly up and down between the presser foot, and in the blink of an eye, a perfect stitch appeared along the edge of the fabric.

Everyone around was stunned, including Sun Xiaohui and Ruan Yuejin, who took a while to react.

Ruan Xi didn’t care about their reactions; she always worked seriously. She kept her head down, diligently sewing the fabric, her hands and feet moving without hesitation, quickly rough-stitching the coat.

As the fabric folded and stacked in her hands, the onlookers couldn’t tell what she was making. But when she cut the last thread, a complete coat emerged.

Ruan Xi didn’t lift the coat to show off. She stood up and took it to Ruan Jie to try on. After checking the fit, she sat down again to make adjustments, slightly taking in the waist. After adjusting the waist and trying it on again, there were no flaws. Then she sat down again, making more detailed stitches, hemming where needed, and adding pockets to the coat. Every small detail was done meticulously, with no messy threads allowed.

At first, the onlookers were shocked and whispered to each other. But gradually, they found watching Ruan Xi make clothes enjoyable. The sound of the sewing machine was pleasant, and each stitch was incredibly satisfying.

Sun Xiaohui stood nearby, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Ruan Yuejin, still holding the fabric pieces, also had a face turning from blue to red. He felt like he was standing on hot coals, almost unable to stand still.

Then, Ruan Xi suddenly looked up at him, smiled lightly, and said, “I don’t usually use the machine because I don’t need to, not because I can’t. Understand?”