To be honest, she liked Wei Dai quite a lot, and they had a strong relationship foundation. Moreover, he matched her aesthetics, and she hadn’t found any flaws in his personality after spending time with him.

He was actually very gentle and could talk to anyone. But he definitely wasn’t a pushover and would show a sharp side when needed.

Wei Dai had a bottom line in life and work. If you saw him helping his parents collect debts, you would know he had a tough style.

He was also tall. Wen Jiajia was 172 cm in her last life, and the original owner was 168 cm. Many people in the village were not as tall as the original owner. She thought it would be a shame to find someone shorter who might drag down her future.

The key was that he was considerate, not boring, and would say intimate words to please her and make her happy. He didn’t smoke or drink excessively, which made Wen Jiajia very satisfied.

Most importantly, he was committed. He promised to help raise Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, and he would definitely do so. His financial situation could ensure that he could support them, and his job could also provide her with a good position.

The letter mentioned that Wei Dai had already taken care of the house, and if everything went smoothly, they would have a place to live.

In response to Wei Dai’s inquiry about how the house should be arranged, Wen Jiajia thought about it, picked up a pen, and began to write seriously.

She thought she was probably willing to start a family with him.

“If possible, I would like to have a bathroom at home. It doesn’t need to be complicated. If you don’t know how to build it, you can refer to the figure below.”

Wen Jiajia added a simple sketch of the bathroom.

She didn’t want to make it difficult for Wei Dai. It would be best to have a squatting toilet, and if that wasn’t possible, she would build a room for a simple toilet.

At the same time, there was no need for a shower, only a table where a wooden barrel could be placed.

After all, the water heater of this age… even if she could buy one, she wouldn’t dare to use it, fearing it might be dangerous.

[Cultivate a piece of land in the yard and plant some garlic sprouts, shallots, peppers, and vegetables that we often eat,] Wen Jiajia continued.

Since Wei Dai mentioned there were 50 square meters, they could grow a lot of things. Wen Jiajia didn’t think twice about it; according to Wei Dai, it was remote, so they should be able to cultivate it. Otherwise, what would the family eat?

[With two bedrooms apart, I would like the kitchen to be slightly larger, and the living room layout is as follows.]

Wen Jiajia drew a layout of the living room, including a sofa, fearing that Wei Dai might carelessly make a long wooden chair for her.

After writing, Wen Jiajia counted the pages and realized she had written six pages. Satisfied, she thought that if Wei Dai didn’t write seven pages next time, she would definitely point it out.

The next day, Wen Jiajia went to the county seat to send the letter.

After sending the letter, she finally remembered that she had visited a teacher some time ago, so she went to find Fang Mingyan with a needle, thread, and some old clothes.

Fang Mingyan snorted, “I thought you were going to forget about me, your master.”

Wen Jiajia gave her two packets of dates. “How could I? I’ve been busy, but I came to see you as soon as I finished.”

At this time, the dates were very sweet, almost too sweet, but everyone loved them, including Fang Mingyan.

Wen Jiajia appreciated that she wasn’t picky; if Wen Chun and Wen Xuan didn’t like her, they wouldn’t have bought them.

However, Wen Chun and Wen Xuan had probably eaten too many sweets recently and began to have tooth decay, so Wen Jiajia started to strictly control their sweet intake. Naturally, the sweetest dates were confiscated, and they were not allowed to eat them anymore.

Fang Mingyan put a candied date in her mouth, smiled, and said, “Okay, let’s start now.”

Her sewing skills might not be the best among her peers in the village, but they were more than enough to teach Jiajia.

“You… don’t know how to cut clothes?” Fang Mingyan looked puzzled. “Then didn’t you make your own clothes before?”

Wen Jiajia nodded.

The original owner never wore new clothes, only the clothes discarded by her adoptive father and mother, so she had never been exposed to the craft of sewing.

And she didn’t know how to sew either.

“Alright! Then I’ll teach you from scratch.” Fang Mingyan sighed, feeling that Wen Jiajia had really difficult past.

She spread out the clothes Wen Jiajia brought and carefully explained how to cut them according to her size.

After teaching how to make clothes, she taught her how to make pants. She started with the simplest style, as anything more complicated required Wen Jiajia to slowly understand.

As for sewing decorative patterns, that was out of the question. Fang Mingyan showed her how to sew the thread neatly and densely, which was already the result of her years of effort.

That’s all Wen Jiajia wanted to learn.

So she spent her time practicing needlework. Every day, when she had nothing to do at home, she took out old clothes to practice on.

There wasn’t much else at home, just a lot of old clothes.

The old clothes were transformed into new ones, not for herself but for Wen Chun and Wen Xuan.

Each child received a new padded jacket and padded pants.

They were also given a pair of jumpsuits, which they could only wear when it was warm, but they wanted to wear them immediately.

She also made small pillows for them, filled with buckwheat husks, which were warm in winter and cool in summer, and they loved them.

As for her own new clothes, they had to be made with new fabric and skillful craftsmanship.

That morning, Wen Jiajia used a pound of new cotton and some other discarded cotton products to create a cotton cloth and a piece of fabric with color patterns. She decided to use this cotton cloth to make two new clothes for herself.

Wen Jiajia asked Fang Mingyan to help her measure the size, then laid the cotton cloth on the long table to cut.

Fang Mingyan, propping her head up, asked curiously, “What kind of clothes are you making? It looks weird.”

“Can this be worn out? You pinched the waist so tightly.”

Wen Jiajia said proudly, “I want to make a piece of clothing that’s easy to clean.”

As she spoke, she patted the cotton cloth under her hand. “What I’m making now is a liner, and you’ll understand when you see the finished product.”

“A liner? So there’s going to be an outer shell too?”

Fang Mingyan became interested and helped with the cutting, eager to see the finished product.

The sunlight spread from the patio to the hall, soon reaching Wen Jiajia’s toes.

At the end of the year, the nursery was closed.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were on vacation and spent their days wandering around at home looking for food, accompanied by two puppies wagging their tails.

To expend their energy, Wen Jiajia would hide peach cakes or old noodles in the corners for them to find.

She hid a small piece here and a small piece there.

They ate one piece after another, digesting all the food they had eaten, without fear of overindulgence.

Fang Mingyan smiled when she saw it. “Chun’er and Xuanxuan are much livelier now. They were… well, back then,” she paused, “they were like this when your sister was around.”

They were about the same level of liveliness, but to be honest, they seemed even more spirited now.

People in the village said that Wen Jiajia truly didn’t mistreat the two children, and now the two girls had a noticeable tendency to be the heaviest among their peers in the village.

Wen Jiajia only smiled faintly and didn’t speak.

After all, she had inherited the original owner’s body and the Wen family’s responsibilities. She was a human being, not an animal, so how could she ignore two three-year-old girls?

Besides, Wen Jiajia was also somewhat selfish.

At first, she thought that if she didn’t get married in this life, Wen Chun and Wen Xuan could take care of her in her old age.

No husband, no children, but there were still closely related children. In her previous life, she would have been overjoyed with such a prospect.

Now, although she had the desire to get married, after spending a long time with the two well-behaved and sensible little girls, it was difficult for Wen Jiajia not to develop deep feelings for them. These feelings were much deeper than those for Wei Dai, so how could she bear to treat them harshly?

Fang Mingyan was afraid of poking Wen Jiajia’s scar, so she didn’t continue, and the two of them quietly cut their clothes.

After cutting, they started putting the cotton on it.

Wen Jiajia thought about it and decided to use a pound of cotton.

She was tall, and her clothes were made in medium and long styles, so she had initially decided to use six to eight taels of cotton. But considering that she might not stay in the Fuyang Brigade in the coming years and might move further north where it snows, she thought a thicker padded jacket would be necessary.

The padded jacket liner was finally finished, and Wen Jiajia began to make the shell.

Fang Mingyan finally understood and said with a smile, “Isn’t this just a blouse? My mother and my little nephew wear them every day.”

But this was different!

The outer shell of the clothes was just like ordinary clothes. When the weather was warm, the inner liner could be removed, and the outer clothes could be worn alone.

Most importantly, in winter, the outer garment could be washed separately. Cotton loses warmth when washed, and with Wen Jiajia’s frequency of changing and washing clothes, this cotton jacket would wear out in less than two years.

Wen Jiajia also cared about the appearance of her clothes.

The inner liner didn’t need much thought; dense stitching and a proper fit were sufficient.

But for the shell, Wen Jiajia used material with floral patterns on a white background. When she put it on, Fang Mingyan’s eyes lit up.

She blinked, “Where did you buy this fabric?”

Wen Jiajia lied smoothly, “In the county, not at the supply and marketing cooperative, you know…”

Got it, got it.

Fang Mingyan asked again, “Is there any more?”

Wen Jiajia nodded, “I can cut a piece for you.” There was enough left for her to make a dress.

Fang Mingyan was so happy that she didn’t want to take advantage of Wen Jiajia. After Wen Jiajia gave her the fabric, she sent some cotton in return.

“My family doesn’t lack cotton,” Fang Mingyan said.

Wen Jiajia thought about it and accepted it.

The matter of planting cotton was organized by Fang Mingyan’s mother, so no one lacked it.

Looking at this bag of cotton, Wen Jiajia’s hands itched to make more things. She made three cotton vests, which were perfect for wearing during the day.

She also thought about getting some wool to knit a few sweaters, so the family wouldn’t have to worry about winter at all.

However, wool was hard to buy.

Wen Jiajia scratched her head in annoyance. If she couldn’t buy it, she would have to find a way to collect wool from the commune’s sheepfold. She wasn’t sure how much she would need to make wool.

In the blink of an eye, the end of the year approached, and time passed in the cold wind.

Every morning, the frost grew thicker, and the mountains and rivers became more icy. Fortunately, the landscape’s resources hadn’t diminished much, and they were still enough for the Wen family to use every day.

Today was Laba^[1]“Laba” (腊八) in Chinese refers to the Laba Festival, which is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar., and after Laba, it would be the New Year.

Although the local area didn’t have a habit of celebrating Laba, Wen Jiajia still pickled a jar of Laba garlic^[2]“Laba garlic” (腊八蒜) is a traditional Chinese food associated with the Laba Festival. It is garlic that has been pickled in vinegar and is known for its green color and unique flavor., which was perfect for noodles.

She also pickled turnips.

The radishes were cut into small pieces, dried into shreds, and then put in a jar. After drying, soy sauce and cooking wine were added, and the mixture was left to marinate for seven or eight days before opening the lid to eat.

After eating too much, Wen Jiajia found that it was better than Laba garlic, and the key was that there was no need to brush her teeth afterward.

This morning, she boiled yam porridge, with rice cakes made yesterday, and was ready to go queue up after eating.

From time to time, the howl of pigs could be heard in the distance, signaling that the village was about to start dividing the meat.