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Grandma Chen’s shrewdness allowed her to recognize that even if the eldest son didn’t ask for money, Mrs. Hu would find a way to secretly obtain some. In this case, the second son’s family wouldn’t save any money, and the eldest son would believe he was helping his brothers, but in fact, it would be benefiting Hu. Therefore, she said, “I also agree with the second son. Even with family, accounts must be clear. Helping is one thing, but the rightful wages should still be given.”
Chen Ming added, “After selling the land, there’s still four taels left, which is enough for the house repairs. If the eldest brother keeps helping like this, I won’t feel comfortable asking for his help again in the future.”
Chen Ye remained silent, but raised the topic of the construction time. As it was the busy farming season, they first needed to plant corn and sweet potatoes. With the large amount of land from the main household and the second household, they wouldn’t have time to build until the end of May. Chen Ming, considering the household’s busy work with needlework, scheduled the construction for the end of June. After the house was built, they would renovate the thatched grass hut they were living in.
Before they left, Chen Ming gave the four feet of blue coarse cloth to Chen Ye for clothing.
Chen Ye was so anxious that his face turned red. He loudly said, “What kind of life do you live? Although A’Feng’s illness has improved, you still need to save money for A’Lu’s leg treatment. Why waste this money? My family lives much better; we don’t need these few feet of cloth. Save it to make new clothes for A’Lu, his clothes are all worn out.”
After saying this, he helped the elderly Chen out, with Chen Feng and Chen Dabao following behind. Chen Ming saw them off.
Mrs. Hu didn’t move her feet, she still wanted to get her hands on the fabric. Even if she didn’t dare to take it home, she would take it to her mother’s house to make clothes for her brothers or nephews.
Chen Lu, a young but shrewd boy, could tell what Mrs Hu was thinking when she stayed behind. When she reached for the cloth on the heated brick bed, he quickly reached out and took it, handing it to Mrs Wang, saying, “Mom, uncle asked you to make new clothes for me. You can’t give it to someone else. If there’s any left, make a set for Dabao.”
Hu was furious, cursing, “You poor brat, to take back a gift you’ve given.”
Chen Ye and grandma Chen were not present, so she didn’t bother to hide her greed and cruelty.
Chen Feng smiled and said, “We didn’t take it back. Uncle sympathized with our poverty and wanted the cloth to make new clothes for my younger brother.”
Mrs Hu scolded again, “What a fool, daring to argue with your elders.”
Mrs Wang wasn’t foolish either. She knew that Mrs Hu didn’t dare to take the cloth home, but wanted to secretly take it to her mother’s house. She was willing to give it to Chen Ye, after all, he had helped their family a lot. However, letting Mrs Hu secretly take it to her own family, that was another matter. Hearing her scold her A’Feng, she felt even more displeased.
Mrs Wang put the fabric in the bed cabinet and said to the flushed Mrs Hu, “The eldest miss didn’t come to eat, so I left a bowl of cucumber and pork stir-fry for her. Eldest sister-in-law, take it back for her.”
This dish was originally meant for Chen Ming to eat the next day.
Even the smallest mosquito is meat, and Mrs Hu grudgingly followed Mrs Wang to the kitchen to take the food away.
Chen Feng was speechless, her mother was too soft-hearted. People like Mrs Hu were like hungry wolves, only taking and never feeling satisfied. If she took something, she wouldn’t show gratitude, and most of the time, she didn’t dare to let the elderly Chen and Chen Ye know.
After Mrs Hu left, Chen Lu said to Mrs Wang, “Mom, that dish was left for my father to eat tomorrow. Why did you give it to Uncle’s wife? If it really goes into the eldest cousin’s mouth, it’s fine, but if it ends up in youngest cousin’s mouth, that’s a pity.”
Mrs Wang sighed, “The eldest sister-in-law wasn’t happy that the fabric wasn’t taken back. If we don’t give her something, I don’t know how long she’ll keep complaining at home.”
Upon hearing these words, Chen Ming sighed and shook his head. How could such a good person like his elder brother marry someone like that?
When Mrs Hu first married into the Chen family, Chen Ming deeply respected her. However, Mrs Hu disliked this sickly and younger uncle, Chen Ming. While she behaved well in front of Chen Ye and the elderly Chen, once they were absent, she used the most malicious language to insult Chen Ming, almost driving him to despair. Perhaps her intention was to provoke him to death.
During the division of property that year, the elderly Chen and Chen Ye’s original intention was for Chen Ming to stay at home, making it easier for them to take care of him. However, Chen Ming insisted on moving out. It was only when Chen Ye helped him sell an acre of land and the two brothers secretly added one or two taels of silver each that they managed to buy this small courtyard. Luckily, a few days later, Wang entered the household; otherwise, the elderly Chen would have come to take care of him first…
After the main household left, Chen Feng stopped her mother, who was about to go to the kitchen to tidy up. Her health had improved a lot, and she could now slowly tidy up.
Seeing her daughter capable, Mrs Wang’s face lit up with joy. She went inside to make clothes for Chen Lu. She made a sleeveless jacket and long pants, enough to make a set for Lu and Dabao.
Both children were extremely excited. Lu couldn’t remember the last time he had worn new clothes, and Dabao had never worn new clothes; he had always worn his little uncle’s old clothes. Dabao was particularly thrilled and kept asking when he could wear the new clothes.
Chen Lu modestly said, “Mom, let Dabao wear it first.”
Mrs Wang nodded and smiled, “Okay, grandma will let Dabao wear the new clothes tomorrow.”
After finishing with the kitchen, Chen Feng watched Mrs Wang making the clothes. She was speechless about the ancient style of tailoring, especially the pants, which seemed like two pockets sewn together. They were not only unattractive and uncomfortable to wear, but also wasted a lot of fabric. She thought about trying to improve the style once she became more skillful. Of course, she couldn’t change the aesthetic of the era entirely, and she couldn’t make the pants into a modern tapered design, but at least she could try to make the waist and crotch fit better.
The next day, it was already bright, but Chen Feng didn’t hear any movement outside the door. It must have been that her mother had worked late the previous night and hadn’t woken up yet.
She got up quietly and saw that it was drizzling outside. The rain was extremely light, misty, and silent, washing the leaves and grass even greener and cleaner.
Chen Feng put on her clothes and saw a set of blue clothes on the table. She walked over and opened it to find a sleeveless jacket and a pair of pants made for Dabao.
Wang had kept her promise and finished the clothes so Dabao can wear the new clothes today.
Chen Feng placed the clothes next to Dabao before going to the kitchen.
She brought in a bundle of wheat straw from under the eaves to prevent the firewood from getting wet in case of rain. She quietly made a fire and started cooking the brown rice.
Once the rice in the pot had boiled, she reduced the heat and went back to comb her hair. She tied it into a roll on top of her head, somewhat like a bun from a previous life, and secured it with a wooden hairpin. This was the only hairstyle she can do as of now.
“Mom,” Dabao rubbed his eyes and sat up. When he saw the new clothes, he suddenly became alert and exclaimed, “Wow, new clothes!”
“Shh, speak softly, grandma worked late last night and hasn’t woken up yet,” Chen Feng whispered.
Dabao nodded and quickly put on the new clothes. After putting them on, he looked a bit at a loss while standing on the heated brick bed, fidgeting and looking at Chen Feng.
Dabao’s little jacket and pants were way too big. The jacket reached his thighs, and the pants were too loose and too long; the crotch almost reached his knees. He could still wear this outfit three years from now. Although the fit was off, the little boy looked incredibly handsome in his new clothes, especially in his fidgety and excited state, which was simply adorable.