Chapter 40: Mending Clothes

“This isn’t urgent,” Xu Xia said with an embarrassed smile. “It’s almost New Year, and I wanted to make a new outfit.

“No one in our village sews better than you, so I’ve come shamelessly to ask for your help…”

Aunt Zhao agreed without a second thought. “Sure, no problem. Big garments are easy to make. There’s not much going on during the day anyway, so I can get it done quickly.”

Xu Xia thanked her repeatedly.

Aunt Zhao took out a measuring tape to measure him.

As Xu Xia was about to leave, Aunt Zhao stopped him and asked Zhao Hu to take him to his room for a while and take off his coat for mending.

Zhao Hu cheerfully led him away.

Aunt Zhao first helped mend the coat, then brought it to Xu Xia. He tried again to leave.

By then, Qin Ying had already pulled some baby bok choy, cut a bunch of garlic sprouts, and picked a large handful of mushrooms. She put them into a basket and handed it to Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao smiled warmly and said, “These are all homegrown. Have a taste!”

Xu Xia quickly said, “Old Master Chen has also been growing mushrooms—we have plenty to eat.”

“Brother Xu,” Zhao Hu interjected, “what you have is yours. This is a gift from us. It’s different!”

So Xu Xia accepted it.

After he left, Aunt Zhao opened the bundle. Inside was a piece of black fabric with subtle patterns, two catties of cotton, and a thoroughly cleaned garment.

Aunt Zhao was a little puzzled.

Qin Ying couldn’t help but sigh inwardly and reminded her, “Mom, he means for you to use this piece as a model.”

Aunt Zhao’s face flushed slightly. In a moment of impulse, she had agreed to do the work, but now realized that what he wore was quite different from their rural clothing. She was stumped. “What should I do? What if I cut it wrong?”

Since she had already agreed, it wouldn’t be right to back out now. Qin Ying took the finished garment and examined it closely for a while. “It’s fine, I’ll do the cutting.”

Aunt Zhao looked a little sheepish.

Qin Ying smiled and said, “Mom, we’re family. Don’t overthink it.”

She handed An’an over to Zhao Hu to look after, then laid out the fabric, cut the pieces, and began sewing and assembling it together with Aunt Zhao.

By the time night began to fall, more than half of the work was done.

Aunt Zhao rubbed her eyes and exhaled. “If we push a little tomorrow morning, we can finish it.”

The next day, before noon, the clothes were done. Aunt Zhao folded them carefully, wrapped them along with the fabric scraps into a bundle, and asked Zhao Hu to deliver it.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Hu came back not long after—bringing Zhou Yu with him.

When she saw the large bundle Zhou Yu was carrying, Aunt Zhao’s expression became a bit uneasy. She kept glancing at Qin Ying as if to ask: Yingzi, did I mess something up?

Qin Ying, however, remained fairly calm.

An’an happened to be awake. When she saw Zhou Yu, she was delighted and ran over to him.

Zhou Yu set the bundle down on the bench, exchanged a few pleasantries, and got to the point. Somewhat embarrassed, he said, “Aunt Zhao, to be honest, I’m clumsy and can’t do needlework. A few of my clothes in here are torn…”

Aunt Zhao stiffened and asked, “Why did Sister Zhong leave?”

“Ah!” Zhou Yu sighed. “Something came up in her family, so she rushed home. It was fine when she was around—she could help with repairs. But after she left, no one could help mend anything, so I had to keep changing clothes.

“And well, I’ve gone through everything I brought.

“To tell you the truth, I care about appearances and don’t want to go out in torn clothes…

“Especially with the New Year coming up—lots of people will be coming to visit. It’s really embarrassing.”

Aunt Zhao looked pleadingly at Qin Ying. Among the village women, she was considered skillful, but she had never sewn clothes for an official before!

What if her clumsy hands made things worse and tore the garments further?

Seeing her hesitation, Zhou Yu touched the clothes on An’an and said slowly, “I saw how well and finely you made clothes for An’an, and also saw Xu Xia’s new clothes. That’s what gave me the idea.

“It’s the end of the year—I can’t ask you to work for free. I’ve brought some goods to trade. How about this?

“We just got our rations delivered. I’ll give you a pound of rice and a pound of flour. Will that do?”

If he hadn’t offered something in return, Qin Ying would’ve felt uneasy agreeing. Now that he had, she nodded. “Our sewing skills are rough. Just don’t mind it too much, sir.”

“Why would I?” Zhou Yu said with a grin. “I’m the one troubling you.” Then, like performing a trick, he pulled out a rattle drum and began playing with An’an.

An’an’s big eyes lit up. Of course she recognized the toy, but this was her first time actually playing with one.

The small drum was exquisitely made, painted with scenes of children at play. The drumsticks were two polished wooden beads painted red.

With a twist of her little hand, the drum gave off a crisp bang-bang-bang sound.

Ah! So fun! So delightful!

The house instantly filled with the soft, sweet laughter of the toddler. Smiles naturally spread across the adults’ faces as well.

Zhou Yu didn’t stay long. After amusing An’an for a while, he got up to leave.

While Aunt Zhao went to cook, Qin Ying finally opened the bundle.

Inside were four robes, three pairs of trousers, and a cloak.

The materials didn’t look luxurious but were dense and sturdy—definitely not cheap.

The cloak was made of duoluoni wool, perfect for winter wear. There was a hole near the chest with signs of scorching, probably burned by flying sparks.

Aunt Zhao found a moment to ask, “Yingzi, can it be mended?”

“Yes,” Qin Ying had already come up with a plan. “I’ll patch this part using a border method. We don’t have thread of the same color, so I’ll have to embroider something over it to hide the patch.”

Her eyes looked a bit distant, and she muttered, “Too bad we don’t have any embroidery patches. That would’ve made it much easier.”

Aunt Zhao didn’t understand. “What’s that?”

“Mom,” Qin Ying curled her lips slightly and explained, “Not every official is rich, especially scholars. Nine out of ten Hanlin scholars are poor.

“My father was one of them. If we had to live off his salary alone, our family would’ve starved long ago.

“Fortunately, my mother was a skilled and thrifty woman. She had a modest shop as part of her dowry.

“When there was nothing else to do, my mother would have me do embroidery with her. I was little then, so I couldn’t make big pieces. She had me embroider small birds, flowers, fish, and insects.

“Whenever our clothes tore but were still wearable, we’d just sew those embroidered patches on top.”

Aunt Zhao gently patted her head. “Don’t be sad. Your parents would want you to live well.” Honestly, there wasn’t much time to dwell on sadness anyway—farmers had endless work all year round.

Qin Ying pulled herself out of her thoughts and smiled. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m fine.”

Most of Zhou Yu’s damaged clothes were frayed at the elbows, cuffs, and pant hems—nothing too difficult. Qin Ying assigned those to Aunt Zhao, while she focused on the cloak.

Just as Aunt Zhao was about to cut a square patch the size of a palm, Qin Ying quickly stopped her. “Mom, cut it into an oval instead. Patch both elbows and double-layer it. Then stitch around the edges in a circular pattern.”