Chapter 41

On Monday morning, the electrician arrived as scheduled.

Qiao Wei was already waiting for him.

Yan Lei specifically instructed Qiao Wei about some of the customary rules nowadays. When the electrician arrived, Qiao Wei had already prepared tea and cigarettes for him.

Some of the most ordinary professions in the future were highly esteemed at this time. Such as electricians, drivers, and almost all employees of supply and marketing cooperatives, including salespersons and purchasers, and so on.

This was truly a characteristic of the times.

Seeing that Qiao Wei had prepared everything she needed, including cigarettes and tea, the electrician didn’t hesitate. He quickly completed the task, pulling the wires to the toilet and installing a light bulb there.

The light switch was placed outside the house. When you came out of the house at night, you could reach for the toilet light switch. A pull, and the toilet light would come on, with no need to be afraid anymore.

Qiao Wei specifically told the electrician, “Could you install a bulb with a higher wattage?”

The electrician glanced at her, a little surprised. Because others would only say “install a brighter one,” but Qiao Wei directly mentioned the wattage.

After finishing, the electrician said, “Your husband is really generous.”

It felt like that military cadre knew how to care for people.

Because typically, men wouldn’t request to install lights in the toilet. Such a request indicated that it was suggested by the women at home.

Qiao Wei said, “It’s only used when going to the toilet; it won’t consume much electricity.”

The electrician chuckled, “You know quite a lot.”

She even knew that the unit for electricity was kilowatt-hour.

Qiao Wei: “?”

Talking with the electrician, Qiao Wei learned that at this time, electricity was not charged based on usage. Household electricity meters didn’t even exist. Electricity bills were calculated based on the number of light bulbs.

This method was called “package lighting.” Count the light bulbs in your house. Each 15-watt bulb cost 1.5 cents per month, 25-watt bulbs cost 2.5 cents, and 40-watt bulbs cost 4 cents.

Qiao Wei thought that since the light was used for a short time, she assumed electricity consumption was low. But in reality, regardless of usage, it was a fixed monthly fee.

Really, why bother having the whole family gather in one room to read at night to save electricity?

She didn’t know, but Yan Lei must know. Household electricity bills and such things were Yan Lei’s responsibility.

But thinking about it, this generation probably had a consciousness of thrift and frugality no matter what they used.

Characteristic of the times.

After finishing the toilet light, it was still early in the morning.

Qiao Wei boiled green bean soup all morning and brought it out to soak in the hand-dug well. She took out two types of cloth she bought from the market, indigo and natural color, folded them together and put them in a woven basket, then took Yan Xiang out.

There was a handicraft alley in the town. Those who relied on craftsmanship for a living, such as cobblers and tailors, were all in this alley. Now there were no more individual businesses; they had long been consolidated under the management of the Town Committee’s office, and everyone was organized and employed.

Qiao Wei found the tailor shop and described what she wanted to make.

The tailor was an old man. He pushed his reading glasses up and asked, “What is this for?”

Qiao Wei said, “It’s for leaning against the back.”

The old man chuckled, “I figured as much.”

Qiao Wei smiled, “I bought a lounge chair, placed it against the wall, and made three cushions to use as backrests.”

The old man said, “That’s just like a sofa. Comfortable.”

Qiao Wei’s eyes lit up, “You know about sofas.”

“Hey, I didn’t know that,” the old man pushed his glasses up, “I started as an apprentice in the provincial capital when I was eleven, and I’ve seen sofas in those wealthy households.”

As people age, they tend to talk more, as if opening the box of memories to discuss how prosperous the big cities were. But he moved his lips and then restrained himself from saying more.

He was indeed an old man who had seen the world. But now, it wasn’t the time to reminisce about the so-called worldly experiences of the past.

Qiao Wei smiled, not dwelling on the past either, she just asked, “With the remaining fabric, I want to make a blouse in blue and a pair of pants in the natural color.”

“For the blouse, I want it to be short-sleeved with a round collar, no tailored shaping, just flat cut. I want it to be loose and wide, spreading out into a trapezoid shape,” she described in detail, “The pants should also be loose, like wide-leg pants, with roomy legs, the kind that can fit two legs inside each pant leg.”

“We call those flare pants,” the old man said, “They sure use up a lot of fabric.”

But then he immediately added, “It’s okay, it’s just natural cloth anyway.”

He truly was a knowledgeable and understanding old man.

The old tailor took measurements for Qiao Wei with a ruler, and the two discussed for a while before finalizing the measurements. Although it was natural cloth, the old man couldn’t help shaking his head, “It’s quite a lot of fabric, quite a lot.”

Qiao Wei chuckled.

But she liked the comfortable and loose forest style. She had inherited some clothes from the previous owner, which might have been decent in this era but weren’t comfortable. She wanted to dress more comfortably while staying at home.

She had experienced two years of bedridden pain, and she wanted to pursue a more comfortable, natural, and cozy life.

The old tailor asked, “Which one do you want first?”

Qiao Wei chose to get the cushion covers first, as she wasn’t in a rush for clothes.

The old tailor said, “You can come pick them up in the afternoon.”

The old man’s working tool was a large, old-fashioned treadle sewing machine.

Qiao Wei said, “This should be done quickly.”

The cushion covers were square, so they should be easy to make.

Since they were meant to be used as backrests, Qiao Wei made them large, measuring 70×65. And she didn’t want them to be just flat pieces sewn together; she wanted them to be three-dimensional, with not only length and width but also thickness.

But even with that, it was just straightforward cutting and sewing on the machine. It was much simpler compared to making clothes.

The old tailor nodded, spread the fabric on the worktable, marked the lines with chalk, and was about to cut. As he made the first cut, he casually asked, “What are you going to fill them with?”

Qiao Wei said, “I was just about to ask you where to buy cotton.”

Big cushions stuffed with cotton, leaning back against them would be so comfortable.

The old tailor’s scissors stopped, he raised his eyelids to look at Qiao Wei.

He bent over, his glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose, he looked up at Qiao Wei from below, “Cotton?”

Qiao Wei replied, “Yes.”

The old man pushed his glasses up, but as soon as he let go, they slid back down. He asked again, seeking confirmation, “Cotton?”

“Well…” Qiao Wei felt a bit weak, “Is it… not okay?”

“You’re from a cadre family, right?”

There were two military dependents’ areas in the town, and the townspeople often interacted with them. Basically, you could tell who was a military dependent and who was a local at a glance.

The old man said, “If you’re making a new cotton-padded jacket, it’s fine to use cotton. But if you’re making cushion covers…”

The old man didn’t continue, he just shook his head.

Silence was sometimes more eloquent than a thousand words.

Qiao Wei wiped her forehead, feeling a bit sweaty, “I’ll think about it some more…”

The old man lowered his head and focused on cutting, “Remember to come pick them up in the afternoon.”

As Qiao Wei prepared to leave with Yan Xiang, she heard the old man muttering to himself, “In so many households, the cotton in those padded jackets has turned black, but they’re still reluctant to make new ones…”

So that was it.

Although Qiao Wei often reminded herself to pay attention to the characteristics of the times, she ultimately came from the era of abundant goods and great technological development of the internet age.

Her grasp on the “degree” of using items was still quite difficult.

After all, cotton would be mainly used for textiles in the future, and hardly anyone used cotton quilts or wore cotton-padded jackets.

It was really difficult to grasp the appropriate scale.

Qiao Wei was very grateful for the old man’s reminder and softly said “thank you” before leaving.

Instead of going straight home from the tailor’s shop, Qiao Wei and Yan Xiang came out carrying not only fabric but also a bucket.

Yan Xiang waved his small shovel and said, “Mom, let’s go!”

Qiao Wei replied, “Let’s go!”

They had agreed to pick up some pebbles today.

Mother and son carried a bucket, and Yan Xiang also brought his small shovel; it came in handy when he dug river mud with his father.

Yesterday, when Qiao Wei went to the market, she saw that there were pebbles in the river.

Mother and son arrived at the riverbank, where the sun sparkled on the small river. This was already on the outskirts of the town, and in the distance, they could see vast green fields.

Qiao Wei brushed aside some stray hair from her temple in the sunlight and sighed, feeling that there was no scenery more picturesque than this.

She found a shallow part of the river where the bottom was visible to the naked eye and people could wade across directly.

Since she was with her child, this depth wouldn’t be dangerous.

Both of them took off their shoes and rolled up their pants, wading into the water barefoot, bending down to pick up pebbles.

“Why are these stones called pebbles?” Qiao Wei said, “An egg is called ‘luan.’ Look at the size and shape of these stones; don’t they look like goose eggs? That’s why they’re called pebbles.”

The child learned something new and happily bent down to touch the stones.

Qiao Wei instructed him, “Look for the pretty ones.”

What a pretty stone looked like didn’t need teaching; one’s eyes could see it naturally.

Those with light colors, close to translucent, or especially pure colors were considered beautiful. Without Qiao Wei’s guidance, Yan Xiang could also pick them out.

By this time, the sun was already very hot, but the river water was pleasantly cool. It felt particularly comfortable to soak one’s feet in it.

Qiao Wei’s aunt had already retreated, so she wasn’t afraid of touching cold water.

She also wore the straw hat she bought at the market yesterday.

This straw hat was the original farmer’s hat. If she could have a beautiful ribbon to tie around it and make a bow, it would be perfect for a beach style.

But that would be too petty bourgeois, and there were no beautiful ribbons anyway. Qiao Wei cut a strip of indigo cloth and tied it around, making a bow.

The cloth even had loose threads hanging from it.

It was decorated naturally and simply.

You could only say that this woman was quite tidy and loved beauty. You couldn’t say she was petty bourgeois, corrupt, or decadent.

Mother and son had a great time picking stones. It didn’t take too long; they filled up a bucket.

Sitting on a big rock by the river, drying their feet in the sun, and putting on their shoes to prepare to go back home, Qiao Wei bent down to pick up the bucket…

…but couldn’t lift it.

She had overestimated herself, and Qiao Wei laughed and cried helplessly.

In the end, she had to pour out half of the pebbles and stack them next to the big rock, then carry half of the bucket back home.

By this time, the sun was too hot, and Qiao Wei said, “Let’s go back for the rest in the afternoon.”

Yan Xiang replied, “Okay!”

As usual after lunch was naptime.

Napping was indeed a good habit. After waking up from a nap, lazily gazing at the sunlight outside, at this moment, there was no sense of hurry or urgency in the world, no feeling of needing to rush around and be busy.

Just wanting to close one’s eyes and listen to the cicadas.

When they felt refreshed, they washed their faces.

Yan Xiang also woke up, full of energy after his nap, “Mom, let’s go!”

Qiao Wei chuckled, “Let’s go!”

The two of them went to the riverbank first and brought back the remaining half of the pebbles. Together with the pebbles from the morning, they soaked them in a water bucket.

“Mom, is it enough?” Yan Xiang asked with anticipation in his eyes.

Qiao Wei said, “Far from it.”

She took a small stick and drew two parallel lines from the courtyard gate to the house gate. “Look, to pave a road with pebbles like this, it’s far from enough.”

Yan Xiang clapped his hands, “Let’s go, let’s get more!”

“Let’s call it a day for today. These things are too heavy. We’ll be like Yu Gong moving the mountain, a little bit every day,” Qiao Wei said.

It wasn’t about hiring a few workers to get it done, but about doing it themselves, bit by bit, to make a change and build something.

Even if they didn’t do it well and it turned out ugly, it didn’t matter because the greatest joy was in the process.

“Let’s dig a sand pit first,” Qiao Wei said.

She had discussed it with Yan Lei, and he said he would get the sand. Qiao Wei said she would dig the pit.

Yan Xiang refused to let her, jumping up directly and saying, “I’ll do it myself! I’ll dig my own sand pit!”

His mother had told him that the pit would be filled with sand for him to play with in the future.

A real man had to dig his own pit!