Chapter 21 – Brother Shen is Becoming More and More Considerate

Xia Tian packed her things and went to the kitchen to boil water and cook dumplings.

Shen Nian finished washing his hands, sat in the yard, poured himself a glass of water, and slowly sipped it.

When the dumplings were ready, Xia Tian brought them out and placed them on the table in the yard. Then she went back to prepare a dipping sauce.

Since there were no stir-fried dishes today, she mixed up some shredded bamboo shoots and was ready to eat.

“How is it? Does it taste good?” Xia Tian asked, looking at Shen Nian with a smile and eager anticipation.

Shen Nian nodded, “Delicious!”

“Ah, Brother Shen, you finally didn’t just say ‘mm’!” Xia Tian laughed and teased him.

Shen Nian stayed silent.

“Hehe, I was just joking, Brother Shen,” Xia Tian quickly added, afraid he might feel embarrassed.

Shen Nian picked up a dumpling with pickled vegetable filling and placed it in Xia Tian’s bowl. “This one is delicious.”

Seeing Shen Nian’s sudden gesture, Xia Tian froze for a moment, then her smile spread across her face as she quickly picked up the dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth. “Delicious!”

Brother Shen is really becoming more and more considerate.

After the meal, Xia Tian poured the leftover fabric scraps into a bamboo sieve, sorting out the bigger pieces.

She could use them to sew small pouches, mend clothes, or make shoe soles. The smaller scraps could be used to make “Qian Ceng Di” shoes, ensuring nothing went to waste.

Many older people in modern times love wearing these fabric shoes with multiple layers, saying they are comfortable and don’t smell.

Back when she was little, her mother always made these “Qian Ceng Di” shoes for them.

Now, she had some fabric to prepare gifts. The two red pieces were for giving to her sister-in-law, Mei Mei, and her sister, Xia Yue.

After Xia Yang married, it was likely Xia Yue would also get married soon, so she was preparing in advance.

The coarse, dark blue fabric was for making a coat for Shen Nian.

However, Xia Tian didn’t know how to make clothes, and neither did her sister.

In farming families, sewing and mending were a lifelong skill, but most of the clothes were passed down from older siblings to younger ones, with little opportunity to make new ones.

The clothes Xia Tian wore were all hand-me-downs from Xia Yue, and none of them were without patches.

She had never minded, either.

With only a few silver coins to her name, which she planned to keep as a startup fund, Xia Tian didn’t feel confident about asking Shen Nian for help, so she decided to wait until she could earn money herself and buy fabric for new clothes.

Speaking of earning money, Xia Tian felt that after Xia Yang got married, she also had to start making plans for her own future. Otherwise, when would she ever have the freedom to eat and dress as she pleased?

She found an old shirt of Shen Nian’s, brought the fabric to her sister-in-law, Yao Mei, for help with cutting.

“Yao sister-in-law, are you home?” Xia Tian called out from the door.

Yao Mei’s husband, Liu Dashan, was chopping wood in the yard. When he heard the voice at the door, he turned around and saw it was the wife of the neighbor from the Shen family. He called inside, “Mei Mei, the girl from the Xia family is looking for you.”

Yao Mei, the wife, responded from inside.

Liu Dashan smiled and waved at Xia Tian, “Come in, Xia family girl, your sister-in-law is inside!”

“Brother Liu, you’re chopping wood?” Xia Tian looked around, “Where’s Yao aunt?”

“She’s probably gone under the big willow tree chatting with someone.” Yao Mei called out as she lifted the door curtain and walked out, waving to Xia Tian, “Xia Tian, come in. I’m alone, feeling bored.”

“Sister-in-law, I’m here to ask for your help.” Xia Tian approached the door, “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Come in quickly. It’s quiet and I have nothing to do. I’m just making shoe soles!” Yao Mei pulled Xia Tian into the house.

Xia Tian took out the fabric. “Sister-in-law, could you help me cut this fabric? I don’t know how.”

“This is simple. Do you have any measurements?” Yao Mei picked up the fabric.

“No, but I brought one of my husband’s old shirts. Sister-in-law, can you see if you can cut it out the same way?” Xia Tian handed the shirt to Yao Mei.

“I’ll take a look. It should be fine.” Yao Mei checked the old shirt and made a mental note.

She then spread the fabric out on the table, used a ruler and chalk to mark the cutting lines and positions, and quickly cut the fabric with scissors.

“Sister-in-law, you’re amazing! You finished cutting so quickly!” Xia Tian praised her sincerely.

“Of course, my needlework is top-notch,” Yao Mei said proudly, raising her chin. “If there’s anything you don’t know, feel free to come to me.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law. Can you tell me how to sew it? I’ve never sewn clothes before.” Xia Tian didn’t hesitate to ask for help.

Yao Mei carefully explained how to cut the fabric, how to measure, and how to sew. Xia Tian nodded along, paying close attention.

Xia Tian didn’t want Yao Mei to help her for free, so she asked, “Sister-in-law, I brought back a big bag of fabric scraps from the fabric shop. There’s too much, and I won’t use it all. Would you like to take some? They’re good for making shoe soles.”

Yao Mei was an easy-going person, “Sure, no need to choose. It’s getting late. If you’re free tomorrow, let’s go to your house and make some soles together!”

“Alright, it’s a deal!”

Xia Tian returned home, took out the cut fabric to start sewing the clothes, but soon realized she forgot to buy needles and thread.

Since she couldn’t sew the clothes, she decided to tidy up the vegetable garden instead.

The bamboo she had cut yesterday was still lying around. Xia Tian took out an axe and cut the bamboo into 1.5-meter lengths, then split it further for use in making fences in the backyard.

After a short rest, Shen Nian heard some noise coming from the yard and looked out the window. He saw Xia Tian carrying a bundle of bamboo strips to the backyard.

Xia Tian was digging a trench around the vegetable garden when she saw Shen Nian coming. She greeted him with a smile, “Brother Shen, did I disturb you just now?”

“No, it’s fine. What are you doing?” Shen Nian asked, looking puzzled as he saw her digging.

“This?” Xia Tian pointed at the trench. “I’m going to bury these bamboo strips here to make a fence around the vegetable garden to keep the chickens from running in and ruining the crops.”

After the trench was dug, Shen Nian helped her hold the bamboo strips while Xia Tian buried them. Soon, the fence was set up.

The sky was already getting dark, so Xia Tian picked some small cabbage from the garden and headed back to the front yard to prepare dinner.

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On the next day, the weather was a bit cloudy. In the morning, Yao Mei came over, and Xia Tian and she worked together making shoe soles on the kang (a traditional heated bed).

As they worked and talked, they didn’t even feel tired. By noon, they had made over ten soles.

Xia Tian let Yao Mei take six of them.

Once they dried, they would be ready to be attached to the shoes.

In the afternoon, it started to rain, and there wasn’t much to do. So, Xia Tian joined Shen Nian in studying characters.

Shen Nian had finished teaching her all the characters in a book, and he asked her to read it back to him.

Xia Tian read the book fluently from the beginning, and Shen Nian secretly nodded in approval. She truly had an impressive memory.

If she had been born a man and given proper training, she could have achieved great things!

Xia Tian didn’t know how highly Shen Nian thought of her.

By April 18th, Xia Tian got up early, had breakfast, and then prepared lunch for Shen Nian.

She was going back to her parents’ home, and she wouldn’t be able to return by noon.

Thinking about how thin and sickly her younger siblings were, she decided to fry some potato cakes for them and left a few for Shen Nian.

She packed everything she needed into a small basket, filled his teapot with water, and added a few drops of spring water, reminding him to drink it.

Everything was ready, and she was about to head out to Xiajia Village when she heard someone’s sharp, sarcastic voice coming from the front.