Chapter 66 Pearl brought her bed sheet with her when she went out

Ye Tan, who just wanted to rely on good luck and didn't want to work hard, had someone come to find her a job the next afternoon.

An aunt named He came to Ye Tan with a piece of fabric in her hand. She said she wanted to give it to a young girl.

After being idle all morning, Ye Tan had no choice but to stand up.

She felt the fabric for a bit, looked at the width, and already had a rough idea of ​​a suitable style in mind, but she still asked, "What kind do you want it to be?"

Aunt He described a skirt she had seen outside the island: "It had a very thin waist and a wide hem. When the wind blew it spread out like a lotus leaf."

Ye Tan immediately sketched out the clothes in his mind and asked her, "Who is it for?"

Aunt He smiled and said, "My daughter."

Ye Tan looked at her expression and thought she must be happy about something, but since she didn't say it herself, she couldn't ask directly, so she said, "I see. So, are you in a hurry to get it?"

Aunt He calculated the time in her mind, "How many days will it take to make this?"

Ye Tan, wanting to be lazy, deliberately exaggerated the time, saying, "Usually it takes three to five days. But if Auntie is in a hurry, I can work overtime at night to catch up. I can put other people's work aside and do it for you in advance. It should be almost done in one day."

In fact, it only takes Ye Tan half a day to make a piece of clothing, but she doesn’t want to be so tired. Secondly, if she says it takes too little time, she is afraid that people will think the clothes are not made with care and that she makes them too easily. If she says it takes too long, it will be difficult for customers to feel that the clothes are worth the money.

Besides, Ye Tan had to go back to her hometown and had no time to delay, otherwise she would not have said one day, it would take at least three days. It was just that Aunt He was good at keeping track of the time, so she had to take the initiative to speed up the process.

Aunt He was very happy when Ye Tan said that it could be done in one day. But she felt embarrassed when she thought that Ye Tan would have to work overtime at night to do it for her. "I'm really in a hurry here. Xiao Tan, please work harder and hurry up."

She took out two dollars from her pocket and said, "Xiao Tan, take this for the labor fee."

Ever since Ye Tan started taking on jobs, people from the family compound came to him and gave him a few cents or a dollar. Ye Tan didn't mind the small amount of money and took it as long as he thought it was enough. It was the first time that he gave Aunt He two dollars directly.

Who would complain about having too much money? Even poor people need money to survive.

Ye Tan took it with a smile, "Don't worry, Auntie. This is not the first time you have made clothes here. You may not know my skills yet, but I will definitely make good clothes for you. Don't worry."

Yiye Tan went to the side and fetched a piece of paper. With a few strokes of pencil, he drew a rough outline of the dress. He showed it to Aunt He, who immediately slapped her thigh and said, "That's it, Xiao Tan, you're amazing. You knew what the dress looked like just by my casual mention of it, as if you saw it yourself. It's incredible."

Ye Tan smiled and said, "I have to think about this for a living. Auntie, please take a look and see if it works. If it does, I will do it according to the diagram."

Aunt He nodded repeatedly: "That's it, just do it according to this."

Ye Tan took the blueprint and asked, "Aunt, do you know the dimensions? Tell me so I can keep a record."

Aunt He told Ye Tan her daughter's size, and she wrote her daughter's name in a notebook, followed by the size, so that she would know the size when making clothes for her next time.

"Auntie, I've agreed now. I'll make it according to the blueprint. If you're not satisfied with it after it's done, I won't refund you for rework."

"How could that be? We are all honest people. We don't like this. Don't worry, Xiao Tan."

The two of them agreed, and Aunt He left the material and left. Ye Tan spread the cloth on the table, picked up the iron, ran it through, and used a cloth ruler to mark the lines and cut it.

When it was time for lunch break, she went to the bedroom to take a nap. After getting enough energy, she took the pieces of clothing to the machine to sew. Ye Tan finished before dinner time.

After that, just iron it once more to create the desired shape and you're done.

Ye Tan put away her clothes, stretched, and sat for the whole afternoon. She got up and walked around the yard, watered the grapes, cleaned the dead leaves in the flowerpots, and then admired the packed chrysanthemums.

August is coming soon and the chrysanthemums are about to bloom.

They can set off for home after Gu Zhao comes back tomorrow.

I can no longer see the chrysanthemums in the yard, but I can see the roses from my hometown.

The next morning, someone knocked on the door. Ye Tan saw that it was still early and not yet time for Gu Zhao to come back. She went out and saw a woman she didn't know. She smiled and asked politely, "Auntie, is there anything I can do for you?"

The other party first looked at Ye Tan, and was surprised that the woman in this family was so attractive. He said with a smile: "I am the mother of Rong Shengrong, the staff officer behind your family. My surname is Qian. I came to the island yesterday. These are specialties from my hometown. I gave some to you to try. Don't be disgusted."

She showed Ye Tan the small winnowing basket of dried radishes. Ye Tan didn't expect that the dried radishes that could be seen everywhere could become a local specialty. It was just a token of appreciation since someone had sent it to her doorstep. She asked her to wait a moment and went back to the kitchen to get a small basket and poured the dried radishes into it.

Qian Jinhua saw Ye Tan coming out empty-handed. When Ye Tan lowered his head, she curled the corners of her mouth and spoke to Ye Tan indifferently: "Please take the things. I will go home. The little girl at home is very noisy."

Ye Tan watched her walk away, his expression stunned, his brows slightly furrowed. The girl was talking about Zhou Xiuxiu's youngest daughter, right?

Qian Jinhua returned home with an unhappy look on her face. Seeing Zhou Xiuxiu swinging the child around to comfort him, she felt dizzy and said, "Stop walking around."

Zhou Xiuxiu smiled at her mother-in-law and said, "The child is sleepy. I'll coax him to sleep in a while."

Qian Jinhua glanced at the swaddling baby and sat leisurely by the door. "Why treat a little girl so delicately? Just put her there and she will sleep alone. I used to take care of your sisters-in-law in the same way. Now they have grown up. You can't spoil a little girl too much."

Zhou Xiuxiu's face paled. She hadn't seen her mother-in-law say this countless times since she came over yesterday. The meaning of her words was that she disliked the little girl. Zhou Xiuxiu didn't like to hear this and turned into the inner room without waiting for her to finish.

Qian Jinhua watched from the doorway with a frown on her face. When Rongsheng came back in the evening, she pulled her son aside and whispered to him, "Son, look, Xiuxiu has already given birth. You should hurry up and get pregnant again. A man without a son will be laughed at if he goes out."

Rongsheng didn't say whether to give birth or not, but just said: "Xiu Xiu is still weak, let's talk about the child later."

Qian Jinhua was unhappy when she heard this and said with a sullen face, "Don't ignore what your mother says. You're already thirty years old and your wife isn't young either. If you don't hurry up, in a few years your wife will be too old to have children. Do you want to be a family without a son?"

Rongsheng's face darkened, but Qian Jinhua didn't care: "I don't care anyway, I must hold my grandson in my arms."

In fact, Qian Jinhua always wondered if Zhou Xiuxiu could not give birth to a son, otherwise she would have given birth to four girls in a row. Just like she gave birth to three daughters in the beginning, and then gave birth to Rongsheng on the fourth one.

There are many such cases in the village, but they all gave birth to sons later. Logically, Zhou Xiuxiu's baby should have been a son, but it turned out to be a girl.

Ever since Qian Jinhua learned from the phone that it was another granddaughter, she has been feeling uncomfortable and has a lot of complaints about Zhou Xiuxiu.

She didn't come to the island to see her child this time. She actually felt that Zhou Xiuxiu was not destined to have a son, and wanted to persuade her son to divorce Zhou Xiuxiu and marry a wife who could give birth to a son.

But after coming here and seeing her son defending Zhou Xiuxiu everywhere, she couldn't say what was in her heart. But now seeing her son himself not caring at all, she started to think about changing his wife again.

Zhou Xiuxiu had no idea what her mother-in-law was thinking. She was coaxing her child alone in the room. When Rongsheng came in, she looked back at him without saying a word.

Rongsheng saw that his wife had a sullen face and was obviously unhappy.

He guessed that his mother must have said something unpleasant again, so he went over and sat down next to Zhou Xiuxiu, and they both looked down at the sleeping child.

Zhou Xiuxiu asked him, "Have you sent Mom on the train?" Zhou Xiuxiu's mother knew that her mother-in-law would come to take care of Zhou Xiuxiu during her confinement, so she planned to go back to her hometown. Today, Rongsheng was going to see her off.

Rongsheng tucked the corner of the quilt for his little daughter and said, "I watched Mom get on the train and called my eldest brother to pick her up. Don't worry."

Zhou Xiuxiu was relieved and turned to look at her daughter seriously.

Rongsheng held her shoulders and whispered, "Xiuxiu, don't take Mom's words to heart. That's just how she is."

Zhou Xiuxiu snorted and asked him dissatisfiedly, "I know your mother wants a grandson, but I'm destined to give birth to a daughter. I know what you think. Do you have to have a son too?"

Rongsheng remained silent. Zhou Xiuxiu looked at him for a moment, her eyes slowly turning red. "I've given birth to four children, and I've been through the brink of death four times. This time, as you know, the baby came out feet first, and I almost died. The doctor said my foundation was damaged, and it's best not to have another child in the future. If you want a son, then we have no choice but to divorce, and you can find someone else who can give birth to a son for you."

After saying this, Zhou Xiuxiu was so sad that she turned her face away and didn't want to look at Rongsheng anymore.

After a while, Rongsheng patted her and said, "Don't think too much. I have never thought about divorce and remarriage. Daughters are daughters. No sons is just my destiny. We will live a good life with our daughters in the future. If it is suitable in the future, we can find a son-in-law to come home. It's nothing."

Rongsheng said this to Zhou Xiuxiu, but he didn't dare to explain it directly to his mother. He could only coax her, thinking that after Xiuxiu's confinement was over, his mother would go back to her hometown.

Ye Tan waited until it was dark before Gu Zhao came back. She went to greet him and asked, "Why are you back so late?"

Gu Zhao stretched out his hand in front of her, and when he opened it, a round white bead appeared in Ye Tan's eyes. It was white and round, about the size of a thumb.

"Pearls." Ye Tan's face was filled with surprise and surprise. "Where did the pearls come from?" She picked it up and held it up to the light. The luster flowed and shone brightly, and it was obvious that it was a genuine product.

Seeing that she liked it, Gu Zhao also laughed, "We caught a lot of big clams in the sea. We have nothing to do on the boat, so we open them for fun. If we are lucky, we can get some."

Of course, the bulk of the money has to be handed over. No one will say anything if you don't tell anyone about it in private. After all, everyone does it. As long as it's not excessive, the higher-ups will turn a blind eye to it.

Ye Tan held it around his neck and gestured, then asked Gu Zhao, "Do you think it would look good as a necklace?"

Gu Zhao looked at her fair neck, the round beads below her collarbone, and the snow-white skin complemented her beautifully. "It looks good."

Ye Tan put the beads away with satisfaction, planning to make them into a necklace when she had the chance.

"I've opened quite a few myself but haven't found any small shrimps. It's easier to get them if you go there and float. It seems they're found in the deep sea."

"Deep-sea clam shells are naturally plentiful over the years. If you like them, I'll save them for you."

The two walked into the living room: "Is everything fine at home these days? Is that Sun Chao bothering you?" Gu Zhao sat down, put Ye Tan on his lap and asked.

Ye Tan leaned in his arms, playing with the buttons on his collar as usual: "Nothing happened at home, but Sister Xiuxiu gave birth later."

Gu Zhao didn't care much about other people's affairs. Knowing that the mother and daughter were safe, he didn't ask any more questions.

Knowing that she had already eaten, Gu Zhao picked her up and went into the bathroom.

Ye Tan also missed him, so he didn't resist this time.

The glass door of the bathroom closed with a "bang", and a blurry shadow was reflected on the vibrating glass. As the vibration sound gradually faded away, only the sound of water falling rapidly remained.

Ye Tan's eyelashes, soaked by water vapor, trembled slightly as she watched the water droplets splashing onto the glass, slowly flowing down bit by bit, eventually gathering into a small river, flowing over her tense toes.

A day without seeing you feels like three years.

The two hadn't seen each other for a week, and they were like a ball of lightning and fire, and it was out of control. They moved from the bathroom to the bed. When it was over, Ye Tan didn't even have the strength to speak.

After Gu Zhao and the others had packed up and looked back, they found that the person had fallen into a deep sleep.

Maybe it was because of the passion just now, Gu Zhao didn’t feel sleepy at all.

Thinking that I have to leave the island early tomorrow morning to catch the train, I won’t have time to wash the sheets, and I guess they won’t be able to use them when they come back.

Gu Zhao picked up Ye Tan and changed the bed sheets. He rolled them up and took the clothes that both of them had taken off to the yard, washed them, and hung them up to dry in the pool under the starry sky.

I should be able to do it tomorrow morning.

Ye Tan got up at daybreak and looked down from the balcony to see the bed sheets fluttering in the morning breeze. He wondered when Gu Zhao had washed them yesterday.

After the couple had breakfast, Gu Zhao and Ye Tan went to find Zhao Xiaoya.

"Let's go today." Zhao Xiaoya took Ye Tan's hand, "Then be careful on the way and beware of pickpockets on the train."

Ye Tan assured her that he had also had experience taking a train, so she didn't need to worry.

The two sisters were saying goodbye, and Chen Xudong said to Gu Zhao, "Don't worry, go back. I'll help you keep an eye on the door."

Gu Zhao smiled. In fact, he was not worried about his own home. After all, it was a military compound, and no one had the courage to climb over other people's walls to steal things. But he still accepted Chen Xudong's favor.

Zhao Xiaoya packed some fruits she made herself and gave them to Ye Tan to eat on the road. She also picked tomatoes and cucumbers from the yard and asked her to take some along.

Ye Dan looked at the oily fruits, cucumbers and tomatoes in her arms, and said with a smile, "You gave me these so I can cook on the way?"

Zhao Xiaoya smiled and said, "It's not like you can't eat tomatoes and cucumbers directly. I'll give you some steamed buns to eat on the way."

Ye Tan: "Then you might as well give more mushroom sauce."

Zhao Xiaoya turned around and gave her two cans of mushroom sauce, jokingly saying, "Each of you can have one can and eat as much as you want."

The mushroom and meat sauce that Zhao Xiaoya had given him had long been eaten, and even the beef sauce brought from home had become empty jars. Now, looking at the mushroom and meat sauce in his hand, he recalled the taste and couldn't help taking a deep breath towards the mouth of the jar.

"It smells so good, better than any other time."

Zhao Xiaoya was very happy: "I also think it is more fragrant than before because I added seafood oil to it."

Seafood seasoning oil is a specialty here. It has not yet become popular in the mainland. Any dish will taste delicious if you add a little of this seasoning oil.

Ye Tan felt that it was similar to the oil consumption in later generations.

This time when Ye Tan went back, he also prepared a few bottles to bring back for his family to try.

Seeing that the time was almost up, and fearing that he would miss the 10 o'clock train, Ye Tan hugged Zhao Xiaoya and went to the beach with Gu Zhao to take a boat.

They braved the wind and waves all the way to the port. Xiao Li, who came with them, borrowed a car from the next door station and took them to the train station.

Perhaps because the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, there were a lot of people at the train station. Gu Zhao held Ye Tan's hand and walked in front with the bag. Xiao Li was beside them and also helped carry a lot of things.

The three of them arrived at the platform, and soon the ticket inspector came to check the tickets. Behind them, a green train hummed slowly towards them.

Everyone began to swarm towards the train door. Xiao Li saluted Gu Zhao and Ye Tan and said, "Captain's sister-in-law, have a safe trip."

Gu Zhao patted his shoulder, and Ye Tan smiled at him and said, "Go back, and be careful on the road."

The two of them quickly boarded the train. Xiao Li watched them walk into the carriage before turning around and leaving.

There were a lot of people on the train. The seats and aisles were all packed with people. Most of them were going home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. They brought a lot of things with them, big and small bags, and the road was completely blocked.

The two of them stopped every few steps, and it took them a long time to walk to the back carriage, find their compartment number and go in. Ye Tan sat on the bunk and took a deep breath, "There are so many people, much more than when we came here."

"Because it's Mid-Autumn Festival." Gu Zhao put the luggage under the bunk and sat next to Ye Tan.

Gu Zhao asked someone to buy today's train ticket half a month in advance because he thought that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching and many people would go home for the holiday. Otherwise, he might not be able to book a private room.

The two sat and talked. After a while, the door of the box was pushed open and a woman in her thirties walked in. Seeing the two people inside, she came in with a suitcase bag and said with a smile, "Hello."

Ye Tan and Gu Zhao nodded, and Ye Tan replied, "Hello."

This time, both of them booked the lower bunk. The woman looked at the number, walked to Ye Tan's side, and put the things on the upper bunk.

Ye Tan looked at the upper bunk of Gu Zhao. He didn’t know what kind of person the remaining one was. He hoped that he would be friendly with him.

As Ye Tan was thinking this, another person came in soon. She was also a woman, but older, about fifty years old. She was dressed very simply and had a simple and kind smile.

Ye Tan was a little worried whether it would be convenient for her to climb to the upper bunk.

The middle-aged woman walked in and greeted the three people. There was only one seat left, so she didn't even look at the number. She walked straight to Gu Zhao, grabbed the ladder and climbed up with great nimbleness.

Ye Tan knew that his worries were unnecessary.

She turned around to make the bed. Gu Zhao took out the kettle and drank some water. After finishing it, he handed it to Ye Tan. Ye Tan took a small sip since he was not too thirsty.

The aunt upstairs saw them making the sheets and said in surprise, "Young people are so particular. They even bring sheets with them when they go out."