"Okay, I'll be more careful next time." It seems I'll have to be more careful about things that are out in the open from now on. Zhang Hongmei lit a candle, which fit perfectly on the mouth of the glass bottle, making it stable.

Li Cuihua took the cotton cloth and touched it carefully. "This cloth is really good. It's woven so tightly and the color is so beautiful. Did your dad bring this back?"

"Yes, and cotton too. My mom originally wanted to make me a cotton-padded coat, but she suddenly received a notice and had to leave in a hurry, so she didn't make it."

"It's alright, I'll make it for you. Go get the newspaper so I can keep a copy for you."

Zhang Hongmei went to the storeroom and brought out some old newspapers. These were newspapers that Zhang Aiguo had brought back to wallpaper the walls, and Zhang Hongmei was really reluctant to part with them, as she hadn't even looked at them yet. However, Auntie San wouldn't need many since she was keeping some as samples. She also brought over her sewing basket.

The third aunt was quick and efficient. First, she used thread to measure Zhang Hongmei's shoulder width, chest circumference, garment length, arm length, waist circumference, and trouser length. To save thread, she measured each item and then used a ruler to measure the thread again to get the dimensions. Once all the measurements were taken, she began cutting.

Zhang Hongmei watched as her aunt folded the measured fabric in half, then used a ruler to measure the sleeve length. "Hongmei, the sleeves of the cotton-padded coat should be a bit loose," she said. She then picked up scissors and cut a piece from each side of the folded fabric, then cut the middle of one side open, and cut a circle at the fold—that's the neckline. (This description isn't very precise, but that's how my mom and grandma always cut fabric.) It really didn't require any skill; you could do it at a glance.

"Hongmei, what should we use for the lining of the cotton-padded coat? If we don't have any, we can use old clothes as the lining, but it has to be soft."

"I'll go look in my mom's room." Zhang Hongmei really didn't want to use old clothes, but there was no suitable fabric in the room. If all else failed, she would use the coarse cloth in the closet in that room, since she would have to wear thermal underwear anyway.

When Zhang Hongmei took back the coarse cloth, Li Cuihua felt a pang of reluctance. But it was someone else's property, and saying too much would only annoy her. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but add, "Hongmei, this cloth can be used to make outerwear."

"It's alright, Auntie. I have two sets of clothes for spring and autumn, that's enough." How could she not see Li Cuihua's reluctance? But she didn't want to make herself suffer either.

The lining and outer fabric of the cotton-padded coat were cut in the same way, just a little narrower. Zhang Hongmei watched from the side, thinking to herself, "Isn't it necessary to leave a pattern?" But seeing how Auntie San was acting, she couldn't very well refuse, nor could she say that she knew how to cut it herself.

With the rough side of the lining facing up, Li Cuihua began to fluff cotton on top. She sighed again at how good the cotton was, but her hands were not idle. "Hongmei, you see, when fluffing cotton, you must spread it out little by little like this. If the fluffed cotton is not the same thickness, you have to pinch off a piece of cotton to patch it up. This way, it can be worn for many years and will not be like yours with patches."

"Next, we'll put the outer and inner lining of the cotton-padded jacket together, both under the cotton. Make sure you see the right and wrong sides of the fabric, because we're about to sew the four sides. Start by sewing the cuffs. When sewing here, make sure the stitches are tight. After sewing the cuffs, we'll sew up all the openings. But don't touch the collar yet; we'll turn it inside out here in a bit."

Zhang Hongmei watched from the side, nodding as she said, "I've got it, Auntie. Is that all? That's too fast!"

"It's still early. In a bit, we'll turn the cotton-padded jacket inside out and sew the outer and inner layers together. We'll have to sew the jacket a few times so the cotton doesn't slip and it fits better. There's a trick to this: you have to start the stitch from the lining. The stitches on the outer layer must be small. If you're worried about sewing crooked, just lightly draw a line with the needle and sew along that line. Also, you must use a thimble. With two layers of fabric and one layer of cotton, it's hard for the needle to pierce through. I'll sew it once and you can watch. After I finish, you can try it yourself."

Watching the old woman's needlework, Zhang Hongmei felt a pang of envy, thinking how truly superior the wisdom of working people was.

After Li Cuihua finished leading one round, she stepped aside to let Zhang Hongmei take over. "Don't leave too much space between these two rounds of leading. It's just a matter of using up some thread, but the cotton-padded coat can't be worn. Yes, just draw the line here."

Zhang Hongmei, taking the needle, gently drew a straight line on the cloth, imitating the old woman's movements. Sitting on the kang (heated brick bed), she leaned forward and carefully began to sew. When she finished and straightened up, she felt soreness.

Li Cuihua turned the cotton coat inside out and pointed to the two stitches on the outside, saying to Zhang Hongmei, "Hongmei, look, this is what you sewed. It's pretty good, but the stitches are a little crooked. You'll get better with more practice. Keep sewing, I'll watch from the side."

Zhang Hongmei continued bending down to sew. She felt that she was becoming more and more adept at using the needle. This threading was much faster than last time. After finishing, she turned it over to check, and saw that there were at least fewer crooked stitches than last time.

Zhang Hongmei sewed it eighteen times in total. By the end, there were almost no crooked stitches. Straightening her back, she felt quite accomplished looking at the cotton-padded jacket she had sewn. She was even happier than when she received awards and scholarships in her previous life. Auntie San watched the whole time, offering pointers from time to time.

I glanced at my watch in my spatial storage; it was almost noon. Time to cook. "Auntie, I'll go check if the dough has risen. I'll go steam some buns; you can have lunch at my place."

"No, I'm going back now. I'll come back this afternoon. I need to lie down for a while. The longer you stay in one place, the lazier you get. I'm used to taking a nap at noon, and I feel uncomfortable if I don't." After saying that, Li Cuihua got out of bed, put on her shoes, and prepared to go home. Zhang Hongmei didn't try to persuade her. These steamed buns couldn't be steamed in a short time. She would let Auntie San take them back when she went home in the evening.

"Then, Auntie, you can sleep a little longer. We have plenty of time." After saying that, he got out of bed, put on his shoes, and saw Li Cuihua out the door. After Li Cuihua had gone some distance, he turned around and locked the door. Seeing that the dough had risen, he started kneading it to make steamed buns.

Once the steamed buns were ready, they were stacked one by one in the pot, the lid was put on, and then I went to the woodshed to fetch firewood to start a fire. When the big steamed buns were ready, their aroma wafted out. These were all-natural and pollution-free; although they didn't look the best, they were absolutely delicious.

As for the vegetables, stir-fried green peppers with eggs, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and finally an egg drop soup. The vegetables can't be cooked outside; if they're cooked in the space and then brought out after eating, the smell won't be pleasant.

Zhang Hongmei also slept for a while in the virtual space before coming out. It was already past one o'clock. She continued reading, since her aunt was coming soon and she needed to see that she was making the most of her time to study. Zhang Hongmei felt quite uncomfortable about fooling herself like this, but she had no choice. Otherwise, who knew what might happen if she suddenly knew everything in the book? If the school wanted her, she was planning to go directly to higher primary school, and she didn't want to waste her time learning from scratch with a bunch of little kids.