"Then I'll listen to Third Aunt, but you can't refuse my woven fabric when the weather gets warmer."

“Even if we don’t use the lining, we still need to use some paste. It’s for the white trim. We also need to paste the cut lining layers together and press them on the kang overnight before we can start sewing the soles tomorrow.”

"There's so much to learn about making shoes?"

"What kind of skill is this? Anyone with long arms can do it. Let's cut out the shape of the shoe sole first. You can make one pair of cotton shoes and two pairs of single shoes. It would be great if we had black corduroy fabric; that would make the cotton shoes look nicer."

"Auntie, my mom has some in her closet. I'll go get it. Do you like it?" Zhang Hongmei took out a corduroy cloth from the closet and handed it to Li Cuihua.

"This piece is so big, it can make five pairs of shoes. Let's make corduroy uppers for all of them."

"Yes, I'm fine with anything."

"I'll show you how to make the batter first. Let's use wheat flour, it's stickier than cornmeal. We can't use a big pot to make the batter, there's not enough batter to stick to the pot with such a small amount. Let's build a fire outside, put two stones on top, and put the ladle on it to cook. Where's your ladle?"

"Auntie, is a 'horse ladle' the big iron ladle used for feeding livestock? We don't have one. We do have a small iron pot, will that work?"

“Okay, that’s fine. Go scoop out a small bowl of noodles, I’ll put stones together to start a fire. Oh, and first take out the iron pot and clean it thoroughly.”

"Then I'll go wash the pot. Is a ladle of cold water enough?"

"That's too much. One scoop is enough. That's about the amount of batter needed for the soles and uppers of three pairs of shoes."

The two went their separate ways and did their own thing.

"Hongmei, the heat for making this batter shouldn't be too high. Use warm water and stir constantly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Once it starts bubbling, quickly remove it from the heat, put it in a large bowl, and let it cool."

Li Cuihua helped Zhang Hongmei clean the iron pot, shoveled the ashes and threw them onto the snow in the vegetable patch, and moved the stones to the corner of the wall so they wouldn't get in the way.

The two entered the room, and Li Cuihua first measured Zhang Hongmei's foot length, then took out folded shoe patterns from her pocket. "I'll cut out the shoe sole patterns from the newspaper first; you'll need them later. There are two types of shoe uppers, one for cotton shoes and one for single-layer shoes. By the way, Hongmei, what kind of cotton shoes do you want? High-tops with laces or cotton shoe baskets? Cotton shoe baskets are easy to make, but you can't poke eyelets for lace-up ones; you have to sew them, which is too wasteful."

"Auntie, I need to tie my shoelaces, why can't I make the eyelet?"

“The people who used to come to the village to help with air pumping haven’t come for two months now, because of this heavy snow. I guess they won’t come until after the spring planting.”

“Then let’s make this bigger, mother and son. We won’t wear them this year. When the shoe repair shop that used to make air holes opens, we’ll go to him and get them repaired. As long as we have something to wear in winter, that’s fine. Anyway, I have something to wear now.”

“Okay, let’s make them bigger. But we can skip making the soles for the cotton shoes first. Just make the uppers first. We can make the soles after we’ve made the eyelets. That way we can make three pairs of single shoes. There are two styles of single shoes: one with a lace-up opening and the other with a square opening. Girls’ shoes are usually made with the lace-up opening because they look nice. But the lace-up opening makes it easier for dirt to get inside the shoe shell, while the square opening is more secure.”

"Then make one pair of off-center ones and two pairs of square ones. I need to work in the fields, so I'll keep the off-center ones for wearing at home."

"Okay, let's get started." Li Cuihua placed the pattern of the cotton shoe upper she had brought on the woven fabric and began cutting. After cutting, she applied paste to the pattern and glued it to the inside of the corduroy. Next, she cut the upper for the off-the-knee shoes, then glued it on. Finally, she cut the uppers for two square-toed shoes and glued them on as well. "The red plum ones need to be left for a while, until they're half-dry, then cut them along the edges. The single-layer shoes need another layer of woven fabric glued on. The cotton shoes are like this; once they're dry, we'll sew on the cotton lining, and that's it. We'll also make the back of the cotton shoes, then we can just attach them."

Zhang Hongmei cut out the pieces and then glued another layer of woven fabric onto each shoe upper, followed by a lining. Once everything was done, she laid them flat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), placed a board on top, and waited for them to dry and set.

Li Cuihua then asked Zhang Hongmei to sew the cotton filling back onto the cotton shoes and set them aside.

Only after everything is done do we start cutting the soles. This is quite time-consuming. First, we glue the two layers of woven fabric together, press them to shape them, and each sole needs six layers to ensure comfort and prevent discomfort. Once it has slightly set, we sew white strips of cloth around the edge of the sole, so that the exposed part is the white edge.

Zhang Hongmei sighed inwardly; this pair of shoes was such a hassle.

Seeing that Zhang Hongmei was doing a decent job, Li Cuihua looked at the sky outside and said, "Hongmei, you can finish the rest yourself. I'm going back a little early today. Tomorrow, all these quilted pieces will be finished, and we'll sew them together. Remember to press them down, otherwise the shoe uppers won't be asymmetrical, and the soles won't be the same size, and we won't be able to sew them together."

"Okay, Auntie, you can go ahead and get busy. I've almost got it down, I'll finish this little bit in a bit."

"Remember, don't put it on the kang (heated brick bed), it'll get too hot and the fabric will brittle and won't hold up."

"Okay, there's knowledge to be gained from all of this."

"You don't need to get out of bed, I'll go back now."

"It's alright, I have to see my great-aunt off, otherwise what if she doesn't care about me next time?"

"That glib-tongued girl." Li Cuihua pointed at Zhang Hongmei and left with a smile.

Zhang Hongmei followed behind, saying, "Third Aunt, take care. I'm going to lock the door and get to work now."

"Okay, go back now. Take your time. You'll be able to wear the shoes you made yourself eventually." Li Cuihua turned and walked home, feeling quite upset. Other people's children seemed so good in every way, while her own brat was such a worry. She was already so old, yet still so clueless. No wonder her husband was angry. Look at those orphans, they've already found a family to settle down with, so sensible and considerate. Sigh, she wondered if her husband's anger had subsided yet.

Zhang Hongmei, unaware of Li Cuihua's troubles, was currently lying in her spatial dimension, lost in thought. She used to be all bookworms, lacking any practical life skills. Now she realized that everything has its tricks and isn't as simple as she imagined. Even making a shoe was stumping her. But she had to keep going. She brought all the materials into her spatial dimension, sat on the bedroom floor, and started working. It was too dark outside, straining her eyes. She had to finish it today, otherwise she wouldn't have any shoes to wear when the weather warmed up. She couldn't very well wear sneakers, could she? That would be too conspicuous.

When Zhang Hongmei finally finished, she felt quite proud looking at the half-finished product on the ground. She wasn't so bad after all. In a few days, she could wear the shoes she made herself; the thought was wonderful.

She piled everything she had prepared on the kang (a heated brick bed), deciding not to light a fire today. Zhang Hongmei always managed to find an excuse for her laziness. It felt like the days were passing by so quickly.