The autumn night wind swept across the blue brick walls of Lin Wanqiu's new home, rustling the delicate leaves of the holly bushes in the corner, adding a touch of tranquil poetry to the courtyard, now quiet after the day's hustle and bustle. The kerosene lamp in the east hut had long been extinguished, and Chen Nian'an's even breathing drifted through the thin door, as docile as a small animal, occasionally punctuated by a few mumbled murmurs in his sleep, suggesting he was still excited about his new room. Lin Wanqiu leaned against the doorframe of the main room, gazing at the sparse stars in the night sky, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade pendant around her neck—the loom she had seen in the spatial dimension earlier, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, still stirred ripples within her heart.
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Tingzhou walked over with two glasses of warm water, handing one to her. The warmth of the glass seeped through her fingertips to her palm, dispelling the slight chill of the night dew. He followed her gaze to the starry sky, his deep eyes reflecting the twinkling stars. "Are you still thinking about that loom?"
Lin Wanqiu took the water glass, her fingertips lightly touching the rim, a light smile playing on her lips. "Hmm, I feel like this loom came at just the right time. Look, we live in a new house now, and Nian'an has her own room. If we could weave some cloth and make some new clothes, life would truly be perfect." She remembered when she was first reborn, her and her daughter's clothes were full of patches, they didn't even have a proper cotton-padded jacket. Nian'an's arms and legs were always chafed red from wearing ill-fitting old clothes for so long. Now that they had a loom, not only could her family dress warmly and decently, but it might also pave a path for the future—she knew better than anyone how precious cloth coupons were in the 1960s. If she could weave some uniquely patterned cloth, she might even be able to help the neighbors, which would be worthy of the title of "leader in getting rich."
Looking at the sparkle in her eyes, Shen Tingzhou gently ruffled her hair, his voice full of affection: "I support you in whatever you want to do. Tomorrow I'll go to the brigade headquarters and see if I can find some elderly people who know how to weave so you can learn the techniques from them, saving you from figuring things out on your own and taking detours." He knew that although Lin Wanqiu was a modern person who had traveled from the past and knew how to cook and grow, she might not be proficient in the hand weaving of the 1960s. Rather than leaving her helpless in front of the loom, he would rather take the initiative to build a bridge for her so that she could do what she wanted with peace of mind.
Lin Wanqiu felt a warmth in her heart. She looked up at his sharply defined profile, the moonlight casting soft shadows on his face, softening the usually aloof soldier. She leaned gently on his shoulder, her voice tinged with dependence: "It's so good to have you here. I always felt life was hard before, but now we have a house, you, and this loom that suddenly appeared. I feel that our future will only get better and better."
The two stood by the moonlight for a while until the night breeze grew cool, then quietly returned to their room. Lying in bed, Lin Wanqiu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind filled with the image of that loom—she remembered that the loom's wooden frame was dark brown, with clearly visible wood grain, as if made of old mulberry wood that had grown for decades, smooth and warm to the touch, without a single burr; the pedals and shuttle on the loom were matching bamboo products, with faint cloud patterns carved at both ends of the shuttle, simple yet exquisite; the cotton yarn piled next to it was snow-white and fluffy, soft as clouds in her hands, and she could smell a faint fragrance of cotton wool when she got close, even better than the best cotton yarn she had seen at the supply and marketing cooperative.
"No, I have to go check again." Lin Wanqiu couldn't suppress her curiosity any longer. She gently lifted the covers, afraid of waking Shen Tingzhou, who was fast asleep beside her. She tiptoed to the main room, making sure the door to the small east hut was still tightly closed, before concentrating and silently chanting "Enter the space." The next second, familiar warm light enveloped her. The neatly stacked supplies in the warehouse, the thriving vegetables in the fields, and the flashing icons on the skill panel all came into view. The small loom stood quietly in the corner of the warehouse, like an old friend waiting to be awakened.
Lin Wanqiu walked quickly over and gently stroked the wooden frame of the loom. The delicate touch made her heart leap with joy—the frame was not only smooth but also carried a sense of weight and age, clearly an old object that had been carefully polished and used for a long time, even more sturdy and durable than she had imagined. She squatted down and carefully examined the structure of the loom: the warp and weft bobbins on the machine were intact, and a small amount of light gray cotton thread was still wrapped around the warp bobbin, indicating that someone had used it before; the pedal was connected to the heddle, and when she stepped on it gently, the heddle would flip up and down, causing the warp threads to open, the movement was smooth and without any jamming; the shuttle was placed on the small wooden table next to it, and when she picked it up, she saw a small strand of light blue cotton thread hidden inside, the color fresh, like a color picked from the blue sky and white clouds.
"This loom is not only functional, but also so exquisite; it's a true treasure!" Lin Wanqiu couldn't help but exclaim. Although she had never woven cloth in her previous life, she had seen similar hand-operated looms in museums and knew that this type of small loom was most suitable for home use. It was not only easy to operate but could also weave various simple patterns. She tried sitting on the small wooden stool in front of the loom, gently pressing down on the pedals. With a soft "click," the warp threads indeed formed a neat opening. She picked up the shuttle, carefully threaded it through the opening, and then gently pulled the weft thread. Although her movements were clumsy, she successfully completed a simple weaving action.
Just then, the skill panel in the space suddenly lit up, and a pale green light shone from the panel onto the loom. Immediately afterwards, lines of knowledge about weaving flooded into her mind—from the selection, soaking, and combing of cotton yarn, to the winding of warp threads and the matching of weft threads, to the weaving techniques for different patterns, and even how to repair minor malfunctions of the loom, everything was explained in detail. Lin Wanqiu was pleasantly surprised to find that this knowledge was not only systematic and comprehensive, but also came with clear operation diagrams, as if someone was teaching her step by step in front of her, instantly dispelling most of her previous confusion about weaving.
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