Thinking of how Zhao Jianguo took care of her in the training class...
When Liu Qingchun and Chi Yan teamed up to bully her, he stood with her without fear of being fired...
And the sentence that the master chose to change his testimony, "...The master also has people to protect. It is said that half apprentice is half child. Chi Yin, you are my child. I compromised not because I was afraid of Captain Wei, but I just didn't want to see you, a good seedling, being eliminated..."
She always remembered Zhao Jianguo's kindness and care for her. Now that Zhao Jianguo and his wife were bullied by their relatives, Chi Yin felt as if a stone was pressing on her heart, heavy.
She took Wang Shufen's arm and said solemnly, "Master's wife, if they come to make trouble again, you can call the police. Once a master, always a father. You and Master are half my parents. From now on, I will take care of your life, old age, sickness and death!"
Wang Shufen raised her head and met Chi Yin's distressed eyes. She knew in her heart that this was an honest and kind child. No wonder Zhao Jianguo always praised him in front of her.
"Good child, it's rare that you have this kind of heart. You have your own parents to support, and we can't drag you down." Wang Shufen clearly refused, but the corners of her mouth were relaxed.
Chi Yin would certainly not take back what she had said. This was an era where education could change one's destiny. Similarly, teachers who imparted technical skills were also very important. Her encounter with Zhao Jianguo, the olive branch, was like a ray of light, allowing her to improve herself in a short period of time and lay the foundation for filing for divorce and obtaining custody.
"Mom, mom, I'm hungry." Xixi ran to Chi Yin in small steps, her big watery eyes full of grievance.
Chi Yin glanced at the sky and discovered that it was almost evening. Although the two children had eaten the lunch prepared by Aunt Li, they were still at an active age and were running around and playing, which consumed a lot of energy and made them hungry quickly.
...
...
Wang Shufen immediately returned to the living room and soon brought out a tin candy box with a red paint mark on the side saying "Assorted candies produced in Shanghai". When she unscrewed the box, she found a pile of colorful loose candies inside.
Xixi has always been timid. She hid behind Chi Yin, sticking half of her head out and staring at the metal box in Wang Shufen's hand.
Wang Shufen squatted down and said kindly, "What's your name? I'm your grandmother, you can call me Grandma Wang."
Xixi quickly retracted her head. Wanwan came over with her short legs and introduced Xixi enthusiastically, "We are twins. I'm the older sister. My name is Wanwan, and her name is Xixi."
Wang Shufen took out a handful of candies. Wanwan looked up at Chi Yin. Only after getting Chi Yin's consent did she point at the candies in Wang Shufen's hand.
Wang Shufen touched her little head and said, "These are all for you. Grandma is too old to eat anymore."
"Thank you, grandma!" Wanwan thanked her crisply, then pulled Xixi and ran to the stone table and chairs nearby to eat.
Wang Shufen closed the iron box, put the egg cakes in the basket, and said lovingly, "Take these candies back for the children to eat and sweeten their mouths."
"Okay, thank you, Master's wife." Chi Yin responded crisply. Wang Shufen was very satisfied with her graceful and generous manner.
Chi Yin felt guilty about eating and taking things at his master's and mistress's house, and he felt like he should do something.
She looked around her master's house, a one-story red brick house with three rooms in the east, west and north. The north was the living room, the west was the master's and his wife's rooms, and the east was the kitchen.
Maybe because the two elderly people are too old to work, a lot of weeds have grown in the yard and the windows of the three rooms are covered with dust.
Chi Yin rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
After being married into the Wei family for four years, she takes care of everything around the house by herself, even carrying manure and irrigating the vegetables.
So it was not difficult to clean up, and the Zhao house was clean and tidy in just an hour.
He went to the backyard to get some dry firewood, skillfully placed it in the stove, lit the fire, threw a handful of rice into the clean pot, and cooked it in more than ten minutes.
The warm evening sun shone into the yard. Wang Shufen moved a small stool and sat under a tree to chat with the two children.
From time to time, she looked towards the kitchen. The busy figure of the young girl and the sound of the spatulas colliding made her eyes narrow into crescents, and she was extremely satisfied.
Anyway, no matter what happens in the future, Wang Shufen treats Chi Yin as her own daughter from now on.
Chi Yin finished her work, poked her head out of the kitchen window, and called softly, "Master's wife, the meal is ready."
Wang Shufen responded, took the two children and walked to the well in the corner of the yard. After washing their hands, the four or three grandparents and grandchildren walked to the kitchen, talking and laughing.
The hot air from the kitchen brought with it the aroma of food. On the dining table, there were four bowls of rice porridge, green cold-mixed purslane, and fragrant toon sprouts mixed with fermented black beans, which made Wang Shufen, an old lady with little appetite, salivate.
This child is really deft with his hands. He can make such delicious dishes without having to buy ingredients like pork and cabbage. He can just pick them in the backyard.
Wang Shufen raised her eyes and looked at Chi Yin. She had previously thought that Chi Yin was honest and kind, but now she also discovered that Chi Yin was hardworking, smart and intelligent. Wang Shufen liked her from the bottom of her heart.
Wang Shufen thought, she couldn't let down such a clever and good kid who worked so hard for her.
So after dinner, she asked Chi Yin directly if she came to learn sewing skills from her husband.
Chi Yin cleaned up the stove, took off her apron and hung it on the nail on the wall pillar. She moved a chair to sit next to Wang Shufen, lowered her head and said a little embarrassedly, "I can't hide anything from my master's wife. This time, in addition to coming to meet my master and his wife, I also want to learn more about sewing skills. I want to learn it in the shortest possible time."
Wang Shufen grabbed Chi Yin's hand and looked at her with the love that a parent would have for their child. "Well, you go to the training class in the morning, and come to my place for tutoring in the afternoon. I know everything your master knows, and I even know more than him!"
Chi Yin looked at Wang Shufen in surprise, "Master's wife is also a tailor???"
Wang Shufen smiled and nodded, "In the early years, we went to Suzhou and Hangzhou together to learn the craft, how to lock the edges and hem, handle darts and pleats, how to sew tulle and silk, how to sew multiple layers of thick fabrics, how to hem round collars, how to slit shirt sleeves, how to refurbish old items, oh, I am the top student in your master's eyes!"
Recalling her glorious achievements when she was young, Wang Shufen's cloudy eyes became clear and her pupils sparkled.
When talking about returning from her master's study, Wang Shufen paused, the smile on her face faded into a sigh, "Later, my only child accidentally fell into the water and died. I fell seriously ill, and my health got worse year by year. I had lumbar and cervical spondylosis, and the pain was so severe that I couldn't sit still. After that, I stopped using a sewing machine."
Chi Yin saw with her own eyes that Wang Shufen's shining eyes were like two extinguished oil lamps, and she felt very uncomfortable.
Wang Shufen forced a smile and said, "Okay, let's not talk about these sad things. Now that it's still light, use all the skills you've learned in the past few days and sew a piece of clothing for me."
Chi Yin nodded, went to the living room, moved the sewing machine to the yard, and sewed a pair of children's pants on the spot using a piece of linen cotton shirt.
Every night after putting her children to sleep, she would light a kerosene lamp and practice overtime. It would take an average person five minutes to finish a pair of pants, but she shortened it to two minutes.
Wang Shufen just came back from the toilet, but Chi Yin gave her the sewn pants to inspect.
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