Chapter 74 Sunflower & Cat Humph, with you guys who don't...
The sun in early July was increasingly hot and dazzling, but the sunflowers under the scorching sun still stood tall and strong, even though they were exhausted.
Looking up, one sees an endless expanse of brightness and vitality, the ultimate passion unique to sunflowers.
Lin Huijun approached the sunflower field, picked a seed, tasted it, and said with a serious expression, "We need to find a few more people and harvest it as soon as possible."
Judging from the appearance of these sunflowers, they were probably fully ripe a few days ago. They've been busy selling chili sauce and moving recently, which is why they were delayed.
Chen Mian looked at the sunflowers in the field and was also a little worried. Farmers are most afraid of rain on harvest day. They really couldn't guarantee the weather recently, so it was best to harvest and dry them as soon as possible.
The group of people, carrying sickles, each chose a spot to begin harvesting.
With her left hand supporting the sunflower's large flower head, Chen Mian swung her sickle with her right hand and cut it diagonally about ten centimeters below the flower head. Then, she dragged the flower head down with both hands and stuck it into the stem to dry naturally.
Once you get the hang of it, you can arrange the flowerpots with one hand, saving time.
This method of drying crops is time-saving and labor-saving, but it is very dependent on the weather. Good weather brings great success, while bad weather results in no harvest.
Fortunately, Chen Mian has always been lucky, and she was able to enjoy the sunflower seeds she grew herself without any problems. The tender sunflower seeds she took to the city to sell also sold quite well, and some people even bought a few small sunflowers to put in vases, so they could both look at them and eat them.
After noticing this demand from her customers, Chen Mian began leaving several extra centimeters of stem when harvesting small buds in the following days, making it easier for them to prune them at home.
After learning about this, Lin Huijun also tried arranging flowers at home. The bright yellow sunflowers paired with various wildflowers and weeds created a charmingly rustic effect.
She sighed, "These days it really is the young people's world. There are all sorts of ways to make money. Unlike us older folks, we can't even think of these things. When I saw Xiaoduo's sunflowers, I felt it was a waste."
"Who would have thought that they would transform themselves and end up in a vase?"
Chen Mian affectionately took her mother's arm, "You're not old at all, you're still so young and beautiful. Besides, you have a great eye for making clothes!"
"The cut and embroidery on this dress I'm wearing are so good that when I went to the city, so many people were asking me where I bought it."
Chen Mian proudly declared, "I told them this was made for me by my mom, and it's the only one I have. I'm not selling it, haha..."
Lin Huijun's eyes were gentle as she continued her needlework. "You're just trying to flatter me. I'm just an ordinary person, not as amazing as you make me out to be."
"If I say it's there, it's there. My mom is the most amazing person in the world."
Looking at the lifelike embroidery in her mother's hands, Chen Mian had a thought flash through her mind: "Mom, can you use a sewing machine to embroider this? It doesn't have to be so delicate, just about five or six parts like it is fine."
Lin Huijun lowered her eyes, changed the direction of the skirt in her hands, and continued to embroider. She made this skirt for Chen Muhe, so that Chen Muhe could wear it when she was on summer vacation. Hearing her eldest daughter's question, she casually replied, "It should be possible, but I haven't tried it."
"Mom, why don't you try it now? If your dress design can be mass-produced, wouldn't we be able to make a lot of money?" Chen Mian looked at the exquisite embroidery in her mother's hands and began to fantasize.
Lin Huijun wasn't very enthusiastic. Doing business isn't that easy. She had only made a few clothes casually and added some embroidery to keep them from getting boring. Was that what she called design? Besides, even if they were produced, what if they couldn't be sold?
Chen Mianmian was unaware of her mother's worries and urged her to hurry up and try it out at the sewing machine.
Lin Huijun had no choice but to put down the blue butterfly she was embroidering, which she had only half-finished, and find a few scraps of fabric in the sewing basket before opening the sewing machine lid.
She first drew a pattern on the scrap of fabric with chalk, then placed the fabric under the needle of the sewing machine and slowly rotated it. At the same time, she stepped on the pedal with both feet, and with a creaking sound, a simple petal appeared on the fabric.
Lin Huijun pondered for a moment, then adjusted the angle and cotton thread again, giving the petals different shades and textures.
When her daughters were little, she would make clothes for them with a sewing machine. Over the years, most of the clothes in the house have been made by hand, but she only used the sewing machine to do some simple hemming and never thought that it could be used for embroidery.
After finishing embroidering a complete little flower, Lin Huijun picked up another scrap of fabric. This time, she embroidered a diamond pattern, using dark blue and light blue cotton thread to embroider circles of diamonds on the fabric, and then added red fruit patterns as embellishments.
The addition of simple leaves and flowers on both sides creates a pattern with distinctive ethnic characteristics.
This is the pattern of the white dress Chen Mian is wearing. The dress is just knee-length, and there are two blue woven ropes sewn in front of the oval neckline. When worn, it can be tied into a bow to gather the slightly wide neckline together.
The pattern is repeated four times on the chest, arranged symmetrically. The sleeves and waist are loose and comfortable to wear, but elastic bands are sewn on the cuffs and waist, so it is comfortable while showing off a beautiful figure.
Chen Mian watched her mother getting better and better at sewing at the machine. "Mom, when you have some free time these next few days, make another dress like this. Take a look at Hongmei's figure. Her husband owns several clothing stores in the city. I'll take it over and let him take a look."
After much deliberation, Chen Mian decided to collaborate with Wu Wei. They would be responsible for design and prototyping, while Wu Wei would be in charge of recruiting female workers and handling sales, as sales were his forte. Chen Mian wanted Zhijia to try mass production.
In the beginning, the scale is not large. The workshop can be set up at home and a few female workers can be hired from the neighborhood. If sales are good, the scale can be gradually expanded.
Of course, these are just her own ideas, and whether they can be done depends on Wu Wei's opinion, since she doesn't know much about the clothing industry.
Lin Huijun said helplessly, "I heard you. You're making things difficult for me again. Last time you made me be a consultant for the chili sauce factory. What do you want me to do this time?"
“This time, you’re going to be the future designer of Lin University,” Chen Mian said with a smile.
.
"Kapok, Huijun, where are you? I brought you a big watermelon! It's so sweet!" Yu Xiaoyue's cheerful voice had already entered the courtyard as soon as her motorcycle came to a stop and before she even got off.
Chen Mian had no choice but to shout back, "I'm in the kitchen, I can't leave the pot, and the door isn't locked, so come in yourself."
Holding a watermelon in one hand, Yu Xiaoyue curiously entered the kitchen, asking, "What delicious food are you making this time?"
"The fish with jelly that I mentioned last time."
As luck would have it, Yu Xiaoyue arrived just as Chen Mian poured the pea flour mixture, which had been stirred into a yogurt-like consistency, into the pot.
The first part of making Liangfen Fish is similar to making Jiaotuan (a type of porridge), requiring constant stirring. Since she couldn't leave, she had no choice but to continue stirring.
Once it's stirred well and turns translucent, it's ready to be taken out of the pot. She took out a strainer and handed it to Yu Xiaoyue, saying, "Auntie, could you hold this for me? Hold it with both hands and place it on top of this bowl."
Yu Xiaoyue held up the strainer, seemingly understanding but not quite. The basin contained cooled boiled water that Chen Mian had prepared in advance. She scooped up a spoonful of jelly and poured it onto the strainer. The jelly dripped through the gaps in the strainer into the basin, like crystal-clear little fish swimming freely in the water.
After the jelly in the pot had all turned into jelly fish, Chen Mian took out the fermented vegetable broth she had prepared in advance. Because of the hot weather, she had also cooled the broth with ice-cold well water.
There was another one where she didn't add any seasoning.
Small fish-shaped jelly noodles are soaked in a broth, which is called "jelly noodles with fish".
Yu Xiaoyue ate two bowls of cold fish jelly, which was refreshing and delicious. Then she had a slice of sweet, sandy watermelon, which was very satisfying.
After finishing her meal, she finally remembered why she had come. Dilidar had given birth to a son, and she had come to ask Chen Mian to go to the hospital to visit him.
Chen Mian counted the months on her fingers. "That's not right. I remember she told me her due date was in August, but it's only July now. How could she have already given birth?"
Yu Xiaoyue got angry just thinking about it. "Don't even mention it. It's all that damned Batur's fault."
"He knew perfectly well that Dili was already quite far along in her pregnancy and couldn't afford any stress, yet he got completely drunk and went to Dili's house in the middle of the night to cause a scene, saying that he knew he was wrong."
At first, he even knelt on the ground to apologize, but after saying a few kind words, he started picking on Dili's faults, saying she wasn't gentle enough, considerate enough, and too controlling.
Yu Xiaoyue spat and said, "Seeing that Di Li ignored her, she went further and further, even saying that she was divorcing because of her affair and that it was all Di Li's fault, and that she should reflect on herself."
These nasty words were unbearable not only for Dildar, but even for the baby in her womb, who was eager to come out and curse its father. Blood started flowing down her thighs, nearly scaring her parents to death.
Fortunately, they were taken to the hospital in time, and both the adults and the child are fine. They just need to rest for a while.
"If you ask me, he deserves it. He can't control his lower body, and now he can't even control his mouth," Yu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes so hard they could reach the sky. "It's just that poor Ayili has been waiting for so long for her big, fat grandson to finally arrive, but she can't even see him."
They were hoping their son would apologize and win his wife back, but now it's completely hopeless. They're lucky if she doesn't cause them any more trouble.
Chen Mian sighed after hearing this, "When they had their wedding, you even took me to attend. It's only been less than a year, and everything has changed."
The two agreed to visit each other at the hospital the next day, but Yu Xiaoyue had other things to do and left in a hurry.
After everyone else finished eating, Chen Mianmian picked up the remaining cold fish jelly, poured in the unseasoned fermented vegetable broth, took out two meat bones, broke off two steamed buns, put them together, and took them out for Da Huang to eat.
Before leaving, she thought for a moment, then took out a small bowl, shredded the meat off the bone, soaked half a small piece of bread in goat milk powder, and took it out with her.
"Woof woof!" Big Yellow paced back and forth anxiously, eager to enjoy its dinner. As soon as the bowl was placed down, it ate its fill in just a few bites.
It glanced at the small bowl next to it, looking very tempted, but...
Just as it was about to lose its temper, a small calico cat sauntered out from the corner of the wall, looking to be less than a month old.
Its fur is a mix of black, white, and orange, and its eyes are a beautiful dark green. Although it is young, you can already tell from its walking posture that it will be elegant when it grows up.
Meow~
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Author's Note: Although there were zero interactions with me, I still want to clarify that it's not that the author is abusing pets. It's just that in the past, cats and dogs in rural areas were only fed human food. Little Cotton has been trying her best to give the cats and dogs the best, and that's how they're still raised in the countryside now. Today, I'll have to make do with what I have for Big Yellow and my new pet; I'll make them canned food tomorrow. [heart emoji]
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