Xu Qingning invited Wu Yong and Luo Yao to her home for dinner, and Yang Yuelan readily agreed, saying she would make dumplings for them that evening.
The mother-in-law was quite happy that her daughter-in-law was willing to entertain her son's friends.
Moreover, Wu Yong and Luo Yao came to Jiaodong City specifically to see Zhao Jingyu.
Since Zhao Jingyu wasn't home, it was only right for them, as family members, to treat Wu Yong and Luo Yao to a few meals.
Taking advantage of the good weather, Yang Yuelan dyed all the white cloth she had bought last time, laid it out in the yard to dry, and put it away to do whatever she wanted.
Although the colors are limited to green, yellow, and purple, these three colors are sufficient.
There were so many fabrics drying in the yard that they were quite eye-catching.
The old ladies flocked over to watch the spectacle, their eyes gleaming with envy. When they learned that Yang Yuelan had dyed it herself, they became excited: "The color is so perfect, it looks so beautiful!"
“Yes, mainly because unbleached cloth doesn’t require cloth coupons and is cheap.” Wang Cuifen was even more envious. “Sister, I still have some unbleached cloth at home. I’ll bring it over and you can dye it this green for me. Green looks nice.”
“I also have some unbleached cloth at home.” Zhang Guoshi also wanted to use it for dyeing. “Purple would look even better. I’ll dye it purple.”
"I'll give you the dyeing recipe, you can go back and dye it yourselves." Yang Yuelan was at her wits' end. They all lived in the same courtyard, and she felt bad refusing them.
“We don’t know how to dye cloth, you can help us dye it,” Wang Cuifen said, as she went home to get the raw white cloth.
“Auntie, we also have costs for dyeing cloth, so we charge a fee. It costs one cent per foot of cloth.” Xu Qingning came out of the house and said to the old ladies with a smile, “These green and yellow cloths are dyed with the sedges outside the wall, and we added alum and blue vitriol to fix the color. These purple ones were dyed with small purple flowers that my mother picked a few days ago. Now the small purple flowers have finished blooming, so we can’t dye them purple anymore.”
"Charging one cent per foot of cloth? We might as well just buy ready-made cloth!" Wang Cuifen stopped in her tracks, looked Xu Qingning up and down, and said unhappily, "Do you have to charge money for helping a neighbor?"
Zhao Jingyu's new wife doesn't talk to them much usually, so why is she asking for money right away?
They were all spoiled by Yang Yuelan.
"Helping you is free," Xu Qingning said frankly. "That's why my mom is willing to give you the fabric dyeing recipe for free. But if you ask my mom to dye your fabric, she'll have to charge you. My mom can't do this and that for you for free."
"Forget it, forget it, I won't dye it anymore." Wang Meixiang, the old lady who lived next door to Zhang Guoshi, was the first to leave, muttering under her breath, "Neither of the two sisters is good, one is rude, and the other is obsessed with money."
Xu Qingning heard this, smiled indifferently, and turned to go back into the house.
What's wrong with being obsessed with money?
Who doesn't need money to make a living?
Don't even think about taking advantage of them.
After Zhang Guoshi and Wang Meixiang left, Yang Yuelan felt a little guilty and secretly gave the remaining dye in the pot to Wang Cuifen, enthusiastically teaching her how to dye cloth, and saying that they would only dye once before the New Year and that they wouldn't need the dye anymore.
Wang Cuifen was very happy and whispered, "Don't worry, I won't tell them. I'll just say I had someone dye my hair."
Xu Qingning heard the two whispering outside the window, but pretended not to hear. If her mother-in-law wanted to give it to her, then so be it!
Anyway, the remaining dye will just be thrown away if we don't use it.
By the afternoon, the dyed fabrics were dried.
Yang Yuelan was busy making dumplings to prepare for Wu Yong and Luo Yao.
Xu Qingning collected the fabric, folded it neatly, and put it in the wardrobe. Looking at the wardrobe full of fabric, her heart was also full.
Remembering that Zhao Jingyu used to sleep naked at home, she took out the green fabric she had just put in, found a measuring tape to roughly measure the size, and cut off a piece of fabric with scissors, intending to make him two sets of pajamas.
Her pajamas were already made, made of purple fabric, and he wore green ones, which looked quite nice too.
She originally said she would make two sets of pajamas for Yang Yuelan, but Yang Yuelan refused, saying she wasn't used to wearing them.
She also made several sets of little clothes for the baby in her belly, in all sorts of colors, because little babies look prettier in colorful clothes.
The size of pajamas doesn't need to be too standard; a looser fit is fine.
Xu Qingning took out a shirt from Zhao Jingyu's wardrobe, measured it, and laid the fabric flat on the kang (a heated brick bed) to cut it, while Yang Yuelan was making dumplings in the living room.
Xu Qingning said that when Wang Yaqiang arrives later, she should ask him to go to the cafeteria and buy two more dishes.
Yang Yuelan said no need, she could just make a cold dish herself, saying that Wang Cuifen had just given her two cucumbers.
A short while later, Wu Yong arrived, carrying a net bag of apples. As soon as he entered, he said to Yang Yuelan, "I'm sorry to bother you again."
"Don't be so formal." Yang Yuelan smiled and took the apple from his hand. "We're very happy that you could come."
“Brother Wu is here. Where’s Luo Yao?” Xu Qingning put down the scissors, came out of the house, and made him tea and poured him water. “I need to talk to her about something. I asked her to come over yesterday, but I didn’t see her.”
"Luo Yao has something to do and said she'll come over later." Wu Yong was much darker than when he last came, and he chuckled. "Luo Yao said she was sorry to trouble you."
"Brother Wu, did Luo Yao graduate from high school?" Xu Qingning asked Wu Yong. "I'm thinking of finding her a job as a teacher at a school. What do you think?"
“She graduated from high school, but didn’t get into university this year. She plans to find a job and try again next year.” Wu Yong was delighted to hear that she was going to be a teacher at a school. “Sister-in-law, thank you so much.”
Being a teacher is much better than working in a factory.
He hadn't expected Xu Qingning to care so much about Luo Yao.
"Brother Wu, I'll make contact about this first, but I'm not entirely sure if it will work out," Xu Qingning said calmly. "I just don't know if Luo Yao would be willing to teach at the school?"
Even if she's confident, she'll say she's not.
What is too easily obtained will never be cherished.
“She’ll definitely be willing.” Knowing that jobs are hard to find these days, Wu Yong immediately said, “Then I’ll trouble you, sister-in-law, to help us get in touch. If Luo Yao can get a teaching position at the school, that would be a real blessing.”
After Yang Yuelan finished making the dumplings, she took them to the kitchen in the yard and started mixing cold dishes. She would boil water and cook the dumplings later when Luo Yao, Wang Yaqiang, and Liu Dawei arrived.
"Okay, I'll take care of it in the next couple of days." Xu Qingning tidied up the coffee table and then asked Wu Yong, "Brother Wu, has Luo Yao been seeing a girl named Chen Meijuan recently?"
Only by first showing kindness to others can one then concern oneself with their affairs.
Otherwise, it's just meddling in other people's business.
She understands this principle.
“Yes, that girl lives next door to Luo Yao. They get along very well and often go shopping together.” Wu Yong remembered Chen Meili. Seeing Xu Qingning’s serious question, he asked suspiciously, “Sister-in-law, have you heard something?”
“Brother Wu, Chen Meili is my sister Tang Wenya’s best friend. Tang Wenya and I have always been at odds, so I suspect that Chen Meili’s approach to Luo Yao is for ulterior motives.”
Xu Qingning didn't want to beat around the bush and said it very directly, "Luo Yao is young and naive, unaware of the wickedness of people. I guess Chen Meili said a lot of bad things about me to her. In the end, Chen Meili just wanted to sow discord between me and Luo Yao."
"I'll ask Luo Yao when she arrives." Wu Yong frowned. Is things really this complicated between these young girls?
"Brother Wu, let's go to the courtyard for tea." Xu Qingning picked up the teapot and walked outside. It was still very hot inside in August.
The two had just sat down when Luo Yao arrived.
Gao Yang was also with her.
Gao Yang, dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, with his hair still slicked back with hair oil, walked up to Xu Qingning and said with a smile, "Your guest couldn't find the courtyard, and I happened to be looking for Ting Shen, so I brought her here."
Luo Yao smiled but didn't say anything.
She has no sense of direction; she only realized she was in the wrong place after entering the courtyard ahead.
She happened to run into Gao Yang, who asked her if she was lost. She said yes, so he brought her here.
"Really? Thank you so much." Xu Qingning smiled and handed Gao Yang an empty teacup. "Let's have some tea together!"
Gao Yang glanced at Xu Qingning. The sunlight shone on her face, making her appear even more beautiful, charming, and full of allure.
For a moment, he felt his heart race. He wisely looked away, turned to look at Wu Yong, smiled at him as a greeting, and then said to Xu Qingning, "I won't bother you anymore. I'm going to find Ting Shen. We can talk again when we have time."
"Thank you for bringing me here." Luo Yao walked him a few steps, and Gao Yang waved without turning his head and went to Xiao Tingshen's house.
After he left, Wu Yong asked Luo Yao, "Yao Yao, did you get lost just now?"
"Hmm." Luo Yao nodded. "I went to the wrong place and ended up in the courtyard in front."
“All these courtyards are pretty much the same, it’s just easy to get lost.” Xu Qingning smiled, gestured for Luo Yao to sit down, and asked her gently, “Were you with Chen Meili just now?”
Thank you for the summer breeze, the watermelon, the swimming pool, and you, and for the monthly pass that I only need to recharge once a year.
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First update.
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