Chapter 37 Costumes
"Knock-knock—"
"Is Director Ma here?"
In the subdistrict office, Ma Baoguo was making himself a cup of tea, leaning his head on the chair, crossing his legs on the table, and relaxing with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of Zhang Dazui talking, which was like thunder, and the loud noise woke Ma Baoguo up.
"Director Ma!"
Zhang Dazui was a woman as quick as the wind. She knocked on the door twice symbolically and came in directly.
"Ahem, what's wrong?"
Ma Baoguo immediately moved his feet off the table, stood up, cleared his throat, and asked seriously.
"Director Ma, I'd like to know what the costumes for the National Day performance will be like?"
Open your mouth and get straight to the point.
"Yes, yes, please send it to us first."
Jin Qiaofeng responded.
"Don't let us pay for it out of our own pockets."
Gao Xiulan played the good guy on the side.
"That's impossible."
"Well, we won't be making new costumes for this year's performance. We'll just use last year's."
"If you want it now, that's fine. It's in the warehouse. I'll have someone take you there."
Ma Baoguo knew that the women in this compound were not easy to deal with, so he didn't waste any time and just told them his plan.
"Xiao Hu, take these women to the warehouse to get the costumes for last year's song and dance show."
Ma Baoguo walked out the door and called out to a young comrade in the corridor.
"Okay, Director."
Xiao Hu is a young man, tall and thin with a baby face.
"Okay, Director Ma, we'll be leaving first."
"Big sister, come here."
Xiao Hu led the way in front, and Zhang Dazui and the other two followed him up the stairs in big strides.
"Oh my god! They finally left. I was so confused about where these three people were going."
What Ma Baoguo fears most are the women in this compound. They are all unreasonable and have high fighting skills. He cannot afford to offend them.
After seeing the people off, Ma Baoguo closed the door and continued to lie down.
"Sister, this is the costume I wore for last year's performance."
"Ah, why is there so much dust?"
“It also smells musty.”
"How do I wear this?"
"That's right."
The three of them opened their mouths wide and were met with a mouthful of dust as soon as they opened the door of the warehouse.
The warehouse was filled with performance costumes, stage props and some miscellaneous items, and no one had sorted them out. Some of the clothes were simply crumpled into a ball and thrown in the corner, covered in dust.
"The eldest sister who was in charge of doing the laundry went back to her hometown to take care of her grandson. This whole house of clothes has no one to wash this year."
Xiao Hu explained.
"Sister, this is your performance costume from last year, take a look."
Xiao Hu carefully flipped through the labels and pointed to a row of clothes hanging on the rack.
"What a waste of clothes, so much dust."
Gao Xiulan looked at the performance costume with heartache.
"How much water will it take to clean this?"
Jin Qiaofeng frowned, looking unhappy.
"I remember this was bright red material, how come it turned out to be grey?"
Zhang Dazui still remembers how bright the red color was at that time.
"In order to wash these clothes, I have to pay for water and soap. No, I need to ask Ma for some help."
Jin Qiaofeng rushed downstairs to find Ma Baoguo again.
"Xiao Hu, hand me the big bag at your feet."
"Big Mouth, give me a hand and stuff the clothes in."
Gao Xiulan quickly put the performance clothes into the bag and tied the rope tightly.
Zhang Dazui followed down carrying it in one hand.
"Director Ma, these clothes are so dirty, you should at least give us some soap or something."
Jin Qiaofeng broke into Ma Baoguo's office again.
"Xiao Hu, Xiao Hu, where are you?"
Ma Baoguo summoned Comrade Xiao Hu again.
"Director, Director, I'm here."
Comrade Xiao Hu came down from upstairs in a hurry.
"Go get a bar of soap."
"One piece is not enough, at least three pieces are needed, otherwise it won't be clean."
"What are you standing there for? Go!"
He is so young but he has no sense at all.
Gao Xiulan and the other two waited for Xiao Hu to bring the three bars of soap before they left contentedly with a bag of clothes.
"If these guys come any more, I'm going to lose my hair."
Ma Baoguo touched his increasingly thinning hair and sighed.
…
"Xiu Lan, you're smart enough to know you need three bars of soap. That's just right for each of us."
"Oh, there's a little piece of soap stuck in this soap."
"That's perfect, just wash it with soap and water a few times and it will be clean."
"Just do it this way. Let it dry while the weather is nice these few days. You can make changes to any parts that don't fit."
"This material is quite thick. It won't be cold when I wear it during the evening performance."
…
When Lin Xiaotong came back from get off work, as soon as she stepped halfway into the backyard door, her eyes were filled with bright red.
The clotheslines in the large yard were filled with bright red clothes hanging in sheets.
She looked at Gao Xiulan sitting on the bamboo chair and asked, "Mom, this is the performance costume. The color is so bright."
"Yes, we went to the street office warehouse to get it this afternoon. It was dusty when we got it."
"We all washed it together this afternoon. It took three full basins of water to wash the grey back to red."
"That's a big project. Mom, let me give you a shoulder massage. You must be sore after an afternoon of work."
Lin Xiaotong put the bag in the inner room, and when she entered the room, she noticed Gao Xiulan pounding her shoulders.
"Hey! Good~hiss~yes~right~right here~oh it feels so good~"
Gao Xiulan was lying down, her shoulders being rubbed skillfully, and she instantly felt much lighter. She was so tired in the afternoon that she stood up and her bones cracked.
…
The sun was shining brightly these past few days, and the clothes dried and were distributed to everyone according to their sizes.
Last year’s National Day performance was watched by some higher-ups, so the quality of the costumes was pretty good.
The performance costume consists of two pieces, the upper body is a bright red long-sleeved top with the five-star red flag embroidered with yellow thread on the heart.
The sleeves of the top flare slightly from top to bottom, a bit like bell sleeves, and are paired with black trousers.
It symbolizes the red sun rising slowly from the vast land, demonstrating vigorous vitality.
This year, Gao Xiulan and six other female comrades are preparing to perform "The East is Red", a particularly classic piece of music.
These days, Gao Xiulan and the other six get together to practice whenever they have time. Xie Da Jiao even feels that his wife has been talking to him less recently.
Several grown men gathered together to discuss when to go watch the old woman's performance.
"I'm definitely going. My Ah Fen dances beautifully."
Qian Baozhu spoke with his head held high.
"Tsk, come on, it's obviously my Yu Lian who dances the best."
Wu Shengli was fed up, threw away the peanuts and spoke.
"Old Xie, tell me who is right between us."
"I think my Xiulan dances the best to my liking."
"Tsk~"
…
National Day has finally arrived, and the streets and alleys are bustling with activity.
The revolutionary young men wore clean and neat green clothes to participate in the parade in Tiananmen Square; the young girls and boys wore white shirts, clean and refreshing; the children followed their adults to watch the art performance.
The women in the compound also got up early to clean the house thoroughly, leaving it spotless. The portrait of the great man hanging on the table in the main hall was also wiped clean carefully.
Gao Xiulan and several other female comrades gathered together to do their hair; their performance was scheduled for the evening.
The men had to go and support their families in the evening, and they took out the clothes they had stored in their boxes.
Xie Da Jiao took out the white shirt made by Gao Xiulan with Dacron material that Lin Xiaotong had borrowed from her.
He doesn't smoke or drink. Even in his middle age, his figure has not changed. He wears a crisp white shirt and black pants, and he looks very gentle.
"Xiu Lan, do you think my sleeves are a little tight?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
