"Lin Haodong? He's stopped bothering you?"
Ji Xia looked at Chen Qiuyu in surprise, then at the others: "He changed his mind, which of you is he bothering now?"
Chen Qiuyu shrugged: "I spread the word that my brother would take over my job, and Aunt Lin came to visit once. After that, Lin Haodong never bothered me again."
Of course, Granny Lin not only saw Chen Qiuyu's injured foot, but also saw Chen Qiuyu teaching his younger brother how to draw paper patterns and how to cut them, which further confirmed the reliability of the rumors.
Liu Xiaojiao sneered coldly, "Yesterday, his mother even came to my mother, praising her son to the skies, saying that although Haodong was remarried, he had no children, was a college graduate, and that he would be wonderful in the future..."
"Pah! That night, there were wolves in the area. Lin Haodong pushed Liu Pianran in front of the wolves and ran away himself. No matter how good a man is, I wouldn't be interested in him."
“Yes, Liu Zhiqing was such a beautiful educated youth. Lin Haodong was willing to break off his engagement with you to marry her, but he pushed her to the wolves in less than half a year. We know our place, we wouldn’t look at a man like that…”
"Besides, even a woman as capable as Liu Zhiqing couldn't get along well after entering the Lin family. How could we possibly have that kind of ability?"
The girls chattered excitedly about the Lin family's gossip. The battle between Liu Pianran and Granny Lin over the past six months was something that could be talked about for three days and three nights straight.
In her past life, Ji Xia silently endured her suffering and secretly shed tears.
Liu Pianran was not the kind of woman who would swallow her anger. She would complain to others about the methods that Granny Lin used to punish her, especially to the educated youth and the men.
None of these girls' brothers and sisters-in-law didn't know about it.
These girls are all quite young, the oldest being only seventeen or eighteen. They all have jobs in the city, with room and board provided, and they can send twenty yuan home each month, sometimes even a few yuan more.
Those who truly love their daughters would not want them to suffer after marrying into the Lin family; those who favor sons over daughters would find no benefit whatsoever in marrying their daughters or younger sisters into the Lin family.
The Lin family was so poor they couldn't even afford to eat. Not only could they not earn enough for a bride price, but they also lost the twenty yuan their daughter earned each month for household expenses.
After understanding their concerns, Ji Xia couldn't help but chuckle. So, what changes fate is not something else, but that everyone has a job that can support themselves.
Of course, if the family is supportive, they also need to "brainwash" the young girls to prevent them from getting too love-struck and reverting to their original state.
Over the next few days, Ji Xia and Chen Jing went back to the workshop warehouse to retrieve the prepared bright red fabric, several kinds of embroidery threads and needles, and then separated the front and back panels, collar, sleeves and horse-face skirt of a complete Xiuhe dress, and assigned them to the responsible individuals.
A group of young girls stayed at the Chen family's house every day, rushing to finish the embroidery and sewing. In just four or five days, they successfully completed the embroidery of a complete Xiuhe dress.
Then Sun Xiaoyu personally sewed the entire outfit together and attached the five-bat knot buttons.
While they were working, Ji Xia would tell them love stories, like how she had read about "wife-chasing crematoriums" on Zhihu when she was bored in her past life, how love-struck people dig for wild vegetables, how a bowl of plain porridge makes you feel at home, and the taste of everyday life.
Even a certain relationship expert's classic quote, "You only lost a leg, but she lost her whole love," has been popularized among a group of young girls.
A group of young girls were so angry that they started cursing and swearing, while embroidering dragons and phoenixes and the Five Blessings. The scene was quite comical.
During this time, the Lin family also came to inquire about the news.
Lin Haodong is going back to school after the New Year, and the mother and son want to appease a little girl before he returns.
These young women with jobs went to Chen Qiuyu's house every day, and Ji Xia even paid for their lunches. The Chen family provided all three meals, so they never went out.
After not being able to find the young girl for several days, and hearing that the group of girls would be going to work in the city on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Lin's mother couldn't sit still. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, she shamelessly went to the Chen family, using the excuse of visiting Chen Qiuyu, and insisted on entering the house.
Upon entering the Chen family home, one sees a group of young girls gathered in a circle, working and chatting.
A little girl suddenly laughed and said, "I envy Sister Xiaoyu so much. She had Sister Xia design her wedding dress for her wedding. I wish I could have a beautiful wedding dress like that when I get married."
Ji Xia waved her hand readily: "Want a wedding dress? I have several wedding dress designs. If you like them, each of you can choose one and make it yourselves. Consider it my early wedding gift, how about that?"
She will go to the capital to take the imperial examination after the New Year. If she passes, she will not come back. These people want her wedding dress, so they can only choose it now.
Before the group of girls could even cheer, Chen Qiuyu said loudly, "Okay, I'll choose one. The rich girl from the county town wants to order a new style from Sister Xia. It costs two hundred yuan a set. Sister Xia's gift money is quite generous."
"I want one too!"
"Me too—"
A group of young girls thought it made sense. With the pattern, they could buy fabric and make their own for their weddings, and they would all clamor for it.
When Lin's mother entered the Chen family home, she heard a group of young girls laughing and talking loudly inside. Each of them had a piece of red cloth embroidered with golden patterns.
She chuckled and said, "Why are you still working during the New Year? You should be having fun and relaxing!"
Ji Xia chuckled, "Aunt Lin is right. Come on, everyone, take a break and pick out a style you like. Let me tell you, if the man you marry isn't even willing to spend money on a wedding dress for you, don't marry him. You'll suffer for the rest of your life..."
A group of girls responded with smiles. Someone took Ji Xia's design notebook, and the group swarmed around her, shouting excitedly.
"This outfit is beautiful, I love it!"
"I like this set too. I love the peony pattern, but I can't embroider it—"
"If you can't embroider it, ask Ah Lian. Ah Lian will definitely—"
"I like this set too, and you like it too, what should we do?"
"Stop fighting over them! Every wedding dress designed by Xia is beautiful. Let me tell you, even in a few years, these wedding dresses will still be beautiful."
A group of little girls were laughing and scrambling around, and none of them paid any attention to Lin's mother.
Lin's mother stood in front of the door, glaring at Ji Xia with her eyes—was this a veiled criticism of her son?
Aunt Chen stood beside her with a smile: "Oh dear, these young girls are so busy!"
Lin's mother forced a smile: "Why aren't they resting during the New Year? What are they busy with?"
"What else could they be busy with? The second son of the Ji family is getting married. The bride is the leader of their group. The wedding date is the second day of the second lunar month. So, they're all busy helping to embroider the wedding dress. These girls have such a good relationship."
Upon hearing that they were embroidering wedding dresses, Lin's mother finally noticed that the red cloth in their hands was embroidered with golden phoenixes, auspicious clouds, and other festive patterns.
Feeling secretly annoyed, she lowered her voice and said, "The Ji family is really domineering. Ji Er is getting married, and they make all the young girls in the village work? They don't even let people rest during the New Year? This is too much!"
"What's so excessive? These are all easy jobs, no lifting or carrying required. You can sit and chat while you work, earn money, and eat meat and chicken every day. It's a pity I can't do them. If I could, I would be eager to do them too!"
A young woman carrying buckets of water looked enviously into the house: "I don't have a sister-in-law. If I did, I would send her over too. She could give the family twenty or thirty yuan a month!"
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