Chapter 144: It Can Get Warm
Zhang Hongying showed Wen Wan the roll of cloth: "Wan Wan, can you help me see how many sets of cotton-padded clothes can be made from this cloth?"
Wen Wan heard this and said, "Wait a minute!" She went into the house and took the bamboo sieve behind the door and put it on the bench. She put the roll of cloth in it and spread it out. She stretched out her hands and gestured roughly on each piece of cloth: "Put together a few pieces of cloth. If it's just for face, there will be enough for everyone in the family."
She also had some thin cotton, which would be perfect for lining a jacket.
Zhang Hongying said, "How can you make clothes with only the outer layer and no lining? Mother's needlework is not good, but she can make some clothes by mending them, and can make shoes, but she is really not good at making clothes, especially cutting cloth. I have no idea how to do it. I think I'll have to trouble you again."
As she spoke, she took out two cotton coupons from her pocket, one for each person. "Give them to Dongping when you get back, and ask him to bring you some cotton. Don't worry, I know you're busy too. Take your time making them. We don't need to rush to wear them this year. Make them for the three siblings first, and make them a little looser. Chun'e and Donglin are still growing!"
Wen Wan nodded: "Okay, this is actually not difficult. I have a sewing machine. I can sew the thick parts by hand and use the sewing machine to sew the edges. It's quite fast." Making clothes with a sewing machine takes much less time than knitting sweaters.
Seeing that everyone at home had started preparing cotton-padded clothes for winter, her sweater had not been knitted yet. She didn't know whether Lu Dongping would be able to wear the sweater he knitted this winter.
"Mom, I have something to trouble you with!"
Zhang Hongying heaved a sigh of relief after entrusting the work of making clothes to someone else. "What's the matter? Tell me."
"It's my seventh brother. He's here alone. I'll get you some cloth later. Can you help me make a pair of soles for him? They don't need to be too thick. I need to make cotton shoes. I need to put a layer of cotton on top to make them look better."
Zhang Hongying waved her hand nonchalantly: "Why are you giving me cloth to make soles for shoes? We have clothes at home that are really unwearable. I've saved them all. Cut me a shoe pattern later. When you have time, make the jacket first. I'll make sure he can wear new cotton-padded shoes through the winter."
Wen Wan happily took the cloth she was given and went into the house. She also accepted the cotton coupons. She would just take them since she was not the one who would play tricks on others.
She had been planning Lu Dongping's cotton-padded clothes for a long time. The cloth Zhang Hongying gave her was to be made for Lu Donglin and Lu Chun'e. She had originally planned to make clothes for Zhang Hongying and her husband during the Spring Festival, so she didn't have to worry about the cloth and cotton. Lu Dongping had made the quilt for the previous banquet himself, and she had never used the cotton coupons Zhang Hongying gave her, as she only intended to use them for making cotton-padded clothes for the winter.
It was already late after dinner, and it was impossible to light an oil lamp just for a little needlework. Not only would it waste kerosene, it would also strain my eyes.
Wen Wan showed Lu Dongping the cloth and cotton coupons Zhang Hongying had given her: "She said they were giving it to you three siblings to make cotton-padded clothes. She gave me the cloth and the cotton coupons, so I accepted it."
Lu Dongping nodded and said, "Just take it if I give it to you." He wanted his mother to make clothes for Lu Donglin and Lu Chun'e, but he didn't expect his mother to turn around and give the job to Wen Wan.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Wen Wan reached out and stroked his chin: "It's not that hard. Sewing is much easier than working in the fields. Besides, aren't they your brothers and sisters? What's yours is mine. It's not hard to make clothes for them." Although she had planned to make clothes from the beginning, she still had to say nice words. Everyone likes to hear nice things.
Lu Dongping listened to the soft voice saying soothing words, and rubbed the person in his arms again: "Stay home during the National Day holiday and the busy week. Don't be silly and go out to the fields again. Substitute teachers are given work points as a subsidy. By the end of the year, the basic work points will not be insufficient. Even if they are insufficient, it won't make a difference for a few days."
During the summer harvest, he had tormented me to the point of exhaustion. Now that he was his, if he didn't want to let him go to work, no one could say anything.
The weather is bad every year during the autumn harvest, and this year is no exception. Less than two weeks after the first rain in September, the sun disappeared again, and a slightly cool wind blew up, making it impossible to wear thin clothes.
It started raining after just two days, and this time it seemed like it wasn't going to stop.
The road surface was so bad that it was difficult to go to and from school. Wen Wan insisted on wearing plastic sandals, along with Lu Donglin and Lu Chun'e who were wearing straw sandals. When they arrived at school, they washed the mud off their feet and changed into socks and shoes. Even so, they didn't feel hot.
By the evening, her feet were as cold as stones, and she took the initiative to snuggle into Lu Dongping's arms: "Lu Dongping, I'm cold! I think I can wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants tomorrow." Whether it was day or night, it felt like it was no longer possible to wear a single layer of clothes in the rain, and even a woolen jacket didn't help.
Lu Dongping reached out and pressed the quilt down behind her, then clamped her feet with his legs. His slightly hoarse voice was filled with ill intentions: "Cold? Move around and you won't be cold anymore."
As he spoke, the hand that was pressed under Wen Wan moved to the crook of her neck, and he lowered his head to kiss her on the mouth.
Lu Dongping never tires of intimacy. If Wen Wan wasn't physically unable to handle it, he'd have done it twice every night. They've been married for over half a month now, and they've been doing it for days at a time, feeling quite restless. Especially since he knows the ecstasy of it, he can't help himself any more.
Wen Wan's delicate body and soft voice made him unable to let go.
Wen Wan didn't know how long it had been, but she felt like her whole body was about to explode. The man on her body groaned slightly higher, and his clothes seemed to be lifted up. The two of them stuck together again, ending this slightly long-lasting lovemaking.
Lu Dongping calmed down, got out of bed quickly, poured water from the kettle and wiped her.
Wen Wan changed direction and curled up into a ball again.
When she was hugged from behind, Lu Dongping leaned close to her ear and asked, "Are you warm now?"
Wen Wan felt so weak that she couldn't move. She shrank to the side and felt his chest was as hot as a furnace.
When she fell asleep, she was still thinking that doing this would really make her warm.
I don’t know if it was because Lu Dongping lifted the quilt for a moment when he was wiping the dirt off her body last night, causing a draft, but Wen Wan felt a little uncomfortable when she woke up in the morning. She felt dizzy and her throat was a little itchy.
At noon, I started coughing and my nose was running uncontrollably. When I woke up in the morning, I wore long-sleeved shirt and long pants, socks and leather shoes, but I was still shivering from the cold.
As soon as school was over, students and teachers left one after another, and she lay on the table in the office without moving.
Lu Donglin came out of the classroom and stopped at the corner of the eaves. He used the water from the eaves to rinse his straw sandals. After rinsing his feet thoroughly, he walked into the office.
On rainy days, Lu Dongping would bring them food when he went to the commune, so that they wouldn't have to go back and forth in the rain at noon.
All the teachers in the office had left, and Wen Wan lay on the table.
"Sister-in-law!" he shouted at the door.
The person lying there didn't move.
"Teacher Wen?" He walked into the room and stood in front of the table and called again.
Wen Wan then looked up listlessly, her eyes bloodshot as if she had not slept all night, and her fair face had two blushes that were rarely seen.
She took out the lunch box from the drawer and gave it to Lu Donglin: "Go heat up the food yourself. I feel a little dizzy, so I need to lie down for a while."
Lu Donglin took the lunch box and glanced at her: "Sister-in-law, what's wrong with you? Did you not sleep well last night or did you catch a cold and have a high fever?"
Didn't sleep well? No, she slept well. She wiped her nose with a handkerchief and touched her forehead. It was warm, but: "No, it's not hot. Go and heat up the food. I'll just lie down for a while."
All right!
Lu Donglin took his lunch box and left the office and went to the shed at the school gate.
There was not much water left in the big bucket, so he went back to the office and weighed the two kettles. One was empty. Since he had to light a fire anyway, he might as well boil some water first.
Wen Wan heard the noise and looked up at him: "What's wrong? Is there no hot water?" As she said that, she twisted her nose with a handkerchief and sniffed twice. She felt as if there were bugs crawling inside and it was very itchy.
Lu Donglin said, "No, there's still a pot. I just wanted to see if there was any boiling water. I have to light a fire anyway, so if there isn't any, I can boil some water at once to avoid wasting a match later."
Wen Wan nodded, then frowned slightly, as if something wanted to come out but couldn't. After holding it in for a long time, she finally sneezed, several times in a row, with tears streaming down her face.
She really did have a cold, which was a bit troublesome. She had been frail as a child, so her family had always been very careful with her, worried she'd get too cold, too hot, or too malnourished. She'd been quite good, rarely getting sick. Unexpectedly, she'd caught a cold in this cool autumn weather. She wasn't taking it lightly and planned to go to the clinic to get some medicine.
I went to check next door and found that the door of the health room was not open.
I didn't notice it this morning. I don't know if the doctor in the clinic went back to eat or was busy at home and didn't come today.
In the morning, we had porridge and pancakes, but Lu Dongping only gave us pancakes and vegetables.
Wen Wan had no appetite and found it difficult to finish half a pancake.
Then he took the teacup and made some milk powder, and asked Lu Donglin: "Do you want to drink it?"
Lu Donglin sniffed, looking at her listless appearance, thinking that she had only eaten so little, he shook his head decisively: "No, you drink it, I'll just drink some boiled water after finishing the cake, my stomach has no room left."
Wen Wan held the teacup and took a sip. It seemed that the milk powder was not tasty either, with a fishy smell.
In the afternoon, I felt even worse, coughing and sneezing. I barely managed to attend two classes and assigned homework for the students to study on their own.
Seeing the door of the clinic open, she went over. She didn't want to get an injection, and she didn't want to swallow a big bowl of black Chinese medicine. As school was about to end, she bought some analgin and put it in her pocket.
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