Feeling refreshed in the morning, Gu Mingyue, Xia Qinghe, and Lin Hui walked side by side toward the supply and marketing cooperative. As soon as they stepped through the gate, they spotted a familiar figure behind the fabric counter.
"Sister-in-law Xiulan, are you busy?" Gu Mingyue greeted her with a smile.
Zhao Xiulan, who was arranging fabrics, looked up and immediately smiled: "It's Mingyue and Qinghe. What brings you here today?"
She deftly put down the ruler in her hand, her gaze falling on Lin Hui with gentle curiosity.
"This is Lin Hui, who just moved into our family compound. She is also a military spouse."
Gu Mingyue took Lin Hui's hand and introduced her with a smile, "Lin Hui, this is Sister-in-law Zhao Xiulan. She works in the fabric section of the supply and marketing cooperative. People in our compound love to go to her when buying fabric. Not only is she quick and efficient, but she can also help advise on the quality of the fabric."
Lin Hui quickly smiled and nodded, "Hello, sister-in-law. I'll be troubling you a lot more when it comes to getting fabric in the future."
Zhao Xiulan waved her hand and replied warmly, "Don't mention it, we're all family. What kind of fabric would you like to see today? We just received a batch of corduroy these past two days. It's thick and durable, perfect for making clothes for the children."
As she spoke, she pulled out several rolls of fabric from the shelf and spread them on the counter. Gu Mingyue and Xia Qinghe went over to help Lin Hui choose.
With Gu Mingyue and Zhao Xiulan, two experts, around, Xia Qinghe wasn't worried at all. As long as they said it was good, she would buy it.
After shopping, Gu Mingyue returned home, folded the fabric she had just bought and put it in the wardrobe. She turned around and rummaged through the wooden box containing scraps of fabric. The box was almost empty, with cotton wadding mixed with a few small pieces of fabric, which made her sigh helplessly.
I recently made patchwork dolls and aprons for the children, and I've already used up all the scraps of fabric I had saved up.
"Going to buy new cloth and cut scraps again is both expensive and laborious, let's hold off for now." She muttered to the empty box, and just as she was about to close the lid, she heard Xia Qinghe's voice coming from the courtyard gate.
"Mingyue, are you home?" Xia Qinghe walked in carrying a bamboo basket. She saw Mingyue looking at the box with a worried expression, and immediately understood what was going on when she peeked in.
"Have you run out of fabric scraps? What a coincidence, I have a pile of them on top of my wardrobe. They're all leftovers from making clothes before, some big and some small. Come with me and pick some out."
Gu Mingyue's eyes lit up, and she quickly followed Xia Qinghe out the door.
Just as they reached the courtyard gate, they ran into Lin Hui, who was holding Niannian. Hearing that Gu Mingyue needed scraps of fabric, Lin Hui smiled and said, "I also have some leftover scraps from cutting new fabric. The patterns are quite nice. I'll bring them over to you later."
Before long, Xia Qinghe's bamboo basket was filled with scraps of cloth of various colors, and Lin Hui also came over carrying a cloth bag.
The three of them sat in the courtyard, spreading the scraps of cloth on the table and picking through them.
Looking at the pile of fabric pieces in front of her, which resembled a small mountain, Gu Mingyue smiled and said, "That's great! Not only do we not need to buy new fabric, but we can also assemble more little toys for the children."
Lin Hui sat on a small stool, holding a needle and thread in her hand and doing needlework. Her fingertips followed the colorful thread as it rose and fell, but her eyes unconsciously drifted to the lively scene in the courtyard.
Niannian and Yangyang were squatting in the corner, piecing together small cloth dolls with scraps of cloth given to them by Gu Mingyue. The two children handed each other a piece of cloth and pulled a string, their laughter ringing out.
Seeing that her stitches were slow, Gu Mingyue laughed and teased, "Was I too rough in teaching you? You have to learn well. Once you've mastered it, we'll embroider a cloth tiger for all the children."
Lin Hui quickly snapped out of her daze, lowered her head and pursed her lips, but paused in her hand as she held the needle.
No one knew what thoughts were churning in her mind at that moment.
Previously, in the military family compound in a big city, because of her poor family conditions, she was always secretly ostracized by other family members, and Niannian was also isolated, only able to hide in the room to play.
Seeing that she was depressed all day, her husband submitted a transfer application without discussing it with her, saying that even if she had to go to a remote island, he couldn't let his wife and daughter suffer this injustice.
She was anxious the whole way there, always worried that things would be the same no matter where she went.
Right now, Gu Mingyue is bending down to gently straighten the crooked thread she's embroidering, her fingertips warm to the touch.
Xia Qinghe brought over freshly brewed tea and smiled as she told her to take a rest.
Even Aunt Qin stuffed the brightest ball of silk thread into her hand, saying it would be perfect for Niannian to embroider clothes.
She quietly clenched the needle and thread in her hand, and suddenly felt relieved.
Although this island is remote, it's much warmer than that bustling family compound in the city.
Looking at the pile of scraps of cloth on the table, Gu Mingyue suddenly had a brilliant idea: "Why don't we make a few small beanbags for the children to play with?"
Xia Qinghe and Lin Hui were both delighted to hear this, and the three of them immediately divided up the tasks.
Gu Mingyue looked for needles and thread, Xia Qinghe cut out pieces of cloth, and Lin Hui took out the beans she had brought from home to use as stuffing for beanbags.
In no time, several brightly colored scraps of cloth were sewn into neat little sandbags.
The container of beans was just the right amount; it felt heavy in my hand but not uncomfortable.
Gu Mingyue handed a sandbag to Niannian: "Here, try to catch it."
Niannian gripped the sandbag, swung her little arm with force, and the sandbag drew a shallow arc in the air before landing right in Gu Mingyue's hand.
Xia Qinghe also picked up a sandbag and threw it over. The three of them tossed and caught it, their laughter echoing in the courtyard.
Hearing the noise, Chengcheng from next door peeked out from behind the courtyard wall, his eyes fixed on the sandbag.
"Chengcheng, come quick!" Gu Mingyue waved to him, and the little boy immediately ran over.
Four sandbags flew around the yard. Niannian chased after them, while Yangyang stood on tiptoe to catch them. Occasionally, he would miss and the sandbags would roll into the grass.
The two children squatted down together to search, their little faces turning red.
Gu Mingyue and Lin Hui sat on the bench, watching the children run around happily. Xia Qinghe occasionally picked up the sandbags that had fallen to the ground, muttering, "Run slowly, don't fall."
-------
A month passed quietly.
In the first few days after Lu Lin went on his mission, Gu Mingyue always made it a habit to go to bed and look at the wooden chair where he usually sat.
Later, I gradually got used to it. During the day, I was busy doing needlework and helping the neighbors. At night, I wrote letters to Lu Lin by lamplight. The letters were full of everyday things, which turned my longing into peace.
This is how military wives live; they hide their worries in the mundane details of daily life.
The wind on the island has been getting cooler these past few days, and there's a layer of dew on the outside when I wake up in the morning.
Gu Mingyue felt her nose was blocked as soon as she opened her eyes this morning. She sniffed twice but still couldn't breathe, and her throat felt tight.
She touched her forehead and didn't feel it was hot, but she still didn't dare to be careless.
After all, Lu Lin wasn't around, so she had to take good care of her health.
After a quick wash, she tidied the table and then took out a light coat from the closet and put it on.
Just as she stepped out of the residential compound gate, she bumped into Aunt Qin, who was carrying a vegetable basket. Aunt Qin immediately noticed that she looked unwell and reached out to touch her forehead: "Why do you look so pale? Did you catch a cold?"
Gu Mingyue smiled and said, "I just have a stuffy nose and I'm planning to go to the hospital to get it checked out."
Sister-in-law Qin immediately slung the vegetable basket over her arm, took out a cloth bag from it, and handed it to her: "This is some ginger I just bought. Go back, slice a couple of pieces, boil it in water, and drink it. It's more effective than medicine!"
He then took her hand and urged her, "Go home and lie down as soon as you finish your doctor's appointment. Don't push yourself to do any work. I'll bring you a bowl of hot soup at noon."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
