Zhang's mother took the clothes from Mai Miao's hands, looked at the stitches, and praised Lin Lishan, "Look at these stitches, they're really not exaggerated, they look like they were sewn on a sewing machine. We didn't know Jiaojiao was so skilled. We only heard that she could embroider and her stitches looked like the real thing. This child has this ability."
Lin Lishan nodded after seeing it. The craftsmanship was really good. If she hadn't been in confinement after giving birth, she would have wanted Jiaojiao to make another one for her to take back to her grandmother to see. Her Jiaojiao was good at everything.
"Jiaojiao, we're all done. How about you take a look at this extra fabric with big red flowers and make jackets for the two little girls? Cut it into a beautiful shape. Ask your second sister-in-law to sew it. I'll go get the cotton." After saying that, Lin Lishan handed Zhou Jiao a large piece of flowered cloth and went to get the cotton from the box.
Mother Zhang said quickly, "Big sister, keep this for Jiaojiao to make her own clothes in the future, so as not to waste the fabric."
Lin Lishan held a bag of cotton and said with a smile, "It's okay. My daughter Jiaojiao doesn't like to wear such colorful clothes. It's just right for a little girl. While everyone is here, let's see how it turns out."
Zhou Jiao looked at the big red flower with her eyes twitching. She went back and took out a piece of rabbit fur. After thinking about it, she could make three more. Yaya from her eldest sister's family is almost the same size as wheat ears. Since she had already made one, she might as well make an extra set. Girls can wear it during the Chinese New Year. Children's Chinese style stand-up collar and double-breasted cotton jacket can also be worn on ordinary days, which is festive. After making up her mind, Zhou Jiao cut it quickly. She learned the craft from her grandmother, so she didn't feel unfamiliar with it now. After a while, she cut a big one. This was for Mai Miao. She basically didn't need to measure the size. She cut the rabbit fur to match the collar and cuffs, cut the slit at the hem into rounded corners, added two big pockets, and handed it to Lin Juhua, "Second sister-in-law, sew the fur on the collar and cuffs."
Lin Juhua took it with a smile. She had seen something rare last night. If you cut it apart and put it together, wouldn't it be what the dolls in the New Year pictures were wearing?
Zhou Jiao looked at Mai Sui and used scissors to cut it into a children's double-breasted cotton jacket, but without a stand-up collar. Instead, it was changed to a style with a hat. In order to distinguish Mai Sui's and Yaya's, she also changed the pattern on the hat. Mai Sui's hat was cut into rabbit ears, and Yaya's was cut into a flower pattern.
After cutting, she handed it to Lin Juhua, "Second sister-in-law, Mai Sui and Ya Ya are too small, so I didn't add fur. Rabbit hair tends to shed, which is not good for the children. Mai Miao is a little big, so she won't pluck it off by herself."
Lin Juhua added another layer of cotton and quickly finished sewing it. She unfolded it for everyone to see. It was really beautiful. Now it still lacked the opening. Looking back, she saw Jiaojiao already making the buttons. She saw her using thick red wool yarn and twisting it quickly with two pairs of fingers, turning it into a flower-like button. Lin Juhua opened her mouth wide, "Mom, look at Jiaojiao's fingers, look at the buttons, they are so beautiful. They are different from the ones we made."
Zhou Jiao smiled and said, "This is the southern style, perfect for a little girl. Here we all have straight buttons, and those buttons are universal and similar, just with different patterns."
Huang Cuilan smiled and said to everyone, "Jiaojiao's work should be shown to Qingyan's wife."
After saying this, even Lin Lishan burst into laughter. She knew that the cloth woven by Qingyan's wife could not be worn. It would burst if she put too much effort into it. Not to mention these delicate works.
In just a moment, Zhou Jiao had buttoned up the jacket, took Mai Miao's jacket, and sewed it up directly with a needle. She looked at it, adjusted a few stitches with the needle, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Maimiao, try it on and see if you like it."
Mai Miao and Mai Sui had been staring at the clothes beside her for a long time, their faces flushed with excitement. They didn't say anything, just nodded vigorously. Zhang's mother took the clothes and helped them change. Her eyes suddenly lit up, "Oh, my granddaughter is so beautiful. She can wear this dress when she visits relatives during the New Year. Don't ruin it."
"Grandma, I'm going to the main room to show it to my dad. Grandma, I won't get it dirty." Mai Miao said happily. His face was red with excitement and matched with the big red flowered jacket, he looked really festive.
Mother Zhang waved her hand and said with a smile, "Go, go, be careful not to fall." Before she finished speaking, Mai Miao ran away.
Mai Sui tugged at the corner of Zhou Jiao's clothes, lowering his head silently. Zhou Jiao's heart softened when she saw this, and she comforted him, "Your mother will refill the cotton soon. Auntie, hurry up and do it for you. You can show it to your father later. There's no rush."
Zhang's mother smiled and shook her head. It was Jiaojiao who had a good temper and a soft disposition, and couldn't bear to see the little girl sad. She was barely taller than the table, yet she loved beauty.
Fortunately, Lin Juhua's craftsmanship was not something she boasted about lightly; she was very fast. After sewing, she handed it directly to Zhou Jiao, who had just looked at it and needed some revisions, so she just roughly sewed it on. Zhou Jiao took the clothes, sewed on the buttons, and sewed the edges of the hat. She unfolded it to examine it, and made a few adjustments before handing it to Zhang's mother to put on.
The little girl couldn't speak clearly. After everyone praised her, she ran to the main hall. Zhang's mother hurried to catch up with her, saying, "Slow down, it won't look good if you fall."
Lin Lishan smiled and sighed, "Such a young child knows how to love beauty, how smart."
After a while, Xizi and the others came running in, shouting, "Aunt, we want some too. Please make them for us too. I want the tiger ones, not the flower ones."
"I want the big yellow dog. Aunt, please remember to make it for me. I like the big yellow dog."
Xizi whispered, "Don't shout, Ping'an is asleep, whoever shouts will be asleep."
Zhou Jiao quickly stopped her two sisters-in-law and told them not to scold the children. They were all grown up, and who wouldn't like to wear new clothes? She didn't care about these things. As long as she could leave happy memories for the children, she didn't mind working hard.
"Okay, auntie has heard everything. Auntie promised you. But I can't make it now. To compensate you, auntie will give you a choice. Do you want a small military uniform like grandpa's, or one like Mai Miao with a tiger puppy?" She had overheard these little guys talking about it and envied her father's military uniform.
Xizi shook her head and said, "Aunt, I don't want it anymore. I'm older now and have clothes to wear."
Shitou was the youngest. He looked at his eldest brother, then at his two younger brothers. He didn't know what to say and was very anxious.
Zhou Jiao smiled and said to Xizi, "Now that you are grown up, your aunt has decided to wear a small military uniform so that you can look impressive when you go to school. Once you put on the uniform, you must study hard." After saying that, Xizi nodded seriously.
He said to Xiao Zuoyou and Shitou, "Have you thought it through? Do you want to go back to bed and think about it, and tell Auntie tomorrow?"
The two little boys looked at each other with a smile and said in unison: "I want a small military uniform too, so I can wear it to catch bad guys."
"You can wear your little military uniform, but as for catching bad guys, you're still young. You can only do that when you grow up to be as tall as your daddy. Auntie tells you that if you see a bad guy, you should secretly tell an adult and hide. Why? Because if the bad guy has a knife or a gun hidden, you'll be in danger. When you grow up and are as powerful as your daddy, you can catch bad guys, understand?"
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