The summer vacation passed in the blink of an eye. The day before leaving, Jiang Dani brought over the cheongsam that she had finally finished embroidering.
Jiang Yiliu told her that the person he wanted to send clothes to was an old lady in her seventies, who was of noble status and had a noble and gentle temperament. Jiang Dani didn't know why her brother wanted to send clothes to such an old lady, but since her brother asked her to do so, she would of course make the clothes the best.
"I specially made the collar of this cheongsam into a high round collar. The lines of the lapels of this style of cheongsam are smooth and flowing, which is suitable for older ladies." Jiang Dani was afraid that her work was not good enough and would ruin her brother's business, so she took advantage of her free time to discuss the making of it with Grandma Bai, her embroidery master.
When Bai Yunya was young, she worked as an embroiderer in a wealthy family. She knew better than Jiang Dani what kind of clothes were suitable for the old ladies in wealthy families.
By the way, Bai Yunya was rehabilitated at the beginning of this year. She is no longer a woman sweeping the toilets in the textile factory. However, she has no relatives or children. Even after being rehabilitated, her life has not changed much. She lives in her own shabby house. Her only expectation every day is that Dani will bring Niuniu to her home to sit, talk with her, and do some embroidery.
"Because there is no specific size, I specially leave a section inside when I cut the clothes. If you think the clothes are too small, just find an experienced tailor to make them wider. If they are too big, they can be tightened. This job can be done by ordinary tailors."
Jiang Dani looked at the cheongsam in front of her and still felt a little inferior. After all, according to her brother, the old lady was not an ordinary person. Would she like the clothes she made? If it was not made well, would it cause trouble for her brother?
Jiang Yiliu didn't notice his elder sister's trepidation, all eyes were attracted by the cheongsam in front of him. The moon-white cheongsam outlined the curve of the waist and hips, and the peony pattern winding down the chest was completely blooming at the hem of the skirt. The peonies bloomed in different postures, graceful and elegant. The gorgeous embroidery and the gentle moon-white fabric strangely blended these two temperaments, which did not conflict, but became more attractive.
"Did you come up with this knotty idea, big sister?"
Jiang Yilu looked at the buttons on the cheongsam and found that they were something he had never seen before, so he asked curiously.
"This is a copper wire buckle. Wrap the copper wire with cloth and twist it into the shape you want." Jiang Dani explained to her brother that this is also a kind of knotting. In order to make it distinctive, she specially used this knotting method and twisted it into the shape of a peony flower, which is exquisite and eye-catching.
"marvelous."
Jiang Yilu couldn't help but admire his elder sister's ingenuity. He might have been a little nervous before, but when he saw the ready-made garment in his hand, the little uncertainty in his heart disappeared.
With its exquisite and gorgeous embroidery and fitted design, Jiang Yilu is confident that Grandma Bai will like the cheongsam made by her elder sister.
"What are the two siblings whispering about in the house?" Old Lady Miao shouted from outside the house, "Come out, the food is getting cold."
"Sister, please go out first. I'll come out after I put the clothes away." Folded cheongsams are prone to creases, and Jiang Yilu was also worried that putting the cheongsam in the suitcase would accidentally scratch the embroidery on the clothes. She took the clothes and said to her elder sister, pretending to fold clothes.
"good."
Sister Jiang didn't doubt it, and asked him to hurry up, and went out. After the elder sister left, Jiang Yilu carefully put the cheongsam into the space and hung it up neatly.
After finishing today’s dinner, Jiang Yilu and his sister would leave home again with a few friends from the same village early the next morning.
That night, Old Mrs. Miao mysteriously called Jiang Yilu into her room, where his father Jiang Dahai was also.
Jiang Dahai looked a little embarrassed. After all, his parents didn't know that Xiaobao had already known that they were going to give money to buy a house, and they wanted to give Xiaobao a surprise.
"Good boy."
Old Mrs. Miao touched her little grandson's head curiously. Thinking that her beloved grandson was going to leave the next day, but he was still in front of her, she began to miss him.
"Your grandfather and I have worked hard all our lives, and this family fortune is accumulated for you. You are the heir of our Jiang family, and the future of our Jiang family depends on you." In the eyes of the old lady, once her granddaughter gets married, she will belong to someone else's family. The Jiang family has only three children in total, and Xiaobao is the only child of the eldest wife. He is the apple of the old lady's eye and the apple of her eye.
Old Mrs. Miao said this to her grandson. Looking at her handsome and steady little grandson, she felt satisfied and proud.
Her little grandson was admitted to university at a young age, and his future is bright. As a grandmother, she made all the preparations for her grandson before he grew up, so that his future will be smooth.
The old lady's hands were a little rough when she touched his face, and her dry and cracked skin stung his delicate face like thorns. Jiang Yilu lowered his eyes. No matter what, in this life, the care and love of the two old people in front of him were real. Although this might also be due to the fact that he was a boy in this life, Jiang Yilu could not ignore this real effort.
"Okay, why are you saying all this to Xiaobao? Are you afraid that the child will not be filial to you in the future?" Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at his old wife. He kept on talking but never talked about serious matters.
"Hmph, just go ahead and be jealous when I talk to Guaibao." Old Mrs. Miao spat at her old man, turned around and took out the jewelry box from the locked box.
She boasted to her grandson again about how she had fought her way out of the siege of her brothers and sisters and won the brocade box and the recipe. Finally, she got to the point of why she had called her grandson today.
"I originally wanted your dad to bring this five thousand yuan with you when you went to the capital, but now there are so many things to do in the fields and you can't take time off. You can only keep the money by yourself."
Plans cannot keep up with changes. There is so much work to do in the fields, and Jiang Dahai is a strong laborer in the team. If he takes a leave for three or five days now, I'm afraid the villagers will complain.
After thinking about it, Old Mrs. Miao was still a little worried. What if the money was stolen or robbed? This was the family's savings over the years. However, Jiang Cheng felt that this was also a training for his grandson, so he made up his mind and let Jiang Yilu take the money on his way.
As long as you hide carefully, there are so many children from the same village along the way, and you don’t have to worry about being robbed. Besides, who would suspect that among a group of children in their teens and twenties, one of them would carry so much money.
Even though Mrs. Miao was extremely worried, she still followed her husband's instructions, called her grandson over and told him about it.
"Why is there so much money? What do I need it for?"
Jiang Yi stayed there, looking surprised and curious. Jiang Dahai's mouth twitched. He looked at his son who was pretending to be so real, and didn't know what expression to make. Why didn't he realize that the boy was such a good actor before?
As expected, the old lady had no doubts. Even the astute Jiang Cheng did not realize that his grandson had already known about buying a house. He explained his plan to Jiang Yilu.
"Didn't you say that the price of this house will go up sooner or later? Your grandfather and I have been thinking about it for several nights. When you start working, you will definitely be like your elder sister and won't be able to get a house right away. But you will be eighteen or nineteen when you graduate, and you will be old enough to get married. How can you get married and raise children without a house? Your grandfather and I have saved a lot of money over the years, so we want to buy a bigger house in one go."
The old lady has begun to worry about her grandson's marriage. Her grandson is so promising, he naturally cannot look for a partner with the girls in the village. If he wants to find a partner, he should find one from the city who has graduated from college.
"There should be quite a few girls in your school, right? You can start looking for some. If you like a girl, bring her back to show grandpa and grandma, and let grandma help you make the decision."
Old Mrs. Miao warned her grandson, fearing that he would not be able to find a wife.
"Grandma." Jiang Yilu felt a little ashamed, thinking about how in his previous life he had taken care of his niece Meiling alone, fearing that she would fall in love too early in the open country of the United States, and he had to eliminate any suspicious signs. Now he was only fourteen years old, but his grandmother was urging him to find a partner. Times really changed.
"The girls in my school are older than me, and my most important thing now is studying, so I don't have time to find a partner." Jiang Yiliu explained helplessly, but he was right. There was no one younger than him in Huaqing's freshmen class. He was the youngest student in Huaqing's history. Taking advantage of this, most of the students and teachers treated him better, taking care of him like a junior.
"Don't listen to your grandma, Xiaobao. A good man should get married first and then start a career. If a man has ability, he won't have to worry about not finding a wife." Jiang Cheng was very happy to hear his grandson's words. Of course, the most important thing for a scholar is to study. With his grandson's ability, why would he worry about not having a wife? I just like to worry about things that are unnecessary. Fortunately, Xiaobao knows what's going on.
"Hmph, I don't believe you won't be anxious when you can't hold your great-grandson." As they get older, the old couple likes to bicker. In the past, Old Lady Miao would never talk to Jiang Cheng like this and she always respected him.
“However, that’s also because Xiaobao is capable. There is no child in the whole country who can compare to him. A 14-year-old college student would have been the incarnation of Wenquxing in the past.” Old Mrs. Miao looked at her grandson in front of her with curiosity and couldn’t get enough of looking at him.
Jiang Cheng sat cross-legged on the kang, and couldn't help but straighten his back as he listened to his old wife's words, feeling proud of it.
Such a good grandson belongs to their Jiang family.
"Go get the clothes you're going to wear tomorrow and I'll sew a secret pocket for you to hide the money inside." Old Mrs. Miao was still a little worried and said to her grandson, "You can't put all the money in one place. I'll help you hide it in a few more places, including your clothes, pants, shoes, and packages."
Old Mrs. Miao thought it over and decided that this method was correct. Jiang Yilu took the clothes he would wear tomorrow and came to the old couple's room. He would definitely put all the money in the space by then, but in order not to make the old lady worry too much, he couldn't refuse.
Old Mrs. Miao took the clothes and waved to Jiang Yilu and her son on the kang: "Okay, go back to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow."
Jiang Dahai and his son were about to leave, but Old Lady Miao stopped them with some concern: "Don't tell anyone about this, especially you." Old Lady Miao pointed at her precious grandson, and said with a bit of regret: "Grandma knows you like your sisters, but this money was saved by grandpa and your grandma with great difficulty. You can't give it away just because your eldest sister is short of money to buy a house."
"Other girls know how to bring money home, but we have these money-losing girls who keep losing money." Old Mrs. Miao lowered her voice for the second half of the sentence, so that only she could hear it clearly. To be honest, she still felt a little uncomfortable about sending her granddaughters to college. It was only after the old man persuaded her and her grandson persuaded her that she reluctantly agreed.
The tuition and living expenses can be recouped from the betrothal gift in the future. If this money is spent, it would be a great loss.
Looking at the look in Old Lady Miao's eyes, Jiang Dahai felt a little guilty for a moment. After all, if it weren't for Dani's persuasion, the money would have really been distributed.
"Grandma, don't worry. I will get on the train early tomorrow morning. Dad is watching over me." Jiang Yilu said calmly. Although Jiang Dahai would not accompany him to the capital, he would follow Mo Dashuan to send them to the county bus station.
"Yeah." Old Mrs. Miao responded. She still trusted her son. After all, Jiang Dahai, like her, loved his son the most and would not use his own family assets to support his daughter.
"Okay, let's all go to bed."
Old Man Jiang urged them a few times, and finally the two of them escaped from Old Lady Miao's sharp eyes.
Jiang Dahai walked out of the door, wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad has already sent a telegram to your Grandpa Bai. I'll ask him to help you decide. You can use the money to buy a house first. If you have extra money, you can give the two hundred dollars to your sisters."
"If not." Jiang Dahai hesitated, "Dad will find a way for you, just focus on your studies, okay?" Jiang Dahai rubbed his son's head and looked at his son who was almost as tall as himself. He knew that the child was smart, but in the eyes of a father, a child is just a child and he is responsible for his whole life.
"Um."
Jiang Yilu looked at him deeply, wishing that he could have said such words to them sisters in his previous life.
He lowered his eyes. The past was the past, and perhaps he shouldn't dwell on the memories of his past life.
"Got it, Dad. You should go back to bed early too. You have to get up early tomorrow morning." Jiang Yilu smiled at his father. "You are not young anymore. Don't work so hard in the future. My second and third sisters and I will be able to earn money in a few years."
"Hey, Dad knows." Jiang Dahai grinned, rubbing his hands, feeling excited inside, "Dad can still work for a few more years, Dad is still strong." He patted his chest, wanting to show his son how strong he was.
Jiang Yilu didn't say anything and turned back to his room.
Jiang Dahai watched his son enter the house before leaving. When he returned to the room, he was humming a song, obviously in a good mood. His son knew how to care about him, and it seemed that his efforts over the years were not in vain.
******
"Uncle Mo, I saw Sister Xiang Hong and Teacher Rong go to the county town to look at houses a few days ago. Are they planning to live there?" Jiang Yilu always felt that something was wrong with the scene he saw that day. Sitting in the co-seat on the train, he asked Mo Dashuan curiously.
If not, the Mo family could be alerted early.
"Xiang Hong is planning to buy a house in the city?" Jiang Dahai and his son squeezed in the passenger seat, looking a little surprised.
"I don't know anything about the couple." Uncle Mo frowned. Where did his daughter's family get the money? The dowry had been spent on having children. Rong Jing's salary was barely enough to make ends meet. How did they get the money to buy a house? Uncle Mo had never heard his daughter mention it.
He made up his mind to ask his wife to ask his daughter when he got home. He looked at Jiang Yiliu who seemed to have mentioned this topic unintentionally. He knew that the other party definitely did not bring up this matter for no reason. He remembered this favor.
*******
After two days and two nights of travel, the dusty group finally returned to the capital. They all went back to school, and Jiang Yilu and his second and third sisters agreed to visit Grandpa Bai's house after putting away their luggage.
Although Grandpa Bai is almost unmatched in medical skills, he is far behind in life. I don’t know how much dust has accumulated over the days. I have to help Grandpa Bai clean it up.
When Jiang Yilu returned to school, Xia Ai was the only one in the dormitory.
"Here." Jiang Yiliu took out a bunch of large and small jars, which were gifts of thanks to Xia Ai for doing something for him. Xia Ai opened the jar and smelled a strong aroma of sauce, with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"This cheongsam was made by my eldest sister. I just wanted to lend it to Grandma Bai." Jiang Yilu took out the cheongsam he had taken out from the space before entering the dormitory. He repackaged the clothes in the gift box from the space mall. There was no label on the gift box. The plain box was noble and elegant, and there would be no problems found.
Xia Ai took the gift box. Not to mention the clothes inside, he had never seen this box in a big shopping mall in the capital. Xia Ai was a little curious. He didn't believe that Jiang Yiliu had only such a simple request.
Jiang Yilu looked at Xia Ai's distrustful eyes and smiled: "If Grandma Bai is satisfied with what she wears and someone asks where it was made, please help tell her." The only person from the upper class in the capital that Jiang Yilu could find was Grandma Bai.
Xia Ai curled the corners of his mouth imperceptibly. He didn't expect that the person in front of him had a more flexible mind than he imagined and could actually come up with such a trick.
"I can help you find a favor, but my grandmother has very high requirements for the clothes she wears. If she is not satisfied, there is nothing I can do." Xia Ai was telling the truth. He had a very high appreciation level for food, but for women's clothes, he really couldn't tell the difference. For example, his grandmother, who was elegant and generous outside, would spend an hour or two in the room every time she went out for a party. Although she was old, she still had to draw eyebrows and paint lips, and dress up from head to toe. She had dozens of silk scarves of various colors to match different clothes. Many of them looked exactly the same to him, but in the eyes of women, such a small color difference was the difference between heaven and earth.
He didn't know whether the cheongsam that Jiang Yilu took out would catch his grandmother's eye.
"Of course I know that, but I still have confidence in my eldest sister's craftsmanship." Jiang Yilu smiled. If the clothes were just average, he wouldn't dare to send them to Grandma Bai.
"Grandpa Cheng said..." Jiang Yilu pointed to the ceiling.
"The end of the year is almost here."
The two people seemed to be playing a charade. Jiang Yilu understood what he meant. It was the same as in his previous life. The meeting that changed the course of China's development would probably still be held at the old time. Although he had talked so much with Grandpa Cheng in advance, the node of history remained unchanged.
At the end of 1978, the great wave of reform was about to begin.
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