Chapter 35: Autumn courtyard is busy with warming up, winter clothes are prepared
As autumn deepened, the old locust tree in the courtyard littered the ground with golden dust. Little Swallow squatted by the stone mill in the corner, helping Grandma Zhang sort cotton. The snow-white fluff touched the tip of her nose, like a bee that had just stolen honey. She wore a ginger-colored jacket with tiny chrysanthemums embroidered on the cuffs. The red silk ribbon at the end of her braid swayed gently as she sorted cotton, humming a Jiangnan tune.
"Sister Xiaoyanzi, why does this cotton always stick to my hands?" Xiaodouzi held up his little hands covered with cotton wool, wrinkled his round face, and had a white spot on the tip of his nose, which made everyone laugh.
Little Swallow put down the cotton in her hand and pinched his cheek. "Silly boy, cotton likes clean hands. You have to handle it gently." She picked up a small handful of cotton to demonstrate, and her fingertips deftly picked out the impurities. "See, this way it will be obedient."
Liu Hong carried out a pile of old cotton-padded clothes from the house and put them on the stone table. Seeing Xiaoyanzi teaching the children to choose cotton, her eyes curved into crescents: "You must have a way. These children are usually very naughty and will just listen to you." She was wearing a blue-gray cloth jacket today. The cuffs were frayed, but they were washed clean. She held a thick needle in her hand and was about to mend the cotton-padded clothes.
"Of course! I'm the king of the children!" Xiaoyanzi raised her chin proudly, then leaned closer to Liu Hong and whispered, "Sister Hong, I asked the tailor in the mansion to make a few new cotton-padded clothes, stuffed with cotton. I'll have Brother Xiao Jian deliver them later to give to grandpa and grandma to wear during the winter."
Liu Hong paused with her needle, her eyes suddenly reddening. She turned her head away and wiped her eyes, "You little girl, you always cause us trouble..." Before she could finish her words, her voice choked with sobs. The elderly in the compound always lacked cotton-padded clothes in winter. In previous years, they had to make do with patched-up old clothes. This year, with Xiaoyanzi's help, they could finally spend the winter warmly.
"What are you talking about!" Xiaoyanzi patted her arm, and the cotton wool fell on their lapels. "We are brothers and sisters. Your business is my business. Besides, my mother heard that the grandparents in the compound are weak, so she asked the kitchen to make a nourishing soup. I'll have the servants bring it over later to nourish everyone."
As he spoke, Liu Qing came in carrying a bundle of firewood. Sweat was dripping from his forehead, and his dark face was stained with charcoal ash. He leaned the firewood against the wall and wiped his face with a towel hanging from the clothesline. "Shopkeeper Wang from East Street is really kind. Seeing that our pancakes are selling well, he specially gave us this bundle of pine wood, saying it would keep us warm." He glanced at the cotton and cotton clothes on the stone table, and his eyes lit up. "Are you going to make new cotton clothes?"
"Yes, thanks to Xiaoyanzi." Liu Hong picked up a cotton-padded jacket that was almost finished and gestured, "Look at the stitches here, they're much neater than mine, aren't they?"
Liu Qing leaned over to take a look. Sure enough, the cotton-padded jacket had fine stitching and the wadding was evenly spread. He scratched his head and smiled at Xiaoyanzi, "You're really attentive. I'm clumsy and can only chop wood and fetch water." As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and pulled out an oil-paper package from his bosom. Inside was a few pieces of malt sugar. "I bought these for the kids. They're new from the East Street candy store. They're really sweet."
"Wow! It's malt sugar!" The children immediately gathered around. Xiaodouzi stood on tiptoe to reach the oil-paper bag, but Liuhong smiled and patted the back of her hand: "Line up! One piece each, and no snatching!"
Little Swallow watched the children smile with smiles as they held their malt sugar, her heart warmed. Sunlight streamed through the gaps between the locust leaves, casting a faint golden glow on the cotton wool. Smoke curled from the chimneys in the courtyard, a blend of the delicate fragrance of pine wood and the sweet aroma of malt sugar, more comforting than the delicate incense of the Fang family.
"By the way, Brother Liu Qing," Xiao Yanzi suddenly remembered something and took out a piece of paper from her pocket, "I asked Brother Xiao Jian to draw a simple coal stove. Can you make a few according to it? Burning coal is easier than burning wood, and it's warmer. You can put it in the house to keep warm in the winter."
Liu Qing took the note and looked at the crooked lines on it very seriously, gesturing with his fingers on the drawing: "It's doable! It's not difficult, just find a coppersmith to make it, it's just coal..." He paused, coal is much more expensive than firewood.
"Don't worry about the coal." Xiaoyanzi saw his concern and patted her chest, saying, "I've already asked the servants to order some. It will be delivered in a few days. I guarantee it'll be enough for the compound to get through the winter." Not wanting to burden them, she added, "Consider it my early New Year's gift to everyone!"
Liu Hong dropped the cotton-padded jacket she had just sewn onto the stone table. She took Xiaoyanzi's hand, her palm rough but warm. "Xiaoyanzi, you've been so good to us. We don't know how to repay you."
"What's the reward?" Xiaoyanzi held her hand in return, her eyes curved with a smile, "When you make a lot of money, just treat me to pancakes for a year! Oh, and I want them with two eggs!"
"No problem! Not to mention one year, even a lifetime!" Liu Qing laughed heartily, revealing two rows of white teeth on his dark face, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were filled with smiles.
Xiao Jian walked into the courtyard carrying a food box. He was dressed in a long blue cloth gown, and stood tall and straight. Seeing the lively atmosphere in the courtyard, a smile played on his face. "Mother sent me some Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup to nourish Grandpa and Grandma." He opened the food box, and the sweet aroma immediately filled the air. "I also brought some fabric. Sister Liu Hong can make new smocks for the children."
"Brother Xiao Jian, you are so polite!" Liu Hong hurried forward to take the food box. When her fingertips touched the warm wall of the bowl, her heart felt even warmer.
Grandma Zhang came over with a cane and tremblingly took Xiaoyanzi's hand: "My good child, I'm really sorry for you always worrying about us old bones." The old woman's hands were full of wrinkles, but she held her hand tightly, her eyes full of love.
"Grandma Zhang, what are you talking about?" Xiaoyanzi helped the old woman sit down and served her a bowl of Tremella soup. "My mother said that respecting the elderly and loving the young is our duty. Just treat me as your own granddaughter."
Sunlight streamed into the courtyard. Children laughed and played around a bowl of malt sugar. Liu Qing chopped wood, the wood crackling. Liu Hong sat on a stone bench sewing a cotton-padded jacket, her needle gleaming in the sunlight. Xiao Jian helped Grandma Zhang cool the soup. The locust leaves rustled, as if humming a warm ballad.
Little Swallow looked at this lively and peaceful scene, and her heart suddenly softened. In her previous life, she had been displaced and had never known such warmth. In this life, it was wonderful to have family to protect her, friends to keep her company, and the everyday life of the city to rely on. She quietly clenched the jade pendant around her waist. It was the "Yi" jade pendant given to her by Madam Fang when they became sworn brothers. The warm jade pressed against her heart, as warm as the autumn sunshine.
The smoke from the courtyard rose higher and higher, mingling with the sweet fragrance and the scent of pine, spreading under the autumn sky. This place didn't have the exquisite elegance of the Fang family, but it had the most down-to-earth human life, and the warmth that she would fight to protect.
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