Ge Sanlin didn't have time to pull Grandma Ge back. He hurriedly went to explain to Da Lingzi. Da Lingzi was really shocked when she saw this scene and heard what Grandma Ge had said. When she looked at Ge Sanlin, she ran away without even thinking.
Ge Sanlin followed and ran out. He hadn't gone far when he grabbed Da Lingzi's arm from behind and pulled her over. Ge Sanlin glanced at the passersby in the village and then took Da Lingzi directly into his house.
Da Lingzi's slightly plump figure, her hair damp with sweat from running, had all tangled and frozen in Ge Sanlin's room; it was cold to the touch. Since Lu Xiaomei left, Ge Sanlin had been staying at Da Lingzi's house.
They'd never actually lived in their own house, and there was no firewood left. Ge Sanlin stood in the east room, holding Da Lingzi. The empty room was even colder for Da Lingzi, but Ge Sanlin wouldn't let go. He said in a deep voice, "Father and Mother's affairs have nothing to do with us. We can live here or there after we get married, it's fine."
"If you give me a few sons, how wonderful it would be for our family to live a harmonious and happy life."
Da Lingzi spat at Ge Sanlin twice: "Who's going to give you a son?" Then she started to wriggle.
Da Lingzi responded to Ge Sanlin on the surface, but she had her own plans in mind. Da Lingzi did not expect the Ge family's background to be so complicated... She wanted to separate from Ge Sanlin, and she thought of Lu Xiaomei and Xiaoyue's words, which made her feel dazed.
After watching Ge Sanlin leave, Ge Ersao and Xiao Sunshi silently led Ge Daming out the door, while Ge Erlin just stood there on the ground, hugging Old Madam Ge and crying.
Grandma Ge helped Ge Erlin up from the ground, and the two sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed) together.
Old Man Ge grabbed his pipe and started slapping Ge Erlin all over, head and buttocks alike, yelling, "You unfilial son, you unfilial son!" His voice trembled, and two streams of tears streamed down his face.
Ge Erlin covered his head: "That proves I am Dad's biological son."
One sentence made Old Man Ge so angry that he fainted on the ground. Ge Erlin hurriedly carried Old Man Ge to the kang (a heated brick bed), calling out to him and pinching his philtrum to wake him up.
With his eyes wide open and drool drooling, he could only gesture and couldn't speak. Only then did Grandma Ge realize what was happening and hurriedly said, "Quickly, go and fetch a doctor."
He then said to Ge Erping, who was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), "Go and invite your eldest brother and third brother over quickly."
...
In the evening, Xiaoyue saw that Lu Xiaomei had fallen asleep again, so she went to the west room. Li Shi's clothes had already been handed to Li Qianqian for inspection. She looked them over thoroughly, inside and out, and finally Li Qianqian put the clothes in the northeast corner.
He asked, "Sister-in-law Ge, your handiwork is excellent. Will you continue sewing?"
Li said, "Yes, yes, there's nothing to do in the dead of winter. If there's work to do, and money to be earned, I'll do it."
Li Qianqian continued, "Then sew the same size as the ones you submitted. I've already cut out yours; I still need to sew five more. Are you going to take them home to make, or come here to have them made?"
Xiaoyue sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and sewed clothes for Chunyue.
Ms. Li hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll just cook it at home; it'll save time."
Li Qianqian was just about to give the remaining five sets of clothes, which she had cut out, to Li Shi.
Xiaoyue stopped her for a moment, then smiled and said to Li, "Sister-in-law, let me give you two sets first. After you finish making the two sets and get paid, I'll give you the remaining three sets."
Xiaoyue gave Li another fifty coins: "These are the coins for the finished clothes."
When Li received the copper coin, her eyes lit up, and she quickly thanked Xiaoyue.
Ge Liuzhi had just finished making some clothes for Shuiyue when Xiaoyue looked at her gently and said, "Take the rest home and make them with your mother. By the time your mother has finished two sets, you'll have finished one set too."
Ge Liuzhi nodded to Xiaoyue.
After seeing Li off, Xiaoyue returned to the west room and saw that Yang's sister-in-law was a little anxious. She quickly comforted her, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. It will be finished by tomorrow morning at the latest. Besides, even if you finish sewing, the size you sewed may not be able to be cut out."
Sister Yang smiled gently at Li Xiaoyue.
They took the willow catkins with them home.
Chunyue started brewing medicine for Lu Xiaoyue, and Li Lei started cooking.
Liang Qi also returned and said to Xiaoyue, "Uncle Gao said it will be ready by December 7th at the latest."
Xiaoyue handed the clothes that Li had made to Liang Qi. Liang Qi took out the wallpaper he had specially bought to pack the clothes, and after packing them, he drew the numbers on them with charcoal.
Even the fabric that Li Qianqian had made was brought into the living room, and the cut-out pieces that Li Shi hadn't taken away were also placed on the packaging of the clothes that Li Shi had sewn.
Li Qianqian also cut out five sets of clothing for Sister Yang.
…………
December arrived quickly. Yang's wife received fifty coins and took two sets of pre-cut fabric home to sew. At noon, Xiaoyue's family ate together and held a family meeting at the table.
After three days of herbal medicine treatment, Lu Xiaomei was able to sit up and eat, and she could even help Li Lei with some chores.
Xiaoyue looked at Li Lei and said with a smile, "Tomorrow you still need to ask Doctor Hu to take Lu Xiaomei's pulse and get a month's worth of medicine."
Li Lei remained listless, giving a curt "hmm" without any expression of joy or sorrow.
Xiaoyue added, "Li Lei and Li Qianqian, you two came here on November 18th. At that time, we didn't know what we could do, so we tried making and selling clothes. Fortunately, this path has been opened up."
After taking a bite of food, Xiaoyue stared at Li Lei again and said, "Your monthly wage is six hundred coins. After deducting one hundred coins for making clothes, your wage for thirteen days is one hundred and sixty coins." After saying that, Xiaoyue took off her money bag, counted out one hundred and sixty coins, and handed them to Li Lei.
Although Li Lei pretended to be calm, his flickering eyes couldn't hide his excitement.
Xiaoyue ate a few bites of rice, then smiled at Li Qianqian: "Do you still remember when I lent you two hundred coins?"
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