Chapter Twenty-Four: Discovering New Skills
The tranquility of Xiaba Village was broken by the group of returning people. An elderly man with a cane came out of his door, squinted at the front of his house, and then shouted excitedly. Some even leaned against the door frame and cried.
Seeing these scenes, Shen Zhiyi's eyes suddenly filled with tears. These concerns, comparable to those of family, were truly touching.
"Zhiyi!" Wang Cuihua rushed over anxiously, grabbed Shen Zhiyi's hand, looked her up and down, and said with a slight sigh of relief, "Nothing bad happened, right?"
"Sister Cuihua, you don't know what happened..." Tang Huaya eloquently recounted what had happened, leaving Wang Cuihua stunned, sometimes tense and sometimes relaxed.
Shen Zhiyi was listening nearby when the thought suddenly popped into her head, "If Huaya went to tell stories, her business would be very good." She quickly dismissed the thought and laughed, "Actually, it wasn't as thrilling as Huaya made it out to be! Fortunately, everyone is back, so our Xiaba Village is complete!"
"Thankfully, this matter has been resolved, otherwise I would have been worried sick!" Wang Cuihua said slowly.
"By the way, Sister Cuihua, is Aunt Deng's cold any better?" Shen Zhiyi asked with concern.
"There are so many more! Now that we have the means to raise them, things will only get better!" Wang Cuihua said with a smile, then, as if remembering something, she added, "You haven't had time to eat yet, have you? Hurry up and come with me! Your mother will be even happier to see you!"
"No, my mother is still waiting for me at home," Tang Huaya said quickly.
“I still have some cakes at home, they’ll go bad if I leave them any longer!” Shen Zhiyi said, already taking a few steps back as if she had already learned from experience.
To avoid such a situation, she bakes enough pancakes for the whole day starting in the morning, adhering to the principle of not wasting food. As long as she says this, she is sure to be able to go home and have a meal.
Shen Zhiyi ran home and, taking advantage of the light, checked the compost pit. She immediately knew that San Tou hadn't delivered the compost yet.
This made her worry. The person who always arrived on time had failed to show up today. Something must have happened. She wondered if the other person needed her help.
As dawn broke along the horizon, the earthy scent of the air filled her nostrils. Shen Zhiyi woke up from her sleep and knew immediately that it had rained the night before, a clear sign of a drop in temperature.
The temperature has plummeted even though it's not the end of the month yet!
Shen Zhiyi quickly checked the cloth bag containing the seeds. Although there was a heated kang bed underneath, some of the pistachio seeds she had picked up from the mountain goods she had previously collected showed signs of spoilage. She was thinking of trying to plant them again when the weather got warmer...
Now we have no choice but to try anything, even if it seems hopeless.
She brought in a basin of clean water, soaked the pistachio seeds in it, and then sealed it to germinate them after the seeds swelled up.
I then checked the sealed earthenware jar, and there were no signs of mold on the surface, proving that it was not broken.
Thinking about the last batch of chilies that haven't been harvested yet, I hope they won't be affected too much by the sudden drop in temperature!
"Zhiyi, are you up yet?" Tang Huaya's voice rang out from outside the courtyard.
"Get up." Shen Zhiyi said as she opened the courtyard gate. She guessed what was going on as soon as she saw Tang Huaya's expression. After coming out, she closed the gate behind her. "Let's talk as we walk."
"It's those two female rabbits. We tried to get them to nest with the male rabbit, and now they're alone in their nest and starting to pluck their own fur..." Tang Huaya said slowly.
"That's good news! It means the mother rabbit is about to give birth," Shen Zhiyi said with a smile. "Just in case, let's go take a look together."
"Okay." Tang Huaya smiled shyly, "Thank you, Zhiyi."
"Our Huaya is so pretty, she should smile more! Seeing you smile makes me happy too!" Shen Zhiyi praised as usual, and walked back hand in hand with Tang Huaya.
The two arrived at Tang Huaya's house. Tang Erleng, who was standing at the door, greeted them sweetly as soon as he saw them. Shen Zhiyi patted his head like an older sister. Seeing that he had gained a little weight, she felt inexplicably gratified.
Tang Erleng quickly led them to see the rabbit, and his explanation was much more detailed than Tang Huaya's, showing that he had put a lot of thought into it.
Shen Zhiyi listened attentively, praising Tang Erleng's thoughtfulness. Tang Erleng explained clearly how to raise the mother rabbit afterward. The more she talked, the more grateful she became to her neighboring college during her university years. She also thought of those graduation theses that had been devoured by the neighboring college's graduation theses.
Those were times she could never return to, and paths she had walked.
"That's about it." After finishing talking about the rabbit, Shen Zhiyi was about to leave when she bumped into Aunt Zhao at the door. "Watch out."
She quickly reached out to protect the person, but unexpectedly, Aunt Zhao grabbed her hand and led her into another room.
"If you hadn't come soon, I would have gone to catch someone!" Aunt Zhao said, her steps becoming even more hurried. "Auntie, I made you a new dress!"
Aunt Zhao happily took a bundle out of the cupboard, carefully opened it, and with a shake, she found an outer garment. The sleeves were sewn with scraps of cloth cut into beautiful butterfly and flower shapes, so lifelike that Shen Zhiyi was a little stunned.
"Aunt Zhao, you're amazing!" Shen Zhiyi exclaimed sincerely, her eyes wide with admiration.
This is simply amazing! So many scraps of fabric and all sorts of colors, yet they manage to create a beautiful piece of clothing. You can imagine how talented Aunt Zhao is.
"These are things everyone knows how to do," Aunt Zhao said, unaware of the situation.
“Auntie must have put a lot of thought into making it,” Shen Zhiyi said hurriedly.
“No trouble at all. I also made a piece called ‘Sparrows Playing on Branches.’ Huaya said ‘Butterflies in Love with Flowers’ would suit you, so that one…” Aunt Zhao then took out another piece from the cabinet and laid it out for Shen Zhiyi to see. “There’s also a lotus flower painting.”
Shen Zhiyi was stunned by the three patchwork designs with different patterns in a row.
If Aunt Zhao lived in modern times, she would definitely be a fashion icon.
Shen Zhiyi thought about it again and realized that putting it here was not bad. Perhaps she could understand Aunt Zhao's reasoning with those little crafts made by the craft experts she had seen before.
“Aunt Zhao, why don’t you give it a try…” Shen Zhiyi said, recalling the basic diagrams she had seen in videos before. Fortunately, she had a good memory and remembered some of them. As for the rest, she would have to rely on Aunt Zhao’s research efforts.
"Zhiyi, you are truly my... rain!" Aunt Zhao said excitedly, holding Shen Zhiyi's hand.
After a moment's thought, Shen Zhiyi said, "Rain? Does it mean timely rain?"
"Yes! This is just what I need!" Aunt Zhao said earnestly, picking up the sewing basket and some leftover scraps of cloth beside her. "Wait here, I'll make the hair tie you mentioned right away. It'll look really nice!"
Actually, Shen Zhiyi was referring to a panda headband, but she used a different description: a hair tie with a small animal lying on it. It's impossible to go wrong with that!
With its round head, fluffy tail, isn't it just a miniature version of a doll?
It's a pity I don't have enough materials on hand, otherwise I could have made a larger doll and sold it for a good price from the rich young lady!
Cotton is too expensive here. Even if they have a little money, they wouldn't be so extravagant as to stuff cotton into their dolls. They can only use scraps of cloth to fix the shape first and then correct it one by one.
It requires a great deal of energy and patience to complete, and Aunt Zhao is clearly interested in it. After a few reminders from Shen Zhiyi, she understands the key point. She is quite looking forward to seeing how far the other party can go because of this.
As soon as Aunt Zhao got her hands on the needle, thread, and scraps of cloth, she was like a general donning armor, her fingers like soldiers, wielding them with practiced ease. Then, round little things were sewn onto hair ties made from scraps of cloth...
"Try it." Aunt Zhao put down her sewing basket and handed over the hair tie she had made.
Shen Zhiyi took it, untied the bun she had tied up for convenience, first tied her hair with a hair tie, then braided the protruding part down the braid, revealing the peacock sewn on it, as if it were standing on top, making the whole braid come alive.
Wearing the patchwork clothes made by Aunt Zhao, you'll definitely stand out and attract the attention of many young girls and wives.
"Beautiful!" Aunt Zhao commented earnestly.
"I know it looks good without even looking at it. Auntie's skills are truly excellent!" Shen Zhiyi said with a smile. "Aunt Zhao can make a few more while they're still alive and see if there's a chance to sell them later."
Suddenly, Shen Zhiyi's hand was gripped tightly, and Aunt Zhao asked incredulously, "Da Ya, can this really be sold?"
When asked this question, Shen Zhiyi wasn't entirely sure and replied, "How will I know if I don't try?"
"Okay! Auntie will listen to you." Aunt Zhao was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes.
"Mom, what are you doing? Dad sent me to call you for breakfast." Tang Huaya called from outside. When she came in and saw Shen Zhiyi's braids, her eyes lit up instantly. "Zhiyi, where did you get this hair tie? It's so pretty."
"Aunt Zhao made this especially for me," Shen Zhiyi said, as if it were a precious treasure.
"My mother?" Tang Huaya looked surprised, and then looked at Aunt Zhao with a hint of coquettishness.
"Auntie and I are going to have breakfast first." Shen Zhiyi winked at Aunt Zhao, deliberately keeping her mind on teasing Hua Ya.
Aunt Zhao looked at this and that, smiled indulgently, and walked out of the house with Shen Zhiyi to eat in the main room.
On the old wooden table in the main house were a few coarse flatbreads. Tang Huaya said, "Dad went to help Uncle Ge's family look after their chili field."
"Is Ge Niu... feeling better?" Shen Zhiyi asked. "And Sun Sanni too."
"I heard from Auntie that Ge Niu was beaten and bruised all over, and her arm was pricked with needles..." Tang Huaya said with a heavy heart. Aunt Zhao was also shocked to hear this and couldn't help but hold her hand tightly. "If we had gone a few days later, she might have lost her life."
"Sanni's family should be on their way from town to the county clinic by now," Tang Huaya said in a deep voice.
"Is there enough money?" Shen Zhiyi asked anxiously.
"I don't know the specifics. Grandpa Village Chief hasn't come back either. He only sent a passing cart driver to deliver a message," Tang Huaya said, her mood not very good.
"Everyone used to say that the Lin family was a blessed place, but now it seems like they're a hellish place that takes souls! You can't believe a single word those people from the neighboring villages say!" Aunt Zhao said angrily.
Mentioning the neighboring village, Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but have some more flirtatious exchanges with Tang Huaya.
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