She ran as fast as the wind, and when she arrived in front of Yun Qiao, she smiled and raised her chin towards the side where He Tingjun had disappeared: "Did that soldier just now come from your house?"
Yun Qiao hummed and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just want to ask who he is to you?"
Aunt Chen is a very enthusiastic person, but she is also very talkative. Once she knows something, it will spread to everyone in the alley within a few days.
Out of a desire to protect her privacy, Yun Qiao didn't really want to tell Aunt Chen about He Tingjun. She avoided the topic and simply asked, "Aunt Chen, why are you asking this?"
"Nothing, I just thought he looked handsome and tall, and wanted to ask if he had a girlfriend or something. These days, it's hard to find a handsome man like him."
It was obvious at first glance that his demeanor and majestic aura were not something an ordinary soldier could possess. He might be an officer!
Aunt Chen was also excited to see the opportunity and decided to act as a matchmaker: "If he doesn't have a partner, I'll introduce him to one."
Her niece from her mother's side is not married yet.
If she could find such a nephew-in-law, it would be a great honor for her as the eldest aunt.
Yun Qiao answered honestly: "I don't know."
"Are you really not knowing or are you pretending not to know?" Aunt Chen glanced at her suspiciously, somewhat unconvinced.
"I really don't know!" Yun Qiao also met He Tingjun for the first time today, and she knew almost nothing about him, so she really didn't know whether he had a partner or not.
Yun Qiao felt wronged, and Aunt Chen also felt that Yun Qiao was dishonest. She was a little unhappy. Thoughts turned around in her mind, and suddenly a possibility came to her mind: "Yun Qiao, you know how Aunt Chen treats you. You can't hide anything from Aunt Chen. Tell Aunt Chen honestly. He couldn't be your boyfriend, right? Is that why you don't want to tell me?"
“???” Yun Qiao was confused. Why was he being dragged into this matter again for no reason?
"Aunt Chen, what are you talking about? How old am I? How could I possibly have a boyfriend?" She helplessly explained, "That's my uncle's friend."
"What's wrong with dating at sixteen or seventeen? I married your Uncle Chen when I was sixteen, and I was pregnant with your Brother Chen when I was seventeen." Aunt Chen observed Yun Qiao's expression and saw that his face was not happy. She quickly stopped talking: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. If it's not true, then it's not true. Why are you blushing? I was just saying it."
Yun Qiao was speechless and helpless, holding his forehead with his hand: "Aunt Chen, I'm not blushing. This is because I ran outside all afternoon and got burned by the sun."
"Yes, yes, if you say it's caused by the sun, then it's caused by the sun." Aunt Chen waved her hand, looking like she understood without any explanation.
Yun Qiao: “…” I feel so tired.
Aunt Chen felt a little disappointed that she didn't get any information about He Tingjun, but that was all, there was nothing more to it.
After all, finding a partner is a matter of mutual consent, and you can't do anything to take away someone's love.
Aunt Chen: "Okay, there's nothing else to do. You can go home. I'm leaving too."
Yun Qiao: "Aunt Chen, wait a minute, I have something to ask you."
Aunt Chen nodded: "What's the matter?"
Yun Qiao asked, "Aunt Chen, do you know where I can find cotton fluffing? It's colder in the Northeast than here, and the quilts at home are too thin. I'm planning to take all the cotton out of my quilt and fluff it to make a thicker one, but I don't know where I can find one."
"Then you've asked the right person." Aunt Chen laughed. "There aren't any cotton fluffers in our neighborhood. They're all over the textile factory."
"Okay, I understand. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Aunt Chen asked enthusiastically, "How many quilts do you want to play with? Can you take them?"
"Four beds," Yun Qiao thought for a moment and said, "We all have thin mattresses weighing two kilograms. If we fold them up again, we can only make a thick quilt weighing eight kilograms."
"It's not easy for you to carry four quilts by yourself." Aunt Chen said, "How about this, I'll come find you after lunch and accompany you."
"How can I have the nerve to bother you all the time?"
"It's not a big deal. My daughter goes to school at 1:30, and I don't have much to do at home alone." Aunt Chen made the final decision: "It's settled."
After lunch, Yun Qiao took out four thin mattresses from the closet, used scissors to unsew the seams along the edge of the fabric, and took out the quilt cover and core and folded them separately.
He then took out two sheets and put the cotton cores in twos, tied the four corners of the sheets diagonally, and finally made them into two bundles, which were convenient to carry and back.
It was a little after ten o'clock in the morning, but before one o'clock, when Aunt Chen came.
She was not being polite to Yun Qiao, she really came to help. As soon as she arrived, she took the initiative to carry a bag, and when she left the house, she reminded Yun Qiao to hurry up, saying that there were many people picking cotton, and if she was late she would have to queue.
The two took a bus to a stop near the textile factory. Aunt Chen introduced Yun Qiao, saying, "The cotton-fluffing shop is across from the National Cotton Mill No. 3. It used to be run by an elderly couple, but after it became state-owned, they couldn't work anymore, so now it's their son and daughter-in-law. Their family is very honest and spares no effort when fluffing the cotton. They don't skimp at all. The cotton they fluff out is fluffy and soft, unlike cotton from other places, which has knots inside. We fluff all our cotton here."
Yun Qiao nodded and said, "Aunt Chen, I trust the place you recommended."
After entering the cotton-pinking shop, Aunt Chen took the initiative to take charge of everything, from weighing the cotton cores to explaining how to pin the cotton balls. Except for paying the money at the end, she didn't let Yun Qiao get a word in.
There were no machines for fluffing cotton in those days. People used a tool similar to a large slingshot and a wooden hammer to hit the bowstring to fluff the cotton out bit by bit.
It is very laborious and time-consuming.
After paying, Aunt Chen tugged at Yun Qiao's arm and said, "Fluffing cotton takes time and effort. It'll take at least two or three hours to finish. The whole room will be covered in fluff, and it's blinding. Come on, let's go out and wait."
Yun Qiao nodded.
It wasn't until they finally left the cotton-pinking shop that Aunt Chen said to Yun Qiao, "Yun Qiao, don't blame me for taking on so much responsibility. You're still a child, and you don't know how to fluff cotton properly. Without an adult by your side, if he sees you're too young and doesn't fluff it properly, you'll have to do it all over again."
Yun Qiao is not an ungrateful person. She knows that Aunt Chen is helping her and she is also grateful for her kindness.
Not only did he offer to treat her to soda, he also planned to treat her to dinner at a state-owned restaurant in the evening, and then invite Gao Xiaoping to join them.
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