"I'll just leave it at that. At my age, what difference does it make what I wear?"
This is what I think: every family is in a similar situation, it's not just our family, right?
We can't take all the good intentions of those young educated youth.
I was thinking, why don't we take the rest to the village office? Anyone who needs anything can bring something to exchange for it. Whatever we get in return, we can give it to Xiao Jian, the educated youth. What do you guys think?
The main concern was her daughter-in-law; her husband, of course, was no match for her, and her son was rather simple-minded. But just watching, Sun Xiang's face showed a mixture of heartache and reluctance, though she quickly relaxed.
"Dad, you're right."
I didn't realize that even though they were both wearing new clothes, it didn't look good in the village.
"If word gets out, what will people think of Jian Zhiqing? What will they think of our family?"
Master Liu nodded.
"That makes sense, and it's admirable that you all understand."
But don't worry, Xiao Jian is a good educated youth. I just took that to heart and treated her well. After all, she's lived in Beijing for so many years; if she's done it once, she might do it again, right?
The old lady kept talking about the simple things she wanted to make, calculating with her daughter-in-law how much fabric they needed. Sun Xiang kept praising her.
"Mom, you know what, she said this kind of duvet cover is really convenient, and it saves the trouble of washing the duvet."
"When we have fabric later, let's try sewing like that, shall we?"
old lady,
"Why not? It'll save you a lot of trouble."
"Mom, could you make a little more of this scrap? With the leftover scraps, could you make a pair of shoes for the two kids too? They won't be able to walk when it gets cold."
The old lady couldn't remember.
“Okay, let’s make a pair of cotton shoes for everyone. There’s still some cotton wadding in my old mattress. Take that out and stuff it in, and your feet will definitely stay warm in winter.”
The two children stopped going out to play and just stood around watching.
"It's no use looking. This is for your sister Jian. We have to make it for her first. Only after we've finished making it can it be made for the two of you."
Don't worry, you'll be able to wear them when it gets cold.
The two little heads kept nodding, reluctant to leave.
Liu Guangming, carrying a half-full bag, followed his father to the village office. Liu Weimin and a few others were also there. They all knew each other, having gone to deliver the grain tax. Seeing the familiar bag, they were puzzled.
"What's wrong, Uncle? This looks like the bag that Xiao Jian, the educated youth, used to collect packages?"
"Um,"
"Third Uncle, do you not have any grain bags at home? I'll ask Guifen to find you two."
The others felt like they were stuck in their throats, wondering what the village chief was saying.
Uncle Liu was truly exasperated with Liu Weimin. When he was alone, he was a sensible village chief, but whenever he was with his elders, he automatically turned into a brainless idiot.
“This is not only Xiao Jian’s parcel bag, but also contains the contents of her parcel.”
Just as Liu Weimin was about to speak, the others...
"Third Master, just tell us, what do you need us to do?"
"Yes, Third Master, is there any difficulty that Little Jian, the educated youth, is facing?"
Liu Weimin, think about what you're going to say?
Oh, what he meant to say was, "Third Uncle, why did you bring Jian Zhiqing's things over?"
It does seem rather inappropriate.
"Patriotism, go and open it."
After recounting what just happened,
"After this child came, apart from the village chief's family, he was only close to our family."
You all know your third aunt's cooking skills, so we went directly to your third aunt. When she took a look, she realized there was quite a lot of stuff.
As you know, my two children also don't have any clothes to wear. After thinking about it, it seems that every family's children are in the same boat. So she discussed with Xiao Jian whether they could exchange the leftover fabric with the villagers. This stuff is made of scraps of cloth, but they are quite large pieces. Your aunt thought that if any family wanted to exchange it back to make clothes for their children like she did, they could just bring some mountain produce.
Xiao Jian's older sister and brother-in-law both love the mountain produce from here. It's hard to buy these things in the city, and they consider them delicacies. Otherwise, Xiao Jian would have been thinking of letting her sister try some.
The room was full of men who didn't know much about the fabric, only that it was a good quality item that they all lacked. Just then, Wang Guifen came over.
"Third Uncle, you were looking for me?"
He spotted the bag on the ground in a flash, and rushed over to it.
"Wow, who has such great ability to get so many scraps of cloth?"
Judging by the way those eyes are shining, you can tell it's something good.
"Third Uncle, Master, who brought this here? Can you replace it?"
The more they looked, the more interested they became, and they couldn't help but reach out and touch it.
"Oh my, is this a scrap of cloth? It's so big! These three or four pieces will make a whole garment. That's wonderful!"
No one answered, and she couldn't help but push her husband.
"The head of the household? Shall we change?"
The bags used to be quite large, about the same size as the fiberglass bags we use now, and even half a bag wasn't light.
However, the moment it was said that anything was acceptable, the women were all excited. If there was no food, then they would find something else.
We can wait until we come back from the mountain to get the mountain produce. What else do we have at home?
Many housewives went back and rummaged through their belongings. Well, after being poor for several years, they really didn't have any valuable possessions left. They looked at each other helplessly, realizing they could only rely on what they could get in the next day or two.
As a result, many companies are eager to try their hand at this.
Liu Aiguo locked the bag in the village office. He decided to wait until they went down the mountain to exchange money for goods. They would start going up the mountain tomorrow, and no one would have time to deal with this. They would have to wait until after the winter.
Liu Sanye strolled back, no longer caring about the matter. He appreciated the child's willingness to help everyone and would remember it; he couldn't let her suffer any losses.
Simple and natural, she knew nothing. On her way back, she passed by the juvenile detention center, and after thinking for a moment, she decided to knock on Li Yan's door.
"We're going up the mountain tomorrow, are you all ready?"
"What do you need to prepare? Isn't it enough to just carry a basket on your back?"
The other two people heard the noise and came over as well.
"Jian Zhiqing, have you ever been up the mountain? What do you need to prepare?"
Speechless
"Didn't we already go up the mountain?"
"Isn't that the same as gathering firewood?"
"Pretty much. Tie your trouser legs and cuffs tight, and bring a basket, rope, and a small shovel or sickle, just in case you come across wild vegetables."
I will prepare burlap sacks. What if you collect too many mountain goods and your baskets can't hold them all? Throw them away? Isn't it a pity to give them up like that?
So you'd better be prepared; the more you gain, the better.
"If we go a little deeper into the area, we might not be able to get back by night, let alone by noon."
So, we need to prepare dry food, water, and other edible items, right?
Seeing the three people's stunned expressions, Jian Dan was speechless.
"So what have you prepared? You're not just planning to go empty-handed, are you?"
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