Tao knew that He Tiantian was very perceptive, and that there was much she needed to learn about interpersonal relationships.
Sometimes, she really envied He Tiantian's decisiveness. She did things without any hesitation and had a unique business acumen.
"Sister-in-law, come to my house for a while. We sisters-in-law haven't seen each other in a long time, let's have a chat."
Tao nodded and walked home side by side with He Tiantian.
The children haven't come home yet, and the usually lively house is unusually quiet.
He Tiantian opened the door and invited Tao to sit inside.
Tao looked around and saw that the sun in the yard was quite nice, so she suggested, "Sister-in-law, let's stay in the yard. We can soak up the sun and do some needlework. I've learned quite a bit at the tailor shop this past month."
"Really? I was just saying I was going to make a bellyband for Mingzhu. Let me get the fabric so you can take a look." He Tiantian's eyes lit up.
Overwhelmed by maternal love, she impulsively bought a bolt of cloth, intending to try her hand at needlework for the children. Little Mingzhu was the youngest, so she needed the least amount of fabric; she thought she'd practice on her first.
He Tiantian had been pondering this for several nights, but hadn't come up with anything.
She felt that being an ancient person was too difficult, and needlework was too difficult.
He Tiantian took out the fabric and needles she had bought and briefly explained what kind of product she wanted to make.
Tao understood immediately. "I know how to do this. It's very simple. I've seen them sold in clothing stores. If you have time, you can embroider some things on them, and they'll look even better."
"No need, no need, embroidering that stuff takes too much time. Sister-in-law, just teach me the simplest one." He Tiantian took a deep breath. The master can lead you in, but the rest is up to you.
Whether or not we can make a "mom-made" bib for Xiaomingzhu depends on whether she can learn how to make one today.
In the quiet courtyard, the only sound was the "snip, snip" of scissors cutting fabric.
Two sample garments were cut in total, with Tao providing hands-on instruction.
He Chun was the first to return home. After going to school, he went for a walk around the fields.
Farmers cannot live without the land. He Chun goes to the field ridges almost every day to check on the crops.
After inspecting the crops in the field, I thought about going back and planting a vegetable patch behind the house.
He Chun nodded to Tao Shi as a greeting. Then he took a hoe from the house and went outside.
He Tiantian looked up and called out, "Father, where are you going?"
"We're growing vegetables now, what will we eat in winter if we don't grow them now?"
He Tiantian remembered that she had also bought vegetable seeds. Radishes and cabbages are common vegetables that every household grows.
She also bought some cabbage, spinach, and other vegetable seeds from the mall, which were not available in this era.
Whether or not it can be grown, let's give it a try first.
"Father, wait a moment, I have some rapeseed here too." After saying that, He Tiantian put down her work and went into the house to get some rapeseed.
The rapeseed seeds were all mixed together, and she couldn't tell which were which. She stuffed them all into He Chun's hands.
"Plant all these seeds."
He Chun nodded, asking no further questions. He took the seeds, shouldered his hoe, and went out the door.
Tao suddenly thought of the wheat she had planted and asked curiously, "Second sister-in-law, is it really possible for the wheat planted in that field to be successful? I saw that your family has planted more than ten acres."
"Pretty much, there shouldn't be any major problems. It's just that we don't grow it here. Once you cross that mountain, they grow wheat there." He Tiantian pointed to Wolf Mountain in the farthest distance.
Looking out, Tao saw that Langshan was really too far away, disappearing into the dark gray horizon.
"Will we be able to sell the wheat here?" This was actually Tao's concern.
Who in their village eats wheat flour? Wheat flour is too expensive. Only the rich people in the city can afford it.
If she takes the wheat to the city, can she exchange it for money like she does for rice?
He Tiantian finally understood Tao's worries, and she comforted her, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, even if we can't sell the grain, we can keep it for ourselves."
"Think about it, the market is so unstable these days. What's more important than food? What if there's another drought next year, and you can't buy food even if you have money?"
Upon hearing this, Tao's eyes widened.
Yes, there's absolutely nothing wrong with what my second sister-in-law said.
She used to think that money was the most important thing. Every household in the village would take their harvested grain to the city to sell for money.
But this year there's a severe drought and a food shortage. Those families with money are worse off than those with grain!
No, once this year's grain is harvested, I'm going to store it at home, just in case.
The family's finances are usually enough with the money she and Xiang Bei save each month from their wages.
After Tao's reminder, He Tiantian realized a very serious problem.
She remembered that after the wheat was harvested, it needed to be threshed to produce flour. But they didn't have the threshing tools here!
This matter needs to be noted down, and we'll have Chief Zhao investigate other places next spring.
She also inquired about next year's grain prices so she could make further plans.
Before long, the children in the family returned one after another.
Zhao Xiaolu was the first to enter, carrying Xiaomingzhu, followed by He Shitou.
Behind He Shitou was Zhao Wanzi, and further back, Zhao Fengnian was also seen.
When Tao saw her son, she found it amusing. "You little rascal, the first thing you do after school isn't go home, but come here. It seems no one has been watching you while I've been away."
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