During this period, Pingying was busy doing business and in her spare time, she rushed to make two sets of clothes for Zhiyong. She and Fang Xiu hadn’t even had the chance to make their own clothes.
Fang Xiu kept blaming her, complaining that she favored Honglan, having time to make clothes for Honglan but claiming to have no time for her. She said that even if Pingying made clothes for her now, she wouldn’t be able to wear them since the season had passed, and wearing a single layer would be too cold.
Indeed, Pingying had overlooked this matter; initially, she had promised to make clothes for her as long as Fang Xiu provided the fabric.
Therefore, Pingying agreed to let her go to the town to buy half a pound of cotton and make her a cotton waistcoat for winter, which could be worn for a longer time throughout the year.
Fang Xiu agreed, and not long ago she immediately bought the cotton and asked Pingying to make it.
Pingying planned to take advantage of these two free days to get it done for her.
Making cotton clothes is naturally more troublesome than single-layer clothes; the cotton must be laid layer by layer and the thickness has to be even. Fortunately, it was just a shawl, the hardest part - the sleeves, were not needed, and Pingying spent a whole day to finish it,
The style was somewhat similar to Honglan’s, although filled with cotton, Pingying had pressed the cotton down firmly. Despite being thicker than a single layer, it had good insulation, making it suitable for the season.
If worn with a wool sweater of matching color underneath, it would be extremely fashionable.
Moreover, Pingying simply treated the corners differently, not making them small and round like Honglan’s, but creating pointed corners, and even covered the buttons with fabric of the same color, making the garment look a lot more playful.
In the evening, all the women in the family and Luo Zhiming came to Pingying’s room to see Fang Xiu’s clothes, and everyone said it looked even better than Honglan’s.
Fang Xiu herself was extremely satisfied and said with a light smile to Pingying, "It wasn’t in vain that I lent you the sewing machine. I actually let you use it before even using it myself. I really didn’t have the heart to use it."
Zhiyong, who was watching on the side, took Fang Xiu’s words seriously and jokingly said, "Come on, you can’t use it, don’t pretend like you let your sister-in-law use it. From now on, just let her use the sewing machine. Keep it here; if you want to make clothes, ask your sister-in-law to do it, better than letting it go to waste at our place."
Fang Xiu glared at Zhiyong, but she found his point reasonable and smiled, nodding, "Then let’s keep it here for now. The New Year is almost here, and I still need to make clothes."
Right then, Zhou Yunmei, who came to see the clothes with them, heard Fang Xiu talking again about making clothes and was already unhappy.
Because since Fang Xiu got married a few months ago, she had made three or four sets of clothes. Initially, she said the fabric was from her dowry so Zhou Yunmei didn’t say anything, but these last two sets, Zhou Yunmei had seen her purchase with her own eyes.
The fabric for this waistcoat was even bought with the five yuan that Luo Zhiming had snatched from her after Zhiyong got his paycheck.
That day, Fang Xiu was being secretive about the fabric, thinking Zhou Yunmei didn’t know. She only refrained from making a fuss about it because Luo Zhiming persuaded her not to.
Seeing that Fang Xiu had just made a garment and was immediately talking about making another, she couldn’t hold back any longer, and she shouted at Fang Xiu, "Are you making clothes again? You just got married not long ago, think about how many clothes you have made?"
Fang Xiu didn’t like Zhou Yunmei yelling at her in front of so many people, and felt uncomfortable, thus her words came out harsher, "The fabric is mine that I pulled out myself, I asked my sister to make the clothes without asking you for money, why do you care so much?"
"I didn’t ask you for money, huh?" Zhou Yunmei erupted immediately upon hearing this, pointing at Fang Xiu and yelling, "Isn’t the money that Zhiming earns spent by you? Isn’t that money given by me?"
"If I don’t make clothes, didn’t you have to spend money on Zhiming before I married into your family? This money is from what I’ve saved from my husband." What Fang Xiu meant was that she was capable of managing her husband’s money, and no one else had the right to question it.
Keeping silent might have been better; her words felt like a blatant provocation to Zhou Yunmei.
She scrimped and saved for her son, but her son then spent it on his wife, who now flaunted it in front of her.
Moreover, it made Zhou Yunmei feel like she was less important in her son’s heart compared to Fang Xiu, which irritated her.
So, Zhou Yunmei, disregarding everything, started yelling at the couple, "From next month onward, if you want to spend money, go earn it yourselves, otherwise don’t spend at all."
Luo Zhiming, hearing that Zhou Yunmei wanted to cut off his finances, naturally prioritized pacifying his mother first.
He quickly stepped forward, pushed Fang Xiu to the side, and gave her a look.
Then, he cajoled Zhou Yunmei with a smile, saying, "Mom, why bother with her? She means no harm; she just doesn’t think before she speaks."
Seeing Luo Zhiming siding with her, Zhou Yunmei felt a bit better, but her anger towards Fang Xiu remained. Pointing at her, she gritted her teeth and cursed, "Your wife is just a pig-brained idiot, never thinks before doing or saying anything."
Fang Xiu, usually a dominant personality back at her parents’ house, had endured many small issues since marrying into the Luo family, often calmed down by Luo Zhiming and mindful of Zhou Yunmei’s money.
But this time, she couldn’t hold back anymore and retorted loudly to Zhou Yunmei, "Mom, don’t speak so rudely. Who are you calling pig-brained? It’s just spending a little of your money, there’s no need to insult people ."
Zhou Yunmei scoffed, unapologetically pointing at her and saying, "Why not insult you? What did I say that’s wrong?"
"You’re just a brainless fool. All you do since getting married is sit at home, either doing shameful things with men or spending money. Tell me, what useful thing have you done for the family?"
"Look at your sister-in-law, Fang Pingying, ever since she married into the family, she’s been busy putting effort in, clearly more useful than you." Zhou Yunmei continued, even pointing at Fang Pingying.
Fang Pingying forced a smile, not sure what Zhou Yunmei was really up to.
Usually, Zhou Yunmei also criticized her with not a single good word to say, but now she praised her during an argument with Fang Xiu. This definitely put her in an oppositional position with Fang Xiu, which could be dangerous if things turned sour.
So, she just forced a polite smile, attempting to smooth things over, "Let it go, we are all family here, no need to fight, let’s talk it over slowly."
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Fang Xiu yelled at her, "Now that she praises you, of course you would take her side."
And Zhou Yunmei, who had just complimented her, also showed disapproval, casting her a glance, "Stay out of this, step aside."
With a sigh, Fang Pingying stepped to the side, deciding to keep out of it since it didn’t concern her.
She hadn’t planned to interfere anyway; from past experiences, she knew that Fang Xiu and Zhou Yunmei were both formidable and neither would back down easily once riled up.
But right now, since Fang Xiu still slightly relied on Zhou Yunmei’s money, Zhou Yunmei might end up having the upper hand. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and . Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)