Due to extreme material scarcity, sweaters were really rare at that time. Mainly, people with status, like master workers, had them. For those in districts and rural areas, not to mention sweaters, even yarn was an unattainable dream. If someone wore a set of sweaters on the street back then, they would definitely catch a lot of attention. Sweaters had not yet become a standard outfit for the masses and were considered "luxury" gear.
I remember when she had just divorced, finding work required introductions from others, and the most desirable fields were technical ones. She could only do odd jobs in restaurants. As for clothing, she couldn’t even think about it.
During those toughest years, just when knitting sweaters was becoming popular, there were no books teaching knitting techniques, nor people who could knit patterns. Many times, walking down the road, you could hear women discussing and researching knitting techniques, and at that time, Lin Wan also envied them.
But she didn’t even have the qualification to join in the discussions. In her previous life, to earn money, she did everything. Initially, when she set out, she believed in her design studies and proudly applied to several clothing companies.
During that era, looking for work required diplomas. Without one, people wouldn’t even give you a chance.
She didn’t complete university, had only learned a bit of superficiality, and was even less wanted.
However, she spent a few years in a clothing factory, making samples, patterning, sewing buttons, all odd jobs.
Later, when the factory closed, she had to find work again, like dishwashing, being a nanny, delivering newspapers; she tried everything.
She even attempted to run small businesses herself, but without experience, she lost money.
Knitting sweaters was something she picked up in her thirties while working as a nanny for a family. The lady of the house was skilled in many knitting techniques, and many people came to her home to learn knitting every day, and she even charged a tuition fee. After cleaning up, Lin Wan would sit in a corner and learn along. She rediscovered her old regrets through this.
She remembered spending all her salary of those two months buying yarn.
The lady was kind and willing to teach her.
During her two years at that house, she learned various ways to knit sweaters.
Originally, she thought about working at a sweater factory for a few years after leaving, but by that time, machines had started knitting. Her kind of purely handmade work had been phased out in the city. As the weather turned cold, her brother left wearing old clothes; she had been to university, where the competition was fierce, and wearing poor clothes could lead to being ostracized by classmates. Lin Wan weighed several pounds of yarn and returned home.
She knew her brother was reluctant to spend money on himself, so she prepared to knit sweater trousers for him.
Lin Wan used saved fabric tickets to buy some dark blue and yellow wool yarn. The wide yellow striped pattern looked quite nice.
Every night, Lin Wan knitted for more than an hour. As her mom studied, she sat beside her mom knitting sweaters.
In a week, the sweater and trousers were knitted. With the extra yarn, Lin Wan knitted a vest for her brother. She recalled that many people at her university loved wearing vests. She wrote a letter to him, enclosed twenty yuan, and didn’t forget to remind him to open a savings account, which would make it convenient for her to send him money in the future.
Sending the two outfits cost two yuan. It was indeed expensive.
After sending her brother’s clothes, Lin Wan didn’t remain idle and knitted a set of dark yellow sweater trousers for Mom. Actually, Mom was only thirty-nine, but due to long-term labor, she looked like someone around forty-eight or forty-nine.
If her Mom took care of herself, she would still look beautiful. Lin Wan resembled her mom in looks, especially her skin, which was so fair and tender that it seemed to ooze water.
However, her mom often worked in the fields, and her face and hands were so tanned that you couldn’t see her original skin color. Once she took off her clothes, her face and body were a stark contrast.
At this time, yarn was a novel commodity in rural areas. Mom didn’t know how, and watched Lin Wan knit stitch by stitch, producing sweaters that looked great when worn.