Lin Wan agreed since Aunt Jin said so. There are more than three hundred items at the new home. It indeed takes her several days alone.
The next day, Lin Wan took more than twenty tailored pieces from home, explained to Aunt Jin, and carried about twenty pieces to Mom’s place.
In one morning, twenty pieces were completed.
To make them look good for sale, Lin Wan specially went to the department store and spent ten yuan to buy an electric iron for ironing the clothes.
Shen Rong’s wedding also notified the Second Uncle’s side, and the day before the wedding, Second Aunt returned alone. Her son was out of town, her daughter couldn’t leave work, and of course, her husband always needed assistance with various things.
Lin Wan hadn’t seen Shen Jie for a long time and missed her somewhat. Shen Jie turned eighteen this year, and the leaf-print short sleeves suited her. To make it a set, Lin Wan made her a pair of wide-leg pants out of white gauze material.
Of course, Shen Rong couldn’t be left out, regardless of how she felt about her, she had to maintain appearances. So she also made Shen Rong a leaf-print top and a pair of slim white capris with a slightly different style.
Hu Lijuan was just sixteen this year, and Lin Wan prepared a white doll blouse short sleeve and a pair of leaf-print overalls for her.
The gifts for Second Aunt and Mother-in-Law were very conventional; she hadn’t prepared anything for Big Aunt. She never intended to, and since Grandma stopped her, she didn’t prepare anything according to Grandma’s wishes.
The morning of the wedding, Mother-in-Law Shen Qing arrived early with Hu Lijuan.
Before she could take out the clothes, Grandma and Second Aunt smiled and said Lin Wan had prepared gifts for them, quickly pulling the two to the room to try them on.
Seeing Mother-in-Law, Lin Wan felt inexplicably reserved and didn’t follow them, instead she went to the kitchen to busy herself.
"Xiaoqing, Xiao Yi marrying this daughter-in-law is a filial one. Look, she even thought of me, the Second Aunt, and even prepared for Xiao Jie." Fang Xin was genuinely satisfied with Xiao Yi’s wife.
Initially, she had concerns upon hearing Xiao Yi wanted to marry a rural girl from another province. It wasn’t disdain, but concern that someone from such a household might covet Xiao Yi’s money. After a few interactions, those worries vanished completely.
The most important thing was her filial piety. Since Xiao Wan married into the family, Fang Xin rarely visited, knowing someone was there to care for the Mother-in-Law. Now, Xinghe even found her a light job, and she started working.
There’s nothing to hope for from the eldest brother’s family; before Xiao Wan, she used to come back once every one or two months to look after Mother-in-Law, helping with washing. Younger Aunt returned occasionally too, but despite living close by, visiting her birth family was still challenging.
Because of the old woman at home, alas, Younger Aunt lived like a martyr in this life.
"Mom, the clothes Saozi gave me are really beautiful." Hu Lijuan was now in her senior year of high school. Her usual clothes were all hand-me-downs from her cousin over the years, with Grandma only adding two new pieces for her.
After growing up, Mom secretly bought her some clothes, claiming they were from Grandma when she returned home. Luckily, her cousin wouldn’t snatch them from her.
Her usual new clothes either came from Grandma or were gifted by Sister Xiao Jie. At times, if her cousin found them appealing, she’d try to snatch them; if refused, she’d tug on Grandma to demand them.
"They are indeed beautiful. Save them until school starts to wear them there." Looking at the new clothes, Shen Qing felt bittersweet.
She hadn’t taken care of Xiao Yi from a young age, and they grew apart; she reckoned it was good this way since she couldn’t bear his filial duties, nor could she help him.