73: Chapter 73 Making Clothes
73 -73 Making Clothes
The men went up the mountain to chop bamboo and made some sellable items at home, which they then took to the town to exchange for some grain and cash.
If the bamboo chairs and bamboo tables at home were broken, they would also need to be repaired or remade.
The women needle-worked shoe soles, made clothes for spring and summer, and embroidered handkerchiefs among other things.
In short, the people of the farm were busy throughout all the seasons of the year.
Wang Shun’s mother carried a basket to Gu Youyou’s house to mooch some fire, and at the same time, she taught Gu Youyou some handicrafts.
Gu Youyou was ill and couldn’t be away from the stove in the cold weather, but ordinary families didn’t keep a fire going—it was too wasteful.
Wang Shun’s mother was going to embroider handkerchiefs anyway, so by going to Gu Youyou’s house, not only could she teach her, but she could also enjoy the warmth of the fire and have a chat with Gu Youyou, which made both of them happy.
Her handiwork was quite good, with tight stitches and accurate cutting.
Gu Youyou learned quickly following her lead.
Of course, Gu Youyou already knew how to do it, she was just going through the motions, so of course it was quick.
When Wang Family’s aunt saw the singularly styled robe that Gu Youyou had made, she was surprised for a long while.
“Youyou, how did you come up with this?”
The fabric was coarse hemp, but why did it seem so different when it was in Gu Youyou’s hands?
She felt that only women in the city could wear such clothes.
And this handiwork, especially the cutting, was no worse than her own!
You should know that she was the wife in Lotus Village with the best cutting skills; the sizes were always just right, never wasting any cloth.
Gu Youyou smiled modestly and said, “It’s all thanks to Auntie Wang’s good teaching!”
“Oh my, it’s not that I taught well, it’s that you, Youyou, are clever.” She looked at Gu Youyou and sighed, feeling pity, and said in a low voice, “Ah, look at you, such a fine girl.
If it weren’t for the illness that has tormented you for so many years, you should have gone to your maternal home to enjoy a good life by now, and you surely wouldn’t be cooped up in this mountain ravine!”
Gu Youyou laughed lightly, “Why speak of such things, Auntie?
Everyone’s fate is different!”
Auntie Wang quickly laughed and said, “Yes, yes, let’s not talk about that.
No matter what, you’re feeling better from your illness, and whether or not you have wealth and honor is not important.
The key is to be well and healthy; that’s more important than anything.”
Indeed, if you don’t even have your life, what kind of days can you lead, and what is there to be concerned about?
Taking advantage of the month, Gu Youyou made all the leftover coarse cloth into clothes—two sets for spring and two for the summer for herself.
She made another two sets for Jin Zijin from the dark materials.
As for the future, that would be addressed later.
After this summer, she was certain that she would be able to live a good life.
On an early spring morning, the weather was still a bit chilly.
In such variable weather, Gu Youyou, as a fitting sickling, conscientiously swathed herself like a rice dumpling.
Gu Youyou had taken medicine she prepared herself, and the chill in her body was under control, but for some reason, her body temperature remained very cold.
The weather was getting warmer, and she wasn’t particularly afraid of the cold; rather, she felt that the temperature of her body was abnormal, like Jin Zijin’s.
His body temperature was clearly higher than that of an average person, while hers, in contrast, was definitely lower.
She faintly felt that this was not something cure could resolve, nor was it related to illness—it seemed as if this body was naturally meant to be this way.
Gu Youyou set aside these insurmountable medical puzzles for the moment and decided not to bother with them as long as her bodily functions were fine.
The little grass on the ground shot up tender shoots and new green leaves, endearingly like little sprites poking their heads out.
Down on the fields by the mountain, busy figures began to appear one after another.