Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

At noon, I cooked a pot of millet porridge, and Ximei also made a few white flour pancakes.

The aroma of oil and flour wafted from the stove. Qingge squatted by the stove for a long time, and as soon as the pancake was ready, he couldn't wait to tear off half of it and stuff it into his mouth.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Sanlang prepared to take the linen to a tailor shop to have his clothes made.

"Father, we don't need to take this fabric to the tailor. I can make it myself." Xi Mei unfolded a corner of the rolled-up fabric, and, imitating what she had seen before, measured the width of the fabric with her fingers. "I also watched my aunt make a jacket for Bao Ge'er."

Zhang Sanlang glanced at her.

The nine-year-old's stitches were still uneven. Her so-called skill was altering old clothes to a smaller size, patching up holes, and turning the worn-out cuffs inside out before sewing them back together.

This new cloth was brought back from the cloth shop. Once it's cut too badly, it can't be repaired. But as Xi Mei finished speaking, she pursed her lips slightly and gripped the edge of the cloth with her fingers.

Zhang Sanlang knew she wasn't showing off; she just couldn't bear to part with the few dozen coins she earned as a seamstress.

"Let's make Qing-ge's first." Zhang Sanlang pushed the roll of cloth in front of her. "It doesn't matter if it's ruined. Most of this cloth was given to us by Manager Zhu. We can just go and get another bolt another day."

happy Mei'er's lips curled up slightly, then she pursed them back.

She sat on the edge of the bed with the roll of cloth in her arms and began to calculate the size, muttering about Qingge'er's height and shoulder width, gesturing with her fingers on the cloth.

Zhang Sanlang shook his head, thought for a moment, and then left empty-handed.

In the old house, happy Mei pulled Qing Ge into the room, told him to stand up straight and not move, and measured from his shoulder to his waist with her fingers, and then from his waist to his ankle.

Without a ruler, she used her fingers as a ruler, measuring one inch per finger, and measured several times, silently memorizing the number.

Then she spread the linen cloth out on the low table, took a breath, and, imitating Zhang's mother in her memory, smoothed the cloth, pressed it down with her palm, aimed at the edge of the table, and cut it down with a kitchen knife.

It can't be cut.

The linen was much thicker than the old clothes, with coarse and tough fibers. When the cleaver cut into it, it felt like cutting into a rope. The blade slipped several times, leaving a few shallow cuts on the fabric.

She bit her lower lip and tried again, but it still didn't work.

Without scissors, it's impossible to cut.

She told Qingge to play at home, then took the roll of cloth and went out of the east wing.

At the entrance of the west wing, A-Yun was sitting by the door pasting paper boxes.

In front of him was a stack of cut bamboo paper, a bowl of thin paste, a bamboo scraper, and his fingers were covered in paste.

She's been pasting since morning, and has finished pasting more than twenty pieces, with more than a dozen still unfinished.

Seeing Ximei come out carrying a roll of cloth, she put down her scraper and called out to her, "Where are you going?"

Xi Mei stopped, somewhat embarrassed, and pulled the rolled-up cloth closer to her chest: "Sister Yun, do you have a ruler and scissors at home?"

A-Yun stood up, wiped her hands on her apron, went inside, and brought out an old ruler and a pair of iron shears.

The ruler was made of bamboo strips, and the markings were worn and blurred. The handles of the scissors were wrapped with hemp rope, but the blades were still quite sharp.

happy Mei'er took the clothes, thanked her, and turned to leave. After taking two steps, she stopped, turned back, and asked, "Sister Yun, do you know how to sew?"

A-Yun glanced at her, put down the cardboard box she was holding, wiped her hands with her apron, and took the roll of fabric. "What are you cutting?"

"My dad bought half a bolt of cloth, and I wanted to make a little jacket for Qing-ge. I've taken the measurements, but I just can't cut this much cloth."

A-Yun unfolded the roll of cloth, rubbed the fabric between her fingers, and glanced at the size that happy-Mei-Er had measured.

She laid the cloth on the table, held it down with a ruler, cut a small slit along the edge of the cloth with the blade of scissors, held both sides of the slit with her hands, and with a hiss, tore off a piece neatly.

happy Mei'er's eyes lit up.

Two girls squatted together cutting fabric.

She helped Ah-Yun cut the fabric, pulling it as the scissors cut along the grain, making a snip-snip sound.

Hearing the noise, Qingge ran out of the house, squatted down and watched for a while, then ran to look at the unfinished paper box.

A-Yun folded the cut pieces of clothing together and asked happy-Mei whether she wanted thread or straw rope sewn on. happy-Mei ran back to the east wing and brought over the sewing basket.

Ah-Yun rubbed the needle in her hair, bent down to thread the needle, and began to sew the first stitch.

happy Mei watched from the side, occasionally handing over a thimble or a piece of cloth.

A-Yun sewed a few stitches, and then asked Xi-Mei to sew a few stitches as well. Xi-Mei sewed slowly, and the stitches were crooked. A-Yun pointed to those stitches with her finger and said that they needed to be sewn back a bit so they wouldn't come undone.

Ximei took it apart and sewed it again; this time it was much neater than before.

Qingge's size is small, and the jacket is easy to make.

Sunlight slanted in through the window of the west wing, receding inch by inch until it reached the door. Ah Yun finished sewing the last edge, bit off the thread with her teeth, and unfolded the jacket.

The linen was natural, simple and neat, with dense stitches. The few stitches that Ximei sewed were hidden under her armpits, and could not be seen unless you looked closely.

Qingge ran around the yard in his new jacket, the collar brushing against his chin and the sleeves a little too long. Ximei caught up with him, rolled up the sleeves twice, and shouted at him to slow down, saying that his new shoes hadn't been made yet.

A-Yun leaned against the door frame, watching them smile, and then put the scissors back inside.

When Zhang Sanlang returned in the evening, he pushed open the courtyard gate and saw Qingge'er wearing a new jacket chasing a hen in the yard.

The hen belonged to He Liushi in the back room. It was chased all over the yard and its clucking echoed against the four walls of the yard.

When Zhang Sanlang saw the new jacket he was wearing, he was first taken aback, then smiled. He beckoned Qingge'er over, ran his thumb along the stitches, and asked Ximei'er, "Not bad, did you make this?"

Xi Mei looked down at her toes and shook her head. "Sister Yun helped. She cut the cloth and sewed most of the stitches."

After saying that, she reluctantly pointed out the part she had sewn to Zhang Sanlang. It was sewn under her armpit, crooked and uneven, and far inferior to the row that A-Yun had sewn.

Zhang Sanlang pulled Ximei'er to his side, patted her on the shoulder, and said, "She's better than your father."

He counted out fifty copper coins from his sleeve and handed them to Ximei, "Take this to your sister Yun. She's helping with the jacket, which must have taken up her work; we can't let her work for nothing. Ask her to make clothes for your father and me too."

happy Mei nodded, clutched the money, and ran to the west wing.

A-Yun was collecting the dried cardboard boxes when she saw the copper coins in Xi-Mei'er's hand and quickly waved her hand, "Don't take the money. Qing-Ge'er is so small, he only used a few needles and thread, it's not worth it. Take it back quickly."

happy Mei put the money into her hand.

Ah-Yun put her hands behind her back and took a step back.

The two girls pushed and shoved each other, and the copper coins fell to the ground, rolling several times.

As soon as Aunt Sun stepped into the courtyard, a wet apron was draped over her shoulder.

She bent down, picked up the copper coins, counted them, looked at Ximei, and asked Ayun what was going on.

After she understood, she stuffed the money into Ximei'er's hand and said, "It's not right to charge money when a neighbor helps make a dress. Go back and tell your father that I said so. If he insists on paying, then Ayun won't make it."