Sister-in-law Xu was pulled to a chair by Xu Yin and sat down. She then handed her nephew a piece of orange gummy candy wrapped in transparent cellophane. There were about a dozen of them, surrounding them like an orange.
Xiaodou Ding's eyes flickered.
"Eat it!" Xu Yin said with a smile.
He looked at his mother, then at Xu Yin, and timidly stretched out his little paw to take one.
He didn't dare to take more for fear of pinching him.
Seeing this, Xu Yin stuffed the whole orange candy into his pocket.
The small pocket suddenly bulged out into a big bag.
Little Douding glanced down and grinned.
"Yinyin, how do you want to mend your pants?"
Sister-in-law Xu picked up the pants and looked at them.
Everything else is pretty new, but there is a small tear in the trouser leg. Just sew this with thread of the same color.
There is an obvious wear and tear on the buttocks, probably caused by the rough benches in school.
“Just sew or patch?”
Xu Yin didn't want to choose either.
I asked my sister-in-law to cut off an inch of the trousers, so that the gap was just right.
Then the trouser legs were collected, and they became the popular small trouser legs in later generations.
Then I drew two jeans patches.
"Cut the fabric of the same color and stick it on your pants to create two more pockets."
"Hey, this is good. It has an extra layer. It can be used as a pocket and is also resistant to wear and tear."
Sister-in-law Xu’s sewing skills are very good, and she can put the patch on in just a few seconds.
He quickly sewed it onto his pants. After sewing, he shook off the threads and said in surprise:
"With this touch-up, it will look like new."
And so fashionable.
"Really?" Xu Yin herself was quite satisfied.
She has loved painting, children's painting, Chinese painting, sketching, and sketching since she was a child... from kindergarten to graduation from junior high school.
When I was in the second grade of junior high school, my family moved to a three-bedroom apartment, and she designed the decoration of the home.
Teachers and classmates all say that she has a talent for design.
With this talent and hard work, she won many awards.
In the college entrance examination, I originally wanted to take the Central Academy of Fine Arts, but my parents and teachers said that her results made it a pity to study in the Academy of Fine Arts.
It is obvious that key famous schools can make a breakthrough, and if they perform well, it is not impossible to Qingbei.
But she was particularly passionate about design at that time.
Her parents couldn't resist her, so they had to make a compromise - she studied industrial design at the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University as an undergraduate.
It was her decision to take the master's degree in apparel and fashion design from Donghua University.
Although I started wearing it before I graduated, I have a good grasp of theoretical knowledge and I often buy some fabrics I like and practice in my spare time.
In addition, in the previous two lives, she was the daughter of a tailor in the Republic of China and the youngest daughter of a farmer in ancient times, so sewing and mending was not a problem.
Not to mention just cutting an edge, cutting and sewing two patches, it is not difficult to make a new pair of pants on the spot.
But the key is that the original body doesn't know how to do it.
Not to mention sewing it up, asking her to put a needle through it would probably make a bleeding hole in her finger.
So I can only trouble my sister-in-law.
By the way, I would like to open up some new ideas for my sister-in-law:
"Bell-bottom pants are popular in the city now. Girls in our school like them, but I don't think they look good. I still like them..."
Xu Yin drew a sketch while talking:
"Sister-in-law, I still have a piece of labor cloth left over from making a coat last year. You can make me a pair of pants like this."
"become!"
Sister-in-law Xu agreed without saying a word.
Anyway, in this family, my sister-in-law's affairs are the top priority.
Besides, just making a pair of pants is much easier than collecting and chopping firewood.
Xu Yin did have the intention of letting her do less heavy work.
She remembered that her sister-in-law gave birth prematurely at the end of that year, and she died of hemorrhage at the same time she gave birth to her little nephew.
Calculating the time, Bao Qi is already pregnant by now.
Even if you are not pregnant, being so skinny and sallow is not conducive to raising a baby and having a baby.
But Xu's mother couldn't bear to see her daughter-in-law relax.
Seeing that he hadn't finished chopping the firewood, he hid in the room and didn't know what he was doing. He got so angry that he put his hands on his hips and cursed in the yard:
"Oh, let me see whose daughter-in-law is as lucky as my Xu family. She can hide in her room and be lazy before noon..."
Xu Yin quickly coaxed the person into the main room: "Mom, my sister-in-law is helping me with something!"
"Why don't you just mend your pants? Haven't you finished yet? I think she's just trying to be lazy." Xu's mother said angrily.
"It's done. Now I'll ask her to make me a new pair of trousers. Mom, you don't know, the pants I painted are popular in the city now, but it's too expensive to buy ready-made ones. Find a tailor shop to make them. I'll go home.
I asked before, the orders in the hands of the old tailor will be scheduled until the end of the year at the earliest, and I am not sure about the craftsmanship of the apprentices. What if the fabrics I finally saved are ruined? It just so happens that my sister-in-law is good at needlework, so she can save some money.
For a small amount of wages, the rags can be used to make a pair of shoes..."
When Xu's mother heard this, her face looked much better, but she was still unhappy:
"When can't we make pants and shoes? Let's chop the firewood first. I think she is just taking the opportunity to avoid being lazy!"
"Oh Mom, the chopped firewood can be used for two months. Let's put the rest aside until we finish making the pants. Don't let my sister-in-law do heavy work for the time being. Look at her rough hands. I'm worried about my...
It’s a good material, but it’s already scratched before I can make it into pants. I want to wear them to show off in front of my classmates! The ones they bought with money are not as good-looking as the ones I made without spending money.”
When Xu's mother heard what she said, she tapped her forehead with her index finger:
"You know how pretty you are! But my good girl is pretty and has the talent to be pretty! That's okay, I'll let you guys relax for two days, and wait until the pants are finished before we chop the firewood."
"Yeah, well, don't let her pick up the dung in the village."
Since farmland was assigned to each household, each family only had to work on their own fields and mountains.
The Xu family had a small population, so the land allocated to them was naturally not as large as other families.
After the busy farming season, there is no need for the whole family to go to the fields all day long to serve.
But the old people in the five-guarantee households who lost their husbands and sons during the war years were suffering, especially the heavy work of picking dung, where they could not do it.
So the cadres of the brigade announced that whoever helped the five-guarantee household to pick up manure and release water from the pond to catch fish at the end of the year would be given a few more kilograms.
When Xu's mother heard this, she signed up her daughter-in-law without saying a word.
Anyway, she is not the one who is tired. She can still earn some fresh food for her family at the end of the year, so why not do it.
"This is not a heavy job. It only comes once every three to five days, so why can't I do it?" Xu's mother said disapprovingly.
"Oh, that smell is so bad."
Xu Yin pinched her nose and pretended to be disgusted.
"I've wanted to say it for a long time. Every time I come back, the yard smells like that. My new pants are still in her room. Don't let them stink before I wear them."
Xu's mother heard that it made sense, but she still felt a little regretful:
"If you don't want to pick, don't pick. It will give her an advantage this time. She will have to lose a few kilograms of fish and shrimps during the Chinese New Year. I wonder if you can get a whole piece of your favorite stewed fish with tofu."
"..."
In any case, with Xu Yin's coaxing tactics, Xu's mother finally agreed not to assign heavy work to Sister-in-law Xu during this period.
Apart from the daily housework, I can wait until the pants are done to finish other tasks.