Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 26 - Reunion with an Old Friend_1
Chapter 26: Chapter 26 Reunion with an Old Friend_1
Chapter 26: Chapter 26 Reunion with an Old Friend_1
This winter was supposed to be the occasion for making a new padded jacket for Qian Manxia. Over the past two years, Qian Manxia had grown quickly, and her jacket had become too short, extended over and over for another year. This year, it wasn’t just short, but also tight. As a young girl in her prime, she looked on with envy every time Qian Mandie got new clothes.
Previously, Lady Wu had promised to make her a new one, but now with the reality of their finances, she could only apologize and say to the young girl, “Auntie Xia, let your sister-in-law take the old jacket apart and add some padding.”
Qian Manxia nodded understandingly and said, “Okay. Sister-in-law is skilled with her hands, and even the altered old jacket will look good.”
Qian Yijin said from the side, “Granny, use my cotton for Auntie. I’m a boy, new clothes don’t bother me.” Except for food, the little lad showed awareness of putting others before himself in every other aspect.
Yesterday, Old woman Qian came by, mentioning that Qian Yijin’s padded jacket and trousers were already short. She’d bought a catty of cotton and a few yards of coarse cloth in town, asking Cheng Yue to make him a set of padded clothes and trousers.
Lady Wu dared not divert the earmarked cotton to Qian Manxia. Old woman Qian would secretly bring Qian Sangui and Qian Yijin treats while guarding against Lady Wu giving any to Qian Yixiu and Qian Manxia, hinting at it in her words. If something obviously allocated was misused, wouldn’t there be consequences?
However, by taking apart Qian Yijin’s old jacket and pulling out some cotton for Qian Manxia’s padding, what remained could still be used to alter Qian Yixiu’s clothing.
Lady Wu counted the money meticulously, and somehow the family struggled through another harsh winter. Everyone was hoping for the winter wheat harvest, expecting things at home would then improve a bit.
Nowadays, there was not even enough food to feed everyone, and not only had Qian Yijin’s visits to the village for meals increased, even Dashan’s forays into the mountains were more frequent than in previous years.
Another issue was the emergence of loafers on the west side of the village. They took advantage of Dashan and Qian Yijin’s absences to hang around the courtyard making dog and frog noises and uttering nonsense, though they still didn’t dare do anything too outrageous in broad daylight.
Even though Dashan would go to the mountain every now and then to find food, he would always return home before dark. And these people were afraid of Qian Yijin, for despite his youth, his fierceness in the heat of the moment was on par with his household’s “big dog.”
Once, Fan Erhei and Hua Dianzi saw Dashan go to the mountain, so they came over to the house to make frog calls. They were met by a stone thrown from the yard that hit them squarely, followed by curses as Qian Yijin, clutching a wood-chopping knife, rushed out. The sight of his bloodshot eyes and the gleaming knife sent the two grown men running in fright.
When spring arrived, flowers bloomed in abundance, and the Qian family also emerged from their sadness. Qian Sangui’s health was still very poor, bedridden and unable to get up, but it was a miracle he had survived the severe winter.
On the morning of the sixth of April, except for Qian Sangui, who was still resting in the room, the others were having breakfast in the main room. The breakfast consisted of corn porridge, but there were also two boiled eggs.
Lady Wu passed over the eggs, smiling as she said to the two children, “Today is your sixth birthday. In the blink of an eye, our Jinjin and Hope have grown so big.”
The two children had been eagerly awaiting this day and, grabbing the eggs, smiled so broadly their eyes disappeared into the joy of their grins as Qian Yijin exclaimed loudly, “Thank you, Grandma.”
Qian Yixiu also softly added, “Thank you, Grandma.”
“What else?” Cheng Yue asked anxiously, afraid they might forget her.
“Thank you, Mom,” the two children said in unison.
Qian Yijin eagerly peeled the eggshell and gulped down the egg in three bites, then downed two bowls of porridge.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.
Qian Yixiu, however, tucked the egg into her pouch, murmuring “I’ll eat it when I’m hungry,” and ate just over half a bowl of porridge.
After breakfast, Lady Wu went out to work the land. Since spring had come, the weeds in the fields were growing like mad, so she left to hoe them.
Dashan also dashed out. As the mountain animals became more abundant, he almost ventured into the mountains daily to forage for food.
After washing the dishes and then her clothes, Qian Manxia planned to go up the mountain to gather firewood. Usually, she went alone, but since she had collected a lot of dry kindling yesterday and hidden a bundle in the shrubbery, she asked Qian Yijin to help her fetch it.
Qian Yijin was tall and strong for his age, always seeing himself as a little adult. When he heard he was to help his little aunt with manual labor, he happily nodded in agreement.
Before leaving, he puffed out his little chest and instructed Qian Yixiu, “Little sister, after we leave, make sure to lock the door securely. Don’t open it even if someone knocks. If you want to go out and play, wait for your brother to come back and take you. Remember to take good care of mom, a woman as beautiful as mom shouldn’t be seen by just anyone.”
Upon hearing her brother’s command, Qian Yixiu obediently replied with a soft voice, “Okay.”
Qian Yijin said with satisfaction, “Good girl, sister. When I come back, I will get you some pretty big flowers.”
Squatting in the corner, Qian Yixiu was inwardly rolling her eyes. The little brat wasn’t that old, yet he put on quite a big act. Not only was he taller than Qian Yixiu, but his behavior was even more sophisticated, leaving Qian Yixiu, who had some of White Lotus Mom’s traits, a whole Chang’an Street behind.
Qian Manxia chuckled and tapped Qian Yijin on the head, saying, “Little devil, you’re so sharp.”
After they left, Qian Yixiu went to close the courtyard door. The moment the door shut, Cheng Yue suddenly caught a glimpse of a bright red outside the door. Those flowers were not there yesterday and had suddenly sprung up today. So, she remarked, “The flowers are beautiful.”
Qian Yixiu secured the door and then climbed onto a little stool to bolt it firmly. Then she came over, took Cheng Yue’s hand and said, “The flowers in the yard are also beautiful. Mom should look at the yard’s flowers.”
The flowering season for the peach trees had already passed, and their branches now bore tiny green peaches no bigger than the tips of fingers. Even when ripe, these peaches were inedible, being both sour and astringent.
Because Cheng Yue liked to see flowers, Lady Wu had planted several rosebushes under the courtyard walls two years ago. Now, a small stretch of the courtyard wall was covered with the lush branches and vines of the rose vine, which displayed countless buds and a few scattered blooms.
Cheng Yue glanced at the peach trees and rose vine, then her gaze turned towards the main gate as she said, “Brother Jiang said to look at the flowers outside the gate.”
Qian Yixiu held out an egg and, mimicking an adult’s voice, coaxed her, “Be a good girl, mom, and you’ll get to eat an egg.”
Cheng Yue knew that only people celebrating their birthdays got to eat eggs. She shook her head and said, “Jinjin is greedy, mom is not, I can’t eat Yixiu’s eggs.” After speaking, she sat sulking on the small stool.
Qian Yixiu’s heart softened, unable to bear seeing her mother so aggrieved. Seeing her mom pouting and sitting there, she hesitated and then said, “How about mom just takes a quick peep, okay?”
Cheng Yue eagerly nodded and replied, “Okay, mom will be good,” then paused, and added, “Yixiu is good too.”
Qian Yixiu stepped back onto the stool and unfastened the bolt. The two of them cracked the door open, standing inside while sticking their heads out to look at the flowers.
By this time, the sun was a bit oppressive, and Qian Yixiu, hiding in the corner, listened to the conversation between the mother and daughter. After a while, a man’s voice could be heard. After another while, sounds of several people leaving the courtyard could be heard.
Worry crept into Qian Yixiu as Cheng Yue had never left home before. Where had she gone? Who had taken her out?
Besides the chirping of birds in the trees, the courtyard fell into silence again.
As Qian Yixiu was feeling unsettled, she saw, to her surprise, Bull Head and Ma Mian coming back, their necks adorned with tags marked “007”. It was the very same bull and horse duo that had hooked her before.
……………………
Thanks to Yizhonghongzhuang, Hera@Qianlin (2), Jian, and Rose for the purses; thanks to everyone for the recommendations and comments. Please continue to click, recommend, and collect, and support us more.
