HLnovel Chapter 17 Asking Aunt Lin to Make Clothes
Chapter 17 Asking Aunt Lin to Make Clothes
Song Jiaojiao looked closely at Fei Hu in front of her, thinking to herself, "It has indeed grown up. At first, it looked like a little kitten, but now it's about the size of an adult cat. And there's something faintly about to emerge from its forehead."
Without lingering with Fei Hu, Song Jiaojiao took out the grapevines she had dug up yesterday and planted them in the yellow soil. After planting the grapes, she went to check on the seeds she had planted a couple of days ago and found that they were mostly small vegetables and seedlings, some of which were still unidentifiable.
The space was ready, and it was already 9-11 am. Remembering that the cloth had arrived yesterday, I took it out and prepared to ask the villagers for help.
"Big sister, I've left some cloth in the inner room. If you have time, make it into two quilts. Stuff them with cotton, and take them out to air when the weather is nice," Song Jiaojiao said to Mu Qing as she tidied up the cloth.
"Oh, right. Take a basket and fill it with chestnuts so I can take them to Aunt Lin," Song Jiaojiao said after thinking for a moment.
Upon hearing this, Mu Qing quickly went to pack the chestnuts and handed them to Song Jiaojiao. "Mom, here you go. How do you prepare the white fungus? Should we just leave it outside to dry?"
"I completely forgot about it until you mentioned it. It needs to be flipped over. Second sister, come here." Song Jiaojiao patted her head, realizing she had indeed forgotten about it, and quickly called Mu Xue over.
"Hey, Mother, did you call me?" Mu Xue ran out from the backyard.
"Second sister, Mother has a task for you. If you do this task well, we can build a new house before the New Year." Song Jiaojiao led Mu Xue to Yin Er's side.
"When the white fungus is half-dry, you need to turn it over gently, otherwise it will break and become worthless. That's it, remember?" Song Jiaojiao demonstrated for Mu Xue.
"Yes, I understand, Mother, don't worry." Mu Xue looked up and replied, her eyes full of seriousness.
"Okay, then I'll leave this to you." Song Jiaojiao said with a smile, patting Mu Xue's head.
Mu Xue nodded heavily, "Mother, don't worry, I will definitely do my best."
Seeing that everything at home was arranged, Song Jiaojiao took her basket and carrying hamper and went out.
Third Uncle's house was in the center of the village, not far from the village chief's house. Fifteen minutes later, Song Jiaojiao arrived in front of a tiled house. Various wild vegetables were drying in the yard, and a rope was strung in the middle of the yard with clothes and quilts drying on it.
Just then, Aunt Lin came out carrying a wooden bucket and saw Song Jiaojiao.
She quickly put down the bucket, wiped her hands on her clothes, and called out loudly, "Jiaojiao is here! Come in and sit down!"
He quickly welcomed Song Jiaojiao in, saying, "Come in, have a seat. It's rare for you to come all this way."
"Aunt Lin, don't bother, I'll take care of it. This is some food I picked on the mountain, I brought it for you." Song Jiaojiao handed the basket to Aunt Lin. Aunt Lin looked at it, but didn't recognize it.
"Why did you bring things here? Take them back later." Aunt Lin quickly waved her hand and declined. Everyone in the village knew about Song Jiaojiao's family situation; they were struggling to make ends meet. How could she take anything from her family?
"Oh, Aunt Lin, please don't refuse. I'm here to ask you for help with something. If you don't accept it, I'll feel embarrassed to ask."
"Hey, just let me know if you need anything. You don't need to bring anything. We're neighbors, we help each other out, there's no need to carry anything," Aunt Lin said cheerfully.
“It’s nothing valuable, but it’s worth more than needing your help with this.” Song Jiaojiao said slowly. Aunt Lin asked when she heard this.
"What's the matter?"
"I sold some medicinal herbs the day before yesterday, and since the weather is getting colder, I bought some cloth. I was wondering if you could help me make a few outfits." As she spoke, Song Jiaojiao took out the cloth and cotton from her basket.
Hearing this, Aunt Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Oh, I thought it was something serious. It's nothing, your sister-in-law and I will do it together."
"Then it's settled. Make one set of these pale yellow clothes for each of my two little girls, two sets of grass green clothes for me, and one set for each of the two sisters. These ultramarine and lake blue clothes are for He Fan. There are a lot of them, so I'll have to trouble you, Auntie. We'll charge you ten coins per set, according to the town's prices." Song Jiaojiao explained carefully to Aunt Lin.
"No need for money, it's nothing. Your sister-in-law and I will make it for you tonight and deliver it before it gets cold," Aunt Lin said with a smile.
"No, Auntie, I can't trouble you if you say that. It's already delaying your work. Even brothers keep clear accounts. You still have to give what you owe. Otherwise, I won't dare to ask for your help later." Song Jiaojiao quickly said, afraid that her aunt would refuse.
"Alright, alright, since you've said so, I'll shamelessly accept it. It would be impolite to refuse it any longer." Aunt Lin said, taking the cloth and placing it on the stool.
"By the way, Aunt Lin, chestnuts can be steamed, boiled, or stewed with chicken. They're all delicious. They're soft and chewy. You can also eat them raw, but eat them in moderation, as they can cause bloating." Song Jiaojiao remembered that no one in the village had ever eaten chestnuts before, so she told Aunt Lin how to cook them.
"Hey, even if you didn't tell me, I would have asked you anyway. I've never eaten this before. What kind of fruit is this? I've never seen it before." Aunt Lin took out a chestnut and examined it.
"It's a prickly fruit. There are many on the mountain. After removing the outer thorns, the inside looks like this. Just peel off the brown skin before cooking." Song Jiaojiao took one out, peeled it, and handed it to Aunt Lin.
Aunt Lin put it in her mouth and chewed, her eyes lighting up. "You know what, it tastes sweet and crunchy like this. There are them all over the mountains and fields. How come we never realized they were edible before?"
"I just happened to see the squirrel eating it, and I thought if animals can eat it, then people can too, so I tried it. I didn't expect it to actually be edible," Song Jiaojiao said casually, without batting an eye.
“That makes sense. If animals can eat it, then humans can definitely eat it too. You're very observant.” Aunt Lin said, peeling off another chestnut and chewing on it. “These chestnuts are so addictive. I'll have my boys go up the mountain to pick some later.”
"We need to hurry, otherwise it will be difficult to process them if it rains. Let them dry in the sun, and the outer shell will be easier to remove." Song Jiaojiao told Aunt Lin about the precautions for processing chestnuts.
"Oh dear, the sun's already so high without us realizing it. Time to cook! Jiaojiao, you'll have lunch at Aunt Lin's." Aunt Lin looked up at the sky and quickly stood up to say.
"No, Aunt Lin, the child is still at home, I'm worried about him, so I'll go back first. I'll have to trouble you and my sister-in-law with the clothes." Song Jiaojiao said, getting up and picking up the basket and carrying basket.
"Oh, that's nothing. Since you put it that way, I won't keep you any longer," Aunt Lin said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Okay, Aunt Lin, I won't bother you any longer, please don't see me off." Song Jiaojiao said as she walked out of the courtyard.
"Oh, I won't see you off. Come visit me again sometime."
Song Jiaojiao waved and left. She encountered many people on her way home after finishing their work.
"Oh, it's Wang Chi's wife! Where are you from?" As Song Jiaojiao passed by the big tree in the village, an auntie sitting and chatting called out to her.