The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 79 - Little Sister, Stop—

79: Chapter 79: Little Sister, Stop—

79 -79: Little Sister, Stop—

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Wang Yongzhu, mending clothes for the first time, inevitably felt nervous, focusing intently without letting her thoughts wander, until she finally managed to patch up the tear in Wang Yongping’s trousers, only to discover a fine layer of sweat had formed on her forehead.

Wanting to reach up to wipe it, she remembered Lady Jiang’s admonition, never to touch needle and thread with sweaty hands, and withdrew her hand.

A soft little hand came up beside her, trying hard to wipe Wang Yongzhu’s face with a sleeve.

It was Jinshao, and because Lady Jiang valued cleanliness, the children were all kept tidy, their clothes carrying the scent of sunshine.

Wang Yongzhu simply closed her eyes, letting Jinshao do as she pleased on her face.

Children’s hands don’t know their strength, and with Jinshao being only two and short, while Wang Yongzhu was rather plump, she even had to lower her head to accommodate Jinshao.

Once her sweaty face was wiped, both of them were exhausted.

After enjoying her little nephew’s attentive service, Wang Yongzhu seated the little guy back on the chair.

Only then did she examine the finished trousers in her hands, flipping them over and over to check, and to her relief, they weren’t sewn to her skirt.

On closer inspection, the stitches were fairly fine, though uneven, and the seams wobbled like a centipede sprawled on the trousers, but at least the tear was mended.

Wang Yongzhu was quite satisfied.

Especially upon hearing the long-absent prompt from the System in her mind, her happiness grew even more.

“Congratulations, host, for completing the Primary Level Clothing task: ‘Sew a garment with fine stitches.’ Reward: 1 Point.

The host’s current stats are:

Clothing: Level 1, 0 Points

Food: Level 1, 0 Points

Housing: Level 0, 0 Points

Transportation: Level 0, 0 Points

Available Points: 2 Points (Points may be allocated to any of the above categories at will.)”

She finally earned that point.

Wang Yongzhu, now brimming with confidence, reached for another pair of trousers.

Whether it was finding her groove or discovering a real talent, Wang Yongzhu felt the subsequent mending was a piece of cake, and quickly finished the job with a whizzing needle.

The second repaired item was much better than the first.

The stitches were not only fine, but the seams were straighter as well.

Wang Yongzhu became interested and couldn’t stop the momentum.

She pinched Jinshao’s little cheek excitedly and rushed into Old Granny Zhang’s room to look for more tattered clothes to sew.

Despite being forthright, Old Granny Zhang was quite meticulous among the peasants, keeping her clothes neat and clean.

Any damaged clothes would usually be handed over to Lady Jiang for mending.

Wang Yongzhu rummaged through the room without finding a single item in need of her needlework.

Feeling somewhat deflated as she walked out, she happened to see that Jinshao had waited so long for his aunt that he became restless, jumped off the chair, and decided to find his aunt to play with.

With his short legs, he accidentally took a tumble, his clothes snagging in the chair.

“Rip—” a big tear opened up.

Wang Yongzhu’s eyes lit up, wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to gain some hands-on experience?

She first approached Jinshao and helped her up, dusting off her clothes.

Although Little Jinshao had fallen, the child of a peasant family was tough, and not even her eyes were red.

She charged at Wang Yongzhu, exclaiming, “Older cousin—”

Wang Yongzhu ruffled the little one’s hair, fetched some water to clean her hands and face, then settled the child on a chair with one hand while reaching for sewing thread with the other.

“It’s okay, sit tight, your older cousin will sew your clothes for you,” she said, threading the needle and preparing to mend the clothes right on Little Jinshao’s body.

Lady Jiang, who had just finished clearing the kitchen, came out and spotted them, breaking out into a cold sweat, “Younger sister, stop—”

She hurried over in a few quick strides, checking on her young son first to see that, thankfully, he was unharmed.

The little guy didn’t realize what had happened and thought his mother was playing with him, gleefully kicking his short legs, “Mother—”

Lady Jiang immediately noticed the tear in Jinshao’s clothes, and seeing her younger sister-in-law with the needle and thread, understood that she was intending to mend her son’s clothes.

Her face turned somewhat embarrassed as she felt ashamed for her suspicious mind, and, feeling a little uneasy, she started to remove Jinshao’s clothes while instructing Wang Yongzhu, “Younger sister, according to the rules handed down by our ancestors, we can’t sew on clothes that are on a person’s body, especially clothes that are being worn.

If they need to be mended, they must be taken off.

It’s a taboo that must never be broken!”

Seeing how seriously Lady Jiang spoke, Wang Yongzhu took mental note of it, reminding herself never to forget.

From the way Lady Jiang had rushed over, it seemed she thought Wang Yongzhu intended to harm Jinshao.

It appeared the negative impression Wang Yongzhu had left on them in the past was deeply entrenched.

Even though she had been trying to subtly change, and at the very least, she had always shown kind intentions to Lady Jiang, she had thought Lady Jiang would have a bit of trust in her.

But at the critical moment, Lady Jiang remembered the old Wang Yongzhu.

It seemed that to truly change her image, it would take time and accumulated effort, not something that could be achieved in just a day or a month.

With this thought, Wang Yongzhu calmed down, nodded her head to show she remembered, and eager to learn, she asked, “Does this taboo have a particular origin?”

Lady Jiang had been worried her younger sister-in-law would be upset, but seeing that she seemed completely unaware of her defensive and cautious behavior just moments ago, and even inquisitively asking about the taboo, perhaps she hadn’t noticed?

Lady Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.

As she searched for a piece of scrap fabric from the basket of needles and thread, and cut a small piece with scissors, she explained, “I don’t know the exact details, but ever since I started handling needle and thread, my mother drilled this into me, and the same has been passed down through generations.”

Wang Yongzhu nodded, then watched as Lady Jiang cut the fabric into strips and measured them against Jinshao’s removed clothing before starting to mend it.

Eager to learn, she asked further, “Third sister-in-law, why do you need to cut fabric strips when mending clothes?”

Lady Jiang, already feeling guilty, was desperate to find some words to ease her discomfort.

Seeing her sister-in-law’s inquiry, she had no reason to withhold and carefully instructed, “Jinshao is still young, and kids like to move about, plus their skin is delicate.

If you just sew it up with thread, it can easily tear again, and the ends of the thread can chafe the child’s skin.

Using a fabric patch, the thread ends will be on the outside and won’t rub against the child’s skin, and it’s less likely to tear again.”

So there were such considerations, Wang Yongzhu acknowledged, accepting the lesson.

Seeing Lady Jiang quickly mend the clothes and dress Jinshao in them.

Wang Yongzhu then passed over the two pairs of trousers she had mended, “Third sister-in-law, these are for Fourth Brother, could you check if they are alright?”

Lady Jiang took the trousers and examined them, surprised by her young sister-in-law’s talent for needlework.

One pair still showed crooked stitches, but there was significant improvement in the second pair.

Lady Jiang, skilled in the art of embroidery and mending, knew that her own daughter Jinhua simply couldn’t sit still, preferring to collect pig fodder or firewood rather than touch these tasks.

With her own plans in mind, she couldn’t teach Jinhua during the day, and at night, with no light, instruction was impossible.

She had learned from her mother how to judge whether a person had a gift for embroidery, and regrettably, Jinhua hadn’t inherited her mother’s talent.

She had thought that her skills would have no successor.

With Jinhua as her only daughter, and with no interest or talent for learning, would she be the one to let this craft die?