Chapter 35 The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 35 New Cotton Clothes
As the days drew closer to their return journey from the capital, the weather grew colder. A couple of days ago, there was frost, which turned the small cabbage in the yard yellow. Worried about the cold weather during the journey, Mo Yan went to the store and bought a lot of cotton, intending to make a new set of cotton clothes and pants for everyone in the family, including Li Zhong and Li Yan.
On this day, seeing that the weather was good, Mo Yan hurriedly made cotton clothes in the yard, while Xin'er watched attentively by the side, occasionally helping to stuff cotton.
Li Yan also brought a chair and sat with the sisters, under Mo Yan's guidance, starting to make cotton clothes for their grandfather and themselves.
Zhen'er finished writing his characters and also ran over to join in the fun. The pure white cotton was warmed by the sun, and he occasionally used his hands to manipulate the cotton into various shapes, and surprisingly, the cotton animals he made really looked like the real thing.
"Big sister, this cotton is really white and soft. It must be warm to make clothes out of it. Our old cotton clothes used to be stiff and even had a musty smell!" Zhen'er remembered the old, non-insulating cotton clothes he used to wear, full of anticipation for the new ones.
Mo Yan, sewing the clothes, felt a pang in her heart at his words. "Cotton clothes tend to become like that over time. From now on, our family will make new ones every year!"
During the years in Mo's village, they had little to eat and even less to wear. Cotton was so expensive, let alone making new ones every year. Even the original owner, who was thirteen, had never worn new cotton clothes. But even with old cotton clothes, they were either resized for the children or had the cotton taken out to make new ones. With so many years of use, how could the cotton possibly remain soft and warm?
"Sister, with these good new cotton clothes, we won't freeze our hands and feet anymore, right?" Hearing her sister's words, Xiner recalled unpleasant memories. Every winter, without good cotton clothes, the three siblings could only shiver in bed. Even so, during the coldest days, they still got frostbite on their hands and feet, with redness and bleeding being mild symptoms. The worst was when the back of their hands became so bad that it was itchy and painful day and night. But their family was so poor that they couldn't even afford ointment, and they could only hope for spring to come early.
"Now it's much better. With food and drink, and even such expensive cotton, we can buy a lot. It's my first time wearing new cotton clothes!" Xiner expressed her longing for the new cotton clothes.
"Our cotton clothes are made thick, so they'll definitely keep us warm! When the clothes are done, I'll make gloves and cotton socks for you, so you won't get frostbite anymore." Mo Yan had these memories in her mind and couldn't believe how the three siblings had survived those years.
"Sister, I know about cotton socks, but what are gloves? Are they like sleeve tubes?" Li Yan, keen on new terms, couldn't help but ask.
Mo Yan was stunned for a moment. After going through the memories of the original owner, she realized that gloves didn't exist here. There were only sleeve tubes, which were open at both ends and could be put on to keep the hands warm.
"They're similar to sleeve tubes, worn on the hands for windproofing and warmth."
Li Yan's interest waned upon hearing this, and she lowered her head to work on the cotton clothes silently.
Zhen'er, playing with the cotton, suddenly sighed like a little adult and said softly, "Our family's life is so good now. It would be even better if we didn't have to go back to Mo's village!"
Mo Yan paused in her sewing, rubbing his little head and imitating his tone, saying softly, "As long as our family is together, it doesn't matter where we are, right?"
Unfortunately, her voice lacked the softness of a child's, and her attempt ended up making Xin'er and the others burst into laughter. Finally, Mo Yan couldn't hold back and laughed along with them.
In the room, Xiao Ruiyuan, who was reading on the bed, heard the laughter outside and suddenly found the content of the book a bit boring. He decisively got up, put on his shoes, and walked out.
Zhen'er was the first to see Xiao Ruiyuan coming out and took the initiative to greet him, "Big brother, you're out? Come sit here!"
As he spoke, he got up and moved the chair to an open space, then went over to help Xiao Ruiyuan.
Xiao Ruiyuan nodded slightly, looking at Zhen'er with a hint of tenderness in his eyes. Although his wound was no longer serious and didn't affect his normal movement as long as he was careful, he didn't refuse Zhen'er's kindness.
Zhen'er didn't mind his coldness, on the contrary, he liked this seemingly aloof big brother very much. The big brother was knowledgeable, and whenever he didn't understand something in his books, as long as he asked the big brother, the big brother knew, and patiently explained it to him.
Mo Yan felt a little strange, this guy had been in her house for four or five days, usually except for eating and going to the toilet, he hardly ever left his room. She didn't expect him to be willing to leave his room today.
Xiao Ruiyuan met her gaze, and unexpectedly thought of that night's incident again. His face couldn't help but blush slightly, and he couldn't help asking, "Are you leaving?"
Mo Yan looked at him strangely again. What's wrong with this guy today? So unusual?
Zhen'er didn't feel anything strange, and took the initiative to say, "Big brother, we escaped from the south and are now refugees. Now that the war is over, we're being sent back to our hometown. The government's notices have all been sent out!"
Xiao Ruiyuan furrowed his brows slightly, silent, and his cold face didn't reveal what he was thinking.
Zhen'er didn't care whether he liked to listen or not, and continued, "Our family is fine, we'll prepare more food to take with us. Now that we have thick cotton clothes, we won't be hungry or cold on the road. But those refugees in the north are pitiful, hungry and cold all the way, and who knows if they can safely make it home!"
At the end of his speech, he sighed with compassion.
Xiao Ruiyuan's brow furrowed even tighter.
Mo Yan, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. Wasn't this what she said? How did this kid hear it?
Since the government's notices were sent out, she had been worried about this matter. There were so many elderly and weak people in the refugee camp, but many of them didn't even have warm clothes. Whether they could safely return home was uncertain. But she had no way to solve this problem now. So when she bought cotton, she muttered helplessly, not expecting Zhen'er to remember it.
Xiao Ruiyuan's brow furrowed and relaxed, then furrowed again. In the end, he didn't say anything, but he had made up his mind.
That night, when everyone in the house had gone to bed, there were suddenly two cat cries outside the courtyard. Then, four or five shadows agilely climbed over the courtyard wall and landed gracefully in the yard.
Xiao Ruiyuan silently walked out of the house, without disturbing anyone.
The shadows saw him, moved uniformly, and knelt down on one knee without making a sound.
Xiao Ruiyuan looked at them expressionlessly. He seemed to disdain their late arrival. "Take out all the silver coins you have on you!"
The kneeling men were taken aback, then hurriedly obeyed the order, taking out all the silver coins they had on them and respectfully handing them over to their master.
Xiao Ruiyuan took the silver bills and coins, feeling even more disdainful when he saw how little there was. However, he didn't say anything more, but personally placed them on the dining table in the main hall. Just as he was about to leave, he thought for a moment and pressed down the sword that had been with him for many years on top of the stack of silver bills...
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