Daily Life in the 70s
Chapter 300 Preparation

Chapter 300: Chapter 300 Preparation

Shen Yixiang was serious. Chen Guizhi’s great-uncle had once been a renowned local tailor, and Chen’s mother had eagerly hoped her children would learn the craft from their great-uncle. She encouraged them to often visit and observe him making clothes, and then secretly learn from him because by that time the great-uncle had made it clear that only his son could be his successor. Even a daughter was not allowed, let alone nieces and nephews.

The great-uncle did teach them some of the basics, however, in later special times when there was no use for his tailoring skills, he would work in the fields along with everyone else, returning to the countryside. Gradually, he stopped hiding his skills and would occasionally give them tips, especially to the girls, as they would depend on sewing for their families after getting married since clothes made at home were much cheaper than ready-made garments bought from stores. Thus, nobody was inclined to buy clothes from outside. Some families that couldn’t sew would buy fabric and go to the tailoring collectives in town and have the masters there make clothes for them, which also saved quite a bit of money.

Getting back to the point, Chen Guizhi was actually quite talented. Over the years, she had made all her family’s clothes stitch by stitch. Before the family split up, she was the one who made clothes for the entire household. Having made clothes for so many years, she was filled with experience.

Yang Peimin also recognized Chen Guizhi’s tailoring skills.

Shen Yixiang looked at her and said, "I regret not learning to make clothes properly from my mother when I was young. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have to relearn it all now." This thought came to her after seeing Sister Liu. She planned to pick up the craft of sewing clothes again. It wasn’t that she truly couldn’t do it; she had simply learned and then refused to do it again because she had thought she would never become a tailor.

Yang Peimin didn’t intend to interfere with her decision. If Shen needed help, he would try his best to assist her this time.

After greeting Sister Liu, Shen Yixiang would find time to visit whenever she was free.

Yang Peimin, on the other hand, didn’t bother with her. Although confined to bed and unable to move around, she managed to write down her daily plans and followed them as noted.

Because she had a lot of homework to do, had to deal with clothing matters, and prepare to return to the countryside for the New Year, she felt very occupied and fulfilled, despite having been confined to bed for nearly a month.

Now her abdomen had finally stopped hurting, and she could get out of bed and move around. Then, she felt like she had regained the use of her legs, and the sensation of walking again was truly wonderful.

However, the ensuing pregnancy symptoms made her quite depressed. She began feeling chest discomfort and nausea, couldn’t stand the smell of grease or fish, and her tastes grew increasingly fickle, often unable to eat because food didn’t agree with her palate.

Shen Yiguang also found it very troubling. How could she not eat? He tried everything he could. Although Shen Yixiang’s culinary skills had greatly improved, often they were not to Yang’s taste.

He inquired among the neighbors and learned of an Aunt Wang who cooked delicious meals. Whenever there was a feast, everyone would invite her to take charge of the kitchen.

Shen Yiguang found her and asked her to help cook two meals.

Yang Peimin and Shen Yixiang both disagreed, laughing because it felt like a waste of money. Shen Yixiang felt she could cook and that if she didn’t do well, she could learn and improve. Yang Peimin, on the other hand, believed she was capable of cooking as well.

After finishing the meal prepared by Aunt Wang, the two of them stopped talking in such a manner.

This was the hometown flavor that Yang Peimin loved and missed, and to her surprise, Aunt Wang was actually skilled at making Southern dishes. With Aunt Wang’s help, Shen Yixiang had more spare time and could spend more time at the sewing cooperative.

Yang Peimin also needed to prepare for her exams, which were coming up in a few days. After the exams, she would have winter break and return home for the New Year.

Thus, once Yang Peimin could get out of bed and move around, she slowly started attending classes at school.

Even though Li Yue had come over to help with tutoring, Peimin found that she had fallen behind a lot and hurriedly caught up.

She endured morning sickness during lessons, grateful that her symptoms were not severe and only attended the most important classes.

While she was busy preparing for the exams, Shen Yixiang joyfully prepared things to take home for the New Year.

A few days earlier, they had received a letter from back home, Chen Guizhi was now able to get out of bed, saying she was well and could do some light housework. She too was now preparing early for the New Year, telling them not to worry about the household, her words brimming with happiness.

With the weather being good, Chen Guizhi took out all the household quilts and covers to wash, especially those of Yang Peimin, as she knew her daughter-in-law loved cleanliness. Therefore, she cleaned Peimin’s room thoroughly several times and wiped down everything inside.

Neighbors who came to visit saw her washing things every day and asked when she had become so particular. They pointed out that she had only recently recovered from being ill.

It was like this for days, and the Li family next door knew it all too well. Huang Tao would tell others, "The Shen family’s new daughter-in-law is very particular. Even though she isn’t here, she keeps stirring things up at home. See? Isn’t Aunt Shen washing all of her daughter-in-law’s things? I’m not one to talk, but this is really too much. You all know Aunt Shen only just recovered from her illness, right? She was bedridden and very sick not long ago; haven’t you noticed she hasn’t been out for a while?"

The women gossiping with her nodded, "Yeah, it has been a long time since I’ve seen her. I thought her son was being considerate and didn’t let her continue working, assuming she had gone to enjoy a leisurely life at home. I didn’t realize she was recovering from an illness."

"Ah, do you really know or are you pretending not to know? Didn’t she fall into the ditch last time? It was dangerous. If she hadn’t been found quickly, she could have lost her life. I even visited her recently. You wouldn’t believe how thin she has become, and even speaking was difficult," said another gossiping woman.

Huang Tao nodded, "So you can imagine how serious the illness was at that time; she was nearly prepared for the worst. But her son and daughter-in-law didn’t come back to see her even once. It’s understandable that her son couldn’t leave the military, but her daughter-in-law is only studying and didn’t have any important commitments to keep her from coming back," she said, shaking her head.

"Now that she has just recovered, she hurriedly got out of bed to wash her daughter-in-law’s room items several times, waiting for their return. With her mother-in-law in such a condition, I wonder if they will feel at ease sleeping when they come back." Huang Tao shook her head again, as if feeling it was inappropriate for the Shen family’s son and daughter-in-law.

The women listening to her words also nodded in agreement, "Exactly."