Chapter 7: Sleeve Guards
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the evening, second sister Su Qing returned from the tailor’s house with a heavy heart, carrying a large package.
That day, she had heard at her master’s house that her eldest sister had chased her brother-in-law out of the house. The rumors outside were extremely unpleasant.
In fact, she didn’t agree with it either, but her parents had told her to listen to her big sister before they died.
Forget it!
As long as Big sister was happy, just let her be!
Once Su Qing had made up her mind, she stopped overthinking. She forced a smile on her thin face and walked into the house.
However, the scene in front of her made her wonder if she had entered the wrong door.
Su Qing took a step back and confirmed that it was her house door.
Su Wen was distributing peach crisps to little sister Su and Su Xiu. When she saw Su Qing come in, she couldn’t help but do a double take.
Su Qing looked 60% like her, but she hadn’t develop well due to long-term malnutrition.
“Second sister, come in quickly. There’s good food.” Su Xiu greeted her repeatedly. She was even happier than during the new year.
“Oh!” Su Qing came in, confused. She only reacted when she took a bite of the peach crisps and felt the sweet and crisp taste melt in her mouth and ripple toward her heart.
Big sister was actually willing to share the peach crisps with everyone!
In fact, Su Qing had always known that her big sister had secretly hidden peach crisps. Although she wanted to eat them, she held back.
“You’ve brought cloth? Quick, let me see.”
Su Wen spent the entire afternoon cleaning, familiarizing herself with the family situation, and cooking dinner.
Now that she was done, she was waiting to show off her skills in making sleeve guards. When she was young, she would also follow her grandmother to make shoes, sewing and mending them.
“Huh? Oh!” Su Qing put down the cloth bag and took a bite of the peach crisps in a daze. It was only when the sweet taste bloomed in her mouth that she was sure that everything was real.
She didn’t know why, but her eyes were smarting. The peach crisps in her mouth was the most delicious food she had ever eaten, and she would never forget it for the rest of her life.
Su Wen pretended not to notice Su Qing’s peculiar behavior. She lowered her head to tidy up the bundle and was surprised to find that many pieces of cloth were actually very large and were not the small scraps she had imagined.
There was good quality cloths, cotton, khaki, various colors available, and even a ball of elastic bands.
That was great. With these, it wouldn’t be a problem making sleeve guards.
Su Wen had a healthy appreciation of art, and she knew how to handle it seriously. She divided the cloth according to the appropriate sizes.
Geometric shapes emerged from the assorted pieces of cloth and the colors were reasonably matched. Soon, a sleeve guard was made. It was also very pleasing to the eye and it could not be seen at all that it was made from rags.
The three sisters were stunned.
“Big sister, what is this that you’ve made?”
“Sleeve guards. The weather is warm now, and rice has to be planted in the fields. I’m going to make some sleeve guards for sale. They can protect you from the sun, as well as from leech and mosquito bites.”
Su Wen put on the sleeve guard; it stretched from her wrist to her arm. She then removed it and placed it on her calf, comparing it to see if the size was suitable.
Su Qing’s eyes seemed to light up. She took the finished sleeve and looked at it. “Big sister, your idea is good. We have a lot of such rags.”
The master had given her a few sizable pieces, but she was too timid to accept them. If she had known that her big sister could make such beautiful sleeve guards, she would have taken all of them.
“Can it be sold? If we’re caught, it’ll be an illegal opportunistic transaction.”
“Don’t worry, they can be sold. Let’s make a few dozen in the next few days and I’ll go to town to sell them.”
“How much can one be sold for?”
Su Wen wasn’t sure about the current prices, but she had a certain standard in her mind. “How much is an egg?”
“The smaller ones are 8 cents, and the larger ones are 9 cents each!”
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