Chapter 46: Making Clothes

An Yinan turned on the electric sewing machine and stitched quickly; clothes nowadays didn't need decoration, with practicality being the main priority.

Cutting the fabric for one set of clothes took three minutes, and sewing took five minutes, totaling only eight minutes.

Looking at the small army-green jacket and trousers in her hands, she would have Beibei change into them tomorrow.

Afterward, following Mo Yunshen's height and measurements, her hands moved like flying, without any hesitation at all.

However, she didn't actually make an outer coat for Mo Yunshen, but instead padded the middle with cotton, used army-green fabric for the lining, and then used the sewing machine to stitch it in small squares; this way, the cotton wouldn't easily shift, and the warmth would be much better.

Because she used new cotton, the little padded jacket and trousers were very soft, and he could wear his usual patched coat over them; Quanshui Village was exceptionally tolerant toward the people in the Cowshed, unlike other villages where they were dragged out for struggle sessions at every turn and often beaten until covered in wounds.

The Cowshed in Quanshui Village only meant doing the heaviest labor and receiving the least grain; usually, when everyone saw them, they acted as if they hadn't seen them at all.

As long as they didn't stand out, no one delved too deeply into things, which had a lot to do with the Captain's attitude; the Captain turned a blind eye to the Cowshed, and the villagers followed suit.

In one night, An Yinan made five sets of clothes; she had made a jacket for little Beibei, and since little Beibei's padded clothes were still the ones his godmother had made, he didn't need new ones this year, but next year when he grew taller, she could just add some cotton and refurbish them.

She made a set of padded jacket and trousers for Yun Shen and an army-green outer coat for Chen Xun; at the hem of his jacket, she specially made several hidden layers, inside which she packed cold medicine, Fever-reducing Medicine, Anti-inflammatory Medicine, and hemostatic powder, with each medicine sealed for waterproofing using plastic; he belonged to a high-risk profession, and she didn't know if these would come in handy, but it was better to be prepared.

She also made a set of army-green clothes for her godfather, specially ironing them flat so they looked crisp and neat.

She prepared to make a Woolen Coat for her godmother, though she didn't make it together with the others today; the last set of clothes was for Auntie Liu, for whom she made a set of quilted padded jacket and trousers, which were light and thin yet very warm, also using the square-stitching method to keep the cotton in place.

This auntie was lonely and helpless, her only son having died on the battlefield, and An Yinan wanted to be a little kinder to her.

After finishing the five sets of clothes, she looked at the clock hanging on the wall; it was already eleven o'clock, so she set the alarm on her phone and slept in the space, planning to start supplementing Beibei's nutrition tomorrow; anyway, with the Translator Certificate as a shield, she didn't need to worry about the use of supplies.

The alarm rang, and An Yinan woke up in a daze, changed her clothes, and then left the space; seeing that it was still dark outside, she noted that the days were shorter now, and the brigade's work whistle had also changed its time.

An Yinan first boiled water and filled all the thermoses, then kneaded the dough and rolled out noodles; after the noodles were ready, she used a spatula to scoop some lard from the oil jar, put it into the pot, added scallions, ginger, and garlic to stir-fry, then poured in boiling water and seasonings, and brought the water to a boil.

"Sister, it smells so good, what are you making?" Beibei had already been woken up by the fragrance and simply got up and dressed quickly.

"Awake? Sister made noodle soup, go wash up first." An Yinan brought the pot to a boil, dropped the noodles in, and then replied to An Xiangbei.

An Xiangbei washed up quickly, and after finishing, he squatted down to watch the fire.

"Get up now, no need to watch the fire; go to sister's room, there are two sets of clothes on the kang, the one with the army-green jacket is yours, go try it on and see if it fits." It had been quite a while since she transmigrated, and she didn't know if her skills had grown rusty or if her eye for sizing was still there.

An Xiangbei stood up, "Sister made new clothes? You don't need to make them for me next time, sister should make two sets for yourself, my clothes are still enough."

The more sensible the child, the more the adult's heart aches; that was probably the truth of it.

"Go try it on." An Yinan didn't answer.

"Okay." Beibei heard that his sister didn't respond and knew that saying anything was useless; he would just buy clothes for his sister when he earned money in the future.

Beibei walked to An Yinan's room and saw the two stacks of army-green clothes on the kang at a glance; his sister had said the jacket was his, so he took the jacket, returned to his room, took off his old clothes, and put on the new one.

The army-green outfit made him feel like he was a soldier who could protect his home and country and protect his sister.

"Sister." Beibei walked out of the room; although his little face was straight, one could see the starlight in his eyes.

"Handsome, my Beibei is truly handsome." An Yinan praised him straightforwardly; at one meter four, he was still a bit short, but since coming to the countryside, Beibei had grown a lot and now looked like a little adult.

An Xiangbei's little face turned red, but he didn't argue back; he knew arguing was ineffective—who let his sister be the head of the household?

"I'll go change out of it." Beibei said as he prepared to go back to his room.

"Change into what? Sister has time this afternoon to make you another set, so you can alternate wearing them; from now on, just wear them like this." An Yinan refused, looking at her cute, obedient younger brother—how pleasing to the eye.

Beibei wanted to say something else, but thinking of his sister's words from yesterday, he didn't argue further.

The noodles An Yinan cooked were very fragrant, with tender green cabbage leaves floating inside, looking very appetizing.

"The other set is for Yun Shen; let's send it to him in a few days." An Yinan paused before explaining, "His status is what it is, and neither of us can change that; I made him the padded inner layer, and he can wear his patched coat over it, so don't let the villagers say anything."

Beibei opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

His sister was so good; he had said this sentence many times, and his sister had always been this good, teaching him and nurturing him like a father and mother, giving him the best of everything—he kept all of this in his heart.

"Eat quickly, at this hour, your sister Yuanyuan hasn't woken up yet, let's eat first, and after you're done, you can go do your own things."

In the village, families had many children, and children had to work when they were very young; only those who doted on their children let them go out to play.

"Okay, I'll read for a while." An Xiangbei agreed; he used to go to the Cowshed to study with Mo Yunshen, but hearing his sister's tone, something had happened over at the Cowshed; although he was a little worried, his sister had still made clothes for Yun Shen, so it probably wasn't a major issue, and he felt at ease studying at home.

An Yinan wanted to continue making clothes in the morning, but she didn't expect Xie Er to come over, "Educated Youth An, the vegetable garden behind your house is all fenced up; the old gate wasn't very sturdy, so I took the liberty of replacing it with a new one for you."

Ever since the time they built the kang, An Yinan and the Xie Family had become quite close, and Xie Er had taken advantage of the slack farming season to quickly fence up the wall in An Yinan's backyard.

"That's wonderful, thank you for all the trouble, Ershu." An Yinan had previously agreed with Xie Er that the fence would cost three yuan, and since the mud was all dug from the mountainside and the father and son had made the mud into bricks themselves, there was basically no cost, just hard labor.