Chapter 519: Chapter 506: Wimp
âWhy do you suddenly want to make shoe soles? Are you thinking of making a pair of shoes for yourself? If youâre not in a hurry, I can glue them for you today and theyâll be ready in a couple of days.â
âWell, itâs urgent and not urgent at the same timeâŠâ Zhuang Qingning scratched her ear.
It is basically something she needed to complete. There was no other major purpose for it.
Zhuang Qingning casually looked at the bamboo basket used for sewing and spotted a pair of freshly carved unmade soles. She reached out and picked them up, âArenât these shoe soles?â
âThese were just carved out for your Uncle Yonghe to make a pair of shoes, and they were left aside after that, I didnât have time to finish them.â Seeing Zhuang Qingningâs persistence about these shoe soles, Mrs. He said, âThese soles could be used. I know your shoe size. I could trim them for you now.â
As Mrs. He spoke, she went to get the scissors.
âNo need, really.â Zhuang Qingning swiftly persuaded her, âItâs wasteful to alter the finished soles. Letâs leave them as they are. I will bring them back after sewing them and then return them to you.â
âTo be honest with you, I didnât come for the soles because I wanted to make shoes for myself. I just wanted to practice a bitâŠâ
âAs we grow older, it wonât be right if we canât do a little bit of needleworkâŠâ
âIâm not sure what to practice on, so I figured I would start with Uncle Yongheâs shoes. Donât mind the end result.â
Zhuang Qingning casually fibbed.
âRight.â Mrs. He nodded her head.
No matter how capable or noble a girl is, she must learn some needlework. This is for convenience, after all, in the future, she would have to sew her own clothes.
Even when she gets married, the gifts she gives to her in-laws and clothes she makes for her husband are all necessary tasks.
Itâs better to be prepared early.
âYou can take it back and give it a try.â Mrs. He found a piece of cloth, wrapped up the two soles, and handed them to Zhuang Qingning. She also gave Zhuang Qingning a bundle of thread that had been prepared, âThis is hemp rope thread. Iâve already twisted it for you. You should use this for sewing, as a small needle wonât hold up against these thick soles.â
âOk, I understand.â Zhuang Qingning took them, saw Zhuang Yonghe outside by the stove, moved closer to Mrs. He and lowered her voice, âAuntie, I still have to ask. In everything, itâs best to voice out.â
âJust like these shoe soles, if I didnât say anything, you would assume Iâm making shoes for myself. But I clarified, so now you know I want to practice.â
âIf you donât ask Uncle Yonghe about this matter, youâll be left guessing. If you ask clearly, it might turn out thereâs nothing at allâŠâ
âI understand.â Mrs. He nodded.
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Zhuang Qingning saw Mrs. Heâs serious face and knew Mrs. He had taken her words to heart. She said no more, picked up the shoe soles with a smile, and said, âIâll be going now.â
Having said that, she grabbed the shoe soles and left. In the entryway, she said goodbye to Zhuang Yonghe.
âGo slow, Miss Ning.â Zhuang Yonghe lifted the curtain for Zhuang Qingning. He didnât let it drop until she was out of sight. He then sat back down in front of the small heater and rubbed his hands, âItâs really cold today. My hands were too cold to be outside.â
âLuckily Miss Ning had all the workers make cotton gloves. Now even the people working outdoors donât feel the cold in their hands. The cotton gloves, I donât know how Miss Ning instructed them to sew them, but theyâre lightweight, soft, and warm, and donât impede work.â
âRight, when you have time these days, make some warm sleeves. I see Mingli and Qingsui need to protect their hands when they study. Even though the house is warm and they wonât freeze their hands, itâs a bit chilly. Having a warm sleeve around the wrist would be cozyâŠâ
Hearing Zhuang Yongheâs continued chatter, Mrs. He was in a daze. She didnât really listen to what Zhuang Yonghe was saying, as she was contemplating how to ask him about Mrs. Liu.
âWhatâs wrong?â Zhuang Yonghe noticed Mrs. He wasnât responding to his chatter and was slightly confused.
âNo, nothing.â Mrs. He sat down next to Zhuang Yonghe, clutching her sleeves, and biting her lips.
âReally nothing?â Zhuang Yonghe didnât quite believe it.
âReallyâŠâ Suddenly, all the things Zhuang Qingning had said echoed in Mrs. Heâs mind. After considerable hesitation, she struggled to ask, âI do have something I want to ask you.â
âWhat is it?â Zhuang Yonghe stared at Mrs. He, his eyes bright.
This look made Mrs. He nervous, and she hung her head, a layer of mist forming in her eyes, âAbout that dayâŠuh, this morning, when I went to the tofu workshop to collect waterâŠâ
âWhat were you doing this morning?â
The question caught Zhuang Yonghe off guard, but he answered truthfully, âI didnât really do anything this morning, just discussed the matter regarding the duck eggs. The ones we recently bought are smaller and two of them spoiled. We were deciding which households not to purchase from in the future.â
âBy the way, Mrs Liu came todayâŠâ
Mrs. He did not expect Zhuang Yonghe to bring up Mrs. Liu. As soon as she heard about Mrs. Liu, she straightened up, âShe cameâŠfor what?â
âThe thing is a bit long-winded to tell.â Zhuang Yonghe scratched his ear, âI originally didnât want to tell you about this, afraid that you would worry. But after what she said earlier, I thought I should tell you about itâŠâ
âJust say it, what canât you tell me?â Mrs. He forced a smile, while secretly clutching a corner of her sleeve.
âDo you remember the day Big Nephew presented the betrothal gift, I returned home saying that I got a stomachache?â Zhuang Yonghe asked.
âI rememberâŠâ
âIn fact, I didnât have a stomachache that day. I just made up an excuse to return earlierâŠâ
Zhuang Yonghe suppressed the awkward expression on his face, âThat day, I went with Big Brother to deliver the betrothal gift. When we got there, I had lots of tea and wine. I needed to relieve myself. Thatâs when I saw Mrs. Liu secretly taking some of the cloth from the gift box.â
âThe gifts sent for the betrothal are counted. If any are missing, we certainly wouldnât notice. Even if the brideâs family did, they might attribute it to us not sending enough, feel a bit displeased, and keep quiet about it.â
âNothingâs more frustrating than this. It could ruin the marriage proposal. I saw it and felt anxious. I scolded Mrs. Liu. She got upset and cursed at me.â
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