"It doesnāt matter if you donāt. Usually, if some classmates donāt come to class at night, thereās no need to specifically go to school to ask for leave unless they havenāt come for a week and thereās no news. Then the teacher might ask nearby classmates to check up on them."
"Okay."
In the middle of the night, the temperature suddenly dropped. The next morning, I got up and saw that there was frost on the ground.
The sky was gloomy. Luckily, when Lin Wan came, she had brought a knitted cardigan. Wearing a cardigan at home is fine, but if youāre going outside, you have to wear a wool coat to look good.
If the temperature drops some more, Iāll have to wear a thin cotton-padded jacket.
When Han Yi left in the morning, he said he might not come back for lunch and told her not to wait for him.
Lin Wan was fine, wearing clothes and sitting on the kang knitting a scarf. Sister-in-law Zhang came over after a while and dragged her to visit Jiang Ailianās house, which was the second house in the row in front of them.
The layout was the same, and the tables and cabinets were the type uniformly distributed by the team, so there was nothing to compare here.
Jiang Ailianās home was very clean. When Director Shen was at the camp, she was the only one at home. Usually, when thereās nothing to do, sheād only find someone to chat with. Women together always talk about domestic affairs to pass the time.
When they arrived, Jiang Ailian was making shoes at home.
"Saozi is already making cotton shoes." Lin Wan couldnāt make shoes, her mom could, but she only made single shoes, not these particularly thick northern ones.
They bought cotton shoes to wear in the winter.
"Iām just idle, might as well make a few more pairs at home. In winter, the men wear out shoes easily. They often get wet with snow, so I prepare a few more pairs for him." Jiang Ailian laughed and invited them to quickly get on the kang.
"Thatās right." Only then did Lin Wan notice that Sister-in-law Zhang was holding a shoe sole.
"Xiao Wan, are you starting to knit a sweater again?"
At this moment, Lin Wan was holding the yarn, already halfway through.
"No, itās a scarf."
"Speaking of sweaters, Iāve been knitting one for Brother Shen these few days, but Iām slow at it, and itās still just a piece now." Last time in the city, she specially bought several pounds of yarn home.
Jiang Ailian said as she took out a half-knitted sweater from the wardrobe.
She stopped making shoes and kept Lin Wan company by knitting the sweater.
"Last time, Xiao Wan taught me to knit a sweater, and in the spring I knitted one for each of my two kids. I didnāt even knit one for myself. Next monthās paycheck, no matter what, I have to knit one for myself."
"We women always care too much for our men and kids, reluctant to eat or wear anything good. We work hard and turn ourselves into yellow-faced women. In the end, the men even look down on us. So, we must be a bit kinder to ourselves."
Jiang Ailianās words made Lin Wan secretly give her a thumbs up. "Saozi, youāre absolutely right."
"By the way, thereās a local market this morning. Letās go take a stroll. We donāt have many groceries left at home these days," Sister-in-law Zhang suddenly suggested.
"Sure, letās go now," Jiang Ailian was bored at home, even if they didnāt buy anything, a walk would do.
Lin Wan thought about the few things left at home and nodded. They each went home to get baskets.
There was a basket in Lin Wanās yard. She took ten yuan when she left.
Lin Wan didnāt feel like eating meat anymore. Apart from some leftovers at home, there wasnāt much else.
"Isnāt the market every morning? How come itās starting in the afternoon too?" The three of them walked over, and Lin Wan curiously asked along the way.