The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Chapter 181: Chapter 180: Making Clothes

For the next few days, the group remained the same. Gu Jiaojiao led the party to the mountains to pick soapberries and other mountain goods, and Leng Yuan would always bring back some game.

Chen Jianshe and the others would carry it home.

Gu Jiaojiao had Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang stay for meals at her house.

As they spent more time together, although Xiao Yang still didn’t speak, the fierceness in his eyes lessened considerably.

With winter fast approaching, Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang were still wearing thin, unlined clothes.

After the meal, Gu Jiaojiao walked Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang back.

Only after watching the two of them go inside did she and Leng Yuan turn to head home.

Gu Jiaojiao found two old pieces of clothing she no longer wore in her cabinet, took apart an old cotton-padded jacket, divided the cotton in two, and then took the materials to the Zhao family’s home to find Wang Xiuhua.

Wang Xiuhua was a little surprised.

”Jiaojiao, what brings you here so late?”

”Sister-in-law, I want to have two sets of clothes made, but I don’t know how. I was hoping I could trouble you to do it. Here’s twenty cents for your trouble.”

Wang Xiuhua immediately pushed it back. ”How could I possibly take your money!”

”Not to mention the kindness you’ve shown our family, it’s just two sets of clothes. It’s no trouble at all.”

Gu Jiaojiao set the money down.

”Sister-in-law, I might need to trouble you again in the future, so please take it! Otherwise, I’ll be too embarrassed to ask for your help again.”

”If you don’t accept it, I’ll have to find someone else.”

Wang Xiuhua still refused.

Gu Jiaojiao picked up the clothes and made to leave.

Wang Xiuhua had no choice but to accept.

But when she glanced at the clothes, she found something odd.

”These sizes don’t seem right.”

Gu Jiaojiao nodded. ”They’re for Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang.”

Wang Xiuhua froze.

She knew of Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang—they were the village orphans.

Times were tough these days. A kind-hearted person might give them a corn bun, but no one was willing to part with fabric or cotton.

The fabric Gu Jiaojiao had brought was seventy or eighty percent new, and the cotton was practically new as well. These were all valuable things. ’How could Gu Jiaojiao bear to part with them!’

”Are you really having these made for them?”

Gu Jiaojiao nodded. ”Please, Sister-in-law, just make them! I’ve already brought all the materials; I’m not going to back out now.”

”But the weather is about to get cold, so I’ll have to ask you to work quickly.”

Wang Xiuhua nodded.

After seeing Gu Jiaojiao off, she couldn’t help but sigh.

’That Gu Zhiqing is truly a kind person.’

’But then again, Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang are poor souls.’

The next day was exceptionally cold.

Gu Jiaojiao lay in her warm blankets, unwilling to get out of bed.

Leng Yuan made breakfast.

Gu Jiaojiao only got up after he had finished cooking. When she stepped outside, she saw a pile of snow in the corner of the yard.

”It snowed?”

Leng Yuan was diligent; he had already swept the yard clean. The only snow Gu Jiaojiao could see was the pile in the corner.

”It snowed last night.”

”Time to eat!”

Gu Jiaojiao agreed, and feeling a bit cold, she went inside to change into a thicker jacket.

After breakfast, Gu Jiaojiao was worried about Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang, so she suggested they go check on them.

She first made a trip to Aunt Zhao’s house.

Wang Xiuhua had already finished one set. She had also seen the snow outside, so she had woken up early that morning to work on Gu Jiaojiao’s clothes.

Wang Xiuhua worked quickly, and a single set of clothes didn’t take her long to make. Gu Jiaojiao decided she might as well wait there.

She noticed that not only were Wang Xiuhua’s hands deft and her speed fast, but her stitches were also dense and tight. She even knew some embroidery.

There was a small flaw in the cut of one of Gu Jiaojiao’s old garments, so Wang Xiuhua simply covered it with a patch and embroidered a mountain wildflower on top. It looked absolutely beautiful.

”Sister-in-law, I didn’t know you had such a skill!”

Wang Xiuhua was a little embarrassed.

”My grandmother was an amazing embroiderer. She used to embroider wedding dresses for wealthy families. I just learned a bit from her.”

Back then, all anyone thought about was getting a bite to eat. Embroidery is pretty useless now.

People can’t even eat their fill or dress warmly. Who has money to spend on looking pretty!

About half an hour later, the clothes were finished.

”Those two children are so thin and small, the clothes are easy to make.”

Gu Jiaojiao thanked her and left with the cotton-padded clothes.

Arriving outside Sweet Girl’s home, she saw the little girl sweeping snow in the yard, dressed in thin, patched clothes.

Xiao Yang was doing the same.

His face, neck, and hands were red with cold, but he was still holding a broom, helping Sweet Girl sweep.

The broom they were using was worn bald at the end, making the sweeping especially difficult.

The two of them were probably freezing, as they took turns lifting and stomping their feet to ward off the numbness.

Gu Jiaojiao’s gaze was drawn to the shoes on Sweet Girl’s feet. They were simple cloth shoes, a bit too large, and the little girl’s feet kept slipping out.

Xiao Yang’s shoes weren’t any better. His toes poked out, and there was a small flower on them, suggesting they had once belonged to Sweet Girl when she was younger.

Seeing this, Gu Jiaojiao’s heart filled with immense pity.