After a while, the door opened.
Aunt Pang’s expression instantly changed the moment she saw it was her. The smile on her face disappeared completely as she asked unfriendly, “Qiao Yuwei? What are you here for?”
“Aunt Pang, I have a small favor to ask,” Qiao Yuwei said politely, handing over the canned fruit in her hand. “This is just a little token of appreciation. Please take it.”
Aunt Pang glanced at the can, then at her, her eyes full of caution. “Don’t try that on me. Just say what you want.”
“It’s like this,” Qiao Yuwei said calmly, not the least bit embarrassed. “I want to borrow your sewing machine. I need to make two small dresses for a child. It’ll only take about an hour, and I’ll do it in your house. I won’t take it away. I’ll return it immediately after using it, and I won’t dirty it.”
Aunt Pang froze. She clearly hadn’t expected her to be borrowing a sewing machine. She frowned and was about to refuse, but the temptation of the canned fruit was too strong.
After hesitating for a long while, she reluctantly said, “Fine. I’ll go to the back and bring it out for you, but be careful with it. Don’t break it.”
Qiao Yuwei was delighted and quickly thanked her. “Thank you, Aunt Pang. Don’t worry, I’ll be very careful.”
Just as she was about to enter with the two pieces of fine fabric in her hand, Aunt Pang turned around and suddenly felt a tight grip on her wrist. The fabric in her hands was snatched away.
“Qiao Yuwei! You’re stealing my things!”
A sharp female voice rang out, filled with anger.
She looked up and met a pair of resentful eyes. The girl in front of her looked about eighteen or nineteen, with a neat high ponytail and straight bangs. Her features were delicate, and she wore a fashionable dress typical of the time.
“What nonsense are you talking about? When did I steal your things?” Qiao Yuwei said coldly, shaking off her hand.
“Everyone come quickly! Someone is stealing and refusing to admit it!” the girl shouted as she stepped out of the courtyard.
The commotion quickly attracted the women who had just been discussing the 8-yuan wage earlier.
“Isn’t that Battalion Commander Zhou’s younger sister who came last month? What’s her name… Tingting? Oh right, Zhou Tingting!”
“I heard she’s here looking for work and is temporarily staying here.”
“How did she get into it with Qiao Yuwei? Looks like something went missing. What trouble is that woman causing now?!”
Zhou Tingting, hearing the crowd’s discussion, seemed to find support and raised the fabric in her hand.
“Everyone look! I bought this from the department store a few days ago. It went missing, and I didn’t expect it to be stolen by her!”
“Miss, I hope you don’t slander me. This is mine,” Qiao Yuwei said coldly, covering Tiantian’s ears so she wouldn’t be frightened.
“Slander you?” Zhou Tingting quickly took out a receipt and showed it to everyone. “Look! This is my purchase receipt. It was bought at the department store. The color and pattern are exactly the same.”
Qiao Yuwei glanced at it and saw that the color and pattern did match. But she was very certain that, in her memory, this fabric was a gift from Song Zhinian. And although the original owner was lazy, stubborn, and rude, she would never steal.
“Comrade,” Qiao Yuwei said calmly, “having the same pattern only means this fabric was popular. But this was bought by my husband Song Zhinian for me. There’s no way I stole yours.”
“Bought for you by Commander Song?” Zhou Tingting seemed to hear the funniest joke.
Although she had only been here a short time and hadn’t even seen what Commander Song looked like, everyone in the compound already knew the story between the outstanding commander and this troublesome woman it was a common gossip topic among the women.
She sneered. “Everyone knows Commander Song has no feelings for you. Why would he buy you such expensive fine cloth?”
The surrounding women nodded in agreement.
Qiao Yuwei gave a cold laugh. “Your receipt says 25 chi, but mine is 20 chi. What, did the store short you five chi?”
In this era, women who knew sewing could tell fabric length by eye no ruler needed.
“It does seem like only 20 chi!” someone in the crowd said.
Zhou Tingting’s face went pale, but she still forced herself to argue, “Maybe… maybe you used up the extra five chi after stealing it!”
“I really can’t follow your logic,” Qiao Yuwei laughed in anger. “By your reasoning, I stole your fabric and then dared to bring it here to borrow a sewing machine? Am I sick in the head?”
She paused, then flipped the fabric over and pointed at the wrapping paper underneath.
“Look at this wrapping paper. It’s yellowed and brittle. It’s clearly been stored for a long time. But you said this was bought just a few days ago would brand-new packaging look like this?”
The crowd looked closer. Indeed, the edges were worn and the color dull. It didn’t look new at all.
Zhou Tingting was left speechless. Her lips moved, but she couldn’t refute it. Still unwilling to accept defeat, her eyes flickered as she suddenly thought of something.
“Who knows if you’ve got connections in the department store or supply bureau? Swapping old packaging is easy. You’ve never gotten along with Aunt Zhao. I think you came here just to steal the receipt!”
“I already said I came to borrow the sewing machine to make a dress for my niece Tiantian,” Qiao Yuwei said patiently.
“Make dresses?” Zhou Tingting scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous! Everyone in this compound knows you don’t even know how to hold a needle. You? Make dresses? That’s obviously a lie!”
The women around also nodded.
“Yeah, that does sound unbelievable.”
“Must be an excuse to get out of trouble.”
Qiao Yuwei knew that saying more was useless now.
Just then, Aunt Pang came out carrying the sewing machine.
“Aunt Pang, put it here. I’m going to make the dress in front of everyone.”
Zhou Tingting crossed her arms, full of disdain. “I’d like to see how you magically make a dress in public. If you can’t, let’s see what else you have to say!”
Qiao Yuwei ignored her, took a measuring tape from the sewing machine drawer, and pulled over the frightened Tiantian.
The little girl’s face was pale as she clutched Qiao Yuwei’s clothes tightly.
Qiao Yuwei gently patted her head. “Don’t be afraid, Tiantian. Auntie will make you a beautiful dress, okay?”
Tiantian nodded timidly.
She began measuring the child’s shoulders and waist with practiced precision. Her expression was focused there was nothing of a “lazy woman” about her at all.
“Huh? Her technique actually looks decent… but what kind of cutting is that? The lines are all crooked.”
“Do you really expect her to know how to sew? Just watch for fun.”
“Could it be that she just got lucky?”