CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 270: MAKING CLOTHES

Sun Manyu was bewildered, clearly the topic was about eating, how did her mother end up talking about something so distant?

Seeing her silly daughter didn’t understand her intentions, Ms. Li directly turned to Li Wenyuan and said openly, "Although your Li Family is scholarly and a little better off than our Sun Family, it was your Li Family that sought the matchmaker to eagerly ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage. There’s no reason to disdain our family right after bringing her home because our family is less wealthy."

Li Wenyuan was surprised that after bringing in a whole cart of gifts, Ms. Li still persistently questioned him, which irritated him immediately.

Without responding to Ms. Li’s words, Li Wenyuan turned around and left abruptly.

Sun Manyu saw Li Wenyuan was angry and couldn’t help but blame Ms. Li, "Mom, today is my return visit day; whatever displeasure you have, you should have held back."

Even with this behavior, how could she expect Li Wenyuan to help her brothers in the future? Is it even possible?

Sun Manyu complained to Ms. Li as she quickly chased after him.

Just like that, Li Wenyuan left with Sun Manyu, with a cart full of gifts, without having the meal.

Ms. Li originally intended to give her silly daughter a little leverage by scolding Li Wenyuan and his mother. Unexpectedly, not only did Li Wenyuan dislike her actions, but her daughter also blamed her, leaving her in a no-win situation.

Sun Erlin’s wife remarked, "Sister-in-law, I think you handled this matter incorrectly. Your son-in-law did not listen to his mother’s words and gave you all the gifts meant for the Yu Family. You should have been content. How could you serve your new son-in-law with such humble food?"

Sun Dalin’s wife was also angry, both at Li Wenyuan’s mother and at her own daughter.

After today’s incident, she realized her daughter’s mother-in-law was not an easy person to deal with.

She wanted Li Wenyuan to convey a message to his mother that their Sun Family daughter could not be easily bullied. Who would have thought Li Wenyuan would leave without a word, clearly showing he didn’t respect her, the mother-in-law!

Sun Manyu sat at the back of the carriage, feeling utterly deflated. Her mother’s way of hosting them with salted vegetables made her feel utterly ashamed. She did not think there was anything wrong with Li Wenyuan being angry. On the contrary, she felt Li Wenyuan was right; her mother was simply too disrespectful.

A cart full of gifts, yet it didn’t even bring a decent meal, not to mention a smile, who wouldn’t be mad?

"Husband, don’t be angry; I don’t know what got into my mom today..."

"Shut up!" Li Wenyuan gritted his teeth and said, "In the future, you are not to mention your family to me, not a single word.

Also, next time you visit your family, you go alone, I won’t accompany you again."

Li Wenyuan whipped the horse’s behind hard, as if to release his anger.

"Even though our villages are not far apart, it’s best if you don’t always go back to your family.

I’m often studying at the academy in the city, and you should be at home taking care of my parents."

Sun Manyu nodded, "I understand, I won’t go back unless I need to."

Seeing Sun Manyu obeying his words, Li Wenyuan lightened his expression slightly, but as he thought about how he had ignored his mother’s wishes by giving the gifts to his in-laws instead of the Yu Family, his brow furrowed again.

Li Wenyuan turned the carriage around, "It’s too early to go back now, let’s take a tour around the city before going back.

As for what happened earlier, I hope my mother doesn’t find out. You know what to say when we return, don’t you?"

Sun Manyu hesitantly said, not quite sure of Li Wenyuan’s intentions, "I don’t really understand what you mean..."

Li Wenyuan glanced at Sun Manyu, thinking silently, how foolish, all she has is good looks.

"When we return, just say that we had a meal at your family’s place, the dishes were sumptuous.

We’ve also been to the Yu Family and delivered the gifts, got it?"

Sun Manyu nodded, this time she understood.

Sun Manyu felt touched, thinking that Li Wenyuan did this entirely for her sake.

He was trying to save her from being caught between the two families, so he came up with this plan. Her husband truly loved her.

"Although I asked you not to return to your family often, do not cut off contact with Yu Xueguan, you must stay in touch frequently.

Later, you should make a few nice sets of children’s clothes for Yu Xueguan’s two younger siblings, and when you return, ask him for a few of his new mathematics test papers for me to try out." Li Wenyuan said as he waved the small whip in his hand, urging the carriage forward.

Sun Manyu agreed with mixed feelings.

Thinking that it might be impossible to ask Yu Xiaolian for the test papers outright, it might be better to sneak into Xiangyang Lane to steal a couple of sheets while Yu Xiaolian is away.

Determined, she decided that when Yu Xiaolian returned to Taohua Village, she would make a visit to Xiangyang Lane, as she knew where Yu Xiaolian’s room was located.

The last time she visited, she saw many books and pens there, so she could easily find an excuse to visit and manage to steal one.

Yu Xiaolian was unaware of Sun Manyu’s plan to steal the test papers, as she was recently immersed in making clothes, unable to extricate herself.

That’s right, making clothes, using a sewing machine.

Her small two-story house had an electric sewing machine. She had previously been obsessed with Hanfu but couldn’t find the style she wanted online, so she decided to make them herself. She even learned from her aunt, who was a tailor, for a few days.

Seeing a ready-made electric sewing machine now, she immediately bought two rolls of soft fine cotton fabric to make clothes for Yu Zixuan and Yu Ziqian. Small clothes are easy to make, and she made the simplest kind of wrap-style clothes, completing six outfits in half a day, three for each little guy.

After making clothes for the little ones, her sewing machine obsession hadn’t ended, so she decided to make an outfit for herself.

Clothes for women in Great Liang were usually those wide-sleeved, layered kinds that were both cumbersome and burdensome to wear. Yu Xiaolian decided to design a new style for herself.

Thinking back to when she first arrived, she wore clothes and pants of a simple style, with patches on them, but at least they were convenient as there was only one piece inside and out, making it easy to wear.

The ruqun was beautiful but heavy and cumbersome. Though initially novel and fun to wear, she often cursed the numerous ties in her mind whenever she used the restroom.

Undo the ties, tie them back again, it’s tedious!

Yu Xiaolian sketched here and there on paper, and soon a simple yet elegant retro outfit appeared on the paper.

It featured a traditional Chinese button-up top, with sleeves slightly narrower than usual, and bottoms similar to floor-length pants.

Initially, Yu Xiaolian wanted to make this outfit in plain white without any decorative patterns, but fearing it might be mistaken for mourning clothes, she didn’t dare do it.

After much thought, she decided on a white and red color scheme, with red used for the Chinese buttons and red maple leaves embroidered on the hem for decoration.

She bought some silk fabric with a nice drape and worked overnight to complete the outfit.

After finishing, Yu Xiaolian eagerly tried it on and found it both comfortable and elegant, and most importantly, it was convenient for bathroom trips.

The next day, dressed in her new outfit, Yu Xiaolian went to Taotao Residence, attracting many curious glances on the way.

Clothes and pants like these were usually worn by poor people who couldn’t afford ruqun, yet Teacher Yu was wearing pants, and they were white!