Chapter 42: The Gift of Determination

  Yu Songyuan gave 40 yuan, which helped Lin Xue a lot. As soon as she got off the bus, she didn't even have time to eat lunch, and on the street, she bought meat, fish, kelp, vermicelli, pastries, melon seeds, wine, firecrackers, couplets and other New Year's goods, and also spent 27 yuan on two pieces of blue cloth and a piece of blue flowered cloth. Finally, she hired a rickshaw to push everything back home.

  Her return brought a stir to the whole family, and they finally had a taste of the busy New Year. The two younger brothers and Lin Gong were busy pasting couplets and doing a thorough cleaning. Lin Xue and her mother started chopping meat fillings and frying doughnuts, making flour packages and steamed buns, working through the night. On the second day, they added an extension to the two younger brothers' cotton jackets and made each of them a new set of clothes.

  On the thirtieth evening, I made a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, and the whole family gathered together happily. At midnight, I took my two younger brothers to set off firecrackers. Before going to bed, I packed two small packages of rice cakes, fruits, and peanuts, each with one yuan inside, as lucky money for my two younger brothers. On the first day of the new year, I took my two younger brothers to pay New Year's visits to our elders in the village.

  Originally, all of this should have been taken care of by Mom. But after Lin Xue returned home, her mother became even more neglectful of household chores and left everything to her daughter. Starting from the first day of the new year, she spent every day playing cards with a group of women and old men, betting small amounts of money, and having the time of her life.

  Beginning in the second year of junior high school, Lin Xue didn't go visiting relatives either. She made new cotton clothes and pants for her two younger brothers, and she also washed, mended, and sewed all the cotton clothes and quilts for the whole family. She even made a pair of cotton shoes for her older brother. After retirement, Lin Xue's father couldn't stand Lin Xue's mother's laziness, and whenever they got together, they would argue, and when the argument escalated, they would tear at each other and fight.

  On the eighth day, an important guest came to our house, the deputy director of the neighboring farm and his wife, brought their foolish son, to visit Lin Gong's family. The guest brought a thick gift, in addition to a package of annual loan, also gave Lin Xue a woolen coat. When the guest was about to leave, Lin Xue took charge and resolutely returned the gift.

  That night, the mother and daughter had a fierce conflict. The mother said fiercely, "You were born by me, so I should be in charge of your marriage. If you dare to mess around with some unscrupulous man, I'll break your legs and then hang myself, making you uneasy for the rest of your life..."

  "Why did you and your mom quarrel? Was it just because you returned the gift money from the other family?"

  "Don't talk nonsense, what dowry? That's their own wish, I'm only 15 years old, I can handle my own affairs!"

  "It's better to return with an unsatisfied heart. Every family has its own difficulties, don't take it to heart." Yu Song comforted her. Then he asked her: "You really took a risk, what if I had something unexpected come up today and couldn't make it? What would you have done?"

  Lin Xue said bluntly: "You won't be able to, I'm very confident. You're a man of your word!"

  "Just in case, I mean just in case something unexpected happens at home and I won't be able to come today."

  "I didn't know, I just thought you would definitely come. If you didn't come, I would go find Master, the dormitory in the factory is empty during the New Year, so I'll just stay there."

  Yu Songyuan suddenly stretched out his hand and grasped her two icy small hands tightly: "Actually, I came this morning, found you weren't here, felt no energy, so just lay down here."

  "What if something happens at home and I don't come today, how long are you going to lie here?"

  "You won't be coming back."

  "Just in case."

  "I'll just lie here for one night, until you come."

  "How long have you been lying here?"

  "More than three hours."

  "Heavens, aren't you afraid of freezing to death?" Lin Xue touched his face and then his cotton-padded jacket. "Your cotton-padded jacket and pants are too thin, aren't you cold? It's just right that there are still a few days before work starts, I'll remake them for you and add some more cotton."

  "I've been practicing martial arts for many years, and I always insist on taking a cold shower in the winter, not feeling cold at all. Once, my aunt Yu forced me to wear a thick cotton-padded jacket, but I felt uncomfortable and started sweating profusely on a very cold day, after that she just let me be."

  "But I think it's really cold here, the wind is like a knife, cutting straight into our clothes."

  Yu Songyuan suddenly jumped up, grabbed her hand and threw her onto his back, "Let's go back, see what good things I'll bring for you."

  Lin Xue let out a loud "ah" and tightly hugged his neck. Yu Songyuan's tenderness made her heart feel like it was burning with a warm flame, exceptionally warm.

  Back in the dormitory, Yu Songyuan put her down and took out a pair of woolen gloves and a pair of woolen socks to give to her: "Try them on, see if they fit. I asked Auntie Yu and Auntie Wang to knit them especially for you."

  Lin Xue held the gloves in her hand, and tears suddenly fell down. She put on the gloves, which fit perfectly, with double-layered wool, warm and transparent. Yu Songyuan was puzzled: "It's not that serious, is it? A pair of gloves can make you so emotional?"

  Lin Xue wanted to speak but stopped. In fact, Yu Songyuan didn't know that during the New Year's holiday, she had knitted a pair of gloves for each of her two younger brothers, but didn't have time to knit a pair for herself.

  Yu Songyuan suddenly took out a package and said, "Open it and take a look."

  Lin Xue opened the package, and to her surprise, it was a new cotton-padded jacket made of exquisite workmanship, elegant colors, and satin fabric. As a tailor, she had seen many fabrics before, but this one was exceptional - it was the famous Su embroidery from Jiangnan. She stroked the smooth satin with her small hands, gasping in amazement: "This is too luxurious!"

  Yu Songyuan said: "This is what I secretly asked Aunt Yu to use her old cotton-padded jacket, and have it altered for you. But although it's called an old cotton-padded jacket, in fact she hasn't worn it a single day."

  "What's with me?!"

  "What's wrong with that?"

  "Anyway, I don't want it and I don't dare to want it. Such a good thing is too precious. Besides..."

  Yu Songyuan burst out laughing and said, "You're thinking too much! It's just a set of woolen clothes." Suddenly, he saw that Lin Xue was already crying tears, scaring him. He immediately used both hands to stroke her small face and said, "Sorry, don't cry, it's the New Year. When I get excited, my mouth runs wild. Just now I must have said something wrong, or you wouldn't be crying like this. How about this? You hit me, my skin is thick, you need to use force to hit me before I'll feel pain..."

  Lin Xue suddenly burst into laughter: "Yu Ge, you didn't say anything wrong, I was just too happy and that's why I cried."

  "Xiao Budo, you scared me! Because you're growing taller, Auntie made it a bit bigger, but it should fit."

  Lin Xue's eyes sparkled with clarity, and this was obviously a token of affection. She gritted her teeth, as if she had made up her mind, then lowered her head and said: "I'll take the quilt, thank you, and also thank Aunt for me."

  Yu Songyuan asked again: "You just said that you secretly let Yu Yue's aunt make clothes for me, what does this mean? Why do you want to be secretive? Are you afraid of your family knowing?"

  "You don't know, I have three sisters, Yu Ya, Xiao Hui and Chen Jing, all of whom are very troublesome. If they knew that their brother made clothes for a young lady but not for them, they would kill me! And I also have three beloved little nieces who are extremely dear to me. These three little princesses will definitely be heartbroken if they find out that their uncle is so biased."

  Lin Xue smiled happily: "I'm really sorry, I stole their love."

  Yu Songyuan said: "Wait until they grow up and understand, there is a love called romance. There is a feeling called love. This is completely different from my love for them." Seeing Lin Xue's face turn red and her head lowered, carefully folding the quilt, he immediately said: "What are you doing? I want you to wear it every day."

  "This is too precious, I don't want to wear it out. I'd like to keep it..."

  "Save it for when you get married? You little thing, only 15 years old and already thinking about getting married, aren't you ashamed? Besides, in a few years, you won't be able to wear it anymore."

  "Yu Ge, I know you're annoying, but I really can't bear to part with it. You don't understand, in all these years, when have I ever seen something so exquisite? And it's from you... a gift from you..."

  "No way. I want you to wear it to work starting tomorrow! When you get married, Brother Yu will buy you an even better one, so you can dress like a princess and become the most beautiful bride in the world."

  At night before going to bed, Lin Xue suddenly took out a small package: "Look at the clothes I made for you, do they fit? During the New Year's period, these were all secretly made by me in the second half of the night."

  "Sneaking around and doing it in the middle of the night, why sneak around? Are you afraid I won't be able to hold my own in front of your parents?"

  "After all, I'm only fifteen years old. My mother has been worried about marrying me off to the stupid son of the deputy director of the spinning mill, and if she knew that I was making clothes for men other than my father and brother, she would make a big fuss and cause trouble."

  Yu Songyuan picked up a brand new dark blue "Dika" Zhongshan suit: "Is this really made by you?"

  "Right, go ahead and try."

  Yu Songyuan put it on, and it fit perfectly. He turned left and right, striking a pose. Lin Xueyu couldn't help but exclaim: "Wow, Yu Ge, you're so handsome! You look even better than the clothes rack!"

  "What clothes rack?"

  "They are the wooden model dolls in the factory, our industry term is 'clothes rack'. Another layer of meaning is that those who have good figures and look good in whatever clothes they wear are also called 'clothes racks'."

  "Are these all you've done for me?" Yu Songyuan picked up a few more clothes and shoes from the package.

  "This is a pair of slippers I made for you, as well as a jersey and pants. Later we'll go take a bath, and then you can try them on."

  "I said, young lady, this set of 'card' fabric is at least fourteen or fifteen yuan, right?"

  "Damn it, I'm in the garment factory!" It turned out that during the overtime period before the New Year, Master Huang selected a batch of scrap fabrics and forced the factory director to agree to give them to the four sisters in the cutting department as a New Year's bonus, each person only spent three yuan.

  "You're quite skilled, young lady! How did you know my size without even taking my measurements?"

  "I'm a tailor, I'm almost done with my apprenticeship. Every day I'm with you, and I still have to take measurements."

  Yu Songyuan wanted to take it off after trying it on, but he couldn't bear to wear it. Lin Xue insisted: "I want you to wear it now, and from now on, wear it every day, and go to school with a refreshed spirit."

  The boiler of the school-run textile mill did not stop during the holiday, but was in a state of shutdown. There were only two old workers on duty in the factory, and today it was Master Zhu's turn to be on duty. Yu Songyuan and Lin Xue came to pay their respects to him. "Girl, you've come so early on the tenth day," said Master Zhu with a smile as soon as he saw Lin Xue.

  Lin Xue said: "Old Master Zhu, I'm here on business and will be leaving tomorrow."

  Zhu Shifu poked open the stove, and soon the water boiled.

  "Go to the men's bathhouse and wash up. The women's bathhouse is too big, it'll still be cold for a while. At first, the small one will also be cold, but it'll warm up soon. You young fellow can't stand the chill, go ahead and get washed."

  Yu Songyuan went in first to take a bath.

  After washing up, only Lin Xue was left alone, holding her cheek and staring at the stove.

  "Where is Master Zhu?"

  "He has something to attend to for a while, let's finish our bath and wait for him."

  "Then go take a shower, it's not cold inside anymore."

  Lin Xue lifted the thick curtain and was about to enter, but hesitated and said: "Yu Dage, you can't leave, this stove is old and can't be left unattended."

  Yu Songyuan thought she was timid and said, "Don't worry, I've turned on all the lights, even those in the women's quarters. I'll just sit here and ensure your safety."

  Lin Xue then walked in.