TPW – Chapter 29

Looking at the wall clock in the room, it wasn’t even nine yet. Haizhou had gone out a little after seven—just two hours ago, and the gloves had already sold out?

Besides, she had only made ten pairs. No matter how fast they sold, it wasn’t like it could cause a huge stir.

“Yes! These gloves are really clever. Isn’t No.1 Middle School full of students? In this freezing weather, wearing gloves makes it hard to flip through books and write. But without gloves, your hands freeze like ice blocks—you can’t even hold a pen properly! These convertible gloves are super practical: they keep your hands warm, you can still grip a pen, and flip through books too. As soon as the students saw them, they bought them right away. There weren’t enough at all! Ten pairs weren’t nearly enough. Haizhou told the students we’d restock soon, and since things aren’t too busy now, he sent me to tell you! Sis-in-law, you’ve got to work overtime making gloves now!”

The surprise came so suddenly that Qiao Lu’s head was still spinning.

She pointed at the basket of vegetables on the ground. “But… I still have to cook…”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Li Hongjun tossed the basket into the kitchen. “Cook what? Just buy something for lunch—time to rush the order!”

“But I’m running out of fabric…” Qiao Lu said again.

Li Hongjun swung a leg over his big old bicycle. “Fabric? Give me money and ration tickets—I’ll go buy it!”

Qiao Lu gave him some fabric scraps to use as samples, and he headed to the department store to match them. Since there weren’t enough old sweaters left to unravel, she decided to use felted wool fabric as a substitute for knits. That way, the cost per pair of gloves could be kept under 20 cents. There were still some materials left at home, enough to start making a few pairs right away.

Wu Guifang leaned against her door frame and marveled, “Didn’t you make just ten pairs a few days ago? And now they’re all gone? You must’ve made a tidy profit.”

“Haizhou set the price. I don’t really handle the business side,” Qiao Lu replied with a smile, not mentioning the price. “Anyway, I’d better get back to work.”

“Go on, go on,” Wu Guifang waved her off.

The sewing machine was practically smoking from use all morning, and she only managed to make four and a half pairs. Midway through, Li Hongjun came back again, saying Haizhou was too swamped at the stall to leave. He then took all the gloves Qiao Lu had finished.

There were so many students at No.1 Middle School—just four pairs of gloves wouldn’t be nearly enough!

After thinking it over, Qiao Lu rushed over to her neighbor’s. “Sister Wu, are you free?”

“What’s up, Qiao Lu?” Wu Guifang asked.

It was about 11:30. Wu Guifang had just finished cooking lunch, and the family of four was eating. The two little girls greeted her sweetly with “Auntie Qiao,” while Wu Guifang’s husband, Hu Jiefang, glanced at Qiao Lu between mouthfuls of rice but didn’t greet her or say a word. After looking her over, he just kept eating.

Qiao Lu smiled and patted the two girls’ heads. “I can’t keep up with the glove orders. I was wondering if you had time to help.”

Several of the aunts in the courtyard had made convertible gloves recently, so she wouldn’t need to explain the process from scratch. Besides, many of the women in the compound were quite skilled at making clothes. If Wu Guifang could help, that would be perfect.

“Sure. I’ve got nothing going on. I’ll come over as soon as I finish eating.”

Qiao Lu thanked her and hurried home to keep working.

That afternoon, the two of them worked so hard they didn’t even stop for water. Wu Guifang’s sewing machine probably hadn’t done this much work in an entire month, and now it was running nonstop, the pedal thudding like it might burst into flames.

Thankfully, she was quick and efficient, keeping up with Qiao Lu’s pace just fine.

…

Qiao An felt a little sad today, because his mommy hadn’t paid him much attention all day.

But Mommy was making gloves, and making gloves meant earning money. With money, she could buy tasty treats for An’an, so he had to be good and not fuss or act out. He had to be a well-behaved boy.

At mealtime, Uncle Li brought over a takeout meal—braised pork over rice, bought from a restaurant. It had meat, it had vegetables—it was delicious!

After eating, he had to remember to feed Bubbles and Little White. The little guy ran over to the cabinet and opened it, only to find that there were only five or six pieces of fish food left.

Qiao An finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Mommy—”

Qiao Lu didn’t even have time to lift her head. Her hands moved so fast they were a blur. “What is it, An’an?”

“Mommy, Bubbles and Little White are out of food.” The little one held up the empty paper bag, looking at her with pitiful eyes.

Qiao Lu still didn’t look at him, focused entirely on the fabric in her hands. “Mommy can’t go out right now. Wait for Daddy to come home, and then he’ll take you to buy more.”

The little guy looked disappointed but had no choice. “Okay then…”

Everyone was working the sewing machines—no one had time to play with him. Kids outside in the yard were playing and laughing. He wanted to join, but he didn’t know them and was too shy to go introduce himself…

Qiao An felt really bored. Suddenly, he ran into the bedroom. A moment later, he came back out holding a copy of Aesop’s Fables.

“Mommy, can I read a book?”

Qiao Lu didn’t even look up. “Sure, but do you understand it?”

Qiao An nodded hard. “Mm, I can do it.”

Qiao Lu smiled. “Then go read. If you run into any words you don’t know, come ask me.”

“Okay~”

As soon as the storybook was opened, it was filled with unfamiliar “Martian script.”

Qiao An basically couldn’t recognize any of the characters. He wanted to ask his mom, but out of every twenty characters in a line, there were probably nineteen he didn’t know. How was he supposed to ask about all of them?

He glanced at the busy Qiao Lu and eventually gave up.

Fortunately, the storybook had black-and-white illustrations. Just looking at the pictures made him happy. After slowly flipping through one book, he ran into the room and brought out another. This one was thicker and even harder to understand, but luckily, it also had pictures!

Just like that, he flipped through two books the entire afternoon until the pages were nearly worn out. His mom was still busy.

…

Around 4:30 p.m., Li Hongjun came by again and took all eight pairs of gloves the two of them had finished.

Qiao Lu grabbed him and asked, “How many more orders are there?”

“A lot! Just after school, one girl brought a bunch of her classmates—at least seven or eight people, not counting others… Anyway, it’s not enough. My sock stall isn’t too busy, so I can still run errands for you two. But when it picks up, I won’t be able to come back. Try to make more at once so I can deliver them in one trip.”

Another girl classmate?

Being overly helpful for no reason…

Forgive Qiao Lu for getting momentarily distracted by that thought.

Li Hongjun didn’t linger—he hopped on his old bicycle and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Qiao Lu was so tired her legs were weak. She slumped into a chair for a quick rest. Qiao An sweetly brought her a glass of water. What a clever and perceptive child.

Next door at the Hu family, Wu Guifang stretched her arms, her neck cracking as she twisted her head and pounded her sore back with effort.

“Phew, helping with this is really exhausting.”

Seeing it was getting late and time to prepare dinner for her family of four, she headed next door to the Xu family to check in. Qiao Lu happened to be taking a break too.

“Qiao Lu, let’s keep working after dinner. I’m going to cook now!”

Qiao Lu looked up and smiled. “Alright!”

Wu Guifang had just finished washing the vegetables when she heard hurried footsteps.

Qiao Lu entered the Hu family’s little kitchen and stuffed a stack of money into Wu Guifang’s hand. Upon checking, it was a full yuan!

“Hey! What’s this for?” Wu Guifang flusteredly tried to return it.

Qiao Lu smiled and pushed it back into her hand. “You made five pairs this afternoon. I’m paying you twenty cents per pair. This is your labor payment—please take it.”

“Oh no, don’t! I was just lending a hand. Come on, you don’t have to be so formal!” Wu Guifang had never heard of someone paying for help from a neighbor. If that became a thing, who would ever dare ask for help again? Charging for help wasn’t really helping—that would be taking advantage!

“This wasn’t a small favor. You worked hard all afternoon. If you don’t take it, I won’t feel right asking for your help in the future.”

“It’s just between neighbors—no need to be so formal,” Wu Guifang protested, still refusing to take it. She tried to give it back, but Qiao Lu blocked her hand.

Qiao An stood by the doorframe, not understanding what was going on between his mom and Auntie Wu—tugging back and forth, handing money over, then giving it back. Who was supposed to keep the money?

Qiao Lu gave a helpless smile and firmly stuffed the cash into Wu Guifang’s hand, pressing it in place so she couldn’t move. “Sister Wu, I might need your help again tomorrow. If you don’t take it, I’ll really feel too embarrassed to ask again.”

“We’re neighbors—what’s there to be embarrassed about?” Wu Guifang squinted at her.

Qiao Lu smiled, her gaze determined and not to be refused. “Don’t argue with me anymore. Just take it.”

“Oh, you… now you’re making me feel guilty.” Though she said that, after pushing it back several times and failing, Wu Guifang finally accepted it.

She gave Qiao Lu a look that carried a bit of mock reproach, but inside she felt secretly delighted.

One yuan wasn’t a small amount—it could buy five jin of rice! That would feed her family of four for five or six days. And this was the first bit of money she had earned since becoming a full-time housewife!

Why did she feel a bit proud?

Qiao Lu smiled and, seeing that she had put the money in her pocket, asked, “Sister Wu, what do you think—if I start offering payment and ask the other aunties to help, would that be okay?”

Qiao Lu hadn’t been in this era for long, so there were still many things she didn’t quite understand.

Wasn’t hiring workers considered the behavior of capitalists in this time period? Even though things were opening up, society as a whole still leaned toward being conservative.

On the surface, it was just asking people to help. But the workload was heavy—she felt embarrassed not to offer payment. Yet giving money might raise issues too…

This era could be considered both relaxed and strict at the same time. Qiao Lu vaguely remembered reading somewhere that in the early ’80s, private business owners who hired more than seven employees would be publicly criticized in the newspaper. With that in mind, how could she not be cautious?

“It’s fine. If you’re too busy, just ask. Who wouldn’t be happy to help if there’s money involved? Just don’t make a big fuss about it—only ask the neighbors in our inner courtyard, not the ones in the outer courtyard. The folks in our inner courtyard are pretty decent.”

Qiao Lu thought for a moment. That made sense. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Qiao Lu approached the Chen and Tian families. Their reactions were about what she had expected.

Aunt Chen was chopping vegetables in the kitchen when she heard that Qiao Lu wanted to pay her to make gloves. She was surprised and said, “Pay? What for? Why would you pay? We’re neighbors—just ask if you need help. I can start right now if you want.”

Qiao Lu felt both embarrassed and awkward. Neighbors in this era were truly warm-hearted. Fast-forward forty years, and no one would even look at you unless there was something in it for them.

“No, no, I have to pay you—just a little something to show appreciation. It’s a labor fee, not anything else. The workload is quite a bit. If you don’t take it, I’d feel bad asking for your help.”

As she shredded lettuce on the cutting board, Aunt Chen chuckled, “What’s there to feel bad about? Young people nowadays sure are thin-skinned!”

Qiao Lu used the same persuasion she had used with Wu Guifang. There’s truth in the saying: no matter how warm or close the neighbors are, if you insist on paying them, who would really refuse? It’s just that they’ll always try to decline a few times out of politeness.

That’s just the Chinese way.

In the end, except for Aunt Tian, all the women in the inner courtyard who could sew gloves agreed to help. Aunt Tian said she didn’t have a sewing machine at home and found it troublesome—clearly not too willing. Qiao Lu just smiled and said it was okay, not pushing her.

After tallying it up, she had recruited four women in total: Wu Guifang, Aunt Chen, and Aunt Chen’s two daughters-in-law. The Chen family had only one sewing machine, and the daughters-in-law said they could help by hand after work. If all went well, they could probably make two pairs.

…

When Xu Haizhou came home from work, he was greeted by his busy wife and his son amusing himself with books, looking pitiful.

“An’an.”

The little guy turned his head in surprise and bolted out like a cannonball. “Daddy!”

Little Qiao An had never felt this way before—having a daddy was such a super, super, super wonderful thing!

Even if Mommy didn’t have time to play with him, he still had Daddy!

“Daddy, Daddy!” The bicycle hadn’t even stopped yet, and the little pup had already clung to him tightly.

Today, the little one was extra clingy, wrapping his arms around Xu Haizhou’s neck and nuzzling him, leaving him covered in a sweet milky scent.

“You’re back,” Qiao Lu said without even looking up, continuing her work as she spoke.

Xu Haizhou noticed that today, under the loquat tree, only Aunt Tian was there among the women. The rest were all men and children—something seemed different.

“Yeah, today was hectic. You should take a break too.” He gently rubbed his son’s cheek, trying to set him down, but the little hands clung to his neck like glue.

Xu Haizhou chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Why are you suddenly so into Daddy today?”

The little guy shook his head furiously, a single tuft of hair standing up, swaying side to side. “I’ve always really liked Daddy!”

Such a tiny kid, yet already emotionally intelligent.

Xu Haizhou burst out laughing and kissed him. “Is it because Mommy didn’t play with you, and you got bored?”

Having his thoughts guessed, Qiao An blushed a bit and mumbled, “Mm… Mommy has to earn money. I can play by myself.”

“You’re such a good boy.” Xu Haizhou kissed his forehead lovingly.

Every time he praised himself, Qiao An would get shy, his soft voice growing quieter and quieter: “Because… because I’m a good kid.”

“An’an is the best—Daddy’s seen a lot of kids, and you’re the best, no contest.”

That heartfelt praise made Qiao An overjoyed, and he rewarded Xu Haizhou with two big slobbery kisses.

When words couldn’t express it, kisses would do.

Qiao Lu looked up and glanced at the father-son interaction, smiling. “I didn’t have time to cook tonight. Just make some noodles later. We still have that luncheon meat from last time—make a luncheon meat sauce for the noodles.”

“Alright.” Even though he’d been working all day too, Xu Haizhou didn’t complain one bit and headed into the kitchen to play chef.

But that’s marriage, isn’t it? When she’s busy, he helps. When he’s busy, she helps.

The little one ran into the kitchen to assist his dad. Tonight was a special dinner!

The noodles mixed with luncheon meat sauce were very fragrant. Qiao Lu heard someone outside asking why the Xu family was cooking meat again, and Xu Haizhou replied, “Just cooking noodles, no meat.”

“Oh? You’re the one cooking today? Where’s your wife?”

“She’s busy inside.”

“So thoughtful! Unlike my old man—if you ask him to cook, he’d rather go hungry all day!”

“Hahaha—” Everyone burst into laughter. “Shows how loving you two are!”

“Daddy, be careful! The bowl is hot, don’t drop it!” Once the noodles were ready, the little one bounced in and ran ahead of Xu Haizhou to lead the way, throwing in reminders now and then.

“Mama! I was the one who dropped the noodles in today. Daddy held me and I threw them in, and I even stirred them with chopsticks—stirred several times!” Kids always love to take credit for the smallest things.

Qiao Lu smiled and gave him a thumbs up. “Wow, my son is amazing. Come here, Mama wants a kiss.”

Qiao An obediently leaned over, receiving a sweet kiss on the cheek from his mother. He held his face joyfully, smiling for half the day.

“Dinner’s ready, let’s continue tomorrow.” Xu Haizhou walked over and kneaded her shoulders. After sitting for so long, that one press made her feel like her soul floated out in comfort.

Qiao Lu twisted her neck. “Wait a few minutes, I’m almost done—halfway through. You two go ahead and eat.”

But father and son didn’t start without her. They sat opposite her, looking at her with puppy eyes. Qiao Lu looked up and saw their pitiful expressions, and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Alright, alright, let’s stop here for now. I’ll finish after dinner. Otherwise the noodles will turn into mush.”

“Yay!” The little guy jumped up in excitement.

Xu Haizhou poured Qiao Lu a glass of hot water, while the little one huffed and puffed, dragging a chair over for her.

Qiao Lu raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You two are being way too sweet today. It’s making me feel weird.”

The little one said in his soft baby voice, “Daddy said Mama worked really hard today, so I have to be considerate of her.”

Xu Haizhou chuckled and pinched his chubby cheek. “You got it a little wrong. It’s we who should be considerate of Mama.”

“Mm! We have to be considerate of Mama!” Qiao An didn’t really understand what “considerate” meant, but he knew it meant being nice to Mama!

Looking at her husband and son being so adorable, Qiao Lu suddenly felt all her fatigue vanish.

She laughed and asked Xu Haizhou, “So how did it go today? You worked so long—bet you made a lot, right?”

Xu Haizhou leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Mm, made quite a bit.”

Qiao Lu got curious and nudged him with her elbow. “Tell me, how much?”

She couldn’t wait to find out how much their day of hard work had paid off.

Xu Haizhou suddenly lowered his voice and leaned in close. “Forty-nine… yuan… sixty.”

“Wait, wait, wait… how much?!” The astonishment in her eyes poured out uncontrollably.

Xu Haizhou cleared his throat. “Forty-nine yuan and sixty cents!”

“Really?!!” Qiao Lu almost screamed on the spot, her excited voice rising to her throat but forcefully swallowed back down.

Overjoyed, she picked up her son and kissed him all over, wanting to toss him into the air—only to realize the once-light little guy had gained weight! She couldn’t lift him anymore!

Xu Haizhou laughed and took over, tossing him up for her.

The little one shrieked with joy and excitement. “Waaah—so high!”

“Waaah—hahaha—”

“Waaah—”

“Ahhh—I’m scared! Daddy, I’m scared!”

He hadn’t even been tossed a few times before fear kicked in.

“Daddy, I’m scared! Put me down!”

After the fourth toss, Xu Haizhou set his son down. The little guy was a bit dizzy from being thrown into the air and swayed before stumbling into Qiao Lu’s arms.

With a soft whimper and a pitiful tone, he said, “It was kind of fun, but Mama, please don’t throw me up into the sky again… I’m scared, waaah—”

The couple didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Sorry, sweetie, Mama just got a little too excited! We made big money today!”

“Big money? How big?” Qiao An rubbed his eyes.

Qiao Lu smiled. “Really big.”

The little one blinked his sparkling grape-like eyes. “How big is really big? Like the kind that can buy a big house?”

Qiao Lu chuckled. “Not that big. Just enough to buy a few floor tiles.”

“Well then, that’s not really big. It’s only a little big,” the little one corrected her earnestly.

…

The flip-top gloves continued to be a hot seller, with no signs of slowing down.

With the help of the women from the inner courtyard, daily production increased by three to four times. Those with sewing machines could make about 8 pairs a day, while those without machines but still working could produce two pairs daily—maybe an extra one if they stayed up late.

Thanks to the generous pay Qiao Lu offered, Aunt Chen and Wu Guifang from next door didn’t even want to waste time eating. They scarfed down a few bites and rushed back to the worktable.

Take someone like Wu Guifang—a young housewife who stayed home full-time. She was quick with her hands and had sharp eyes. As long as she kept at it, she could make eight pairs a day. If she pushed herself and stayed up until around 9 PM, she could crank out two more pairs. That made ten pairs a day. At twenty cents per pair, that was two yuan a day.

If you compared that with her husband Hu Jiefang’s monthly salary of 45 yuan, then two yuan a day, sustained until the end of the month, would mean sixty yuan a month!

She’d be earning more than her husband!

With that thought, her motivation skyrocketed. She practically didn’t want to eat or sleep. She even pulled in her nine-year-old daughter, Hu Fangxia, to help. Every day after school, instead of doing homework, her daughter helped cut materials.

One weekend, the mother-daughter duo even broke their record of twelve pairs a day by producing fourteen! That was insane.

But there was no helping it—Chinese people seemed to have hard work engraved into their bones. As long as the pay was good enough, they could keep pushing past their physical limits.

Qiao Lu grew a bit worried, afraid Wu Guifang would wear herself out. She only gave her enough materials for a maximum of eleven pairs per day. No more. If she finished early, she had to rest. No more burning the candle at both ends.

Wu Guifang didn’t complain and was full of joy. “Oh Qiao Lu, you just don’t know—ever since I started making two yuan a day, Old Hu’s attitude toward me has been like I’m his ancestor!”

The first time she got two yuan in hand, Wu Guifang was so excited she forgot to make lunch. When Hu Jiefang came home from work at noon and saw the cold stove and his wife busy at the sewing machine, he was so mad he nearly smashed the machine.

The couple had a big fight, and it escalated so much that Hu Jiefang almost raised his hand to hit her. But the moment he heard that his wife could make two yuan a day, he didn’t say another word. He rolled up his sleeves and ran to the kitchen to cook.

His movements were flustered, as if afraid to disturb her money-making. “Guifang, hurry and focus on your gloves. I’ll cook today, and I’ll save a bowl for you.”

Wu Guifang laughed so hard she couldn’t straighten her back. Her laughter was unrestrained and full of joy.

Even though it had been several days since then, the delight in her heart still hadn’t faded. “Qiao Lu, you didn’t see it, but the way he fawned over me was hilarious! I’ve been married to him for nine years and never once had a meal cooked by him. Not even once! He wouldn’t even lift a finger if an oil bottle fell over. But these past few days? He’s been serving tea, bringing water, massaging my shoulders and waist, even complimenting how nimble I am! Tsk tsk, men… don’t think they can’t change. When the time comes, they can!”

Qiao Lu kept glancing at her face. Though Wu Guifang had always seemed full of energy, she’d always seemed timid and subdued around her husband. But now, as she chatted, she exuded a rare and radiant confidence.

Even though Qiao Lu hadn’t been married long, she’d been paying attention to how Wu Guifang and her husband interacted.

Hu Jiefang liked to order his wife around, yelling at her for the smallest dissatisfaction. Wu Guifang had a mild, patient personality and endured everything.

So, even though Hu Jiefang had a hot temper, they rarely fought. Outsiders might even think they were a loving couple.

But it’s just like that old saying: a person’s status in the household depends on their income or standing outside the home. The more you earn, the more you can stand tall when you speak and act.