Chapter 654 Change 9
Time is like a gurgling stream, quietly but without stopping, and the days pass by one by one. With the full expectation of He Yuzhu and He Yushui, He Yushui finally welcomed the long-awaited vacation.
This holiday is of great significance to He Yushui, because she is about to start a new learning journey and get in touch with the charming tailoring skills. He Yuzhu has always remembered the agreement with the master, and on this special day, he took his sister to the master's house.
Along the way, He Yushui's mood was so complicated, with uncontrollable excitement and a little nervousness. Her small hands tightly grasped the corners of her clothes, as if this could ease her inner anxiety.
Various images of tailoring skills kept emerging in her mind. She imagined that in the future she would be able to use her skillful hands to turn ordinary pieces of cloth into beautiful and well-fitting clothes like the old master. Her heart was full of longing for the tailoring skills that she was about to learn. That longing was like the twinkling stars in the night sky, bright and charming, making her wish she could sit in front of the sewing machine right away and start showing off her skills.
Soon, the brother and sister arrived at the door of the master's house. Before they knocked on the door, the master seemed to have expected them to come at this time. He had already opened the door, with a warm smile on his face, and warmly welcomed the brother and sister in.
As soon as he entered the room, the master's eyes fell on He Yushui. Looking at this well-behaved and somewhat shy little girl in front of him, the master's eyes were full of kindness and love. He smiled and said, "Girl, your brother has praised you a lot in front of me, saying that you are so smart, hardworking and down-to-earth. Today, I will first see if your hands are flexible enough to manipulate needles, threads and fabrics. After all, tailoring work requires skill in your hands, which is quite important."
Having said that, the old master turned around calmly, walked to the cabinet beside him, opened the door, and took out some scraps of cloth, needles and threads and other tools that he had carefully prepared in advance. Then he slowly walked to the table and placed these things one by one and neatly on the table.
He Yushui looked at the tools on the table, took a deep breath, as if to muster up courage, and then slowly walked to the table. She stretched out her slightly trembling little hand and carefully picked up the needle and thread, her movements were so gentle as if she was holding an invaluable treasure in her hands.
Then, she began to try to thread the needle, her eyes fixed on the tiny eye of the needle, her brows slightly furrowed, and she concentrated on this seemingly simple action which became somewhat difficult due to her nervousness.
Maybe she was too nervous, she couldn't get the needle through the first time. The thread was like a naughty elf, dangling around the eye of the needle for a while, and then slipped to the side. He Yushui's face instantly turned slightly red, like a peach blossom blooming in spring, revealing a hint of shyness. She glanced at her brother and the master shyly, her eyes full of regret and self-blame.
He Yuzhu immediately understood his sister's thoughts and quickly gave her an encouraging look. His eyes were full of concern and trust, as if silently saying to his sister, "Don't worry, take your time, I believe you can do it."
He Yushui felt the strength transmitted by her brother, calmed herself down, secretly encouraged herself in her heart, and tried again. This time, her hands were much steadier, her eyes were more focused, and the thread passed through the eye of the needle smoothly like an obedient child. He Yushui's face instantly bloomed with a happy smile, that smile was like the warm sun in winter, bright and warm, sweeping away the previous tension and annoyance.
Then, the master smiled and said to He Yushui: "Girl, threading the needle is only the first step. Next, let's try to cut some simple shapes with scissors. Cutting is also a very important part of tailoring."
He Yushui listened, nodded obediently, then gently put the needle and thread aside, stared at the cloth in front of her, and followed the method taught by the master. She first carefully gestured with her hands to cut the shape and size, and then steadily picked up the scissors and cut it bit by bit. Her eyes were full of seriousness, and every cut was extremely cautious. She looked so focused that it seemed as if the whole world was left with only her and the cloth in front of her. The master stood aside, quietly watching He Yushui's every move, nodding constantly, with eyes full of praise, obviously very satisfied with He Yushui's performance.
After such a simple test, the master smiled with satisfaction. His smile was full of relief. He looked at He Yushui and said gently, "Not bad, girl. Your hands are quite flexible. It seems that you have a talent for learning tailoring. You can do it so seriously and so systematically at the beginning. As long as you follow me and learn well, you will definitely succeed. I believe it won't be long before you can make beautiful clothes."
When He Yushui heard this, she was so happy that she almost jumped up, and the excitement almost overflowed from her eyes. She hurriedly said, "Thank you, Master. I will definitely study hard. I will definitely not let you and my brother down. I will work very hard." He Yuzhu, who was standing aside, also smiled from ear to ear when he heard his sister's words. The smile on his face was full of pride and satisfaction for his sister. He thanked the master again and again. The words of gratitude were like a string of cannons, constantly coming out of his mouth, and he kept saying thank you to the master for giving his sister this opportunity and praising the master for his good vision.
From then on, He Yushui began to learn tailoring from the master with great joy and expectation. Every day, when the first ray of sunlight in the morning was just gently sprinkled on the eaves of the courtyard, dyeing the green tiles into a light golden color, He Yushui had already gotten up early. After a simple wash, she couldn't wait to walk towards the master's house.
Arriving at the master's house, she first gently opened the door, walked into the house lightly, and began to clean the house like a well-behaved little swallow. She took a broom and carefully swept every corner, even the dust hidden under the tables and chairs and in the gaps of the cabinets. After a while, the house was cleaned by her, spotless. Then, she would go to the place where the fabrics were placed and help the master to sort out the colorful and various fabrics. She would stack them neatly according to different classification standards such as the material, color and purpose of the fabrics, and patiently wind the messy balls of thread and put them in the corresponding small boxes. After completing all these preparations, He Yushui would sit upright in front of the old-fashioned sewing machine like a pious apprentice, with a light of desire for knowledge in her eyes, and listen attentively to the master's explanation of various tailoring knowledge.
The master would always spare no effort to pass on his valuable experience and skills accumulated over decades to her. He would start by talking about the characteristics of different clothing styles, and would elaborate on the men's Zhongshan suit, which should have strong lines and a crisp style, and the shoulders should be cut just right, so that the wearer would look energetic and elegant.
For women's skirts, the focus is on highlighting the feminine curves. The neckline, cuffs and the curvature of the skirt must be carefully designed, and every detail is related to the overall charm. Then there are various complex sewing techniques. For example, when sewing the thin silk fabric, the stitches must be fine and even, and care must be taken not to pull it too much, so as not to damage the texture of the fabric;
Thick woolen fabrics require different needlework to ensure that the seams are firm and beautiful.
He Yushui listened with great interest. She stared at the master teacher without blinking, as if she was afraid of missing any key words. She frowned slightly from time to time and fell into thought. Then she raised her hand and asked questions in her mind. Each question showed her strong desire to learn about tailoring. The master teacher, seeing how eager He Yushui was to learn, always answered every question clearly with patience in plain words, so that He Yushui could understand it thoroughly.
When she was actually doing it, He Yushui showed her meticulous attitude. Take sewing a cuff for example, the seemingly simple cuff is an extremely important part in her eyes. She thinks the refinement of the cuff is directly related to the quality of the whole garment.
So, sometimes, in order to sew a cuff well, she would spend a lot of time and energy. She would first carefully measure the size with a ruler, then pick up the needle and thread and start sewing carefully. But often after sewing a few stitches, she felt that the stitches were not fine enough or the direction of the thread was not perfect, so she would untie the thread without hesitation and start over.
In this way, she could repeatedly unsew and sew, sew and unsew several times, with such concentration that it seemed as if the whole world was only her and the small cuff in front of her. Until she checked it again and again, from all angles, and felt that every part had reached the standard that she was satisfied with. In this process, her fingers were often pierced by the needle. The thin needle tip pierced into the flesh, causing a sharp pain, but she just frowned slightly, and then quickly found a strip of cloth to bandage it simply, or put it in her mouth and sucked it. After stopping the bleeding, she continued to practice. The serious and persistent energy was like a burning flame, hot and firm. The master saw it in his eyes and was happy in his heart. He felt more and more that this child would definitely make achievements in the tailoring industry in the future, and maybe even become an outstanding figure in this industry.
He Yuzhu was busy with his own work in the factory, but he always wanted his sister to learn tailoring. Whenever he had free time in the factory, even if it was just a few minutes of lunch break or a little free time after get off work, he would rush to the master and learn with his sister.
If his sister encountered any difficulties in the learning process, such as when cutting a piece of cloth with a special pattern, she didn't know how to cleverly avoid the pattern to ensure the overall beauty of the clothes; or when sewing some necklines with complex patterns, she was a little confused about the choice of needlework and didn't know how to make the patterns connect naturally and smoothly. He Yuzhu would combine the knowledge he had learned from the master and sit at the table with his sister to discuss it.
They would speak out their own ideas and thoughts. Sometimes, the brother and sister would hold different opinions and even argue over different views on a tailoring technique. He Yuzhu thought that this needle method should be used and started from this angle, while He Yushui thought that another needle method would be more appropriate and the effect would be better if it was operated from another direction. However, every time at this time, they would not continue to be deadlocked, but would bring their own ideas to consult the master. In the end, they would always find the best method under the guidance of the master's rich experience. Then the brother and sister smiled at each other, and the seriousness of the previous argument disappeared instantly, and continued to immerse themselves in studying the next tailoring technique.
As time went by, just like the trickles of water that converge into a vast river, He Yushui's tailoring skills became more and more sophisticated through day-to-day study and practice.
She was no longer satisfied with just mending or making simple small items, but began to try to make some simple clothes for the children in the courtyard. She would first observe the body characteristics of each child, to see whether the child was fat or thin, tall or short, and then carefully select the appropriate fabric based on these, and then carefully design the style of the clothes. From the shape of the small pockets on the clothes to the decoration of the neckline, she carefully considered every detail. Every time she gave the finished clothes to the children to try on, the scene was so lively.
When the children saw those beautiful and well-fitting clothes, their eyes lit up, as if they had found rare treasures. They jumped and danced with joy, and couldn't wait to put them on. They also ran around in the yard, showing off their new clothes. When the parents saw their children wearing such well-fitting and beautiful clothes, they also gathered around, carefully looking at the workmanship of the clothes, and praised He Yushui for her good craftsmanship, saying that the clothes were more exquisite than those sold in other stores.
These compliments were like pleasant notes that reached He Yushui's ears, making her feel extremely accomplished. It was as if the seeds she had planted had finally blossomed into gorgeous flowers. This made her more motivated to learn tailoring, and she looked forward to having more time to practice every day and come up with more novel and beautiful designs.
After knowing the story of He Yuzhu and his sister, the colleagues in the factory would tease him every time they met him in the factory. Some colleagues would laugh and tease, "Hey, Yuzhu, your sister is really amazing. I heard that her tailoring skills are getting better and better. If you keep going like this, you will become a little tailor master. We will have to ask your sister to make clothes for us in the future."
Some colleagues would pretend to be envious and say: "You are such a competent brother. Look at how serious your sister is. She must be influenced by you. If your sister becomes a great tailor in the future, you will be proud of her." Whenever He Yuzhu heard his colleagues' jokes, he would respond with a smile, and that smile was full of pride for his sister.
He would smile and say, "Oh, my sister has worked hard on her own and is eager to learn. I'm just here to join in the fun and help out a little. But I'm really proud of my sister." The pride he had for his sister almost overflowed from his words, allowing his colleagues around him to truly feel his deep love and expectations for his sister.
After a while, the street organized a community talent show. Encouraged by the master, He Yushui signed up for the tailoring skills show. On the day of the event, she brought several clothes she had carefully made to the scene. The clothes were novel in style and fine in workmanship, and attracted everyone's attention as soon as they appeared. Everyone gathered around, touched the exquisite fabrics, and praised He Yushui's craftsmanship. Many people asked He Yushui if she could help make clothes.
He Yushui stood there with a confident smile on her face. She patiently answered everyone's questions and was more confident about her future career as a tailor. He Yuzhu stood aside, looking at his radiant sister, his eyes slightly moistened. He knew that his sister's hard work and efforts along the way were not in vain, and she was moving towards a better future step by step with her own efforts.
After that, more and more people came to He Yushui to make clothes. She also began to take some small orders in her spare time, and gradually accumulated some fame. Some people even came from other neighborhoods to come. He Yushui used the tailoring skills she learned to not only make her life more colorful, but also add a different brilliance to the entire courtyard. Everyone is proud of her, and He Yuzhu continues to work hard in the factory. The life of the brother and sister is getting more and more prosperous, and the road ahead is getting wider and wider under their feet.