Chapter 62

As he spoke, Xie Tingyu lost all interest in going out to buy New Year’s goods and only wanted to take Ye Qingshui home.

“No need to buy cloth, we already have some at home.”

In truth, Xie Tingyu didn’t lack clothes. He had plenty—his wardrobe was full of shirts, trench coats, Zhongshan suits, and green military uniforms.

His clothes were neat and almost like new, with hardly a wrinkle to be found.

Always dressed so clean and meticulous, he carried himself with a precision that made it easy for Ye Qingshui to imagine what he must have looked like in his student days. Even after moving to the countryside, wearing an inconspicuous Dacron shirt, he was still a pleasing sight to the eye.

She smiled helplessly. “Slow down, the clothes aren’t going anywhere.”

Back at the Xie household, Ye Qingshui borrowed needles, thread, and a measuring tape from Xu Maofang.

Xie Tingyu rummaged through boxes and cabinets, quickly finding some fabric. “See if these will work?”

He even brought over the family’s sewing machine.

Ye Qingshui was pleasantly surprised to find a sewing machine in his home. Xie Tingyu explained casually, “Oh, it’s Dongmei’s. She learned a bit of sewing from her grandmother for a while.”

But Xie Dongmei had no patience for it—after using the sewing machine for a short time, she left it idle, only bringing it out now and then for mending.

Ye Qingshui examined the piece of black fabric in his hand. From its feel, she could tell it was wool, with a clear texture and a naturally soft luster—likely intended for a Zhongshan suit.

Xie Tingyu naturally held out his arms. “Take my measurements.”

Ye Qingshui hesitated for a moment.

She could usually judge someone’s measurements just by looking, but Xie Tingyu stood there with his arms outstretched, holding the pose for a long time. Left with no choice, she took the soft tape, bent down, and began measuring.

“Stand still.”

Her hands circled around his waist, thumbs meeting in the back. His firm, upright waist nearly filled her arms.

Unconsciously, Xie Tingyu’s lips curved. With a small movement of his thumb, he started up the record player, putting on one of his favorite pieces of music.

Gentle classical melodies slowly unfurled, graceful and fragrant in the quiet afternoon—like the faint, sweet fragrance in her hair.

Ye Qingshui stood on tiptoe to measure his shoulder width.

He cooperated by crouching down so that their eyes were level.

Her bright, clear eyes seemed to hold light, calm and gentle, with a smile at the corners of her lips that drew one into smiling along.

Smiling with narrowed eyes, Ye Qingshui said, “Brother Yu, you really have gotten a bit taller. We’ll need a few more feet of cloth. Just wait—I have a sewing machine, so the clothes will be done quickly.”

Xie Tingyu nodded with a faint smile, propping his chin up and half-reclining in a chair, watching her busy back.

Ye Qingshui worked as soon as she said she would. She sat at the sewing machine and bent over her work.

Amid the graceful, flowing music came the rhythmic da-da-deng-deng of the sewing machine. Xie Tingyu’s brows relaxed as he picked up a book to read.

The warm air inside felt like spring; the sparse winter sunlight was gentle. In the room, Ye Qingshui was making clothes, Xie Tingyu was reading—a quiet harmony where each was absorbed in their own task, yet the atmosphere was warm and peaceful.

…

Downstairs, with her daughter’s help, Xu Maofang finished making lunch.

Taking off her apron, faint wrinkles formed on her well-maintained face. She regretted firing the new maid.

This country girl Xie Tingyu had married really had no sense—coming to her in-laws’ home and doing no chores at all, letting her mother-in-law wait on her instead. What kind of logic was that?

Poor, uneducated, and not particularly likable—once the novelty wore off after a few years, she’d probably end up like Li Aijun’s wife, slinking back to the countryside with her bedding rolled up.

Xu Maofang said, “Meimei, your sister-in-law borrowed your sewing machine. I’m afraid she might fumble with it and break it. Go take a look.”

“And call them down for lunch while you’re at it.”

When Xie Dongmei heard her treasured sewing machine had been lent to the new sister-in-law, she frowned. “Why give it to her? Does she even know how to use it?”

It wasn’t that she looked down on her new sister-in-law, but Ye Qingshui probably hadn’t even had the chance to touch a sewing machine before. A worker’s monthly salary was only a little over thirty yuan; back then, it had taken Xie Dongmei three full years to save enough to buy one.

With her mother’s words in mind, Xie Dongmei went upstairs full of questions. She knocked on her brother’s door.

To her surprise, it wasn’t locked—just loosely closed, with a thin gap.

From inside, the record player’s graceful music floated out. Xie Dongmei pushed the door open…

She saw her usually aloof, taciturn brother tying the new sister-in-law’s hair. He bent slightly, tying two simple ponytails, and asked in a gentle voice:

“How’s that—does it keep the hair out of your eyes?”

He looked more relaxed than she had ever seen him, his young face seemingly lit from within, radiating a brilliance that was dazzling to behold.

That gentle tone could make one drunk.

Only, that sister-in-law from the countryside kept her head down, working hard without saying a word. The rhythmic sound of the sewing machine pedal and needle brought Xie Dongmei back to her senses.

Xie Dongmei stepped into the room.

She said to Xie Tingyu, “Mom told you both to come down for lunch. Don’t get so busy you forget the time, Brother.”

Seeing Ye Qingshui so absorbed in her work, Xie Tingyu couldn’t bear to interrupt her. “We already ate outside,” he replied.

Then to Ye Qingshui, he said, “I’ll go down and wash some fruit for you.”

When only the two women were left in the room, Xie Dongmei’s righteous challenge turned into mockery: “Does sister-in-law even know how to use a sewing machine?”

“I dust it every day and take great care of it. Sister-in-law, you’d better be careful with it—if you break it, I’ll be heartbroken.”

Ye Qingshui didn’t respond, keeping her head bent over her work. The crisp, steady da-da-da of the machine never stopped, and under her hands, the scattered pieces of fabric gradually took shape.

Seeing that her new country sister-in-law wouldn’t answer, Xie Dongmei’s gaze fell on her shabby clothes.

In her heart, she thought that today this sister-in-law had surely managed to spread the Xie family’s shame across the entire compound.

But then she remembered all the ways her brother treated Ye Qingshui differently, and said bluntly: “My brother has been diligent in his studies since childhood. He has many hobbies. Listen to this music—do you know what it is?”

“This is Mozart’s Symphony No. 39. My brother could play it when he was thirteen. Let me show you something…”

Suddenly bending down, Xie Dongmei pulled out a thick stack from the cabinet under the desk where Ye Qingshui was sitting.

“These are all from his school days.”

Ye Qingshui gave it a casual glance—and was indeed startled. They were medals and trophies.

“You’re just a girl from the countryside. I don’t know what means you used to marry my brother, but you really don’t deserve him…”

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Xie Dongmei turned her head and abruptly fell silent.

Xie Tingyu, having washed the fruit, was now standing in the doorway, his expression as cold as the dead of winter.

He didn’t say a word—just quietly took out a small knife and peeled the apple, slicing it into small pieces and placing them in front of Ye Qingshui for her to eat.

His movements—patient, precise, meticulous—were silent, yet the air in the room seemed to drop in pressure.

Only then did he speak, “Shui’er, try it—it’s very sweet.”

Turning to Xie Dongmei, he said, “Apologize to your sister-in-law. After that, leave and close the door. Don’t come into my room again.”

He suddenly swept all the medals and trophies from the table onto the floor, making Xie Dongmei jump. She mustered the courage to argue—

—but one glance at her brother’s cold eyes silenced her. She could only mumble an apology to Ye Qingshui.

She slunk out and shut the door behind her.

Ye Qingshui looked at the man’s tense jaw and face black as the bottom of a pot, and couldn’t help but smile. “Why get so angry? She’s not wrong, you know.”

“These are all your hard-earned achievements—why ruin them?”

She picked them up carefully, examining them. To her surprise, there was even a science award. She remembered that when Xie Tingyu first went to the countryside, he set up a few experimental plots called Harvest No. 5 Agricultural Fields .

Such projects had been tried before—usually just for show when work teams came down, with the commune organizing some educated cadres to put something together. But this year, when the brigade divided the grain, every household had indeed gotten noticeably more.

In that sense, Xie Tingyu really had brought knowledge and technology to the countryside.

Seeing that she hadn’t taken Xie Dongmei’s words to heart, his expression softened. “It’s fine. Don’t bother picking them up.”

But noticing how intently she stared at his medals, his face flushed slightly. “Stop looking at those. I don’t think I’ve ever told you about these things…”

Slowly, he said, “After I finished middle school, if I’d followed my father’s plan, I would have already joined the army. But at the time, I wanted to attend university and then work in a research institute.”

Listening, Ye Qingshui finally heard the reason he had gone to the countryside. It turned out that he and his father had clashed over his career path—Xie Tingyu had refused to enlist as Xie Jun wished, but he also hadn’t managed to enter the university he wanted. Disheartened, he signed up to ‘support the motherland’ and went to the countryside as a sent-down youth.

Ye Qingshui pressed her lips together and said, “Then if you go to university in the future, wouldn’t the Xie family produce a scientist?”

At that, Xie Tingyu’s refined features gradually turned red, but he still replied, “Not the Xie family—our family.”

It was the first time Ye Qingshui had heard his life plan. She had always thought he meant to join the army. Even Shen Weimin had assumed so. No matter how much he read or studied, she’d thought it was just a hobby.

Her thoughts halted abruptly. She asked, “Yu-ge, have you ever thought of working in a government office—eating ‘state grain’? With your ability, you could easily pass the exam.”

Xie Tingyu shook his head, almost without thinking.

“I’ve never considered it. You know, whether in politics or the military, it’s not just a job—the organization and discipline outweigh individual will. By comparison, I prefer creative work.”

Seeing her surprise, he smiled faintly. “What is it?”

Ye Qingshui hid her astonishment, casually tidied the mess on the table, and gathered up the leftover fabric scraps. “Oh, nothing.”

But what he said and what he later became didn’t quite match. He had never considered politics—yet later, he became one of the most sought-after figures in the political arena.

At that thought, Ye Qingshui frowned.

Support Sansukini on Ko-fi

Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк　чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)

You can also check out my other translations Here