Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 453: Fallacious Reasoning and Heretical Views

Chapter 453: Chapter 453: Fallacious Reasoning and Heretical Views

Wen Shi and the others went quickly, and came back just as fast.

They left with only two people, but returned with a whole group.

Old Wei’s wife Zhang Qiao Zhen and Wei Qiang came along. After eating a meal of stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat, Wei Qiang still had tears in his eyes, yet he was stubborn, with every cell in his body spelling out defiance.

The Zhou Family’s little girl Zhou Sisi, who received a gift from him, came with her father Mr. Zhou. The little girl was holding an ugly cloth doll.

Sister-in-law Zhou didn’t come as she’s not in the residential area; she went back home to see her sick mother.

Then there were those like Madam Lei who followed to join in on the fun.

The originally spacious courtyard became crowded because of this influx of people.

Wen Shi brought out stools and chairs, inviting them to sit. After exchanging greetings with everyone, Yi Chichi looked towards Zhou Sisi, "Sisi, can I see your doll?"

"Here!"

This was a generous and reasonable little girl. As soon as she heard Yi Chichi wanted the doll, she handed it over without a word, but her bright red lips uttered words that pierced right through Wei Qiang’s heart.

She said, "This doll is really ugly. I didn’t want it when Qiangzi gave it to me, but he threatened me with crying, so I had no choice but to accept it."

As she spoke, she spread her hands like a little adult, saying very helplessly, "I thought he used scraps to make the doll. If it weren’t for Uncle Wei and Uncle Wen confronting me, I wouldn’t have known he used Uncle Wei’s clothes."

Everyone simultaneously focused their attention on Wei Qiang. They might have been better off not looking, for when they did, they found Wei Qiang’s mouth was covered by his father, his face red from holding back.

Wen Shi quickly reached out, "Old Wei, let him go. Why cover the kid’s mouth? Let him say what he wants to say."

Let them see the fun.

He didn’t say this out loud, but everyone who knew him well showed a meaningful smile, and then one after another asked Wei Qiang why he thought of making Zhou Sisi a doll.

Yi Chichi was also quite interested, not in a hurry to dismantle the doll, but rather waiting with keen interest for Wei Qiang’s response.

Having regained the freedom to breathe deeply, Wei Qiang was not shy in the face of his uncles’ questions. Instead, he glared furiously at Mr. Zhou before starting to reveal the mystery to everyone.

"Uncle Zhou wouldn’t buy Sisi a birthday gift, and she was upset to the point of tears. I figured making a cloth doll wasn’t too hard, so I sewed one for her."

This answer was completely unexpected for everyone, but Zhang Qiao Zhen remained calm, "Sisi wants the kind of doll you have to dress up and do its hair, not your kind of ugly doll."

There are Western dolls for sale now, Barbies that can change outfits and have their hair done, but only the Friendship Store sells them; the department store doesn’t have any.

The prices are not cheap either, and most parents can’t afford, nor do they want, to buy them for their children.

Old Zhou is the perfect example. His lips moved for a long time before he squeezed out a sentence, "Qiangzi, do you know how much the kind of doll Sisi wants costs?"

"No, I don’t."

Wei Qiang shook his head, righteously, "I’ve never bought one, and I don’t have the money to buy it, so I could only make it myself."

Old Wei chuckled angrily, "Then why didn’t you cut up your own clothes to make it?"

"Dad, your clothes are large. Using a bit of your fabric doesn’t matter. My clothes are small; cutting them would leave a big hole. It’s very tiring for mom to patch them up."

The crowd was left speechless.

This kid has a sort of logical genius vibe, making a lot of sense.

But it’s all distorted logic.

He’s considerate of his mom but shows no consideration for his dad.

After a short pause, everyone burst into laughter.

Yi Chichi laughed so much she couldn’t close her mouth, "This doll you made is really ugly."

Wei Qiang is a strong and sensible child. He glanced at the doll and, instead of defending himself, smiled a bit shyly, "I know, but I can only make it like this."

Even doing just this took him a good amount of time, and he pricked himself several times in the process.

"Auntie, can you help me make it look a bit better?"

He leaned over, pointing at the cloth doll in Yi Chichi’s hand.

"No, I can’t do that."

Yi Chichi refused, "I’ll have to take the doll apart to repair your dad’s clothes."

"But..."

Wei Qiang’s previously downcast face brightened up again, his eyes shining, "What is it?"

"You can ask your mom for some unused scraps, and I can make another one for you."

"I have some at home."

Zhou Sisi raised her little hand immediately, her voice crisp and clear, "My mom has a lot of fabric scraps. Auntie, can you make me a pretty doll? I’ll have my dad pay you."

"No, I must do it. It’s the promised birthday gift."

Before Yi Chichi could respond, Wei Qiang started to argue.

Then, the two children entered into a fierce argument.

The adults didn’t intervene, letting them quarrel as they wished, as long as they didn’t get into serious fights. They could sort it out themselves.

You see, with kids, squabbling is the norm—you get used to it.

So, all the adults went into watching mode.

Yi Chichi quickly took apart the cloth doll, "Wei Qiang has a knack for needlework."

Zhang Qiao Zhen, "??? Qiangzi doing needlework?"

"Yes."

She nodded, "This kid can teach himself to sew a doll without a teacher. Although it’s a bit ugly and the stitches are crooked, not tight or even, he still managed to sew the doll."

Old Wei laughed when he heard this, "Well, that’s great, he can work in a factory when he grows up."

Wen Shi and the others looked at each other, their foreheads dotted with black lines; Old Wei was good in every way, except he wasn’t very sensitive to the mood.

But no one reminded him, worried about eavesdroppers.

They just went along with what he said in agreement.

Yi Chichi glanced at the crowd, silently removing the yarn strands that stood in for hair on the fabric.

Then, she laid the dismantled fabric flat, took up needle and thread, and began to patch it up.

After only a few stitches, Zhou Sisi and Wei Qiang finally agreed to split the scraps to make the doll.

Then they each found their parents.

The kids didn’t want new fabric, just scraps to make a doll. What parent would refuse?

If you can’t buy and can’t bear to spend the money, using existing resources to fulfill the child’s wishes is quite good.

So Zhang Qiao Zhen and Old Zhou went home to get fabric scraps.

Old Wei and Wen Shi chatted idly, while Madam Lei and the others watched Yi Chichi sewing, hoping to pick up some tips.

But the more they watched, the more hopeless it seemed.

They couldn’t imitate it—there really was no way to learn a thing from it.

The hand speed was too fast. Even without a ruler, the stitches Yi Chichi made were as tight and neat as if made by a sewing machine.

"No way, how on earth are you doing these stitches?"

"Just like this."

Yi Chichi didn’t look up, "The more you watch and practice, the more you’ll pick it up."

Old Lei, chatting with Wen Shi and the others, heard this and immediately said, "My wife’s not good at sewing. I do all the mending at home."

"You only do the mending; I handle the shoes and socks."

Madam Lei shot back immediately, while Wen Shi and the others, having their own unusual focal points, said, "Old Lei, you can sew?"

"You guys can’t?"

"We can!"

They replied in unison.

Before having a wife, when clothes or socks got torn, they all had to mend them themselves. How they turned out, well, that depends on individual perception.