1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 280 Grandma's Instruction: Hanfu Rejected

"After seeing your kid, my kid suddenly doesn't seem so appealing anymore."

My cousin's wife also came over to join in the fun, pointing at her son with obvious disdain.

My cousin and his wife's son, Zhuangzhuang, is already 7 years old.

There's an old saying in Jinan: "Even dogs dislike six- or seven-year-old brats," which perfectly describes his age.

Zhuangzhuang lived up to the old saying; he was indeed very naughty. If he wasn't beaten for three days, he would cause chaos at home, making his cousin's wife very upset.

My cousin worked diligently at the power bureau for over a decade before finally being promoted to section-level cadre.

Grassroots cadres should set an example, so he was sent to the countryside again to continue his old job of patrolling the power lines in remote mountainous areas.

Patrolling power lines is hard work. You can stay in the mountains for a year or two at a time, and you have to stick to your post during holidays and festivals, unable to go home and reunite with your family.

My cousin's wife had to work and take care of her child, so she couldn't manage both. My aunt and uncle took the initiative to take on the responsibility of looking after their grandson.

Zhuangzhuang was raised by his grandparents.

They only have this one precious child in the family, so the two grandparents naturally dote on him and can't bear to see their grandson suffer any hardship. They give him whatever he wants.

Zhuangzhuang was spoiled by his grandparents and would cry and throw tantrums if things didn't go his way.

This was especially true after starting elementary school; they would compare themselves with their classmates, feeling they had to have everything others had.

When elementary school students wear school uniforms, the clothes are the only thing that matters; the shoes are the most important.

Cheap stuff won't do, it has to be a brand name.

A pair of shoes can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, but they'll be ruined in no time.

Over the course of a year, shoe expenses alone accounted for a large portion of household expenses.

My aunt and uncle don't have high pensions, only about two thousand yuan a month.

The living expenses given by his daughter-in-law were far from enough, and he even had to pay out of his own pocket.

The elderly couple were at a loss for words. After all, he was their own grandson. They wanted to discipline him but couldn't bear to, yet they were afraid of spoiling him if they didn't.

And so, faced with the choice of whether or not to beat her, they decided to leave the decision to their daughter-in-law.

If their daughter-in-law beats them, they will try to appease her.

If the daughter-in-law doesn't beat them, they'll turn a blind eye.

As long as it doesn't cause chaos at home, the elderly couple will go about their business as usual and pretend they didn't see anything.

"Zhuangzhuang is still young, only seven years old, there's no need to be so strict with him."

Lin Xiyu knew perfectly well that it was fine for her cousin-in-law to dislike her son; after all, the cousin-in-law was her own mother, and if she joined in the criticism, she would only be disliked.

“His dad isn’t home, and it’s too tiring for me to take care of the child alone.”

My cousin's wife was incredibly envious: "My brother-in-law is so much better. He owns his own company, has flexible hours, and can devote all his energy to you and the kids."

“There are risks involved in doing it yourself.”

Lin Xiyu smiled and chimed in, "Unlike you and your cousin, who both work for state-owned enterprises, your jobs are stable and your income is guaranteed."

"Cough cough."

Before she could finish speaking, Grandma suddenly coughed, startling her so much that her heart skipped a beat.

"Grandma."

Lin Xiyu quickly turned around and hugged her grandmother's arm.

"You know state-owned enterprises are good? Stable income?"

Grandma shook her arm, but couldn't shake her off, so she glared at her with displeasure.

"know."

Lin Xiyu listened to the instruction with her head bowed, her attitude very respectful.

"Then why did you give up your job? You won't listen to Grandma."

Grandma still couldn't get over her resignation.

"Grandma."

Lin Xiyu gave a wry smile: "I know you care about me, can you let me be willful just this once?"

"You've already resigned."

Grandma was still angry: "What's the point of saying this now?"

"Nothing."

Lin Xiyu's attitude in admitting her mistake was very sincere.

Grandma laughed in exasperation: "What am I supposed to say to you, child?"

"Grandma, don't be angry."

Lin Xiyu smiled slyly, then hugged her grandmother's arm and said in a flattering tone, "How about I show you the Hanfu I designed? It's an idea I came up with myself, and I've kept it a secret from everyone. I've never shown it to anyone else."

"Aren't you doing paper cutting?"

Grandma was stunned for a moment: "When did you start designing clothes again?"

"You'll know when you see it."

Lin Xiyu deliberately kept it a secret and didn't say it in public.

"What kind of clothes are they? They're so mysterious!"

"We want to see it too!"

Her curiosity was piqued by all her relatives and friends.

"no!"

Lin Xiyu deliberately tried to please her grandmother: "Only Grandma can watch it."

"Then go and have a look."

Grandma was indeed pleased with her coaxing and lost the will to continue scolding her.

The old house only has two guest rooms, one for the nanny and the other for Gu Bin to rest temporarily.

After Lin Xiyu conceived the idea of applying to become an intangible cultural heritage inheritor, he moved the bed to the study, cleared out unnecessary items, and converted the guest room into a dedicated studio so that his beloved wife could have an independent space where she could focus on studying paper-cutting techniques without being disturbed by anyone.

The studio was somewhat messy, with scraps of paper scattered all over the floor.

Grandma entered the house with Lin Xiyu's help. She was quite surprised to see a thick layer of red paper on the floor and didn't know where to put her feet.

"Step on it freely, it's all leftover, useless waste paper."

Lin Xiyu used her toe to hook a discarded ribbon and casually tossed it into the corner.

Grandma remarked with emotion, "These scraps of paper on the floor show how hard you've worked."

"Okay."

Lin Xiyu stood before her meticulously tailored creation, her eyes instantly lighting up: "Grandma, isn't this Hanfu beautiful? Doesn't it have a striking effect? And this ribbon, I made it based on ancient paintings of court ladies; there are several different patterns on it alone."

"You're just showing me this?"

She spoke excitedly, but when Grandma looked up from the ground, her brows were furrowed tightly.

In her opinion, paper Hanfu with openwork patterns and exposed skin was quite unconventional.

Fortunately, it was worn by a model. If it were worn by a real person, it wouldn't just be strange clothing, but rather indecent and immoral.

"This is just an experiment; it still needs improvement."

Lin Xiyu understood the underlying meaning from her grandmother's eyes, and two beads of cold sweat dripped down the back of her head.

"Why not just cut out a nice ancient painting of court ladies?"

Grandma couldn't understand: "Why do you have to do this fashion design? Is this clothing for people to wear?"

"Portraits of court ladies are not entirely unacceptable."

Lin Xiyu explained with an embarrassed smile, "Isn't this because we want to innovate? Only by having our own unique creativity can traditional art come to life with new vitality."

"You haven't been approved as a successor yet."

Grandma looked displeased: "Don't be too eye-catching. Just honestly cut out a picture of a lady and submit it. Wait for the selection results to come out and confirm that you've been selected before thinking about anything else."

"Wouldn't it be better to make clothes like this?"

Lin Xiyu's enthusiasm was ruthlessly extinguished by her grandmother.

"It's not that it's bad, it's just that it's not suitable."

Grandma thought it through very well: "If you are already famous and have your own fan base, no matter what kind of work you cut, there will be people who will support you. Cutting it like this is fine. Even if it is a bit unconventional and inappropriate, there will be people who will take the initiative to defend you."

"On the contrary, you are just a newcomer right now, without even the identity of a successor. It is too early for you to think about innovation and to bring out new vitality."

"I'm afraid I won't be selected if I only cut out a picture of a lady."

Lin Xiyu muttered softly, "Anyone can cut out a picture of a lady. Just draw it and cut it out according to the pattern. It's not difficult. I'm afraid it's too simple and won't pass the review."

"That's what you said"

Grandma scolded in dissatisfaction: "Do you think just anyone can cut this out? People are judging by skill. Do you think the judges are blind? They can tell at a glance whether someone is a paper-cutting expert or not."

"Is it really necessary?"

Lin Xiyu felt very uncomfortable.

"If you still want to listen to Grandma, then you can."

Grandma's eyes darkened: "Fine, if you don't want to listen, that's fine. It's not the first time you've disobeyed me. I'm too old to control you anymore." "I'll listen, I'll listen, okay?"

Lin Xiyu was stung by the fleeting look of melancholy in her grandmother's eyes.

Her maternal grandmother was her closest relative, and she couldn't disregard her feelings and disappoint her again.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Grandma had deep, penetrating eyes; you could see right through her.

"Think about it."

Lin Xiyu nodded somewhat guiltily.

"You won't go back on your word?"

Grandma looked at her quietly and asked again.

"will not."

Lin Xiyu lifted her eyelids, glanced at her grandmother, and tried her best to remain calm.

Before this, was everyone praising you?

Without pausing for a moment, Grandma continued, "How novel your ideas are, how skillful your hands are, and how talented you are!"

"Cough cough."

Lin Xiyu covered her mouth and coughed twice.

Although it wasn't said explicitly, the awkward expression said it all.

"it is as expected."

Grandma sighed knowingly: "So, child, you've become so overwhelmed by the praise that you can't tell the truth from the falsehood."

Lin Xiyu paused, then abruptly raised her head.

"Of course"

Grandma met her surprised gaze, then changed the subject, saying, "Grandma isn't saying that the people who praised you are bad, nor does she mean to blame them. They genuinely wanted to encourage and support you, but they just used the wrong methods."

"Grandma."

Lin Xiyu's face turned pale.

Do you want to know what Grandma thought when she first saw the piece on the model?

Grandma knew she couldn't answer, so she continued, "It's like watching you when you were little, folding those origami cranes. They were supposed to be proud cranes, but you folded them into clumsy ducks, and you didn't even realize it, you were just smug about it."

Lin Xiyu's face turned from white to red in an instant, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"If you don't believe what Grandma says, you can let your aunt and uncle come in and see their reaction."

Seeing that she was standing there without moving, Grandma opened the door herself.

When the gate opened, the people in the courtyard all turned around curiously.

"You all come in."

Grandma waved them over.

"Can we watch it now?"

My uncle ran the fastest and rushed to the front.

"The masterpieces of intangible cultural heritage inheritors must be incredibly impressive. Let us feast our eyes on them too."

Compared to running, my uncle is much quicker with his tongue; he started praising her before even reaching the door.

In the past, Lin Xiyu would have been very happy to hear such praise, but now it just sounded grating.

The two entered one after the other, and when they saw the model, they paused noticeably, and a very subtle expression appeared on their faces.

What do you think of Xiyu's artwork?

Grandma had expected this to happen, and asked with a smile.

"it is good!"

My uncle was stunned for only a second, then clapped and cheered, and answered very smoothly.

"Xi Yu's cooking skills are definitely top-notch."

The uncle quickly caught up with the rhythm, and the two of them acted like a duet, singing in harmony and working together with exceptional chemistry.

"You two step aside and let us see."

The aunt was blocked at the door and became a little impatient, so she simply pushed the person aside without any politeness.

"Hey, what is this thing?"

The next second, a gasp escaped from her lips.

Her uncle tugged at her sleeve and gave her a knowing look.

"Did Xiyu cut this?"

His aunt understood what he meant and quickly changed her words: "It looks good, quite convincing."

"Is this a skirt?"

My aunt then came in, glanced at it briefly, and drew a conclusion.

"clever."

The uncle praised his wife without hesitation: "You have such good eyesight, you could tell it was a dress."

The subtext of this statement is that, apart from her aunt, no one else could tell.

Lin Xiyu covered her face with her hands, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Alright, everyone, go now."

Grandma saw that the time was right and waved for them to leave.

"Come on, come on, don't just stand there at the door, go play somewhere else."

My uncle was the quickest to leave, and he also chased away all the younger generation members.

"We haven't seen it yet."

Nana felt a little wronged and still wanted to peek inside.

"I also want to see."

Zhuangzhuang joined in the commotion.

"What can you understand?"

Uncle laughed and scolded, "That's a work of art, not something you little rascals can appreciate."

"Can I see it?"

My cousin's wife was too embarrassed to compete with the elders and was squeezed to the back.

"stop looking."

The aunt secretly gave her daughter-in-law a meaningful look.

"oh oh."

My cousin's wife is a shrewd person; she didn't ask any more questions and followed the crowd back to the fishpond.

"see it?"

Grandma closed the door, her expression very serious.

"I saw it."

Lin Xiyu felt a chill run down her spine. At this moment, she truly had no complaints and admitted that what her grandmother said was right.

"If you want to become a successor, you still have to take the path step by step in a down-to-earth manner."

Grandma smiled with relief: "You understand now, so Grandma won't say any more. Work hard for your dreams."

"Grandma."

Lin Xiyu's eyes lit up with joy: "You've agreed to my application to become an intangible cultural heritage inheritor?"

"What can Grandma do if she doesn't agree?"

Grandma feigned displeasure: "You've already quit your job, do you think your principal would leave a vacancy for you, waiting for you to change your mind?"

That's impossible.

Lin Xiyu laughed awkwardly: "A university lecturer is such a good position, it's highly sought after anywhere. Once the recruitment information is announced, there will be plenty of people competing for the position."

"You know it's a 'fragrant bun' too?"

Grandma sighed helplessly again.

"I will apply to become an intangible cultural heritage inheritor."

Lin Xiyu felt a lump in her throat, forcing herself not to admit defeat: "I believe that the path I chose is not wrong."

Grandma also hopes so.

Grandma patted her on the shoulder: "You made the right choice."

"Grandma, would you like to stay at the old house for a few more days?"

Lin Xiyu clung to her grandmother again and hugged her arm.

Aren't you afraid of your grandma nagging you?

Grandma smiled indulgently, her eyes gentle.

"Not afraid."

Lin Xiyu said in a flattering tone, "I still want Grandma to give me more encouragement."