Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Uncle Zhang, please take it. I got this just for you."

Jiang Yiwei remembered his kindness and was grateful to Uncle Zhang. The things she gave him were mostly food—some pastries she made herself, others she bought—none of it was expensive.

Yet no matter how much she tried to persuade Uncle Zhang to accept them, he just wouldn’t take them.

Just then, Jiang Yiwei spotted Liu Minhua, dressed in dark blue work clothes, riding his bicycle toward the Textile Factory. Without hesitation, she placed the jujube cake on Uncle Zhang's desk.

Throwing out a quick, "Uncle Zhang, my brother is here to pick me up. I have to go," she ran off toward Liu Minhua.

"Hey, Xiao Jiang!" Uncle Zhang called after her, but Jiang Yiwei didn’t look back as she ran ahead.

Watching her retreating figure and glancing at the jujube cake on his desk, Uncle Zhang couldn’t help but chuckle.

What a girl.

By the time Liu Minhua stopped his bicycle, Jiang Yiwei had already reached him.

"Yiwei, you're here. Get on," Liu Minhua said, patting the rear seat to signal her to get on.

Jiang Yiwei nodded, pushed herself up, and settled onto the back seat. Liu Minhua then pedaled forward, joining the flow of bike traffic.

"Yiwei, did you find anyone at your factory who can repair sewing machines?"

After riding for a while, Liu Minhua asked.

He thought about it carefully—since Jiang Yiwei’s factory made clothes, surely someone there must know how to fix sewing machines.

"I looked all over today. None of the people I know can do it, and those who can repair sewing machines aren’t willing to help me."

Jiang Yiwei sounded frustrated as she spoke.

She had searched everywhere, but none of the friendly people she knew could fix it. Even when she found someone who could and offered to pay, they still refused.

"Brother Minhua, does anyone at your factory know how to repair sewing machines?"

Now, her last hope was Liu Minhua.

If no one at his factory could do it either, Jiang Yiwei would have to keep looking. As a last resort, she’d have to go back to the old masters. If even that failed, she’d have to do it herself.

She believed she could manage—first by buying relevant books, studying up, and then giving it a try.

"Well, kind of found someone."

Liu Minhua’s sudden statement made Jiang Yiwei’s heart leap, but his next words left her confused for a second.

"Kind of found someone, but they’ve never actually repaired a sewing machine before."

"Never repaired one before? Brother Minhua, what do you mean?"

Jiang Yiwei was totally confused, as if she couldn’t make sense of what he meant.

He’d just said he’d found someone who could fix sewing machines, yet now he was telling her that person had never done it before. Jiang Yiwei just didn’t get it.

Liu Minhua had known all along that telling Jiang Yiwei would get exactly this reaction from her.

When he first heard it himself, he'd reacted much the same way Yi Wei did.

"He knows the parts of the sewing machine and how to assemble them, but he's never actually fixed one," Liu Minhua explained carefully to Yi Wei.

At this point, Yi Wei also understood—he only knew the theory but lacked practical experience in repairing sewing machines.

If she actually let him fix the sewing machine, Yi Wei worried he might make it worse. Yet, finding someone who could repair a sewing machine seemed incredibly difficult.

Yi Wei hesitated, unable to decide.

Perhaps noticing the hesitation in Yi Wei’s eyes, Liu Minhua said, "Yi Wei, we could let him try. He’s an engineer at our factory. Whenever we run into trouble, Engineer Fu helps us solve it."

"Since Engineer Fu volunteered to repair the sewing machine, he can definitely handle it."

Liu Minhua completely trusted Fu Xunian’s abilities and believed he could repair the sewing machine.

Engineer Fu?

Fu?

Did Liu Minhua mean him? Yi Wei pictured Fu Xunian’s handsome, refined, and scholarly face.

"Brother Minhua, is the Engineer Fu you mentioned the same Fu Xunian who helped you repair your bicycle last time?" Did Liu Minhua mean him?

"That’s him."

Liu Minhua’s answer set Yi Wei's heart racing.

"Engineer Fu said he can repair it, but he hasn’t really worked on a sewing machine before. I figured you might say no," Liu Minhua said, concerned that Yi Wei might mind Fu Xunian’s lack of hands-on experience.

"I was afraid you’d refuse, so I wanted to ask for your opinion first. If you’re unwilling, we can keep looking for someone else."

"Brother Minhua, he said he can repair it, right!"

"Yeah! Engineer Fu said he can do it. He's not one to brag. If he says he can repair a sewing machine, then he definitely can."

In short, Liu Minhua trusted Fu Xunian’s abilities. If he said he could do it, then he surely would.

"Brother Minhua, I trust your judgment. Let him come and help me repair the sewing machine!" Yi Wei's lips curved in a small smile, her eyes sparkling like gemstones.

Liu Minhua broke into a wide, toothy grin and assured Yi Wei, "Take my word—if Engineer Fu says he can do it, he’ll definitely fix the sewing machine."

For some reason, Liu Minhua somehow had complete confidence in Fu Xunian’s abilities.

On this point, Yi Wei agreed. She, too, inexplicably trusted Fu Xunian.

She found herself eagerly awaiting his visit.

After waiting for several days, that day finally arrived.

First thing in the morning, Yi Wei pulled Jiang Weilin along to help her move the sewing machine out into the yard. Her room was small, and with Fu Xunian standing over six feet tall, she worried he'd be cramped inside.

So, they moved it outside—the yard had more room and was cooler, at least in Yi Wei’s opinion.

"Sis, why'd you go and buy a broken sewing machine? Shouldn't you have just gotten a new one?"

"If you had told Dad you wanted a brand-new one, he'd never have refused you. He'd have bought it for you."

Jiang Weilin didn’t quite get why she’d buy a broken one.

When he first learned that Yi Wei had bought a used, kinda broken sewing machine, he had a lot of questions.

If Yi Wei had just asked Sanjie, she could’ve gotten a brand-new sewing machine.

"I know, but I used my own hard-earned money to buy this sewing machine. It’s old, but it’s really mine—it’s something I bought myself."

As Wei Lin said, if Yi Wei had asked Sanjie, he would’ve helped her out for sure. But for some reason, Yi Wei didn’t feel like asking anyone.

Moreover, she could pay for it herself just fine and had no intention of asking Sanjie or Lingxin for help.

Seeing Wei Lin’s confusion grow, Yi Wei patted his head. "Wei Lin, you're still young. Maybe when you’re older, you’ll get it."

Maybe when Wei Lin was older and in the same spot, he’d understand how Yi Wei felt.

"Yi Wei."

As the siblings chatted, Liu Minhua came into the yard with Fu Xunian.

"Brother Minhua."

Yi Wei’s gaze fell on Fu Xunian, who was walking behind Liu Minhua. Their eyes met, and Yi Wei gave a small smile. Fu Xunian nodded at her in response.

"Comrade Fu, long time no see."

It was their first time seeing each other since Fu Xunian fixed Liu Minhua’s bike.

"Long time no see," Fu Xunian replied gently.

Yi Wei’s smile widened.

Maybe because the warmth in Yi Wei’s eyes was so clear, Fu Xunian’s ears went pink.

"Third Sis, you know him?"

Wei Lin looked back and forth between Yi Wei and Fu Xunian, thinking they were acquainted.

"Sort of!"

They’d met and talked before, so yeah, they knew each other.

"Sort of"—that just confused Wei Lin even more.

"Let me take a look at the sewing machine."

Fu Xunian took a quiet breath.

"Here." Yi Wei pointed to the sewing machine beside her.

Fu Xunian set down the tools he had brought and began carefully examining the sewing machine. Liu Minhua knelt beside him, ready to help out.

Seeing them start working on the sewing machine, Yi Wei turned to Wei Lin. "Wei Lin, stay here and watch them."

She went inside and grabbed two bowls, then took out a small bag of brown sugar from a cabinet. After mixing the brown sugar water, she put the sugar back and brought the two bowls out to the yard.

Only to see Xiaohua, Kangmin, and a few other kids crowded around the sewing machine.

When they spotted Yi Wei, they all ran up to her.

"Auntie!"

"Aunt Yiwei! Auntie!"

"Back so soon? Done playing outside already?"

Jiang Yiwei carefully steadied the two bowls of sweet ginger tea in her hands and softly said to Jiang Xiaohua and the others, "Easy now, don't crowd me. Wait till I put down the tea, and I’ll give you some candy."

"Alright!"

Jiang Xiaohua and Jiang Kangmin immediately scattered, allowing Jiang Yiwei to safely bring the sweet ginger tea to Fu Xunian and Liu Minhua.

"Comrade Fu, Brother Minhua, here’s some sweet ginger tea."

Afraid the tea might spill, Fu Xunian and Liu Minhua took the bowls from Jiang Yiwei. Liu Minhua took a big sip and chuckled, "Mmm, this is really sweet!"

"Thank you," Fu Xunian politely thanked Jiang Yiwei.

This didn’t faze Jiang Yiwei at all.

She was about to say something when Jiang Xiaohua called out, "Auntie! Auntie!"

"Coming."

Jiang Yiwei hadn’t forgotten the kids. "Wait here, I’ll get you some candy."

Jiang Xiaohua and the others broke into cheers. Fu Xunian noticed Jiang Yiwei’s movements, but once she went inside to fetch the candy, he threw himself back into repairing the sewing machine.

When Jiang Yiwei returned and handed out candy to Jiang Xiaohua and the others, she told them to keep it down and not disturb Fu Xunian and Liu Minhua.

Jiang Yiwei sat on a nearby wooden stool, ready to help if Fu Xunian asked for her assistance. As for Jiang Xiaohua, Jiang Weilin, and the other children, they couldn’t sit still long enough to watch someone repair a sewing machine, so they took off outside to play.