Text/Xia Yuanxiu
Seeing the cotton pants worn by the elderly at the street stall, thick, soft and elastic, I couldn’t help but stop and touch and touch, the fabric is so good now, much lighter than the sweaters before, if my father is there, he will definitely like it, right?
When I was eight or nine years old, all the daughters in the village wore light and comfortable woolen pants, and walked briskly, and my parents still wore bulky thick cotton pants, although my parents never expressed their hunger, but I quietly told myself that I must learn to do woolen work.
At that time, there was little homework, after digging a basket of pig vegetables after school, I ran to the house of the skillful Hongyu sister, did not dare to say that I wanted to learn wool work, just sat next to her, silently memorized the stitches she knitted, collars, cuffs, trouser waist, and the number of stitches on the legs, after reading for a few days, I thought I had learned almost the same, so I begged my mother to help me buy a pound of yarn, and my mother, who had been proficient in making shoes all her life but could not do wool work, heard that I was going to learn to knit sweaters, and rushed to town overjoyed to buy two pounds of yarn for me to practice.
Thinking that sweaters should be easier than sweaters, I plan to knit a pair of sweaters for my father first, and why not knit them for my mother first? I really can’t tell, but my mother once pretended to be very unhappy and said that I actually liked my father the most in my heart, and my father laughed proudly for a long time.
At that time, people were very shy, and the first yarn work was quietly knitted at home behind closed doors, and even parents were not allowed to look at it. I used to see my mother making shoes for us, and doing it under the kerosene lamp for one night, and my first yarn work was also to learn from my mother’s example, knitting whenever I had time, and I was sleepless when I knitted, hoping that my father could immediately put on the sweater pants I knitted and go to work happily.
After about a week, the sweaters were finally knitted, and I gave them to my father to try on with some nervousness and joy, and I still remember the surprised look on my father when he got the orange sweater pants, and he couldn’t wait to sit on the bench, so he leaned against the wall and kicked off the bulky cotton pants and put on the sweaters.
However, it can’t be pulled. “What’s going on?” My father tried twice more, but he couldn’t bring it up. “It’s just that the waistband can’t be lifted here.” Some anxious fathers, at the suggestion of their mothers, were extremely reluctant to take off their pants to check. It’s big enough, with waist and legs, why can’t you wear it? The parents who were puzzled had to ask Sister Hongyu with their pants, and Sister Hongyu suddenly smiled and bent over with her pants, it turned out that I didn’t split my crotch.
“Tear it down, I’ll help you re-weave it.” Sister Hongyu said enthusiastically. “That’s not possible, this is Lian’er’s first wool job.” My father hurriedly grabbed his sweater and ran home.
Alas! I blamed myself for my lack of study, and although I was discouraged in my heart, I was more worried about my father’s disappointment. At this time, my mother suddenly made a decisive cut and actually cut the crotch of her pants. “No crotch, I’ll help.” Under the skillful hands of her mother, the sweater pants had an extra cotton crotch.
“Pretty good, very good.” My father quickly grabbed his pants and tried them on again, this time putting them on easily. “There are still leather bands on the waist, it’s so comfortable!” Father happily came with a few standard dismounted squats.
The sweater pants were actually made of acrylic fabric, and they burned as soon as the fire was roasted, but my father cherished his broom, and since he put it on, he didn’t even dare to bake the tree pocket that was burning on the side of the wall, and he was careful when smoking, for fear that Mars would fall on his pants.
Years later, my father hurriedly went to enjoy the blessing, and I also became a mother, a little superstitious mother, silently found the woolen pants that my father treasured at the bottom of the box, folded them neatly and put them in the cradle, “With the blessing of grandfather, the child is less calamity.” “That pair of sweaters accompanied the child through the whole baby life safely.