Chapter 108: The New Sewing Machine
“Come whenever you like, but stop bringing something with you every single time!” Grandma Sheng scolded, though her tone was warm.
Gu Tong had grown completely comfortable with the two elders over the past few weeks and didn’t bother with polite formalities. “Auntie, I’m planning to stay for dinner today,” she laughed, handing over the cut of pork. “Besides, we’re going to be family soon anyway. What’s wrong with me buying a few groceries?”
Hearing this, Grandma Sheng beamed and stopped refusing, taking the meat into the kitchen. “Alright, alright. I’ll make my special braised pork for you tonight.”
“Perfect! That’s exactly what I was hoping for,” Gu Tong cheered.
Gu Tingxiao was genuinely caught off guard. He hadn’t expected to run into his aunt at the Sheng family’s apartment, let alone realize she had developed such a close, thriving relationship with them.
Gu Tong turned her gaze to her nephew, who was currently squatting on the floor, meticulously repairing Grandma Sheng’s ancient sewing machine. She was secretly amazed to see him working so diligently without a single word of complaint. Back home, this nephew was notoriously averse to domestic chores and would never dream of volunteering to cook or fix things. It seemed that when a man was desperate to secure a wife, even the laziest bachelor could miraculously become handy.
Gu Tingxiao carefully reattached the protective outer casing of the machine. Seeing him finish, Grandma Sheng stepped over and handed him a cup of water.
“Grandma Sheng, a lot of the internal gears and components are completely worn out,” Gu Tingxiao noted, accepting the cup. “I’ll track down an old comrade of mine tomorrow and see if I can secure some replacement parts for you.”
This specific sewing machine had been presented to Mother Sheng as part of her formal betrothal gifts twenty-six years ago. Having survived over two decades of constant use, it was a miracle the metal hadn’t given out entirely by now.
“That old thing has been running for more than twenty years,” Grandma Sheng sighed, looking down at the scuffed iron. “It’s honestly time it was replaced. But don’t go troubling your military comrades over it, Xiao Gu. It’s never easy to repay a social favor. When the time comes, I’ll just have Wanyan’s father buy a brand-new one.”
“It’s really no trouble, Grandma. We’re all comrades,” Gu Tingxiao insisted.
Grandma Sheng remained firm in her refusal. In her experience, an emotional debt was the heaviest burden to carry. The Sheng family wasn’t strapped for cash, so there was absolutely no reason to let her future grandson-in-law burn his personal connections on their behalf.
“Auntie Sheng, it just so happens I have a spare industrial coupon for a sewing machine,” Gu Tong interjected smoothly. “I’ll bring it over to you tomorrow.”
In this era of strict rationing, state coupons for major household appliances were incredibly difficult to come by. However, living in the high-ranking military dependents’ compound allowed Gu Tong ample opportunities to trade and barter resources with other elite households. She figured she could hand the ticket over, allowing Gu Tingxiao to help the Sheng family replace the machine the very next day.
Grandma Sheng nodded in gratitude. The household had completely exhausted their own allocation of appliance coupons, so she truly had no choice but to rely on Gu Tong’s assistance. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a fifty-yuan bill, and tried to press it into Gu Tong’s hand.
Gu Tong instantly backed away, waving her hands. She was intentionally trying to create an opportunity for her nephew to show off his devotion; what would be the point if she accepted their cash? “No, no, Auntie, keep your money. It’s just a slip of paper.”
Despite Gu Tong’s protests, Grandma Sheng’s expression turned remarkably resolute. Procuring an appliance coupon was a significant financial favor. Even though Wanyan was preparing to marry into the Gu lineage, it didn’t mean the Sheng family was entering the union as a weak, dependent party looking to siphon resources. They maintained their pride.
“Take the cash,” Grandma Sheng commanded gently but firmly. “Otherwise, I won’t dare accept the coupon from you.”
Realizing the old matriarch wouldn’t back down, Gu Tong had no choice but to pocket the bill. Gu Tingxiao observed the entire exchange from the sidelines, wisely choosing to keep his mouth shut.
Checking the clock on the wall, Grandpa and Grandma Sheng realized it was getting close to the hour Wanyan usually clocked out of her shift. Knowing Gu Tingxiao was eager to pick her up from the factory gates, the two elders smiled and waved him out the door.
By the time Sheng Wanyan returned home from work, the apartment was filled with the rich aroma of braised pork. The family, alongside Gu Tingxiao and Gu Tong, enjoyed a lively, chaotic dinner together. It was only after the dishes were cleared that Gu Tong finally prepared to escort her nephew out.
“You stubborn brat, march down to the guesthouse right now, grab your rucksack, and move into my spare room!” she ordered the moment they reached the street.
“I appreciate it, Auntie, but I’ll stick to the guesthouse,” Gu Tingxiao replied smoothly. He truly didn’t want to impose on her household. More importantly, his cousin had only been married a short while; moving into their space for an extended stay would inevitably cause a few domestic inconveniences.
“Why? Are you saying you look down on your aunt’s home?” she teased, narrowing her eyes.
“Not at all, Auntie. My parents are scheduled to arrive in Chengdu in a few days anyway, so staying at the guesthouse makes the logistics easier.”
Hearing that his parents were en route, Gu Tong conceded the point. Her apartment only possessed a single vacant bedroom; once his mother and father arrived, it wouldn’t make sense for Gu Tingxiao to remain separated from them, would it?
“Alright, fair enough,” she relented. “But you had better come back to my place for dinner the day after tomorrow.”
“Understood,” Gu Tingxiao nodded. Uprooting his schedule to visit Chengdu without properly honoring his maternal aunt would be highly inappropriate.
The following afternoon, a group of laborers suddenly arrived at the Sheng apartment, carefully maneuvering a pristine, factory-fresh sewing machine through the door. Gu Tingxiao had organized the entire delivery—and flatly refused to accept a single copper coin from Grandma Sheng, which left the old woman thoroughly vexed.
“Absolutely not! Order them to haul this right back to the store!” she scolded, pointing a finger at the glossy metal.
“Grandma Sheng, please don’t misinterpret this. This isn’t a gift for the household—it’s a personal token for Wanyan,” Gu Tingxiao explained, deploying his pre-calculated excuse. There was structurally zero chance he would ever pocket her money.
“How can you casually hand over an item this incredibly valuable?” Grandma Sheng countered, her brow furrowing. She wasn’t naive; she knew exactly what the boy was pulling. He was simply framing it as Wanyan’s property so she would be forced to keep it for her own daily use. “Have them move it out this instant.”
“Grandma Sheng, why don’t we let Wanyan decide? This is a gift from me to her.”
Gu Tingxiao smoothly deferred the final judgment to Sheng Wanyan, who had just walked through the door. Hearing him offer the opening, Wanyan immediately chimed in to claim the appliance. She understood his protective intentions perfectly; she would simply manifest a few high-value luxury goods from her spatial warehouse to gift him later, balancing the ledger between them.
“Grandma, keep it! You can use it to tailor all my new winter clothes,” Wanyan cooed, wrapping her arms around her grandmother’s shoulders. “Besides, the transaction is already finalized. Sending it back now would be incredibly awkward—the coordinator is one of Tingxiao’s old military comrades.”
She leaned in closer, whispering, “Other people need to earn their living too… we shouldn’t create tension between him and his brothers over a return.”
Hearing her granddaughter frame the issue as a matter of military brotherhood and courtesy, Grandma Sheng finally relented, though a lingering sense of unease remained in her chest. She hated feeling as though her family owed an unreciprocated debt.
“Grandma, don’t worry about it,” Wanyan murmured into her ear, sensing her psychological pressure. “Once the wedding date is finalized, I’ll find a way to procure a high-grade import watch to present to my future mother-in-law as a counter-gift. You don’t need to carry any stress over this.”
Hearing her plan, Grandma Sheng’s shoulders finally dropped, a wave of relief washing over her features. “Alright. I’ll start keeping an ear out for any available watch coupons in the district.”
“Grandma, there’s no need. I already hold a watch coupon.”
Grandma Sheng stared at her in utter astonishment. In the current market, a specialized coupon for a luxury timepiece was infinitely harder to secure than a sewing machine voucher. Where on earth had her granddaughter managed to source such a prize? “Where did you acquire that?”
“One of the senior clerks in the Propaganda Department was looking to liquidate theirs a while back, so I quietly bought it off them,” Wanyan lied smoothly.
She didn’t dare reveal that Gu Tingxiao had actually gifted her the coupon months ago; Grandma Sheng’s traditional pride would have triggered another round of fierce refusals. Besides, her spatial warehouse contained an infinite bounty of pristine, high-end modern timepieces; she merely needed to select a model made of exquisite materials and classic design to present to her future mother-in-law. She was strictly resolved never to let the Sheng family look financially or materially inferior to the Gu clan under any circumstances.
“In that case, I’ll have your mother reimburse you for the cost of the coupon out of the family savings,” Grandma Sheng insisted.
“There’s no need, Grandma. I have plenty of spending cash on hand. My brother and sister-in-law ship me a few yuan for pocket money every single month, remember?”
Hearing that her grandson and Pan Yue maintained such a deep, protective affection for Wanyan, Grandma Sheng finally stopped worrying. It comforted her immensely to know the siblings were unified. In her mind, the watch coupon would legally be framed as a joint contribution purchased with funds provided by her grandson and granddaughter-in-law. When the time came, she would subtly mention the detail to Pan Yue.
Managing a large family required a delicate sense of equilibrium. By highlighting that the sibling gift had been used to honor the Gu family, she could ensure Pan Yue would never harbor any silent resentment over her husband forwarding money to his little sister. Preventing any potential friction between the sisters-in-law before it could even form was a vital piece of domestic mediation. Grandma Sheng had survived decades of family politics; she understood precisely how to keep the peace.
Though she was thrilled with the new machine, Grandma Sheng still looked wistfully at her old, tattered unit, reluctant to simply throw it into the scrap heap. In the end, Gu Tingxiao’s resourceful military comrade offered to purchase the relic for exactly five yuan.
Learning that her broken machine could actually be converted back into cold hard cash, Grandma Sheng’s hesitation vanished into absolute delight. Five yuan was infinitely better than letting the iron rot in a scrap yard or take up space as junk in the corridor.
“Xiao Gu, you must stay for dinner tonight,” Grandma Sheng beamed, catching him warmly by the hand. “Grandma is going to cook a spectacular meat dish just for you.”
Gu Tingxiao nodded happily, gently guiding the old matriarch down into a comfortable chair.
“Grandma, let me handle the kitchen tonight,” Wanyan volunteered, tying an apron around her waist. It had been quite some time since she had personally manned the stove, and with Gu Tingxiao anchoring the table, she wanted to showcase her culinary skills.
More importantly, she intended to discreetly infuse the recipes with a few concentrated drops of her spiritual spring water. Active-duty soldiers almost always harbored an array of chronic internal strains and old battlefield micro-injuries; her secret resource would help systematically regulate and fortify his physical recovery.
Gu Tingxiao immediately rolled up his sleeves, his eyes bright as he followed her into the kitchen. “I’ll help you prep.”
