In 1994, the renowned qipao master Chu Yu passed away at the age of ninety. Her fellow professionals mourned her, and the wreath scrolls they sent piled up like a small hill. While sorting through her belongings, her family found an old box containing worn-out sewing supplies and a dull, tarnished thimble.
Her son, Chu Guoyu, remembered that it had been one of the tools his mother used when she worked as a seamstress for the poor. He'd played with it as a child and nearly given it to someone as a wedding ring. When his mother found out, she was furious and gave him a thorough beating.
In 1922, Chu Yu was dismissed from the textile mill. Pregnant and in need of money, she started working as a seamstress for the poor. Back then, she didn't have a thimble and often pricked her fingers. A petty hoodlum who spent his days scrounging meals on the street saw this and found a way to make one for her.
"Here, it's for you."
She looked up at him but didn't take it.
"Could you sew me a set of clothes?" he asked timidly.
A pure Republican-era story with no rebirth.
Please add it to your advance list.
Theme: Self-reliance and strength
