Gong Li | mother's cheongsam

Mom's cheongsam

In the early spring of 2022, an unprecedented Outbreak of the Olmikron strain spread throughout Shanghai. From the end of March to the present, the whole of Shanghai has been in a state of sealing and control, and so far it has been slowly controlled, gradually and slowly reduced, and the goal is to clear the social dynamics. The family was also idle, just tidying up the wardrobe, accidentally saw a trolley box lying in the corner of the wardrobe, I was curious to see what a good thing the mentality, opened the trolley box, pulled the zipper, oh it turned out to be a few neatly folded qipao (a few cheongsam that my son made and bought when he got married) One of the qipao was my dearest mother's qipao. Seeing that this style was the new style of the year, and the fabric was the good material (silk satin) cheongsam of the year, my eyes were moist at once, which was the only relic I missed my mother (except for the photo), and it was also a thought of mine.

The origin of the cheongsam

The cheongsam above, although not very colorful, is dark red, but it is very elegant and delicate. Whether it is workmanship or fabric, it was elegant on the beach at that time. (So far, I've kept pretty well, with a little oxidation in the back and a small hole.) ）

It was in the 34th year of the Republic of China, that is, in 1945, when my mother was a teenager, about 16 years old. At that time, my mother worked in the Shanghai Huanqiu Handkerchief Factory, and at that time, the family had a very proud family that could work in the handkerchief factory. My grandfather was a chef in a restaurant, and my mother's job was to enter the handkerchief factory through my grandfather's relationship, so my mother cherished the hard-won work. Mom is an extraordinary intelligence and has a strong sense of understanding. As long as the master points out a little, the mother will understand immediately, so in the factory, the mother is an expert, and every time she does the fastest and beautiful work. In less than a year, my mother switched from apprenticeship to regular work, and her pay increased accordingly.

By the end of 1946, my mother was a very good worker. At the end of that year, my mother took her salary and year-end bonus and prepared to give it to my grandparents, and my grandfather said, "Xuexue will take out some of the money and go buy a dress that she likes!" "My mother was born in the winter, and it snowed heavily on the day she was born, so my mother's nickname was Xuexue. Mom was overjoyed to hear this, and immediately replied, "Abba I want to make a cheongsam." "Well, do whatever you want," Grandpa replied to Mom at once. That night my mother was so excited and excited that she didn't fall asleep all night, thinking about which tailor's shop to do it? What about uncle Su Bei in the alley next door? Or go to the Ningbo uncle downstairs to do it? Thinking about it and falling asleep confused.

The next day, Grandpa took his mother to the Laojiefu Silk Cloth Shop on Nanjing East Road to buy fabrics. At first, my mother wanted to buy green fabrics, because my mother's skin was very white, and the green ones were more white, and then my grandfather said, "Let's buy red ones!" Because it's about to be the New Year, red is a little festive, if you like green, then use green in the inner inch! "Okay, listen to Abba. Because it is a cheongsam in winter, I also have to buy silk cotton. On that day, the father and daughter returned happily with a full load. The fabric is bought, who is it for? The mother and grandmother began to tangle, and then the Aunt Wuxi next door said: "The Ningbo uncle downstairs did a good job, and the two cheongsams of my eldest daughter and the second daughter were made by him, which not only fit but also worked finely." Listening to the introduction of Aunt Wuxi, Grandpa and Grandma agreed that it would not be wrong to do it for Uncle Ningbo. So that night after dinner, Grandma took her mother to the Ningbo tailor shop, ningbo uncle carefully measured the size of her mother, and then asked: "Butterfly is more off"! (It's that this kid is in a particularly good shape).) After measuring the size, Grandma repeatedly stressed that it must be done before the Spring Festival, and that the children can wear new clothes in the New Year, and Uncle Ningbo said: "Rest assured, rest assured, you must catch up before the Spring Festival, and you must be satisfied."

One day, two days, a week, what happened to the clothes. The mother was thinking in her heart, while her mouth was muttering, at this time the downstairs was calling: Brother Paulin, Brother Paulin, is your daughter at home? Mom immediately replied, "At home, is there anything wrong?" "The neckline size of the cheongsam is determined again, because it is winter, do you want to enlarge it a little?" Uncle Ningbo said as he walked. Mom said, "I don't understand what you're hearing," and Uncle Tailor said, "Got it." A few days later, my mother came back from work from the handkerchief factory, only to hear my grandmother muttering something, my mother did not listen carefully, I had a good dinner, my grandmother smiled and said to my mother: "Look at what is on your bed", and my mother hurried straight to her room. Only to see the yellow oil-coated paper wrapped around it, neatly laid flat on the bed, my mother said excitedly: "My new clothes, the cheongsam I dreamed of at night." This is my first precious cheongsam, a new cheongsam that I have earned from my own hard work." This night was another sleepless night. Later, I made a cotton jacket lined with wool and made a satin cotton jacket in Ningbo's uncle. These were also two of my mother's most precious and beloved pieces of clothing in her life. Because the cotton jacket was not properly hidden, later all the wool was given to the worms.

An extended story of the cheongsam

Since mom's new cheongsam was ready and put on in the New Year, neighbors around her have praised mom for her appearance and intelligence. Later, several matchmakers introduced objects to their mothers, and they all politely refused to their grandparents, saying that they were still young. At the New Year, my mother put on new clothes to visit her aunt, and as a result, she saw it for her aunt's daughter, and she was jealous for a whole day, and she also wanted her mother to make her the same qipao. He also secretly dragged my mother to the room to try it on for her. Because her aunt is similar in age to her, this age is a young and beautiful princess. Later, I heard that my aunt also made the same style of qipao, but the color was different, and it was also made by Uncle Ningbo. Later, my mother also wore it to work, which made the girls in the same factory really envious, and let the young men of the same factory cast intoxicated eyes one by one. A cheongsam of the mother brought huge business opportunities to the Ningbo uncle, the good tailor passed ten, ten passed hundred, the mother's relatives, the mother's colleagues, the mother's good sister's clothes were later made for the Ningbo uncle, my mother inadvertently gave the Ningbo uncle a live advertisement.

Another time, my mother went to the middle class to prepare for work, returned to the changing room to prepare for a change of clothes, and the wardrobe door was open, and her clothes were gone! At this time, my mother was so anxious that her mouth kept saying, "What about my clothes?" What about my clothes"? The sisters of the same factory said: "Don't worry, I'm sure you forgot where you put it", "No, no, I'm sure I put it in the cupboard". When my mother was rummaging through the boxes and cabinets, she saw a note with a greasy and crooked note, "Xueying, I borrow your clothes, I want to make the same clothes as you, and I will pay them back tomorrow." Mom was relieved at once, but how could I get home without clothes, and the little sister next door immediately said, "You wear mine today!" I prepared a cotton jacket in the factory and put it on to wear home." In this way, my mother went home in the big clothes of the little sisters, because the little sisters who lent their mother clothes were fatter.

This photo is the most precious photo of our family, but unfortunately my mother did not wear that cheongsam. Father, mother and I.

The fate of the cheongsam

In 1948, my mother was introduced to my father by relatives, and the two of them got along for a year. During this period, dad was particularly good to mom, often going to the factory to pick up mom from work, and sometimes going to the factory to deliver delicious snacks. Dad was working as a guy at one of my uncle's grocery stores.

In May 1949, Shanghai was immediately liberated, and my grandfather took the family to my grandfather's ancestral hometown, Chongming, to settle down, which originally belonged to Chongming County, Jiangsu Province. Of course, my mother's job was gone, and my father returned to his hometown - Chongming because of the immediate liberation of Shanghai. Later, my parents got married, and then my parents have been working as farmers in the chongming countryside, and gave birth to five of our brothers and sisters, in fact, there should be six, and one of the sisters died because she vomited and had no money to treat the disease. About her mother's lifelong hard work, from the Shanghai girl of Sven to the iron lady of the rural farm work, and later became the captain of the women's team (this article is omitted), which will be discussed in detail in later articles. These two precious clothes also accompanied her mother to her husband's house, the Gong family. In fact, our Gong family used to be considered a rich family, but people are not prosperous, grandpa is a single pass, grandpa is also a single pass, dad is a single pass. 2/3 of the houses in the house were ours, and later in my father's generation there were only two empty tile houses (this article is omitted about the decline of the family).

After the liberation of Shanghai, my mother lived in the countryside, so this dress was never worn again. Later, it was the four olds, and it was the Cultural Revolution, this clothes were always pressed at the bottom of the box, and sometimes it was the middle of summer to dry clothes (Chongming has a custom, in the middle of summer, that is, the summer, pick a sun high to illuminate the weather, each family must take out the clothes, fabrics, and cloth sections that are usually invisible). At this time, we will see which things are more valuable, which one has more good goods. The two treasures of our family cannot let the sun shine directly, and cover them with a thin cloth, one is afraid of sunburning the silk, and the other is not to let others see the four old clothes - the qipao. Therefore, our family was not involved at all during the Cultural Revolution, there were only two houses and no land, so we evaluated a poor peasant. Therefore, a series of later soldiers, including the eldest brother's soldiers, the second brother's high school, etc., are all logical.

At one point I wanted to change it to my cheongsam-style cotton jacket

By the end of the '70s, I was admitted to high school. Before the New Year, my mother planned to make me a new cotton jacket and buy a new sweater for my brother. Because there are many brothers and sisters in the family, the conditions are poor, so my mother tries to save as much as possible, but she dresses her children in a new and new hall for the New Year. Mom's face project is very exquisite. Later, for a variety of reasons, only two could meet one, either I had a new cotton jacket or the brother had a new sweater. My mother consulted with me and said, "Xiaoqin (nickname) My silk cheongsam will be changed for you to your cotton jacket!" I said, "Okay, I can't see it in my blouse anyway." So my mother took a lot of effort to take out the cheongsam that was pressed at the bottom. At first glance, it is also new and soft to the touch. Mother's hairy cracked hand in winter did not dare to touch it, for fear of rough hands drawing bad clothes. Mom carefully put away the clothes while measuring the size of the clothes and my figure, can not wear, too small. I was taller than my mother, my body was wider than my mother, and I wore a rice dumpling, so the matter of changing clothes was stranded, so this mother's cheongsam was preserved until now.

It has been 29 years since my mother left us, and every time I see this cheongsam, I think of fragments of my life with my mother, with laughter, pain, concern, and scolding. My mother's voice and smile will not be erased in my heart, and I will keep my mother's cheongsam well, which is my memory and my thoughts about my mother. On the occasion of Mother's Day, this "Mother's Cheongsam" is also a work of nostalgia for my mother.

Heart Language Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief: Lu Anxin

Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Shi Binggang

Editor: Shen Wenyi

The picture in this article comes from the network

Copyright belongs to the original author

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