Lan Zhi nodded emphatically. "I can do that. Sewing is my specialty."
"Then you go on. I'll take care of this," Mrs. Chen said with a wave of her hand.
Lan Zhi went into the room and consulted with Gu Fei and Li Chunhua. She then grabbed a pair of scissors and began to cut the hides. They had to be trimmed neatly first to make them easier to sew together.
After washing the dishes, Mrs. Chen came over as well. The women were soon bustling with activity, working together.
While sewing the hides, Mrs. Chen asked Gu Fei, "Little Fei, can you talk to your father? Can't we wait until spring to leave? It's about to get cold. If we travel in the winter, I'm afraid we'll freeze to death."
Gu Fei shook her head. "Mother, we can't wait."
"To get to the south, we have to cross several prefectures. It's a journey of thousands of miles that will take two or three months."
