Chapter 19 Chapter 19 A stick in one hand and a candy in the other

Because it was during the mourning period for Grandpa Zhou, both the Zhou and Zhang families arranged the marriage in a low-key manner and agreed that the bride would come over next spring. The first major thing the Zhou family did was to renovate Zhou Cunzhi's new house. Zhou Cunzhi would temporarily live in the porch to the west of the old lady's house.

The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and Mr. Zhou, as the Privy Council's secretary, is in charge of the promotion of officials all over the country, so his office is really crowded with people. When Jinniang sent the five-poison sachets and five-colored silk threads to the main wife, several girls from the first wife were choosing fans here. These fans were all made of the finest silk, satin and gauze. The fan handles were mostly made of jade, and the fan surfaces were embroidered with all kinds of exquisite flowers.

"Madam, the Five Poisons Sachet, the purse and the silk thread have all been delivered." Jinniang's life did not change much. She did not receive bonuses often. Most of the time, she only received monthly wages.

Luying took it and waved to her. Jinniang hurried downstairs, first to the sewing room to report, and then to Mrs. Hu. Mrs. Hu was also a servant girl in the mansion, brought by Jiang from her mother's home. She had been married for several years before having this daughter, and she spoiled her. The girl was weak and could not work in the kitchen, so she wanted her daughter to learn some skills.

So, she secretly went to find Jinniang. Embroidery was Jinniang's livelihood. It was not easy for her to get to this day, so how could she accept an apprentice? But seeing Mrs. Hu's pleading, she agreed to give some pointers to her daughter Zhen'er.

Zhen'er was very happy to see Jinniang: "Jinniang, what do you think of my embroidered flower?"

She was not a complete novice, as she knew how to thread a needle and sew. What Jinniang was teaching her now was flat embroidery, which was the most common but also the most classic embroidery technique. Jinniang took the embroidery frame and took a look at it. "Not bad. There is a missing piece here. You need to fill it in, but the needle should go in from the front."

"Okay, I understand." Zhen'er nodded.

Sister Hu brought over a bowl of Ma Yin, which was Jinniang's favorite. Her hair was black and shiny, and she loved to drink Ma Yin all year round. But it was not cheap before, and later Sister Hu found out about it, so she made Ma Yin for her every time she came.

Seeing Jinniang taking the drink, she brought out a red plum-colored lacquer box, on which were finely chopped basil, calamus, and papaya, mixed with aromatic herbs, and smiled, "The rice dumplings are still cooking in the pot."

"Every time I come, I take away your good things." Jinniang said with a smile.

Mrs. Hu waved her hand: "This is nothing, just some ordinary food. Zhen'er said you taught me well, I am very grateful."

"It's so pitiful to see the love of parents in the world. Don't worry, as long as I am in the Zhou family, I will definitely teach her well." Jinniang looked at Zhen'er and thought of her own parents, who also loved her very much.

Of course, although Jinniang and the others were in Bian Jing, it was difficult for them to go out, so they needed someone to help them inquire about news from the outside world. Madam Chen definitely can't do that. She works for Shu Embroidery Pavilion, and she would definitely not be happy if she knew that she was asking about other things outside.

But she couldn't tell the truth to Madam Hu, so she just said, "Before we came to the Zhou family, where did the eldest lady and the others make their clothes? I think those clothes were very beautiful."

"Jinxiu Pavilion. There are several large embroidery workshops in the capital, and Jinxiu Pavilion is the only one that specializes in women's business. But the prices are not cheap. I remember the suit that Lu Xiaoniang wore when she had her face opened. Guess how much it cost? One hundred strings of cash." Mrs. Hu also entered the kitchen that year.

Jinniang deliberately said in disbelief: "No way, one hundred strings of cash is not a small amount. Sister-in-law must have heard it wrongly."

Mrs. Hu said anxiously, "How could I be wrong? It is because you spent too much on these clothes that the doctor invited you here to save so much money."

"I'd like to see what the gold stuff is, sister-in-law. I'm short of money, so I'd like to ask you to buy me an embroidery with two hundred coins. No matter if it's a purse or a handkerchief, choose the best-selling and exquisite one. In this way, I can also make it more exquisite. If I can make it stand out, my words will carry weight in front of the master in the future, and it will be easier to recommend Zhen'er in the future." She wanted to see what the embroidery of this Shu Embroidery Workshop was like.

If you can’t afford the big stuff, you can still buy the small stuff and take a look at it.

When Mrs. Hu heard Jinniang say this and said she wanted to help her daughter, she was very happy and had no choice but to accept.

She came here just for this matter. Seeing that Mrs. Hu did not suspect her, she felt relieved and instructed Zhen'er to embroider the whole flower before leaving her house. Unexpectedly, she met Sister Shan when she came out.

The last time I saw Shanjie, she left so sadly. Jinniang still missed her from time to time, but the aunt lived near the third room, and they could only move around in the first room. They could not go to the second and third rooms at will without any errands. She could only ask Lan Xue occasionally. After all, when they delivered snacks to the old lady from the tea room, she would sometimes see Sister Shan who was following the aunt and cousin Mei.

Unexpectedly, Sister Shan is a completely different person now. The pimples on her face have gone away a lot, her complexion has become fairer, and she is wearing a bright red boa, looking quite energetic.

"Sister Shan." Jinniang called out.

Sister Shan smiled and said, "I am now serving Miss Mei. Miss Mei is very kind to us. She cured the pimples on my face with Loquat Lung Clearing Drink."

Jinniang breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."

"Yes, the old lady was actually quite pitiful. The old lady invited a doctor to come and examine her. I heard that she suffered from deficiency of Qi and blood, excessive liver fire, and spleen and kidney deficiency. She is better now. Although her temper is not very good, it is not like before." Sister Shan took the initiative to speak for them.

But Jinniang felt something was wrong. Wasn't it just one playing the bad guy and the other playing the good guy? After all, the old lady is a married daughter. When Miss Mei gets married in the future, she will still have a husband and may not be able to stay in her parents' home. After all, the old lady is also an elderly person. She first tortured the servants, and now she asked her daughter to show great favor to them. When her daughter gets married in the future, her maternal grandparents and her own family may not be reliable, but she has trusted confidants around her, which is better than anything else.

Therefore, Jinniang still reminded: "Although cousin's place is good, you have to take good care of yourself. Being someone else's slave and depending on the master's mood is meaningless."

"No, she wouldn't. My cousin is a really nice person. By the way, Jinniang, I'm doing fine over there now. I'm afraid I won't be able to come back to the needlework room for a while." Sister Shan knew that there was too much sewing to be done in the needlework room. Apart from making clothes for her cousin, she had no other work to do.

What's more, the old lady was very generous to Miss Mei. Every time she paid her monthly allowance, she would send her another twenty or thirty strings of money. Now that she had less work to do and more money to earn, she was not very willing to come back.

Jinniang wanted to say something, but she held back her words: "Okay, since you said so, then come back to the sewing room more often when you have time."

"Yeah." Sister Shan smiled, still looking quite high-spirited.

The two said goodbye on the corridor. Jinniang shook her head and continued to walk forward with big strides. The wind blew on her face, and she felt unexpectedly more sober.

She even reminded herself not to give up her freedom just because of other people's kindness to her.