Chapter 56 Are you a pig? You can't even learn this!
the next day.
Zhong Tinglan didn't prepare any more elaborate dishes; breakfast consisted of plain porridge and pickled vegetables.
Jiang Wu knew that this was just a halftime break in the "cooking competition," and the real contest was yet to come.
After finishing breakfast, Qin Lie had just left when Zhong Tinglan put down her newspaper.
"Jiang Wu." She spoke, her tone flat, yet carrying a commanding tone.
"come over."
Jiang Wu walked over and sat down on the small stool opposite her.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"Don't call me Mom," Zhong Tinglan corrected, her brows furrowing slightly. "Call me Dean Zhong."
That same phrase again.
Jiang Wu rolled her eyes inwardly, but still smiled obediently on her face.
"Okay, Dean Zhong."
Zhong Tinglan took a sewing basket from the side, which contained various colored yarn balls, thimbles, scissors, and several pieces of torn clothing.
It was the training uniform that Qin Lie had torn during training a few days ago.
"Men of the Qin family cannot go out wearing patched clothes."
Zhong Tinglan picked up a ripped vest and threw it in front of Jiang Wu.
"Fix it."
She paused for a moment, then added, "Use the 'seamless mending' method. The stitches must be fine, the lines must be aligned, and there should be no visible trace after the mending is finished."
"Really?" She looked up and scrutinized Jiang Wu.
Jiang Wu understood that the real test was about to begin.
Cooking skills are just a life skill; in the minds of Zhong Tinglan's generation, needlework is the standard for judging whether a woman is "virtuous".
Especially the highly difficult technique of "seamless mending," which is already considered a craft.
Zhong Tinglan was convinced that Jiang Wu, that country girl, would never do that.
As long as she says "I don't know," I can legitimately start "teaching."
Zhong Tinglan was calculating meticulously, waiting for Jiang Wu to shake her head and beg for mercy.
However, Jiang Wu simply picked up the tattered vest and glanced at the tear made by the tree branch.
Then she nodded.
"meeting."
One word, a simple and understated statement.
Zhong Tinglan's expression froze on her face.
"What...what did you say?" She wondered if she had misheard.
“I said I will.” Jiang Wu looked up and smiled at her.
To Zhong Tinglan, that smile was full of provocation.
Impossible! How could she possibly do that? This is seamless mending! I studied under the best embroiderer in Suzhou for three years and only just mastered the basics.
She's just a country girl, who taught her?
"Stop bragging!" Zhong Tinglan's face darkened. "If you don't know, just admit it! Trying to be clever in front of me won't work!"
"Dean Zhong, you don't believe me?" Jiang Wu didn't argue.
She picked up the needle and thread, selected a roll of cotton thread from the basket that was the closest in color, sat up straight, and carefully aligned and smoothed out the edges of the hole.
Threading a needle.
Her movements were fluid and effortless, without the slightest hesitation.
Zhong Tinglan's eyes were fixed on her hand.
The thin needle seemed to come alive at Jiang Wu's fingertips, piercing, pulling, guiding, and winding, flying up and down between the warp and weft threads of the fabric, so fast that only a blur remained.
She didn't even sew one stitch at a time, but rather threaded through a dozen or so stitches at once and then pulled gently.
The torn fabric seemed to be rewoven and healed by an invisible hand.
Zhong Tinglan's mouth gaped wider and wider, her expression shifting from doubt to shock, and finally to utter disbelief.
What kind of stitch is this? It's faster and more exquisite than any other mending method she's ever seen.
About ten minutes later, Jiang Wu stopped.
She picked up the scissors, cut the thread with a "snip," and rubbed the repaired area in her palm a few times.
When unfolded again, the palm-sized hole in the vest had disappeared without a trace, replaced by smooth fabric with the same color and texture as the surrounding area.
If you didn't see it with your own eyes, no one would believe there used to be a big hole here.
"Dean Zhong... Dean Zhong." Jiang Wu handed the clothes to her. "Is this alright?"
Zhong Tinglan reached out and took the vest with trembling hands, turning it over and over to look at it no less than ten times.
She even put on her reading glasses and looked closely at each stitch.
No, there was nothing there; there was no trace of any mending.
This is simply divine skill.
Zhong Tinglan's hands were trembling. Her proud needlework skills had been crushed to the ground.
"You...who did you learn this from?" Zhong Tinglan's voice was dry and hoarse.
“When I was a child, an old woman who traveled around came to the village. I saw her perform a ritual once, and I remembered it,” Jiang Wu said casually, making it up.
She couldn't very well say that this was the "Seamless Needlework Technique," which she had studied in seclusion for three hundred years in her previous life in order to repair the Dharma robe.
"You remembered?!" Zhong Tinglan exclaimed as if she had heard a fairy tale.
You memorized it after just one look? And it's even better than the original?
"Impossible!" Zhong Tinglan stood up and threw her vest to the ground.
"You're lying! You must have practiced secretly!"
She completely lost her composure, unable to accept that she had lost to this country woman again.
"I didn't." Jiang Wu's expression was innocent. "I was just telling the truth. Maybe I have a good memory."
This nonchalant demeanor further provoked Zhong Tinglan.
“You…” She pointed at Jiang Wu, too angry to speak.
At this moment, Qin Lie returned from outside.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw his mother pointing at his daughter-in-law with a look that looked like she wanted to eat her alive, and a piece of clothing was lying on the ground.
Qin Lie's heart skipped a beat.
"Mom! What are you doing again!" He rushed over and shielded Jiang Wu behind him.
"I asked her to mend the clothes!" Zhong Tinglan was even more furious when she saw her son's protective attitude.
"Qin Lie, get out of my way! I'm going to find out today! Where did she learn this skill from?!"
"What kind of skill?" Qin Lie asked, puzzled.
He picked up the vest from the ground and looked it over.
"Isn't this great? It looks brand new. Honey, you're amazing!" he praised without reservation.
This praise was like salt rubbed into Zhong Tinglan's wound.
"What do you know!" Zhong Tinglan roared, "This isn't ordinary mending! This is..."
She got stuck.
She couldn't exactly explain to her son what "seamless mending" was, especially since his wife was a hundred times better than her as a mother, right? That would be contradicting herself.
"What is this?" Qin Lie looked at her, puzzled.
“You…you…” Zhong Tinglan stomped her feet in anger.
She felt like she was punching cotton, no, she was punching Qin Lie, who was like an impenetrable shield.
"Alright, Mom, it's no big deal." Qin Lie waved his hand impatiently. "It's just mending a piece of clothing. My wife is very skillful; she can do it after seeing it once. What's the big deal?"
"Besides, so what if she doesn't know how? Do we need those few clothes? We can just throw them away when they're torn and buy new ones!"
"I married a wife to live with me, not to be a seamstress!"
Qin Lie's words stunned Jiang Wu.
Zhong Tinglan was so angry with him that she almost couldn't breathe. She felt that she could no longer communicate with this son.
"Fine...fine...you win!" Zhong Tinglan pointed at Qin Lie, then at Jiang Wu, "You two, just you wait!"
She turned around and stormed back to her room, slamming the door shut with a bang.
"That's ridiculous." Qin Lie curled his lip.
He turned his head and winked at Jiang Wu as if to claim credit.
"Wife, look, I've saved you from another disaster!"
Jiang Wu looked at his silly expression and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She reached out and helped him straighten his crooked collar.
"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Qin."
"It's no trouble at all! Serving the people!" Qin Lie saluted with a grin.
Zhong Tinglan, who was eavesdropping behind the door, was so angry that her liver hurt.
She realized that trying to suppress Jiang Wu through life skills wouldn't work. This woman was incredibly strange.
Since the literary approach won't work, let's try the elegant one.
I refuse to believe that a country girl like you could be proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting!
Zhong Tinglan's gaze fell on the guqin.
Tomorrow! Tomorrow I'll expose your true colors!
She clenched her fists, plotting her grand plan for tomorrow's "musical duel," when she suddenly smelled a sour odor.
She peeked through the crack in the door and saw Jiang Wu pull out a package from somewhere, holding a dark fruit and eating it with relish, letting out a satisfied sigh as she ate.
What is that? A preserved plum?
Zhong Tinglan's brows furrowed even more.
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