"So the embroidery skills of the mistress are so superb. Forgive my poor eyesight for not being able to see it before. This is the second lady I have seen who can embroider this so well."
Yun Ruoxia: ... (Who's the first one?)
The owner said with delight, "You can't afford to hire an embroiderer and take on embroidery work without some skill; it's all for making a living."
"How much does the master pay for embroidering one piece like this? How many pieces can he embroider in a day?"
"What do you need a young lady for? To be honest, I don't have much free time each day."
Yunling nodded, agreeing. These ordinary tasks could be handled by the embroiderers; she was only responsible for the shop's business. If she neglected business to embroider for them, the price would be higher.
Furthermore, this is the key to the briefs; if she figured it out and sold them, they would really have nowhere to complain.
With that thought in mind, Yunling decided to give up the idea of inviting this employer to cooperate, and decided to stop after checking and counting the five hundred bags with Yun Ruoxia.
Back home, Yunling was somewhat downcast. Yun Ruoxia, seeing that the matter hadn't been resolved, considered it a loss of a way to make money and also felt disappointed. The two returned from cutting elephant grass on the mountain, their faces somber. Zhang sensed something was wrong and asked:
"What's wrong, Ling'er? Did you and your aunt have a falling out?"
"No, that's not it. I'm just having some troubles. I'm doing fine with my aunt."
Zhang helped open the bag and continued to ask, "What's bothering you?"
Yunling opened her mouth, then pursed it. Her mother could at least compete in cooking, but when it came to needlework, she could only embroider simple things like undergarments and purses; she couldn't be considered to have any special skills.
"Tell your mother about it."
Yunling eventually revealed what happened at the cloth shop.
Zhang paused, her hand still holding the bag. "Hey, Ling'er, you know what? Your mother really knows a good embroiderer."
"who?"
"The daughter-in-law of Old Lady Fan across the street is from Jiangnan. There are many good embroiderers in Jiangnan. I have seen the waist pouches she embroidered. They are very beautiful."
Yunling suddenly felt herself thrashing about and wanted to rush over immediately. Zhang saw her intention and quickly pulled her back. It would be too impolite to just go over like that, especially since she was going to ask for a favor. Naturally, she should prepare some gifts to make it proper.
Yunling urged Zhang to prepare, her mind already wandering. The mushroom spawn couldn't be obtained for the time being, so she just helped Yun Ruoxia put all the elephant grass into the round wooden bucket and crushed it into grass particles.
Zhang didn't prepare any elaborate gifts, just some ordinary pastries and snacks, and went to the door with Yunling. It was Old Lady Fan who opened the door, holding an embroidery needle in her hand, apparently doing some embroidery. They had arrived just in time.
"Auntie, here, these are all leftovers from home. We'll have to trouble you to eat some of them."
"Oh, you've come all this way, and you brought so much with you. Come inside and sit down."
Yunling's heart had already flown to the woman with her hair in a bun sitting in the courtyard, but just as she was about to fly away, Zhang grabbed her.
"To be honest, Aunt, we've come today to ask you for a favor. Ling'er has something she'd like Bingniang to embroider. We're wondering if it will interfere with your work."
Before Old Lady Fan could reply, Bingniang, who was sitting in the courtyard, spoke up first: "Come here quickly, I'll help you embroider after I finish this one."
When Zhang came, she had intended to get up and greet her, but when she reached the end of the embroidery in her hand, she stopped herself from saying hello.
Upon hearing Bingniang's words, Yunling rushed over in a flash. She moved closer to Bingniang, her gaze falling on the embroidered handkerchief, which was probably the best embroidered handkerchief she had ever seen.
Especially that peony flower, embroidered so beautifully it looked like a real flower. From afar, as the handkerchief moved with Bingniang's hand, the peony seemed to sway in the wind—it was exquisite.
Yunling then developed patience and carefully examined the person in front of her. This person's ten fingers were as thin and long as scallions, his skin was fair and tender, and there was a hint of tenderness in his eyes, making people unable to resist getting closer.
If Zhang is like a hibiscus, then this person is like a crabapple.
According to what Zhang just said, Bingniang was abducted and sold to this place. With her looks, she was originally sold to a brothel, but she managed to escape on the way and happened to meet Fan Erlang, who was transporting goods for someone, and that's how she was saved.
The Fan family was kind-hearted and did not ask Bingniang to repay their kindness. They even offered to send her back to Jiangnan. However, she kept saying that it was a dangerous place and only asked to stay there to repay their kindness. Over time, she and Fan Erlang developed feelings for each other, got married, and had a son and a daughter who are now attending the school.
"Alright, what does Ling-jie want to embroider?"
“Auntie, I want to embroider this.” Yunling showed the completed drawing and a piece of cotton cloth. “Auntie, please see if you can embroider this pleated pattern.”
Bingniang picked up the blueprint and examined it carefully. Then she used an embroidery needle to trace patterns on the cotton cloth. "This is a new style. I'll try it out first."
"good."
Fan Laoniang and Zhang Shi were curious and came over to see what it was like. The three of them huddled together, but Bingniang was not affected at all. It was as if once she picked up the embroidery needle, she was isolated from the outside world and focused only on her own world.
Having compared her work to that of the cloth shop owner, Yunling knew how skilled Bingniang was at embroidery. Her embroidery was more stable and produced more even and beautiful folds than the owner's.
"Auntie, could you use thread for embroidery?"
"Gold thread? Okay."
Yunling took out a small bundle of white sinew from her pocket. Bingniang was taken aback, took it, and gently pulled on it, exclaiming in surprise, "This is cowhide sinew? Sewed onto cotton cloth?"
"Yes, can you sew it?"
Bingniang was quite shocked. She had never seen anyone sew cowhide thread onto fabric before. However, she never liked to delve into things. Since she was being asked to sew it, she would give it a try.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the thread is short, requiring two threads to be joined together to embroider a row. The knot at the joint risks being exposed and affecting the overall look.
"Auntie, this little thing won't cause any problems. Just do what you want."
Despite Yunling's suggestion, Bingniang was still somewhat unwilling. She didn't want to leave herself with such a careless bad habit, so she pondered the stitching repeatedly and finally hid the knot perfectly in a small, inconspicuous spot.
A perfect piece of pleated cotton fabric was embroidered in this way. Yunling slapped her thigh in delight. This was exactly the effect she wanted. Moreover, given Bingniang's speed, embroidering dozens of pieces a day would not be a problem, which made her even happier.
She could even imagine how cheerful she would be when she could put on her briefs again and not have to expose her crotch.
"Auntie, how much do you get paid for embroidering such a wrinkled piece of cotton?"
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