Chapter 83 Bonfire Gala
Su Yuanling was wearing an exquisite peony-patterned jacket and standing in the biting cold wind.
The jacket was made of soft silk, with intricate layers of peony embroidery on it, as if they had just been plucked from the branches, still covered with the light mist of morning gauze.
The elegant pink velvet piping cleverly outlines the contours of the dress, adding a touch of elegance and dignity.
It attracted passers-by to stop and look back.
Although Su Yuanling helped run the family business, she only had to teach female students the art of playing the zither. How could she have ever been watched by so many men?
At this moment, she couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed and unconsciously hid behind her mother Jiao.
Jiao looked at her daughter hiding behind her and sighed helplessly.
Originally, they had hoped that Ji Yanli could choose a talented and learned scholar for their daughter, but the series of accidents that happened in the family made it difficult for them to speak up.
Later, So Ruilin and his daughter went to the school to teach, and they wanted to take this opportunity to let their daughter find candidates on her own.
However, Su Yuanling was very ambitious and could never be attracted by those male students of average appearance.
Yes, the one from the Pei family is so handsome and learned, there is really no comparison.
Although Jiao was anxious, she knew that marriage was a matter of lifelong happiness for her daughter, and the person she chose must satisfy her daughter.
Therefore, she had to prepare the fine and be prepared for both situations.
The fourth wife did not come this time. Except for Su Deyong who was still working in the mine, the women from the other families had not seen each other for a long time.
Except for Old Madam Su, all the female relatives from other families were present at the stall.
Su Shengsheng was wearing a warm-colored jacket made of the same material as her seventh sister but in a different color. The delicate plush edges on the collar and cuffs swayed gently in the wind, adding a bit of warmth and agility.
She hung all over her body various purses that she had carefully selected, like a small shelf.
Mrs. Li thought she was causing more trouble, "How come you're hanging on to me, kid?"
"Mom, you can't see it at all if you put it like this. I'll use it as a shelf and go shopping under the lantern."
Li knew she was trying to take advantage of the opportunity to slip away, so she could only smile helplessly and said, "Alright, put everything down quickly, and go play if you want."
Su Shengsheng was feeling extremely bored. When she heard her mother say this, she immediately ran away happily with the five or six purses on her body.
She was wearing a small jacket sewn by her mother, with her skirt fluttering in the wind, and she moved freely among the crowd.
Su Nianwei was wearing a plush jacket embroidered with elegant morning glory flowers, with the collar tied tightly around her neck, and her face was as calm as water.
The morning glory flowers on the jacket were embroidered by her own hands. They are so lifelike that you can almost smell the faint fragrance of the summer morning.
Her eyes followed Su Shengsheng's movement into the bustling crowd.
The school is on holiday today, so all the men in the Su family went to watch the fun.
Su Shengsheng and Ning Jie struggled to squeeze next to their eldest brother Su Hengji, and said with a mischievous smile: "Brother, I stole several purses from mother. If you have a girl you like, I will give the purses to her for you."
Although Su Hengji had already sent out his confidants, it was difficult for him to make a living now, so how could he dare to drag others down?
His face flushed slightly, and he gently scolded: "Don't talk nonsense."
Su Shengsheng chuckled, took off a purse, and stuffed it into Su Hengji's hand: "It's better to be prepared."
Su Hengji felt a headache after being teased by his sister. He quickly hid his purse, fearing that she would say something shocking again.
Then, Su Shengsheng squeezed next to his second brother Su Wenxuan and stuffed a purse into his hand with a smile: "If there is a girl you like, don't miss it."
After saying that, without waiting for his second brother to refute, he brought Ning Jie and squeezed in front of his father Su Jingshan again.
As soon as Su Jingshan saw his daughter's smiling face, he knew she was playing a prank again. He felt helpless yet doting, "Why did you bring Young Master Ning to such a crowded place? Aren't you afraid of being stepped on?"
Su Shengsheng was watching with great interest as the women in the opera troupe danced lightly on the drums with extremely graceful postures.
"What is this drumhead made of? How come it can't be broken by stepping on it?" Su Shengsheng asked curiously.
Su Jingshan looked helplessly at his daughter's tendency to go wherever there was a commotion. "Maybe it's an animal skin? There must be something holding it up."
Su Shengsheng nodded and turned to look at Ning Jie beside him: "Listen to the drumbeats, do you see any patterns?"
Seeing Ning Jie ignore her, she didn't care: "Some people use ventriloquism to communicate, and some use ventriloquism to imitate sounds. Although the drum sound is loud, it is muffled in the belly. Even if people hear it, they won't understand it."
Now that Ning Jie is finally willing to cooperate with her, Su Shengsheng naturally seizes every opportunity to impart new knowledge to him.
Fortunately, Ning Jie's hostility towards her had greatly decreased, and he allowed her to pull him along to try various new methods.
Su Jingshan also knew about the bet between his daughter and Fan Wenchang. Although he was worried, he felt relieved when he saw that Ning Jie's literacy was increasing day by day and was almost catching up with Su Hengji. He believed that it was only a matter of time before Ning Jie could speak.
Ning Jie slowly turned his gaze back to look at the dozen or so round drums placed horizontally on the ground that were emitting rhythmic drum beats, as if thinking about something.
Su Shengsheng beat the rhythm to the drums, patiently guiding Ning Jie to feel this unique rhythm and melody...
The crowd gradually dispersed only after the bonfire was lit and the prayers were sung melodiously.
Su Shengsheng was busy teaching and didn't sell any purses.
She and Ning Jie packed chestnuts and dried fruits respectively, and ate as they walked back with their brother.
It's late at night
When they returned to the embroidery room, they found that their mother and the others had not sold a single piece of embroidery.
"I heard that the border has tightened its security. I really don't know if it will lead to a war." Su Ruilin helped to clean up the shop with a worried look on his face.
Su Jingshan also sighed: "We are only a hundred miles away from the border. If a war breaks out, the people inside the border will probably have difficulty making a living."
The embroidery room hired many embroiderers, and the speed of producing a piece of cloth in three days was no problem. However, the quality of the embroidery products was uneven.
Firstly, the time is short and it is difficult to make progress.
Secondly, the market positioning is vague, neither up nor down.
The people here just want to have enough food and clothing to keep them warm, and they don't care about anything else.
Although they have a lot of manpower, they can only make and sell coarse cloth at a low profit margin, but how can this be enough to support so many embroiderers?
Originally, seeing that Su Shengsheng's business was going quite well, they wanted to follow his example, hiring more people and making more embroidery products to pay off their debts.
But who would have thought that after doing it, they found that the business for women at this border was really difficult, and there were more embroiderers than people buying embroidery products.
Embroidery that is too delicate is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and no one is interested in expensive items. Women from ordinary families can almost sew clothes by themselves and will not buy ready-made ones.
As for higher-end embroidery, the fabrics required are expensive, and they don't have regular customers.
When Su Shengsheng's Shixianglou opened, it was just before the peace agreement between Nanling Kingdom and Beirong was reached, barely avoiding the market downturn.
However, the fabrics that the embroidery room had just produced were immediately ignored by the market.
When the people heard the news of martial law at the border, they began to tighten their belts and live a frugal life. How could they have spare money to buy new clothes?
In the past, Su Shengsheng never asked too many questions because she didn't want to interfere too much with her family's decisions.
Now the women couldn't find a breakthrough, and the men in the Su family had never done business. Seeing that they were discouraged, she had to speak up.
"Whether or not this war can be fought, winter clothes for the soldiers must be made."
Jiao was a bit quick-witted after all, and she understood as soon as she heard it. "If we can make winter clothes here, it will save the embroidery workshop."
Su Ruilin quickly said, "The soldiers' winter clothes are all provided by the government general. Private embroidery shops have no access to them."
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