Chapter 99: My daughter has the most dexterous hands!
Yang Lihua put down the tray and greeted her daughter with a smile, "Zhuzhu, what are you playing? Why are you ignoring your mother? Aren't you hungry?"
Tai Yongning and Chen Ruiyang were stunned when they heard this and quickly looked over.
They were so happy talking that they didn't pay attention to their younger sister. What if she didn't know the situation and hurt herself while playing...
Fortunately, the two wooden sticks in Zhuzhu's hands were very smooth, only six inches long, and wrapped with some cashmere thread, so they didn't look dangerous.
Zhuzhu looked up at her mother and brothers, smiling with her little white teeth bared to show off to them.
"Mom, look at the cloth Zhuzhu has woven. Is it beautiful?"
Yang Lihua took her daughter's hand and looked at it. She was relieved to see that there was no wound. Finally, she smiled and coaxed her.
"It's beautiful, of course it's beautiful, my mother's beads are the most skillful!"
Zhuzhu took it seriously, shaking her pigtails happily and shouting even louder.
"Sister Weaver in the sky likes to sit next to me and weave, but her flying needles move on their own. Zhuzhu's hands hurt so much, can mother buy her a flying needle too?"
In the sky? Flying needles?
Yang Lihua's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She picked up her daughter and looked at Chen Ruiyang inconspicuously.
Chen Ruiyang was not surprised at all, but just amused, thinking that Zhuzhu had mixed up the mythological stories she usually heard.
Yang Lihua breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the cloth her daughter had woven to take a look at it.
She originally thought it was something a child played with, but after pulling it a few times she figured out some of the tricks.
"Zhuzhu, how did you wind this cashmere yarn so that you can't untwist it?"
Zhuzhu's face was full of pride. She taught her mother enthusiastically and did not forget to make further requests.
"Mom, Sister Weaver's yarn balls are so colorful! If you put them in the sky, they will look like a beautiful sunset! Zhuzhu wants one too!"
Dyed ball of yarn?
Yang Lihua tried knitting two stitches. It was very simple, but thicker than the cotton fabric woven on a loom, and there were no broken threads.
If you add balls of yarn of different colors, the patterns you weave will definitely be even better...
The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed to her, and she knitted very quickly. However, the cashmere yarn that Tai Yongning and Chen Ruiyang knitted as if they were playing around was of uneven thickness, and it broke easily!
Yang Lihua excitedly picked up the needlework and cashmere and told her three children, "You eat first, I'll go and get busy."
The three children looked at each other, not understanding what she was going to do, but they were hungry and eating was the most important thing.
Soon, trays of food were brought to the table.
Tai Yongning and Chen Ruiyang took care of Zhuzhu while she ate and talked with her, and the atmosphere became lively again.
Besides, Yang Lihua was in a hurry for once, so she ran to the sundries room and found an old spinning wheel.
She was born in the south and was good at needlework and embroidery, so not long after they got married, Tai Jizu chopped some wood and then took Tai Jizong to work together to build this spinning wheel for her.
Unfortunately, the family became poor later on and there was no cotton to make cotton clothes, let alone provide her with yarn to spin.
Now that the family has so much cashmere, the spinning wheel, which was covered in dust, can be put back into use.
Liu Dongniang was busy running around, but her sister-in-law was nowhere to be found. After looking around, she saw her sister-in-law in the utility room, concentrating on spinning cashmere yarn.
She wanted to shout, but after thinking it over, she quietly closed the door.
At night, the craftsmen went to the horse rack to rest, and the tribesmen also went home to sleep.
The Tai family's courtyard finally quieted down. Tai Jizu remembered that he hadn't seen his wife all afternoon, so he asked, "Where's Zhuzhu's mother?"
Zhuzhu was the first to respond, calling out in a baby voice, "Daddy, Mommy is going to weave a rainbow for Zhuzhu! It's so pretty and red!"
Everyone found it funny and thought that Yang Lihua had gone to tailor a dress for Zhuzhu.
Only Liu Dongniang responded, "Brother, my sister-in-law has been spinning in the utility room all afternoon. Go and call her out for dinner."
"Ah, spinning?" Tai Jizu wondered and hurried to find someone.
Soon, Yang Lihua came in with a bunch of things.
Seeing his daughter-in-law's face was a little haggard, Mr. Tai said, "Eldest daughter-in-law, please eat first. There is no rush for anything."
Yang Lihua was unusually excited. She put her things down and stretched out a cushion that was one foot square. It had a milky white base and a black lotus in the middle. The weaving was smooth and dense, and the contrast between black and white gave it an indescribable elegance.
"Dad, I was thinking about something last night. The third brother, Yong'an, and Ruiyang are going south, and they might have to disguise themselves as traveling merchants. But at this time of year, furs and medicinal herbs are out of season. Unexpectedly, Zhuzhu's playing with cashmere just now gave me an idea.
"Look, I spun the cashmere yarn and wove this cushion. Unfortunately, I only have black thread dyed with ink. If I dyed it with more, I could create a more vibrant pattern. It would be easy to make cushions, pillows, or even clothes."
"People in the south are so elegant. Let the third brother and the others take it over. Maybe they can sell it for a good price!"
Everyone was curious and rushed forward to see the black and white lotus, some even reached out to touch it, finding it so novel.
Tai Jiye really had some talent for business, and he was also happy, but he still made some suggestions.
"Sister-in-law, cashmere is not a particularly rare thing. If our family uses it to make money, I'm afraid others will follow suit soon."
Yang Lihua reached out and touched Zhuzhu's pigtail, her eyes full of doting. Finally, she replied, "Don't worry. This wool yarn is easy to spin and dye, but the stitches to weave it are difficult. If you don't teach it specifically, no one can imitate it."
Zhuzhu was anxious. She rushed into her mother's arms, hugged her neck and shouted, "Mom, you haven't woven a sunset for Zhuzhu yet. It has to be red!"
Yang Lihua didn't know how to respond and looked at Mr. Tai.
Mr. Tai is very open-minded and never looks down on women, especially since the eldest daughter-in-law has always been the head of the family.
Now that his eldest daughter-in-law wants to make some small attempts and move south for the sake of her children and grandchildren, of course he has to support her.
"My dear wife, do whatever you want. The money is with you. You can make your own arrangements."
Yang Lihua felt very warmed when she heard this, and was once again glad to have married into the Tai family.
She quickly bowed and thanked him, then instructed Tai Jiye, "Third brother, tomorrow you can help my sister-in-law take the cashmere yarn to the dyeing workshop for a try, and try to get it dyed in a variety of ways. I'll think about the needlework again. If all goes well, you can come up with a decent product tomorrow night, and we can discuss it again."
"Okay, sister-in-law, leave this matter to me!" Tai Jiye agreed immediately.
Yang Lihua ate her meal quickly and went back into the utility room.
Tai Jizu was worried, so he followed in with a bag of cashmere.
The next morning, the couple, with dark circles under their eyes, dragged half a bag of cashmere yarn to Tai Jiye, and Tai Jiye hurried into the city.
Yang Lihua wanted to go to the kitchen to help, but Liu Dongniang insisted on sending her back to sleep.
Tai Jiye was a man of clever words and quick mind. He joined the queue at the only dyeing workshop in the county and brought back cashmere yarn in five colors in the afternoon.
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