Spring of the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Fuxi of the Qian Dynasty.
The morning sunlight streamed through the carved window lattice into the embroidery room, pouring down like golden threads and illuminating the tranquility of the space.
Inside the embroidery room, the embroiderers were already in their positions, heads bowed, focused on the embroidery in their hands.
Wang Xiuxiu also sat quietly in front of the embroidery frame, keeping a low profile in this small embroidery room.
Her fingers gently stroked the brocade on the embroidery frame, her eyes revealing a hint of calm and composure.
However, Wang Xiuxiu's low profile did not bring her peace.
She had no intention of showing off her embroidery skills, but instead, she was bullied for no reason because of her excessive modesty.
A seamstress dressed in a blue robe walked over and said in a somewhat commanding tone, "Hey you, the new one, hurry up and help us split these threads. They need to be eight strands thick, do you hear me?"
Splitting a thread, as the name suggests, is the process of splitting a thread into smaller strands.
This task may seem simple, but it is actually extremely demanding in terms of patience.
A thin silk thread is split into one-eighth, one-sixteenth, or even more pieces.
As the thread is split thinner, it becomes softer and more prone to breaking.
Splitting requires skill and patience, and is a fundamental skill that beginners must practice.
Wang Xiuxiu's fingers were slender and nimble. She gently pinched one end of the silk thread and then carefully split it with the tip of a needle.
The silk thread seemed to come alive in her hands, and was easily separated into several strands.
Although her movements were fluid, for Wang Xiuxiu, the part she disliked the most during the entire embroidery process was splitting the threads.
Splitting the thread requires a great deal of patience and skill; the slightest mistake can lead to the thread breaking or becoming uneven.
To ensure that every strand of silk is even and delicate, one must be completely focused on the process.
Being a novice, Wang Xiuxiu didn't want to cause trouble, so she obediently went to cut the thread.
After working all morning, Wang Xiuxiu felt as if her eyes were being burned by fire.
In the end, even the nerves on both sides of the forehead began to twitch uncontrollably.
After she finally finished splitting all the threads, she could finally take a short break, only to find that the woman in the blue dress not only took away all the freshly split threads without any politeness, but also stuffed another plate of threads into her hands.
"Hurry up! Get back to the main tasks; there's a ton of other work to do! Don't just slack off and ignore everything else!"
Wang Xiuxiu gritted her teeth inwardly, but did not lash out. She simply took the ball of yarn and continued to split the yarn with her head down.
Since I'm new here, if I were to resist rashly, it would only cause more trouble. I'll just have to put up with it for now!
As noon approached and the work was about to end, Manager Su, who was in charge of managing everyone's work progress, entered the room and checked the progress of each person's work.
Upon arriving at Wang Xiuxiu's location, he immediately noticed the empty embroidery hoop. His expression changed instantly, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Whose embroidery hoop is this? Why is there nothing on it?"
"The manager is mine."
Wang Xiuxiu slowly raised her head from the corner and replied softly, "Manager Su, I didn't slack off. I've been helping the ladies split embroidery threads all morning, that's why..."
Manager Su was no fool.
He first examined Wang Xiuxiu's slightly trembling hands discreetly, then glanced around at the silent embroiderers, and understood what was going on.
It's these seasoned veterans bullying the newbies!
"I don't care what you've done! When I hired you here, I clearly stated that you were here to embroider! As for other miscellaneous tasks, no matter how much or how well you do them, they have nothing to do with me! I'll be checking before we finish work tonight. If I find that you haven't caught up with the schedule, you're fired!"
Manager Su's tone carried an unquestionable air of authority.
Wang Xiuxiu didn't take the manager's words to heart.
She has been working in embroidery in Dagan for nearly two years. This long period of time has not only made her embroidery skills increasingly exquisite, but also made her embroidery speed far exceed that of ordinary people.
Wang Xiuxiu had observed this, so she knew very well that at her current pace, it wouldn't be difficult to complete today's assigned workload smoothly.
However, completing the task discreetly is not so simple.
After much thought, Wang Xiuxiu decided that she had to do it when they weren't around.
At noon, all the embroiderers went to lunch, but Wang Xiuxiu did not set off. She even put on a pitiful look, with a worried expression, as she tried to catch up with the progress.
As soon as they left, Wang Xiuxiu's needle and thread moved swiftly across the brocade.
Only after the embroiderers returned to their posts did she slow down and begin stitching carefully.
As the workday was drawing to a close, the supervisor arrived as scheduled.
He carefully examined Wang Xiuxiu's embroidery, then nodded slightly and said, "Hmm, I'll let you off this time. If there's a next time, I'll definitely punish you!"
"I understand, I understand! Thank you for your mercy, Steward!" Wang Xiuxiu hurriedly nodded in response.
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