Chapter 153 Old Zhu
What do you mean by that?
Jiang Wansu's words were veiled and insinuating, which displeased Xie Xuchuan.
"Don't rush."
She wasn't annoyed, and her tone remained gentle: "I didn't mean to incite any trouble between you and Yuanzhu."
"Ke Xuchuan, you are still looking at Yuanzhu with your old perspective, which will only lead you to make misjudgments about things."
“Yuanzhu…”
Jiang Wansu kept her head down, wearing a light green gauze dress in the summer, with a pale yellow waistband. Because of her pregnancy, her dress was loose, and although the style was simple, it was still quite luxurious.
During this period of time, perhaps he has figured some things out, and he is not as sickly as before.
Moreover, ever since Tiqi Courtyard changed its cook, she has been preparing nourishing and healthy meals for her every day. Her complexion is no longer the same as before, and she has regained some of the rosy and lively look she had before she got married.
She was gentle and spoke slowly and deliberately: "Yuanzhu is not the same Yuanzhu as before. She has Xie Qi by her side. Even if Yuanzhu was innocent and kind in the past, she may not be without other thoughts now."
Jiang Wansu did not believe at all that Shen Yuanzhu was as pure-hearted and straightforward as she appeared.
In their several encounters, she suffered quite a bit at Shen Yuanzhu's hands.
Jiang Wansu touched the dyeing chart, carefully examining the paper and handwriting on it.
It is indeed old paper and old ink.
"Xie Qi has never been favored by the family and has never had access to the Xie family's core members, so naturally he hasn't seen the Xie family's farming and weaving charts, right? If this dyeing chart is fake, and it didn't come from Second Uncle's place, then it might be..."
That's enough.
Xie Xuchuan said, "No, although Yuanzhu is gentle, she is not someone who cannot distinguish right from wrong, and she would not listen to Xie Qi to do such a thing."
"If what you said is true, then Yuanzhu needs to prepare a fake dyeing chart in advance, then calculate that Second Uncle will steal it, and finally exchange the farming and weaving chart for Xie Qi."
“Yuanzhu and I are childhood sweethearts. She is indeed intelligent, but she would not have such scheming methods.”
In his eyes, Yuanzhu was indeed a little clever, but her mind was clear and pure.
not to mention……
Xie Xuchuan clenched his fists, simply unable to believe that Yuanzhu would go to such lengths for Xie Qi.
He opened his mouth slightly as if to explain, but in the end he remained silent and turned to leave.
Jiang Wansu felt a surge of anger as she looked at Xie Xuchuan.
Shen Yuanzhu is not as innocent and naive as she appears, nor does she possess the heart of a child. Why is Xie Xuchuan so bewitched and unable to see through her?
She pursed her lips, suppressing her anger, and frowned slightly as she looked at the scattered copies of "Shen Family Dyeing Manual" on the table.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Wansu asked Xueqing to bring her a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Whether it's true or false, she'll make a copy first. If it's false, it'll only waste half a day; if it's true...
Jiang Wansu touched the dyeing pattern, lowering her eyes and remaining silent.
After parting on bad terms with Jiang Wansu, Xie Xuchuan went to the Xie family's textile and dyeing workshop.
"Young Master."
With Cui Cheng absent, a craftsman surnamed Wu took charge of his work.
This morning, a new dyeing formula was delivered to our home. Right now, everyone is setting up the dye vat and preparing to experiment with the new formula.
Watching the busy craftsmen, Xie Xuchuan paused for a moment and said, "Add another dye vat."
"Young Master, is there a new prescription?"
Xie Xuchuan nodded: "Add another Tian Shui Bi dye vat, but this recipe..."
"Give me three dou of lime and one sheng of sophora japonica flowers, and put them together with the Tianshui Bi dye vat from the previous recipe for comparison."
"Okay."
The manager surnamed Wu pointed and found a taciturn dyer who had been working quietly all along.
The dyer was unremarkable in appearance. He was holding a wooden stick and stirring cotton cloth in another vat. After hearing what Manager Wu said, he put down his work, rubbed his hands together, and walked up to the two men.
"Young Master, it's Steward Wu."
The newcomer spoke in a deep, muffled voice, which suggested he wasn't very intelligent. However, given his robust physique, he appeared capable of manual labor.
"Go and bring another dye vat, and place it next to Tian Shui Bi."
The man nodded silently, then turned and went to move the vat.
Manager Wu looked up at the sky and said ingratiatingly, "Young Master, it's hot. Why don't you wait in the corridor?"
"The corridor provides shade and a breeze, which is much more comfortable than being under the blazing sun."
"I've had some fruits prepared for you to help you cool off in the summer."
Xie Xuchuan frowned, waved his hand, and said no need.
Before long, the man brought over a new dye vat and washed it clean.
He worked efficiently, which pleased Manager Wu.
They put the indigo grass from Daiyun Mountain into the dye vat, and then added lime and sophora japonica flowers, while Manager Wu was busy running around, but in reality, he was just doing everything for Xie Xuchuan.
The taciturn man, however, was carrying a huge wooden bucket, filling it to the brim with water from afar.
Seeing this, Xie Xuchuan said, "There's a well right here, why don't you use the well water?"
Manager Wu quickly tried to impress him: "Young Master, we usually don't use well water for dyeing cloth. Well water is murky, and the colors produced are mostly dull and don't look good."
Xie Xuchuan nodded and saw that the craftsman had prepared all the materials, put them into the dye vat, and then poured in the cold water from Taihu Lake stored in the dyeing garden before starting to stir it.
Under the scorching sun, the craftsmen were covered in sweat, but the sweat could not be dripped into the dye vat, so they could not be naked and had to wear a cotton shirt to absorb the sweat.
Before long, Xie Xuchuan smelled a strong odor of sweat.
He frowned, took a few steps back, and said to Steward Wu, "Have someone go home and fetch two carts of ice. Make some refreshing ice cream for the craftsmen today and distribute it."
"In addition, give each person fifteen coins to buy some coarse tea to cool them down in the summer."
"Alright, thank you for your kindness, young master."
Manager Wu went out, and Xie Xuchuan stood three steps away from the dye vat, watching the craftsman's movements.
The dyer swung his wooden stick, making several hundred turns before stopping and looking down to examine the dye vat.
Xie Xuchuan asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
The craftsman said, "Take a look at the dye."
He is a man of few words.
Xie Xuchuan wasn't annoyed; he had great respect for these experienced craftsmen.
Although he had learned weaving and dyeing techniques since childhood, he had never actually done such rough work.
Therefore, I am now somewhat curious about the dye vat.
He asked, "How long should the dye solution be left to stand before we can start dyeing the fabric?"
The craftsman replied, "At least seven days. After seven days, put a copper coin in the dye solution. If the coin sinks without submerging, and the dye solution is clear and blue like the sky, then it is done."
Why put a copper coin in there?
"I don't know, that's how my master taught me, and it's been passed down from generation to generation."
Xie Xuchuan nodded.
He looked at the two brand-new "Sky Blue" dye vats placed side by side, and felt a deep sense of unease.
At this moment, he actually hoped that time would pass and that he had misremembered some things, rather than that the dyeing score was fake.
If the dyeing manual is real, although things didn't go as planned, the Xie family would have the dyeing manual, and Yuanzhu would have obtained the farming and weaving chart.
Just as my grandmother said, although there were some twists and turns, it all ended well in the end.
But what if the dye is fake...?
Xie Xuchuan's gaze swept back and forth between the two vats of Tian Shui Bi dye, unsure which one he hoped would produce the true "Tian Shui Bi".
As he was lost in thought, Manager Wu jogged up behind him.
Seeing the two people standing in front of the dye vat in a daze, he was afraid that one of them would catch the eye of the future employer, so he quickly said, "Old Zhu, there's nothing for you to do here. Go to the front yard and wait to eat some ice to cool off."
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