Chapter 294 Extra Chapter: Jiang Xie Wan
Upon seeing Jiang Zao, Xie Jingyuan suddenly realized that his actions just now were inappropriate.
He straightened his clothes and asked Jiang Zao, "You... weren't teaching at the school today?"
Jiang Zao was taken aback, not expecting Xie Jingyuan to know that she was at the Xie family school.
But then he thought about it again and realized he was being a bit foolish. Although Xie Boyu was very dissatisfied with Xie Jingyuan's behavior of associating with Westerners, he was still a member of the Xie family after all.
Jiang Zao said, "Most of the students in the school are children of weaving and dyeing craftsmen, so they all came out to watch the fun today since it's a day off."
"So that's how it is."
For some reason, Xie Jingyuan always felt somewhat uncomfortable in front of Jiang Zao.
Perhaps it was during those years that he repeatedly felt grateful for the gold and silver that Jiang had hidden in the seams of his clothes when he first arrived in a foreign land.
Xie Jingyuan was a little irritated. He subconsciously reached out to touch his body, but when he saw Jiang Zao's calm expression, he lowered his hand.
"You've changed a lot in the past few years."
Jiang Zao was stunned and turned to look at him.
In terms of appearance, Xie Jingyuan has changed more. She can't even connect the person in front of her with the Xie Jingyuan she married eight years ago.
But Jiang Zao said, "You haven't changed much."
"Um?"
Xie Jingyuan was somewhat taken aback: "Your explanation is quite novel. After all, many people have said that I've changed since I came back."
Jiang Zao quietly shook her head: "I know what they're talking about. They're saying you've colluded with Westerners and become their lackey."
“But I don’t think you’re that kind of person, and you wouldn’t do that kind of thing.”
Xie Jingyuan's hand froze for a moment, then he turned his hand over and gently rubbed his lower back.
For some reason, his palms felt itchy.
"you……"
Jiang Zao's expression was calm, carrying the unique gentleness and tranquility of a woman from Jiangnan. She stood there, yet inexplicably, she lessened some of the irritation in Xie Jingyuan's heart.
"When you left back then, you left me not only a farm and shops, but also silver."
"Actually, if you had taken the money with you, you could have lived more comfortably in a foreign land, but you didn't."
Jiang Zao said, "I've wanted to thank you all these years, but I never thought I'd only have the chance today."
She was poised and generous, and when she mentioned their past relationship, she didn't hesitate or shy away from it at all. She accepted it openly and expressed her gratitude frankly.
This attitude made Xie Jingyuan both think highly of him and feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
It was as if she didn't care at all about their past or their relationship...
This idea surprised Xie Jingyuan.
Although they had gone through the traditional wedding ceremony, they couldn't really be called husband and wife. After all, they hadn't spent much time together and had barely exchanged a few words.
Only on the day of the wedding ceremony and the day he left did they exchange a few perfunctory greetings...
How could he care that Jiang Zao didn't care about their past?
Xie Jingyuan lowered his eyes and pursed his lips slightly.
"Jingyuan."
As the two were talking, Xie Boyu came over with people from the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce.
These past few days, he and Hua Nanzhi have been staying at home, not venturing out, all because the Xie family has produced a "Western lackey." This has not only made Xie Boyu ashamed to face anyone, but he has also been repenting before the ancestral tablets every day.
I came here today intending to persuade Xie Jingyuan again, but I didn't expect that right at the start of the event, Xie Jingyuan beat up that foreign devil named Ma.
Xie Boyu, who had been bent over for months, suddenly straightened up in that instant.
He looked at Xie Jingyuan and said, "Beating someone in broad daylight, in front of everyone, Jingyuan, is this how the Xie family raised you?"
Seeing that they had important matters to discuss, Jiang Zao nodded slightly to Xie Jingyuan and turned to leave.
Xie Jingyuan watched her retreating figure, his heart stirred slightly. After a long while, he said, "Brother's words are wise."
Xie Boyu asked, "What caused the conflict between you two just now?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingyuan lowered his eyes and said, "I invited Westerners to Suzhou Prefecture because I thought their loom technology had something to offer."
"I thought it would be good for our colleagues in Suzhou to learn from this, so that we could also increase our production."
"But to my surprise, they were arrogant and often spoke rudely. I had initially thought that since they had come from afar, we should extend the hospitality of hosts, but now..."
"They don't deserve it."
"Fine, what a fine line: they don't deserve it."
Xie Boyu gave a big thumbs up, his eyes filled with pride as he looked at Xie Jingyuan.
This was his younger brother whom he had raised himself, and he knew that Xie Jingyuan would not do anything to dishonor the ancestors.
Upon hearing this, the members of the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce all praised him, and some who had previously cursed him even apologized on the spot out of remorse.
After Martin was beaten, he was quickly taken away by Hoffman.
However, the competition between the two sides did not stop.
The Westerners' cloth was woven much earlier, while Mu Suiyun and Man Sui only managed to weave a palm-width piece ten days later.
But the cloth woven by Mu Suiyun and the others was not only brightly colored and had lively patterns, but every thread was so fine that there were no broken points and not a single needle eye could be found.
The cloth woven by the people Martin and his men was different.
Although the broken thread joint was not obvious, it could not be hidden at all in front of a group of weaving and dyeing experts.
Suzhou Prefecture should have won this round, but Martin insisted that Mu Suiyun could not win because he had not finished weaving the entire picture.
After another heated argument, the two sides could only agree to a draw.
The second round of competition was on dyeing cloth.
The contestant was from Xie Cui Fang. After seeing Martin and his gang's shameless behavior, Shen Yuanzhu couldn't be bothered to deal with them anymore and didn't attend the event.
Xie Jingyuan also showed little interest and rarely appeared.
But Xie Boyu and Xie Chengzhi were very fond of the news and went to see it every day.
"Our dyeing method, passed down from generation to generation, produces fabrics with beautiful and elegant colors that can remain unchanged even after being exposed to sunlight for ten days."
"While the dyeing methods of those foreigners are better at fixing the color than ours, the colors are too gaudy."
"The red is so glaring, it's absolutely hideous."
After Xie Boyu finished speaking, Hua Nanzhi nodded: "Our dyeing method not only produces soft and natural colors, but also makes the dyed fabrics as smooth as satin."
"And those foreigners used something to dye the fabric, which made it hard and brittle."
Xie Chengzhi nodded: "The dyeing process damaged... damaged the material, which means... ruined the dyeing."
"That's right."
Xie Boyu said, "Those foreign devils still wanted to refuse to admit defeat, but the imperial court suppressed them."
Xie Chengzhi exclaimed in surprise, "The imperial court... the imperial court has intervened?"
"Yes, with the Emperor's intervention, those foreigners can no longer act like scoundrels."
Xie Jingyuan said, "One draw, one win, and then it will be even harder for them to win the embroidery competition."
Suzhou Prefecture has the most skilled embroiderers; the people Martin and his men brought can't even come close...
Indeed, as Xie Jingyuan said, although Western embroidery has the advantage of using light and shadow, it is inferior to the embroiderers of Suzhou Prefecture in terms of color, gradation, stitch fineness, and even aesthetics.
Martin and his party suffered a crushing defeat, but refused to admit defeat and even tried to break the contract by secretly taking away the gear loom at night.
However, with the imperial court involved, it was impossible for them to come and go as they pleased.
The gear loom was indeed delivered as agreed, but to demonstrate the grandeur of a great nation, the imperial court still had the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce provide them with several formulas for Martin and Hoffman to take back to their country.
"Did Sister Yuanzhu really give it to her?"
Xie Jingyuan said, "I gave it to you."
He didn't know why, but after Martin and Hoffman returned home in a sorry state, he wandered alone to the primary school in the Xie family's textile and dyeing garden. He even "inadvertently" lost in thought, waiting for Jiang Zao to come out.
Since they had "coincidentally" met, there was no need to pretend not to see each other, so Jiang Zao chatted with Xie Jingyuan outside the school for a while.
Xie Jingyuan said, "It was given, but it also seems like it wasn't."
"They gave you a fake prescription?"
Xie Jingyuan shook his head: "No, the prescription was carefully selected by Shen Yuanzhu and filed with the government. Since it has been filed with the government, they would not deliberately give out a fake prescription."
"Not only that, but they were all top-quality, because Chairman Shen placed these prescriptions along with the gear loom in the backyard of the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce, where anyone could look at and study them."
"Huh?"
Jiang Zao was somewhat puzzled.
When she was confused, her eyes would appear slightly rounder. Xie Jingyuan looked at her for a moment, then turned his head away.
"I'll tell you the recipe, and you'll know."
Xie Jingyuan said, "For dyeing, take the roots of five-year-old madder from the shady slope of Yunshan Mountain, soak them in glutinous rice wine for seven days, then place the cloth in a pine smoke cave for three days to fumigate it, then wash it with aged snow water, air dry it in a bamboo shed, and finally store it in a sandalwood box..."
Jiang Zao listened, slightly surprised: "Huh?"
Looking at her expression, Xie Jingyuan continued, "There's also the need to lay it on old Xuan paper that's been sealed and fumigated after dyeing, as well as to use a rat-whisker brush dipped in rust water to outline the design, and even to use Pu'er tea paste for dyeing..."
Even though Jiang Zao had never been to the West, he felt that these things might not exist outside.
But she still asked, "Westerners also drink Pu'er tea, do they have Pu'er paste?"
Xie Jingyuan shook his head: "No."
"Do they know how to brew glutinous rice wine?"
"I never saw it when I was there."
"Those pine-smoke cave dwellings, sandalwood chests, bamboo woven sheds..."
A smile appeared in Xie Jingyuan's eyes: "I've never seen them before."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zao gave a restrained smile. "Sister Yuanzhu is very capable; she's always been very smart. Anyway, we've given her the recipe and kept the gear loom, but if they can't dye it, then it's not our problem, is it?"
Xie Jingyuan looked at her face, his expression filled with a doting affection he himself hadn't even noticed: "No, it's not."
That's good.
Jiang Zao smiled and lowered her head slightly, revealing a slender and delicate neck.
Xie Jingyuan looked at it and then turned his head away.
Yesterday, his elder brother and sister-in-law came to ask him about his marriage, and he didn't know how to answer.
When Xie Boyu mentioned Jiang Zao, he realized that Jiang Zao had not told anyone about the letter he had given her to divorce his wife back then.
Therefore, both in name and in law, Jiang Zao is still his wife.
Eight years ago, he married reluctantly, but eight years later...
Xie Jingyuan looked at the person in front of him, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.
But then he sighed softly.
Who knows how long his journey to win back his wife will take...
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