reminiscing
"The last time I saw you, you were just a little kid running around, and now you're married."
After the maid brought tea and snacks, the aunt and niece started chatting about family matters.
The gentle breeze sways the bamboo forest, bringing with it bursts of bamboo fragrance.
The fragrance of bamboo accompanied by the aroma of tea is refreshing.
Tan Linshuang took a sip of the teacup and said with a smile, "At that time, I loved to pester you, my aunt, just because you were beautiful, like a fairy."
"puff!"
Tan Moxiang couldn't help laughing. She never expected that this would be the impression she left on her nephew.
When the maidservant heard this, she smiled knowingly, put down the kettle for making tea, kept it warm on a low fire, and retreated behind the woods to avoid disturbing the aunt and nephew reminiscing about the past.
Tan Linshuang continued, "On the day my aunt got married, I cried so hard that I wanted to catch up with the bridal sedan."
Tan Moxiang smiled again, but her smile was not as relaxed and cheerful as before, and contained some complicated emotions.
"My mother picked me up and comforted me, saying my aunt had married and that when she came back, I would have a younger cousin. But... things are unpredictable."
"yes……"
Recalling the past, both of them were filled with emotion.
Tan Linshuang did not wait for her younger cousin, but only waited for her parents to die many years later.
Tan Moxiang never had her own child, but only waited for her husband to die of illness, and she has been a widow ever since.
"What a shame."
After sitting in silence for a while, Tan Linshuang spoke in a deep voice.
"Things in this world are unpredictable." Tan Moxiang smiled bitterly.
"I feel sorry for my aunt's business that was abandoned halfway." Tan Linshuang said.
Tan Moxiang paused while drinking tea, slowly raised his head, and narrowed his eyes slightly, "So, my nephew didn't come to reminisce with me, but to laugh at me."
The wind grew stronger, making the bamboo forest rustle. At first glance, it really sounded like someone crying.
Tan Linshuang's expression remained unchanged. She took another sip of tea and said slowly, "Auntie has been able to rise to prominence all by herself. Both I and my uncle are deeply impressed. You have accomplished something that neither of us could have done."
"It's a pity that my uncle's admiration eventually turned into fear."
Tan Moxiang did not respond and continued to sip tea.
Tan Linshuang stopped talking.
The sounds of drinking tea and wind blowing through the bamboo forest come one after another.
The maid came out from behind the forest and refilled the two empty teacups with water. Then Tan Moxiang spoke: "How is Lin'er doing now?"
Tan Linshuang said calmly, "It's not as bad as the outside world says."
"That's good. You are the only child of the Tan family. Your grandmother is counting on you to continue the Tan family's bloodline!" Tan Moxiang said with a smile.
Tan Linshuang stared at her. There was no smile in her eyes, and there was a hint of mockery in her hoarse voice.
"What's wrong with Auntie's throat?"
In his impression, Tan Moxiang's voice was not pleasant, but it was not as bad as it was now, sounding like an old woman.
Tan Moxiang lowered his eyes and said calmly, "A few years ago, I caught a cold and got typhoid fever. Although I recovered, my throat was damaged."
"This is due to the invasion of external evil and the accumulation of evil toxins in the throat." Tan Linshuang understood.
"Then Lin'er, what disease do you have? I see that you look pale, but you are not short of breath. I really can't tell what disease you have." Tan Moxiang looked up at him.
Tan Linshuang was used to this kind of scrutinizing gaze. He said calmly, "Depression."
Tan Moxiang paused for a moment and said meaningfully: "This disease is indeed difficult to eradicate."
"My situation is different from my aunt's. Although her voice is damaged, her body is fine and she doesn't have any other incurable illnesses. If she takes good care of herself, there will definitely be a light at the end of the tunnel." Tan Linshuang smiled.
Tan Moxiang lowered his eyes again and murmured, "I can no longer see the future, how can I expect a ray of hope?"
"When your grandmother sent you to the Chastity Hall, didn't you think so too? But later you found, or got, the opportunity to change your predicament." Tan Linshuang's words had hidden meaning.
He also deliberately emphasized the word "get", forcing Tan Moxiang to pay attention.
She raised her eyes hesitantly and met his gaze.
Both of them were speechless, but their eyes expressed a thousand words.
Tan Moxiang was a little confused about her nephew who had already grown up, but Tan Linshuang found the answer she wanted in her silence.
He smiled, drank the remaining tea in the teacup in one gulp, and then said to Tan Moxiang: "Aunt, I am still the same as before. I am closer to you, my concubine's aunt, than to my biological uncle."
"If you need anything, just ask Aunt Qiu to pass on the message, and I, your nephew, will be at your service!"
After saying that, he stood up and saluted Tan Moxiang with his fists clasped.
"Auntie won't be back until midnight, so I don't want to bother you for too long. I just want you to take me to the servants' quarters so I can get some bamboo sticks that are placed there."
"Bamboo sticks?"
Tan Moxiang was still pondering over what he had just said, and was confused when she heard what he said.
Tan Linshuang smiled shyly and explained, "These are the bamboo strips my wife and I chopped here last time. We used them to make lanterns for her."
"Lanterns?"
Tan Moxiang slightly blurred his eyes and suddenly remembered that Tan Linshuang had married the daughter of a wealthy family in the next town.
Lanterns...
The hand holding the handkerchief gradually clenched, "There's no need for Lin'er to come here in person for these trivial matters. Just let Aunt Qiu deliver it to you."
"Thank you, aunt!" Tan Linshuang bowed again.
However, he still followed Nanny Qiu to the servants' quarters in person and found the bamboo sticks that had been placed in the corner.
"If it's any later, I'm afraid they will be taken away by the servants of the South House and burned as firewood."
Tan Linshuang returned with an arm full of bamboo sticks, smiling.
"whee!"
Zhao Mingyan greeted him with a smile, took the bamboo stick from his arms, and asked in a low voice, "Did you enjoy catching up with your aunt?"
"Very good." Tan Linshuang nodded.
"Then, aunt, have you ever thought of escaping over the wall?" Zhao Mingyan asked half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"Now that we have the bamboo strips, we can make a silk carousel, right?" Tan Linshuang changed the subject.
Zhao Mingyan curled her lips and led him towards the study.
"These bamboo strips are not thin enough. They need to be cut down by at least two more layers."
In addition to Zhao Mingyan and Tan Linshuang, Xiaozhu and Ayun were also called over. Zhao Mingyan gave each of them a bamboo stick and demonstrated while explaining.
"Will it be difficult to tie firmly if it's too thin?" asked Tan Linshuang.
Zhao Mingyan said: "The lantern cover is different, the lamp stand will also be different. Silk is different from rice paper. If the bamboo strips are not thin enough, the shape will be ugly."
"Although what we are making now is still a revolving lantern, in terms of the material, it is considered a gauze lantern."
"The body of the gauze lantern is made of thin bamboo strips and silk. The appearance is light and transparent. When a candle is lit inside, the light shines through the silk, creating a softer and more beautiful light and shadow."
“To be light, the bamboo strips must be thinner.”
"Wouldn't that test your weaving skills even more?" Tan Linshuang raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"It also tests your skill in cutting bamboo strips." Zhao Mingyan replied with a raised lip.
Xiaozhu and Ayun saw the interaction between the two and subconsciously looked at each other.
But Ayun quickly turned his head away.
Xiaozhu looked at his clumsy movements and couldn't help but remind him: "Be careful not to cut your hands."
"Don't be such a jinx."
Ayun looked straight ahead and peeled the wood carefully and seriously. Especially after hearing what she said, she became even more cautious, fearing that if she really peeled her hand, she would laugh at her.
"Good intentions get kicked by a donkey."
Xiaozhu wrinkled his nose, picked up a handy knife, and with two "swishes", he cut one-third of the bamboo stick in his hand, leaving Ayun dumbfounded.
"How... did you do that?"
Xiaozhu glanced at him complacently and said, "It's just practice that makes you better."
Upon hearing this, Ayun immediately looked at Tan Linshuang. Seeing that he also cut a little and then stopped for a while, and was not much stronger than himself, he felt mentally balanced.
"You won't be able to finish peeling one even after the sun goes down."
Zhao Mingyan, who had already peeled one, couldn't bear to watch any longer. He came up to Tan Linshuang and taught him step by step, "First of all, your knife-holding posture is wrong."
After he finished speaking, he corrected his knife-holding technique, "Use your thumb and index finger to hold the back of the knife, so the knife can move freely between your two fingers."
"oh."
Tan Linshuang adjusted his posture and whittled the bamboo sticks, which indeed made it much easier.
Zhao Mingyan continued, "When cutting, hold the bamboo with your fingers and poke it with the blade. No matter how wide the bamboo strip or board is, make sure to cut in the middle and make sure the cut is straight."
"Swish..."
Zhao Mingyan held the bamboo strip in one hand and held Tan Linshuang's knife-wielding hand in the other, splitting the strip straight down the middle. "After splitting, bend the knife left and right, and it's done."
"Stable, accurate and fast." Tan Linshuang concluded.
Then, he picked up the smoother half, lifted it up, and came back to inspect it. "It looks like it needs some more work."
"Of course. Even with a steady hand, there can be a slight deviation in the cut, and this deviation will directly affect the effectiveness of the light stand weaving."
Zhao Mingyan nodded, "As craftsmen, we must strive for excellence."
Then, she found a plane and smoothed the other half on both sides. "This step is called 'correcting the bamboo strips.'"
"You see, this fineness can be kept for use."
She picked up the planed bamboo stick and held it in front of the three people.
When the bamboo stick was pointed at Tan Linshuang, he smiled and said, "Everyone has their own strengths."
"It also has its shortcomings." Ayun replied dejectedly.
Xiaozhu turned her head and saw that he had split the bamboo stick in his hand crooked, wasting one stick in vain.
"How stupid!"
"Then... teach me!"
Ayun paused, then picked up the stool and sat in front of her.
"snort!"
Xiaozhu snorted coldly, with resistance on his face, but his hands were honest and he taught it in a serious manner.
Ayun learns quickly, and when he cut it again, although it was not smooth, at least it was no longer crooked.
Soon, the only sounds in the study were the sounds of cutting and planing bamboo strips.
The wind is gentle and the lake is calm.
Until a person walked by and swung the bamboo branch that was blocking the way, causing the entire bamboo pole to sway continuously, shaking off a stick insect that was lying on it. It fell straight into the lake, causing ripples...
"Master, Madam, good afternoon."
The man went straight to the study, bowed to Tan Linshuang and Zhao Mingyan, and explained his purpose: "Young Madam, the old lady wants to see you."
Zhao Mingyan was slightly surprised and immediately looked at Tan Linshuang.
"Grandmother looking for you must be a good thing." Tan Linshuang smiled.
Facing Tan Linshuang's deep eyes full of smiles, Zhao Mingyan guessed in his heart: Judging from Tan Linshuang's confident expression, it is most likely related to the business.
Could it be that... Grandma is planning to let me get involved in the business of the company?
At this juncture, this possibility is not ruled out.
With curiosity and anticipation, Zhao Mingyan nodded to Tan Linshuang, then followed Butler Lan with determined steps.
Tan Linshuang watched her all the way until her figure disappeared from his sight, then he withdrew his gaze and looked at the bamboo stick in his hand.
"The thinner the bamboo stick, the better. So is the human heart."
About an hour later, Zhao Mingyan came back excitedly.
She was very happy because from now on, she could not only go out openly, but also take care of Mingyuezhai's business.
"Tan Lin... Ahem! Husband."
She pulled Tan Linshuang up and said impatiently, "Grandmother asked me to take over my aunt's Shu brocade business in Zhenjietang."
When Tan Linshuang heard this, she frowned, "Grandma has thrown a hot potato on you!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
