Chapter 41 Learning Embroidery
Cui Qingyi smiled, with dimples on the corners of her mouth: "Sister Fan, what are you talking about? My sister and I get along very well. You have helped us a lot these past few days. If it weren't for you and Shopkeeper Qi, we two sisters would be so unfamiliar with the place and how could we find a reliable craftsman like Uncle Fan?
If Sister Fan doesn't mind, we can visit each other more often in the future, and Sister Fan can come and talk to me more often."
These words coming from Cui Qingyi were so sincere and appropriate that Madam Fan felt very happy about it.
Madam Fan was a straightforward person, and she had noticed during her time at the Cui family that Madam Cui was a good-tempered person. Even though Konjac was a servant, she ate, used, and wore the same things as Madam Cui, the master of the house.
When it was time to cook, Miss Cui rolled up her sleeves and took the initiative to cook. Although the two were master and servant, they really got along like real sisters.
She had also seen the servants of that wealthy family. There were so many rules and regulations, and no one lived as comfortably as Konjac.
"Okay, as long as you don't mind, we can visit each other often in the future."
Cui Qingyi and Konjac stood at the door and watched Madam Fan walk away before turning around and returning to the yard.
Konjac sighed, "The young lady and Madam Fan really get along well." When they were in Linshui County before, the young lady had never had such a pleasant conversation with any other girl.
Cui Qingyi smiled and said, "Sister-in-law Fan is a straightforward person."
Initially, Cui Qingyi had indeed been interested in befriending Madam Fan because of Qi Moxuan, but after spending a few days together, she truly liked her personality. She was generous, straightforward, and knew when to act. Her words and actions seemed careless, but they were always just right. There was no one more accommodating than her.
They have taken root in Dongping County, and it’s not a bad thing to have a few friends like this around.
When Madam Fan returned home, she also praised Cui Qingyi in front of Qi Moxuan, praising her to the point of saying she was the best in the world. Qi Moxuan even wondered if the Miss Cui he knew was the same person his wife knew.
Mrs. Fan held back some things, fearing that they would hurt the relationship between her and her husband.
Qi Moxuan's family conditions are much better than hers, and he is also good-looking. Such a man often does business outside. Isn't she worried at all?
This time, when Qi Moxuan came back and told her that he wanted to go into business with a girl, she felt a pang in her heart, fearing that the man had bad intentions.
So she enthusiastically brought her father and brother to the Cui family to do work, with the intention of taking a look.
But when she met Miss Cui for the first time, she knew that her worries were completely unnecessary. A woman who was as beautiful as a fairy and talented would not look down on Qi Moxuan even if she was down and out.
Qi Moxuan is a pearl to her, but he may be a fish eye to others.
After spending a few days together, she really fell in love with Miss Cui and Konjac. She thought the two young ladies were good in every way. Moreover, she had an idea in her mind these days, but she didn't know how to tell her man.
After a busy day, the couple waited for the night to lie in bed and hugged each other for a good time. Mrs. Fan then grabbed the man's collar and said what she had been holding back for several days: "What do you think about letting our Xiaoyuan learn embroidery from Miss Konjac?"
Xiaoyuan is the eldest daughter of Qi Moxuan and his wife, and she is eight years old. Xiaoyuan is very sensible and can help her mother take care of her younger brother and clean the house at the age of eight.
Children grow up quickly, and girls have to look for a husband as soon as they reach the age of fifteen, and then get married.
She was lucky to have met such a caring person like Qi Moxuan, but who can guarantee what kind of person Xiaoyuan will meet in the future?
But if a girl learns a skill, she will have a way out in the future.
Mrs. Fan had been thinking about this for a long time, but she hadn't decided what skill to let Xiaoyuan learn. When she met Konjac, she suddenly had an idea.
Qi Moxuan thought for a moment and said, "It's good for a girl to learn embroidery, but I'm afraid it's not appropriate to ask Miss Konjac to teach her. She makes money from this. Let's look for another master."
Qi Moxuan wasn't one to favor boys over girls. Xiaoyuan was his eldest daughter, and he couldn't help but feel pain for her. Learning embroidery was good for her, and he couldn't possibly object.
But asking konjac is a bit too much.
Madam Fan murmured, "That's different. It was only when I went to Cui's house that I learned what real embroidery looked like."
Girls in every household in the Jin Dynasty learned needlework, but what did ordinary people learn? They made clothes and shoes. The better ones could even learn to sew a few small flowers on clothes.
But is that embroidery? No, it isn't.
According to Miss Cui, the embroidery displayed in the living room of the Cui family was made by Miss Konjac, a big customer of Jinxiufang who was attracted by her craftsmanship and spent a lot of money to have her custom-made.
Although less than one-third of the work had been embroidered, every blade of grass and tree on the embroidery seemed alive, as if they would come alive from the painting as soon as the embroidery needle threaded the last stitch.
Madam Fan was so excited watching this. If her Xiaoyuan could learn such a skill, her future life would not be smooth sailing, but it would not be too bad.
Madam Fan grabbed Qi Moxuan's hand and pressed it against her chest, pleading, "My dear, I know this is a bit unreasonable, but for Xiaoyuan's sake, can you please go and ask?"
Madam Fan wanted to ask herself, but she knew in her heart that if Qi Moxuan asked, there was a 50% chance of success. If she asked herself, the chance would probably not even be 20%, and it would also annoy Madam Cui.
Qi Moxuan patted his wife's bare shoulders and replied, "Okay, I'll pick a time to ask her, but let's make a deal: if she doesn't agree, you're not allowed to have any opinions about her in the future."
Hearing his agreement, Mrs. Fan smiled and patted the man's arm: "In your heart, I am the petty person. If he doesn't agree, I will find another master for Xiaoyuan to learn from first. The child is grown up and there is no time to delay."
"Okay, go to sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow."
.....
Cui family
Cui Qingyi added some charcoal directly to the kang at night, and Konjac squatted beside her and watched. Her enthusiasm for the kang was unprecedentedly high. If the kang was not still wet, she would have wanted to lie on it immediately to see what it felt like.
"Girl, how many days will it take before we can use this kang?"
"Don't let the charcoal fire go out. Burn it for three to five days and it will be almost done."
If Cui Qingyi in her previous life had said that one day she would be extremely fond of a kang, Cui Qingyi would definitely have sneered. However, after nineteen years in this strange dynasty, Cui Qingyi had long been fed up with the ubiquitous dampness and cold.
Thinking about waiting for the snowy day, she and Konjac would snuggle on the warm kang, light a charcoal fire in the house, and then roast some sweet chestnuts. Cui Qingyi couldn't wait any longer.
Ever since he received his wife's instructions that day, Qi Moxuan had demonstrated in his mind several times how to talk to Konjac about this matter.
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