Chapter 48: Recruiting a Disciple 2
Konjac always believed what Cui Qingyi said, and he had no special thoughts on whether to accept Qi Yuan as his apprentice.
Since the girl asked her to take a look, then she would take a look.
After waiting for the people to leave, Qi Moxuan gave some instructions to the shop assistants and hurried home.
When Madam Fan heard that she would be taking Xiaoyuan to Cui's house tomorrow, she immediately became excited. Although she couldn't become his disciple the next day, she still had to prepare carefully to show him her sincerity.
After discussing it, the couple went out to prepare gifts for tomorrow's visit. Since it was not a formal apprenticeship, there was no need to prepare according to the etiquette of apprenticeship. Mrs. Fan picked out some Dongping County specialty cakes and bought some high-quality embroidery thread from the embroidery workshop.
When they got home, they called their eldest daughter Qi Yuan to their side and gave her a good warning: "Be good and obedient when you get home tomorrow. If anyone asks you anything, don't be afraid, just answer them openly. Your parents are watching over you."
Xiaoyuan nodded obediently and responded crisply, "I understand, Mom."
The eight-year-old Xiaoyuan looks like Fan Hui, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a heroic look between her eyebrows.
Fan Hui taught her well. The eight-year-old girl behaves in a confident and open manner without any shyness. She is very likable just by looking at her.
Fan Hui wanted to give Xiaoyuan some more advice, telling her to be smart tomorrow and please Miss Cui and Konjac, but she changed her mind and gave up. Not to mention Miss Cui, judging by her interactions with Konjac over the past few days, Konjac, despite looking young, was remarkably composed.
Although I don't know what kind of experiences she has had, I believe she has experienced a lot and seen a lot of the world. If Xiaoyuan is asked to show off deliberately, it may backfire.
Qi Moxuan thought so too. If he asked Xiaoyuan to show off on purpose, it would make it seem that their intention to become his disciple was not sincere enough.
That night, Qi Moxuan and his wife did not sleep well because they were worried about the trip to Cui's house the next day. On the contrary, Xiaoyuan had a sweet dream about her mother and father looking for a master for her, and slept very soundly.
Although eight-year-old children in this era are already very sensible, the world they understand is still very different from that understood by adults.
Parents rack their brains to give their children the best, wanting them to have a comfortable life with food and clothing. But in the eyes of a child, it's a simple matter: tomorrow they're going to visit someone else's house, and if they perform well, they might get a master to learn needlework from.
Just like his younger brother, he began his education under a teacher at the age of six.
Because the Qi family was coming today, Cui Qingyi and Konjac did not stay in bed. They got up early in the morning to clean the house, had breakfast, and prepared cakes for the guests, waiting for them to come.
Cui Qingyi stood under the eaves and looked up at the sky.
The weather is gloomy today. A cold wind started blowing early in the morning. There were also some snowflakes in the wind, which fell to the ground but disappeared quickly.
When Konjac came out of the back room, he saw her standing under the eaves in a thin jacket. He hurried into the house and took out a light pink cloak to cover her, muttering, "Even though we're in the yard, the wind is so damp. You'd better be careful not to catch a cold."
Cui Qingyi gathered her cloak and said, "Then you're so fragile."
She has a good physical condition, otherwise she would have been worn out during those years in the Chen family's backyard.
Konjac ignored this and took out a teapot, adding some red dates, longans, goji berries, dried ginger, and a little tea leaves, then heated it over the charcoal stove. In such cold weather, this kind of tea can nourish the blood and dispel the cold for young ladies, making it a perfect treat even for female guests.
If Qi Moxuan hadn't come along, Cui Qingyi would have wanted to entertain Fan Hui and her daughter directly in the back room.
The Qi family came to visit at 3:00 p.m.
After a few pleasantries, Madam Fan pushed the quiet girl Qi Yuan to the front and said, "Xiao Yuan, quickly say hello to Sister Cui and Sister Konjac."
The little girl was dressed up by her mother today, looking delicate and playful. She wore a brand new light yellow jacket and a creamy white skirt that barely covered her shoes. The top half of her black hair was braided into two round buns adorned with beads, and the lower part was draped over her shoulders, looking both pretty and unique.
The little girl smiled and bowed straight, "Hello, Sister Cui, Sister Konjac."
"Hey, her name is Xiaoyuan, right? Sister Fan raised this girl so well, she looks so lovable."
Hearing herself being praised, the girl, who had been so confident before, leaned against her mother a little embarrassedly.
After the greetings and snacks were over, Konjac took out the embroidery thread she had prepared and asked Xiaoyuan to help her divide it.
Separating embroidery threads may seem like a trivial matter, but it is the thing that tests a person's patience the most.
A bunch of embroidery threads are mixed together. If you are not careful or patient enough when separating the threads, the threads will usually be tangled together. In the end, the threads will become more and more tangled and tighter, forming a knot that can only be disassembled by force.
Seeing the big picture from the small, learning embroidery also requires extraordinary patience.
Qi Moxuan and Mrs. Fan were a little nervous. They were not afraid that Xiaoyuan would lose her patience and get angry, but they were afraid that Konjac would think the child's fingers were not slender and flexible enough.
Cui Qingyi sat on the side and saw the expressions of the two people clearly. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart that Xiaoyuan was lucky to have met a pair of parents who were willing to make careful plans for their daughter.
Seeing Xiaoyuan successfully sorting out the several items that Konjac requested from the pile of embroidery threads, with neither tangles nor the wrong colors, Madam Fan's face was filled with visibly happy expressions.
After Konjac took out the embroidery needle and demonstrated a few stitches, Xiaoyuan followed suit and this simple test was over.
Konjac looked at Cui Qingyi, and Cui Qingyi nodded at her. In fact, what they had discussed yesterday was that as long as Qi Yuan was patient, Konjac would accept him as his disciple.
"Xiaoyuan is very patient and has a good understanding. Since she is learning from me, I will teach her well in the future." Konjac felt a little embarrassed as it was his first time to accept a disciple.
Qi Moxuan and Madam Fan looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes. They didn't expect it to be so easy.
After that day, every other day Madam Fan would personally send Xiao Yuan to Cui's house to learn embroidery. Sometimes she would be busy at home and would send the child over to Konjac and then rush back, and sometimes she would follow and watch.
Once Xiaoyuan becomes a disciple, he becomes one of our family members.
The place where Konjac taught naturally changed to the back room. She snuggled up on the warm kang, and her hands wouldn't feel cold even if she did embroidery for half an hour.
While waiting for a break, there was also strong red date tea and pastries. Cui Qingyi and Konjac were not as strict as other masters. Xiaoyuan quickly became familiar with them from her initial reservedness and was very happy every time she came to Cui's house.
Xiaoyuan was very curious about the warm kang, and when she returned home that day she asked Fan Hui why her family didn't have a kang.
Of course, Mrs. Fan, who often visited, also fell in love with the kang. Sitting at the kang table, watching Xiaoyuan study, she sighed, "This kang is really nice. When I go back, I'll ask Qi Moxuan to vacate the back room of our house and build a kang. When it snows, our family can also huddle on the kang."
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