Chapter 21: Famous at Sangqiao Ferry (VIP access...)
In front of the crowd of onlookers, Chen Dajin said to the lantern repairman, "This young lady is very skilled. She can really repair it well. If she can't, I'll compensate you for everything."
The man who wanted the silk lantern repaired was a vendor selling bean dumplings, glutinous rice balls, and water dumplings on the other side of the river. Everyone called him San Tuan Lang. He handed the silk lantern to Lin Xiushui and said angrily, "Look at this! Is this thing even properly repaired?"
Lin Xiushui pulled the cloth bag to the back, sat down on the chair, and calmly took the silk lamp. When she saw how it was mended, she exclaimed in surprise. She glanced at Chen Dajin, realizing that her biggest mistake was overestimating Chen Dajin's skills.
The silk lamp must have had a hole burned in it by a candle. Fortunately, the hole wasn't too big, so Lin Xiushui would have chosen to mend it.
But Chen Dajin was quite interesting. She simply covered it with a piece of cloth coated with paste. Moreover, this plain-colored silk cloth was actually green silk, and the stitching was crooked. When San Tuanlang saw this, he was furious.
“Take it apart and mend it again,” Lin Xiushui pointed to the area stained with cloth. “I have to cut this whole piece off. The lantern frame is stuck to the silk cloth so tightly that the original thread can’t be removed. I can only cut a hole and pull out the threads to mend it again. I need to take sixteen threads from the edge.”
She spoke slowly and deliberately, "Fortunately, the lantern's design wasn't in the hole, so the thread we took can mend the lantern back to its original state."
San Tuanlang sized her up. She looked thin and childish, not like someone with much skill. He was afraid that the silk lantern would be ruined and the threads would be cut. He was worried.
Even the other onlookers, some from the other side of the river and some from the southern goods market, pulled at Tuan Sanlang, telling him not to believe them and to take the money to other shops to make up for the missing items, saying that he was too young to be a skilled weaver.
Some of the women in Sangshukou Alley were unhappy to hear this and stood beside Lin Xiushui, arguing with the people opposite them.
The commotion eventually drew Li Xunlan's attention, who brought his men over. After understanding the situation, he said, "I've vouched for that young lady. Just tell her to fix it. If she messes it up, then you can make a fuss."
Even though Li Xunlan said that, many people still didn't believe him and stayed to see how well Lin Xiushui could improve her condition.
So Lin Xiushui took the job. Under the watchful eyes of about twenty pairs of people, she found a well-lit, open spot and told the people to stand on either side of her and behind her, and not to stand in front of her and block the light.
Retrieving the original thread from this six-sided silk lantern was quite difficult, and it wasn't just from one spot, but from eighteen. It was much more difficult than the silk garment she had mended for Chen Guihua before.
She first looked down at the lantern to make sure the silk edge was attached to the lantern frame, then raised the lantern and looked at it in the light to determine the first horizontal line to be drawn.
It's actually similar to drawn thread embroidery. You have to start drawing the thread from the middle, not from the two ends. The tighter the thread, the more careful you have to be, otherwise if you pick the wrong thread, the other threads will break.
Lin Xiushui borrowed horsehair from someone, hooked it into the thread, pulled it back and forth to slowly pull it out, then neatly cut it off with scissors and quickly pulled it out.
Those watching on the side hissed, some even had sweaty palms, while others were worried for Lin Xiushui, too nervous to breathe, fearing that the cloth would tear completely.
Lin Xiushui wasn't worried, and her hands were very steady. Even when the people around her were making a fuss, she continued to take the strings at her own pace, starting with the first string, then the seventh, the twelfth, the fifteenth, and the eighteenth, until the lantern remained intact.
She clapped each side of her hand, asking everyone to check if it was broken. A bunch of heads crowded around, and then they all exclaimed, "Hey, amazing, it's not broken!"
Lin Xiushui breathed a sigh of relief after she finished pulling out all the threads. She wiped her sweaty hands with a cloth, stood up and walked around. Her legs were numb. When others asked her why, she just said that she was tired of sitting. Could she afford to lose face in front of so many people?
When it came time to mend the stitches, Lin Xiushui didn't hesitate to cut the fabric and trim the edges. She told everyone, "What Madam Chen mended isn't entirely wrong. Like the taut surface of a lantern, once there's a hole, you have to apply starch. The front was burned with fire so the edge wouldn't come undone, but it will still come undone after being cut. Applying starch and letting it harden before mending will prevent mistakes."
She explained on Chen Dajin's behalf, and the others around suddenly understood.
Lin Xiushui was most skilled at mending. This was not an extremely fine silk fabric, but rather a patchwork of threads woven from the top and bottom. All thirty-six cut threads were used to cover the hole, making it fine, dense, and with the patterns aligned.
Before nightfall, Lin Xiushui cut the last thread, felt it over her head, pulled and pressed it, and handed the lantern to San Tuanlang in full view of everyone, "Take a look, is it mended?"
As soon as San Tuanlang took it, he was already stunned. The others who had been watching the excitement for almost half an hour all stretched out their hands, saying, "Let me see!"
"My goodness, the repair is so good you can't even tell it's been done."
"This skill is absolutely amazing, to say the least."
"It's my fault for not being able to tell good from bad."
"I have two charred and tattered clothes at home. I wonder if you could mend them, young lady."
Lin Xiushui shrugged, taking the opportunity to solicit business for herself. With a smile, she said, "I don't mend big holes. Small holes are thirty coins each. Whether it's silk or linen clothing, lanterns, silk kites, oilcloth umbrellas, or other cloth items, if you want them mended, just come to Sangshukou early in the morning at dawn to find me."
“I can do more than just mend; I can also embroider, alter the length of clothes or the hem of trousers, patch things up, and make clothes.”
If Lin Xiushui had said this before, everyone present would have questioned her. But now that she has spoken, the others racked their brains to think of anything they needed to replenish at home and stepped forward one after another.
Craftsmanship will dispel all doubts about Lin Xiushui, turning all the questioning gazes into appreciation and belief.
Everyone surrounded Lin Xiushui, leaving San Tuanlang standing there by himself, admiring his lantern. He thought to himself, "How come people are so different? This one is really well made. I want to enshrine it."
Originally, San Tuan Lang was so angry that his hair stood on end, but now he was grinning from ear to ear. Originally, he didn't want to pay Chen Da Jin for the repairs, but now he was eagerly handing them over to Lin Xiu Shui, afraid that next time something was broken, she wouldn't repair it for him.
Lin Xiushui only accepted thirty coins, even though getting the thread was troublesome, she couldn't break her own pricing.
The crowd of onlookers were still reluctant to leave. If it weren't for the sound of the drum and bell and the late hour, they would still be standing there. However, as they walked away, they kept telling the others how amazing that healing technique was.
Chen Dajin was spared a lot of trouble. Her legs went weak, and she lowered her head, thanking Lin Xiushui with a wretched expression. "Sister Xiushui, it's all my fault for being greedy and causing this mess."
“I’m a money-lover. My dad named me Da Tong (meaning ‘copper slayer’), but I thought copper coins weren’t enough and silver coins weren’t enough either, so I insisted on changing my name to Da Jin (meaning ‘gold slayer’).
"If I didn't love money, I wouldn't have believed people saying you earn so much in a day, I wouldn't have gone out and bought new scissors and needles, and I wouldn't have had the audacity to set up a stall next to you and go against you..."
Lin Xiushui rubbed her temples. Was this really not a storyteller reciting tongue twisters? This mouth was even better than Xiao Chun'e's.
She managed to stammer out, "Your scissors and needle and thread are really mine now?"
"It's yours, it's yours. If it were in my hands, I'd be like a mute eating bitter herbs, unable to complain. But in your hands..."
Lin Xiushui felt a headache coming on; this guy really knew how to talk. She quickly told Chen Dajin to stop, and before leaving, she said, "If your mending business isn't working out, you should try something else."
“You’re actually quite good at cutting fabric. The patched square is very neat. Maybe you could try working at a fabric store.”
After she finished speaking, she took the scissors and the needle and thread. Lin Xiushui wouldn't help people for nothing, nor would she pretend to be polite. She was just glad that she had saved some money. Moreover, the scissors were really good, and the needles were better than hers.
She just felt that anything she got for free was better than anything she bought with her own money.
Upon hearing her words, Chen Dajin was filled with enthusiasm. His skillful sewing skills led him to suggest that she was suited for the cloth shop and that she should give it a try.
After Lin Xiushui returned home, she threw thirty coins into the small earthenware jar. Listening to the clinking sound, she knew that her possessions were no longer empty.
She won't have any savings until she receives her monthly allowance in another half month. Right now, she's both earning and spending, so naturally, she can't save anything.
That night, Lin Xiushui dreamt of sewing clothes. Just as she was about to mend a large hole, she was awakened by the sound of people selling flowers on the street.
While others went out to enjoy themselves during the Flower Festival, she went to do business.
She was still dawdling as she got dressed. She had embroidered many sachets last night, intending to sell them today. Her eyes were sore and she couldn't get up.
Wang Yuelan went upstairs and called to her through the door, "A Qiao, hurry up! A group of people downstairs are knocking on the door. Your performance yesterday has probably made you famous in this area. I'll give you a free stall."
Lin Xiushui jumped up and called out, "Tell them to wait a moment, I haven't washed my face yet."
She hurriedly went downstairs, wiped her face and brushed her teeth, then went out with the sachet in her arms. She originally thought there would only be three or five people waiting for her, but when she went out to take a look, there were seven or eight of them. They weren't even from the mulberry tree alley; they were all unfamiliar faces.
As soon as they saw her come out, they all ran up to her and held up what they were holding so that she could see it.
A woman showed her a garment, saying, "Young lady, take a look. Can this garment be mended? It has a hole in it."
“My lady, this is the best thing to fix. I guarantee I can fix it back to its original state,” Lin Xiushui took it, glanced at it, and put it on the table. “Twenty coins. Come and pick it up this afternoon.”
A plump woman came over and asked Lin Xiushui to look at the scorched spots on her collar that had been burned by the iron. "Young lady, what do you think of this? Is there any way to mend it? I saw your skill yesterday, so I trust you."
Lin Xiushui touched the fabric; it was cotton. He smiled and said, "Trust me, it won't cost you any money. My wife, go and grind the coarse salt in the house into fine salt, the finer the better. Apply it to this scorch mark and rub it repeatedly, but don't rub too hard. After rubbing, dip it in water and rub it again. Then take it out to dry in the sun."
"Oh dear, I'll go back and try it right away. If it works, I'll come back to thank you later."
Lin Xiushui nodded, took the oilcloth umbrella handed to her by the next person, opened it, looked at it, and then reached out to touch it. She said under the umbrella, "The stitching inside is loose. I'll take it off and mend it for you. Just give me five coins. Come back later to pick it up."
"This one," Lin Xiushui looked at the old purse again, which was so worn out that it couldn't be repaired. She said, "It really can't be repaired. Why don't you take a look at my sachets? If you like one, you can buy it. If you really don't like it, I can make you a new one based on the style of this purse."
Not only the old woman, but other women also gathered around. Today is the Flower Festival, and they need to buy some sachets to celebrate the occasion.
It's true that you won't lose money if you don't look at it, but once you take a look, you'll want it all. This sachet is really unique. The apricot blossom, plum blossom, and peach blossom patterns are not embroidered, but sewn on the sachet like silk flowers. They are small and beautiful, and look just like real flowers at first glance. It's only fifteen coins.
The flower pouch was even more appealing. The square pocket at the bottom could hold small items, and when the opening was tied, it looked like a flower. Although it was a bit expensive at twenty coins, it also contained incense balls.
As for the cat-shaped sachet, it made the women in front of the stall smile. Upon hearing that it cost five coins, they all said they would buy one for their children.
After counting the money, Lin Xiushui put it into her purse. The clinking sound was so loud that she had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud.
She has to thank herself, and secondly Chen Dajin; she really is earning a hundred coins a day!!
If she didn't have so much work to do and couldn't count her money in public, she would have poured out all the money from her purse, counted it all over again, and then jumped around in it.
Unfortunately, I was too busy to count the money.
After mending the two pieces of clothing, Lin Xiushui stood up to relax for a while. She saw a man carrying a bald rooster and couldn't help but take a look at him out of curiosity.
The man came straight up to her and asked, "Are you Miss Lin? I just came from over there. Everyone says you have excellent cooking skills."
Lin Xiushui was a little intimidated by this chicken, so she took a step back and asked, "What does my lord need to nourish?"
The man said, "There's nothing to replenish."
He pulled out a handful of chicken feathers and said very seriously, "This chicken of mine is called Iron Rooster. It's losing its feathers, and it won't eat rice or drink water. I just thought you were a good cook."
"Could you help it get its fur patched back on?"
A miserly rooster won't part with a single feather, but you, this rooster, will pluck every single one.
Lin Xiushui's head was buzzing; she even suspected that her signboard had read "Specializing in treating cattle, horses, children, and all kinds of livestock."
She pointed to the side and said very seriously, "My lord, the eye drop stand is over there, go and take a look."
If she could mend the rooster's feathers, Lin Xiushui wanted to mend the feathers on her own head as well, to add more.
A note from the author:
I'm going to be a paid chapter tomorrow! The first chapter will be released at midnight, and it'll be a really long one.
Thank you all for your support and companionship! [Sprinkling flowers] I'll be giving out red envelopes for the first three chapters before it goes live to express my gratitude! [Rainbow farts][Hugs][Hearts]
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