Chapter 23 Chapter 23 It’s Not Easy to Be Party B (Updated)…
In front of the Zisheng Gate behind the main hall of Xiangguo Temple, the stalls are filled with books, paintings and rare treasures. This is another joy. A true embroidery master must be good at calligraphy and painting. Jinniang's painting skills are average, so she can only buy pictures she likes and paint them. This is also a shortcut.
Thinking of this, she sent Si'er to wait in the corridor.
I found another calligraphy and painting stall and hurried over to ask, "Do you have any paintings by Xu Xi and Xu Chongsi from the Five Dynasties? If there are any paintings by Huang Quan, that would be even better."
The vendor smiled and said, "I have them all."
"I wonder how much it costs?" Jinniang didn't want the original work. Thanks to the emergence of movable type printing, printing in the Song Dynasty was much cheaper, and paintings were not particularly expensive. If a painter who had just become famous, a landscape painting of six panels would cost one piece of silk and two strings of cash.
As expected, the vendor said, "The painting you mentioned is one penny a copy."
One coin is about 200 coins. Jinniang bargained immediately: "How about this, I want all three. Sell them to me at a lower price."
When the vendor heard the bargaining, he said with a bitter face: "Girl, look, these are all new?"
"They are all new, indeed, but these are just imitations. The papers are not aligned, and such papers will be almost unusable in a year or two. I won't say much to you. Three books for one and a half cents. If you agree, I will take them all." Jinniang thought that if he didn't sell them, she would go to another stall and buy one first.
When the vendor saw Jinniang taking out the money, he pretended to accept his fate and said, "Okay, okay, take it. I'll pack it for you. I've really lost all my capital."
Jinniang was very happy when she got the three books. These three books were the founders of boneless painting and masters of the flower and bird school. She was good at embroidering flowers and birds. With these three picture albums, her embroidery work would enable her to stand out for at least the next two years.
It would be great if she could paint with peace of mind and create clothes freely.
Only after buying the picture album did she go to call Si'er. Although she took Si'er as her own, it was always a good idea to keep some in reserve. When you meet people, you should only say a few words to them, and don't reveal your heart to them completely. There are too many cases of masters starving to death while teaching their apprentices. Even Madam Chen only gave them some pointers, not taught them everything.
"Let's go. You must be tired. I get so engrossed in reading that I forget myself." Jinniang said with a smile.
Si Er shook his head: "Sister asked me to rest, and you were busying yourself, it's all for my own good."
Jinniang went out with her again and treated her to a bowl of mung bean snow soaked in water. Then the two of them went to find Kuang Saner and went back together. After returning, I spread out the straw mat first and heard Fang Qiaolian joking: "You've been away for so long, and you only bought one mat?"
"You all have godmothers who love you and give you things, but I have none. I'm almost dying of the heat. If I go on sleeping, my back will burn and I won't be able to sleep." After Jinniang spread the mat, she sat down and thought about how to make the beaded dress. She first counted the number of pearls. There were twenty small beads in total. If she made it into a collar or a front, there would not be enough. It would be better to make it on the bodice.
Pearl clothes are gorgeous, and peonies should be embroidered on them, especially since her album contains Xu Xi's "Red Peony", which is really gorgeous with pearls. Since there is a peony on the bodice, the lapel should use the ribbon bird and camellia pattern. The ribbon bird and peony together represent longevity and wealth, which is a good meaning.
However, the highlight was the peony-shaped ribbon bird purse she made later, the clasp of which was made of pearls.
After thinking it over, she went to the warehouse to get cloth. Every day after breakfast, these embroiderers would start sewing with cloth as soon as they opened their eyes. Before they knew it, a day had passed. Si'er had already brought the hot water. Jinniang smiled and said, "From now on, just bring your basin to me. It's cheaper to wash and then take it back."
"Yeah." Si'er smiled.
After Fang Qiaolian fell asleep, she whispered, "Sister Jinniang, Qin Shuang'er has recognized Second Young Master's wet nurse, Nanny Lin, as her godmother today."
Jinniang was not surprised at all. Qin Shuang'er wanted to be a concubine. She blushed whenever others mentioned the Second Young Master. It was obvious that she was interested, but it was not easy for her to stop her. As long as Qin Shuang'er didn't say bad things about her behind her back or cause trouble in the sewing room like she did before, she would ignore her.
So, she also said to Si'er: "You don't have to worry about these things, just let her be."
Si'er agreed, and Jinniang continued, "I will be making clothes for the eldest girl these days. Come over early, and I will teach you some needlework techniques every day. You must practice diligently, understand?"
"I know, Sister Jinniang, you wash and I'll pour water for you before you leave." Si'er smiled.
Jinniang nodded.
After Jinniang finished her bath and prepared to rest, Qin Shuang'er came back from outside, lit a lamp and stayed up late to do needlework. Fortunately, they were in the inner room and she was in the outer room, so they didn't disturb each other much.
In the morning, Si'er and Xiaohe came over with breakfast. Jinniang first drew a leaf with charcoal pencil and said to Si'er, "Today you use long and short needles. Don't call me when you make mistakes. Just embroider by yourself."
Si'er took the needle and thread and stood by. Madam Chen saw it. She knew very well that Jiang had asked them to teach Si'er and Xiaohe a long time ago. After they were gone, these two children would take over. She only spoke to everyone in the sewing room, and only Jinniang started teaching Si'er, while everyone else ignored these little girls.
She thought for a moment, then said to Qin Shuang'er and Fang Qiaolian, "Here is Xiao He, you two should teach her more."
It's not right to always order people around without teaching them anything.
Xiao He looked at Qin Shuang'er hopefully. In her eyes, Fang Qiao Lian liked to dress up and was not very friendly; Wei Jinniang was average in popularity, but her eloquence was too good and she was chubby. Only Qin Shuang'er was kind and steady, had a lot of friends, and it was an honor to play with her.
Sure enough, Qin Shuang'er smiled and said, "Then I will teach Xiao He."
Madam Chen praised, "That's great. Now that Sister Shan has left, we have three of you here. If you can teach Si'er and Xiaohe, we'll have two more helpers."
Fang Qiao Lian just smiled and didn't say much.
Madam Chen looked at the three of them and made some comments in her heart. In the entire sewing room, Qin Shuang'er seemed to have the best popularity and the most dignified person, but in fact, this person had a smart face but a stupid mind, and was willing to do things that would cost her life. As for Fang Qiaolian, on the surface, she loved dressing up and was not easy to get close to, but in fact, she had already made up her mind, but the so-called retreat plan actually limited herself. As for Jinniang, she claimed that she couldn't fix the bamboo clothes last time, but she managed to fix it anyway.
He usually fights with others, but rarely incurs hatred. He does not flatter the superiors nor bully the inferiors. He is diligent and hardworking, and is smart. He has a lot of ideas in his mind and is very intelligent.
But after Chen Niang assigned Xiao He to work, Lu Ying came to ask about Jin Niang's pearl dress, and said, "The eldest lady asked why you didn't send it over yet?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "Okay, I'll send it over right away."
What she hated most was when others changed her designs. It was completely like an amateur guiding professionals. But seeing Luying said so, she had no choice but to take the design over.
It would be great if one day she could go to Jinxiu Pavilion and design her own clothes in her own style.
Sure enough, when Jiang saw Jinniang's sketch, she was a little dissatisfied: "Why are the beads only sewn on the bodice? This is too wasteful."
Jinniang took a deep breath and tried to persuade her: "To answer your question, my lady, nowadays, most of the pearls on the dress are embroidered on the bodice or the collar. But the collar is too long, so it has to be sewn on both sides. In this way, at least seventy or eighty beads are needed. In fact, I think it would be more elegant and luxurious without being complicated if the bodice was embroidered with red peonies and made of the finest satin."
After that, she took out her copy of Xu Xi's red peony and showed it to Jiang. "This is what I plan to embroider on the bodice. There is also a bright spot, the purse, but that will be done after the dress is finished, so I didn't draw it."
Seeing this peony, Jiang Shi actually agreed in her heart. She put the paper aside and said, "I heard that you helped repair the second young master's bamboo clothes last time?"
"Yes, the last time Sister Cuixian went to the needlework room, she originally looked for a few people, but they had never seen it before. I happened to have seen it in a book, so I gave it a try. I didn't expect that I could actually do it." Jinniang was not proud of herself.
Because you act too well, she will force you to be her concubine, drain your talents, and kick you out when you have no money and are old and ugly. She is not that stupid, right?
Seeing that Jinniang was clear and organized, Jiang also felt that she was reliable: "Well, you don't have to take other jobs recently, just do this one."
"Yes, I obey your command." Jinniang said.
After Jinniang left, Jiang felt that she was very smart. If she had taken the complicated embroidery and beaded clothes to someone else to do, the wages would be at least fifteen strings of cash. But when her own needlework expert did it, she only earned one or two taels of silver a month.
On the other hand, the aunt also asked Sister Shan to make clothes for her daughter. She was now much more financially secure, not because of anything else, but because of the money given by the old lady. Take this piece of gardenia yellow silk, for example, it was given by the old lady.
The only thing she was concerned about was her daughter's marriage. With enough money, the old lady promised to help her daughter with a dowry. She then asked her daughter to show favor to these maids, and they were all obedient.
"How about pairing it with a lake blue Sanjian skirt?" Sister Shan once glanced at Jinniang's album by chance, and she had seen Jinniang match the outfit like this.
The aunt nodded secretly. She got an embroidery master for her daughter without spending a penny. As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. If her daughter dresses well, it would be great if she could be noticed by some rich and powerful person when she goes out to meet people in the future.
But she never thought that after she stole Jiang's man, Jiang would be so cruel and ruthless that she didn't even allow her daughter to go out to meet guests on her birthday. The old lady was her biological mother, but she had long since stopped taking care of things and seldom went out. She was living here as a guest and no one invited her to stay. She felt very depressed when she thought about this.
Even if you wear nice clothes, you can't go out to meet guests.
As she was thinking about it, she found a few snacks that she didn't like, had someone put them in a box, and went to Jiang's place to show them around. Unexpectedly, when I walked to the door, I saw two young men coming together. The older boy was tall and handsome, wearing a brocade robe and a purple gold crown, and he had an air of wealth. The other younger boy was even more handsome and elegant.
It turned out that these two were nephews from Jiang's maternal side. The aunt thought that the Jiang family was a family of officials and very wealthy, and she was moved.
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