loom
One afternoon, a pleasant breeze blew through the courtyard. I moved a bamboo chair under the eaves and lay down, watching Lin Zhong prune the flowers in the yard. Before I knew it, I was feeling a little sleepy.
In my hazy state, I seemed to feel a fly buzzing around me, its buzzing sound quite annoying.
I squinted and opened my eyes, and saw a hand waving my palm-leaf fan to swat away flies not far away. I grabbed the fan and tried to swat at it, but all my attempts missed.
I couldn't help but get annoyed: "Why are you fanning yourself? Just kill him already!"
I'm afraid—it will disturb you.
"Lord Wei?! I thought it was Feng Qiao." I stood up abruptly, fanning myself faster and faster with my fan. "When did you arrive, sir?"
Wei Ji got up from the stool: "I just arrived. Huai Xu said you were taking a nap, so I sat here for a while."
"Godmother, come quick!" Huai Xu squatted on the ground and waved to me.
I walked over with my arms crossed and saw two newly hatched yellow chicks pecking at the millet in her hand.
Where did it come from?
Huai Xu smiled and pointed at Wei Ji.
"Before Xu Shan's wife came to Yanziping, she mentioned that she wanted to raise chickens. Since I came today, I brought a brood of chicks. Huai Xu and Feng Qiao said they wanted to raise them, so I gave them two."
"Alright," I said, pointing at Huai Xu and Feng Qiao with my fan, "you two better watch yourselves. There are woods all around my house, so don't let it get snatched away by a lynx or night owl after only a few days."
Feng Qiao hurriedly said, "No, no. I'll keep an eye on it during the day, and then I'll move the chicken coop inside at night."
I turned to Wei Ji: "Lord Wei, is there anything else you've come for this time?"
Wei Ji nodded: "I have something to deliver to Madam Wang. Would Madam Qing like to go and take a look?"
"Okay," I said curiously. "Where?"
Wei Ji smiled and said, "I had Inspector Guo deliver it to Yanziping first."
Wei Ji and I went to Yanziping together. We first delivered a brood of chicks to Aunt Xu. Aunt Xu thanked us repeatedly and said that she would definitely treat us to chicken soup when the chickens grew up. Then we went to Wang Yunhui's house and saw that the house was piled with wooden utensils.
Upon seeing us, Wang Yunhui stepped forward and said, "Qingniangzi, Prefect Wei, you've arrived."
Among the wooden components were pedals and shuttles of varying lengths, as well as bamboo reeds. I looked at Wang Yunhui with surprise and asked, "Madam Wang, is this a loom?"
Wang Yunhui nodded: "When I was recuperating in Luzhou, I saw that the local women were still using slanted looms to weave cloth, which was time-consuming and laborious. This is a slanted loom from the Central Plains. Once you are proficient in operating it, the weaving speed can be increased by more than ten times compared to before."
"That's wonderful!" I shook Wang Yunhui's hands excitedly. "Madam Wang, you can open a weaving workshop here. I'll be responsible for gathering people and having Han and Liao women from the surrounding area come and learn. I hope Madam Wang will be generous in teaching you!"
Wang Yunhui laughed heartily: "Qing Niangzi and I are thinking the same thing!"
He then pulled me toward Wei Ji and said, “Come, let’s thank Prefect Wei together. It’s thanks to his connections in the Imperial Workshop that we were able to get this latest slant loom so smoothly.”
I sincerely said, "Thank you, Lord Wei."
"I wouldn't dare," Wei Ji replied, clasping his hands in return. "If you two can help promote the development of the weaving industry in Yuezhou, I will be the one who is most grateful."
"As for this loom, I dare not take credit. Madam Wang is a master of loom weaving in Huainan. She has participated in the improvement of looms by the Imperial Workshop in every case. Mentioning Madam Wang's name will make things convenient for her colleagues in the past."
"Alright, alright," Wang Yunhui said with a smile, waving her hand. "Prefect Wei, stop flattering me and hurry up and help me assemble the loom!"
Wang Yunhui is an expert in machine weaving, and she knows every part of the loom by heart; Wei Ji has worked in the Ministry of Works for many years and has a deep understanding of machine construction.
With the two of them working together and me assisting from the side, the loom was assembled successfully in no time.
Wang Yunhui took out a spun yarn, loaded it onto the loom, and sat on the frame to demonstrate it to us.
He skillfully operated the pedals, throwing the shuttle, separating the warp, raising the heddles to open, and inserting and beating the weft—a series of operations as smooth as flowing water, completed in one go. The speed at which the fabric was produced was more than ten times faster than the looms commonly used by the Liao people.
I exclaimed, "This loom doesn't require manual weft threading; it's incredibly fast!"
Wang Yunhui reached out and pulled me: "Come on, you should try it too."
I followed her example, lifting the heddles and weaving the weft. Before long, I had woven a section myself. Stroking the smooth fabric, I felt a little unreal: "This is the first time I've ever woven fabric in my life. I've often watched others weave before, but I've never done it myself."
Wang Yunhui looked at Wei Ji and smiled, "Qing Niangzi is truly exceptionally intelligent!"
Wei Ji's voice was as gentle as a breeze: "Not only is Qing Niangzi exceptionally intelligent, but she is also exceptionally courageous."
After leaving Wang Yunhui's residence, Wei Ji went to visit Liu Xingjian and Liu Yu.
One of them was busy teaching children to read, and the other was busy treating patients for his neighbors. They didn't exchange more than a few pleasantries before smiling and saying goodbye.
On the way back, Wei Ji asked me, "I heard from Inspector Guo that some time ago Mr. Liu was bitten by a centipede and was in critical condition. You and Huai Xu braved the torrential rain to go into the mountains to collect herbs late at night."
Yes, that's true.
Wei Ji sighed, "Luckily you two are alright, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to handle this."
I laughed and said, "Lord Wei, please don't think like that. Mr. Liu's life was not meant to end, and neither were Huai Xu's and my lives. You should be happy for the three of us."
Wei Ji looked at me and said, "I am very happy and grateful that you are all safe and sound."
"I am also very grateful to Lord Wei for sending so many good neighbors. Living with them makes life more and more enjoyable."
"That's because Qing Niangzi is someone who loves life. If it were someone else, they might not think that way."
"What if it were you, an adult?"
After a moment of hesitation, Wei Ji said, "I would feel pressured, worried that I wouldn't take good care of them, and afraid that they would be hurt again."
“Lord Wei, look at the grass on this hillside. It grows wherever the wind blows, and it can even take root in the cracks of rocks. Even when covered by frost and snow, it lies prostrate but does not break. As long as they are willing to grow towards the sun, they can grow very well without any care.”
Wei Ji laughed: "I consider myself an optimistic person, but compared to Qing Niangzi, I am still pessimistic."
"I don't think Lord Wei is being pessimistic; he's just a perfectionist. In reality, what person or thing in this world is without flaws? Why think so far ahead? Let's just focus on the present."
In the distance, Huai Xu rode up on horseback: "Godmother, the people from Mahu Department came to the market to sell tea and got into another dispute with the officials. Inspector Guo is calling you and Lord Wei to go there quickly."
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