Ever since Xu Qian walked down the street wearing that wisteria flower skirt, it suddenly became popular in Lin'an Prefecture to make artificial flowers out of silk and sew them onto skirts. But no matter how others imitate, they can never surpass Lin Dan's craftsmanship. Instead, they feel like they are just copying others' ideas and making a fool of themselves.
On this day, Lin Dan, who had rested enough, finally picked up her needle and thread and prepared to start work. Du Ruyan sat opposite her and told her about the customer in detail: "This order was placed by Miss Zhou from the governor's family. She originally wanted you to make her a flowery skirt like Xu Qian's, but I refused. I said that the skirts in our store are unique, there is only one in the world, and they will never be repeated. We will tailor a skirt for her like we did for Xu Qian. Only when she wears it will it be the most beautiful, and no one else can imitate it. She was very happy to hear that and gave the deposit happily. It's funny to say that now all the embroiderers on the street are imitating you, sewing artificial flowers on skirts, but they can't imitate you, and they are very vulgar. Can you imagine what it looks like to sew such a big artificial flower on the hem of a skirt? It's more exaggerated than the big red flower worn on the chest of the groom. People will swell several times when they wear it!"
Du Ruyan smiled to herself for a while, then picked up the order and said, "Let me read you Miss Zhou's request. She wants to wear a new skirt to climb on the Double Ninth Festival on September 9th, but she is thin and afraid of the cold, so she wants you to make the skirt thicker, but still light and elegant. It's a bit difficult to make it thick and light at the same time!"
Lin Dan shook his head and said, "It's okay. I have a plan in mind. To make a thick skirt flow, I have to work hard on the material. What does she look like, what colors does she like, and does she have a preferred pattern?"
"Although she is thin, her cheeks are plump and her eyes are big and round, which makes her very cute. She prefers pink and butterfly patterns."
"Then let's make her a pink butterfly skirt." Lin Dan decided.
"No, no, you can't make a Hundred Butterfly Skirt." Du Ruyan waved her hands quickly, "I just heard that Li Jiarong also ordered a Hundred Butterfly Skirt from Meng Si, and she will also wear it to climb the mountain on the Double Ninth Festival. Both of their families are high-ranking families in Lin'an Prefecture, and they will definitely meet together on the day of climbing the mountain. Wouldn't that mean they will wear the same clothes?"
Lin Dan said indifferently: "It's okay. If I bumped into someone else, I would still consider changing it. If I bumped into Meng Si, I would definitely not change it."
Thinking of the rumors spread by Meng's Embroidery Shop in recent days, which denigrated her embroidery skills as mediocre and that she was only good at taking shortcuts, Lin Dan felt a little unhappy. Although her temper has become more gentle, she still has a spirit of not giving up and not accepting her fate. If Meng Si didn't make things difficult for her, she wouldn't take the initiative to provoke him. But at the moment, Meng Si was obviously targeting her, so she would not escape.
Du Ruyan slammed the table and agreed, "Okay, if you don't want to change, then don't change. Let's compete head-on with Meng Si! If the butterfly skirt you make is better than Meng Si's, will Li Jiarong, who wore the same dress as Miss Zhou that day, burst into tears? Hehehe..."
If Meng Si is Lin Dan's mortal enemy, then Li Jiarong is Du Ruyan's enemy. It would be perfect if they could make a fool of themselves at the same time.
Lin Dan took the order and looked at it, secretly memorizing Miss Zhou's size, and then asked the two concubines to take the silk cocoons stored in the warehouse to the kitchen for baking. Although the two concubines didn't know what she wanted to do, they went without asking. Ever since Lin Dan started making money, everything in this family has revolved around her. They do whatever she asks them to do, and no one else has any objection.
"Do you want to wash clothes and weave cloth yourself? Isn't it a bit late?" Du Ruyan hesitated.
"No, I will soak the silk cocoons, tear them into silk cotton bags, sew a separate layer, and put it into the fabric. This way I can make a skirt that is both warm and light. When it gets dirty, I will take out the layer and only wash the outer sweater." Lin Dan explained briefly.
"You mean, you want to use the soaked silk to make a cotton coat?" Du Ruyan suddenly realized. She had never thought that silk could be stuffed into clothes to keep warm, just like cotton. Silk is finer and thinner than cotton. When it is torn into layers and overlapped, it has the same thickness but weighs only one-tenth or even one-twentieth of cotton. It looks very fluffy, but is as thin as a cicada's wing when lightly pressed. In this way, you can feel thick, light, and warm at the same time. In spring, summer and autumn, you can take out the interlayer and wear it as a thin shirt, which is very convenient.
"Dandan, others say that you are not good at embroidery, but you are good at ingenuity. This is half right! You have a very useful brain!"
"Thank you, my brain does work well." Lin Dan nodded without any shame. No matter who she becomes or where she ends up, her only weapon to survive is this relatively smart mind.
Du Ruyan thought for a moment and clapped her hands, saying, "If Miss Zhou feels comfortable wearing it, we can make a batch of silk cotton cloth and sell it. This can also be an income. By the way, silk cotton cloth is not difficult to make, right?"
"It's quite time-consuming and labor-intensive. There are a total of six steps. If we want to produce in large quantities, we have to hire more embroiderers to help. Let's wait until our embroidery shop is open. You can write it down first." Lin Dan waved his hand calmly.
Du Ruyan nodded and recorded this money-making project in her little notebook, her heart full of admiration for Lin Dan. Lin Dan has both skills and brains, and he is not afraid of hardship or defeat when faced with difficulties. Following her, Du Ruyan really learned a lot and was full of hope for the future. If it weren't for Lin Dan, she would probably still be complaining about her fate and living a life of mediocrity, and would never understand the joy of hard work and struggle.
"Dandan, you are so nice! How come you are so capable?" Du Ruyan was touched. She walked around the embroidery frame and kissed Lin Dan with a smile.
Lin Dan continued to thread the needle as usual, unmoved, but Du Rushong, who had just jumped onto the wall, coughed awkwardly. He was the first one to discover this little girl, so how come she has become his sister's favorite now?
"Yan'er, my aunt caught a cold recently and is not feeling well. Please go to the Taoist temple to see her. I'm very busy recently and cannot come back. I'll leave everything to you." He urged, "I've packed your luggage for you. Please come back quickly to change your clothes. Uncle Sun will harness the carriage and take you up the mountain."
Upon hearing that her aunt was ill, Du Ruyan did not dare to delay and hurried back. Lin Dan opened the back corner door and watched her carriage leave. Later, she saw Du Rushong riding out on a horse and quickly said, "Mr. Du, the things you want are ready. I'll go get them for you."
Du Rushong immediately tightened the reins and stopped by the roadside.
After a while, Lin Dan handed him a huge package and earnestly reminded him: "Mr. Du, you must come back alive."
She had long seen through it, and the truth was that Queen Du's illness was fake, and that sending Du Ruyan to a Taoist temple for proper care was the real deal. The determination and murderousness in Du Rushong's eyes were not concealed at all. This was the look that only a soldier about to step onto the battlefield would have.
Du Rushong was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and replied seriously, "I will." He took the package, but his arm sank due to the unexpected weight, and he couldn't help feeling surprised.
"Go quickly, the war waits for no one." Lin Dan urged, and Du Rushong immediately suppressed his curiosity and rode away in a hurry.
…………
At the same time, Li Jiarong was discussing with Meng Si how to make her new skirt.
"The pattern of hundreds of butterflies flying through flowers is beautiful, but it is a bit too monotonous. Why don't you cut the gauze into the shape of butterflies and then sew them onto the skirt? Wouldn't that be more lively and colorful?" Li Jiarong suggested excitedly.
"Why does the painting of hundreds of butterflies flying through flowers look monotonous when it has both colorful butterflies and flowers?" Meng Si's face was full of resistance. Even if all the embroiderers in Lin'an Prefecture were imitating Lin Dan's style, she would not follow suit. She could lose to anyone, but not to Lin Dan. Of course, there was family hatred as a reason, but the underlying reason was that she had an inexplicable fear and rejection of Lin Dan.
"The pattern of hundreds of butterflies among flowers is outdated," Li Jiarong complained as she opened her suitcase. "Look, I picked out a few clothes and they all had the pattern of hundreds of butterflies among flowers, either colorful butterflies or hundreds of flowers in full bloom. Can't you be more innovative like Lin Dan? I also want to wear clothes that are different from others, and I also want to be the object of imitation for everyone. Others sew fake flowers, and we sew colorful butterflies. How beautiful and novel that would be? Meng Si, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but if you continue to be complacent like this, sooner or later you will lose to Lin Dan. Lin Dan has just learned embroidery not long ago, and is indeed not as good as you, but embroidery skills can be improved through hard work, but novel ideas and ingenious workmanship are not something that everyone can learn. In this regard, you are not as good as Lin Dan. You are less talented than her, so you should work harder!"
The last sentence seemed to have dealt a certain blow to Meng Si. Her eyes darkened, and after struggling for a long time, she said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."
Li Jiarong immediately became happy, held Meng Si's hand and said, "That's right! There is no limit to any skill or knowledge. We should always learn from others' strengths to improve ourselves. This is the way to advance."
Meng Si agreed on the surface, but he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
…………
A few days later, Du Ruyan was still accompanying Queen Du on the mountain, but Du Rushong came at night and knocked on the back door of the Lin Mansion.
"You're back alive!" Lin Dan raised his hand and greeted.
What are you talking about? Du Rushong shook his head and smiled, his voice gentle: "Yes, I'm back." He took out a small purse from his arms and handed it over: "This is my trophy, for you."
Lin Dan opened her purse and saw a golden doll as thick as a thumb lying inside. It had a round head and a round belly, and was very cute. She immediately returned the purse and waved her hand, saying, "This is too valuable. I can't take it. Give it to Ruyan."
Du Rushong grabbed her hand and forcefully stuffed the purse into her palm, saying word by word: "I prepared another gift for Ruyan, this is yours. Look," he pointed at the leather armor on his body, "you saved my life, and I just gave you a golden doll, and I still feel guilty. If I can return to the capital in the future, I will fulfill a wish for you, this is my promise."
Only then did Lin Dan realize that the leather armor on his body had been slashed hard by the Japanese pirates from the shoulders to the waist. The cowhide had been cut and rolled up, revealing the pure black iron sheet inside. If it weren't for the protection of this layer of leather armor, he would most likely have become a broken corpse by now.
Mr. Du’s life is naturally much more precious than a golden baby. Thinking of this, Lin Dan immediately clasped his five fingers together and accepted the spoils with peace of mind.
"Then you must work hard and try to return to the capital as soon as possible. I'll be waiting for you to protect me." Lin Dan reminded seriously, but made Du Rushong laugh.
"Okay, I will definitely remember your instructions." He couldn't help but rub the little girl's head, then strode away. The night slowly crept in, completely engulfing his bloody and murderous figure.
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