It has rained a lot these days, and the rapeseed planted in the yard has sprouted some tender green shoots.
Aunt Zhao's daughter-in-law brought back a few summer melon seedlings from her parents' home and gave a few to Yang Donghu, asking him to plant them around the vegetable garden.
When the weather gets hot in June, the melons will be ripe. When you get busy, they will be better than cold water to quench your thirst.
When Zhao Luochuan left, he said he would be back in a month or so. Yang Donghu was counting the days in his mind. Starting from the first day, every day he would go to the willow tree by the river behind the house, break off a flexible willow branch, tie a knot into it and hang it on the windowsill.
The window sills of the east and west rooms were already covered with decorations, and Yang Donghu was working on the kitchen window.
"Twenty-seven."
Yang Donghu looked at the willow branches with knots that were hanging one after another. The more knots there were, the happier he felt. When there were thirty knots hung, it was the day that Zhao Luochuan had promised to come back.
Although I know it may not be on time, but counting the days always gives me hope.
Yang Donghu spent more time in his yard during the day. As the weather gradually warmed up, clothes that had been pressed all winter would still have a musty smell no matter how well they were preserved. Yang Donghu asked all the spring clothes to be taken out, washed, and hung to dry.
Apart from these, there is also the work in the vegetable garden in the yard. The work is not heavy, just a bit trivial.
I don’t know why Su He seemed to have suddenly changed her personality these past two days. She has changed from her usual aloof appearance and even goes to Zhu Cuilan’s yard less often during the day.
He came to talk to Yang Donghu every day, and sometimes he even ignored the girl and threw her to Zhu Cuilan, not even looking at her for the whole afternoon.
When Yang Donghu washed clothes, she would fetch water for him. When he wanted to hang out the clothes, she would rush to hang the rope. They even shared the weeds in the vegetable garden equally.
Su He suddenly changed from being cold to being so enthusiastic that Yang Donghu was a little overwhelmed. This sudden show of goodwill made him feel a little uncomfortable.
It was the same today. Yang Donghu had just finished hanging the willow branches when Su He came uninvited with a sewing basket.
"I've thought of a few new patterns. Didn't you say you're not good at sewing and wanted to practice more? I'll accompany you. If you have any embroidery problems, just come and ask me."
The unfinished pair of cloth shoes was still mostly half-finished. Su He's words had finally upset Yang Donghu. The more he looked at it, the more dissatisfied he felt. In a fit of anger, he tore it apart and re-embroidered it, making the stitches denser than the last time.
"I can't embroider. I've already done my best to make a sachet. I don't think you need to waste your embroidery thread and let me ruin it."
"It's just a bunch of tangled threads, meant to be embroidered. It doesn't matter if it looks good or not. If you really think you can't embroider it well, then let me embroider it while you watch. I'll show you the needlepoint technique, and you can try it out yourself later."
It was hard to refuse such a kind offer, so Yang Donghu agreed to Suhe's suggestion. He moved the table and stools from the house to the corridor and helped Suhe organize the silk threads.
Su He said she wanted to teach embroidery, and it was not an exaggeration. There were a few pieces of linen in the sewing basket. The surface of the cloth was plain and rough, and could not be compared with the satin handkerchiefs on the market.
But even so, the gorgeous flowers and mandarin ducks on the handkerchief were very lifelike. Among the people Yang Donghu knew, Zhu Cuilan and Yang An were both good at embroidery. Now it seemed that Su He was not much inferior to them.
Su He picked up a piece of half-embroidered linen, and with a few flicks of the needle and a few turns of her wrist, a petal appeared on the linen.
The petals were of different shades, with a natural transition. Yang Donghu stared at Su He's hand without blinking, and silently sighed in his heart, they were both hands, but the difference was too big.
"Look, for a simple petal like this, start from the outside and work your way up to the inside. The color of the embroidery thread should go from light to dark. The closer to the pistil, the darker the color, and vice versa."
Su He paused, turned her head to see Yang Donghu listening intently, and pointed to the intersection of light and dark colors on the petals. She continued, "Every stitch in this place can't be in the same place. The lengths must be different to create a gradual change. Otherwise, the colors of the embroidery will be difficult to blend and will look too dull."
These words were all practical advice from experience. Yang Donghu listened carefully and took notes seriously, nodding from time to time as they were spoken.
"Practice makes perfect. Just talking is useless. Try it a few times and you'll get the hang of it."
There were many finished products in the basket. After asking Su He, Yang Donghu picked up the handkerchief in the basket and examined it carefully: "It's embroidered very well. With such good skills, why don't you think of embroidering more and selling them? It's definitely enough to support the family."
"My kung fu is just mediocre, barely enough for my own use. Besides, these are just rags. Who would be crazy enough to buy this? If we rely solely on this to make a living, Xiao Yamanashi and I will be out of money soon." Su He said with a smile.
"Satin handkerchiefs are very expensive, not everyone can afford them. We are selling embroidery, not cloth. At worst, we can lower the price. The mandarin ducks are so well embroidered, there will always be people willing to buy them. At worst, we can hire an embroiderer in town. She will earn a good monthly salary."
Yang Donghu was sincerely giving Su He advice. For an orphan and a widow, if they had a way to make money, they would have hope of survival and would be able to live freely in the future without relying on others.
"Let's talk about it later." Su He was not thinking about this and just listened to the words without taking them to heart. But looking at the embroidery in the basket that Yang Donghu praised again and again, an evil idea suddenly arose in her mind.
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, what you said is not wrong. Selling embroidery might be a way out. I can't boast about other things, but this mandarin duck handkerchief is my specialty. No wonder you and Dachuan are family and have the same taste. When he saw this mandarin duck handkerchief for the first time, he was full of praise for it."
"What?"
It is enough for girls and boys to embroider sachets and give them to others to express their love. Handkerchiefs are extremely private personal items and are generally not given to others casually. If a girl or boy's handkerchief falls off another man, her innocence will be largely ruined.
This is a mandarin duck handkerchief, the meaning is self-evident. How could Zhao Luochuan see such a personal item? Yang Donghu felt angry and his tone was a little stiff.
Su He seemed surprised and asked, "Didn't Dachuan tell you?"
She slapped her forehead and pretended to understand something: "Look at my memory! I forgot you weren't here at that time. My wife died young, and I was the only one taking care of everything in and out of the house. I was really overwhelmed. Luckily, Dachuan helped out. I saw he was sweating profusely, so I wiped his sweat with a handkerchief similar to this one. He also praised the embroidery of the mandarin ducks."
The anger Su He had been feeling for the past few days disappeared when she saw Yang Donghu's increasingly gloomy face, and there was a hint of pleasure in revenge in her tone.
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