Yulan's mother was a little embarrassed by the question. When she was a young girl, there was a top embroiderer in the village, and her family sent her to learn the craft for several years.
It's a pity that a famine struck later, and people were starving, so no one bought her embroidery. Over the years, her skills have faded to the point where she can only sew and mend some tattered clothes.
Yulan's mother said rather embarrassedly, "When I was young, my family sent me to learn the craft from an embroiderer for a few years, but I've forgotten almost everything now."
He Tiantian recalled that when she was in high school, most of the girls in her class would secretly knit scarves and embroider cross-stitch during class.
Knitting scarves is impossible now, and yarn doesn't exist in this era. But cross-stitch is a beginner-friendly craft; it's simple and easy to learn.
“A little bit of cooking skills will do, Sister Yulan, please wait a moment.” He Tiantian said, turning around to go to her sleeping area and rummaging through something.
Actually, she wanted to secretly buy some simple cross-stitch kits from the mall. People in ancient times had a special fondness for pine trees, cranes, and the like.
He Tiantian chose cross-stitch designs featuring the phrases "Longevity like Pine and Crane," "Passing the Imperial Examination," and "Success Upon Arrival." These items were quite cheap in the modern shopping mall, costing only five coins each.
There are many colors of cross-stitch thread, and He Tiantian brought them all to Yulan's mother.
"Sister-in-law, do you think you can embroider this?"
Yulan's mother accepted the threads with great surprise, her heart filled with joy at the sight of the colorful threads. She hadn't seen such beautiful silk threads in so many years; they truly reminded her of her youth.
"Look at this piece of fabric. Just follow the pattern they gave you to embroider. There's also drawing paper here. It's just that there are quite a few colors, so changing the thread is a little troublesome."
He Tiantian took out a canvas depicting pine trees and cranes symbolizing longevity and showed it to Yulan Niang little by little.
"Good, good, this pattern makes it even better, it won't be any worse." Yulan's mother had never seen such a rare thing before, but she was too embarrassed to ask.
After spending so many days together, she felt that Maruko's mother was a thoughtful person who knew a lot.
“Okay, then when you have time, sister-in-law, embroider these three first. Hmm... let’s set the price at twenty coins each.” He Tiantian thought for a moment. The cost of each cross-stitch was controlled at twenty-five coins. She would ask at the embroidery shop next time she went to town and then set a price.
"What?" Yulan's mother was so shocked she almost bit her tongue. "No, no, no, I don't want your money. I'm just helping out." She and her two children were staying here, so how could she ask for money for doing some work?
"Sister-in-law, one thing at a time, don't refuse. I have something to do and need to go out for a bit." He Tiantian smiled gently. Everything at home was arranged perfectly by Yulan's mother, saving her a lot of trouble.
In modern times, hiring a nanny to take care of two children would easily cost several thousand yuan a month.
The snow outside was getting lighter and lighter. He Tiantian looked into the distance and hoped that this winter would pass quickly.
She quickened her pace toward Zhao Tingzhang's house, and by sheer coincidence, she ran into Zhao Yanniang standing at the door.
However, Zhao Yanniang seemed to be in low spirits today, with a gloomy and distressed look on her face.
When Zhao Yanniang saw He Tiantian, she forced a smile and said, "Wanzi's mother, you went to see Sister Liu again?"
“Ah…yes.” He Tiantian replied.
"The village head's family is very busy right now. I wonder if Sister Liu is home. You know there was an avalanche on the southwest slope of the village last night, right?" Zhao Yan's mother still looked scared as she spoke. "There are thirty or forty households living there. Luckily, it's far from here, otherwise the whole village would have been buried by the snow."
He Tiantian's heart skipped a beat; that was exactly what she wanted to ask about. And while she was at it, she also wanted to check on the handkerchief embroidery.
"Fortunately, our village head Zhao had the foresight to have everyone moved out in advance. Otherwise... tsk tsk, who knows how many people would have died."
As Zhao Yan's mother was talking, she suddenly realized that she wasn't so pitiful for not catching any fish. Compared to the villagers whose homes were buried by heavy snow but who were lucky enough to survive, her family was much better off.
"Oh, by the way, I'll bring the fishing net I borrowed from you last time to your house later. The snow is too heavy and the back mountain is blocked. I'll borrow the net again next spring..." The fish will be even fatter then.
He Tiantian wanted to leave but couldn't. Aunt Zhao held her back, chatting about all sorts of things. Things like whose sow had given birth, whose chickens or ducks had lost eggs, and so on…
Despite the freezing weather, the two of them stood at the doorway and awkwardly chatted for half an hour.
He Tiantian practically fled in panic, thinking that she would better avoid Zhao Yanniang if she saw her again.
When they arrived at Zhao Tingzhang's house, only Sister Liu was home.
Mrs. Liu warmly brought He Tiantian a stool and poured her some tea.
“My old man took Dahai and Xiaohe out. There was an avalanche last night. These villagers were affected to some extent. After all, their houses were buried, and they will have to spend money to repair them next spring.”
He Tiantian nodded. Once the weather warms up a bit, each household will start making adobe bricks, and everyone will help dig the foundations for their houses next year. It won't cost much, it just takes a little longer.
Liu took out ten embroidered handkerchiefs from the inner room and handed them to He Tiantian with a smile.
"Wanzi's mother, take a look at this embroidery. I found five or six young women in the village who are good at embroidery to do it together. They have good eyes and are meticulous."
He Tiantian took it and examined it carefully in the light from outside.
The flowers and deer embroidered on this handkerchief are so lifelike, they're even better than the finished products sold in Hong Erniang's shop.
“Very good, very good. Embroider according to this. After these thirty handkerchiefs are finished, sister-in-law, bring them to my house and I will pay you for your work.”
He Tiantian saw the business opportunity in embroidery. These beautiful embroidered products are not only popular in modern times, but were also sought after by people in ancient times.
She remembered there was also Suzhou embroidery, double-sided embroidery, and so on... but this wasn't Jiangnan after all, so she guessed that these superb embroidery techniques hadn't spread here yet.
The Lunar New Year is just over two weeks away. Although the village has experienced a series of disasters, everyone still has high hopes for the New Year.
After all, staying up all year to welcome the New Year is something to look forward to. Every family saves money throughout the year, and on New Year's Day they should at least have a good meal.
Some families with better financial conditions might even be able to eat some meat on Chinese New Year.
Children look forward to the Lunar New Year the most because on this day, adults won't ask them to do chores, and they can eat delicious food.
On the way back, He Tiantian seemed to be able to feel the joy of people celebrating the New Year.
Ah, she suddenly really missed the Spring Festival Gala every year. Back then, she always felt there were so many bad programs, and it was better to just play on her phone.
But now, if she could watch TV, she would probably be so moved that she would burst into tears.
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