Re-embroidering life

While Shui Qinghua was busy discussing business, Ji Zimo was not idle either. He found Tang Hao again.

"Last time you said that you could use the 'Running Horses' painting as a stepping stone to introduce me to Mr. Dong as a disciple?" He went straight to the point.

Tang Hao was completely confused. "No, didn't you refuse last time? Why did you suddenly change your mind?" He grinned and winked, "Could it be that you heard that Dong Daru's daughter is the most beautiful woman in Jiangxia and you want to see her?"

"Ridiculous!" Ji Zimo interrupted him coldly, "I have my reasons. You just want to decide whether to help or not?"

"Help, help, help! It's our Tang family who let you down." Tang Hao put away his playful smile and said seriously, "Our Tang family has some kinship with Dong Daru's ancestors, so we can help you test the waters. But Dong Daru is very arrogant. He has not accepted a single disciple in all these years since he returned to Jiangxia. Whether you like him or not depends on you."

Ji Zimo nodded: "Of course. I brought some poems and calligraphy today, you can present them to him."

Tang Hao flipped through the books and exclaimed in admiration: "Brother Zimo, with your painting and calligraphy skills, why do you have to stay in Yuquan Town and live a miserable life? I will help you organize a literary gathering, and you will immediately become famous and make a fortune!"

Ji Zimo smiled helplessly and nodded: "I will do it, but not now. Now I have nothing, just a commoner. When I become the disciple of Master Dong and pass the imperial examination, my status will be different."

Tang Hao opened his mouth wide, staring at Ji Zimo in surprise: "Brother Zimo, this is not something you would say. I thought you would scold me harshly, saying that reading and painting are to cultivate one's temperament and imitate nature, and selling them is disrespectful!"

Ji Zimo chuckled: "I was too pedantic before, and I thought wrongly."

I don’t know why Brother Zimo suddenly changed, but Tang Hao felt that he finally became a little more human.

"By the way, Brother Zimo, last time I asked someone to find out where that embroidered screen came from, I finally found out that it was sold by Echeng Siyifang for one thousand taels. Siyifang is not a local brand in Echeng, but a branch of Suzhou Siyifang in Jiangxia. The owner's surname is Shen, and he is Shen Xin, a famous embroidery master in Jiangnan!"

Suzhou, Jiangnan? It was as if something flashed through Ji Zimo's mind, and when he wanted to grasp it, it slipped away again.

He didn't notice that Tang Hao's expression was also unnatural. Suzhou was where his sister Tang Fu got married. He accidentally touched upon Brother Zimo's sad story and was being rude.

Shui Qinghua kept in mind what Shopkeeper Wang said last time, and for several days she took Yuhua to visit various major embroidery workshops in Echeng to see what their specialties were.

Walking in the bustling streets, listening to the vendors shouting their wares, watching the white smoke rising from the stoves in the food stores, everything seemed so real and vivid, the living streets, the living her. Shui Qinghua took a few deep breaths, and gathered all her energy.

The first place she visited was Si Yi Fang. This was her second time here, but her first time to visit it seriously. As the largest embroidery workshop in Echeng, Si Yi Fang is obviously superior to other embroidery workshops in terms of the novelty of patterns, the exquisiteness of fabrics and the maturity of techniques. The most unique thing is that it comes from Jiangnan and uses the most advanced Suzhou embroidery technology.

Shen Xiuniang, who taught Shui Qinghua the art, was originally from Suzhou. She knew the Suzhou embroidery needlework like the back of her hand. As for how she ended up in Jiangxia, she never mentioned it and did not allow Shui Qinghua to ask. Because of her, Shui Qinghua's embroidery art can be said to have the same origin as Suzhou embroidery, but because she did not have a proper apprenticeship, she also had to do a lot of her own exploration and understanding. I think Wang, the shopkeeper, had already seen the origin of her and Suzhou embroidery, so he took care of her and gave her guidance. Qinghua was not ungrateful.

When Qinghua was a child, Shen Xiuniang told him that the silkworm industry in the south of the Yangtze River was well developed and silk was produced in abundance, and that gorgeous brocade and colorful silk threads were readily available. She also told Qinghua many stories from ancient books, including the origin of embroidery.

According to legend, a man named Zhongyong founded the Wu Kingdom in Suzhou. There was a local custom of cutting hair and tattooing. Zhongyong could not bear the suffering of his people, so he called everyone to discuss. His granddaughter Nuhong was listening while sewing clothes. She accidentally got a needle prick on her hand, and a drop of blood soaked into the fabric. Then Nuhong got an inspiration: she used colorful dyed silk and embroidered a dragon pattern on the clothes according to the structure of her braids, and presented it to her grandfather. When the grandfather unfolded it, it was colorful and dazzling, and more beautiful than the pattern tattooed on his body. From then on, Zhongyong called on people to use embroidery to make clothes without having to endure the pain of tattoos. In order to commemorate this little girl, later generations called embroidery "nuhong".

The Jiangnan embroidery industry has such a long history, and its foundation is naturally incomparable to other places. Therefore, Siyifang, as a newcomer from Jiangnan, has actually overwhelmed a number of local snakes and firmly sat on the top spot among the embroidery workshops in Echeng and even the entire Jiangxia Prefecture.

From the outside, Siyifang is full of the charm of Jiangnan water town, with white walls and black tiles, exquisite patterns carved on wooden doors and windows, and a few green bamboos planted in front of the door. Inside the store, there are a variety of embroidery, including flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes and figures, each of which is delicate and elegant, with delicate needlework.

Suzhou embroidery has a very rich variety of needlework. Shui Qinghua can see more than a dozen types of needlework, including flat needle, winding needle, loose needle, virtual needle, random needle, rolling needle, and grabbing needle. There are also some that cannot be seen. As for the double-sided embroidery, the treasure of the town, the skills have reached perfection. Shui Qinghua also mastered double-sided embroidery under the guidance of Shen Xiu Niang, but she can only make both sides the same color, but Si Yi Fang has achieved different colors on both sides!

The painting "Dragon Flying" in front of him was embroidered with gold, silver and silk threads, with a soaring golden dragon on one side and a silver dragon on the other. The steaming clouds, the twinkling stars and the fiery red gems all stood out on the embroidery, which looked like both embroidery and sculpture, which shocked Shui Qinghua deeply.

After leaving Siyifang, Shui Qinghua thought of the outrageous words she had said to Shopkeeper Wang not long ago, and couldn't help blushing. There are always people better than you, and there is no end to learning. I am really a frog in the well!

Diagonally across the street is Siyifang’s old rival, the local embroidery workshop Chuxiuge, which is said to have been rooted in Echeng for more than a hundred years.

Different from the exquisite elegance of Siyifang, the appearance of Chuxiuge is more simple and elegant. A pair of lanterns with golden phoenixes painted on them are hung in front of the door, giving people a solemn and mysterious feeling.

Jiangxia Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of the Chu State in ancient times. It is said that Chu embroidery existed in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. "Emerald pearl quilt, splendid and bright." It is said that this poem by Qu Yuan describes the grand occasion of Chu embroidery at that time. Thousands of years have passed, and the aesthetics of Jiangxia people still retains the obvious legacy of Chu, with bright colors, simple composition, and the pursuit of bright and gorgeous feeling. Chu Embroidery Pavilion represents this aesthetic.

Most of the patterns of Chu embroidery are animals, including phoenix patterns, dragon patterns, tiger patterns, and deer patterns, supplemented by curling grass and flowers. Animals and plants are in the same painting, which is warm and natural.

Shui Qinghua watched and silently memorized the points she observed. She seemed to realize something vaguely.

Her skills were derived from Suzhou embroidery, but in Siyifang alone, there were embroiderers whose skills were far better than hers. Although she was born in Chu and had Chu blood, she never made any contribution to Chu embroidery.

The only thing that gave her confidence was that after looking at all the major embroidery workshops, she found that natural embroidery was still a unique secret technique. Since she could create a natural embroidery, could she combine the strengths of Suzhou embroidery and Chu embroidery to create more unique techniques for Shui Qinghua, and even eventually form her own school?

She was horrified by her own bizarre imagination, but at the same time she couldn't help getting excited and even trembling at the idea.