Re-embroidering life

Shui Qinghua looked calm, as if nothing had happened. The old lady supported her, so she naturally couldn't ruin her plan. She smiled and opened the food box, and told Lan Xin and Hui Xin to put the rice dumplings they brought on the table.

The Chu people love to eat plain rice dumplings, which are small, pointed and cone-shaped. After they are cooked, the rice dumpling skin is removed, revealing them to be white and translucent. They are neatly arranged on a plate and sprinkled with a thick layer of icing sugar. When you put them in your mouth, the fragrance of the rice dumpling leaves, the softness of the glutinous rice, the sweetness of the icing sugar, and the most original aroma of the ingredients are intertwined together, making you swallow them whole without realizing it.

Fei'er and Rui'er invited several children from the Chen family to eat rice dumplings. After the meal, they asked them to play egg fighting, which is to put eggs in a small net bag woven with silk threads and hang it in front of the chest. When they see people, they hold the eggs and touch them against each other to see whose egg breaks first. The one whose egg breaks last wins.

Children are natural atmosphere regulators. With the sounds of children running and playing around the banquet, the slightly stiff atmosphere between the adults also eased. Shui Qinghua saw that there were one or two women in the Chen family who were easy-going, and took the initiative to talk to them. They were embarrassed to ignore them, so they just responded lightly at first, but when they talked about raising and taking care of children, no one could hold back. After being taught by Dong Yajing, Fei'er and Rui'er have begun to show the demeanor of ladies, and they are generous and well-behaved. Seeing this, they were about to ask Shui Qinghua for advice, and they soon became very excited. The other women were attracted by the topic and gradually gathered around. Only the two daughters-in-law who had made trouble in public sat aside with ugly faces.

Ji Zimo was sitting in the men's seats on the other side. It was the first time he watched women socializing. He discovered that even at such a small banquet, there was no shortage of divisions, win-overs, and intrigues. He didn't expect that his wife, who was usually quiet, could be so resourceful at critical moments.

As a husband, he naturally had to support his wife. He stood up, strode to Old Madam Chen, bowed, and presented the "Dragon Boat Race Picture" he brought with him.

As soon as the scroll was opened, the sun was shining on the river, the golden light was dancing, several dragon boats were cutting through the waves, the dragon head of the leading boat was raised high, the dragon scales were clearly visible, the rowers had bulging muscles, the oars were inserted into the water, splashing waves. The athlete beating the drum at the bow had a focused look and a firm expression, the passionate drum beats and the crisp sound of the oars cutting through the water seemed to penetrate the scroll and go straight into the ears.

Many of the female guests present came from scholarly families and were immediately attracted to the painting. They walked up to the scroll one after another to appreciate it carefully.

"The drums sound like thunder, the boats fly like dragons, and the waves are like snow. Great!" Everyone turned around and the one who was praising loudly was the daughter-in-law in red, who had the highest status.

She asked Ji Zimo excitedly, "May I ask your name, sir? What technique did you use to paint the dragon boat, the athletes, and the waves so vividly and in detail?"

"Puchi!" Dong Yajing finally couldn't help it. She had been holding it in for a long time. She wanted you to give Sister Shui a cold shoulder just for a bottle of medicine! She walked up to introduce to everyone: "This is Ji Zimo, the number one talent in Jiangxia, and also my senior brother."

"Ji Zimo! It's Ji Zimo!"

"Who is Ji Zimo?"

"You are not from Jiangxia, so you may not know that he was a famous child prodigy and talent in Jiangxia. But later..." The person who spoke paused and fell silent.

The lady in red had never heard of Ji Zimo, nor did she care whether he was talented or not. She just kept asking, what technique do you use?

Ji Zimo was a painting fanatic himself, and he understood the other fanatic's thoughts very well, so he discussed his painting experience with her in detail. The lady in red had shining eyes and nodded frequently, looking very educated.

After the conversation, the lady in red praised: "Master Ji is very talented, it makes me suddenly enlightened!"

She seemed to suddenly remember something, pointed at Shui Qinghua and asked Ji Zimo: "Madam Shui is yours..."

"It's my wife." Ji Zimo smiled and replied. His wife did not use her husband's surname when she went out. Everyone only knew her as Shui Niangzi, but did not know that she was the wife of Ji Jia Sanlang. As a husband, Ji Zimo felt a little hurt in his self-esteem.

"So that's how it is!" The lady in red's eyes were full of eagerness, "The virtuous couple are both outstanding people!" It seemed that she had long forgotten about the Snow Lotus Pill.

The female members of the family echoed the sentiment, while Dong Yajing, Shui Yuhua and others tried hard to hold back their laughter.

Someone else asked Dong Yajing why she called Ji Zimo "Senior Brother"? After learning that Ji Zimo was the last disciple of the world-famous Dong Daru, she looked at them with a gentler look.

Since then, the banquet was full of joy, and the lady in red was particularly enthusiastic. During the casual conversation, I learned that she was the daughter-in-law of the second son of the famous doctor Chen and his wife. Her father was a Hanlin in the Hanlin Academy, and his surname was Fang. Fang had learned piano, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was young, and especially loved painting. After marrying into the Chen family, everyone in the Chen family learned medicine. She was already lonely. In order to fulfill her filial piety to her parents-in-law in the past few years, she took her daughter Cailan away from the capital, and she felt uncomfortable everywhere. Today, she met Ji Zimo, Shui Qinghua and his wife, Dong Yajing and others, and she felt that she had found a soulmate.

After the banquet, everyone dispersed and the old lady invited Shui Qinghua and his wife, Dou Jianzhi and his wife, Dong Yajing and Shui Yuhua to the flower hall.

The old lady looked at Shui Qinghua with a guilty look on her face, but she did not mention the gift of apprenticeship again. Shui Qinghua completely understood that every family has its own problems, the Ji family has it, the Shui family has it, and the Chen family naturally has it too.

The old lady talked about another thing: "Mrs. Shui and Mr. Dou, you first drove away Liu San, then repaired the embroidered portrait, and Mr. Dou fought hard on the way to Yuquan Temple. You are all benefactors of the Chen family. I promised to treat Mrs. Shui's sister in person, and I will keep my word."

Dou Jianzhi and Shui Xiuhua looked at each other, both of them couldn't suppress the joy in their eyes, and the couple bowed deeply to Old Madam Chen.

"Mrs. Shui, the old man has been taking care of your body. Now that he is sick, I will continue to take care of you."

Shui Qinghua also thanked him.

"Miss Dong, Miss Yuhua, you have helped a lot. If you or your family members are sick in the future, please send a note and Doctor Cai and the others will come at your call." The old lady sighed, "You have all seen the situation of the Chen family today. We can't give more. This is the greatest sincerity of the Chen family. Please don't despise it."

Shui Qinghua didn't want to get involved, but as Jinlan's master, she had to plan for Jinlan's future, so she asked, "Madam, what should we do if Bencaotang causes trouble again in the future? We have to think of a way to solve the problem once and for all."

The old lady said helplessly: "I also want to, but the master cares about family affection and reputation and doesn't want to cause trouble. I can't persuade him."

Shui Qinghua couldn't help but sigh. Such brothers are not even as good as enemies. How can there be family affection? Doctor Chen is undoubtedly kind, but he is ultimately trapped by his kindness.

After saying goodbye to Old Madam Chen and walking out of the flower hall, I heard Chen Jinlan's voice. I hadn't seen her for a long time during the banquet. When I saw her now, her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. Shui Qinghua understood her thoughts: "I'm fine, and your aunts are not targeting you, don't take it to heart."

How could Chen Jinlan not understand? The aunts were not bad people. They just had a hard life in the past few years and blamed their grandparents in their hearts. She felt sad for their grandparents and was embarrassed that her master was implicated.

"Jinlan, crying is useless. If you have a heart, then work hard to change the current situation of the Chen family and improve the family's circumstances. When the family is no longer troubled by money and when your sisters have decent dowries, these things today will be nothing but clouds."

Chen Jinlan was so shocked that she raised her tear-stained face and said, "Can I? I'm a woman..."

"Of course!" Shui Qinghua looked at her firmly, "Since you have become my apprentice, I will not allow you to belittle yourself. Women also have their own weapons, and this is the needle in your hand. Come to Ji's house at noon tomorrow and start the class."