Re-embroidering life

Shen Xiuniang's tomb is located not far outside the city. It is a quiet place with mountains behind it and water in front of it.

The cemetery does not look desolate. On the contrary, the graves are kept neatly without any weeds. Beside the graves grows a tall magnolia tree. It is in bloom, and the treetops are dotted with white flowers as big as bowls, emitting bursts of fragrance in the wind.

The tombstone is simple and plain, with only five large characters "Tomb of Shen Xiu Niang" engraved on it. The iron-stroked and silver-hooked characters are the handwriting of Ji Zimo.

Shui Qinghua stood in front of the tomb, feeling an unspeakable sadness in her heart. It seemed as if the gentle woman appeared in front of her again, patiently teaching her needlework. Although they were not master and apprentice in name, they were in fact master and apprentice. Now that her teacher was buried in the ground, she had no place to put the gratitude and longing in her heart.

Ji Zimo said in his heart: You treat Qinghua like a teacher and a mother, I am Qinghua's husband, you have done me a favor. From the bottom of his heart, he and Shui Qinghua knelt down together and kowtowed three times in front of the tomb. The breeze blew, the branches swayed, and a few magnolia petals fell from the tree, swirling and landing on the heads and shoulders of the couple.

Shen Xin and Shen Yi also knelt down and kowtowed three times. Shen Xin cried and said, "Aunt is the most gentle person. Who among the younger generations of the family has not been taken care of by Aunt? We are incompetent. We were unable to take care of Aunt when she was alive and buried her after her death. Even now, we can't make Aunt return to her roots!" She couldn't help but fall to the ground and cry.

Shen Yi explained: "Sister, since my aunt chose to spend her last years in Jiangxia, she must have her reasons. We should not disturb her easily and let her rest in peace here."

Shen Xin nodded, got up and said to Shui Qinghua and Ji Zimo: "When I saw this cemetery, I knew you took good care of my aunt. You have been thoughtful for so many years."

Shui Qinghua was choked with sobs and couldn't speak.

Shen Xin added, "I will be leaving for Jiangnan tomorrow. I don't know when we will meet next time. Sister Shui, if you want to make further progress in embroidery, come to Jiangnan. The world is wider there." She looked at Ji Zimo again, "I heard that Mr. Ji is interested in calligraphy and painting. Why don't you come to Jiangnan to appreciate and learn the Wu School of Painting? You two, one painting and the other embroidering, are a match made in heaven. You will surely make a name for yourself in Jiangnan."

When she left, she nodded and smiled at them: "I'll wait for you in Suzhou."

Her words ignited the fire in Shui Qinghua and Ji Zimo's hearts. They smiled at each other and secretly made up their minds to go to Jiangnan once in their lives. But not now, as they still had a lot of things to do.

Dou Jianzhi acted quickly and had already taken over the job of embroidering the Bodhisattva statue through Master Mingyi. Chen Jinlan was worried that her grandmother would not be happy, so she went to the Ji family's embroidery room every day to work hard.

Perhaps it was because of Chen Jinlan, the eldest disciple, that Shui Yuhua also felt a sense of crisis. She considered herself an elder, and it was embarrassing for her to learn too slowly. Together with Dong Yajing and Huixin, four girls of similar age, each with their own background, temperament, and expertise, gathered in this small embroidery room because of the word "embroidery", learning together, chatting, and forming a friendship.

With the joint efforts of several people, the embroidery of the Bodhisattva progressed quickly. Shui Qinghua guided them from the side and passed on her understanding of embroidery to them bit by bit. The four of them learned by doing, which was more effective than just listening to the lecture. They chased each other and made rapid progress. Even Huixin was no longer timid and had a more confident look on her face.

When the bill was settled, after deducting the various costs of the embroidery workshop and the remuneration of other girls, Chen Jinlan was given a heavy bag of silver. The moment she held the silver, the girl suddenly cried.

"Master, I remember what you said to me." She sobbed.

"Which sentence?" Shui Qinghua was very interested.

"When the family is no longer troubled by money, and when my sisters have decent dowries, everything will be nothing but clouds."

Shui Qinghua was very disappointed: "This sentence is too ordinary. I thought you would say that women also have weapons, and that is the needle in your hand."

Chen Jinlan burst out laughing, and her nose bubbled. She wiped it off embarrassedly. "Master, when I touched the silver, I suddenly didn't bother about anything. The family reputation and the daughter of a medical family are not as good as the real silver in my hand. Master, silver is really a good thing!"

"Well, then follow me from now on and make a lot of money together."

In a flash, the days passed quickly, and after the Dragon Boat Festival, it was already midsummer.

The preparations for the embroidery workshop had been going very smoothly. Ten embroiderers had already been recruited, half of them were new recruits, and the other half were transferred from the original embroiderers of Siyifang. It was said that Manager Wang was very generous and transferred Meng, the most skilled embroiderer in Siyifang, to Shuixiufang.

One hundred sketches of paintings and embroidery were basically selected. Shui Qinghua collected nearly two hundred in total, but Ji Zimo had a discerning eye and could only eliminate and supplement at the same time. He almost used half of the five hundred taels of silver as the starting capital to pay for the manuscripts. No one expected that the one with the highest quality of the drawings was Mrs. Fang, the second wife of the Chen family. More than ten of her drawings were selected, and Mrs. Fang earned dozens of taels of silver. In addition, Chen Jinlan had been doing hair embroidery, and the situation of the Chen family was quietly improving.

The next step is to teach the embroiderers how to do natural embroidery. Once the selected patterns are turned into embroidery products, the Shuixiu Workshop will be officially opened. Shui Qinghua's heart surges unconsciously just imagining the scene of the opening.

This day was the day to formally meet the embroiderers. Shui Qinghua changed into formal clothes and went to the Shuixiu Workshop with Chen Jinlan and Huixin.

Shuixiufang did not open a separate shop. Manager Wang was very shrewd. He was reluctant to invest a large sum of money before he could prove Shuixiufang's ability to make money. He divided the first floor of Siyifang into two parts, opened a separate door facing the street, and opened a side door to connect with Siyifang, forming a "shop within a shop" pattern. Now he is speeding up the decoration.

All things are difficult at the beginning. Shui Qinghua is not ambitious and is very satisfied with the current situation. She believes that one day, she will be able to open an embroidery workshop as large as Siyifang.

Her ambition was seriously challenged when she met Meng Xiuniang.

Meng Xiu Niang is the embroiderer of the double-sided, different-color embroidery work "Rising Dragon", the treasure of Siyifang.

She was tall, with delicate features, and her eyes were cold as ice as ice when she looked at Shui Qinghua. The Dragon had left a deep impression on Shui Qinghua, and she had always been curious about this embroiderer, hoping to have a chance to learn from her. But when she met Meng Xiu Niang's eyes, her enthusiasm slowly cooled down.

"Are you Shui Niangzi, Shui from Shui Embroidery Workshop?" Meng Xiu Niang asked coldly.

"Yes, I am the person who is here to teach embroidery skills today, Shui Qinghua." Shui Qinghua also looked back at her.