Re-embroidering life

The rain continued for several days. Jiangxia is located on the bank of Oujiang River. The rainy season comes in midsummer, and the river water rises sharply. Fortunately, Jiangxia is located at a high altitude, so nothing serious will happen. However, the climate is wet and stuffy, which makes people feel unhappy.

Shui Qinghua was also very upset. She agreed with Wang in her heart. Using her elder sister as a shield was just a temporary solution. She hoped that she could stand in front of people with the identity of Shui's boss. She had to find something for her sister-in-law to do, so that she wouldn't always be a drag. There was no point in making small fuss. What she wanted was to cut off the fire from under the cauldron.

Shui Qinghua held an umbrella, holding Fei'er and Rui'er's hands, and brought a pair of insoles embroidered by Fei'er to pay respects to the old lady. The third wife rarely took the initiative to get close to the old lady, and the old lady was not used to being close to them, but seeing the two granddaughters, the older one was sensible and filial, and had already done a good job of sewing, and the younger one was innocent, cute and beautiful, the old lady couldn't help but feel happy. She didn't have anything good to reward, so she asked Qinxin to bring snacks to the children.

"Mother, my second brother and his wife haven't been back for several years. I miss them and the children so much." Shui Qinghua said softly while carefully wiping the snack crumbs off Rui'er's lips.

Her words also aroused the old lady's longing. "Who says it's not true? In the past few years, your second brother has not yet found a firm foothold and has been focusing on official duties. Now that he has settled down, it's time for him to come back and visit. Next month is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I'll ask your eldest brother to write a letter to their family, and we will be reunited as a family this Mid-Autumn Festival."

"I miss Sister Yun and Sister Ping too!" Fei'er chimed in.

"Fei'er is so good! Yes, Yun'er is not young anymore, she's almost thirteen, it's time to start dating. I think you should let your second sister-in-law bring the two daughters back to Jiangxia to find her. After all, the people here know her well."

Shui Qinghua smiled. In her previous life, the second wife's family had always lived outside the home and only returned home once every few years. She didn't have much contact with them, but her second sister-in-law Sun Xiaolan was straightforward and generous, and she liked her very much. The second wife's children were also brought up very well, but the eldest daughter Ji Yun had a bad fate. Her husband died of illness not long after she got married, and she gave birth to a posthumous child, but the child also died before the age of two. If she could persuade the second sister-in-law to return to Jiangxia in this life, it would help her to attract the firepower of the Tan family, and secondly, Ji Yun's fate might change.

Shui Qinghua admitted that she had her own selfish motives in this matter, which was very different from her previous life when she was only good to others. She couldn't say whether this was good or bad, she could only ensure that she would avoid hurting others while fulfilling her own selfish desires.

Hearing the news that the second wife was coming back to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole family was happy, only Tan Meixue was unhappy. In the past few years when the second wife was not at home, she was used to being unscrupulous. The third brother's wife was useless and only deserved to be controlled by her. The second brother's wife was different. She was of the same family background as her, had a larger dowry than her, and was more favored by the old lady than her. With her around, she looked inferior to others in every way. However, her husband was very enthusiastic about the second brother's return and asked her to make sure everything was done well. She could only bear the grievance and do it.

Shui Qinghua breathed a sigh of relief. Her sister-in-law would not have the energy to trouble her for a long time, so she could just hurry up and train the embroiderers. She had already taught them the needlework, but it would take a long time to master it. She was worried, so she would go over every day to teach them and correct their mistakes.

In just a few days, all ten embroiderers were convinced by Shui Qinghua. They were all skilled in needlework, and Meng Xiu Niang was even more outstanding. In terms of needlework, she was not inferior to Shui Qinghua, but even slightly better. But Shui Qinghua's strength was that she always had many novel ideas and unexpected combinations. She always reminded them to change some needlework, and the embroidery felt more flexible and not as rigid as before. Meng Xiu Niang had to admit that she was not inferior to anyone in terms of diligence, but in terms of talent, Shui Qinghua was above them.

At the end of the day, Meng Xiu Niang stopped her and said, "I have learned your unique secret technique. I don't want to owe you anything. Do you want to learn double-sided embroidery with different colors?"

How can an embroiderer not want to learn new stitches?

Shui Qinghua asked her: "How did you learn to do double-sided embroidery with different colors?"

"I won the first prize in the Jiangxia Embroidery Competition a few years ago, and my employer sent me to study at Siyifang in Suzhou for a year. I learned from Master Shen there."

"Over the years, apart from you, no one else in Jiangxia's Siyifang can embroider double-sided embroidery with different colors." Shui Qinghua was very sure.

"Yes, even in Jiangnan, this is the most advanced skill. Not just anyone can learn it."

Shui Qinghua smiled and shook her head: "I appreciate your kindness, but I know a little about the rules of Siyifang, and I can't make things difficult for you."

Back then, Shen Xiu Niang loved her so much that she didn't pass on the core skills of the Shen family to her, but inspired her to explore and innovate on her own. She could imagine that the Shen family must have very strict rules for protecting skills. After all, the more people who know how to do it, the higher the possibility of being stolen or poached by rival families. This rule is probably not something that even the Shen family themselves can break.

Shui Qinghua's guess was correct. It was precisely because Siyifang attached so much importance to unique skills that Shui Qinghua directly took out her own secret skills and taught them to ten embroiderers at a time. This made them feel uneasy, always feeling that they had gained too much.

Shui Qinghua is not that noble. She is also afraid that her skills will be imitated by her competitors and she will lose the market advantage. But she knows that it is impossible to prevent it. It is just a matter of time. A talented embroiderer will disassemble a few finished products and ponder them over and over again. One day she will figure it out. Works like "Dragon Soaring" are only displayed and not sold. There is nothing to imitate. However, the embroidery of Shuixiufang will be sold everywhere in the future. It will be easy to study and imitate.

When she got home, she told Ji Zimo about her problem. Recently, the couple had been extremely busy. She had endless things to do at the Water Embroidery Workshop, and Ji Zimo was studying hard, planning to take the Spring Examination the following year after taking the Autumn Examination. Like today, the couple happened to be at home and had some free time to talk, which was a rare warm time.

She is now more and more accustomed to talking to Ji Zimo about everything. In addition to being her husband, he is also her teacher, think tank and friend. If she throws a question to him, he will definitely respond.

Ji Zimo propped his chin up in his hand and thought, "It's not just embroidery, we are also afraid of counterfeiting in calligraphy and painting. So we will make special marks in our works, such as using different paper and mounting habits, or having a unique seal. I suggest you design a Shuixiufang mark, and all the products of Shuixiufang will be secretly embroidered with it. Those without the mark are naturally counterfeits."

Shui Qinghua thought this was a good idea, so she gave orders that from then on all embroidery works produced by Shui Xiu Fang must have a special water ripple embroidered in the dark as a mark.