Re-embroidering life

As the New Year approaches, the door of Shuixiufang is closed and a sign is hung to announce the closure. Although the shop is closed, the large number of embroidery works sold before the New Year have become well-known after the New Year as people visit relatives and friends during the New Year.

Old Lady Ji was a living signboard of Shuixiufang. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, she wore a golden flowered jacket made by Shui Qinghua, a pearl-studded headband on her forehead, and a delicate sachet on her waist. It was luxurious yet unobtrusive, and the pattern was unique and different. She quickly attracted the attention of her peers and younger female relatives. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, she changed into a colorful cloud shoulder. When her family members saw this outfit, they all praised it and surrounded her.

Old Madam Ji had a proud smile on her face. She gently stroked the embroidery on her shoulders and said with a smile, "This was specially selected by my third daughter-in-law from the Water Embroidery Workshop as a gift to me. She knows my feelings best. I don't like anything made by ordinary embroidery workshops."

Someone asked curiously: "Shuixiufang, what is that place?"

Old Madam Ji could no longer hide her pride: "Shuixiufang is my daughter-in-law's dowry shop. The embroidery here is something you have never seen before, from the patterns to the needlework. Go take a look some other day, and I'll ask my daughter-in-law to give you a discount!"

After hearing this, her family flattered her even more. The Ji family had moved back to the mansion, and Ji Zixuan might become powerful someday. They hadn't seen each other for so many years, so this was a good opportunity to get closer. So, the women of Mrs. Ji's family not only went to the Shuixiu Shop to show their support, but also mobilized their relatives to go together. As soon as the Shuixiu Shop opened on the 15th day of the first lunar month, it welcomed a wave of business.

Shui Qinghua also smiled when she heard the news. She was confident that the products of Shui Xiufang were good and would not disappoint them. The reputation of the embroidery workshop would be accumulated little by little, and this time would not be long.

In order to maintain the advantages of Shui Xiu Fang, Shui Qinghua often wears a veil hat and walks around the embroidery workshops. She found that each traditional embroidery workshop has its own treasure and exquisite embroidery patterns, but the biggest problem is that the update is too slow. An embroidery pattern may be used for several years, and an embroidery product may take a year or two to embroider. Therefore, the styles that each embroidery workshop can provide are limited.

When Shui Qinghua was training embroiderers, she once told them that the biggest selling point of Shui Xiu Fang is the word "new", new techniques, new patterns, and new colors. Now she thinks that the word "fast" should be added, that is, the embroidery patterns should be updated quickly, the techniques should be improved quickly, and the embroidery products should be put on the market quickly, so that other embroidery workshops can never keep up with the speed of change of Shui Xiu Fang.

Shui Qinghua decided to plan different sales themes for each season. The Spring Festival has passed, and the Shangsi Festival will soon arrive. On this day, young men and women go out together, go outing, bathe, and dance. If Shuixiufang can show up on this grand festival, it will definitely have a good reputation effect. Shui Qinghua specially called Dou Jianzhi and Meng Xiu Niang, as well as Jinlan and Yuhua, to discuss how to use the Shangsi Festival to push Shuixiufang's reputation to a higher level.

So a few days after the beginning of spring, the decoration of Shuixiufang was completely renewed. The bright red decorations during the New Year were replaced, and the whole shop was changed to green. A green gauze curtain was hung at the entrance, and next to the small bridge and flowing water at the entrance stood a willow tree, on which perched a lively oriole. Some people thought it was real and were amazed, but when they touched it, they found it was embroidered.

After three months of hard work, the embroiderers displayed peach blossoms like clouds, pear blossoms like snow, apricot blossoms with smiles, willow branches dancing, and colorful spring scenes everywhere in the Water Embroidery Workshop. Among them, the embroidery specially made for the Shangsi Festival is the most eye-catching: round fans embroidered with orchids, sachets with the fragrance of wormwood, small dolls wearing peach blossom clothes, and even various styles of embroidered balls, because women often gather together to play throwing embroidered balls during the Shangsi Festival.

Shui Qinghua teased Chen Jinlan and Yuhua: "You two are not young anymore. You should wear embroidery from Shangshui Embroidery Workshop and go to the Shangsi Festival. First, you can be a living signboard, and second, maybe you will find a man you like!"

Their faces flushed as they came forward and beat Shui Qinghua in pretended anger, while they were all laughing and making a fuss.

As expected, as soon as the Shangsi Festival embroidery was launched, it attracted the attention of young women. Many embroidery workshops still used last year's patterns, which made the more particular women unhappy. They searched the whole city for new patterns, and Shuixiufang naturally came into their sight, and almost all the embroidery was sold out.

On the day of Shangsi Festival, the sun was warm and the wind was gentle. The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the joy of the festival. Chen Jinlan, Shui Yuhua and several young embroiderers from the embroidery workshop happily put on the embroidery products from the workshop, put on their favorite hairpins and rings, and came to the famous outing destination in Echeng, the Peach Blossom Spring in the suburbs. Hundreds of young men and women had gathered here, all dressed in gorgeous clothes, competing for beauty. Jinlan and others were sitting under a peach tree, laughing and playing, and felt that someone was looking at them frequently. A young embroiderer named Zhang recognized that the group of girls were also embroiderers from her former employer, Zhenluofang.

Seeing that they were recognized, the embroiderers from Zhenluofang came over and greeted Zhang Xiu Niang: "Xiaocao, it's been a long time since we last met. You look good!"

Zhang Xiaocao warmly invited them to sit down. A round-faced, big-eyed embroiderer looked at the embroidery on Jinlan and the others, and said with envy and jealousy: "Xiaocao, your Shuixiufang is really popular. It has only been open for a few months, and you have one new idea after another. Sometimes it's embroidery for the occasion, sometimes it's theme embroidery, and the Shangsi Festival is the first. People are rushing to Shuixiufang, and we can't keep up."

An embroiderer with a pair of cold phoenix eyes snorted softly, "What is there to envy? I heard that the embroiderers in Shuixiufang are miserable. They used to spend several months on one piece of embroidery, but now because the boss wants to renovate the design, they are rushing to finish the work every day. It takes two to three months at most, and as short as ten days to embroider one piece. What good things can be embroidered at this speed? Their own skills can't be improved."

Hearing this, Jin Lan and the others all looked gloomy. The embroiderer with phoenix eyes didn't think so, and said to herself: "Slow work produces fine work. You are not making money by these crooked ways in the long run!"

Shui Yuhua admired her second sister the most and was very straightforward. Her eyes widened immediately, she put her hands on her hips and said unconvincedly, "Who says that embroidery is not good if it is done quickly? How dare you say that the embroidery on our bodies is not good? The needlework of Shui Xiufang is unique, and the embroiderers of Shui Xiufang have superb skills. Do you know how to do hair embroidery and natural embroidery? You are just complaining about sour grapes!"

The embroiderer with phoenix eyes couldn't hold back her face anymore, and said angrily: "I was just kindly reminding you, but you took my kindness for granted. Let me tell you, harmony brings wealth. Shuixiufang has now offended all the embroidery workshops in Jiangxia. Good luck to you!"

After saying that, she stood up and walked away angrily, holding up the hem of her skirt. The other embroiderers in Zhenluofang looked at each other awkwardly and made excuses to leave.

Shui Yuhua and Chen Jinlan's good mood for sightseeing was wiped out. Thinking of what the phoenix-eyed embroiderer said, "I have offended all my colleagues," an inexplicable worry shrouded their hearts.