Re-embroidering life

In this bright spring season, Ji Wei is one year old, which also means that Shui Qinghua has been reborn for a whole year.

The first birthday party was held in the mansion in the city, and was organized by the second sister-in-law Sun Xiaolan. Although it was just a family party, Sun Xiaolan really put a lot of thought into it. The mansion was filled with colorful silks and lanterns hanging high, which was warm and grand.

In the courtyard, a large round table was covered with red cloth, on which were placed various items for the one-year-old celebration: four treasures of the study, gold and silver ingots, abacus, books, musical instruments, and Shui Qinghua also specially placed a bag of embroidery needles.

The guests arrived one after another. As Ji Wei's maternal family, the Shui family was present. Since Shui Qinghua made friends, opened an embroidery workshop, and repeatedly showed her smartness and decision-making in household affairs, Mrs. Ji looked at her differently, and her attitude towards the Shui family became much warmer. For a while, the host and the guests talked and laughed, and the atmosphere was warm.

The time for the one-year-old ceremony arrived, and the nurse took Ji Wei out and gently placed her next to the round table, letting her choose from the items for the one-year-old ceremony. Ji Wei was wearing a bright red jacket and pants, with a small bun on her head and a small round red dot on her forehead, looking like a golden boy under the seat of a bodhisattva. She looked around curiously, fiddling with the colorful objects one by one with her little hands, and after turning around, she decisively picked up the big golden ingot and rubbed it in her hands for a long time. A drop of saliva flowed from the corner of her lips, pulling out a long thin thread, swaying and falling on the gold ingot.

Shui Qinghua and Ji Zimo both looked at their daughter with smiles on their faces. Only Mrs. Ji stared at the gold ingot nervously, muttering, "The Ji family is a family of scholars, so we should not be greedy for money!"

Maybe she heard the old lady's voice, but Ji Wei reluctantly put down the gold ingot and continued to crawl forward. When she passed by the embroidery needle, she took a look at it. Just when Shui Qinghua thought she would grab it, she decisively crawled towards the four treasures of the study. Finally, the little golden boy grabbed the brush in one hand and the painting in the other, grinned, revealing eight white and fine teeth, and giggled.

"Great!" Ji Zimo clapped his hands excitedly, "You are so good at painting, Daddy, I have someone to take over!"

He picked up Ji Wei and tossed her up and down in his arms. Ji Wei was not afraid at all and laughed even louder.

Ji Zimo and Shui Qinghua held their baby in their arms, with Ji Fei and Ji Rui by their side. The family of five was surrounded by the crowd, and the guests kept sending a string of auspicious words to their ears. Shui Qinghua listened very carefully, and silently celebrated her first anniversary in her heart. This year, she kept a big secret, and every step she took was lonely, but she did not let herself down after all, and in the future, she will only be better.

When the guests gradually dispersed, Shui Yuhua saw that there was no one around, so she quietly came over and told her second sister everything that happened during the Shangsi Festival without missing a word. Shui Qinghua frowned after hearing this. Was the embroidery lady from Zhenluofang just jealousy among her peers, or was there really something that happened that she didn't know about?

At this moment, Ji Wei in his arms was desperately bouncing her chubby calves and kicking Shui Qinghua's lower abdomen, causing Shui Qinghua to let out a light cry.

"Mom, go slower." Ji Wei looked at Shui Qinghua steadily with her eyes like black grapes, and her petal-like little mouth tried hard to spit out five words.

Shui Qinghua looked at her daughter in surprise, and Shui Yuhua exclaimed loudly: "Wei'er, you have learned to speak!"

Ji Wei showed a trace of impatience on her face. She kicked her calves a few times and repeated, "Mother, go slower."

Shui Qinghua has always believed that Wei'er has some origins. Maybe she is really the reincarnation of a golden boy from the immortal world. She has experienced the disasters of a chaotic life and finally has a clear mind in this life. She is not as surprised and complacent as Ji Zimo is about her daughter's precocity. Instead, she has a hint of awe and trust. Maybe this is really a guide from the gods?

Shui Qinghua wondered, was Wei'er warning her that she was taking too big and fast steps and needed to slow down?

She thought for a moment and said to Shui Yuhua, "Tell Jianzhi to pay more attention to the market trends recently." After thinking for a while, she added, "Especially those in Zhenluofang."

A few days later, Dou Jianzhi came to see Shui Qinghua with a bulging bag hanging in his arms.

"Second sister, the products of Shuixiufang on the market now far exceed the shipment volume I have." Dou Jianzhi was an accountant by profession, and he was very sensitive to numbers and inventory. He noticed something was wrong with just a little attention.

Shui Qinghua stood up suddenly: "This is impossible. The embroidery of Shuixiufang has special marks, and other embroidery workshops can't copy it."

"That's the problem," Dou Jianzhi wiped the sweat off his forehead, "All the embroidery on the market have this water ripple pattern, and the embroidery needlework is exactly the same as that of Shuixiufang, so it's hard to tell the real from the fake."

Shui Qinghua suddenly opened her eyes wide, and stood still like a stone sculpture. The needlework and markings of Shuixiufang were all created by her, and outsiders could never learn them, unless...

She and Dou Jianzhi looked at each other, and they both understood: there was a spy in the Shuixiu Workshop, and it was not just an ordinary embroiderer, but someone who could master all the needle techniques and secret marks. Only a few of her closest and trusted people could do this.

Shui Qinghua felt her heart suddenly weaken.

"Jianzhi, buy some of Zhenluofang's recent shipments and show them to me." Shui Qinghua ordered.

"Second sister, when I found something was wrong, I went out to collect some and brought them all here today." Dou Jianzhi opened the bundle on his arm and took out a pile of embroidery.

Shui Qinghua sat down and looked at each piece carefully. Her heart sank like a stone thrown into the center of a lake. After a long while, she sighed softly, "When I was planning the embroidery workshop, I expected that the needlework techniques would be leaked sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. The Shui Embroidery Workshop has only been open for more than four months."

"Second sister," Dou Jianzhi looked at Shui Qinghua's gloomy face and felt very uncomfortable, "We signed a written contract in the beginning. If they do something like this, we can go to the authorities to sue them!"

Shui Qinghua shook her head: "Of course we have to report to the authorities, but the government will only fine them some money. Since they dare to do it, they are not afraid. The key is that the water embroidery needlework has been spread out. We are no longer the only ones. It will be more difficult to make a living with our skills in the future."

The two looked at each other speechlessly.

Shui Qinghua was depressed for only a moment, then she immediately cheered up and her eyes became clear again. She said to Dou Jianzhi, "We need to inform Manager Wang and Boss Ye as soon as possible. They are also involved in Shuixiufang. We should listen to their ideas on how to remedy the situation."

Before she finished her words, she had already walked out the door. Dou Jianzhi saw her clothes fluttering and her steps were brisk and firm, and his hesitation was swept away, and he followed her with big strides.