Re-embroidering life

Chapter 129 Embroidery Pattern

After that day, Shui Qinghua often took Jinlan to Siyifang to ask Shen Xin for advice on how to embroider the costumes. Together, they repaired the damaged costumes in less than a month. Shui Qinghua confirmed that there was no violation of the regulations before returning them to Hanqiu.

In the past month, Shui Qinghua found that Shen Xin smiled less and less, and no matter how hard she tried to comfort her, it was useless. After asking about the whole story, the master and apprentice were furious.

It turns out that Yu Hui was born into a scholarly family, and was more noble than wealthy. Since the marriage, most of the family expenses have been supported by Shen Xin's Silk Memory Shop. After coming to Beijing, Yu Hui had acquired many dandy habits, indulged in wine and women, and spent a lot of money to please his concubine. He first bought a house in a prosperous area of ​​Beijing, and bought high-end jewelry and rouge and powder every now and then. The money he earned from selling paintings was far from enough, so he asked Shen Xin for it with confidence.

"All my fantasies about him are shattered now. I can't live with him anymore. Ten days ago, I moved out of Yu's house and lived in Siyifang. Even so, he still comes to ask for money every now and then. Sometimes he comes alone, and sometimes he brings his two concubines with him. The business of Siyifang is almost going out of business." Shen Xin smiled bitterly helplessly.

"Has Mr. Shen ever thought about divorce and getting rid of this person completely?" Chen Jinlan looked puzzled.

Shen Xin continued to smile bitterly and shook her head: "Divorce, it's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't. The Shen family is a wealthy family in Jiangnan. My origin is both my honor and my shackles. A girl from the Shen family can die, but she can't be divorced. Unless..."

She turned her eyes to Shui Qinghua, her eyes full of desolation: "Unless you are like Shen Xiu Niang, who asked to leave the clan, gave up everything she had, even her identity and name, and went far away to live a wandering life."

"Why?" Jin Lan was furious.

"Back then, Shen Xiu Niang burned her boats and was determined to the end. After her death, the reputation of the Shen family's women was damaged. Those who were engaged had their engagements canceled one after another, and those who were not engaged could only lower their standards. Since her, the clan has become more and more strict about divorce for women. My divorce is not a big deal, but how can I feel at ease if it affects the younger generations in the clan?" Shen Xin's tone was flat. It was unknown whether she was truly calm or if there was nothing more sorrowful than a dead heart.

At this moment, Jin Lan was actually glad that she was born in an inconspicuous family of imperial physicians.

"Sister Shen, you live in Siyifang, and he will always come to see you. Why don't you move to Furong Garden? Out of sight, out of mind." Shui Qinghua gave her advice.

"Yes, Mr. Shen, we are going to open a new embroidery school soon. You can come and teach the students." Jin Lan also encouraged her.

Shen Xin smiled and said, "Okay, if you don't mind me disturbing you, I will respectfully obey your orders. I am doing something important and I need a quiet environment."

Both the master and the disciple were curious, what important thing was it?

"Compile embroidery manuals. I plan to record everything I have learned throughout my life, as well as my research and understanding of embroidery over the years, compile them into a book, and pass them on to the world." Speaking of embroidery, the gloom on Shen Xin's face disappeared, and she glowed with confidence again.

Shui Qinghua was surprised. Aren't embroidery manuals secret? Of course, the leakage of embroidery manuals would be a deep blow to her. Why did Shen Xin still want to spread it to the world?

The shock on the master and apprentice's faces made Shen Xin laugh. After laughing, she said seriously: "I am a few years older than you. I have seen clearly over the years that the embroidery art has been progressing more and more slowly. Double-sided embroidery, and even double-sided embroidery with different colors, have been around for many years, and new techniques have never appeared in Jiangnan. On the contrary, you, Sister Shui, because your aunt brought the techniques to Jiangxia, you independently created natural embroidery, then random needle embroidery, and invented new silk threads. You are worthy of being a master of embroidery in the world."

Shui Qinghua has heard a lot of similar praises, but the affirmation from senior masters still makes her excited.

Shen Xin continued, "I often wonder, if my aunt hadn't gone to Jiangxia and taught you the Suzhou embroidery technique, would you have never created anything innovative?"

Shen Xin only said a few words, but Shui Qinghua understood her meaning. Each embroidery workshop regarded its unique skills as a treasure, guarded them strictly, and took advantage of its neighbors. In the short term, it did help the workshop make money, but in the long run, the overall progress of embroidery skills was slowed down.

"But doesn't the Shen family have very strict confidentiality rules? Will the Shen family agree to you doing this?" Shui Qinghua still remembered that because of the Shen family's strict rules, Meng Xiu Niang was always the only embroiderer in Jiangxia who could embroider with different colors on both sides.

"Yes," Shen Xiu Niang nodded, "If I can't avoid fighting with my family, then I would rather do it for embroidery than for my own personal affairs."

Shui Qinghua was thinking. Just a few days ago, she was still discussing with Ji Fei how to protect the embroidery pattern of random needlework and prevent outsiders from stealing it. This is also the mainstream nowadays. Craftsmen set various rules, such as passing it on to sons but not daughters, passing it on to family members but not outsiders, to protect their secret recipes from being leaked to others. Even Confucius emphasized "transmitting but not creating", always maintaining the originality of knowledge.

She didn't think it was wrong to do so. The new needlework was the result of her great efforts. She couldn't share it for free, at least not now. One day, as the embroidery school grew bigger and bigger, more and more people learned Shui's needlework, or she created a newer and more complex needlework, then she could follow Shen Xin's example and pass on the random needlework embroidery manual to the world.

From this incident, she saw that Shen Xin's vision and righteousness were beyond ordinary people, and she respected her. She admitted that she was not as good as her.

Soon, Shen Xin moved into Furong Garden. She spent most of her time in her study writing embroidery patterns, and no one bothered her. Only Shui Qinghua and his apprentice often consulted with her about the embroidery school.

In order to run the embroidery school, Jinlan took out all her dowry and the compensation from the Zhao family, bought a piece of land next to Furong Garden, and built a brand new school building. Shui Qinghua did not incorporate this embroidery school into Furong Garden, but named it "Baicaojun Embroidery School". She originally planned to use "Chen's Embroidery School", but Jinlan refused to allow it in order to express her determination to cut ties with the Chen family, and finally used her nickname.

Jin Lan put all her efforts into the new embroidery school. As soon as the enrollment notice was posted, the women who came to register lined up for nearly a mile. Almost all of them had thick hands and feet, and their faces were full of vicissitudes. Some of them even had sleeping babies on their backs.

"Is it really free to learn a skill here?" This is the most frequently asked question.

The embroidery school can only accommodate a limited number of people, so Jin Lan has to raise the standards again and again. Only women who have no family to rely on and are helpless can enter the preliminary selection. The second round will also depend on whether the fingers are flexible and whether there is a basic perception of colors and lines.

After two rounds, less than half of the candidates were able to enter the school, but it still brought endless hope to these women.