"Alright," Qin Xiangnuan let her gaze fall on Old Madam Sun, and then nodded politely to her. Old Madam Sun instantly took a liking to this young girl, who had a reserved temperament, a strong scholarly aura, and a little baby fat on her small face, but indeed, she was very adorable.
Furthermore, supporting herself with her own hands, such a child must be a good one.
She didn’t rashly ask Qin Xiangnuan if she understood embroidery, or who she learned it from, because they were not yet familiar. She could sense that the child maintained a certain distance from others, and she was afraid that if she asked too much, the young girl might start overthinking.
Children of this era have a lot more on their minds pared to their time.
Qin Xiangnuan had some understanding of why Old Madam Sun was looking at her; she had heard from Mr. Sun that Old Madam Sun came from a scholarly family and was a lady from a prestigious family during the Late Qing. Moreover, her family had an ancestral tradition of embroidery. It was unknown how much of the skill was lost with Old Madam Sun and how much was mastered.
Her own embroidery work was very unique, which she knew well. On the Tang suit she had embroidered for Mr. Sun, she used no fewer than four different embroidery techniques. If Old Madam Sun was knowledgeable about embroidery, she would have recognized this at a glance, and perhaps that was why she didn’t ask further.
Indeed, people of high standing knew that some things should not be inquired about, and she would not take the initiative to speak.
Of course, her first impression of Old Madam Sun was very good. Such a person of high quality truly stood apart.
Granny Lu was simple and unrefined; Old Madam Sun was wise. She liked such elders and of course also wished to draw her heart a little closer to them.
She then made another scallion pancake for Mr. Sun, who happily took it. He and Old Madam Sun sat together, eating side by side, bite by bite, with a sense of time flowing like an endless sea or carving stone – a sentiment that seemed to live within them.
Life is just like that, fleeting in just a few decades. To encounter someone who truly understands you and stays with you for life is extraordinarily rare.
She did not meet such a person in her previous life.
She wondered if she would in this one.
Would she...
Would she?
Will it happen again?
Involuntarily, she lowered her thick, long eyelashes, the twin ink-colored gems in her eyes twinkling slightly, revealing a hint of heartache. She thought to herself that perhaps she was not that strong after all.
Suddenly, she smiled and revived her spirits, continuing to bake scallion pancakes until there was a moment with no customers, and then she rode her tricycle home.
On Mr. Sun’s birthday, she did not go, because she had to tend her stall; because those attending were mostly strangers to her; because, frankly, such places were not for someone like her.
On this day, a slight rain fell, probably the first of the spring.
The rain nourished silently, a gentle vitality threaded even in the drops that fell on people, not as harshly cold as in winter, nor as refreshingly cool as in summer. In fact, it was still a bit cold, but the wind that brought along this light rain was starting to warm.
"How much are they?" The sudden voice pulled her from the sound of the rain.
Instinctively, she gave her well-practiced quote, "With vegetables, four cents; without, 30 cents."
"Then give me one with vegetables, add more shredded potato, more kelp, and extra chili."
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