"Then let’s gift the sa thing." Lady Zhang thought for a mont and then said, "Three feet of plain blue cloth, we can buy it at the market tomorrow, getting three feet per household should suffice."
"Okay, let’s settle on that." Lady Zhao nodded.
"In a mont, oh, there’s quite a lot of gifts to handle over there..." Lady Zhang whispered to Lady Zhao, chatting quietly.
Lian Manman was sitting next to Lady Li, diligently working. Her sewing skills were not yet proficient; she couldn’t participate in sewing clothes and could only help with miscellaneous tasks while also practicing her sewing skills.
For example, she was now holding a narrow strip of silver-red satin, leftover from tailoring clothes. She rolled both ends of the satin strip inward, turning it into a sturdy, fine rolls, and then sewed them together. While sewing, she made sure to hide the stitches as much as possible.
This was a task given to her by Lady Li. Lian Manman had already sewn several such strips, which were to be used for making button knots.
Lian Manman, under the instruction of Lady Zhang and Lian Zhizhi, could already make the simplest type of button knot, the straight button knot. It involved dividing the strip into equal lengths, then pairing two pieces together. Each piece was twisted and tightened into a spherical knot; the other segnt was folded into a loop, and both segnts were paired together, sewn onto the lapel to form a complete set.
Lady Zhang had learned her sewing skills from Lady Li. When it ca to button knots, Lady Li could make even more patterns than Lady Zhang.
"Grandma, I’ve finished sewing, please teach how to make the knots." Lian Manman said to Lady Li after sewing several strips.
"Alright." Lady Li replied with a smile.
Lian Zhizhi, Zhang Caiyun, and Lian Yeye all gathered around, and even Lady Zhang and Lady Zhao stopped their work and joined in.
Lady Li handled the strips, her hands moving like a butterfly fluttering through flowers, skillfully flipping, twisting, and wrapping. So knots didn’t require sewing, while so were stitched a few tis, and beautifully crafted button knots magically appeared from her hands.
Simple delicate plum blossom knots, double-loop knots, dignified and proper butterfly knots, lute knots, as well as the resplendent and splendid phoenix knots, chrysanthemum knots, and even the intricate lucky-character knots and double happiness knots dazzled everyone, leaving them utterly amazed.
Lady Li deliberately showed off her skills to the younger generation, using strips of different colors and materials to create various types of button knots.
Lian Manman’s eyes sparkled like stars, awed by the beauty. She wanted to keep these button knots and learn from Lady Li.
"...When I was younger, I could make even more patterns. Now that I’m older, I’ve forgotten so of them," Lady Li said with a smile after finishing the last button knot.
"I wish I could learn all these. Grandma, you have to teach ." Lian Manman hugged Lady Li’s arm, "Grandma, don’t leave, just live with us from now on."
"Keep dreaming." Zhang Caiyun pinched Lian Manman.
Lian Manman didn’t hold back and slapped Zhang Caiyun in return.
Zhang Caiyun stretched out her hands and tickled Lian Manman. Lian Manman was ticklish and always hated being tickled, so she quickly pulled Lady Li for help.
"Grandma, save , Sister Caiyun is bullying ." Lian Manman cried out for help.
"You should learn well from your grandma, even I have only learned half of what your grandma knows," Lady Zhang said laughing.
"I need to learn from my aunt too." Lady Zhao added.
Lady Zhao had always been working from a young age, but she had never been taught such beautiful and precise crafting, so with envy, she firmly decided to seize this opportunity to learn from Lady Li.
Lady Li took the strips and carefully taught Lian Manman a few button knots.
Lady Zhou was also skilled in needlework, but aside from her own family—Old Master Lian and Lian Xiu—she never did sewing for others nor taught anyone. Not to ntion granddaughters like Lian Manman, even Lian Xiu had only learned so simple sewing up to now.
Of course, perhaps that was because Lian Xiu did not want to learn.
...
These days, Lian Manman lived a very regular life, aside from daily accounting for the breakfast shop and the Pickled Vegetable Workshop, she was indoors learning sewing from Lady Li. It was Lady Li’s beautiful button knots that ignited her passion for sewing. Previously, when Lady Zhang had asked her to learn, she always did it perfunctorily and never committed her heart to it.
Now that Lian Manman was genuinely learning, she progressed quite fast. Starting with button knots, then moving on to embroidery. Now, she could stretch the handkerchief on a bamboo stretcher, trace the pattern, and embroider a few green patches and several small, decent red flowers with two or three shades of silk threads.
In a tenant farr’s family, daughters and daughters-in-law usually learned sewing orally. Lian Manman, who could read and write, not only listened but also took notes, learning in a very systematic and scholarly manner. This often made Zhang Caiyun tease her, but the pace of her learning also made Zhang Caiyun quite envious.
As the weather turned cooler, and the leaves were finally gone, Lian Manman wore a light padded jacket. Lady Li had finished making new clothes for Zhang Caiyun’s family inside and out, and she was going to return, but the family stopped her insisting that she and Zhang Caiyun stay a few more days.
In the past, even after the family split, living under Lady Zhou’s watchful eye, every visit from Lady Li ended within three days. Now that Lady Zhang was in charge with no one to make remarks, she wanted Lady Li to stay longer so the mother and daughter could spend more ti together after many years.
That day, while the family was making lunch, a worker from the Yue Lai Tavern in town suddenly ca running.
"...An old custor from Taicang brought this, saying it’s urgent news," the worker handed a letter to Lian Shouxin.
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Here’s the first update, asking for likes.
There will be a second update later. These past few days, the likes have been strong, let’s keep it up, fist bump.
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Ruoyan’s recomnded completed farming novel:
Title: "Rebirth: When Flowers Bloom and the Moon is Full" (complete main text and extras) (click below for a direct link)
Description: Transported into the life of a woman wrongfully accused of unchastity, carrying a small child, she leads a sweet life with a frugal husband. (To be continued. If you like this novel, welco to vote at qidian for recomndation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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