Chapter 11
Chapter 11
“Pah, I knew that bitch was dishonest. She must be selling herself in town. Otherwise, where would she get the money? Fortunately, she retired early. Otherwise, my Tian family’s reputation would have been ruined by her.”
Even the gossipy Madam Zhou Du felt ashamed of Madam Tian Li’s words. She was already an adult, yet she could slander others with ease.
“No, Shopkeeper Lu of the embroidery shop took her in. She is now working inside.”
When Madam Tian Li heard this, she felt uncomfortable. She was annoyed by Madam Zhou Du’s nagging.
“What does it have to do with me whether she’s doing well or not? If you have the energy to tell me, why don’t you go to her parent’s house and tell them she’s doing well?”
“Aunt, she is learning embroidery from Shopkeeper Lu and helping out in the shop. She earns at least a few hundred coins a month. When she leaves her apprenticeship, one embroidery job can be enough to support a family for a year. You lost a money tree!”
Madam Tian Li felt even more annoyed when she heard this. “Leave. Hurry up and go home to cook. Stop bothering me here.”
“Aunt, I’m here to remind you out of kindness.”
“I don’t care. Are you leaving or not? If you don’t leave, I’ll chase you away.”
Madam Zhou Du stood up angrily, her chest bulging.
“Then don’t come to me in the future, hmph!”
She was a junior, so she naturally couldn’t fall out with Madam Tian Li, nor did she dare to. She returned home angrily.
The dinner at the village chief’s house was sumptuous because his youngest son had returned from town.
“Father, Mother, I was working in the shop today and saw a woman who looked like the daughter-in-law of the Tian family. If she wasn’t dressed well, I was afraid I had mistaken her.”
“Half a month ago, she asked the Tian family for a letter to let her go. It might be her.”
“So, it’s very likely to be her?”
“Alright, let’s eat. Don’t mention her. I get angry by mentioning her. I’ve never seen someone like that. She can’t do anything and insists on separating from Sanzhuang. Since she met a benefactor, I don’t need to settle her household registration. Let her settle it herself.”
Qiao Mai had been waiting for the past two days. After breakfast, she went to the restaurant for lunch.
She wasn’t greedy, but she wanted to taste the food of an ancient restaurant.
She ordered two of the restaurant’s signature dishes and a bowl of rice. This meal was heartbreaking.
She was unsatisfied with either of the dishes. Other than the good plating, it tastes too underwhelming. It could be said that it was difficult to swallow. The price was also expensive.
Qiao Mai turned her head and looked at the customers. They were gobbling down the food happily.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she was too picky.
Qiao Mai resigned herself to fate and paid the bill. When she left the restaurant, she saw vendors selling roast chicken and braised meat. She bought a chicken and half a catty of braised meat. She asked the shop owner to cut and wrap them up before carrying them home.
When she got home, she pushed the door open and placed the two dishes on the table. Then, she took out a bottle of white wine from her space.
Qiao Mai first picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed it. Then, she quickly blew a mouthful of white wine and finally suppressed the evil taste.
She couldn’t swallow the meat, throwing it into the freezer in her space.
Then, she took out two packets of peanuts and a few other snacks from her space. She opened the packets and started eating.
After wandering around the town for the past two days, she found too many business opportunities.
After all, ancient times were backward. The food had too few seasonings, and the taste was not right. Other than water, there was only tea or wine. There seemed to be nothing else. The weaving skills were poor, the density was not enough, and the colors were few, especially the embroidery thread. There were only a few colors. She did not know if it was because of the cheap goods imported by Lu Sanniang or for other reasons. In any case, she did not like anything.
Qiao Mai couldn’t help but miss the good things she had in the past.
Qiao Mai also knew she had high standards, but she still liked the ancient times. She liked the fresh air, the lack of pollution, and the classical beauty.
Of course, she had to accept it was lagging behind. There were pros and cons wherever she went.
She sighed and finished all the food and half a bottle of white wine. It seemed that her body could drink quite well. She did not feel dizzy at all, and her legs were not weak.
She turned her head and looked outside. The sky was getting dark, and no one would come. She flashed into the space.
Qiao Mai threw away the food packet in her arms and entered the house. She smiled when she saw the baby gnawing on her hand with her eyes open.
She walked up to her and wanted to talk. The baby was still young and probably couldn’t hear her. Qiao Mai couldn’t tease her even if she wanted to as she was too weak and small. She didn’t dare to touch this little thing.
She changed her diapers and fed her milk, then picked up the swaddling clothes and patted her back gently.
“Baby, grow up quickly. Mother is still a virgin. I have no experience raising a baby. I get excited when I see you.”
“Baby, what name should I give you? Mother hopes that you will grow up safely and healthily. How about Ankang? Uh, you’re a girl, and this name is too masculine. Why don’t you call yourself Qiao Wanling? Your nickname will be Ling’er. Hmm, not bad. It is gentle and beautiful. It will do!”
After giving her a name, Qiao Mai placed her on the bed and fell asleep not long after.
The space allowed her to relax, and the alcohol made her even warmer. The baby slept soundly and did not disturb her. She slept until the sun was high in the sky.
When she opened her eyes, she was in disbelief at the fact that she slept for so long.
She quickly took care of the baby and coaxed her to sleep before leaving the space.
She didn’t even eat breakfast. After washing up, Qiao Mai went straight to the cloth shop to pay the balance and get the muslin.
She went to the carpenter’s shop and saw the fan holder and exquisite wooden box. Qiao Mai paid the balance in satisfaction and went home.
She was still a little nervous about the embroidery today.
She fixed the muslin on the cloth support and placed the fan frame. She drew a circle on the cloth along the inner circle. She thought about it again. Girls generally liked flowers and cute little animals. Even those who were older were still childish and liked these things.
So she took a paintbrush from her space, rubbed her hands, and moved her fingers. She sat down and lowered her head to start drawing on the cloth.
All the adults, children, and elderly loved one animal, and that was cats. No woman could escape the cute appearance of cats, their cheerful temperament, and their clingy appearance. Their hearts could melt.
She drew a picture of a little cat chasing after a butterfly. Her drawing skills were extraordinary. The cat was charmingly naive, and the butterfly danced in the air.
Although it wasn’t colored, she still felt this painting was beautiful.
Qiao Mai was about to start embroidering, but after some thought, she cut off a corner of the muslin and soaked it under the sun for a while. Seeing no change, she sat in front of the cloth and began to embroider.
Time flew when there was work to do. In the blink of an eye, the sky darkened.
She didn’t feel hungry even though she didn’t eat in the morning or at noon. Qiao Mai was focused on her embroidery. If it weren’t for the sound of knocking, she would still be embroidering.
Qiao Mai smiled when she opened the door and saw Shopkeeper Lu.
“Sister, why are you here?”
“You said you were going to the cloth shop today, so I wanted to come over.”
“Where are Ruxin and the others?”
“They went home.”
Qiao Mai welcomed her into the house and to the table. Shopkeeper Lu picked up her cloth support.
“Oh, you embroidered it as soon as you brought it back?”
“Yeah, I’ve been eating Sister Lu’s food for free for 20 days. I can’t do nothing, right?”
“How’s your body?”
“Everything’s fine.”
“Don’t embroider at night. It hurts your eyes.”
“Got it.”
Shopkeeper Lu looked at the cloth support without raising her head. It seemed that she was very satisfied with the embroidery work. Qiao Mai used an entire afternoon to embroider a butterfly. Whether it was the color matching or the embroidery, she could pick no flaws.
“Tsk tsk, the cloth, paired with this embroidery, is really amazing.”
“I’ll bring the embroidery work to the shop later. If Ruxin and Ruyi can embroider, I can give them some pointers as long as they don’t mind.”