The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 80 - A Win-Win Situation

80: Chapter 80: A Win-Win Situation

80 -80: A Win-Win Situation

Lady Jiang, who had almost resigned herself to her fate, now looked at Wang Yongzhu and couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope rising.

If she could train her sister-in-law properly, not to mention considering herself half a master, she would definitely please her mother-in-law by teaching her sister-in-law a unique skill that was not to be passed on outside the family.

Over the years, due to her persistence, she knew about the silent struggle between herself and Old Granny Zhang.

In her youth, she persevered out of sheer stubbornness and to uphold her mother’s dying words; no matter how hard or exhausted she was, she never bowed down.

But now, with age, she sometimes wondered, did her persistence have any meaning?

Was it worth affecting her three children for the sake of this persistence?

Seeing Jinhua’s disappointed eyes yesterday had kept Lady Jiang awake all night.

After a night of pondering, with her already wavering heart influenced by seeing her sister-in-law’s talent, she finally gave up completely.

Therefore, the most important thing at the moment was to curry favor with her mother-in-law by passing her skills on to her sister-in-law so the future days of the third branch in the household would not be so difficult.

Not to mention, the craft passed down from her own mother would not go unclaimed.

By any account, it was a win-win situation.

Wang Yongzhu felt uncomfortable being watched by Lady Jiang’s sudden burst of excited and surprised eyes, scratching her head, “Third sister-in-law, what, what do you want to do—”

Lady Jiang grabbed Wang Yongzhu’s hand, too excited to speak properly for a moment, “Little sister, I…

my mother…”

Wang Yongzhu was confused.

What did this have to do with Lady Jiang’s mother?

Jinshao, standing beside them, thought they were playing when she saw her mother grab her old aunt’s hand.

She also happily pounced over, placing both her little hands on top of Lady Jiang’s and Wang Yongzhu’s, giggling.

Lady Jiang composed herself and spoke cautiously, “Little sister, I see you have a talent for sewing, would you like to learn embroidery?

I learned embroidery from my mother, who was an embroideress for a wealthy family.

When she got older, she bought her freedom and married my father.

My mother told me, she learned this embroidery technique from a very skilled embroideress, called the Seo Family Needlework Method.

It used to be quite famous.

After her master went blind and could no longer embroider, she took in my mother and a few other disciples.

My mother also said, their master’s needlework was renowned throughout the Capital City, the products ranging from screens to clothing, shoes, and handkerchiefs were eagerly sought after by nobility.”

“My mother only mastered two or three tenths of her master’s skill, but even then she was highly valued in her employer’s household.

I lack the talent, and I’ve only learned a little from my mother.

However, not to boast, but this little bit I know is considered amongst the best in these ten miles.

Little sister, do you want to learn?”

Her voice was asking, but her hands firmly grasped Wang Yongzhu’s, not letting go.

This stance made it clear that she wasn’t going to let go until Wang Yongzhu agreed to learn.

Wang Yongzhu did not know that Lady Jiang’s exquisite embroidery had such a background; no wonder the boss’s wife took all of the handkerchiefs and coin purses that day.

But Lady Jiang’s proposal was actually not bad.

Since she already had four system tasks related to food, clothing, shelter, and transportation to complete, and since a sewing task had been released, tasks such as embroidery were likely not far off.

Moreover, having one more skill never hurt anyone.

As an eager learner and a studious overachiever, she remembered back when she used to browse Weibo and saw videos showing how to cleverly mend clothes without visible stitches, which she found fascinating and fun.

However, due to various reasons, she never mastered it, and now that she had the chance to learn firsthand, and to learn something even more advanced and impressive at embroidery, only a fool would refuse.

Furthermore, at that moment, the System’s voice echoed in her mind, “Congratulations to the host for mastering the most basic methods of needlework, completing the Primary Level task.

May the host continue to strive and become an expert in women’s sewing.

Task released: Make shoes for family members and receive their praise.

(Task progress: 0/13).

Upon completion, receive 5 Points.”

“Additionally, congratulations to the host for actively triggering a task.

If you agree to learn women’s sewing and embroidery, an extra 1 Point will be rewarded.

The personal savings achievement sub-task will also be opened; if the host earns ten taels of private money, 1 Point will be rewarded, and for every hundred taels, the reward will be 10 Points, and so on.

Host, do you agree to learn women’s sewing and embroidery from Lady Jiang and complete the task?”

Wang Yongzhu was thrilled.

The System had just released two tasks, and more tasks meant more Points to earn.

Moreover, agreeing to learn women’s sewing and embroidery was practically free Points!

How could I not agree!

Wang Yongzhu nodded eagerly, “I want to learn!

Thank you, Third Sister-in-law; I’ll be troubling you from now on!”

“Congratulations to the host for completing the task of agreeing to learn women’s needlework and embroidery, a reward of 1 point is awarded.

Please check your System panel.”

At this moment, the information on the System panel in her mind had changed to:

Current status of the host:

Clothing: Level 1, 0 points

Food: Level 1, 0 points

Housing: Level 0, 0 points

Travel: Level 0, 0 points

Available points: 3 (Points can be freely allocated to the above options)

Wang Yongzhu was very satisfied.

Although Wang Yongzhu didn’t quite understand some of the customs regarding heritage in this era, in the society she previously lived in, many ancient arts were lost either because the ancient techniques couldn’t keep up with the changes of the times, leading to their decline, or due to the artisans’ reluctance to pass their unique skills on to outsiders.

Lady Jiang’s generous offer to teach her embroidery and the chance to earn points for free were favors Wang Yongzhu felt she must acknowledge.

Lady Jiang was also happy.

Finally, she could pass down her mother’s skills, and if her sister-in-law had a natural gift, perhaps she could even continue the glory of the Seo Family Needlework Method.

The two sisters-in-law, one willing to learn and the other willing to teach, hit it off immediately.

Lady Jiang was so eager she almost wished she could transfer everything she knew directly to Wang Yongzhu.

Fortunately, she managed to restrain her impulse and started teaching the basics of needlework, such as mending clothes.

For example, what types of tears in clothing were suitable for patching, which should be sewn directly, how to make the stitches fine and even, and how to save thread and fabric.

She hid nothing, wishing she could dissect her knowledge and implant it directly into Wang Yongzhu’s mind.

However, fortunately, Lady Jiang still remembered how her mother had taught her needlework and followed that example to teach her sister-in-law.

She taught her a few tricks and demonstrated them several times.

Watching her sister-in-law holding the needle and thread, deep in thought over the fabric, Lady Jiang felt extremely satisfied.

She occasionally reminded Wang Yongzhu to get up and move around, to look into the distance often, so as not to constantly look down and hurt both her neck and her eyes.

The most important assets for an embroideress are her hands and eyes, and they must be well-protected.

By evening, everyone in the Wang Family knew that Wang Yongzhu was going to learn needlework and embroidery from Lady Jiang.

Old Granny Zhang was overjoyed.

Nowadays, when a girl gets married, in addition to a rich dowry, having an additional skill can greatly enhance her reputation and raise her value.