Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 113 - Pampered_1
Chapter 113: Chapter 113 Pampered_1
Chapter 113: Chapter 113 Pampered_1
Those few items alone cost nearly six coins of silver, leaving Qian Yixiu with only twenty-six Wen left in her private funds.
Qian Yixiu paid no mind to Lady Wu, who kept grumbling all the way home. Instead, she went home and gave the items to her aunt and younger aunt, both of whom were delighted and expressed their gratitude with phrases like “So beautiful, thank you.” Especially the younger aunt, it was her first time holding such luxuries for girls, her happy little face blushing with joy.
Lady Wu advised Qian Manxia, “This wooden comb and small copper mirror are exquisite and lovely. It would be a pity to use them now; better to save them for your dowry.”
Qian Yixiu firmly disagreed, pouting her lips as she said, “Aunt’s dowry should be provided by Grandpa and Grandma. What I bought is for Aunt to use now.”
Unable to win against her granddaughter, Lady Wu tapped Qian Yixiu’s head and then left the room.
Qian Yixiu cheerfully followed her younger aunt back to her little room and eagerly watched as the younger aunt sat in front of the mirror, redoing her hair, and added the Yellow Juan Flowers she hadn’t dared to wear before, then applied the Fragrance grease to her face, looking as charming as a blooming flower.
Qian Yixiu was grinning from ear to ear. This was what a young girl should be doing. A girl needs to be pampered. If Grandpa and Grandma didn’t pamper her younger aunt, she would create the conditions herself to nurture her younger aunt tenderly and beautifully.
Looking at her own mother, who was so naive she didn’t even remember her own name and dressed in clothes as plain as burlap, yet she still knew to always make herself look beautiful in the mirror. Of course, that didn’t count when she first arrived at the Qian family; something must have happened to her before that, resulting in such a distressed and foolish state.
Actually, the younger aunt herself used to be quite neat and tidy; she simply lacked the delicate air of a young girl.
Seeing her niece’s eager gaze, Qian Manxia’s face turned red, and she playfully tapped Qian Yixiu’s forehead with her index finger, teasing, “Little Devil, what are you staring at?”
Qian Yixiu laughingly boasted, “My aunt is truly beautiful.”
Qian Manxia blushed and gave her a stern look.
In the end, Qian Yixiu reminded her that taking care of her hands was equally important. Fragrance grease should not only be applied to the face, but also to the hands. Her current priority was to take care of her hands, and nothing else.
The younger aunt was reluctant, saying, “It’s such good Fragrance grease, it’s a waste to use on hands.”
To emphasize the importance of hand care, Qian Yixiu frightened her by saying, “Only if your hands are soft and tender will your husband’s family think you were loved and cherished at home. Otherwise, if they think even your own family didn’t care for you, would they take you to heart?”
Qian Manxia blushed and gave her a stern look again, scolding, “Little Devil, you’re slier than the rocks on the mountain.”
Despite her words, she took a little Fragrance grease from the box with her index finger and applied it to her hands.
In the main hall, Lady Wu quietly complained to Qian Sangui about their granddaughter squandering money and purchasing Fragrance grease with silver.
Qian Sangui thought of his daughter and was filled with guilt. She had been acting like an adult since she was very young, never complaining or showing fatigue, always with a smiling face. Perhaps it was because she acted this way that he never really thought about her needs.
He felt guilty towards his wife, missed his son, adored his grandson, cherished his granddaughter, but he seldom concerned himself with his sensible and diligent daughter.
The girl was already twelve years old and wouldn’t stay at home for too many more years; it was time she was pampered and enjoyed the blessings of her family’s home.
So, he advised Lady Wu, “Yixiu did the right thing; we’ve neglected our daughter. These are the things that, as parents, we should take care of, yet we let such a little person handle them…”
Lady Wu, being the daughter of a Scholar, had once yearned for “skin as soft as delicate shoots, complexion as smooth as coagulated fat”, begging her mother to buy her fragrance grease and rouge. However, her personality had been roughened and toughened by over a decade of hardships, and she had not considered her daughter’s desires.
Hearing her husband speak this way, and reminiscing about her own comfortable and contented younger days, Lady Wu also felt guilty towards her daughter. She began planning again for her daughter’s dowry.
While Qian Manxia was applying fragrance grease and protecting her hands, she stopped learning embroidery from Cheng Yue and began learning from Qian Xiaoyu instead.
Because she had discovered Qian Xiaoyu’s embroidery was very good too, and she could explain things, telling her which stitches to use for what, which techniques were suitable for embroidering what, and how to match the embroidery threads attractively.
The truth was Qian Xiaoyu had been brought up almost like a young lady in the Capital City and had specially learned embroidery from an embroideress. Although her skills were far from matching those of Cheng Yue, they were much better than those of Lady Wu, Qian Mandie, and other country folks.
Moreover, the hairstyles Qian Xiaoyu styled for her were attractive, and the clothes, once matched by her, looked much better. She also shared many interesting tales of the Capital City.
Afterward, Qian Mandie often came to learn embroidery from Qian Xiaoyu too.
Lady Wu was pleased to see this, so she allowed Qian Xiaoyu to work less and spend more time teaching the girls embroidery. The young girls would embroider under the jujube tree when they were idle, sometimes whispering secrets to each other, and the crisp, bell-like laughter was both joyful and beautiful.
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The age of cardamom was the most beautiful time for girls, with heart-fluttering thrills, vibrant vitality, and the brilliance of their initial bloom… Unfortunately, for ancient girls, such lovely and comfortable days were all too short. In the near future, while still innocent and young, they would marry and live cautiously in their husband’s family, dutiful to their in-laws and devoted to their husbands and children.
As a little rascal, Qian Yixiu knew she had a generational gap with them and couldn’t bear to disturb their tranquility, so she stood aside, happily watching without joining in.
Qian Yixiu had indeed splurged that day because she didn’t have much pocket money left. Lady Wu had started pinching pennies again after spending so much money all at once and wouldn’t hand out any more.
She eagerly hoped Dashan and Monkey Brother would bring some good fortune, but they came back empty-handed every day. Disappointed, she encouraged Monkey Brother, and herself as well, “No matter, there’s plenty of time ahead, keep trying.”
One day, Lady Wu rode a cart pulled by a yellow ox driven by Huang Tie to the county town to repay the silver borrowed from Shopkeeper Cui and Zhang Zhongkun, and she also brought twenty cakes each for Old Lady Zhang and Shopkeeper Cui. Surprisingly, she received two purses, one rewarded by Young Master Liang and one by Old Lady Zhang, while Shopkeeper Cui gave Qian Yijin two paper cuts as well.
In the evening, Wong Liang arrived; he had just come back from the provincial city and brought a purse rewarded by Young Master Song.
Wong Liang also hinted that Old Lady Song liked these kinds of cakes too, saying they were fluffy, sweet and chewy, suitable for elderly people with poor teeth.
All three purses contained four two-coin silver ingots, but no matter how much Qian Yixiu kicked up a fuss, she couldn’t get her hands on one. Even if Qian Sangui spoke up for her, Lady Wu adamantly refused, accusing her of only buying useless things with the silver.
Qian Yixiu sulked for a while and then let it go, but Cheng Yue felt upset for quite some time. She said to Qian Yixiu, “Don’t be sad, Yixiu. Mother is almost done with the ‘Two Ducks Playing in the Water’ embroidery. Once it’s sold for silver, Grandma will give some to Yixiu.”
After that, whenever Steward Wong and his son planned to go to the provincial city, they would inform them a few days in advance, and Lady Wu would prepare some sweet rice wine and cakes to bring over. Of course, this would result in some returns, sometimes a few small silver ingots, sometimes a couple of packets of candies or several hair ornaments, and the like.
