Chapter 181 - 144 Hope_1
Qian Yixiu bent down to pat Tiaotiao, who was shaking its head and wagging its tail to show friendliness, then raised her head to look at the silhouette of her mother.
In the morning light, her mother once again stood at the courtyard door, gazing into the distance.
Since the first wildflower bloomed at the end of February, her mother had stood at the door more than she had in winter.
It was now the middle to end of March, and the wilderness was full of wildflowers. The gentle spring breeze carried the scent of flowers and grass to every corner, stirring people’s hearts with restlessness. Not just her mother, but occasionally others would also stand there and admire the splashes of purples and reds scattered among the green grass.
Her mother’s daily routine had become quite fixed now. If it wasn’t raining or there were no guests, she would stand at the courtyard door for a while before each of the three meals. She spent the rest of her time embroidering, without even taking a break for a midday nap.
Her mother focused more and more on her embroidery, sitting for one or two hours at a time, sometimes even stitching under the lamp into the night, and she wouldn’t listen to any persuasion to stop. She practiced not just on the embroidery frame, but also on handkerchiefs, researching which stitches made the prettiest patterns before transferring them to the frame. Despite her hard work, progress was still very slow.
The family no longer relied on her embroidery to make money, just as long as she did not fall ill, they let her be. Only one thing, because of her "research," she used more embroidery threads and white silk. Moreover, she had higher demands for the quality of threads, causing frugal Lady Wu much helplessness and complaints.
When Lady Wu wouldn’t give her what she wanted, Cheng Yue would pout and look at her with tearful eyes, and both Qian Yixiu and Qian Yijin would plead on their mother’s behalf. Even Qian Sangui and Qian Manxia would join in to beg, so Lady Wu grudgingly asked someone to bring the materials from the provincial city. Still grumbling, she complained, "Fine, I’ll be the unliked one, the one who offends others. I save so much just for the sake of this family..."
Yet, despite her protests, she had someone bring back over ten taels worth of high-quality embroidery thread from the provincial city.
The stone slabs in the courtyard were damp, with puddles in some areas. Under the peach tree, fallen petals lay scattered in a profusion of red. Qian Yixiu stepped around the puddles to her mother’s side.
She reached out her small hand to tug at Cheng Yue’s skirt. Cheng Yue looked down at her daughter, then raised her head to gaze into the distance and said softly, "So many flowers have bloomed again, they are so lovely..."