Chapter 274 - 179: Touched_1
The beautiful flower arrangement not only made the nearby Qian Manxia and Qian Xiaoyu exclaim in admiration, but even the aesthetically discerning mother was amazed and excited to the point her face turned red.
She stared at the flower arrangement for quite a while before saying, "It’s really beautiful, my daughter is so capable!"
With joy and pride shining in her eyes, she had the proud sense of Look at how skilled I am, look at how capable the daughter I gave birth to is.
The Zhang family had done a great favor for their own, so when the benefactor’s son was getting married, Qian Sangui always wanted to give a good gift. But the Zhang family had money, and what the world sees as good, the Zhang family might not care for, and they also didn’t have that much silver.
After discussing with his grandchildren, Qian Sangui decided to give a fine screen, do the embroidery himself, ask Master Zhao to help find a good carpenter, and buy a few pieces of good quality wood to make an exquisite stand.
This had started two months ago. The embroidery design was drawn by Cheng Yue; it was of mandarin ducks playing in the water. The design itself wasn’t complicated, but the challenge lay in it being double-sided embroidery.
With the mother busy, she let Xie Xiaoyu take the lead in stitching. Xie Xiaoyu’s embroidery skills were already good, and she was quite talented. Although Cheng Yue couldn’t explain, the clever Xie Xiaoyu learned a lot just by watching, and her embroidery skills became increasingly superb.
However, the eyes of the mandarin ducks and several water droplets were embroidered by the mother herself, using the water ripple needle. It not only added the finishing touches to the embroidery but also elevated its class.
A few days ago, the beautiful carved stand had already been made. The wood was chicken-wing wood, which the carpenter had left over after making furniture for a wealthy merchant in the provincial city, and it was just enough for a medium-sized screen. The wood and craftsmanship cost the carpenter eighty taels of silver.
With the embroidery inlaid, a high-class screen miraculously appeared.
Qian Sangui was extremely satisfied, saying that if this screen were sold in a shop, it would fetch no less than five hundred taels of silver.
The Zhang family would surely be pleased with this gift, as high-class screens are common, but not many had embroidery done with the water ripple needle.