Chapter 33 New Year, New Atmosphere (3) Carefree
After lunch, Uncle Dashan and Aunt Cuihua were preparing to leave. Shi Qi was reluctant to part with Xiaoshan and Beibei. Lin Chuanben had wanted to return to Linjia Village with Uncle Dashan, but was persuaded by Mrs. Shi to stay behind. However, since Aunt Cuihua's family raised chickens and ducks, she didn't want to leave them unattended at night.
Lin Chun San and his siblings stayed at the Shi family's house for another three days. On the twelfth day of the first month, Lin Chun San and his siblings got up early, had breakfast, and bid farewell to the Shi family members. Shi Qi was sad but knew that Lin Chun San and his siblings had to return home. He carefully prepared gifts for the three of them and hugged Gege and Dudu tightly before letting go. Da Tou promised him that when someone in the village got a new puppy, he would send one over, which finally made him let go. Shi Wen asked the steward of the Shi family to drive a horse carriage to take the three back to Linjia Village. Lin Chun was preoccupied with thinking about the three pieces of jewelry designs from Qianfuyuan every month and the wedding gifts from Shao Dongjia's friends, so as soon as he got home, he spent his days writing and drawing in a small room except when helping Da Tou and Er Ya with cooking and eating. Occasionally, Dashan Bo and Cuihua Dama would come to visit but wouldn't disturb Lin Chun when they saw him busy, and would just leave some food and drinks before heading back home.
The village of Lin's family, because of the loss of Old Man Lin and Liu Erniang's family, the rumors about Lin Chun San's sister also gradually disappeared. Until one night, the Cui Hong Building in the town was changed to Xiu Lou, and it widely recruited girls from various villages to come to the building to learn embroidery skills without charging any tuition fees. It is said that some of the instructors were even from the palace, but because they were old and had no children, they came to this embroidery building as instructors, teaching the girls embroidery skills and etiquette.
Lin Chun was a little surprised to hear the news, but he was very uneasy in his heart. The Cuihong Building had changed overnight after the incident with Ruhua, and Lin Chun didn't know if it had anything to do with his own affairs. He thought that when he finished drawing his map, he would ask Uncle Qian about it when he delivered it to Qianfuyuan in town.
Cuihua's wife also received the news, and heard that the village head's daughter-in-law and Seventh Aunt were preparing to gather all the girls in the village between the ages of 7 and 13 to go to the embroidery building in town. After all, this embroidery building was free to teach girls embroidery skills and etiquette, and it was taught by palace ladies, so it must be very beneficial. If the girls from Linjia Village could be taught to be knowledgeable and reasonable, virtuous and dignified, then no matter what happened in the future, the marriage and reputation of Linjia Village's girls would be greatly affected. Cuihua's wife was worried about Dabao, so early in the morning after eating, she brought Xiaoshan and Beibei to Linchun's house. Linchun had stayed up all night drawing papers, and at this time he hadn't gotten out of bed yet. Daxiong and Erniang got up by themselves, made rice, and ate it in the courtyard while playing with Gege.
Cuifang's mother heard that Linchun was still sleeping, and her heart ached for her. She thought about how much Daiyu wanted to make their lives better, but didn't take care of herself, which made her very worried. It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Linchun finally got out of bed and left the house. When Cuifang's mother saw Linchun come out, she first had hot water ready for Linchun to wash up, then brought over a bowl of porridge and steamed buns that had been kept warm in the pot. Only after Linchun finished eating did Cuifang's mother start scolding her for not taking care of herself. Linchun felt warmth in her heart and quickly tried to coax Cuifang's mother, who softened upon seeing Linchun like this and didn't say anything more. Thinking about her own purpose, Cuifang's mother felt another pang of sorrow.
Lin Chun found out about Cuifang's intentions and the commotion in Linjia Village, and was also very troubled. If he went himself, he would definitely be away from home every day, and his family would soon have to prepare for building a wall around their house. He still had to draw designs for Qianfuyuan, and Dahou would have to find a teacher. All these things were pressing down on him, and if he went to the town, he was also worried about the safety of Dahou and Er Ya at home. Who knows if someone like Ruhua would come and take advantage of his family? However, if he didn't go, Qi Shu would definitely come looking for him, and Lin Chun had many reasons to refuse. But what made him most anxious was that he knew nothing about embroidery.
Lin Chuan finally expressed her own thoughts, and when Seventh Aunt came to the house to find herself, she refused Seventh Aunt's intention with reasons such as no one taking care of Da Tou and Er Ya. Cui Hua had already known Lin Chuan's meaning, seeing that Lin Chuan was really not interested in embroidery and making clothes, so she didn't say much more. Er Ya originally wanted to go learn, thinking that in the future she could make clothes for her sister and brother, but as soon as she heard Lin Chuan say that she wanted to find a teacher to come home and teach Da Tou and herself to read and write, she immediately gave up.
The next day, Lin Chun brought the three drawings from January, as well as the new wedding gift drawing from Qian Fuyuan's younger brother and good friend, to Qian Fuyuan in town. Uncle Qian had already received instructions from the Dark Guard and was waiting in the store early, preparing the third pair of Angel Wings rings that had just been released for the New Year, as well as the deposit slips for the eleven pieces of jewelry from November. He was waiting for Lin Chun to come and sign for them. Since December was approaching the Lunar New Year, Qian Ye had instructed Uncle Qian to let Lin Chun take a break and not worry about drawing anymore for a month. Lin Chun was more than happy to oblige, as he had been copying modern jewelry designs anyway, and his own memory of drawings was limited. Being able to draw less or not at all would make things easier for him.
Upon arriving at the store, Lin Chun handed over the design papers wrapped in cotton cloth to Qian Uncle. Qian Uncle first looked at the three designs for January: a hand chain that was indeed one of three styles in the same series; a women's ring with a silver-white circular frame embedded with small diamonds, which could be engraved with words inside, delicate and suitable for girls between 10 to 14 years old who were not yet married. Qian Uncle thought about whether he should also keep one of the rings for Xiaoxiao when they were finished; another design was a simple yet elegant necklace made from thin silver plates embedded with white jade beads strung together, which could be paired with light-colored clothing or worn with plain clothes, very elegant and beautiful.
Qian Shu liked these three drawings very much. The accessories in Da Yu's drawings all had the soft and gentle nature of women, which could well reflect the elegance and gentleness of women, as well as show off their delicate beauty. They were very popular among the young ladies and noblewomen of the capital city. Just that one bracelet alone, Qian Fuyu made ten of them, each one different from the others according to Lin Chun's requirements. Of the ten bracelets, apart from the two given by Qian Ye to his younger sister and Tian Mingjun's fiancée Yun Xin, the remaining eight were all sold to high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants' daughters and wives at a handsome price. As for the necklace and pendant, Qian Ye only had one set made by Qian Fuyu's craftsmen, which he gave to his grandmother as a gift. The necklace was elegant and stately, while the pendant shone brightly, and together they showed off the noble bearing and wealth of the matriarch of the Qian family, making her very pleased, and also causing many noblewomen in the capital city to feel envious.
After Qian Dashi finished looking, he put away the drawings and Lin Chun took out a separate set of wedding gift jewelry designs for Qian Fuyuan's close friend, which was a pair of interlocking rings that could be combined into one. The two rings were made of silver and had a heart-shaped gemstone in the center, with 99 facets cut on each side. Lin Chun didn't know if Tianyang country had diamonds, but he noted that rubies could be used instead, as long as they were carefully polished and cut. If possible, it would be best to use transparent gemstones or night pearls. Lin Chun knew that making this ring would be difficult, but Qian Fuyuan's craftsmen were skilled, so he wanted to try. If successful, in the future, he could just draw designs for rings, as there would be countless styles possible with different polishing and cutting techniques.
