Beisitian didn't argue with Mrs. Qin. She took the braided cord from the side and said, "Mom, look, how's this one turned out?"
Mrs. Qin angrily put down the shoe upper, staying far away from Beisitian. In her anger, she snatched the braid from her.
The sullen look on her face became stunned when her hand touched the braid. Although her eyes couldn't see, she had braided for decades and could tell the quality at a touch. She could faintly see a neat braid!
Mrs. Qin brought the braid closer to her eyes for a careful look, muttering, "Did you bring over the ones I braided?"
Saying this, she shook her head first. The braids she made were in the east room, and the carrying basket was brought over because of the shoe soles. It contained wheat straw, which Beisitian was using to practice braiding.
Mrs. Qin felt along the braid, and when she touched the start, she found it was rough there. The same went for some later sections, not very neat. After this short segment, maybe five or six inches, the braid became presentable and got better as it went!
As she felt further, the astonishment on Mrs. Qin's face became more pronounced. The latter sections seemed to be braided as well as someone like her, who had done it for decades?!
Mrs. Qin almost couldn't believe it. She looked at it again and again, regretting that her eyes weren't good enough. If she could see, she'd know if it was indeed close to her handiwork!
"How did you suddenly become so good at braiding?" Mrs. Qin looked up at Beisitian.
Her eyes were covered with a white mist, and with the horizontal lines of flesh and the '川' mark at her brow, anyone would feel intimidated being stared at by such eyes.
Beisitian's smile remained unchanged as she carefully observed those eyes, realizing her eye condition wasn't as severe as she thought. She replied, "Didn't Dad say that practice makes perfect? After doing it for so long, I've become more skilled over time."
She evoked Luo Anguo.
Hearing her use such words, Mrs. Qin put down the braid without so much anger and said, "You do know how to speak, braiding so well all of a sudden doesn't just happen!"
Upon hearing this, Beisitian lowered her eyes.
"You must have been slacking off before!" Mrs. Qin added.
Beisitian's heart settled; she thought she had been exposed.
"Mom, because of me, the family has spent all the money, and even Ping'an's school fees for next year are gone..."
"Alright, alright, why bring this up!" Mrs. Qin interrupted her, though her tone carried a hint of impatience, her face softened.
Just as the head of the household said, after the child went through a great ordeal, she became more sensible. She never knew these things before; she would follow instructions when given and otherwise just stand there like a wooden puppet.
Mrs. Qin might have been exaggerating a bit in her mind, but the original person hardly spoke a word a day before!
What Beisitian said lightened Mrs. Qin's heart somewhat. The family used to have a paralyzed one, a little one, and a useless one, leaving only her as the blind old woman to rely on, not to mention how tiring it was.
Now having someone to talk to was a comfort for her, even more so with Beisitian becoming sensible.
Seeing Mrs. Qin's relaxed mood, Beisitian said, "Mom, if we embroider two clouds on this shoe upper, it would look much better and might sell better."
It would definitely sell better. The older women in the village, whose families are somewhat well-off, would all buy shoe tops with little flowers, and they would all be delighted. To her, it seemed unsophisticated, but with two embroidered clouds and some sweet talk, the menfolk would surely like them.
"But you have to know how to embroider!" Mrs. Qin gave her a sidelong glance.
Beisitian had already come up with an excuse, saying, "I do. Aunt Du used to have me embroider like this all the time. She said it would sell well and bought a lot of patterns for me to learn from. I learned a lot. Once, when we went to town, Aunt Du even specifically found someone to teach me!"
Aunt Du was Beisitian's stepmother.
Mrs. Qin's face darkened at the mention of these words. Could that Du woman teach her embroidery out of kindness?
No need to guess, Mrs. Qin knew it was a way to exploit Beisitian, leading her to regret it once her eyes ended up like hers. Luckily, she left early!
Still, upon hearing that Beisitian really learned, not only was it Du Chunmei who found someone to teach her, but she also specifically brought it to the market to sell, she believed Beisitian.
Mrs. Qin knew Du Chunmei too well. For her to spend money, it meant Beisitian had the potential in this area!
Beisitian saw that she didn't speak, knowing she was interested, so she pursued, "Mom, these shoes haven't sold well in the past. Why don't I give it a try? I saw Aunt Du always carrying a basket full to the market, and she'd come back with it empty!"
Mrs. Qin was a bit dazed. The baskets in the village were about half the size of a water jar. Could they really all sell?
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Then go embroider a pair and test it out first." Mrs. Qin finally relented. Seeing Beisitian pick up a needle and shoe top to start embroidering, she snatched it back, "Embroider tomorrow! You have a full day with nothing else. Why waste my lamp oil at night?"
Watching Mrs. Qin push another awl into the shoe sole, Beisitian suddenly felt a warmth in her heart. It wasn't to save lamp oil; she was afraid Beisitian would go blind like her from embroidery.
The only person who cared about her in her past life was her master. She was despised by the Marquis Mansion for angrily hitting a lecher in the street, bringing disgrace, and was divorced by her family-in-law using this as the reason, dragging down her sisters' prospects, making her parents unable to lift their heads in the family, and their attitude towards her became cold.
"I'll listen to Mom. You should rest early too. There's no hurry." Beisitian said.
Mrs. Qin rubbed her eyes, unable to hold on any longer, then put the needle, thread, and shoe sole into the basket, ready to go back to sleep.
She walked out, feeling strange. She had chatted with Little Tian'er for so long tonight?
Being able to have a normal chat with Beisitian, Mrs. Qin had never dared to imagine before.
The next day, Beisitian started embroidering. The two clouds posed no difficulty for her. Not saying she embroidered them in an instant, it was just a matter of time, but considering the original person's capability, she slowed down her pace.
She took the first pair of shoes she finished embroidering to the east room to show Mrs. Qin.
Luo Anguo, half lying on the bedding pile, immediately saw the shoes in her hand. White soles, black uppers, with two embroidered clouds on the uppers, vivid and lifelike!
Cloth shoes were plain to begin with, especially in black and white, appearing old-fashioned, but now with the two clouds, although they were a single color, they looked exquisite, almost as if adding several colors out of thin air, instantly different!
"Are these the shoes Little Tian'er embroidered?" Luo Anguo was greatly surprised.
"Yes, Dad, implying 'stepping on clouds.' Do you think saying this will help them sell better?"