The Spirited Daughter-in-law and the mountain man

chapter 31

Chapter 31: 31 embroidery

Xiao Yuchuan stared at Su Qingyue for a moment, but she refused to promise not to steal from home anymore. Annoyed, he decided not to pay her any attention, entered the room, and took a needle and thread basket to sit under the eaves.

Su Qingyue blinked a few times, was he really… embroidering?

Indeed, he was embroidering on a piece of cloth, with a half-finished lotus flower on it. The embroidered flower looked lifelike, almost like a real one.

His needlework was fast and neat, and the embroidery was exceptional clearly he was an experienced embroiderer.

It was unexpected that a man who could beat himself into a pig’s head would be so skilled in such delicate work. In modern times, this must have been a lost art. In ancient times, usually, women did the embroidery, and men who could work with needles and threads must have been rare too. Xiao Yuchuan saw her looking at him, and waved her over.

She went to him.

He handed her the embroidered handkerchief with the needle in it, “Could you help me with the embroidery?”

She shook her head. She could kill people, but embroidering was something she didn’t understand.

Looking at the lotus flower on the handkerchief, it was evident that it was a woman’s handkerchief. In this household, apart from her, the guest, there were no other women. Was he embroidering it for his sweetheart? She thought about the young woman she met on the road who tried to intervene in his fight; that woman seemed to like him and apparently had feelings for him. Was it being embroidered for her? She had no idea that the woman’s name was Shi

Shanzao.

Xiao Yuchuan was rejected by her, so he had a sullen face, “I heard that when you were with the Zhu Family, you would sew and embroider to supplement the family income whenever you had time. Although your embroidery work was mediocre, you could still sell an embroidered handkerchief for a few copper coins. I don’t even mind that your embroidery work is so poor, but you, a lazy wife, won’t even help me with the embroidery. Are you looking down on me because I can’t read or write, unlike the Zhu Family’s second son who can read and write?”

She glanced at his swollen face and opening and closing mouth; he really did have many useless things to say.

“You stinky old woman!” complained Xiao Yuchuan, “I hate embroidering women’s things the most! If it weren’t for you stealing the eight taels of silver from home, and the family really needing money, would I have stooped to embroidering handkerchiefs for women to make money? I’m asking for your help, but now you refuse. I think you’re not good enough, and I’m afraid nobody will want the handkerchiefs you embroider.”

She was looking up at the sky and had no idea what he was murmuring about.

It must be almost noon now, right?

Was he not planning to cook lunch? Would she, the guest, have to cook? She didn’t mention that she was injured and needed to recover, but even if she were willing to fight with her injuries, she wouldn’t feel comfortable disturbing other people’s pots and rice!

Maybe… people in ancient villages didn’t eat lunch so early?

Well… she would wait a bit longer.

She was getting a little hungry, and she didn’t want to have trouble climbing out of the river later when she went to bathe.

On the hard mud road in the village, Xiao Yishan had returned from hunting. As soon as the sky got bright, he went up the mountain, where he usually stayed until dark before returning.

Thinking about his third brother’s attitude toward his wife the night before, refusing to let Doctor Sun treat her injuries and disagreeing with her staying in the family, he felt a little uneasy, so he hurried back after noon.

Fortunately, in just half a day, he had a good harvest from hunting: a roe deer, five pheasants, and two wild rabbits.

“Dashan, you’re back from hunting?” One of the villagers, Qian Zhang’s wife, saw the roe deer on Xiao Yishan’s shoulder and the wild chickens and rabbits in his hand and became envious, “Wow, you got quite a lot from just half a day up the mountain!”