Fucheng has always had the custom of going for an outing by the water during the Shangsi Festival.
When Magistrate Qin and his party arrived at the river on the outskirts of the city, many people had gathered on both sides of the river bank.
Mrs. Gu held the maid's hand and slowly got out of the carriage.
The sun shone on her clothes, and the hibiscus flowers embroidered with silver thread were bright and beautiful, which immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Lord Tongzhi's first wife, Mrs. Zhou, was the first to come over. She bowed to Magistrate Qin first, then smiled at Mrs. Gu and said, "Madam, this dress is really beautiful. I wonder which embroidery workshop it was made at?"
Mrs. Gu said with a smile: "This dress was made by Shi Xiu Niang from Meixiang Embroidery Workshop."
She was about to take this opportunity to say a few nice words for Shi Xiu Niang, but she saw Mrs. Zhou's eyes falling behind her.
Mrs. Gu followed Mrs. Zhou's line of sight and saw that Mrs. Shen had also gotten off the carriage and was walking towards her.
The spring breeze at noon was no longer as cold as in the morning, so Shen took off her outer cloak, revealing the aqua jacket and lotus-colored long skirt underneath.
While Mrs. Gu's clothes are made of expensive satin, Mrs. Shen's jacket and long skirt are made of ordinary fine cotton.
The muslin cloth was nothing unusual, but what really made Mrs. Gu lose her mind was the magnolia flower embroidered on the jacket.
I don’t know what kind of embroidery thread those magnolias were embroidered with. Not only are they the same size as real flowers, but the jade yellow has a little white in them, making them just like real magnolias.
These magnolia flowers are distributed on the front, hem, etc., either in full bloom or in bud, just like a sparse picture of magnolia flowers.
Against the background of these magnolia flowers, from a distance, Shen is like a magnolia fairy in the forest, elegant and refined, and as beautiful as a mortal.
When Shen got closer, Mrs. Gu and Mrs. Zhou discovered that the magnolia flowers on Shen's clothes were not embroidered with embroidery thread, but cut from silk gauze cloth and embroidered layer by layer.
Because the edges of the petals are fixed with embroidery thread of the same color and lock stitches, looking from a distance, you will feel that these magnolia flowers are embroidered on them.
Mrs. Zhou originally thought Mrs. Gu's clothes were beautiful enough, but now she saw Shen's aqua jacket and realized what ingenuity meant.
"There are such beautiful clothes in the world. I have just seen them today." Mrs. Zhou walked around Mr. Shen and praised them: "Where did this clothes come from?"
Mrs. Shen smiled generously and said: "This dress was made by Mrs. Shen from the Nishang Embroidery Workshop." She paused and said, "I heard that the south suffered a disaster last year. The price of silk and satin has been rising this year. Some families have not even
Ordinary plain satin is no longer affordable. So I thought about whether there is any fabric that can replace satin so that everyone can afford beautiful clothes."
"It just so happened that Mrs. Shen of Nishang Embroidery Shop had the same idea as mine. I once mentioned to her the fine cotton cloth from the provincial capital, and she came up with the idea of using this fine cotton cloth to make clothes."
"This fine cotton cloth is not expensive and can be afforded by ordinary people. And the cut-and-paste embroidery on it doesn't take much time. A dress only costs one or two taels of silver."
When Qin Zhifu heard this, he couldn't help but nodded and said: "It is indeed a good idea for you to come up with the idea of using fine cotton to make clothes. This fabric is cheap and beautiful, and it should be promoted."
Mrs. Shen smiled and said, "My father-in-law said this, and my daughter-in-law is relieved. My daughter-in-law is also afraid that wearing this fine cotton will embarrass her father-in-law!"
Magistrate Qin said: "How could it be? As the father-in-law of the city, I naturally want everyone to be able to afford beautiful clothes. What's more, the clothes are not expensive in terms of fabric, but only carefully made. In my opinion, this is made of fine cotton.
The clothes are very good, cheap and generous."
Mrs. Gu's face changed slightly after hearing what Magistrate Qin said.
She knew that Magistrate Qin was not talking about her, but her daughter-in-law acted so sensible, which made it even more obvious that she, a mother-in-law, did not understand the hardships of the common people.
At that moment, Mrs. Gu's face turned red from shame.
Fortunately, Magistrate Qin soon noticed something strange about Mrs. Gu, so he changed the subject and asked Mrs. Gu if she wanted to go shopping elsewhere.
After Mrs. Gu and Magistrate Qin left, Mrs. Zhou looked at the jacket on Shen's body and said, "Your jacket looks good, but it's a little too thin. Aren't you afraid of freezing your body if you wear so little on such a cold day?"
?”
Mrs. Shen smiled and said, "This jacket looks thin, but it's actually very warm."
Mrs. Zhou shook her head and said, "I don't believe it. How can such a thin jacket be warm?"
Shen said: "The inside of this jacket is not cotton, but silk. This silk is warmer than cotton. Only a thin layer can be worth a pound of cotton."
"Are you telling the truth?"
Mrs. Shen smiled and said, "What did I do to deceive Madam? If Madam doesn't believe me, she'll know just by touching my hand."
After hearing this, Mrs. Zhou actually touched Mr. Shen's hand and found that Mr. Shen's hand was not cold at all and did not look like she was frozen. She was a little convinced.
"If I had known there was such a good thing, I should have made a jacket like this."
Mrs. Shen said: "It's not too late, Madam. I know that Madam Shen's place doesn't have much silk. If Madam goes there late, then this silk jacket will be gone."
Mrs. Zhou said: "Then I will go tomorrow."
While the two were talking, Shen Shiqi and Wei Yan were walking and chatting on the other side of the river.
Shen Shiqi is wearing a sky-blue robe today, which is also embroidered with cut-and-paste embroidery, but instead of flowers, it is embroidered with ink bamboo.
The strong and powerful black bamboo with its sparse branches complements the sky-blue fabric particularly well.
Shen Shiqi himself has the aristocratic temperament of a noble man, and paired with this robe, he looks even more elegant.
Wei Yan stood beside him, wearing a silver-gray robe with ink bamboo embroidery on it.
Both of them were handsome and handsome, wearing the same robes embroidered with ink bamboo. When they walked together, they immediately attracted the attention of many people.
Many of these people were unmarried girls. After taking one look at them, they lowered their heads shyly.
Shen Shiqi saw it interestingly and said to Wei Yan: "Brother Wei, I just counted, there are seven girls peeking at you, but only five girls peeked at me. It seems that Brother Wei is more charming than me
so big!"
Wei Yan was too lazy to pay attention to his words and just smiled faintly.
Shen Shiqi felt bored, walked for a while, and suddenly said: "Brother Wei, there was a man who seemed to have glanced at me just now. Could this man be attracted to me?"
Wei Yan coughed lightly: "Don't think too much. He should not be looking at you, but the robe you are wearing."
"Oh, I see." Shen Shiqi said after realizing it: "No wonder your wife doesn't want a penny. It turns out that she is using me and my sister as a sign of work! Speaking of which, my young master is so handsome and handsome, he will definitely be able to give
Your wife has attracted a lot of business. No, I seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage."
Wei Yan ignored him and just walked forward on his own.
Shen Shiqi followed closely, "Brother Wei, wait for me."
Wei Yan said as he walked: "I have already seen my wife. Forgive me for not being able to accompany you. Brother Shen, please take your time and stroll around by yourself!"