After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 596 Needle and Thread
Ma Shangyi returned to the backyard and immediately apologized to Ma and Haitang who had been waiting for a long time as soon as she entered the door: "I am really sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Guests came in front and my brother also came back. I took a little longer to greet them and neglected you two."

Ma was holding a needle and thread in her hand. She looked up and said with a smile, "What's the big deal? We are so familiar with each other, old neighbors who visit each other often. There is no need to be so polite. If you have something important to do, just go ahead and sit here. If there was something going on at home, I would have left long ago and would not have told you about it."

Ma Shangyi smiled and sat down opposite her: "That being said, no matter how familiar you are with someone, you can't throw away the etiquette of hospitality. That would be too disrespectful." She glanced at the needle and thread in Ma's hand, with a look of surprise on her face, "Sister Ma, what are you doing..."

Ma smiled and said, "I just saw the needlework basket at the end of your kang. The work inside looked really exquisite, so I couldn't help but pick it up and wanted to embroider a few stitches for you. But my old eyesight is blurry, and I'm not sure I can do it well. I'm afraid of ruining your good needlework, so I asked our Tangtang to embroider a few stitches for me. Tangtang's craftsmanship is still good. Take a look, old sister, did she not ruin your work?"

Ma Shangyi took the needle and thread in surprise and turned to look at Haitang.

Haitang smiled shyly and lowered her head, feeling helpless in her heart.

She actually didn't want to show off in front of Ma Shangyi, but the neighbors in this alley visited each other, and the women often had the habit of doing needlework for the host family. Her grandmother usually only did this in the Wang family, and had never tried it in the Jin family. Today, she suddenly had a whim and insisted that she embroider a few stitches, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet. In order not to make Ma Shangyi angry, she couldn't deliberately perform too poorly, and had to be consistent with the level of needlework skills. However, she didn't use any special needlework techniques for these stitches, but anyone with a better level of needlework could do it. Ma Shangyi shouldn't be able to see anything, right?
Ma Shangyi took the needle and thread to the window, and with the light from the window, she carefully examined the newly added stitches, and couldn't help but smile: "It's really well done. I've heard from other old neighbors that the girls of the Hai family are very good at sewing. Today, I see that it's really as good as the reputation! I have decades of experience in sewing. Although I'm not outstanding in the palace, I can still be considered presentable. The stitches that Tang Jie'er embroidered for me look no worse than mine, which shows that she is really talented! Among the famous ladies I've seen in the capital, there are very few who can do better than Tang Jie'er in sewing."

Ma became happier and happier as she listened. She smiled and covered her mouth, saying, "You are exaggerating. Our Tangtang is still young. Although she has some talent in needlework, she cannot compare with those daughters of wealthy families. She has just practiced needlework more and is more skilled at it."

She said it modestly, but in fact she was very proud of it. Now she likes to show off her granddaughter's good needlework in front of acquaintances, and she always gets a lot of praise.

Although their family was planning to return to their hometown in Zhili, that was the idea of ​​the master, Hai Xiya. One day, she might persuade them to stay in Chang'an to retire. If the master finally gave in, the Hai family would be close to the Zhenguo Mansion in Chang'an City, and there would be better choices for grandson Hai Jiao to get a military job and granddaughter Hai Tang to get married. In two years, the granddaughter would be old enough to get married. In order to find a good marriage for her, it was not too early to make a name for herself two years in advance.

Ma specifically used her granddaughter's needlework skills to make a fuss, hoping that Haitang could gain a good reputation from it. Given the family background of the Hai family, it would be better for her to let people praise her granddaughter as a virtuous and capable girl instead of publicizing her granddaughter's talent. This would make it easier to win the favor of the wives of the high-ranking officials!
Ma had made her wish, and Haitang could only cooperate helplessly, with a well-behaved smile on her face and her head lowered in a shy manner.

She knew what her grandmother was planning, but she really wasn't old enough yet...

Ma Shangyi didn't know if she had guessed Ma's intention, she just kept praising Haitang's needlework, and said, "I'm old now, and I'm not as good at sewing as I was when I was young. If I want to make some small items like purses and belts, I'll give them to Chunyu, because I'm too lazy to do it myself. But Chunyu is still young, and there are always some things she does that I don't like. I'm afraid that if I say too much, it will hurt her feelings, and she will not be willing to practice hard in the future, so I can't criticize her. Sometimes, I want to buy a few more clothes, shoes and socks for home use, so I still have to do it myself. After all, the work I do myself is the most to my liking."

As she spoke, she raised her head and looked at Haitang: "I really like the needlework of Tangjieer today, but it's a pity that there are only a few stitches, which are too few. Sister Ma, if you don't mind, can I ask Tangjieer to make two clothes for me? They don't have to be embroidered with gold beads, just casual clothes, which I will wear at home during the first month of the year. When I have time, I can buy two new cotton-padded jackets for Shugeer. Those made by my own family are always more elaborate than those made by outside tailors."

She said solemnly: "Don't worry, sister Ma, I will definitely thank you with a generous gift!" Ma didn't expect that she just habitually showed off her granddaughter's needlework skills and gave her granddaughter a job. She looked at Haitang hesitantly, and thought that Ma Ma was not only from the Zhenguo Mansion, but also a close neighbor who took care of Jin Jiashu's daily life and food, so she made up her mind: "Old sister, you think highly of our Tangtang's craftsmanship, which is a compliment to her. If you don't mind Tangtang's rough craftsmanship, just give her orders. Tangtang's craftsmanship is not as good as the maids in the Duke's Mansion, but she can still make simple home clothes."

Haitang closed her eyes and sighed inwardly, but her expression remained unchanged. She smiled shyly, stood up, and bowed to Ma Shangyi: "Madam, what kind of clothes do you want to make? Have you chosen the material? Do you want a cotton-padded jacket?"

Ma Shangyi smiled and held her hand: "I have prepared the material. I plan to make a square-neck vest with fur trim, quilted and trimmed. It will be warm for daily wear. It is not difficult to make. I will send Chunyu to deliver the material to you in a while. You can make it into whatever shape you want. Mammy trusts you."

What else could Haitang say? She could only agree.

Ma and Haitang spent half a day at Hai's house. When they saw it was almost time for dinner, they said goodbye and left.

As soon as they left, Ma Shangyi called Chunyu over and ordered her to take the key to open the box, select two pieces of material with solemn and elegant colors, and send them to the Hai family together with the furs that the Ma family had just sent.

Chunyu said puzzledly: "Didn't Mammy tell my niece that she would ask the tailor she introduced to make this new dress? Why did she give the job to the girl from the Hai family? How old is she? How can her skills compare with those of the decent tailors out there?"

"Just follow my instructions." Ma Shangyi said nonchalantly, "It's just a set of casual clothes. I'll just send some more material to my niece. Do I still need the money for this set of clothes?"

Chunyu shut up when he heard that, and obediently took the key and went to open the box.

Ma Shangyi picked up the unfinished needlework again, carefully looking at the lines of stitches newly embroidered by Haitang on it, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

It's really interesting... The girl from the Hai family is really good at sewing. Although there is nothing special about these stitches, they are very delicate and steady. However, the way she closes the stitches is quite special. It is very similar to the common techniques in the palace, but rarely seen outside the palace. It seems that the girl from the Hai family is used to doing this. Before she entered the door, she hurriedly closed the needle and handed the needle and thread to her grandmother...

Where did this girl learn this skill?
(End of this chapter)