Chapter 76 – Making Jewelry
Seeing Yan Xiaosi curled up and tightly wrapped in the quilt, Yan Shuqin thought she was scared. She took off her outer clothes and went to the edge of the sleeping area, whispering, “Xiaosi, your big sister can sleep with you tonight.”
Yan Xiaosi was freezing and thought it would be nice to have Yan Shuqin help warm her feet. She loosened the quilt, moved aside, and made room in the sleeping area.
“Big sister, you can come in.”
Knowing that Yan Xiaosi was a girl, Yan Shuqin didn’t hesitate to crawl into the quilt and tightly embrace Yan Xiaosi.
This was the first time she had slept holding her little sister like this since she had grown up.
“Xiaosi, don’t be afraid. Your big sister is here with you. I’ll protect you.”
She hugged Yan Xiaosi and whispered into her ear.
Yan Xiaosi smiled, touched, and turned her body to comfortably rest on Yan Shuqin’s arm.
In a short while, Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuxue also took off their clothes and climbed onto the broken wooden bed inside. Only Yan Shuyun had not undressed yet.
She was looking at the scraps of fur and leather that Yan Xiaosi had exchanged for a piece of dog skin with the manager of Xu Family Fur Store at the market today.
Yan Xiaosi, resting her head on Yan Shuqin’s arm, looked at her and said, “Third sister, hurry up and go to bed.”
“I’m not tired yet. Mom, big sister, second sister, Xiaosi, you go to sleep first. I’ll do some needlework and then go to bed.”
Yan Shuyun said, putting down the scraps of fur and leather and fetching a needle and thread.
Yan Xiaosi realized that she wanted to do needlework to avoid wasting lamp oil. Since she wasn’t sleepy either, she got up from under the thin and stiff quilt.
Yan Shuqin also got up.
She beckoned Yan Shuyun and said, “Third sister, you wanted to do needlework, right? Come on, let’s do it together.” Yan Shuyun saw that both Yan Xiaosi and Yan Shuqin were up, so she said to Yan Xiaosi, “Xiaosi, when we came back from the market today, you mentioned that we can make jewelry with these scraps of fur and leather. Why don’t you draw the designs, and I’ll make them according to your drawings?”
“Alright, I’ll go to the kitchen and get some charcoal.”
Yan Xiaosi was about to get up to go to the kitchen to fetch charcoal.
Their family was so poor that they couldn’t afford to eat, let alone have spare money to buy writing materials. In the past, when Ms. Zhong taught the children to read and write during their leisure time, they used the leftover charcoal from the kitchen stove.
Yan Shuqin pulled Yan Xiaosi back down and said, “Xiaosi, if you’re afraid of thunder, then you don’t have to go. I’ll get the charcoal from the kitchen.”
Yan Xiaosi almost forgot that she was originally afraid of thunder. Hearing Yan Shuqin mention it, she quickly acted scared and said to Yan Shuqin, “Big sister, the thunder is loud. Be careful when you go by yourself.”
Yan Shuqin smiled and replied, “Don’t worry, your big sister is not afraid of thunder.”
“Qin’er, it’s dark at night. Take the oil lamp to the kitchen.”
Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuxue also got out of bed.
Yan Shuqin picked up the oil lamp from the wardrobe and headed to the kitchen.
After she returned with several pieces of black charcoal, Yan Xiaosi began drawing on the old book left by Yan Bowen.
The hairpins and hair clasps she drew were adorned with furry balls, making the designs unique and novel.
Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuxue, Yan Shuqin, and Yan Shuyun gathered around her, watching her draw with charcoal. They were amazed.
“Xiaosi, when did you learn to draw?”
Ms. Zhong was surprised not only by Yan Xiaosi’s ability to design jewelry but also by her drawing skills.
The child could draw jewelry so realistically with just a simple piece of charcoal.
Yan Xiaosi stared at the jewelry designs in front of her and suddenly realized that she had used charcoal for sketching. Sketching, as a drawing technique, did not exist in the Great Chu dynasty.
She felt guilty for a moment before answering Ms. Zhong, “Mom, I don’t know how I learned to draw. Maybe I inherited my dad’s intelligence and talent.”
Yan Bowen was well-known for his intelligence, so her explanation was plausible.
Ms. Zhong believed her. She sighed softly and said, “You really are as smart as your father. If only you were a boy, you could take the imperial examination and become an official.”
Yan Xiaosi waved her hand and said, “Mom, there’s nothing good about taking the imperial examination. I don’t even want to be an official.”
Her ambition was to make money, lots of money, not to become an official and be constrained by the court’s rules.
“Third sister, look at these jewelry designs I drew. Can you make them?” Yan Shuyun took the sketches from Yan Xiaosi, looked at them carefully under the light of the oil lamp, and then answered, “Xiaosi, I can make the furry balls on these hairpins and clasps you drew, but I can’t make the main body of the hairpins and clasps.”
“Third sister, as long as you can make the furry balls, that’s enough.”
Yan Xiaosi patted her chest and said, “I’ll make the main body of the hairpins and clasps.”
Yan Shuqin looked at her confident appearance and asked curiously, “Xiaosi, what do you plan to use to make the main body of the hairpins and clasps? Do you need your big sister’s help?”
“Xiaosi, the main body of hairpins and hair clasps are usually made of gold, silver, or jade,” Ms. Zhong said with concern. “Even if you and your third sister can make these hairpins and clasps and sell them in the town, we would only be doing small-scale business. We can’t afford to use gold, silver, or jade for the main body of the hairpins and clasps in such a small-scale business.”
“That’s right Xiaosi.”
After Ms. Zhong finished speaking, Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun all nodded in agreement.
Yan Shuxue said, “Even if we use silver for the main body of these hairpins and clasps, we would still be losing money.”
Yan Xiaosi had already thought of a solution to Ms. Zhong’s concerns on the way back to Shaoyao Village. She smiled and said, “Mom, we don’t have any extra silver at home. How could I possibly use silver for the main body of these hairpins and clasps? I’ve already thought it through. I’ll carve the main body of the hairpins and clasps from wood. There’s plenty of good wood on the mountain.”
Wooden hairpins and clasps were also used in the Great Chu dynasty.
Ms. Zhong agreed with Yan Xiaosi’s idea and nodded, “In that case, if it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll go to the mountain to cut some camphor wood. Camphor wood has a faint fragrance, making it perfect for wooden hairpins and clasps.”
Ms. Zhong’s mention of cutting camphor wood on the mountain for the main body of the hairpins and clasps reminded Yan Xiaosi of her agreement with Tian Dazhuang.
“Mom, if you go to the mountain to cut wood tomorrow, I won’t go with you.”
She had made a deal with Tian Dazhuang to go to Daguniang Peak to dig for herbs. If she followed Ms. Zhong into the mountains, she wouldn’t be able to go to Daguniang Peak. Ms. Zhong had no idea that she had already made arrangements with Tian Dazhuang and readily agreed when she said she didn’t want to go to the mountain tomorrow, “That’s fine. Young master Long and Yun’er are both injured. You stay at home and take care of them. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, Qin’er, Xue’er, and I will go to the mountain to cut wood.”
“Xiaosi, is what I’ve made correct?”
