Walking on clouds?
Luo Anguo nearly clapped his hands in approval. Such a brilliant way to put it; all the folks coming to the market from the surrounding villages—whether farmers or hunters—would appreciate a lucky saying.
This expression sounds cultured, and regardless of how you look at it, just by looking at these shoes, plenty of people will surely buy them!
"They'll definitely sell well! They'll definitely sell well!" Luo Anguo repeatedly exclaimed.
Mrs. Qin, unable to see well up close, could still make out a bit from afar. Upon seeing those two clouds, even though they were not very clear, she felt as if she truly saw auspicious clouds!
Beisitian stood at the door of the east room, allowing them to look from a distance. Fine stitches can be seen up close, but from afar, when you can't see the stitch marks, the overall pattern comes to life.
The design was embroidered on the surface of the shoes; who would look up close at someone's feet? All embroidered items are most attractive from a certain distance.
Mrs. Qin saw those shoes and quickly waved her hand, taking the pair from Beisitian. Ordinary men's shoes, but with two embroidered clouds, looked like they had changed entirely!
Mrs. Qin held the shoes, touching them repeatedly, surprised by Little Tian'er's exceptional skill!
She looked up just about to ask why she hadn't seen her embroider before, but then she recalled that she used to think Little Tian'er couldn't even braid hair properly, let alone do intricate embroidery. She never let her try, but now she realized she had been mistaken.
"Our Little Tian'er indeed has great potential. If not for... if not for..."
Luo Anguo repeated "if not for" twice but didn't speak ill of Du Chunmei—not because he couldn't, but as an elder and a father-in-law, he couldn't badmouth people in front of the children.
Beisitian smiled, saying, "I know many things, but I used to be scared of Aunt Du finding out. Otherwise, I'd exhaust all my efforts. My dad always said, sometimes, you have to know when to hold back!"
She seized the opportunity to lay some groundwork for some changes to come.
Luo Anguo nodded repeatedly. It's true, sometimes one must know to hold back; otherwise, how could the Luo Family have ended up in such straits, moving the entire family to the countryside?
"Your father is right. He's a sensible person. If he hadn't married such a woman, things wouldn't have turned out this way!" Luo Anguo said.
He harbored strong dislike for Du Chunmei, but this was the harshest thing he'd ever say; after all, he was educated, and even if he hadn't been, one shouldn't speak ill of others behind their backs.
"If you're satisfied, Mom, shall I continue embroidering?" Beisitian asked.
Of course, Mrs. Qin was satisfied. What was there to be dissatisfied with? "Go ahead and embroider, just don't be afraid to work. Work during the day; it saves lamp oil at night."
She didn't forget to remind her.
Beisitian agreed. Candles are more expensive than oil lamps, so usually, during a power outage, they use oil lamps instead of candles.
They say power outage, but actually, there's only about an hour of electricity each day. The rest of the time, there's no electricity, but then again, not many in the village can afford electricity. At night, most people just lay in bed chatting in the dark; only those with work to do would light a lamp.
Lately, Mrs. Qin made five pairs of shoes, plus five shoe soles, and eight braids, each over a meter long. These all needed to be taken to the market to sell.
Once these are sold, they're expected to bring in about ten yuan. This money would have to last them quite a while.
Mrs. Qin mentioned that it's not like it used to be; a few years back, ten yuan could support a whole family for a while, but not anymore.
Beisitian earnestly noted Mrs. Qin's words. Whenever she arrived in a new place, she'd first understand the local prices, as it reveals much and helps with purchasing and haggling.
Beisitian heard from Luo Anguo that due to policy changes, prices were fluctuating greatly. By the time you returned from a trip to the bank, prices would have changed again.
She did not fully grasp this, and Luo Anguo couldn't explain it clearly.
She managed to embroider the five pairs of shoes in one day, but instead, she took three days. Even so, Mrs. Qin was amazed, not expecting her to embroider so well.
Beisitian recovered quickly. In a little over a week, she could move about and cook without much problem. Now, when she went to Uncle Luo Aiguo's house, she didn't feel uncomfortable anymore.
This time, she wanted to tag along to the market. Apart from experiencing the local customs and geography, she also wished to see if she could buy some talisman paper.
Healing ribs isn't something that happens overnight. Though she's able to walk, many things are still beyond her capability. Being so frail won't do.
Common herbs work too slowly. With her spirit recovering somewhat, naturally, she remembered her true craftsmanship.
She was the sole disciple of the Mystic Doctor's right school. The right school has three factions, and she was the descendant of Yun Song's lineage.
The Mystic Doctor uses a single sheet of yellow paper as the base, guiding the spirit through it, to form a Spiritual Talisman, healing people in an instant.
Healing someone in an instant is a realm, the highest realm of the Mystic Doctor. In her past life, Beisitian was just a hair's breadth away from achieving it. Her lifespan ran out eventually, causing her to die in the mountains with regret.
With the experience of a lifetime and a fresh lease on life, she could avoid many detours. In this life, she would surely achieve 'healing people in an instant' early on!
Beisitian had no money, so she had to approach Mrs. Qin about it, but she needed a legitimate reason!
She hadn't thought of a reason yet.
That day, Luo Anping returned from herding sheep and brought Beisitian a handful of herbs. She's better now, and these herbs weren't effective for her anymore.
However, to not belittle his kind gesture, Beisitian sorted these herbs, dried them, and ground them into powder. They could be used as a simple hemostatic powder for minor injuries henceforth.
"Sister, teach me to draw, please!" Luo Anping said eagerly. He had long wanted to learn.
Beisitian chuckled, "Sure, if you want to learn, sister will teach you." Saying this, she glanced toward the east room, thinking she might use this as an excuse too.
"By the way, Ping'an, why is your full name Anping?" Beisitian asked.
Usually, a son's name cannot contain characters from the parent's name. Initially, Beisitian thought the custom differed from her hometown, but she later found out that the same rule applied here.
Yet Luo Anguo and Luo Anping had names that sounded like they were sequential brothers, but they were father and son!
Luo Anping, lying on the bed's edge without lifting his head, said, "Seems like it's because of my big brother, though Mom never told me exactly why."
Again, it's related to Luo Xudong?
Beisitian tilted her head. Her status as a young widow didn't bring her peace. Even after his death, Luo Xudong left so many questions, it seemed his shadow loomed over everything!
Luo Anping couldn't provide more details. Beisitian didn't press him further. She was contemplating discussing with Luo Anguo about learning calligraphy as an excuse to buy yellow paper.