Chapter 3: 3

As always, thanks for reading! 

***

Although he wished to cook more and tastier food, his helplessness and lack of strength only held him back. He was but a small child; there was nothing he could do, but stare resignedly at Zheng Ping, the only individual in the household capable of working.

In fact, in ancient times, women were constrained by their gender in many industries and were unable to engage in labor. However, just because they were used to only doing housework, did not mean they couldn’t raise three children without a man in the family.

Yun Yanhui’s fears wholly dissipated when Zheng Ping brought out the loom.

Bless the great hard working women of the past!

Unexpectedly, Zheng Ping knew how to weave cloth!

When Yun Yanhui visited Taiwan, he interviewed local intangible cultural heritage heirs and learned a lot of new information regarding weaving. Watching her hands expertly move on the loom caused him to recall memories long forgotten.

Kesi[1] was a type of silk tapestry with a unique weaving method, which not only cost a lot, but was also time-consuming. The finest of these tapestry works were deemed as being made with some embroidery and a bit of gold. For a long time, tapestries were exclusively used by the royal family and few people knew of this skill.

He was now living in the prime period of history, namely the Song Dynasty. Because of Emperor Song’s aesthetic preferences, the Kesi works were transformed from practical and decorative to more artistic, and paintings and calligraphy works were adopted as a whole.

The craftsman Yun Yanhui had interviewed took months and months to complete a Kesi tapestry, and he must have had a deep understanding of calligraphy and painting.

As for Zheng Ping… When he glanced at Zheng Ping’s tapestry, there was only a ribbon woven. The pattern and method were too monotonous. There was nothing extraordinary about it.

Artistic creativity usually held a great part when choosing a price for not only tapestry, but embroidery as well.

In this way, the size and value of the ribbon, not to mention how much time Zheng Ping would waste to finish it… The lavish life Yun Yanhui craved for seemed to be only an optimistic thought if he needed to rely on her tapestries to live.

Yun Yanhui was a little disappointed — he had been elated before, but forgot to question himself how Zheng Ping came to work at the charity manor for the young. But, it might be because tapestries take too long to be made, the cost of investing in types of fabric could be expensive and they’re not suitable for their home.

Although she couldn’t be rich, he didn’t worry about starving. Zheng Ping’s craftsmanship and the prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty could be enough to feed everyone.

Besides weaving, Zheng Ping could also embroider, and ever since she brought home Yun Yanhui, Shuangyi and Xiaobao, she’s never been out of the house except to buy supplies. She sat and embroidered every day.

Yun Yanhui was obedient and thoughtful now, Shuangyi was capable of taking care of Xiaobao by herself, letting Zheng Ping to dedicate her attention and time to her work wholeheartedly.

Third Sister Hu, who resided next door, often visited Zheng Ping to do needlework together, during the day and at night. She also brought her own lamp and shared the money to pay for it.

Third Sister Hu usually took her seven year old daughter along with her younger son. But, her son, who was about the same age as Yun Yanhui, was particularly fond of stirring up trouble, and always liked to pester Xiaobao. He sobbed whenever he was disturbed, making it difficult for Zheng Ping to work.

Her son would still pee his pants, in contrast to Yun Yanhui, who diligently used the washroom to relieve himself. To Zheng Ping’s surprise, he always made sure to clean his hands thoroughly and wipe them dry.

Therefore, Third Sister Hu eventually stopped bringing her son out of embarrassment, only taking her daughter with her.

Third Sister Hu’s daughter was much quieter and attentively watched her mother sew, practicing tirelessly with her own little bits of cloth herself. Zheng Ping asked Shuangyi to join her for a bit of play and practice, while Third Sister Hu and her daughter chatted and worked together.

It was from the small talk between Third Sister Hu and Zheng Ping that Yun Yanhui learned some valuable information.

For example, Third Sister Hu came to recommend Zheng Ping to work at the charity manor; Zheng Ping no longer had any men in the family and she couldn’t rest well with the thought of being with her child alone. There was little to no time to embroider and had absolutely no income. Consequently, she immediately went to the charity manor for the young, where women could take care of them.

Currently, Zheng Ping was, once again, introduced by Third Sister Hu to tapestry weaving, whose works are all over the place, ranging from shopkeepers to pedestrians due to Bianliang’s[2] prosperity.

Bianliang even had its own streets and alleys intended for embroidery selling, where many women lived. Third Sister Hu’s embroideries were sent there, and afterwards Zheng Ping’s Kesi would be sold somewhere else.

In addition, the present period was about the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty — the transformation of tapestries, which occurred during the late Northern Song Dynasty. Although Kesi works were still mainly practical or decorative, there was a trend of more developed and exquisite designs, not that popularized yet.

Unfortunately, Zheng Ping did not seem to have artistic talent… If Zheng Ping had a sudden flash of inspiration, she would have created a piece of art and sold it at an astronomical price, leading the whole family out of poverty…

Yun Yanhui could only hope, and since he was not tall enough to use the loom, besides also drinking and eating, he was good for daydreaming.

After breaking his train of thought, he pushed the sleepy Shuangyi gently and encouraged her to study Zheng Ping’s tapestry, in order to learn. If she didn’t have survival skills, there was no chance of becoming rich overnight…

***

More than half a month later, Zheng Ping and Third Sister Hu went to the capital’s district with establishments dedicated to selling embroideries and traded in their tapestries. They carried bags of food, silk thread and other necessities back home, which indicated that not only was Zheng Ping paid, but also that she had now another stable source of income.

Yun Yanhui was delighted at the thought of having enough money to support themselves.

Zheng Ping opened a small bag of oil paper. When she unwrapped it, a sweet fragrance emanated from within. Inside were five or six yellowish cakes embedded with sesame seeds. “Come, mother bought some sesame dumplings.”

Zheng Ping placed the dumplings at the edge of the bed. Yun Yanhui and Shuangyi leaned over them. Xiaobao waved his fat little arms at the scent, yet he couldn’t eat solid food yet.

Shuangyi swallowed heavily, “I’m not hungry. You should eat it, Brother Yan[3].”

If it was the ‘Brother Yan’ of the past, he would have wolfed it down greedily. Now, Zheng Ping was pleasantly surprised to see her son pushing the sesame dumplings slowly towards Shuangyi.

You are reading story The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty at novel35.com

Touched by her son’s gesture, Zheng Ping spoke warmly, “Shuangyi, eat it.”

Shuangyi’s cheeks reddened as she grabbed a dumpling and tentatively bit into it.

Yun Yanhui urged Zheng Ping, “mother, eat too.”

After a moment of hesitation, Zheng Ping ate a dumpling with emotion.

He carefully examined its shape and only then did Yun Yanhui eat one himself. It was probably made of grain, but apart from the sesame seeds sprinkled on top of the dumpling, there was a distinctive smell and flavor of lard and peanuts from its inside. It’s not as sugary as he had initially anticipated, but overall it was delectable.

His body had a small appetite, therefore he could easily restrain himself. After he was done eating, he immediately stopped. “Mother and Shuangyi should eat the rest.”

Zheng Ping thought Yun Yanhui didn’t enjoy sesame dumplings, given it was his first time trying this kind of dessert.

Shuangyi ate some more dumplings, then glanced at Yun Yanhui, feeling particularly satisfied.

Zheng Ping brought another piece of paper and Yun Yanhui expected her to write to her husband again. In reality, it was anything but that.

She wrote the first nine numbers on the paper and called Yun Yanhui. “Yan’er, do you remember this?”

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,” said Yun Yanhui casually.

Still surprised, Zheng Ping wrote them in a different order. “What about now?”

Yun Yanhui: “…Five, seven, three, eight, nine, two, one.”

Zheng Ping taught her son how to count a month ago — that is, before the current Yun Yanhui possessed this body. Now, because she was unemployed and was busy with her embroidery gig, she was sure Yun Yanhui would completely forget!

After remaining stunned for a moment, Zheng Ping naturally rejoiced. “That’s great, Yan’er. Would it be nice if mother taught you how to read next?”

Yun Yanhui nodded, he had practiced calligraphy before, and had friends ask him to write characters on their fans or spring festival couplets before and the like. It might be a beneficial skill in modern times, but in ancient China, it could mean nothing.

Though, it’s good to know how to read and write no matter in which period of time he was, wherever it was a headache for him or not. Therefore, he would certainly comply with Zheng Ping’s request.

Yun Yanhui pretended to play with the pen and wrote shaky characters.

Zheng Ping was, once again, surprised. She took her son’s first writing and was prepared to send it to her husband. However, it occurred to her that, even if her husband was indeed fine, there was no way she could see the paper again, at least for a long time.

Thus, Zheng Ping embroidered the ‘ink treasure’ written by Yun Yanhui himself.

Yun Yanhui was beaming at this!

Naturally, it wasn’t because he wanted Zheng Ping to keep his deliberately badly written characters, but because she was proficient at weaving and embroidering. The characters were obviously those of a child, yet she expertly used varying shades of black, in order to show the change of the ink’s color.

This perfectly depicted how, despite embroidering and textile weaving being much of a muchness, it never resumed to only using aesthetic hues of colors.

Like modern sketches, there are deep and shallow parts and, when expressed, the objects are three-dimensional and lifelike.

With such great skill, Yun Yanhui felt that his bad handwriting turned into a piece of art.

Zheng Ping’s tapestries are certainly not inferior to others, at least the ribbons she wove were not revealing her true level.

Zheng Ping’s usual embroideries and tapestries had not changed much, which led Yun Yanhui to believe that she not only lacked artistic creativity, but also had ordinary techniques. It’s because she didn’t need much change in her methods, therefore she didn’t care about it. It’d take a long time and a lot of resources to try something entirely new.

…But, if so, why didn’t Zheng Ping embroider some fine work?

Yun Yanhui was beginning to wonder if Zheng Ping was really capable of selling well crafted works in Xiuxiang[4], even though she could not afford to support her gig.

And even small works that took relatively little time, such as the ribbon, could be improved on different parts to enhance its beauty, something that could double the price.

In addition, Zheng Ping mentioned earlier that she had to work at the charity manor, for she was raising her child after giving birth; a bit far-fetched from his perspective, given how many other types of jobs could make your life easier.

 Yun Yanhui thought her mother was difficult to understand.

***

[1]Kesi or k’o-ssu is a Chinese silk tapestry woven in a pictorial design. It’s not that well explained in the chapter

[2]Reminder that Bianliang is Kaifeng is the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty

[3]雁哥儿 (Yan Ge’er) basically means ‘older brother’/ ‘brother’ (though my genius beginner level Chinese skills tell me that it could be a cuter way of saying ‘older brother’, because ‘ge’ from ‘gege’ and ‘er which is a diminutive suffix, right? No? ok)

[4]Literally means Embroidery Lane/Alley, but it sounds a bit silly in English so I left it as its pinyin equivalent

*Note: Zheng Ping addressed her son as 雁哥儿 (Brother Yan, literally the same way Shuangyi addresses Yun Yanhui) in this chapter. But it can also be a way of calling a boy in a colloquial manner. So, to avoid any confusion (for you and for me), I’ll translate it as ‘Yan’er’.

You can find story with these keywords: The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty, Read The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty novel, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty book, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty story, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty full, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty Latest Chapter