Chapter 435: Chapter 435: Friend’s Gift_1
“”What fabric it is, this servant doesn’t know. However, this one has heard from the servants in Changchun Garden that it looks extremely beautiful. It’s bright red in colour and more vibrant than the usual fabrics. It is embroidered with an exquisite complete floral pattern using golden threads. This servant can’t distinguish how this fabric is different from others,” Cuiping answered.
She continued, “This servant doesn’t know who sent it. Apparently, a carriage arrived at the back gate early this morning. They said they were delivering something to the young mistress. The young mistress’s maid went and brought back some stuff.”
Hearing this, Madam Yun Brooded awhile: “Let’s go and take a look.”
Madam Yun rose and together with Cuiping, headed towards Changchun Garden.
When they reached they found that Bai of her second brother-in-law’s family had also arrived. The two met just in time.
Madam Bai laughed, “I heard someone delivered some precious gifts to Ruoruo. Do you have any idea who sent them?”
Madam Yun paused, she had only heard Cuiping mention fabric. She didn’t know there were other items.
“Ruoruo has many highborn madams and misses who are good friends with her. They might have sent these,” Madam Yun responded.
“Is that so? I wonder if you could accompany me to take a look. I would love to see these precious items.”
“Of course.” Madam Yun’s face was pale but she still agreed.
The two arrived at Wei Ruo’s quarters and as soon as they entered, they saw several boxes placed by the door.
The vibrant red fabric that Cuiping mentioned was on top of one of the boxes.
It shimmered under the light, and the complete floral pattern, embroidered with golden threads, was breathtaking; the flowers seemed to have just blossomed in the early spring garden.
In a box next to it, there were different colored fabrics, but they were not made of satin, they appeared to be of usual cotton quality.
The other boxes were not opened; Madam Yun and Madam Bai had no idea what they contained.
When Wei Ruo saw Madam Yun and Madam Bai entering, she stopped her work.
Madam Yun walked over, and asked, “Who sent these gifts?”
“An old friend from Huzhou Prefecture knew about my upcoming marriage and sent over some fabric,” Wei Ruo responded.
“These fabrics…look quite extraordinary. Your friend was very thoughtful,” Madam Yun responded.
While Madam Yun and Wei Ruo were talking, Madam Bai had already begun to touch the items.
She first felt the fabric with the golden complete floral pattern, then with a surprise-filled face she exclaimed, “Ruoruo, this fabric is very smooth and delicate. Could it be Yunjin? Or could it be Zhijin? No, it’s lighter than Yunjin and smoother and more delicate than Zhijin.”
Madam Bai had seen many fine fabrics that only the nobles could afford, but she had not seen any that matched the one she was looking at now.
“No, the fabric is from a small workshop that isn’t widespread and has not been formally named yet,” Wei Ruo answered.
“Oh, like that! Can you help buy more for your Aunt? Its quality is not less than the famous Yunjin and Sujin,” Madam Bai immediately wished for Wei Ruo’s help to make a purchase.
“This fabric is in short supply and is temporarily not for sale,” Wei Ruo replied.
She was not going to sell this fabric publicly for the moment. After nearly half a year, less than ten sets were produced.
Aside from this bright red one, the rest were mostly dyed into rarer colours like purple and indigo.
Disappointed, Madam Bai retorted, “Ruoruo, are you deceiving your old Aunt Bai?”
Wei Ruo responded,”Where is this coming from? Didn’t Aunt Bai herself say she wanted to buy herself? If she pays in genuine silver, why wouldn’t I help her?”
Madam Bai was disappointed and then reached out to touch the fabric on the other side. This fabric was cotton. It didn’t have the brilliance of satin, but felt extraordinarily soft.
“What is this fabric? It feels so soft,” Madam Bai again inquired.
“This is cotton, it’s perfect for underclothes,” Wei Ruo replied.
“Cotton this soft?”
In Madam Bai’s impression, cotton used to be hard and dry. Far less soft and comfortable than silk.
“Better cotton quality produces softer fabrics,” Wei Ruo explained.
“Cotton also differs in quality?”
“Naturally, the longer the fiber length of good cotton, the better the strength of the spun yarn. Its sliver, lint and node are better than short fibers. The resulting fabric has a good gloss, good dyeing effect, and is soft, skin-friendly, breathable and elastic.”
Madam Bai was astonished to hear Wei Ruo’s explanation.
Madam Bai smiled awkwardly,”Ruoruo, having lived in the countryside for more than ten years, you seem to know a lot that we don’t.”
Madam Bai’s gaze returned to the two boxes that hadn’t been opened yet.
“What’s inside these two boxes?”
Wei Ruo grinned, then sent a signal to Xiumei.
Xiumei carefully opened the boxes in front of them.
The first box contained two jars, which looked much better than the two jars of liquor that Wei had transported by chariot. It was made of fine white porcelain.
The second box contained rouge and face powder, bottles and jars, all piled up.
“Why are there two more jars of liquor?” Madam Bai couldn’t help but ask.
“These two jars are Thyme.” Wei Ruo answered.
“Thyme?” This name was very familiar to Madam Bai—Wei Mingyong had mentioned this Thyme after returning from Taizhou prefecture.
Wei Mingyong even said he wanted to bring a couple of jars of Thyme back to the Capital City to honor the officials who loved wine, but the wine was expensive and hard to buy, so he didn’t even get one pot.
“Ruoruo, where did you get two jars of Thyme from?” Madam Yun asked.
As someone who had lived in Taizhou prefecture, she had of course heard of Thyme and knew that this white wine was not only expensive, but also hard to buy.
“Just like the fabric, it was given by a friend,” Wei Ruo gave the same answer.
“Who is this generous friend of yours, Ruoruo? They gifted you with several rare and expensive items.” Madam Bai asked, envy evident in her tone.
Wei Ruo didn’t answer directly, simply stating, “The intention is what counts when friends give gifts.”
Madam Bai stared at Wei Ruo’s white wine, her eyes fixed on it for a long time.
Madam Yun occasionally glanced at Wei Ruo’s bright red fabric.
Wei Ruo noticed the two’s expressions but pretended not to, and continued to busy herself with Xiumei.
Madam Bai thought she had made her intentions clear and Wei Ruo should ask on her own, but Wei Ruo remained silent, which made her anxious.
She finally couldn’t wait any longer and asked Wei Ruo directly, “Niece Ruoruo, your uncle has been searching for a famous wine to gift to an important person. I heard that this Thyme is very hard to come by. Would you consider selling it to me?”
