Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty

Chapter 25: Chapter 24 Disk Button Chapter 25: Chapter 24 Disk Button Chen Afu gave two admiring clicks, holding Chen Dabao and planting him with two kisses, praising, “Oh, Dabao is pretty as he is, but in new clothes, your mother could hardly recognize you, looking as if you’ve walked right out of a painting, a handsome little boy. Ah, wait till you grow up, and who knows how many girls will be fond of you.”

With a rosy and cheerful face, Dabao answered shyly, “Mother, praising me like this makes me feel embarrassed.”

Chen Afu laughed, “When I praise you every day, you will no longer feel shy.” Afterward, she tied up his hair in the skyrocket hairstyle.

Chen Dabao quickly got down from the bed, put on his grass shoes, and ran into the outer room. Just in time, Mrs. Wu and Alu had gotten up. Seeing Dabao in his new clothes, they both lavished praises upon him, which drove Dabao over the moon.

He was eager to show off outdoors, especially to his good friends Shitou and Si Xizi. However, witnessing the rain and mud outside, he held back, pacing around the room instead. With his trousers hanging too low, he frequently had to pull them up.

He muttered towards himself, “Ah, it’s such a shame it’s raining; otherwise I could go out for a walk.”

This remark amused everyone else to no end.

Today was Chen Afu’s first time cooking, so she had Mrs. Wang stand down. She slowly chopped up the salted vegetables, not daring to shred them, and could only slice. The salted vegetables were washed and then mixed with crushed rock sugar and mashed garlic. It was a tiny pity that there was no chili oil or sesame oil, which would make it even more fragrant.

Unlike Mrs. Wang who would boil an egg for Chen Ming in the mornings, Chen Afu instead steamed the eggs into an egg custard, adding some lard and chopped spring onion. The savory aroma wafted all around.

The food was served. The coarse-rice porridge was also thicker than usual. Except for Mrs. Wang feeling a bit pinched because she used a decent amount of ingredients, everyone else was rejoicing.

Alu tried a bite of the salted vegetables and exclaimed, “The salted vegetables that Sis made are really tasty, not too salty but still tantalizing.”

Dabao was thrilled, as if he was the one who made it. Hearing the compliment from his uncle, he grinned from ear to ear, nodding his head while eating the salted vegetables, and joined in saying, “Yes, yes, my mother is so clever beyond imagination. Grandfather, try it. Grandmother, you too.” He served Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang some salted vegetables as well.

Chen Ming scooped a spoonful of egg custard for each of them, smiling, “Try it, Afu has skillful hands, the steamed egg custard she made is extra delicious.”

Mrs. Wang was also overjoyed, but pretended to be upset, “I knew that this method would taste good, but we could only work within our means.”

Chen Afu, pulling at Mrs. Wang’s sleeve, cooed, “Mother, now that I am recovered, our family’s life will only get better. In the future, I will earn a lot of money and cook many more delicious dishes.”

In truth, Mrs. Wang was only four years older than Chen Afu in her previous life, but in this life, Chen Afu genuinely treated her as her own mother.

Seeing his mother fondly fussing over grandma, Chen Dabao also chimed in contentedly, “Grandma, don’t be angry anymore. You see, isn’t my mother cute?”

Dabao’s words not only amused Chen Ming and Alu, but also Mrs. Wang, who patted him on the head and said, “The most adorable one is you.”

As everyone thought about the exquisite sewing baskets and kits they had made, they became full of hopes for the future, eagerly looking forward to the nineteenth of June. Especially Alu, who even dreamt of curing his leg so that he could do more work in the future, be stronger, and protect his family.

After dinner, not only did the rain not let up, but it also became heavier.

Today, unable to venture to the county town for medicine due to the weather. Mrs. Wang still braved the rain and left the house. She had to go to Guqiao Village to buy some meat for Chen Ming. He had been having a tough time lately and needed to replenish his body with nutritious food.

Chen Afu dutifully chopped the chicken food and then, donned in his cloak, proceeded to feed the chickens in the backyard. Meanwhile, Chen Ming continued weaving baskets. The weather had turned cold that day, and the wind was strong, so he dressed in thick clothing and put on a hat as he sat weaving in the kitchen.

Alu and Dabao were studying in the east room. After some improvement in his health, Chen Afu had taken over many chores and made it mandatory for the two boys to read for two hours in the morning and one hour in the evening every day.

After feeding the chickens, Chen Afu returned to the east room. The room was piled high with over twenty finished needle and thread baskets. Once made, Mrs. Wang would place these baskets in the east room for fear that occasional visitors might see them.

The needle and thread baskets came in all shapes and sizes, round and square, large and small. Most were woven out of bulrush, but a small fraction was made from slender willow twigs. Thin fabrics were used to line the inside and rim of the baskets. Little flowers, sprouts, and grass made from scrap cloth were scattered, sewn onto the lining, and slightly larger flowers woven from yarn adorned the rim.

After inspecting the needle and thread baskets, she took out two sewing kits from the cabinet. Looking at these brought a bright smile to her face.

On one side of the rectangular sewing kit were three lotus flowers and some lotus leaves made from thin silk. On one side of the semi-circular kit was a cartoon dog head made from brocade. Two round black eyes, a black nose, a smiling mouth from which a red tongue jutted out, exuding extreme cuteness.

The other side of both sewing kits was identical, adorned with exquisite disk buttons woven with cloud satin. The disk buttons were extraordinarily delicate and were like crowning jewels that adorned the kits. Sadly, this type of button wasn’t available in this era.

Only when Mrs. Wang had tried making the disk button did Chen Afu realize that the types of buttons available at the time were quite limited, typically just one line buttons twisted from fabric strips or buttons made from cloth resembling abacus beads.

Chen Afu knew that even in the long river of history, the exuberant proliferation of disk buttons only began in the Qing dynasty. From single-line buttons to disk buttons imitating flora and fauna, as well as auspicious-word buttons, they became increasingly delicate and complex. Later disk buttons no longer just served as fasteners but developed into exquisite embellishments. Especially during the Republican era, the disk buttons on the cheongsam were resplendent and varied in design.

Back in college, she had a particular interest in disk buttons and had written a dissertation on them. For it, she had looked up a mass of materials and seen a lot of pictures. However, she had never made one before because crafting an exquisite button was extremely challenging. Not only did it require nimble fingers, but also painstaking efforts, even more so than making an entire outfit.

Chen Afu may not know how to make disk buttons personally, but she had observed them, could explain the process, and had Mrs. Wang, a skilled embroiderer in the family. Thus, she had a new idea. Besides creating unique sewing kits, she wanted to initiate the reform of disk buttons in the Dashun dynasty, starting from their home.

As a seasoned embroiderer, Mrs. Wang did not disappoint. She quickly grasped the essence of sewing kits and disk buttons, advancing and incorporating the aesthetic characteristics of that era into the items she made. Her products, with their meticulous craftsmanship and color matching, looked better than what Chen Afu had designed. Chen Afu was aware of her own limits; even if she fully recovered, her work couldn’t hold a candle to a tenth of what Mrs. Wang could create.

The fabric for the sewing kits was top-notch, all made from brocade. When the first exquisite sewing kit was complete, it dazzled the entire family.

However, making such sewing kits was time-consuming. Over two months, they had only finished six. With just little over a month left until June the 19th, they could at best make two more.

Chen Afu had already decided that the needle and thread baskets, being more commonplace, wouldn’t be sold at a high price. However, these sewing kits should be sold as expensive items. They weren’t merely indispensable sewing kits for women, but beautiful luxury items symbolizing the great reform of the disk button.

Only chrysanthemum disk buttons were created this time; in the future, they would be making more buttons of other designs and turning over a tidy profit.

……

Thanks to Jian and Rose, Life Like Water, Hera @ Qianlin, and Book Friend 150503101103982 for your wallet donations, as well as the various forms of support from you all.