CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 71: EMBROIDERED SCREEN

The reputation of a person, like the shadow of a tree!

In her past life, Beisitian had worked hard to practice embroidery, so it was naturally beyond just the level of embroidering handkerchiefs and pillow slips. This time, she planned to embroider well and teach Zhang Baoxia a lesson!

Beisitian was quite confident in her embroidery skills, having diligently immersed in it within her boudoir.

Previously, she hadn’t paid much attention to this aspect, but this time, she wanted to come to a conclusion with her current embroidery works.

There’s always someone better, Beisitian was never arrogant or conceited.

Zhang Ziquan had only seen Beisitian’s embroidery before, never her in person. This was the first time seeing her, and the first impression was an unremarkable rural girl, with nothing special except slightly brighter eyes.

But now, he couldn’t help but eye her a few more times. The bright eyes of this girl stemmed from the confidence within them. Despite wearing clothes typical of rural characteristics, her calm nature, and the unchanged expression and emotions from beginning to end, made Zhang Ziquan see her in a new light and even feel somewhat inferior.

"Although the exhibition in Shanghai isn’t national, all the participants are well-known embroidery women from various places. Is Miss Bei really planning to participate?" Zhang Ziquan was afraid she wasn’t aware of the exhibition’s coverage and specifically emphasized it again.

Beisitian smiled and nodded. She wasn’t aiming for first place, just being able to stand out was enough.

Zhang Baoli naturally had no problem satisfying Beisitian’s request, but there was a big concern that troubled her.

"With Zhang Baoxia’s character, she’s likely to use this opportunity to cancel our qualification to submit works. She knows you really know double-sided embroidery and definitely wouldn’t risk letting you participate."

Zhang Ziquan frowned upon hearing this, it indeed posed a problem.

"It seems we can only ask for help from Third Uncle." Zhang Ziquan murmured.

The so-called Third Uncle, or Third Uncle Grandpa, wasn’t actually very old, but because Zhang Ziquan’s generation was generally younger, the titles seemed grand.

Beisitian hadn’t originally planned on taking the Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop route, otherwise, even if she stood out, she wouldn’t achieve the desired effect.

Nonetheless, she still needed the help from Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop, especially from the family’s higher-ups.

For this, the connections from Zhang Baoli’s branch were needed.

Beisitian shared her plan with them: to participate in her personal capacity, but it would be best if the work could be submitted through Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop’s higher-ups.

If higher-ups couldn’t be found, she planned to follow gradual approval procedures, which would be slower and bring many inconveniences.

She didn’t want to run around for this.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ziquan hurriedly suggested that they will try their connections first, making other plans if these failed.

He eagerly agreed because he had personal motives. He had seen Beisitian’s work, knowing with her double-sided embroidery skills, getting selected to participate wouldn’t be an issue. Therefore, if her work could be handed in through them, Beisitian might become the signature of their branch in the future.

If she went through the review process herself, and since she was registering as an individual, if she became famous and was recruited elsewhere, their branch would get nothing!

After all, this exhibition in Shanghai wasn’t a trivial event. Those who could participate were top-notch in the industry. Once exhibited, an embroidery woman’s status would rise swiftly.

Beisitian understood Zhang Ziquan’s intentions, but she could see why. She herself would also prioritize her interests, and she didn’t plan to go elsewhere in the first place.

She had other plans for this exhibition.

After they decided this, Zhang Ziquan hurriedly left to prepare. Their branch would fully support Beisitian!

On the other hand, Zhang Baoli needn’t worry or could not do much. Her main task was to find well-known pieces for Beisitian to study and grasp in her mind.

"Little Tian’er, I’m aware of your skills. Truly submitting might not pose much issue for participating, but gaining the renown you mentioned won’t be easy!" said Zhang Baoli.

An exhibition in such a big city like Shanghai would attract many renowned appraisers and technicians. If one could get a few words of critique from these people, no matter which embroidery workshop an embroidery woman joined, she’d be treated like a distinguished guest.

Apart from these people, there were also some wealthy individuals and foreign guests. They were very generous with their offers; if they liked a piece, a few thousand was nothing.

In this era, although there were many millionaires, there weren’t countless.

"Can I borrow your big frame? And do you have any good silk? White ones." asked Beisitian.

Zhang Baoli, of course, knew what the big frame referred to, and she quickly nodded. She could prepare all these.

"What do you plan to embroider?"

Typically, a large frame is used for big pieces.

"A screen."

Zhang Baoli was slightly surprised. Among embroidery works, screens were the most prestigious but also the hardest to embroider. Not only because they were large, but the other materials for screens were expensive, and if the embroidery wasn’t up to par, it could overshadow the screen, ruining the entire piece!

However, with Beisitian’s skills, it should be feasible. Double-sided embroidery shows best on a screen, but the workload would increase significantly. There was concern whether it could be completed before exhibition registration.

Knowing that Beisitian had to visit Jishi Pharmacy, she said, "Go ahead. I’ll have everything ready when you return!"

Beisitian nodded, "It’d be great to have some extraordinary patterns."

Zhang Baoli nodded, as this was certain. Without great patterns, how could one produce outstanding embroidery?

Beisitian went to Jishi Pharmacy, where Ma Xiaoling informed her that Zhou Jiren had gone out, but left word for her to wait a moment as there were already plans for her piece.

Upon hearing this, Beisitian felt slightly pleased and nodded with a smile before going to wait in Zhou Jiren’s study.

This was as instructed by Zhou Jiren.

There weren’t many books in Zhou Jiren’s study, only a few placed in a glass cabinet. Though called a study, it seemed more like a reception room.

However, judging by the room, Zhou Jiren had quite the taste. The paintings on the walls seemed to be by renowned hands, and the celadon vase on the rosewood table was of high quality. Without a discerning eye, as long as things looked beautiful, there was no need to focus on quality.

As she was observing, footsteps were heard from outside. Because the door was open, Zhou Jiren saw Beisitian in the study and allowed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

This expression caught Ma Jian Country’s attention beside him, surprising him. Zhou Jiren was known for being tight-lipped and indifferent, astute yet cold. Despite not being remarkable, due to his identity and status, many women pursued him, but he had never shown extra favor to any woman.

Ma Jian Country couldn’t help but cast his gaze toward Beisitian, then froze again. She was just a girl from a village, judging from her clothes, it seemed her family was quite poor too.