thefictionvixens Chapter 347: A rare talent, Yue Jiao's former master
Chapter 347: A rare talent, Yue Jiao's former master
On the second day after Madam Li moved in with Lin Pin'er, Grandmother Jia arranged a large-scale flower-viewing event to entertain her relative, Madam Li. It happened to be the chrysanthemum-viewing season, so she moved the art activities that the children often held to the garden so that she could have a good day with her relative and the children.
The chrysanthemums in the garden are tended by an old man named Liu, his son and his wife. From a distance, it looks like a sea of bright flowers in full bloom.
"Laolao Liu's family used to be farmers who specialized in growing vegetables. When we built this garden two years ago, we specifically handed the flowers and plants in the garden over to them to take care of. At first, they were all purchased varieties, but later they also learned some new techniques, and this year they can cultivate new varieties themselves. Let's go and take a look, they may be more interesting than the ones we bought." Jia's mother, wearing a dark gold jacket made of Song brocade and holding a round fan, led Madam Li out of Lin Pin'er's courtyard and walked towards the lake first.
"The sun isn't shining yet. Let's take the boat for a while and then go over there. They'll be ready by then."
Old Madam Li agreed with a smile. She wore a long cheongsam made of Xiangyunsha, with only a medium-length pearl necklace adorning her neck. She held a handkerchief in her hand and boarded the ship with Lady Jia, Lin Pin'er and Li Shuirong.
This boat was arranged by Su Miaoyu Tea House and has been renovated. The interior is more like a high-class cabin. The long sofa is softer and more comfortable than before. The light golden gauze floating in the cabin matches the ebony of the boat. The floral decoration at the stern has used chrysanthemums to suit the occasion. The table is filled with Su-style cakes in red, yellow, green and purple, which are very beautiful.
As soon as we got on the boat, we heard the soft humming of Wu dialect from under the shade of the trees among the flowers. It turned out that Grandmother Jia had invited two Pingtan artists. It was a unique experience to enjoy the scenery while taking a boat ride with the music playing.
"Blue bricks with tile paint,
Raindrops sprinkled on the eaves,
Smoke rises from the kitchen,...”
The boat passed several flower beds, with roses, tea flowers, and banana trees lined up one by one. The scenery on the shore was already dazzling. Occasionally, a small artificial waterfall appeared even more exquisite and unique when it turned a corner. There were also a few koi carps accompanying the boat as it traveled along the way.
The person in charge of making tea on the boat today is Zhen Xiangling. Her technique is even more skillful than Amber's. The tea whisk rotates freely in her wrist, and the tea foam is fine and the fragrance of tea is everywhere.
After sipping tea and trying half a piece of cake, a small bamboo lamp on the bow caught Madam Li's attention. After just a few glances, Lin Pin'er explained, "This is Zijuan's new recipe. The spices are made into essential oils, and the essential oil lamps are made into bamboo styles. It looks novel and interesting, but it is actually used to repel mosquitoes."
Madam Li nodded and said, "No wonder no mosquitoes have come near the ship even though we have been on board for so long. I was wondering how they did it just now."
As the boat approached the shore, Jia Yuanchun, Wang Xifeng and others were already waiting outside the carved railings at the dock. As soon as the ebony bow touched the shore, Wang Xifeng stepped forward and in a blink of an eye, she had firmly grasped Jia Mu's arm. Jia Yuanchun also leaned over to support Old Madam Li. In the back cabin, Lin Pin'er reached out and gently touched Li Shuirong's black sleeve. The two stepped over the shore and got off the boat together. When the boat was empty and slightly floated on the side of the boat, two or three golden fish jumped out of the water in surprise.
When I stepped onto the bluestone road, I could feel the autumn colors in full bloom. The chrysanthemums looked like golden and green. Granny Liu came from the depths of the flower path wrapped in a moon-white sweat towel. Her coarse linen blue dress was washed white, but starched straight. Her bronze face was gilded with warm light by the autumn sun. The deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were like chrysanthemum petals when she smiled, and her cloudy eyes were filled with joy.
"Greetings to the old ladies!" Grandmother Jia nodded slightly and then introduced the two to each other.
"Look at this golden chrysanthemum. Do the petals look like they are made of gold foil?" Grandmother Jia lightly tapped the goose yellow chrysanthemum with her fingertips.
“I once met an old gardener in Suzhou who said that this flower needs to be watered at yin hour and fertilized at dawn hour, and it takes at least three years for it to bloom in such a beautiful shape.” Aunt Liu was not stage-shy and bent over to introduce the flower to everyone.
"Look at that white flower, it looks like a pile of snow. Could it be called a snow lion?" Wang Xifeng also followed suit, and the two of them sang in unison as if they had rehearsed it in advance.
"This is called moonlit white. It's even better at night. The moonlight looks like frost." She raised her hand and pointed deep into the chrysanthemum field. In the layers of pale golden flowers, there was a faint sign with the name of the flower: "The one in the distance is Yulouchun, and the petals are as thin as silk."
Granny Liu followed beside Lady Jia, and she explained things more clearly. They walked further and further away in the sea of flowers. Behind them they heard the voice of Wang Xifeng instructing the maids to set the table, which startled a few colorful butterflies, which fluttered towards the tips of the chrysanthemums that were dotted with the autumn sun.
Wang Xifeng and her maids quickly set up a long table in the Chrysanthemum Garden. Xichun brought the branches and mosses she had collected, and led Jia Lan to make a static scene for the table. The design was based on the theme of gardens, and the lake, bridges, waterfalls, flower beds, and Fengyi Water Pavilion in the garden were all displayed in the form of miniature landscapes in the center of the table. Old Madam Li watched her busying around, and the table gradually took shape, and finally she was amazed.
"You are such a smart kid, how did you come up with this idea?"
Xichun smiled and said, "I have loved tending to these branches and mosses since I was a child, and I also liked to create this kind of still scenery at home. Recently, I see that this garden is getting better and better, and my grandmother wants to paint a picture of this garden, so I came up with the idea of using plants to create this. Jia Lan happens to be able to make these pavilion models, and I worked with him to create this work."
After hearing this, Madam Li turned to Jia Lan and asked, "How come you are so skillful at such a young age?"
Jia Lan was very happy to hear the compliment and hurriedly told Madam Li about the other models he had made.
Lin Pin'er also hurriedly told Madam Li: "The music box statue in our yard was made by him."
"Really? Then we need to train him well. He will definitely be a rare talent in the future!"
As they were talking, Zijuan and Maria pushed the stroller and the two little ones came. Wang Xifeng had already prepared a baby high chair. Li Yunyan sat there obediently, but Li Yunmo couldn't sit still, so he had to let Maria take him to appreciate the flowers.
Here, Jia Yuanchun also sat down next to Li Yunyan, picked up the paper handkerchief on the table, took out a small pencil bag from her bag, took out a charcoal pencil and began to paint. The painting was the chrysanthemum she had just seen.
After seeing Xichun's masterpiece, Mrs. Li came over to play with Li Yunyan. When she saw the exquisite charcoal painting on the paper towel, her eyes immediately lit up.
"I guess you are Yue Jiao's former owner?"
Jia Yuanchun didn't react for a moment and looked at Madam Li in confusion.
Madam Li sat down next to Jia Yuanchun and said in a low voice, "It's my cat. Its name is Yuejiao. When Li Hanlan brought it back, he said it belonged to a friend and gave it to me because he didn't have time to take care of it."
Jia Yuanchun's eyes were immediately filled with surprise: "You keep it?"