The daughter was different from other children from the moment she was born, he was attentively nurturing her, and every time he nurtured his children’s growth, he was also protecting some of her secrets!
Seeing the jewelry made by his daughter again, he dared not show these pieces to his parents. If his mother saw such beautiful jewelry, would she stop at merely asking for two hair combs?
To be honest, he himself found the jewelry so beautiful that he wanted to own it. His daughter had been making these items for so long, and he couldn’t bear to let her work so hard!
Deep down, he too wanted his daughter to give him a gift. Even though they now had more money, he and his wife were reluctant to buy jewelry, feeling somewhat in debt to his wife and thinking about waiting until their daughter had finished making them.
He secretly spent money to buy some beautiful wood so he could carve jewelry for him and his wife!
Even if it were just a hair comb, it would still be an item that they, father and daughter, had worked on together!
Ye Shiqi was busy not only with these tasks but also with learning musical instruments, Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting, and insisted on exercising every day!
Even the youngest sister, Qing, was so diligent. As elder sisters, they accompanied Qing while continuously improving their own abilities!
Their talent for carving was not up to par, yet seeing how lovely the items carved by their youngest sister were, they longed to own them but didn’t dare to ask for them.
Ye Shiqi’s four elder sisters actually had one more skill than Ye Shiqi, which was needlework.
While Qing was busy carving in her room, the four sisters would gather to do embroidery, making their favorite items like handkerchiefs or sachets, small items they no longer needed someone else to embroider for them.
Ye Luoqi, as the eldest, led her sisters in needlework, and her embroidered flowers were better than those of her sisters, showing real dexterity and talent.
She was learning to make clothes and could already design patterns for some garments, buying fabric she liked to sew them herself!
This was a skill that every girl from a farmer family, every girl, had to learn!
Some of the clothes they wore were bought ready-made, which was unusual for people from a farmer family. Once they had money to buy fabric, the cheapest part was the labor.
As the Ye family prospered, the clothes they wore were no longer made of coarse fabric, instead buying better fabric from the county stores!
They also chose soft, comfortable fabric, especially sweat-absorbent material for the summer that wouldn’t cause heat rash.
Ye Fengqi was only five or six years old and was learning embroidery, stitching simple flowers onto a cloth.
She was very meticulous with every stitch and would occasionally look up at her elder sisters.
Seeing her sisters so quiet, Ye Fengqi spoke her thoughts:
"Eldest sister, you are amazing. When will I be able to embroider as wonderfully as you? Can you make me a garment?"
"No, my needlework isn’t good enough for anything but undergarments. For outer garments, I still need help. If you want to be as skilled as your eldest sister, you can do it if you try hard!"
Being praised by her younger sister did not make Ye Luoqi arrogant. She knew her own limitations and in the rural household, her dress would not be laughed at, but if guests came over, it would be a different story.
Their family was no longer like before; they wouldn’t be embarrassed if laughed at for wearing patched clothes, but things had changed now, and as they grew older, they also understood how to dress up.
The four sisters each worked on different things. Ye Xinqi and Ye Mei Qi were embroidering sachets, while their maids, if they had free time, would use fabric leftovers from the ladies to make ribbons and hair ornaments.
"Mhm, alright, I will work hard," Ye Fengqi nodded obediently after her elder sister’s words.
"We four sisters might only take pride in our needlework, the only thing Qing doesn’t surpass us in."
Ye Mei Qi spoke with feeling!
The other sisters nodded in agreement, sharing the same sentiment!
"Qing excels in everything except needlework, which she doesn’t enjoy. There are pros and cons!"
Everyone understood what Ye Xinqi meant; if a girl didn’t know needlework, she was considered as incapable as a woman who knew nothing!
If one were a Miss from a wealthy family, it might be alright because some tasks could be delegated to others.
But as a girl grows up and faces marriage, she must embroider her own wedding dress, and intimate items cannot be done by others. A girl who doesn’t know needlework would then be revealed as useless!
"Qing has so many strengths. Right now, she’s not interested in needlework, but she’s still young and can learn later. She’s already so skilled now; if she took an interest in learning, she would surely be no worse than us!"