Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 427 Skills

That evening, Zhong Sheng came to report to Zhao Wangshu, "Your Excellency has arrived at Tianxing Prefecture. According to the journey, it will take more than a month to return to Beijing."

Zhao Wangshu breathed a sigh of relief, but as long as Yun Hao didn't come back, her worries would not completely disappear.

"It seems that he won't be able to make it back in time to attend his son's one-year-old ceremony." Zhao Wangshu frowned.

"Sir, he will definitely come back as soon as possible." Zhong Sheng said.

"I hope so." Zhao Wangshu gave a bitter smile, "You've worked hard, go out and have dinner."

"Yes, Madam." Zhong Sheng bowed and walked out.

In the following days, Zhao Wangshu's life remained as dull as ever. Every day, apart from dealing with household affairs, he also raised his son.

A few days later, Zhao Wangshu was invited by the supervisor of Mingli Hall to go to Mingli Hall to watch the girls' skills assessment.

Yao Shanzhi asked the maid to come over and tell her, "I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"I'm waiting for her at home." Zhao Wangshu replied.

The next day, Yao Shanzhi's carriage stopped at the second gate, and Zhao Wangshu was seen holding little Yunyu. He asked, "Are you going to take Yu'er with you?"

"Today's weather is good. He's grown up now. It's time to take him out to play and let him broaden his horizons." Zhao Wangshu gently rocked little Yunyu in his arms, "Isn't that right, Yu'er?"

"Yes." Xiao Yunyu replied.

Yao Shanzhi pointed at the little guy in amazement and said, "He speaks so well and clearly."

"This is the second word he can say." Zhao Wangshu said with a smile.

Yao Shanzhi patted his chest and said, "I will teach him to say the third word."

On the way to Minglitang, Yao Shanzhi kept teaching Xiao Yunyu how to speak. At first, Xiao Yunyu looked at her seriously and responded with "ahhh".

Later, she became impatient and buried her head in Zhao Wangshu's arms, ignoring Yao Shanzhi.

Yao Shanzhi was not angry. Instead, she thought Xiao Yunyu was very cute.

Zhao Wangshu stroked Xiao Yunyu's back and said, "From the looks of it, he's not cut out for study."

"Stop talking nonsense. My godson will definitely be both a civil and military talent in the future." Yao Shanzhi retorted.

"Thank you for your advice." Zhao Wangshu also hoped that his son would be both civil and military.

The wind blew up the curtain, and Xiao Yunyu reached out to grab it. Yao Shanzhi thought he wanted to look outside, "Come, Yu'er, let godmother hold you and look at you."

Yao Shanzhi reached out and took Xiao Yunyu from Zhao Wangshu's arms, adjusted his posture, lifted the curtain, and let him look at the scenery outside the window comfortably.

There was a gleam of curiosity in Xiao Yunyu's eyes, and he jumped around excitedly in Yao Shanzhi's arms.

"He is so strong that I almost couldn't hold him." Yao Shanzhi hugged Xiao Yunyu's round little body tightly.

The carriage moved forward slowly, and the scenery on both sides of the street passed by one by one.

Little Yunyu was attracted by these new things. He pointed his little hand outside and made unclear sounds, as if asking Yao Shanzhi what that was.

Yao Shanzhi patiently explained to him, "That's a restaurant, a place to eat."

"That's a bun shop, buy buns there."

"The noodle stall sells noodles. When you grow up, your godmother will bring you here to eat."

In the eyes of foodie Yao Shanzhi, all she could see were shops and stalls selling food. The carriage entered from the side door of Mingli Hall, and the supervisor of Mingli Hall and several gentlemen came to greet them, and greeted the two, "County Lady, Young Madam."

Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu also returned the greeting with a smile. The supervisor looked at the little guy in the nurse's arms and said, "I guess this must be Young Master Yun. He looks like Young Madam."

Zhao Wangshu smiled, "I brought him here to broaden his horizons."

Although Minglitang also teaches music, chess, calligraphy and painting, its main focus is on teaching skills for making a living, such as weaving, embroidery, cooking, and tailoring.

Girls learn skills here, and when they are a little older, they will be arranged to work in the shop or stay in Minglitang to help.

The first place they went to was the weaving yard. There were sixteen looms in the yard. Sixteen girls were standing beside the looms. When they saw them come in, they bowed and said, "Greetings to the county lady and the young lady."

"No need to be so polite." Yao Shanzhi said with a smile.

Several people sat down on the row of chairs in the front, and Zhao Wangshu said to the supervisor, "Let's get started."

The supervisor asked, "Aren't the county lady and the young lady going to give a lecture?"

"That's not necessary." Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu both disliked this empty ceremony.

The supervisor smiled and nodded to the gentleman who was conducting the assessment.

"Whoever weaves the longest and most dense cloth within two quarters of an hour will win." The gentleman announced the rules in a loud voice.

Following her command, the sixteen girls quickly got busy. They adjusted the looms, sat in front of them and started weaving.

Although the girls are young, they are quite skilled in their craft, which shows how hard they work.

The loom made a rhythmic sound, and little Yunyu jumped excitedly in Zhao Wangshu's arms, as if he wanted to participate in person.

"Wangshu, come here, give it to me." Yao Shanzhi said quickly when she saw that Zhao Wangshu could hardly control the little guy.

"Go to your godmother quickly." Zhao Wangshu was sweating as he tried to hug the little guy.

Yao Shanzhi held the little one in her arms and went down to watch the girls weaving at close range.

Little Yunyu looked at the loom curiously with his bright big eyes, gesturing in the air with his little hands, extremely excited.

Time passed little by little, and a crisp bell rang, which was the signal that the timer was over. The girls stopped their work, stood up, stood beside the loom, and waited for the gentlemen's judgment.

The supervisor walked to the loom of a tall and thin girl, measured the length of the cloth with a ruler, held up the cloth with his hands, looked at the fineness of the cloth, and was surprised to find that the cloth had dark patterns. "Did you make any changes to this loom?"

"To answer the supervisor, I just added a hidden button on the machine." The girl replied.

The supervisor nodded slightly, "You have a good idea, we will discuss this in detail later."

After the gentlemen looked at the length and density of the cloth woven by the sixteen girls, the supervisor announced the result of the competition, "Congratulations, Shuang Liu, you won the competition."

The girl who wove the dark-patterned cloth was named Shuangliu. The cloth she wove was not only long, but also the only one with dark patterns. She smiled shyly and the other girls were not jealous. They gathered around her and congratulated her.

The supervisor asked Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu to present the awards, but they both declined with a smile, and the supervisor then presented the award to Shuang Liu.

It was a brand new loom. When Shuang Liu finished her apprenticeship and left Minglitang, she could use this loom to weave cloth and sell it.

Shuang Liu touched the loom and cried with joy, "Thank you, Supervisor, thank you, sir, thank you, County Lady, thank you, Madam."

If she had the ability to make a living, she would not be sold to the old man by her parents.

Next, Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu visited the competitions at the Embroidery Institute, Cooking Institute, etc.

In every yard there is a group of girls busy doing their work, some are embroidering, some are cooking, some are tailoring, and some are identifying medicinal herbs. Everyone's face is filled with anticipation and longing for the future.