Girls in peasant families almost all knew how to sew and mend clothes, make shoes, and because people in the countryside weren't fussy about clothing, everything was made generously sized, especially for children, to prevent them from outgrowing their clothes too quickly.
And making shoes, especially attaching the soles, required a bit of strength.
Neither task required much skill.
But Old Granny Zhang, as unworldly as she was, knew that embroidery was a valuable skill for a woman, one that could increase her worth and ensure that, even if married to a nasty mother-in-law, she wouldn't starve.
When she had agreed to Lady Jiang's marriage to Laosan, it was not only because a small dowry could virtually secure a daughter-in-law for nothing, but more so because she had surreptitiously inquired around Lady Jiang's maternal home.
