CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65: BEAUTIFUL, THERE’S WORK TO DO!

Yi Chichi was feeling troubled, as it seemed like everyone had something to do except her.

Maybe she could go to the medical office and make some ointment out of the herbs?

But the ointment she made last time still hadn’t been used, and making more now would just leave her with nowhere to store it, plus it wouldn’t keep well.

After much deliberation, she decided to abandon the idea of bothering Uncle Yaozi for more herbs.

Fortunately, Liu Lan was persistently coming to her for embroidery lessons.

It was a rare sunny day, and Yi Chichi sat at the entrance of the medical office sketching embroidery patterns at Liu Lan and her friends’ request.

"What kind of design do you want?"

"Something simple, pretty, and easy to embroider."

This request left Yi Chichi at a loss. She thought for a moment and then sketched a picture of orchids.

Since there were no paints or watercolors available, it had to be a pencil sketch.

But that didn’t detract from the vitality and realism of the orchids.

"You draw really well."

Looking at her brushwork from start to finish, Liu Lan almost sighed, "At this moment, I finally understand why my grandmother says that good embroiderers are all master artists."

Yi Chichi curved her lips into a smile, "Your grandmother really knows her stuff."

She was right; when Yi Chichi learned embroidery, she studied painting and embroidery together to cultivate a sensitivity to color, structure, and spatial awareness in her work.

She had learned both meticulous and oil painting from famous teachers, and they always tried to persuade her to develop her career in painting.

Because of this, her grandmother almost cut off ties with these two old friends.

Liu Lan rolled her eyes in an unladylike manner, "My grandmother has seen the world."

"I stand corrected."

Yi Chichi didn’t want to delve deeper and cheerfully teased as she gestured to the sketch on the table, "How about this?"

Liu Lan and her friends stared at the orchid sketch for a while and felt it was acceptable.

It seemed quite simple, not too difficult.

But there’s one thing—

"How do you embroider the gradient in the color of the orchid leaves?"

This was a question about how to achieve a gradient effect in embroidery, transitioning from deep to light or vice versa.

Yi Chichi remained silent, wondering how she could teach them this.

Split the thread?

Unrealistic!

They were using cotton thread, and the quality wasn’t very good.

Even if they could manage to split it successfully, cotton thread’s luster was far inferior to silk thread.

A finished product wouldn’t yield the same color variations under different lighting conditions unless by a seasoned hand.

"I can’t explain it all at once; I’ll embroider one for you to see."

That could do.

Then, a group of people watched as she organized the cotton thread, expertly pulled out a green thread, split it into several strands, and threaded the needle to make the first stitch on the cotton fabric.

Yu Qingqing’s eyes darted around as she silently picked up a thread attempting to split it as Yi Chichi did.

Of course, she couldn’t succeed.

After ruining two threads in a row, she sighed deeply, "This technique isn’t something just anyone can master."

Liu Lan’s friend Liu Xiao looked despondent, "I don’t think I can learn this from Chichi."

Aunt Guihua’s daughter Liu Yu laughed, "Learn what you can, as long as we can make clothes and shoes, we’re good."

They couldn’t set their expectations too high.

In the surrounding villages, there were few women who excelled in embroidery.

"No whispering; if you’re going to learn, do it properly."

Yi Chichi advised without lifting her head, prompting everyone to obediently comply.

They watched intently, thinking it looked simple and not that difficult.

Suddenly, Liu Lan’s confidence soared, "Chichi, I think I’ve got it."

"Huh?"

Yi Chichi paused and turned to look, "You’ve got it?"

So fast?

"Yeah."

A nod, and another nod.

Yi Chichi felt something was off. She could believe Liu Lan had learned it, but Yu Qingqing and the others...

It’s not that she looked down on them, but they had no talent for embroidery.

"You’ve learned it too?"

She asked incredulously.

"What, we can’t learn it?"

Yu Qingqing responded quite discontentedly, with a wrinkled face, "This really isn’t that hard."

Such a bold statement.

What could Yi Chichi do?

She could only let them learn from practice.

"Then go ahead and start."

Whether they learned it or not would be shown in their finished work.

If the finished product turned out well, then they definitely learned it.

If it didn’t... oh well, she hoped for the best.

However, dreams are beautiful, but reality is often cruel.

Yu Qingqing and the others hadn’t produced any profound insight through practice, and the embroidered orchid leaves turned into a tangled mess.

The threads were all piled up, irregular and uneven.

Yi Chichi watched with a twitching eyebrow, unable to bear it any longer, "Who taught you to stitch like this?"

"I learned it from you."

Liu Yu had solid grounds, "When you were embroidering just now, you went from this point to that point, then from that point to this point, and..."

She prattled on, entering a chatterbox mode.

What was more alarming was that she had Yu Qingqing and others as her backing.

Yi Chichi was rendered speechless by her talk and was pondering on how to counter her when Aunt Ma’s voice suddenly sounded.

"Miss Yi, are you free now?"

Her voice was loud, carrying a joyful tone, indicating a good mood.

Just as Yi Chichi turned around to respond to Aunt Ma, she was captivated by the young woman standing beside her.

This was a beautiful woman, tall with striking features, breathtakingly beautiful yet surprisingly not aggressive, instead exuding a sense of warmth.

Her contradictory aura was unexpectedly appealing.

This lady perfectly showcased what it means to be the most charming one in the crowd.

"Snap out of it."

Seeing her stare unblinkingly at her niece, Aunt Ma couldn’t help but chuckle as she patted her.

Yi Chichi gave an embarrassed smile, "Hello, Aunt Ma. And who might this be..."

Her eyes still lingered on the beautiful lady; she was just too stunning.

Such a lovely face, if she could enjoy looking at it during meals, wouldn’t that be a bliss?

Even eating coarse grain buns would seem delightful, not even hurting the throat.

"This is my eldest niece, Yu Ritang, the one I mentioned before."

Yi Chichi suddenly realized, remembering she’s the niece wanting a beautiful dress for a wedding.

"Hello, Comrade Yu, I’m Yi Chichi."

Beautiful, it’s time to get to work.

She finally didn’t have to idly do nothing, able to earn a bit on the side!

"Hello, Comrade Yi. My aunt said you’re skilled in embroidery."

Pausing for a moment, she added, "And you’re quite good at it."

"Indeed, I am quite good at it."

When it came to her professional field, Yi Chichi was confidently radiant.

Yu Ritang laughed, realizing that only someone with skills could be this confident.

"Do you have any works I could see?"

"I do."

Before she finished, Yi Chichi reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to hand over.

"I made this myself, stitched in my free time, take a look."

The handkerchief was made from trimmed pure cotton scraps from the department store, finished with a hem, and had a bee embroidered on it.

Yu Ritang unfolded it and was immediately drawn to the lifelike bee on the handkerchief.

The chubby bee looked fuzzy; though she couldn’t quite describe it, she could recognize its quality. It was a bee that embodied both form and spirit, with a strong three-dimensional effect and rich colors.