Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 353: Really Couldn’t Let It Go

"Why did Director Gu get pricked?"

Before the words were out, she saw Old Qian and the others trying to hold back their laughter.

Her interest in the matter grew even more.

"Stop keeping me in suspense, hurry up and tell me."

Tan Ning cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice steady, but the laughter she couldn’t suppress gave her away.

"It’s actually quite simple. One day, Director Gu might have been bored out of his mind—puhaha—and decided to come watch us work. As he watched, perhaps he got a feeling in his hand or something else. Suddenly, he said he’d figured it out and wanted to give it a try—puhahaha..."

At this point, she couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

Yi Chichi felt awkward, but she could guess what happened next; it was probably that he pricked himself while trying.

Sure enough, since Tan Ning couldn’t stop laughing, Qiu Yu continued to unveil the story.

"Turns out he didn’t have the talent for it. His eyes and brain might have figured it out, but his hands didn’t. Right at the start, he pricked himself and, not wanting to give up, said he could do it. We couldn’t stop him, so we thought since he said he could manage, we let him continue. But as he went on, we don’t know how he managed to fall over, spill the needle box, and pierce himself with three needles."

The scene from that day could only be described as chaotic.

It also ruined a piece of embroidery cloth, but fortunately, it was a small piece, so the loss wasn’t too significant.

"Since then, he’s never come back to our area."

If he has any matters, he’d either send someone to deliver a message or have the manager come over himself.

Old Qian added, "That day, he was crying out from being pricked, his face twisted in pain when the needles were being pulled out."

Speaking softly, he griped, "That day, the director’s face was truly ugly."

Yi Chichi internally agreed, no doubt about it.

Even the most handsome person, with a twisted face, can only be described as ugly.

Moreover, Comrade Old Gu wasn’t exactly relying on his looks to win favors, so it’s normal to look ugly.

"He was truly being unreasonable."

He was indeed quite unreasonable—why would a director want to try embroidery? It would have been fine if he had some grasp of his abilities.

They didn’t say it, but their expressions conveyed it well.

Yi Chichi chuckled, "Alright, stop chatting, let’s get back to work."

"Yeah, time to get back to it."

It wasn’t early anymore, and they’d seen enough of the needlework. Next, it was time to work while discussing the techniques.

As master crafters, Tan Ning and the others could multitask as well as Yi Chichi could.

Xiao Xiaoyu and the others were not at that level yet; they needed full concentration when embroidering, as a loss of focus often led to missed stitches or crooked needlework.

Thus, the whole discussion was led by Yi Chichi and the others, while Xiao Xiaoyu and her group kept their eyes on the embroidery cloth, their hands moving continuously, and their ears perked up.

As for how much they absorbed, no one knew.

When Yi Chichi finished a small patch of the head feathers, it was lunchtime.

Food is life, so everyone halted work and grabbed their lunch boxes to head to the cafeteria for food.

The cafeteria’s lunch today was quite sumptuous, with chicken, prawns, yellow croaker, potatoes, hollow heart greens, and more dishes.

There was also scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

But most dishes were light in flavor, with the exception of the dipping sauces for steamed chicken and prawns, which were the only heavily flavored dishes.

Because the sauce was mixed a little too salty.

"No meat again."

Qiu Yu, a meat lover, wished she could eat pork in every meal three times a day.

However, the pigs in the farm needed time to grow to slaughter-ready weight.

The demand for pork was enormous, but the current production meant everyone needed to scramble to buy some either at work units or as private citizens.

Thus, upon hearing her complaint, Yi Chichi consoled, "Though there’s no pork, there’s chicken, and there’s fish and shrimp too. You should be content."

"Fish and shrimp aren’t good."

Having eaten them all her life, feeling quite weary of it.

Pushing the lunch box in front of Yi Chichi, Qiu Yu said, "You can take all the prawns. I see you quite enjoy them."

Yi Chichi, "??? You’re not eating it?"

"I’m telling you, my hometown is by the sea. Every time the tide goes out, there’s tons of fish, shrimp, and crabs. I’ve really eaten so much I’m tired of it, couldn’t even be bothered to pick them. All I want is to eat meat and vegetables."

Glancing at the shrimp in the lunch box, she looked disgusted, "Hurry up and take them off my hands, I’m just so done with shrimp."

That was true disdain.

Yi Chichi replied, "Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony."

Waste is shameful, and since Qiu Yu doesn’t love shrimp, she does.

Not to mention, the chef’s skills weren’t bad.

The shrimp was tender and had a slightly sweet aftertaste, a shame not to eat.

"Don’t stand on ceremony, take all of them."

Thus, Yi Chichi took all the shrimp from her lunch box and, in return, transferred two pieces of chicken back to her box, selecting the meatiest ones for her.

Qiu Yu gave her a glance, and with a smile said thank you, then buried her head down to eat.

Mid-meal, Ning Jiandong came by with his lunch box, and as he passed by Yi Chichi, he reminded her, "Don’t forget about your ride tomorrow, make sure everything’s packed."

"I won’t forget."

"Alright, enjoy your meal then."

Leaving those words, he headed off to get his food.

Qiu Yu glanced at Ning Jiandong, then back at Yi Chichi, whispering, "What’s between you and the manager?"

"Revolutionary comrades’ elder."

Qiu Yu blinked in surprise and remarked, "You could’ve just said it’s your elder, you didn’t have to make it so complicated."

Yi Chichi, "...Okay, next time I’ll say it straight."

Old Qian chimed in, "Did he recruit you over?"

"Yes."

"No wonder someone skilled in Su Embroidery like you didn’t develop in the Su District, but came to Yangcheng instead."

Yi Chichi was at a loss for words; could she say she came to develop in Yangcheng because of her Uncle Yaozi?

If it weren’t for Uncle Yaozi finding her work and Wen Shi being on an island, she wouldn’t have chosen Yangcheng.

But no matter, with her embroidering skills, she can shine anywhere.

Besides, Chi Jiaojiao and the others wanted to recruit her to a Friendship Store in Harbin back in the day.

"My husband is here."

"In the military..."

Sighing, Comrade Old Qian expressed a heartfelt sentiment, "It’s tough! But one can learn real skills."

"What kind of skills?"

Qiu Yu, without any family in the military, and unfamiliar with this field, listened with curiosity.

Old Qian became interested, "I have a nephew who’s a motor transport soldier; his driving skills are really good, he can even repair vehicles. He’s still in the army, and the repair station where I’m from is already eyeing him."

He remarked, "If he hadn’t joined the military, he wouldn’t have learned to drive or how to repair cars."

This was true, as vehicles were limited in the country, and private cars were nonexistent.

Mostly scattered among the military, government units, and transport teams.

To learn driving and repairs, one had to work for specific entities to even touch a wheel.

"Let him work hard; motor transport soldiers are sought after whether they stay in the army or return to civilian life."

"Okay."

Amidst the chatter and laughter, lunch was finished.

The group washed their lunch boxes and returned to work.

Around 2:50 in the afternoon, Yi Chichi finished her work, packed everything up, and Qiu Yu, sitting nearby, wondered, "You’re not embroidering anymore?"

"No, you continue, I’ve got something to do and need to go out."

She had arranged to meet Qiao Jun and the others by the west gate at three, so she had to hurry over.