Chapter 68 Top-level Embroidery Artificer
The sudden shout instantly plunged the whole cla.s.sroom into silence. Many people looked at Su Li who was sitting in the third seat from right of the teacher’s desk.
Su Li slowly got up and stood respectfully, then she answered, “I am here.”
“You’re Su Li from the Dasu Town?”
Madam Yang looked at Su Li up and down. There was a hint of jealousy vaguely appeared in her eyes. Then she nodded ostensibly, “You actually have certain attractions. No wonder men in the Dasu Town scrambled for you when you showed yourself in public.”
Madam Yang’s words seemed normal, but they were misunderstood right away by other people. They looked at Su Li abhorrently and even Mei Ruohan felt strange about that.
However, she believed in Su Li. Although they got along with each other for only one day, she was deeply impressed by Su Li’s indifferent disposition. How could she be that kind of girl as Madam Yang said?
“Su Li…turns out to be wanton and she likes to seduce men?”
“We actually become her cla.s.smates. Shame on her!”
“People in the Muyang School are all blind? How could such girl get accepted?!”
“We would be kept in the dark if Madam Yang didn’t talk about it.”
“…”
For a moment, girls all discussed Su Li. And it became increasingly fierce.
Madam Yang smiled. It was ridiculous that she could get so many benefits from her aunt merely for dealing with this little kid.
The girl was so mad that she even couldn’t speak. She should say more to provoke her, then that b.i.t.c.h would lose her mind because of anger and offend her in the cla.s.s. Then she could take the opportunity and finish her aunt’s order.
However, at this moment, Su Li said in a clear and melodious voice which thoroughly suppressed all the other voices.
“Lecturer Cui, I don’t know why you damage my reputation. I am from the Dasu Town, but Lecturer Cui is from the Muyang Town. Do you decide other people’s faults merely by hearing others’ slander? In my opinion, it is truly foolish.”
Su Li argued on just grounds in a calm tone. She wasn’t bewildered at all and her cool reply made some confused misses realize what’s going on.
“Su Li is right. Madam Yang is from the Muyang Town, which is far from the Dasu Town. How can she know what happened in the Dasu Town?”
“That is going too far. How can she gossip like that in public? Isn’t she afraid that it is a slander?”
“Madam Yang is too careless. Such behavior can hardly convince people.”
In an instant, the content of the discussion was changed.
Madam Yang was instantly angry after hearing the discussion. This Su Li… She seemed far from easy to handle with as she had imagined.
And she actually called her “Lecturer Cui” three times??!
It was nothing but provocation!
Madam Yang sneered in her heart. Very good! There would be a long time for her in the future. She had enough patience to find out Su Li’s weakness and then take right steps to deal with her.
When Madam Yang thought about that, her face slightly softened. Then she said coldly, “Su Li, what you said makes some sense. I was brusque. Sit down.”
Su Zipei, who was enjoying the show, was dumbfounded in a sudden. Her aunt prevailed over Su Li just now, but how could she suddenly admit being defeated. She wanted her aunt to help her vent anger.
Su Li sat down and frowned secretly. The reason why Madam Yang bore malice to her was probably because that Mam. Su-Cui had played dirty tricks. Madam Yang took the opportunity and rose difficulties in the first lesson to force her to fight back. Although she coped with it properly this time, she didn’t expect Madam Yang had such forbearance.
“It is actually a trouble.”
***
The left cla.s.s pa.s.sed tranquilly, but Mei Ruolan always felt the calmness was unusual, and there were undercurrent, which made her involuntarily shake with fear.
Mei Ruolan and Su Li returned to the yard hand in hand after the cla.s.s and Mei Ruolan said with a hum, “It seems that Madam Yang isn’t a good person. She insults you for no reason. Have you ever offend her?”
Su Li shook her head and smiled bitterly, “I don’t know, but…I will move out so as not to cause you any troubles.”
“Don’t go!” Mei Ruohan suddenly got angry and held Su Li’s hands furiously. “Live here at ease. I am not afraid of that Monkey Yang!”
Monkey Yang?
Su Li was astonished and chuckled instantly, “I truly feel that Madam Yang looks like a monkey after hearing what you just said.”
Su Li no longer mentioned that she would move out. The power that she possessed at present was more than sufficient to protect Mei Ruohan
“Ha ha ha, isn’t it? I wanted to say that for a long time!”
Mei Ruohan also laughed happily. Guo came out confusedly and looked at the two girls. What kind of monkey on earth that can make the two misses burst into such laughter?
***
On the third day, the first lesson was the embroidery after the morning reading.
Su Li sat quietly and saw Mam. Yang-Cui for second time before long. Mam. Yang-Cui dressed in long skirt with bold and unrestrained and impa.s.sioned patterns. The dress had exotic charm and the patterns could hardly be found in Dahan Country.
“Today, I will teach you the most special embroidery skill of the Dahan embroidery. You probably have learnt the basic embroidery skills at home, so I will just skip it and teach you what you mostly want to acquire!”
Mam. Yang-Cui’s look was normal, but Su Li still noticed that she had quietly glanced at her for several times.
“First, each of you embroider the cloud pattern of the Dahan embroidery as wide as one digit!”
Everyone immediately opened the needlework box on the table. When Su Li was going to open hers, she suddenly rose her head and found Madam Yang was looking at her with expectations.
She stopped her hands at once. Madam Yang became angry with her for seeing her stare at Su Li. So she walked to Su Li in a hurry and said harshly, “What are you doing? Why are you so slow to start? Don’t you know the basic embroidery skills? Stand up and get out immediately if you truly don’t know that!”
Su Li narrowed her mouth and rapidly opened the needlework box. Mam. Yang-Cui immediately stepped aside under conditioned reflex, but she didn’t hear panicky cry from Su Li after waiting for a long time.
What’ wrong?
She turned back and was stunned to find that that Su Li was safe and sound. She was taking a needle out of the needlework box.
Was the machine broken?
Then Su Li slowly stood up bashfully and whispered, “Madam Yang, I want to go the toilet badly. Can I leave for a while?”
Madam Yang snorted and said, “Go and be back soon.”
Su Li immediately left the cla.s.sroom as if she was escaping from a dangerous place. Madam Yang saw her leaving and then she looked doubtful. She walked to Su Li’s desk with feigned mindlessness and picked up the needlework box. The lid of the needlework box suddenly bounced up before she opened it.
“Ah!!!”
Su Li, who was far away from the cla.s.sroom, distinctly heard an earth-shaking scream. She couldn’t help but slightly rise the corner of her mouth.
Su Li returned to the cla.s.sroom when she thought the time was right, but she didn’t see Mam. Yang-Cui. Without searching for her, Su Li quietly sat down and opened up the needlework box and started to embroider the cloud pattern.
At her age, she couldn’t even touch the embroidery needle in the previous life. Later, she married a disabled husband. In order to make a living, she had to become an apprentice in the embroidery workshop after she finished the housework. She also did the ch.o.r.es in the embroidery workshop for free, of course they were glad to have her.
Her disabled husband was very weak. Su Li practiced the embroider skill every day almost without sleep so that she could buy better medicine for him. There were pinholes all over her hands.
After spending two months like this, she made up for the lack of talent by hard work and her embroidery skill was nearly the same as that of the embroidery artificer in the workshop. The owner appreciated her industriousness and instructed her the special embroidery skill—the Dahan flower needling skill. Before long, she completed the Feast of Flowers on her own, and became a top-level embroidery artificer because of it. The impoverished life in her family was greatly improved and she could spend more time to accompany her disabled husband.
Thinking about the past, the corner of Su Li’s mouth appeared softness and she embroidered more quickly. Her hands flexibly moved, just like a b.u.t.terfly flying on the embroidery board. A long cloud pattern like the floating cloud in sky appeared on the blank cloth before long.
Mam. Yang-Cui angrily wiped water stains on her face. She secretly tampered the needlework box and the black ink would instantly gush out as long as Su Li opened it. Su Li would become a laughing stock in the cla.s.s. However, she didn’t expect that there was nothing happened when Su Li opened the needlework box, while the machine performed well when she just picked it up.
It was a bad luck!
Mam. Yang-Cui couldn’t help but shake her neck when the cold wind blew into the room. There was plenty of cold water poured into her neck when she washed her face just now. It truly felt terrible.
Mam. Yang-Cui calculated the time. It was too late to change the inside clothes, so she just changed the coat and went back to the cla.s.sroom in a hurry.
Everyone instantly looked up when Madam Yang appeared. They all clearly saw the tragedy and some of them even burst into laughter. Fortunately, Mam. Yang-Cui rushed out with a scream and didn’t see who was laughing, otherwise she would surely settle accounts with them afterwards.
Madam Yang coldly swept the whole cla.s.sroom when she stepped in. Everyone quickly lowered their heads, and only Su Li sat straightly without flinch.
Madam Yang instantly flared after seeing Su Li’s stubborn appearance. She sprinted to Su Li and angrily said, “Who let you leave the cla.s.sroom at will? If you couldn’t finish the cloud pattern, everyone will be…”
Before she finished talking, Madam Yang blankly stared at Su Li’s embroidery board like a choked duck, and her eyeb.a.l.l.s nearly popped out.
What she saw was a foot-long cloud pattern!
Su Li could embroider such long cloud pattern in less than seven minutes?
Only the top-level embroidery artificer could finish at such speed. How old was Su Li? How could she do it?
“She must be cheating!”
When she thought about this, Madam Yang immediately affirmed her speculation. She screamed with a cold smile, “Su Li! Stand up!”
Su Li put down the embroidery needle and stood up. She said calmly, “What? Lecturer Cui, do you want to talk about the gossip again?”
After hearing that, other students all burst into slight cachinnation in the cla.s.sroom.
Madam Yang’s face instantly turned to liver-colored and her lungs nearly exploded in anger. She pointed to the cloud pattern with her fingertip which almost damaged the embroidery board.
“Embroider a foot-long cloud pattern in less than seven minutes. Do you think that you are better than the top-level embroidery artificer in embroidery skill? If you want to cheat, keep a low profile. Don’t think that everyone is as stupid as you!”
Madam Yang talked in one breath and when she finished, she instantly felt refreshed. She wanted to see Su Li’s rattled face, however, she just saw that the girl standing in front of her was actually laughing. How???