Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 386: Getting More Excited with Every Stitch
The little Niu Niu, who was rejected, accepted it well. She lowered her head to watch as Yi Chichi applied ointment to her hand. Holding back her eagerness, she finally couldn’t resist and said, "Aunt, can I learn this?"
Yi Chichi replied, "...You want to learn embroidery?"
"Yes."
She nodded, turned to glance at the large tiger on the silk cloth, and said with sparkling eyes, "I want a big tiger."
This response left Yi Chichi rather speechless.
"You only want a big tiger?"
"I could also want flowers. I want to embroider whatever I desire."
The goal was quite clear.
However...
Looking at her little fingers resembling radishes, Yi Chichi replied calmly, "Talk about it when you’re older."
She’s too young now.
"Can’t learn?"
She looked disappointed.
"Aren’t you studying?"
"I am, but I don’t have to study all the time. It won’t affect me learning this."
This did make sense.
Since the little girl was interested, why not give it a try.
In the native world, she was already able to embroider Lan Hua at Niu Niu’s age.
So, after swiftly applying the ointment, Yi Chichi said, "I’ll draw a simple pattern for you to try first."
"Okay."
With a smile on her face, Niu Niu agreed, then sat down next to Yi Chichi, watching her take out a piece of cotton cloth, then grabbed paper and a pen to quickly sketch Lan Hua on the white paper.
It was indeed just grass, not even a flower bud.
The color was monochromatic—just green and more green.
The lines were simple, just three leaves.
She also labeled the needlework clearly, marking from where to start the stitch to where to end it.
Someone with a basic knowledge of needlework would understand it at a glance.
However, Niu Niu had never been exposed to needlework before, so marking it didn’t mean her task was complete; she still needed to demonstrate.
Before the demonstration, Yi Chichi pointed to the labeled needlework and asked her, "Can you understand this?"
Niu Niu, seemingly well-prepared, confidently replied, "Yes, I can."
"..." Could this child really be that capable?
Intrigued, Yi Chichi, after threading the needle, held the white cotton cloth and said, "I’ll demonstrate for you, watch carefully."
"Okay."
Seeing this, Yi Chichi made the first stitch, and Niu Niu watched intently. When she was about to make the second stitch, Niu Niu glanced at Yi Chichi’s needlework drawing, then looked at her stitch point, and her hands moved as if they had a mind of their own.
Yi Chichi noticed this, and while her hands continued to stitch without a pause, her peripheral vision was on Niu Niu’s hands.
Not paying attention revealed no issue, but upon focusing, she was surprised to find that the child’s mimicry perfectly matched her threading and stitching movements.
Goodness, this child was interesting.
This was a potential talent worth nurturing, perhaps another genius who could memorize and construct embroidery patterns.
Suppressing her excitement, Yi Chichi consciously quickened her stitching pace and didn’t forget to ask, "Can you still see clearly?"
Niu Niu didn’t rush to answer; she stared at the cotton cloth in Yi Chichi’s hand for a while before confidently answering.
"Yes, I can!"
The light in Yi Chichi’s eyes grew brighter, and her heart fluttered more.
She stopped, handed over the cotton cloth and needle, and said, "Give it a try."
"Okay."
Rubbing her hands, Niu Niu took the cotton cloth and needle from her.
The thread wasn’t used up yet, so no need to thread again.
Her task was to follow Yi Chichi’s drawn pattern and embroider the Lan Hua stitch by stitch.
For the first stitch, she hesitated a bit but then puffed her cheeks and made the stitch.
Yi Chichi sighed inside, the confidence was there, but the stitch was crooked.
Wait and see.
The second stitch, she got the stitch point right.
It wasn’t crooked either.
The third stitch followed the style of the second.
Then the fourth, fifth...
Her stitching speed began to increase, becoming more proficient.
Though the stitches were very neat, the thread looked uneven due to varying tension—quite bumpy.
But this wasn’t a major issue; with more practice, she’d find the right tension and rhythm, which would improve.
Newcomers all have this and that issue.
Niu Niu was genuinely interested in needlework; for most little girls, after just a few stitches, their interest would wane, and they’d lose patience.
Not her. The more she stitched, the more enthusiastic she became. After finishing one thread, she immediately switched to another to continue.
Soon, Yi Chichi saw her finish three threads and stopped her when she was about to start the fourth, "Alright, you can stop now."
"...I want to keep stitching."
Niu Niu tightened her grip on the cotton cloth and looked at Yi Chichi eagerly.
"Don’t you find this work boring?"
"No, I find it quite fun."
Yi Chichi went silent, fun... there was so much to say.
"Even if it’s fun, you can’t keep going, your eyes are important."
She took away the cotton cloth and needle thread from Niu Niu and placed them aside, pinching her cheek, "Go play with your brother and the others, I’ll take you home later."
Niu Niu didn’t want to leave, her eyes fixed on the cotton cloth, "It’s not finished."
"You can continue tomorrow, we’re not in a hurry for a little time."
It’s rare to meet such a gifted little sprout. Yi Chichi didn’t plan to give up so easily.
She wanted to talk with Aunt Ma and the others to decide the best way to nurture her talent.
But she is truly very young, and whether she’ll take this path in the future is still unknown.
So, take it slow.
"Can I come back tomorrow?"
"You can!"
Now Niu Niu was smiling and willing to go play.
But as she left, her gaze was truly reluctant.
Yi Chichi found her expression amusing, "Do you really like embroidery this much?"
"Yes!"
Why she liked it, and how much she liked it, Niu Niu couldn’t really explain, but she tried hard to put into words her thoughts, "I like it as soon as I see it."
Pointing at the large tiger on the embroidery frame and then at the cotton cloth on the kang table, she said, "When I stitch, I feel as happy as eating candy."
This was true fondness.
Candy holds a very high place in Niu Niu’s heart, equivalent to meat.
This child, to eat meat, dared to catch snakes at a young age.
In order to eat the candy her grandmother hid in a cabinet, she even concocted a plan to move stools and chairs to climb up and open the cabinet for candy, only to fall and cry out in pain.
It wasn’t once, but twice, forcing Aunt Ma to stop hiding the candy high and instead battle wits with her to limit the daily candy quota, which finally settled the matter.
And now, she equated embroidery with the joy of having candy.
"Understood. Later, I’ll take you home and talk to your mother and the others about it."
Niu Niu nodded, "I understand!"
"Understand what?"
Before Yi Chichi could speak, Qin Jiu and the others, who just returned from playing outside, overheard her and curiously asked.
Niu Niu giggled, "Auntie wants to take me as an apprentice."
"Wow!"
Qin Jiu and the others were shocked, and Yi Chichi wasn’t much better. Just as she was about to explain, Er Zhuang spoke first, "If you become Aunt Chichi’s apprentice, then doesn’t Xiao Jiu have to call you aunt?"
Yi Chichi facepalmed, helplessly said, "Er Zhuang, even if Niu Niu becomes my apprentice, she’d still be of the same generation as you guys, so Xiao Jiu wouldn’t have to call her aunt."
