CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: EMBROIDERING BETTER THAN A BEE

Yu Ritang didn’t know how to embroider, but her aesthetic sense was top-notch, and she could tell the quality of embroidery.

Her mother and aunt could all embroider, but their finished products had no artistic value at all, being stiff and rigid.

Unlike the bee embroidered by Yi Chichi, which was so lively it could almost be mistaken for real.

"You’re right, your embroidery is really great!"

She praised with a face full of amazement, extremely grateful that she took her aunt’s advice, taking a desperate chance by coming here.

Yi Chichi just smiled, "I’m a professional in embroidery."

"Hmm."

Yu Ritang nodded, smilingly inviting her, "Can we talk in detail?"

"Sure."

So, after greeting Liu Lan and the others, Yi Chichi led Yu Ritang and Aunt Ma into the house.

Yu Ritang seemed really urgent, not waiting for Yi Chichi to serve tea, she went straight to the point, "My aunt should have told you, I want to make a dress for my wedding."

"She did."

Yi Chichi nodded, handed her the tea, and sat opposite her, "You can tell me your requirements."

Thinking of the current general environment, she gently reminded, "It needs to be within policy, nothing excessive."

Otherwise, not only would Yu Ritang have trouble, but she might also get implicated.

In this era, once you get involved with anything deemed as counter-revolutionary or anti-establishment, there’s no good outcome.

Under the torrent of history, individual power is insignificant.

Yi Chichi didn’t plan to openly defy the general environment or vainly attempt to challenge the entire societal values with just her own effort.

"I understand!"

Yu Ritang nodded in appreciation of her kindness and said with a smile, "But you don’t have to worry too much, the person I’m marrying is quite capable."

Fearing that Yi Chichi might refuse the job out of worry, she dipped her finger in some water and wrote a few words on the table.

After reading it, Yi Chichi felt completely relieved, though still, caution was advisable.

"Try not to go overboard."

An official wedding dress with embroidered shoes and phoenix crown was out of the question. Wearing a red outfit with some embroidered decorations on the hem or dress would be more like it.

The designs also needed careful selection, meeting mainstream ideologies while ensuring elegance.

If this deal were to go through, it would require a bit of thought.

Yu Ritang acknowledged with a sound, indicating her understanding.

"Let’s discuss the style, my aunt said you can make clothes."

"I can."

Yi Chichi straightforwardly asked, "When is your wedding date?"

"April 26th, at the beginning of the year."

Yi Chichi calculated the time, realizing there were about six months remaining, which was more than enough.

In nearly six months, one could complete a screen embroidery, let alone just a dress with embroidery as a supplement.

"What about the fabric?"

"I brought the fabric."

Before finishing her words, she unfastened the buttons of her military overcoat and took out a bundle from inside, revealing a piece of silver-red Soft Smoke Luo.

Seeing this fabric, Yi Chichi furrowed her brows, the fabric was fine, the color was fine too, but the color wasn’t suitable for Yu Ritang.

With her looks and personal temperament, Qiuxiang or pine green was more fitting, and a color like clear skies after rain could also be an option.

Only the silver-red wasn’t appropriate, being too frivolous.

Aunt Ma, knowing her well, felt anxious seeing her frown, "What, you can’t do this job?"

"I can do it."

"Then why the look..."

She hesitated, "Is there a problem with the fabric?"

"The fabric isn’t the issue."

Yi Chichi didn’t want to play a question-and-answer game, and directly looked at Yu Ritang, "Yu, are you sure you want to use this fabric for your wedding dress?"

Originally sure, Yu Ritang started feeling uncertain from her questioning, "Then shouldn’t I make it?"

Yi Chichi twitched at the corner of her mouth, what kind of lack of resolve was this?

Not making it was out of the question, if not, where would she earn money?

"What I mean is, you could change the fabric or color."

She had put it so bluntly, if Yu Ritang still didn’t understand her meaning, then this business could only be abandoned.

Dealing with foolish people was too risky, no matter how strong the backing family was, it wouldn’t help.

Luckily, Yu Ritang was a smart person; she promptly changed her tune, "Then swap it out."

Reaching out to Aunt Ma, "Aunt, give me the bundle."

Then, Yi Chichi saw Aunt Ma follow the same procedure as Yu Ritang, taking out a bundle from her chest, containing a bright red fabric.

With a crisp texture, neither too thick nor too thin, suitable for making coats and skirts.

"This one will work."

Yu Ritang felt relieved, thankfully she was smart enough to bring this piece too on her way here.

"Make both together."

Pointing to the silver-red Soft Smoke Luo, she said, "Make this one to wear at home after I get married."

This meant it wouldn’t be worn out.

This was acceptable.

So, in the following time, Yi Chichi and her discussed the styles.

Several drafts, all pencil sketches, were drawn.

Yu Ritang was quite satisfied with the styles, but since she couldn’t see the complete design, she felt somewhat uneasy, worried that the final product might not look good, affecting her appearance on her wedding day.

Yi Chichi had no alternative, "I don’t have drawing tools, if I did, I could create a full design."

Yu Ritang stared at her for a while, "Can your embroidery match the standard of the bee?"

"If fully equipped, I could embroider even better than the bee."

The bee was just made with cotton thread, and the fabric wasn’t good.

Give her a piece of silk with top-quality silk thread, she could embroider flowers that could attract butterflies to settle and bees to gather nectar.

Once, she had embroidered a peacock spreading its tail, which provoked the pet peacock at home to follow suit.

"Your words are enough; I’ll arrange the drawing tools and embroidery materials."

Yu Ritang, being knowledgeable, knew that with Yi Chichi’s current status as an educated youth, there were many things she couldn’t do or have access to.

Yet it was different for her, being locally rooted and marrying into a good family, in Baoshan County, while perhaps not strutting, she could certainly get by easily.

Some things would be much easier for her to handle.

"That’s fine."

"Then my aunt and I will leave now, I’ll come back once I get everything prepared."

Before she finished speaking, she dragged Aunt Ma to leave.

Very decisive, leaving even without taking the fabric.

Yi Chichi hastily called them back, "Take the fabric."

"Leaving it with you is the same."

"No, you must take the fabric!"

Yi Chichi held them back and wouldn’t let them go; she absolutely wouldn’t help keep it until the deal was finalized.

The bright red fabric had limited value; if something went wrong, she could afford it.

Soft Smoke Luo was different, clearly a well-preserved old material, something common families couldn’t have.

A family who could provide such a fabric for Yu Ritang to wear on her wedding day implied they had a very solid background.

This background included various aspects.

Such families lacked neither money nor connections but valued face highly.

If something went wrong, it wouldn’t be as simple as paying compensation.

She didn’t want to get into trouble.

Regarding the business with Yu Ritang, she was very clear about her position; nicely put, she was a private designer, bluntly put, just a garment maker.