Chapter 10: An Old Man?

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Two persons entered the elevator and upon scanning their keycards found out that they were on the same floor.

“What a coincidence.” The young man didn’t seem to be used to meeting women, as his ears and neck were turning red.
“My name is Zhou Dong, and although I’m not from Fu Rong City, I’m at least a local of the Shu Province and likely know more about this place than you guys who’re just visiting.
So, if you have anything you want to ask about here, just call me.
This is my business card.”

Saying that, he took out a business card from his wallet and handed it to Hua Jin.

Hua Jin looked at the red-eared man in front of her.
With a slight smile, she reached out to take the business card, “Mr Zhou, your approach is too old-fashioned.”

“No, no, no.” After getting teased by Hua Jin, Zhou Dong’s cheeks turned bright red, like the sunset.
“I do not have any intentions, I just… just…” He was at a loss for words as he lowered his head to explain, “You and I had fond memories back in high school…”

“Am I disturbing the mood?” The elevator door abruptly opened showing Pei Yan waiting outside with his arms crossed, looking at the two of them disapprovingly.
“The elevator is for public use, so if you two would like to have any heartfelt moments, better to do so after slowly exiting.”

“Thank you Mr Pei for the reminder.” Hua Jin put Zhou Dong’s business card in her handbag.
The blushing Zhou Dong that was beside her, reached out to help carry her suitcase, but was stopped by Hua Jin.

“Mr Zhou, if you keep being so attentive, I’ll assume you are interested in me.” Hua Jin raised an eyebrow at Zhou Dong as a smile bloomed from her red lips.

Zhou Dong was so startled by her smile that he carried his suitcase and fled.

Amused by his reaction, Hua Jin couldn’t help laughing.
Hua Jin then leisurely walked out of the elevator, stretching out her hands in a welcoming gesture, “Mr Pei, please.”

Pei Yan didn’t go in as he squinted at her, “Do you know who I am?”

“Of course.” Hua Jin coughed dryly with a smile.
“After all, not everyone can be as lucky as I am to be able to hear people scolding Mr Pei so casually, he was even doing so fiercely.

Although the man turned cowardly as soon as he saw Pei Yan, at least when he was still cursing him, the man was full of an aura of being able to face 10,000 foes.

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“It seems you’re still quite innocent as you didn’t know that there are many people who talk behind my back.
If the person who was cursing me that day wanted to queue up for a number, he’d be number 200!”

Hua Jin was taken aback for a moment, “And you take pride in getting scolded by a lot of people?”

“Being scolded isn’t something to boast about, but the fact that even the people who want to scold me have to praise me when they’re in front of me… This is what makes me proud.” Pei Yan raised his wrist and slightly raised his chin, 

“Excuse me, you’re blocking the mirror.”

 Glancing at the reflective elevator door, Hua Jin took out a small mirror from her handbag, “High-definition mirror, free for your.
No need to thank me.”

Pei Yan threw the mirror back to Hua Jin in disgust, but when he was about to mock her, his phone suddenly rang.

“What’s the matter?” Pei Yan glanced at Hua Jin then proceeded to press the elevator button and walked in, “Embroiderer?”

“The signal in the elevator isn’t good, so let’s just talk about this later tonight.”

Seeing that the elevator doors had closed, Hua Jin regretfully sighed for not taking a second look at such a good-looking man as he always made her feel a little bit lost.
Especially those slightly proud little eyes of his, which were simply the best facial feature in the world.

Finally in her room, Hua Jin opened her Weibo to find that the netizen who ordered the panda embroidery had sent another set of red envelopes.
It turns out that he had found out about her trip to the Shu Province and had guessed that she was there to research about the panda embroidery style in the previous century, so he sent her a few big red envelopes again.  

She hadn’t even issued him a receipt yet, but this netizen just kept on transferring money to her, as if money grew on trees.

Honestly… She loved it.

The next morning, she slept in the hotel’s big, soft, and comfy bed until she woke up naturally.
After taking a shower, Hua Jin took a taxi to the residence of the master who was known for panda embroidery.

In the past eight years, the entire Shu Province had undergone great changes, like highways had extended in all directions and cement and asphalt roads had even reached both large and small villages.
According to Aunt Gao, the master panda embroiderer had respiratory problems so she had returned to her hometown.
Hua Jin originally thought that she would have to travel through the mountains and rivers just to get to her home, but it turned out she only needed to pay two yuan for the village bus fare to arrive where Master Panda Embroiderer lived. 

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Most of the people on the bus were farmers returning home from work.
As they knew each other, they talked about their livestock and poultry, and some of the elders even flaunted the new appliances their children had bought for them.
The ride was extremely lively.

There was an aunty who saw the young-looking and fashionable Hua Jin.
She thought that she was someone’s daughter who had come back to visit her relatives in her hometown, so she took the initiative to ask.

“No, I’m here to find Ms Song Lian.
My parents are old friends with her, so I came to visit.” Hua Jin replied to the elder sister with a Shu Province accent.
It has been years since she last spoke it, so her accent was a little lacking compared to the locals.

“Hearing your accent, it doesn’t sound the same as ours.” The aunty paused before asking another uncle in the car, “Hey, this girl’s looking for Song Lian.
Is it the one from your Song Family?”

“Song Lian?” The uncle thought for a moment, “Is the Song Lian she’s looking for the one who used to work in the Furong Embroidery Factory?” 

“That’s right, that’s her.” Hua Jin didn’t expect that she would find news of Master Song Xiu so soon, so she was very happy.
“Uncle, do you live in the same village as Master Song Xiu?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard that Song Lian passed away last year?” The uncle continued, “We had her funeral last year and a lot of people came to offer their condolences, so how could it be possible to meet with her?” 

Seeing Hua Jin’s face contort, the uncle quickly added, “Don’t worry, her eldest daughter and son-in-law still live in her house right now, so come with me later and I’ll take you to them.”

“Thank you.” Hua Jin felt a little down.
Aunt Gao mentioned that Ms Song was a very good embroiderer.
She had even told Aunt Gao that it was a pity that she hadn’t found a successor yet, and that her craft might die with her. 

She was certain if Master Embroider Song had found anyone to inherit her craftsmanship before going to the west*. 

*Note: An idiom that denotes passing away.

Her daughter lived in a small two-story building.
Once she heard that Hua Jin was there to visit her mother, she, who is also over 50 years old, greeted her warmly, and offered to cook her some Chinese sweet soup, but Hua Jin politely declined.

There were a few embroidered paintings hanging on the walls of the home, and all of them were rare and exquisite.
Hua Jin couldn’t help but take a few glances at them.
Noticing Hua Jin’s interest, the eldest daughter reminisced the past a little bit proudly, and with some melancholy as well.
“My mother’s favorite thing in life was embroidering.
She’s even won provincial prize before, but after her eyesight worsened, she’d often complain to me that there were fewer and fewer people that liked embroidery, and that no one was there to inherit her skills.

“Are all these works on the wall made by Master Embroiderer Song?” Hua Jin asked while still looking at the paintings on the walls.
The styles of embroidery were different for each item, so they didn’t look like they were made by one person.

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“No, they are works by my mother and some of her friends.
In recent years, her legs also got worse, so she had the works sent by her friends hung on the wall for her to be able to enjoy them.”

Hua Jin and Master Song’s eldest daughter went to the cemetery to put scented candles on Master Song’s grave.
On the way back, the eldest daughter finally asked, “Ms Hua, are you also involved in embroidery?”

“You noticed?” Hua Jin was a little surprised.

“Although I had no talent in embroidery, I’ve witnessed firsthand the unique temperament of a master embroiderer, and I see that in you.” The eldest daughter smiled bitterly as she continued, “When my mother was buried last year, there were leaders who valued traditional art that arrived to give their condolences so it was very lively.
Since then, no one has even visited for almost half-a-year already.”

“Before I came, my master told me that she and Master Song had a good relationship, and that was why she allowed me to visit Master Song to broaden my horizons.” Walking on the ridge, Hua Jin was able to smell the rich fragrance of canola flowers, “It seems I am not fated with Master Embroiderer Song.”

“If you don’t mind, I have a few copies of her notebook I can give you.
Inside are the summaries of my mother’s embroidery techniques before her death.” 

“Those are all the culmination of Master Song’s efforts, how could I…”

“The thing that my mother regretted the most was that she was not able to find a young and talented apprentice.
It’s rare to even meet someone like you these days, a person who’s still so passionate about embroidery.
If I give you the notebook, my mother will surely be elated, and won’t be in despair any longer.” Master Song’s eldest daughter smiled, “Anyway, it’s just a copy, not the original.”

Before going home, Master Song’s eldest daughter gave Hua Jin a copy of the notebook, and even showed her many photos of her mother’s panda embroidery before her death, as well as the other reference materials she had collected throughout her long career.

Every master embroiderer not only had the skills to surpass normal ones, like in needlework or aesthetics, but each also had a talent unique to them.
Master Embroiderer Song was worthy of being one of the most famous panda embroidery masters in the Shu Province.
The oldest photos of panda embroideries she had in her reference collection were nearly a 100 years old.

Photos a hundred years ago weren’t very clear, and were even a bit blurry, but one could still see the vivid appearance of the pandas in the embroidery pictures.

They looked realistic and lively, though they were obviously embroideries, they’d still give people the illusion that they were living things.

This was a true masterpiece.

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After she had finished perusing the works of Master Embroiderer Song and all the reference material she had collected, Hua Jin had finally realized how far away she was still from these past masters.

Aunt Gao had always praised her talent, and Tan Yuan had always said that her embroidery was full of spirit, which almost made her think that she was a genius among all the young embroiderers. 

‘Inferior’ wasn’t in her vocabulary. 

But a few blurry photos from a hundred years ago were enough to make her blush in shame.

On her way back to Furong City, Hua Jin had a lot of thoughts going on in her head, but it was mostly about the exquisite embroideries she was able to see.
Rubbing her temple, she turned her phone on to take a look, and [Winter’s Not Too Cold] had sent her a message again.

[Winter’s Not Too Cold]: Master, my grandma lives far away, so you don’t have to intentionally rush there.
If you really want to go visit, you can go with my cousin, who just happened to be going back there to worship the ancestors.
If you don’t mind, can you add me on WeChat?

Hua Jin glanced at the WeChat QR code the other party had sent, which made her remember all the red envelopes he had sent, so she added him as a friend.

 [Winter’s Not Too Cold]’s WeChat avatar was a very popular anime character.
After she had added him, the other party sent her several messages consecutively.

[Dong Dong]: I appreciate your hard work, old woman.

Hua Jin frowned upon seeing this sentence.

Old woman?

Who’s the old woman?!

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The author has something to say: [Hua Jin]: You can insult my high fees, but never insult my age!