Chapter 216 Three years and another three years, I'll have the squid spit you to death.

Qin Xiangxiang counted down the ninety days, remembering that it was supposed to be three months, not a day more!

In her final days, Qin Xiangxiang worked even harder to complete her assignment—a Suzhou embroidery of lotus leaves.

“Master Lu, once I finish this Suzhou embroidery, it will be three months, and our master-apprentice relationship will come to an end. I’m quite reluctant to let it go, but three months is three months. I think I’ve passed your test, right?”

Qin Xiangxiang feigned reluctance, but in reality, she wished she could escape this misery as soon as possible and return to her former carefree self.

Leaving aside the skills she's learned in the past month or two, she has now developed Sun Wukong's "fiery eyes" and can now appreciate the quality of Suzhou embroidery and kesi (silk tapestry).

She completely met Master Lu's original requirements. She wasn't a clueless factory manager, nor was she easily manipulated by the factory's skilled female workers. She wasn't like Zheng Jianguo.

Lu Suxin asked in surprise, "Three months? What did you say, three months?"

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Master Lu, are you getting old and forgetful? We agreed that I would learn the craft from you for three months so that I wouldn't be completely clueless about Suzhou embroidery and silk tapestry... Have I passed the test now?"

"I have mastered all the knowledge I could!"

Lu Suxin: "Didn't you ask me to be your apprentice? Learning is a lifelong endeavor, why did you say three months? I never said three months."

Qin Xiangxiang was taken aback: "We agreed on three months back then."

Lu Suxin shook her head: "What can you learn in three months? I'm definitely not talking about three months. Have you studied classical Chinese poetry? In ancient times, 3, 6, and 9 were all figurative numbers, meaning uncertain."

“If you want to master it from me, it will take at least three years! You’re still a baby when it comes to kesi (silk tapestry).”

"Think about it! You still need to study hard!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "???? I still have to learn?"

Master Lu: "Of course you have to learn. I'll just make things easier for you. You'll have to submit your homework to me once a month from now on."

"After three years, you will only need to embroider one piece per year."

Qin Xiangxiang asked incredulously, "I have to spend a whole year embroidering one piece?"

Lu Suxin said in a relaxed tone, "What? You're not happy? If you're not happy, I'll go back to Shanghai and sweep the floors."

Qin Xiangxiang: "...Master, are you Pigsy? Are you going to break up the group and go back to Gao Village? Master Lu, are you just kidding me? You're such a rascal!"

Lu Suxin: "Then I'll go back and pack my things. Actually, I don't like embroidery. I like sweeping."

"You can't leave!" Qin Xiangxiang really wanted to slap herself a few times right now. She had thought that she was different from Zheng Jianguo and would never be manipulated by the female technician, but now look what happened.

She was also being manipulated!

Zeng Jinfeng has Zheng Jianguo under her thumb, and Lu Suxin has Qin Xiangxiang under her thumb... Is this the fate of all factory directors?

Qin Xiangxiang was definitely reluctant to let Lu Suxin go back to sweeping the floor. She was still waiting for Lu Suxin to train more embroidery talents for her so that she could make Suzhou embroidery cheongsams or other embroidered clothing in the future.

How could the meat that was almost in my mouth just slip away like that?

Qin Xiangxiang: "Master Lu, are you doing this on purpose? Are you threatening me?"

"So, are you going to learn or not?"

Qin Xiangxiang, with tears welling up in her eyes, choked out, "I will study."

“How about this, Master Lu, we agreed on three years this time! I’ll learn from you for another three years, master the essence of the kesi technique, and then I’ll submit one more assignment to you, and then we’ll call it a day.”

Lu Suxin: "Let's talk about this in three years."

Qin Xiangxiang said, "If we don't make this clear now, are you going to keep going for three years, then another three years, and then another three years after that? It'll never end! Let's draw up a written agreement!"

Lu Suxin: "A teacher for a day is a father for life. You will always be my senior sister. As long as I live, remember to hand in your homework."

Qin Xiangxiang: "My life is so miserable!"

Lu Suxin: "Only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one rise above others."

"Learning is like sailing on a boundless sea; one must persevere to reach it."

...

Qin Xiangxiang returned home feeling dazed and confused after being brainwashed, like a wilted eggplant. "Li Jianzhi, it hurts so much. Fate has me by the throat."

"I can't breathe, I'm going to die!"

"I am now a fish stranded on the shore!"

The beautiful woman lay on the bed like a stranded dolphin, struggling to move her body and making a mess of the sheets. Anyone downstairs who didn't know better would probably think that she and her husband were working like oxen plowing the fields all day, making a deafening noise.

Li Jianzhi: "I think you have a bit of a performative personality."

"Li Jianzhi, you have no heart! I'm already in so much pain, and you're adding fuel to the fire. Your wife is being manipulated!" Qin Xiangxiang sat up in frustration. "We agreed on three months, but now it's become three years! And there's no guarantee that it will last another three years."

Li Jianzhi: "What goes around comes around."

Commander Li couldn't help but borrow a line from "Infernal Affairs": "Three years after three years, sir, I'm almost at the top, do you still need to go undercover?"

Qin Xiangxiang: "You speak so coldly, like a squid squirting juice, full of black liquid."

"Honey, let's look on the bright side. If we learn it, we can make embroidered clothes for ourselves and our daughter in the future, okay? With a skill to rely on, we can go anywhere in the world without fear."

Qin Xiangxiang: "I want to eat cuttlefish balls."

"Okay, okay, next time we buy squid, we'll make fish balls... I'll make them, so our family won't have to think about it or do it. We can just make a lot of fish balls and freeze them to eat with hot pot in the winter."

Qin Xiangxiang said, "I want to eat the squid you caught, the squid you caught yourself. I'll forgive you if you catch a five-pound squid."

Li Jianzhi: "You're really heartless, wife!"

Squid fishing is a fun activity, but many squid are cunning. After being caught, many squid will gather up a mouthful of ink and then spray it at the angler the moment they are pulled out of the water.

Especially when you encounter a giant squid weighing over five pounds, it sprays ink all over the boat, making it impossible to defend against.

Qin Xiangxiang: "I won't curse you, I'll let the squid spit you to death."

Li Jianzhi: "An evil wife."

"Factory manager, something terrible has happened! The Canton Fair is just around the corner, and our factory has been criticized! There's a Master Zhu, a retired chief engineer from a state-owned silk factory in Shanghai. He's been furious with us in publications like 'Light Industry Textiles,' specifically calling our Feiyan Textile Factory's patchwork embroidered shirts an attention-grabbing 'vulgar patchwork,' saying we're 'desecrating traditional art,' and calling on the entire industry to boycott us..."

Qin Xiangxiang: "Huh?"

“He not only criticized us in textile publications like Light Industry Textiles, but also in some literary publications, where he angrily denounced us as vulgar and a desecration of tradition!”

"Furthermore, he reported to his superiors, requesting that our Feiyan Textile Factory be disqualified from the 'Innovation Award' selection and that our patchwork embroidery products be reviewed."

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Find the article and let me take a look."

Assistant He and Yang Zhixia and others found all the articles by Master Zhu angrily criticizing Feiyan Textile Factory for Qin Xiangxiang to read. Qin Xiangxiang found that this Master Zhu was just like a squid, he really could spew ink!

"This Master Zhu has criticized us in over a dozen articles! His articles are all over newspapers and magazines, each one different. Did our patchwork embroidered shirt really hurt him?"

Qin Xiangxiang: "Why is he like a squid?!"

Assistant He angrily retorted, "This guy is a complete scoundrel! Our factory found a way to sell the unsold embroidery pieces to relieve the pressure on the female workers in the neighborhood production group. We were clearly doing a good deed anonymously!"

"Moreover, at this year's Canton Fair, we prepared quite a few patchwork embroidered shirts, and now he... has written more than a dozen articles in various publications to angrily criticize us. Now the whole country knows that we make patchwork embroidered shirts... This is simply inhuman!"

Qin Xiangxiang read several of Master Zhu's articles, and after reading them, she couldn't help but nod, thinking: Wow, he's right to criticize!

A peony on the left and a little yellow duck on the right—this is utter nonsense, and you're right, it's strange that someone actually bought it.

Assistant He: "We still have a lot of embroidered patchwork shirts in our factory. What if we can't sell them after all this?"

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Foreigners don't read his articles, and even if they did, they wouldn't understand them."

Qin Xiangxiang didn't care about that. Every year, the styles that are popular internationally are different. This year, embroidered patchwork shirts can sell, but next year they may not. She'll just take whatever she can earn.

Assistant He: "His articles specifically name our Feiyan Textile Factory, which is bad for our factory's reputation."

Qin Xiangxiang: "Whatever."

With the factory going bankrupt and closing down, Qin Xiangxiang will be free.

However, life is full of disappointments, and Qin Xiangxiang has gotten used to it. She won't have her way so easily.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Master Zhu's articles are quite good. He has written so many, and they have even been published in literary journals!"

Assistant He: "Factory Manager, how about we find a few people with good writing skills to praise our factory? We can't let this old squid criticize us when we're doing cultural promotion. He's making us look bad. Don't you think we're being wronged?"

Qin Xiangxiang said, "There's no need for that. Don't worry, our Feiyan Textile Factory can withstand any storm."

This Master Zhu has written so many articles that they have attracted widespread attention in society. This matter has even spread among the public, and even Li Yaowei's wife, Liu Xiaoyun, heard her teachers talking about it at school.

"An embroidered patchwork shirt? Feiyan Textile Factory? A desecration of traditional art?"

"Embroidered patchwork? Where can I buy this dress?"

"Does Ms. Liu Xiaoyun know the factory manager of Feiyan Textile Factory? Could you ask how much this embroidered patchwork dress costs?"

Liu Xiaoyun was flipping through Master Zhu's articles in her office, feeling a little worried for Qin Xiangxiang. However, she had barely taken a sip of hot water when a series of teachers came in to inquire:

"Teacher Liu, do you know the factory manager of Feiyan Textile Factory? Could you tell us how and where we can buy this embroidered shirt?"

"I want to buy this unique piece of clothing!"

"I want to buy one too! But when I went to the store, they said they didn't have any in stock. Are they sold out?"