Professor Bao listened, fell silent for a moment, and then said with slight sarcasm, "I’m well aware of the situation. Otherwise, why would someone as half-baked as I come to study folklore?"
"Don’t say that, teacher, you really mustn’t!" Teacher Chen hurriedly waved his hand, "If you’re half-baked, then what does that make us, mere children?"
Professor Bao glanced at him sideways and said, "Hmph, in my eyes, you bunch who pick up political books and neglect your professional research for years are indeed mere children."
Teacher Chen touched his nose and coughed twice before saying, "Teacher, we’ve realized our mistake and are trying to make amends... What about this female student?"
Professor Bao looked at Xia Chuyi and said, "Let her stay for now. After all, she might not be able to stick around for long."
"That won’t happen, how could it? Xia Chuyi, you’ll be able to keep going, right? I believe in you!" Teacher Chen hastily said.
After saying that, he heaped on a smile and said to Professor Bao, "Then teacher, I’ll take my leave!"
He left Xia Chuyi there alone.
As soon as Teacher Chen had left, Professor Bao huffed, picked up the magnifying glass again, and continued studying the embroidery, completely ignoring Xia Chuyi.
Xia Chuyi, left to the side, didn’t feel slighted at all.
After all, every master has their quirks.
Speaking of quirks, her master’s temperament back in the day was even less tolerable to the average person.
When she first became an apprentice, her master insisted on making her, a young girl, grasp knives of various sizes to learn the different cutting techniques of each school.
Just when Xia Chuyi had finally mastered the knife skills, her master said her work was too mechanically precise, focused only on the knife skills while neglecting the essence of cooking itself.
Later, when she concentrated on studying cooking, the master complained that she was too casual and not rigorous enough, losing the tradition.
In short, the reason she can keep her composure so well today is largely due to her master’s tempering.
Therefore, at that moment, Xia Chuyi didn’t feel uncomfortable at all but instead approached to look at the embroidery in front of Professor Bao.
"This is... Gu Embroidery?" she asked in surprise.
Hearing Xia Chuyi’s surprised question, Professor Bao stopped what he was doing.
He looked up at her and said, "You know about Gu Embroidery?"
"Um," Xia Chuyi nodded, "I know a little. As you said, teacher, I once studied a bit of Gu Embroidery with an elder."
Xia Chuyi smiled and continued, "Gu Embroidery doesn’t have the same prominence or ancient history as Su Embroidery or Xiangxiu among the four famous embroideries."
"However, Gu Embroidery is half sketching, half embroidering, using embroidery to replace painting, and it’s very distinctive."
Her master, who was a renowned practitioner of Gu Embroidery. Although her artistry was not exquisite, she understood the basics.
Professor Bao’s eyes flickered, "That’s rare indeed. Gu Embroidery has always been passed down within families; it’s seldom taught to outsiders."
He tossed the magnifying glass aside, his expression now showing clear displeasure, "Xia Chuyi is it? I think there’s no need for you to deceive me according to what Chen Fan said."
"If you know it, you know it; if you don’t, you don’t."
"As for the job as my assistant, if you can do it, stay; if you can’t, then go back."
"It won’t affect anything. Don’t be so utilitarian."
Xia Chuyi knew Professor Bao had misunderstood. She stepped forward, pointed to a spot on the embroidery, and said with a smile, "There is a seed stitch here that has come undone."
Professor Bao looked at her in astonishment, "Do you really know?"
Xia Chuyi smiled, "As I said earlier, I studied a little with an elder."