Chapter 16: She Is a Genius

The heel of the shoe needed to be crocheted with a curve. Only when the upper was attached would the insole look neat and beautiful.

Zhao Ruhua bent over her work, carefully counting her stitches. Once she had roughly finished counting, she picked up the white jade crochet hook and resumed her quick, nimble crocheting.

Hooking and looping, looping and hooking… Back and forth her hands went, and before long, a small section of the insole began to take shape in her hands.

Yun Shiyue’s gaze fell on the crochet hook in Zhao Ruhua’s hands. Watching her so absorbed in her task, he found himself unexpectedly captivated.

Standing beside Yun Shiyue, Ling Han had noticed his master motionless for a while. He turned to look and, following his line of sight, spotted Zhao Ruhua sitting there, intently working on her needlework.

Ling Han couldn’t help thinking, It’s just ordinary needlework. What’s so fascinating about it that Young Master can stare like this?

“Gongzi? Gongzi^[1]Young Master?”

Ling Han finally spoke to call Yun Shiyue back.

Yun Shiyue blinked, his eyes regaining clarity. “You may go back. If I need you later, I’ll call for you.”

Ling Han nodded and took his leave.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ruhua was still busy with her work.

She loved doing needlework like this.

After marrying Yun Shiyue, her days had been nothing but eating and sleeping; there was nothing else for her to do.

Now that she finally had something to occupy her hands, she was overjoyed.

Her hands moved quickly, and in less than an hour, she had finished crocheting a pair of insoles.

They hadn’t yet been attached to the soles of the shoes, so they looked rather wrinkled.

Yun Shiyue glanced at the insoles and remarked, “Ugly.”

Zhao Ruhua rolled her eyes at him. “What do you know? This isn’t a finished product yet. Of course it looks a bit ugly now.”

Yun Shiyue looked again and still thought they were wrinkly and unsightly.

Other people’s shoe soles were always flat and smooth. What on earth were these things she had made?

In the end, Yun Shiyue said nothing more.

If Zhao Ruhua wanted to fuss with such things, she could do as she pleased. Yarn and insoles didn’t cost much; if she was happy, so be it.

That night, after dinner, Zhao Ruhua lit the oil lamp and continued her work.

While Yun Shiyue sat by the lamp writing, Zhao Ruhua was still fully focused on crocheting.

The white jade crochet hook in her hand moved so fast it almost seemed to fly.

Loop and hook, hook and loop.

When Yun Shiyue looked up at her, he realized his eyes couldn’t even follow the speed of her fingers.

After just a short while, the unfinished shoe in her hand began to reveal a faint pattern.

Yun Shiyue’s curiosity was piqued.

He walked over and picked up the shoe from Zhao Ruhua’s hands.

Stunned for a moment by the sudden loss, she finally reacted.

“What are you doing?”

It was just a single shoe. What was there to see when it wasn’t even finished?

If he wanted to look, he should wait until she was done!

“How is this shoe forming a pattern?” Yun Shiyue asked.

Ordinarily, when women did needlework, they first drew a template on silk.

After drawing the pattern, they would match the threads and embroider along the lines.

But Zhao Ruhua only had two or three strands of yarn. She had no frame, no drawn pattern, no silk backing. How could she possibly produce a patterned shoe?

“You’re a grown man—why are you asking? Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

She took the shoe back and continued her work.

Yun Shiyue simply stood by, watching.

After a while, he started to catch a hint of how it worked.

The entire shoe was crocheted from yarn, and the pattern emerged solely by switching yarn colors during the process.

But how did Zhao Ruhua know exactly when and where to switch colors?

No matter how clever a person was, they couldn’t just imagine a complex design out of thin air with a single thread.

That was as far as Yun Shiyue could follow. Beyond that, he was lost.

“Can I not even ask?” he said.

Zhao Ruhua’s eyes never left her work.

“You can ask,” she said, “but even if I explain, you won’t understand.

“This pattern has a design chart. The chart tells me exactly when and where to switch yarns.

“I’m no immortal. Without a pattern, how could I possibly create such designs?”

A single design used several colors. Switching to a new color and hiding the ends all required careful planning—there was a lot of technique involved.

With winter approaching, Zhao Ruhua had no proper winter shoes. She planned to make herself a pair of yarn shoes first.

When the cold came, wearing them would at least keep her feet from freezing.

“Where is the chart?” Yun Shiyue asked.

He was clearly interested in the craft.

If Zhao Ruhua said she had a chart, he wanted to see it. But Zhao Ruhua had no physical chart at all.

The patterns she used were ones she had seen in the twenty-first century. She had been in this world barely half a month—where could she find a chart here?

The pattern she was making now was one she had crocheted back then.

Because she was interested in such crafts and had a strong memory, she still remembered her old projects vividly.

“The chart is in my head,” Zhao Ruhua said seriously.

Yun Shiyue: “…”

She was telling the truth, but he didn’t believe her.

He didn’t press further. When Zhao Ruhua wouldn’t explain, he returned to his own work.

Her fingers flew quickly, and by the time they were ready for bed, she had already finished half the yarn shoe.

The pattern on it was becoming more and more vivid.

She put down the shoe and went to the kitchen to fetch water for a bath. After she left, Yun Shiyue walked over and picked up the half-finished shoe.

The stitches were tight, even, and densely packed.

Arranged in neat rows, they resembled the honeycombs of a beehive.

Horizontal, vertical, or diagonal—they were perfectly aligned.

The pattern on the shoe was starting to take shape: it was a single, large character—Fu, the character for fortune and blessing.

Though it was slanted, its form was graceful and pleasing to the eye.

Yun Shiyue stared at the half-formed character for a while, his curiosity growing stronger.

He had traveled far and wide for years and considered himself well-versed in worldly goods. He had seen many kinds of woven products, yet he had never before encountered a shoe with a patterned design created solely by a crochet hook.

This was the first time in his life he had seen such a thing, and it was only here with Zhao Ruhua.

Aside from her, no one else in Baishi Village could make anything like this.

After setting the shoe down, Yun Shiyue went to sort through his own belongings.

These were his private possessions. Normally, only he could take them out; no one else could open or touch them.

As he packed, his gaze fell on a letter tucked inside a notebook, and his eyes turned slightly cold.

Would You like for us to continue Translating? Comment down bellow. 🙂

🚀 Like what you’re reading? Help us keep going by donating on Ko-fi!
👉 Every bit of support counts: Click here to donate!