Who Says Men Can't Do Needlework?

The reason she had been so forthright was that she felt Ye Fu was an easygoing person who wouldn't blame her for it.

Ye Fu thought for a moment, then nodded. "No problem."

Zhong Suihua believed she had a great chance of winning and immediately broke into a smile, her face like a blooming moon.

She hurriedly gathered a few workers and some bolts of cloth, then led Ye Fu and Qin Sanyue to the sewing room inside.

At the same time, word of the wager between the beautiful proprietress of the Cloth Robe Workshop and a young man in strange attire quickly spread through the surrounding area.

The beautiful proprietress Zhong Suihua, who had so many admirers, had made a bet with someone. It was quite a big deal, and as soon as word got out, those "many admirers" rushed to the Cloth Robe Workshop without stopping.

Though it wasn't a market day, the scene and atmosphere of one sprang up all at once.

Things had become lively.

Chapter 16: Who Says Men Can't Do Needlework?

Ye Fu thought it was a wager he couldn't possibly lose out on.

Leaving aside the question of just how good his max-level handicraft skills were, even if he took ten thousand steps back and lost, it wouldn't matter. The clothes he was wearing had cost him around a hundred yuan online, and in this world they were only worth about a hundred copper coins, perhaps even less in terms of purchasing power.

He also knew that although his clothes had been cheaply made by precision machines on an assembly line, their advanced, scientific sewing techniques were priceless in the eyes of the proprietor, Zhong Suihua.

When they entered the sewing room, they saw several women working with cloth and carrying out the various tasks involved in making clothes. Seeing Zhong Suihua enter, they all stopped what they were doing to greet her.

Zhong Suihua made arrangements, and soon a wooden sewing machine was freed up. After it had been cleaned, she asked with a charming smile, "Honored guest, do you see anything else amiss?"

"This is perfect. Sorry for the trouble, Proprietor Zhong."

Zhong Suihua tugged at the hem of her green skirt and shook the silk hanging from her shoulders, displaying her graceful figure. "No trouble at all. If I can see your skills, honored guest, it will be my good fortune. I wonder, are your skills fit to be watched, or not?"

Ye Fu smiled and waved a hand. "It's just a simple handicraft. There's no question of whether it's fit to be watched."

At that, a number of women gathered around one after another, their eyes full of curiosity. They ranged in age from fifteen to fifty. They were all skilled at needlework, or Zhong Suihua wouldn't have hired them.

As the crowd grew, and the women around them were all older sisters dressed in bright, colorful clothes, Qin Sanyue grew nervous. Standing beside Ye Fu, she looked ill at ease.

Ye Fu cast a Clear Heart Incantation on the copper coin that had pinned down the stinking beggar earlier and handed it to Qin Sanyue. She immediately felt at ease and waited quietly beside him.

It was easy to talk about and easy to watch, but actually doing it was a little awkward.

Ye Fu had never even touched a sewing machine before, let alone made clothes with his own hands.

But the moment he placed his hand on the sewing machine, it was as though countless indescribable pieces of information flashed through his mind. His whole way of thinking changed, and he saw the cloth and sewing machine before him in an entirely different light, as though he had once stood at this machine day and night, making clothes that made heaven and earth marvel.

Even the sewing machine inexplicably began to tremble. Ye Fu thought something was wrong: the sewing machine was showing signs of developing sentience. He hurriedly patted it with his other hand, and everything fell still in an instant.

Fortunately, it had all happened in a flash, and no one had seen it. Zhong Suihua, the only one who had, thought Ye Fu had accidentally bumped it with his foot.

He was just about to begin when he heard a commotion outside.

A loud, arrogant voice rang out. "Let's see which blind fool made a bet with my Sui Hua Niang."

"Young Master Zhou, the proprietor ordered us not to let anyone else in."

"Am I anyone else? Out of my way!"

Then all sorts of voices rose, and it suddenly became extremely lively outside. Ye Fu only had to listen for a moment to know that most of them had come for Zhong Suihua. He thought that Proprietor Zhong was quite popular.

Ye Fu looked up at Zhong Suihua. She frowned and said, "Honored guest, please wait a moment. I'll go outside."

Ye Fu nodded and leaned back against his chair. He glanced at Qin Sanyue beside him and saw her staring at him with wide eyes.

"Is there something you want to say?" Ye Fu asked.

"Teacher Ye, you... can you really sew? I've never heard of a man in any household who could do needlework." As Qin Sanyue spoke, her face turned red for no apparent reason.

"Prejudice. Who says men can't do needlework?" Ye Fu pursed his lips, though he couldn't help questioning himself. Back when he was playing the game, how bored had he been to raise his handicraft skills to max level?

Qin Sanyue had no rebuttal. She stared blankly as she fiddled with her fingers.

In the outer courtyard.

As soon as Zhong Suihua appeared, the respectable-looking young masters and dignitaries in the courtyard all fell silent.

"Suihua, tell me, was it some brat who bullied you and made you agree to the bet? If he bullied you, I'll break his legs." The man who had earlier been called Young Master Zhou was the first to speak.

"That's right! Which blind fool was it?"

"He dared bully our Sui Hua Niang? Did he eat a bear's heart and a leopard's gall?"

The crowd chimed in, making it clear that Young Master Zhou held the highest status among those present.

"Zhou Ruosheng, can't you stop making a fuss? He's just a customer of mine. Acting like this, you're going to frighten him." Though Zhong Suihua was annoyed with Zhou Ruosheng, she couldn't say anything too harsh. After all, he held some standing in Black Stone City.

"That won't do. I really must meet this customer of yours before I can put my mind at ease." Zhou Ruosheng slapped his fan against his palm and raised his brows.

"My customer is making clothes in there. Please, could you leave him alone?" Zhong Suihua didn't want Zhou Ruosheng to cause trouble, so she softened her tone.

The beauty had softened her tone, and Zhou Ruosheng had to yield. Delighted but also somewhat puzzled, he asked with a smile, "I've never heard of a man doing needlework. Could he be a hermaphrodite?"

The onlookers all burst out laughing.

Ye Fu, who had been dozing with his eyes closed inside, heard this and immediately frowned. He felt that describing him that way was an insult to his character. He didn't want to trouble others, and he didn't want others to trouble him.