After Prison, She Shocks the World -
Chapter 101 Xiaomei’s Misunderstanding
Chapter 101: Chapter 101 Xiaomei’s Misunderstanding
Xiaomei’s heart ached as she listened.
Originally, she had harbored some resentment towards Old Madam Chu, whom she had never met, because she had made things difficult for her sister. It clearly wasn’t her sister’s fault, yet the blame was placed on her. Now, from the gardener’s account, she began to understand Old Madam Chu’s perspective.
Why should she trust the daughter of a granddaughter she had never met? Could this great-grandchild who had suddenly appeared also be after the Chu family’s wealth?
Xiaomei explained, "Something happened to my sister before, which prevented her from coming to take care of her. Now that she’s resolved her issues and has the capacity to look after the old lady, she immediately sent me."
"That’s good. The old lady has no other expectations now; it’s a comfort to be treated sincerely at the end of one’s life."
The gardener dropped Xiaomei off at the entrance of Villa No. 6, where a car was already parked.
The gardener whispered, "She’s had quite a few visitors these last two days. She even fainted from the agitation yesterday, so be careful, alright?"
"Mhm, thank you for bringing me."
"You’re welcome. I’m working nearby today. If you don’t have a ride out later, find me in that flower garden over there, and I’ll give you a ride."
"Alright."
Xiaomei trotted towards the main gate.
The gate wasn’t shut tightly. Through the narrow gap, she could only see a woman in a green, traditional-style dress talking to someone seated, her back to Xiaomei.
She didn’t know much about traditional clothing. She only recognized it because she had seen her sister’s design sketches while tidying her room, and those sketches included the style of dress the woman was wearing.
Yunhui respectfully said to Old Madam Chu, "Great-grandmother, your birthday is in a couple of days. On behalf of Fu Chan, I invite you to return to Yunxi Lane to celebrate."
Old Madam Chu looked at Yunhui coldly. "If I go, will I be able to come back?"
"How can you say that? If you like living at Yunxi Lane, you can stay there. If you wish to continue living here long-term, we will bring you back. It’s entirely up to you."
"You would be so kind-hearted?"
"You misunderstand me deeply. I’ve always treated you with the utmost respect, never even speaking a harsh word to you. I’ve given you everything you’ve asked for. Are you still not satisfied?"
"Don’t think others can’t see through your little schemes. The Chu Family Embroidery House has been in your hands for over a decade. What have you achieved? The century-old reputation of the Chu family has been ruined by you!" Old Madam Chu said hatefully.
"Now you’re just being an alarmist. The Embroidery House is operating quite well, yet you constantly disparage it. Even if you are the last member of the Chu family, you have no right to curse the Chu name like that. My love for the Chu family, for Yunxi Lane, and for the Embroidery House is no less than yours. I’ve been working hard all these years, trying to make it better. But the Chu family’s embroidery isn’t accepted by this era; this isn’t just my problem, it’s an issue facing the entire embroidery industry. Yet you place all the blame on me. Do you think that’s fair?"
"If you hadn’t driven your father and Xiaoya away back then, the Chu Family Embroidery House wouldn’t be in its current state. You are the main culprit behind the downfall of the Embroidery House."
The calm facade Yunhui had maintained finally cracked. "You’ve looked down on me from the very beginning, blaming me for driving them away! How exactly did I drive them away? They have their own legs; could I have forced them to leave? Besides, even if they were in charge of the Embroidery House now, can you guarantee they would do better than me? I don’t believe for a second they would!"
Old Madam Chu, seeing Yunhui’s face contort, said calmly, "They love the Embroidery House, they love embroidery. You don’t! In your eyes, embroidery is just a tool for making money; as long as it earns money, that’s all that matters. With that mindset, you will never manage the Embroidery House well."
"Love? I wanted to love it too, but did it ever love me back? I’d spend half a year laboring over a piece, only for a master embroiderer to dismiss all my efforts with a single glance, saying I only knew the techniques the teachers taught and couldn’t adapt. How old was I then? How was I supposed to adapt? It was you self-proclaimed ’extraordinary’ people who, time and again, crushed my love for embroidery, only to turn around and accuse me of not loving it! Don’t you find your own argument laughable?"
Yunhui was filled with bitter resentment.
Fu Ya spent five hours a day on embroidery; she spent ten, sometimes even more.
But everyone praised Fu Ya, and no one ever praised her.
Everyone said that mere effort was useless.
Yet she had never wanted to compete with Fu Ya.
If Fu Ya was a genius, then she just wanted to be a competent embroiderer.
She would have been satisfied just being a good embroiderer; she genuinely loved embroidery and wanted to dedicate her life to it.
She wondered, if geniuses put in a little effort, and she put in ten times their time and effort, could she perhaps, just barely, bridge the gap in talent?
No one gave her a chance!
Everyone compared her to Fu Ya; everyone discouraged her!
In the end, even Fu Ya eloping with Gu Yazheng was blamed on her, as if her very existence had driven Fu Ya away.
Only Fu Chan understood her.
Yunhui suppressed the resentment welling in her heart.
She didn’t want to be affected by these past events anymore.
"There’s no point in bringing these things up again. Fu Ya is gone; her talent, however great, is useless now. It’s an indisputable fact that the Chu Family Embroidery House is in my and Fu Chan’s hands. I sincerely invite you to return to Yunxi Lane, see how things are, and guide us on how to improve our embroidery to make it more appealing to people today."
"Impossible!" Old Madam Chu replied, her tone still cold.
Xiaomei’s eyes darted about as she listened.
The woman with her back turned actually made a lot of sense.
Her sister’s mother had passed away, and the Embroidery House was now in Yunhui’s hands. So why not help her make it better?
Old folks can be so stubborn!
If I had been constantly put down like that since I was little, I’d probably hate everyone by now.
Yunhui clenched her fists, struggling to suppress her anger.
"Would you rather watch the Chu Family Embroidery House collapse than help me? Would you rather let the Chu name fade into the annals of history than offer me a little guidance?"
"You have no talent. Advising you would just be a waste of breath!"
"You..."
Xiaomei couldn’t listen anymore and spoke up, "Grandma, you’re being too stubborn. I think this young lady is right. She wants to do a good job too. If you don’t give her a chance and don’t teach her, how can she possibly do well? Aren’t older people valuable precisely because they have more experience than the younger generation? Why don’t you share your experience with her, to help her avoid some pitfalls?"
As Xiaomei walked forward while speaking, she got a clear view of Old Madam Chu’s face and exclaimed, "Huh? Aren’t you the old lady who was sitting under the tree earlier? It really is you! You knew I was looking for you, but you didn’t say a word. That was a bit naughty of you!"
Xiaomei’s appearance interrupted Yunhui’s angry retort.
Yunhui eyed Xiaomei cautiously and asked, "Who are you?"
"I’m Xiaomei," she said with a bright smile, then turned to Yunhui. "I really agree with what you were saying. So what if someone doesn’t have talent? A lack of talent can be compensated for with earnest effort. It’s not as if only geniuses can make a living in this world. There are plenty of ordinary people like us, with average intelligence and abilities, who make up the majority. Besides," she said, now looking at Old Madam Chu, "I don’t think she’s doing badly at all. For example, this young lady here has been provoked by you for so long and still hasn’t truly lost her temper. Isn’t that a wonderful quality?"
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