Chapter 409: Mr Small Ai (1/2)

Chapter 409: Mr Small Ai

Translator: TYZEditor: TYZ, KLKL

”In the past, all the looms in Mistress’s embroidery workshop were made by Master and they were very easy to use. Before I left Central Pine City, I even went back to Jade Embroidery Workshop and found the most intact loom to bring here. I don’t know which part of it is spoilt. Initially, it worked very well and smooth. However, it soon became stuck. I have found some blacksmiths to take a look at it, but they just can’t fix it. I have tried other models of looms but I am just not used to them.”

Mingxiu recalled the past fondly as she spoke these words.

”This is made by Master? Master knows how to make looms? I have never heard of this from him before.”

”Yes,” Mingxiu nodded her head, ”Almost everything in Mistress’s workshop was made by Master. Mistress will request for something and Master will make it. As the disciple of Master, it’s time for your test now. Little fellow, work hard.”

Ai Hui was already standing in front of the loom that his master made and examining it very carefully.

This was actually the first time Ai Hui examined a loom so closely.

When he was in Central Pine City, he was specialized in spinning silk from cocoons. After arriving at Peace City, he was still spinning silk from cocoons to make See You Laters. Ai Hui was merely a rookie in the field of embroidery.

Fortunately, the science behind a loom was not complicated.

Thanks to the weaving experience that he’d learned from his mistress in the past, Ai Hui was able to understand how a loom worked in an hour’s time.

In the past, Ai Hui used a very basic type of weaving technique called [Twin Weaving Technique]. This technique involved weaving horizontally and vertically at the same time. [Twin Weaving Technique] was the fundamental of almost all weaving techniques. Most of those complicated weaving techniques were just evolved versions of [Twin Weaving Technique].

The loom was made of a table with a pond-like hollow in the centre of it. Surrounding the tabletop was a square-shaped needle trough. Needles of all sizes were arranged neatly within the needle trough, resembling ships parked at the harbor.

On each side of the loom, there was an imprint of a palm. An elementalist needed to place his or her palms on the imprints to channel elemental energy into the loom.

Ai Hui placed his palms on the imprints and channeled his elemental energy into the loom.

The pond-like hollow in the centre of the loom emitted a layer of faintly glowing membrane, like a pond that was filled up with water. Then the needles gave off a faint glow. The glowing needles were slowly ejected from the needle trough, resembling small ships that were leaving the harbor. The flat layer of glowing membrane was like the surface of the sea outside the harbor as the needles travelled back and forth on the membrane. Dazzling, fine streaks of light were created as the needles moved randomly on the membrane. These streaks of light looked as if they were tangled up terribly.

Under the guidance of the needles, the silk yarn was rapidly woven into a piece of cloth.

As compared to the cloths he woved in the past, this piece of cloth was of a much higher quality.

Ai Hui could not take his eyes off the weaving process. The needles were moving at an extremely fast speed. An embroidery craftswoman would need to take years of practise to move the needles with such a terrifying speed.

Ai Hui could also see that there were a huge number of needles in the loom. This implied that the loom could execute complicated weaving techniques. The more needles there were to be controlled in a loom, the more demanding it would be on the embroidery craftswoman that was using it.

Interesting!

The dazzling streaks of light interwove with the yarn silk. The elemental energy and the yarn silk had reached a magical balance.

Ai Hui exclaimed in admiration. He felt that the apparatus in front of him was very exquisite. He thought of the pile of rubbish that his master placed in his courtyard and the armor that evaluated one’s eight palaces. His master seemed to like playing around with various bizarre objects. To be able to see his master’s opus and have a taste of what his master had been through in the past created a deadly temptation for Ai Hui.

The most difficult part of weaving was controlling the needles. Even though the needles in the loom looked confusing to one’s eyes, they actually moved in a systematic manner.

When Mingxiu saw her junior had turned a deaf ear to her and completely forgotten about her existence, she pursed her lips, smiled and silently left the room.

Ai Hui was half-squatting as he attentively stared at the fast-moving needles on the glowing membrane.

Crack!

Suddenly, the needles on top of the glowing membrane lost control and flew around like headless flies. Very soon, the yarn silk was tangled up terribly.

Ai Hui furrowed his eyebrows but soon loosened them up. He stopped channeling elemental energy into the loom and the glowing membrane disappeared. The glow on the needles disappeared too as they fell into the hollow.

Where had gone wrong?

Unconsciously, Ai Hui tried over and over again.

Mingxiu did not disturb Ai Hui. She knew that once her junior was in the zone, he would be completely lost in his own world. She made an inspection round of her embroidery workshop, just like how she did in the past. Actually, her motivation for starting an embroidery business was more just so she could continue a routine that she was used to, rather than because she was pursuing a personal goal. Since she was very young, she had been helping her mistress to manage her embroidery business. Every little detail of the embroidery workshop helped her to relax.

A travel-worn butler entered the workshop. When he saw Mingxiu, he heaved a sigh of relief, ”Miss!”

”Why is Uncle Yu here?” Mingxiu looked slightly surprised.

Uncle Yu was the Lu family’s butler. He had served the Lu family for decades and watched Mingxiu grow up. As such, the family head of the Lu family trusted him very much.