Chapter 235 Ice Tear

Lord Liang said, "I am truly impressed by the fact that all the merchants have taken time out of their busy schedules to come and gather the skills from all directions."

"In gratitude for everyone's time and effort in promoting the prosperity of the industry, today, Xie Cui Fang, along with Shen Family Dyehouse, Ji Xia Zhuang, Lu Jin Fang and other businesses, are willing to take the lead in providing temporary accommodation in Suzhou Prefecture for businesses that are far away and have difficulty traveling."

“From the time you leave home until you return home, all expenses can be reported to our Textile and Dyeing Department, which will then compile the statistics and hand them over to these businesses.”

"Any business partner who meets the requirements can register by presenting their conference invitation."

"Furthermore, I have some good news to share with you all. Four organizations are willing to open exhibition areas for foreign businesses two days after the Dyeing Competition ends. All businesses are welcome to participate, regardless of whether they are participants in the Dyeing Competition..."

"I hope everyone can cherish this opportunity to expand our sources of goods, exchange ideas, and stop by for discussion..."

After Lord Liang finished speaking, he sent someone to comfort those who were eliminated in the initial screening.

Upon hearing that such an opportunity still existed, the owners of the small businesses that had been eliminated earlier were overjoyed and wept tears of happiness, repeatedly expressing their gratitude.

Shen Yuanzhu was somewhat surprised.

I had only mentioned it casually, yet Xie Qi had managed to handle the matter so perfectly.

She blinked slightly, clearly delighted.

Shen Yuanzhu never criticized Xie Qi's unpredictable temperament, nor did she ever think he was a dull-witted person.

When Xie Qi dealt with the faded red silk before, she felt that this person was quick-witted and could achieve great things in time.

However, she never expected that Xie Qi could handle such trivial matters with such ease.

She had assumed that, given the other person's personality, they wouldn't like making friends...

Now, Shen Yuanzhu nodded secretly.

When Xie Qi returned, she looked at him with admiration and couldn't help but say, "My husband is so amazing..."

Xie Qi pursed his lips slightly upon hearing this, his face showing embarrassment.

He grabbed Shen Yuanzhu's hand and pretended to cover her mouth, saying, "Don't talk nonsense in broad daylight."

"..."

Shen Yuanzhu endured it for a long time, but she couldn't hold back any longer and forcefully raised her foot to stomp on Xie Qi's toes.

Seeing this, Xie Qi stretched his leg forward to make it more comfortable for her to step on.

Shen Yuanzhu looked at it and her anger subsided considerably.

That's just how he is; whenever he makes her angry, he can quickly make her calm down without her even realizing it.

She glared at him helplessly, then went back to watching the second round of selections.

Xie Qi pursed his lips, a look of secret joy mixed with barely perceptible shyness.

But after a while, seeing that Shen Yuanzhu was watching intently, he would occasionally rub the back of her hand with his fingertips or knead her palm.

Xie Qi had no interest in watching; all his energy was focused on suppressing his desire to get close to Yuan Zhu, but he repeatedly failed to do so.

Shen Yuanzhu soothed him by placing her hand in his palm, while she focused intently on Lord Liang's figure.

The second round of this dyeing competition screens the fabric for its evenness, brightness, and colorfastness.

At the very front of the long tables of all the merchants, there was a tall wooden frame, and the officials of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau would soon hang up each merchant's cloth on it.

In this way, people can use the light transmission method to see if the fabric is dyed evenly and translucent, whether there are dark spots, or whether the color is uneven under light.

As the various fabrics were unfurled one by one, Shen Yuanzhu looked at the different colors and lamented her past ignorance, always thinking that the Shen family's dyeing workshop was the best in the world.

Today I can see that although the dyeing of those fabrics is not as consistent as that of her Cui Cui Fang products, in terms of aesthetics, they are not much worse than those of others.

Especially when Shen Yanhuai took the stage, the appearance of that azure color made everyone gasp in amazement.

On the table, this piece of cloth is hard to ignore.

After being hung up to let in light, the white patterns on the fabric, which resembled broken porcelain, seemed to disappear, leaving only faint traces.

But it is precisely these subtle traces that give the cloth a flowing, ethereal quality, as if it were alive.

Shen Yuanzhu straightened up and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Even Lord Liang let out a gasp.

Upon seeing this, the scholar on the stage suddenly burst into poetic inspiration and exclaimed: "The moon breaks through the cold pool and its clear light falls... What a fine piece of 'ice-torn' cloth with its deep, solid color and clear, translucent patterns."

Shen Yuanzhu looked at the scholar and gritted her teeth slightly.

"Good stuff, really good stuff."

Lord Liang exclaimed, "The base color is pure, the texture is clear, and the material looks cool under the light. It's really excellent."

He was writing something quickly in his notebook, and Shen Yuanzhu watched, her palm slightly damp.

After Lord Liang finished taking notes, another official from the Textile and Dyeing Bureau stood under the wooden frame and examined it carefully, taking longer than he had to examine the other shops.

After looking at it, he said, "It's spotless and has no dark spots."

Lord Liang then took a piece of white cotton cloth, soaked it in water, and vigorously wiped it repeatedly.

After wiping, he examined the cloth in his hand and then unfolded it in front of everyone for them to see.

Just as before, it is pure white and unstained.

Lord Liang exclaimed, "Unparalleled in beauty and charm!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yanhuai smiled faintly, stepped forward to collect his own fabrics, and left the space for the shops behind him.

After visiting the Shen family's dye shop, everyone lost interest and their previous amazement vanished.

Xie Qi glanced at it twice and then stopped paying attention, staring down at Shen Yuanzhu's fingers.

Why have her fingers become so rough these past few days?

Xie Qi carefully examined and stroked each hair, then looked up and said, "Yuanzhu, have you been doing rough work these past few days?"

"But you can't bear to see Xiaozhi and Ling'er doing chores? I know you treat them like sisters, but..."

"If we don't have enough help at home, how about I hire two more people to come and do chores?"

Shen Yuanzhu looked directly at Xie Qi and quietly said, "Are my hands rough?"

"Nothing's wrong, I was just worried you'd get tired."

Xie Qi lowered his head again, touching it without saying a word.

Shen Yuanzhu was satisfied and went to look at the fabrics from other merchants.

When she saw Yun Zheng step forward, she opened her eyes wide with curiosity.

When Yun Zheng folded the cloth in his hand, it was just a very ordinary vermilion color.

It looked rather ordinary, but Shen Yuanzhu inexplicably felt that this thing was not so simple.

Lord Liang took the cloth from Yun Zheng and hung it on the wooden frame himself.

He then went through the process again, checking each item one by one.

After inspection, the only evaluation given was that the staining was uniform, there were no dark spots, and it was eligible for advancement.

Shen Yuanzhu looked at it and said softly, "How could this be?"

Xie Qi looked up and saw that Yun Zheng had already entered the arena, so he couldn't help but take a second look.

Hearing her voice, I casually asked, "What?"

Shen Yuanzhu said, "How could the cloth from Jixia Manor be so ordinary?"

Xie Qi smiled faintly: "It's not ordinary; there's more to it than meets the eye."

What secrets does it hold?

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yuanzhu saw Lord Liang reach out to pick up the fabric from Jixia Manor. Yun Zheng smiled and said, "Please wait, sir."

How so?

Yun Zheng walked to the wooden frame and said in a gentle voice, "Sir, the fabric in my house is different from ordinary cloth. It... is not measured like this."

After saying that, Yun Zheng gestured for Lord Liang to come forward.

"Please take a look, sir."

Yun Zheng placed the fabric on Lord Liang's palm. After a short while, Lord Liang lowered his head, then looked up in surprise.