Two days later, the group visited the Gutian Bamboo Weaving Factory. The factory was indeed very simple, with mostly practical utensils such as baskets and winnowing trays, and very few artistic decorations.

Zhan Chunlan noticed several bamboo-woven hats on the wall. They were plain now, unpainted and undecorated, just the natural color of the bamboo strips, yet they possessed a natural, warm luster, like jade touched by time. She reached out and touched them lightly; the bamboo strips were fine and dense, and with a little pressure, she could feel her fingers, clearly indicating that they had been split extremely finely.

"This is an old method from Gutian, called 'water-milling splitting'." The factory master accompanying her explained with a smile when he saw her looking at it intently. "First, soak the bamboo in water for seven days, then scrape and pull it. The bamboo strips can be as thin as 0.2 millimeters, making them the most breathable for weaving bamboo hats."

Zhan Chunlan's eyes lit up: "0.2? Can that be used to make the 'thin base' for a three-dimensional flower basket?"

The craftsman was stunned: "Flower basket? I've never made one before, I don't know if it will work."

She nodded, but in her mind, she was already sketching out an idea—if she used these "water-polished" bamboo splits on three-dimensional bamboo weaving and then applied a light rice water dye, could she make bamboo flower baskets that looked like "white porcelain"? They would retain the original color and have a warm luster, which would perfectly suit the foreign merchants' taste for "Oriental elegance".

Yu Kai overheard her conversation with her master and came over to take a closer look. He found that it was indeed very thin and delicate. He and Zhan Chunlan discussed, "A flower basket made this way is not bad, but it can only hold dried flowers. If it is combined with a ceramic vase, with the ceramic vase as the inner liner and the bamboo weaving as the outer shell, it can be used as a bamboo woven vase."

Zhan Chunlan nodded and scribbled in her notebook. Suddenly, she remembered a meme that had become popular online in later generations. Perhaps she could use it. She wrote down another line in her notebook.

The first day's visit focused on understanding the bamboo weaving factory's production capacity and craftsmanship. Everyone showcased their talents, combining imaginative designs with the traditional skills of master craftsmen, and initially selected feasible solutions.

Liao Yuanshan's bamboo-carved screen was initially shelved. Although the idea was good and weaving bamboo into a screen was relatively simple, the local craftsmen were used to making small and simple bamboo carvings. Carving on such a large screen was like using a magnifying glass, which was difficult for craftsmen who were not specialists in this field. Therefore, the difficulty of making bamboo-carved screens lay in the "carving" step.

As for the ideas proposed by Zhan Chunlan, the craftsmen responded enthusiastically. One of the older craftsmen, who was said to have been specializing in making small items in the past, still weaves some exquisite little hanging baskets in his spare time to use as fruit platters at home.

He also enthusiastically took out a sample to introduce to Zhan Chunlan and her group.

Zhan Chunlan immediately fell in love with the little hanging basket. She held the basket in her hands and examined it carefully. "Make this a little bigger," she said, gesturing with her hands outstretched. "This way, it can be used as a cat bed."

Although the experienced craftsmen didn't quite understand, they nodded and made a note of it.

Zhan Chunlan also introduced the cat and dog beds she designed to the craftsmen. The craftsmanship of these items wasn't particularly complex; the craftsmen only needed to glance at them a few times to know how to make them. The reason they weren't available before was simply because most of us don't need them now, but outsiders could.

On the other side, Chen Yi was also introducing her designs to the craftsmen: a small flower basket with a diameter of 6cm and a height of 8cm, just the right size to hold a rose; a sewing basket with a movable handle and a thin magnetic sheet embedded in the bottom, so that a needle sticks in with a "click"; a table and chairs with a diameter of 5cm and a height of 7cm, with a bamboo-patterned openwork back; and a small bamboo pavilion. All of these items could be placed inside the pavilion, like playing house.

Zhan Chunlan turned around and took a look. Wow, isn't this the doll's home? She wanted it too.

The group stayed there from October until the end of December before returning to school, where they summarized their experience into a report and submitted it.

Chen Yi hugged Zhan Chunlan's arm: "Chunlan, the cat bed you designed is so beautiful. If I didn't not have a cat, I would want to buy one for myself."

Hearing her say that, Zhan Chunlan was very happy. She not only designed a cat house, but also a dog house that was very nice. One of them was lying in her space, just waiting to be used by Zhan Xiaoman when she went back this winter vacation.

In April 1979, Zhan Chunlan and her group arrived in Guangcheng ahead of schedule. They were also responsible for helping to set up the Gutian County booth at the exhibition.

Currently, only vendors have arrived early to set up their stalls, and each stall is bustling with activity. Zhan Chunlan also saw several classmates from the same major working at other stalls. They exchanged smiles as a greeting before burying themselves in their work.

Zhan Chunlan gave each product a complicated name in both Chinese and English: "Oriental Ecological Pet House", "Bamboo Skin Porcelain Bone Doll House", "Oriental Ancient Yoga Mat", and "Bamboo Picnic Mat".

They also arranged fruit in bamboo baskets, put beautiful fresh flowers in bamboo vases, and filled bamboo handbags with handkerchiefs, cosmetics, small mirrors, and other items commonly used by women. They also opened bamboo suitcases and displayed them, which created a lively atmosphere for the stall.

The Canton Fair officially opened on April 15.

On the first day, because Gutian's location wasn't particularly good, being quite far inside and blocked by numerous stalls, not many people were able to get inside. Seeing that there were more service staff than customers, Zhan Chunlan asked her supervisor for permission to go and help out at some of the stalls that were too busy.

As students, they also had the task of helping with translation at the conference.

She happened to walk up to a busy stall, and when she looked up, she saw "Jiangcheng Enamel Factory". It was quite a coincidence that a group of foreign businessmen were visiting at that moment, so Zhan Chunlan stopped in her tracks.

The ceramics factory stall had a wide variety of items, many of which were hard to find normally. However, the foreign merchants showed little interest in the elaborately designed and classic enamel bowls, cups, and basins.

After looking around, the group prepared to move on. The staff of Jiangcheng Enamel Factory were somewhat disheartened. Their products were clearly not enough to meet market demand, and they didn't know why they received so few orders every time they came to such exhibitions, which made their booth increasingly difficult to sell.

Suddenly, a foreign girl noticed something in the corner of the counter. She was very interested, picked it up with both hands, brought it close to her eyes, and exclaimed, "Beautiful!"

After admiring it for a while, I asked a staff member, "What is this?"

They were a little embarrassed. Although they didn't know why foreigners thought it was beautiful, was it a bit inappropriate to mention the name of this thing at this time?

Zhan Chunlan noticed this scene, told the staff next to her, and quickly stepped forward to introduce: "This is an enamel container, which we call 'sandalwood.' This material was very popular with Emperor Qianlong. It has a wide range of uses. It can be used to hold flowers, fruit baskets, and soup. It has a unique shape and is a unique vessel in our country. The printed patterns on the exterior have a very Chinese feel."