Chapter 224 The Cultural Troupe I always felt that the voices inside were particularly beautiful...

Qin Xiangxiang made herself a shirt, and also made one for her husband, son, daughter, mother-in-law, and Master Lu. She also made all her own underwear.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Putting everything else aside, the patterns I embroidered myself are still the most beautiful!"

Qin Xiangxiang was extremely satisfied with her craftsmanship. Even though she was lazy, she treated herself very well, making sure she ate and dressed well, and she couldn't tolerate the slightest carelessness in the craftsmanship of her clothing.

Family members should also dress nicely to avoid offending Qin Xiangxiang's eyes!

She made a set of ink bamboo shadow tapestry shirts for Li Jianzhi. When she brought the clothes back, Li Jianzhi almost knelt down before her. Commander Li asked incredulously, "You made this yourself?"

Future luxury brand haute couture shirts will be no different from this, and it's all handmade, using the kesi (silk tapestry) technique!

Wearing such luxurious clothes in the 1970s?

Li Jian knew that kesi was an extremely expensive silk fabric, much more expensive than Suzhou embroidery. A kesi piece that was more than ten meters long could even cost hundreds of millions of yuan.

Qin Xiangxiang's "budget version of kesi" simplifies the kesi process, but it has its own unique charm and is even more in line with modern people's aesthetic appreciation of craftsmanship.

Li Jianzhi whispered, "If my wife opened a Hanfu shop, it would probably sell like hotcakes..."

"Of course I made it for you myself! Would I let you wear someone else's clothes?... What are you talking about?"

Qin Xiangxiang urged Li Jianzhi to change into the ink-bamboo and ink-style shirt. Li Jianzhi smiled slightly and took off his clothes in front of Qin Xiangxiang, making the little drama queen blush. After changing into the clothes, he seemed to have transformed into a handsome young man who had stepped out of an ancient painting, elegant and pleasing to the eye.

"It's a pity, only the upper body is presentable." Li Jianzhi straightened his collar. "I can't find any suitable pants to match."

Qin Xiangxiang: "????!!!"

She was just thinking it would be passable, but this damn man actually said it wasn't suitable, and that his standards were even higher than hers!

Qin Xiangxiang frowned: "Then I'll make you a matching pair of pants."

Li Jianzhi pulled the person into his arms, gently took his beloved's hand, and sighed with emotion: "I've lived a life of pure bliss."

"Think about it, you've worked hard, haven't you?"

Qin Xiangxiang nestled in his arms and said with ill intent, "Don't get your hopes up too high. This is a dress that your wife made using the lazy man's kesi method. Compared to traditional kesi, it's not much better."

Li Jianzhi: "This is a lazy silk weaving method exclusive to geniuses. We ordinary people can only sigh in despair. I was mending Little Fatty's clothes... and it's crooked."

"When I mended the crotch of Little Fatty's pants, I could only use my old navy man's pure 'fishbone style' stitching technique, which I've used for over ten years."

Qin Xiangxiang couldn't help but complain: "You're not only good at fishbone style, but also fishing net style."

Li Jianzhi remained silent: "Life is tough, don't expose it."

"Anyway, our little Fatty is the eldest brother, so it's okay to raise him a bit rough. Look at his fat body, he looks just like Pigsy from Gao Laozhuang."

Li Jianzhi changed into the ink bamboo shirt that his wife had made by hand. He couldn't bear to take it off, so he wore it up and down the stairs and listened to the "chorus of frogs".

"Did your son Qin make this himself?"

"She's such a capable and virtuous factory manager! She's so competent, it's impossible for anyone else to survive!"

Qin Xiangxiang's "lazy man's silk weaving method" was popularized by Master Lu at Feiyan Textile Factory, and many silk weaving shirts, trousers, wide-leg trousers, and silk scarves were made.

Lu Suxin: "I have helped repair cultural relics and silk tapestries before. I know a lot of ancient patterns. Think about it, you can pick some to add."

Qin Xiangxiang: "Our factory also has a lot of Mawangdui patterns."

Lu Suxin: "Mawangdui is from the Han Dynasty, an ancient artifact. At that time, the craftsmanship was relatively simple. The most complex and exquisite works are from the Song Dynasty, which improved upon the patterns from the Song Dynasty."

"Master Lu, you are knowledgeable in this area, I will listen to you."

Lu Suxin: "You're the most imaginative girl."

"The silk scarves you make using your shadow tapestry technique are absolutely gorgeous!"

Lu Suxin couldn't resist making a set of silk scarves featuring the "Four Gentlemen" (plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum) by hand. She used the shadow tapestry technique to create a hazy, ink-wash painting-like effect, resulting in a highly artistic and breathtakingly beautiful piece.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Master Lu, why don't you give me the silk scarf that you made by hand?"

"Okay, you can have the whole set!"

Qin Xiangxiang was so happy that she cried. She felt like a hardworking old farmer who had finally waited for the day of harvest.

After studying so diligently for so long, I've finally gotten some good stuff from Master Lu.

In a few years, Master Lu will make her a cheongsam by hand—wait a few years, maybe her own handicraft skills will have improved.

No one could have done better than her, Qin Xiangxiang. What should she do then?

It still comes down to "self-reliance and hard work."

Qin Xiangxiang noticed that the "shadow tapestry" textiles were spreading in a small area—mainly at the Feiyan Textile Factory. Many female workers liked them because they were more three-dimensional and gorgeous than printed fabrics, and being made using the tapestry technique, the scarves and handkerchiefs produced were many times more beautiful than the printed handkerchiefs sold in stores.

And these are products from their factory! Many female workers sign up to learn shadow tapestry making and create their own, and Master Lu trains people in this field here.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "It would be best to improve some of the tailoring techniques for making clothes, and see if embroidery techniques can be used in tailoring to make more modern clothes."

Lu Suxin: "I'm getting old, so I still have to look after you young people. Think about it, the heavy burden of the future rests on the shoulders of your generation."

“Shadow weaving is a technique that ordinary people can learn, but true traditional crafts can only be passed down by talented artisans like you.”

"You'll be considered a master when you finish a real kesi (silk tapestry) piece."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

She thought: That's probably when it's time to embroider my daughter's dowry.

Xu Guangming and Xiao Zhier submitted their marriage application. After hearing about Yingcai shirts, Xu Guangming wanted to have a wedding dress made by Feiyan Textile Factory, something festive with exquisite embroidery.

So Xu Guangming came to Qin Xiangxiang's door, wanting her to help him make a wedding dress for the two of them by hand.

"Sister-in-law, please help me!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "???"

She hadn't even embroidered her daughter's dowry yet, how could she possibly make wedding dresses for someone else? Qin Xiangxiang immediately refused, "There are so many craftsmen, why bother with me? I don't have that much free time."

"Besides, wedding dresses made by yourselves are more meaningful. You should make them yourselves."

Xu Guangming sighed, "I know this request is too much, but, sister-in-law, Zhi'er is not very smart and her skills aren't good, otherwise she wouldn't be doing odd jobs in the administrative department... so you..."

“Xiao Zhi’er can’t do it, so why don’t you do it, Xu Guangming? You’re here for us.” Li Jianzhi suddenly appeared from behind and chimed in, startling Xu Guangming.

Xu Guangming looked completely bewildered: "...Me do it?"

Li Jianzhi said, "You are a worker at Feiyan Textile Factory, how can you be completely ignorant about textiles? I suggest you learn to do it yourself."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..." Abstract!

Xu Guangming: "This... I, Comrade Li, you're not joking, are you?"

"I'm not kidding." Li Jianzhi put his arm around his wife's waist. "The reason why my wife and I are so inseparable after we got married is because we are good at learning from each other. My wife taught me how to operate a sewing machine herself."

Xiao Zhier's eyes widened: "Really?"

"You'll see once you try it, and you can learn from each other."

Xu Guangming and his wife eventually decided to give up and instead asked the Feiyan Textile Factory to make two silk scarves using the shadow tapestry technique. Once they were unveiled, they caused a sensation in the family compound.

"This silk scarf is so beautiful! It's like a traditional Chinese ink painting."

"This embroidery is so beautiful!"

...

He Xiuxiu had heard about the commotion in the family compound, but she didn't take it seriously at first. However, when she saw Qin Xiangxiang wearing a silk brocade shirt, she froze on the spot.

"Director Qin, did you make this yourself?"

"Um."

He Xiuxiu took a closer look and she was almost going crazy. The clothes looked exquisite from afar, and the details were even more intricate up close. It was not the workmanship of an ordinary person.

She went to the Hongxing Textile Factory to learn a craft from the level-eight female workers, but... the Feiyan Textile Factory even applied the kesi (silk tapestry) technique to shirts and scarves.

At that moment, He Xiuxiu's spirit collapsed; she didn't know what she was holding on to.

"Factory Director, I would like to invite the military arts troupe to come to the factory for a field trip and to give a performance for the troops!"

Xue Xiaolin, a child of military compound workers, also knows many friends in the military arts troupe. She feels that the story of their Feiyan Textile Factory should be brought to the stage! She wants the military arts troupe to come to the factory to gather material and create related programs.

Their textile factory produced military cloth and housed a large number of military officers' families, making it an ideal place to incubate military arts and cultural programs.

Some of Xue Xiaolin's friends thought that since she had come to a remote small factory, she must be suffering terribly by now.

Xue Xiaolin felt like she was living a heavenly life, seeing so many exquisite and beautiful textiles every day: poplin, seersucker, real silk, imitation silk products, Suzhou embroidery, and kesi (silk tapestry). In terms of life, Feiyan Textile Factory raised so many pigs, all of them plump and strong, and slaughtered pigs every few days, serving up delicious bone broth and braised meat. Xue Xiaolin's favorite was braised pig's head... If she hadn't come to Feiyan Textile Factory, she wouldn't have known that the factory even supplied cream cakes. These cream cakes were generally only available in Shanghai, and were rarely seen in the north.

"And there's that pig-raising classroom in our factory... I don't know why, but I always feel that the voices in there are particularly pleasant to hear."