The place where the two of them stood was the straw weaving art exhibition area. Straw weaving technology has a long history. With the development of history, the technology has become better and better. With the improvement of production level, straw weaving craftsmanship has developed from being practical at the beginning to having artistic appreciation value.
In recent years, straw products seem to be gradually regaining popularity in online sales channels. Although it is not very popular, it at least gives people hope.
"This figurine is well made. It's actually made of straw?" Chen Jiang looked carefully at the straw figurine in the display cabinet. There was almost no trace of straw on the figurine's face. He moved closer to take a closer look and discovered that the figurine's skirt and face were both woven with extremely fine straw silk, which made the figurine's face lifelike and the skirt flowing and vivid.
"It seems... a bit interesting." Chen Jiang commented dryly, "It's pretty good."
"In ancient times, there were craftsmen who used gold threads to weave incense balls, and there was no trace of flaws. What does this skill mean now?" A woman wearing glasses, about 40 or 50 years old, walked over. She was wearing a navy blue cotton skirt, and she looked elegant and friendly.
Seeing that this person looked very similar to the photo of the exhibit maker, Hua Jin asked uncertainly, "Are you... Teacher Sun?"
"What teacher Sun? I'm a handicraftsman, just call me Auntie Sun." Teacher Sun saw that Hua Jin and Chen Jiang were both young people, and smiled, "It's rare that young people are interested in these old crafts." Today's exhibition is not open to the public, and those who can get tickets to enter are not ordinary people. But those who have tickets are not necessarily interested in this kind of activity. Some people come for the task, some to expand their network, and those who really like traditional handicrafts and want to study them are probably only those few old experts who are already old.
Hua Jin was about to speak when she heard the guide leading more than a dozen middle-aged men and women in formal attire. The guide talked about the origin and development of each traditional art. The visitors nodded and smiled from time to time, but whether they were really interested in these exhibits was perhaps only known to them. Hua Jin scanned the group of visitors and found that there was an acquaintance among them, Pei Yan.
Compared with the others who nodded frequently, Pei Yan had a blank expression on his face. He didn't even look at the tour guide. However, he looked at each exhibit with the most serious gaze, which showed the most basic respect for the exhibits.
"This is the embroidery exhibition area. Leaders, please walk this way. Be careful of the slippery ground." The tour guide led the visiting representatives to the embroidery area. "As we all know, embroidery is one of my country's famous traditional handicrafts, with a history of two to three thousand years. The most famous embroidery types are Suzhou embroidery, Hunan embroidery, Guangdong embroidery, Sichuan embroidery, etc. The embroidery displayed in our exhibition area is mainly Suzhou embroidery and Hunan embroidery..."
Pei Yan looked at the embroidery in the exhibition area and suddenly thought of Hua Jin. He wondered if she had come today?
"Embroidery is a very difficult craft. It takes a lot of time and energy to make a finished product. As people's living needs increase, machine embroidery has replaced manual embroidery. But no matter how machine embroidery develops, the agility and soul of manual embroidery can never be replaced by machine embroidery. Please take a look at this screen, which uses double-sided embroidery technology. Its exquisiteness cannot be achieved by machine alone."
There were many exhibits in the embroidery exhibition area, ranging from large screens to small velvet handkerchiefs, all with embroidery techniques. Pei Yan carefully looked at the works of these contemporary masters and felt that Hua Jinxiu's works seemed to be no worse than theirs.
He tilted his head slightly and saw Hua Jin in the corner in the distance. What surprised him most was that Chen Jiang was standing next to Hua Jin.
How did Chen Jiang get close to her?
Thinking of Chen Jiang's bad habit of showing his courtesy to beautiful women, Pei Yan frowned, turned around, walked out of the crowd and walked towards Hua Jin.
Seeing Pei Yan coming over here, Hua Jin raised his hand and shook it at him slightly: "Didn't you say you couldn't come?" As a result, not only did he come, but he also enjoyed VIP treatment.
"This building is mine. I provided the place for free. The organizer insisted on inviting me here, so I had to give them face." Pei Yan yawned and put the sign on Hua Jin's neck. "Here, it's for you. Go and listen."
Hua Jin picked up the sign and took a look. It said Pei Yan. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, took off the sign and threw it back to Pei Yan: "My name is not Pei Yan."
When Pei Yan walked towards him, Chen Jiang quickly moved three or four steps away from Hua Jin to avoid letting Pei Yan think that he had any improper thoughts about his girlfriend.
Pei Yan smiled and greeted Teacher Sun, then turned his head and looked at Chen Jiang expressionlessly. Chen Jiang laughed dryly: "Sorry, I forgot that my cousin is still waiting for me. Goodbye."
Meng Tao, who had been forgotten for a long time, felt very complicated when he looked at Chen Jiang running towards him. He remembered his cousin at this time?
"Teacher Sun, I'm going to look around with my friends, you're busy." Hua Jin saw Teacher Sun looking at her and Pei Yan with a half-smile, thinking that she might have misunderstood their relationship, and smiled bitterly. Nowadays, there are more and more single men and women who are not married, but people seem to like to pair people up. As long as young men and women stand together, many people will subconsciously think they are a couple.
She glanced at Pei Yan who was still looking at the straw weaving artwork. It was not easy to drag him away, so she had to continue smiling at Teacher Sun.
Teacher Sun smiled gently: "I noticed you when you came in just now. Are you interested in traditional handicrafts?"
"Please excuse me. I am an embroidery artist myself. It's a rare opportunity, so I came to take a look." After saying this, she looked at the exhibition hall where there were not many people. "It has given me a lot of knowledge."
"Shu embroidery?" Teacher Sun looked at Hua Jin in surprise. Such a young girl is willing to work in this industry?
"I have an old friend whose family does Suzhou embroidery. They opened a studio and employ more than ten embroiderers, but they can only barely make ends meet." Teacher Sun sighed, "She is right here. If you have a chance, you can discuss it together." Although the embroidery types and styles are different, there are some similarities. It is rare to find young people interested in this industry, and as seniors like them, any help they can give will be appreciated.
"Thank you, Mr. Sun." Hua Jin handed his business card to Mr. Sun with both hands, "Here is my contact information. You are welcome to contact me at any time."
"Fanhua Studio?" Teacher Sun looked at the name and address of the studio on the business card. "Do you also run a studio?"
Hua Jin smiled sheepishly and said, "There are actually only four people in the studio. The two teachers are old, so it's basically just me and another friend who do it."
"Embroidery is time-consuming and labor-intensive. How can two people sustain it?" Thinking of the current situation of the traditional handicraft industry, Teacher Sun didn't know what to say. Continuing to ask would only add to the trouble. Thinking of this, she smiled and encouraged, "I wish your studio will do better and better. With you young people, our traditional handicrafts will have more hope."
"Thank you." Hua Jin sincerely thanked him. If the traditional handicraft industry wants to continue to be passed on, it must innovate and gain a firm foothold in the rapidly developing society. Fortunately, many people in this industry are aware of this problem and are also seeking change.
After bidding farewell to Teacher Sun, Hua Jin and Pei Yan walked to the embroidery exhibition area again. Pei Yan said, "I think these embroidery works are similar to yours."
"My needlework is far inferior to that of this master." Hua Jin shook her head honestly. "His embroidery is densely stitched, without any flaws. The colors he uses are lively and beautiful. My current embroidery skills are not even half as good as his."
"He has some self-awareness." A white-skinned, thin-lipped man in a shirt stood expressionlessly behind the two men. "The embroidery on this round fan was done by the famous embroidery master, Mr. Xu Yan. He is proficient in various embroidery techniques, and one of his embroidery pieces can be sold for more than a million yuan. The phoenix robe in last year's historical film that amazed countless people was embroidered by him personally."
"No wonder it's so exquisite, it turns out to be the work of Mr. Xu Yan." Through the transparent glass cabinet, Hua Jin's amazement was almost condensed, "But why is there no brand of Mr. Xu here?"
The man's eyes were filled with pride: "My master said that although embroidery is personal, the beauty it brings should belong to everyone. It is enough for embroidery to bring joy and happiness to others. There is no need to deliberately emphasize its name."
Hua Jin sighed: "Mr. Xu, you are so kind. I didn't expect you to be Mr. Xu's disciple. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
The man forced a smile and said, "Actually, what's the point of posting the name? Except for people in the industry or those who are truly interested in embroidery, who would care who the owner of the embroidery is."
After these words were spoken, the smile on Hua Jin's face froze slightly. Yes, if you work in this industry, you can't be too obsessed with fame and fortune, otherwise you won't be able to sustain it sooner or later.
"Didn't you just say that you wanted to go to the wood carving exhibition area?" Pei Yan put his hand on Hua Jin's shoulder, "Let's go."
Hua Jin: ...
Being forcibly dragged away by Pei Yan, she wanted to turn her head to look behind her, but Pei Yan put his hand on her head and asked, "What are you looking at? Do you want to go back and listen to others bragging?"
"He is Master Xu's disciple. Even if I hear him bragging, it would be like talking to a thigh pendant." Hua Jin covered her face and said, "I'll post it on WeChat Moments when I get back." If taking photos was allowed inside, she would have taken out her cell phone and taken nine consecutive photos.
"You know someone as powerful as me, but I haven't seen you brag about it on your Moments." Pei Yan snorted coldly, "What's there to brag about being a disciple of a master?"
"You don't understand this. If I show off my acquaintance with you in my circle of friends, others will be envious and jealous, and will say that I stink of money and have an affair with a rich man. It's different if I show off that I'm Master Xu's disciple. Others will only think that I'm passionate about embroidery and have a sincere heart to pursue traditional art." Hua Jin slapped Pei Yan's hand on her shoulder away, "I'm young and innocent, how can I let people mistakenly think that I'm having an affair with a rich man."
"You have made a very clear analysis." Pei Yan gritted his teeth and said, "Aren't you afraid that showing off Xu Yan's disciple will make people laugh at you for flattering others?"
"Clinging to a famous embroiderer, can that be called clinging? That's called pursuit." Hua Jin shook her head, "You don't understand the world of art."
"There will be a cultural relic exhibition next month that is not open to the public. There will be many costumes of palace concubines and aristocrats on display. I was originally planning to get two tickets for you, but what you said just now reminded me that for someone like me who doesn't understand art, I'd better not make trouble." Pei Yan was half a head taller than Hua Jin. When he stared at Hua Jin with an expressionless face, it was as if he was looking down on a mortal.
"Although you don't know much about art, your pursuit of art is very beautiful." Hua Jin looked at Pei Yan with a smile, "Sometime next month, if you are bored, you can ask me to accompany you. A man and a woman can work together and do anything without getting tired."
Doing anything without getting tired?
Pei Yan raised his eyebrows and chuckled: "Come here."
Hua Jin covered her chest and whispered, "Let me make it clear first, I am innocent. I sell my labor and art but not my body."
"Selling myself?" Pei Yan raised his eyebrows even higher. "Am I going to spend money to suffer a loss? If we are together, we don't know who will get the advantage."
Hua Jin: ...
Forget it, since he is handsome, I won’t bother with him.
Pei Yan brought Hua Jin to the VIP lounge: "We can take photos here."
"Ah?" Hua Jin looked at him in confusion.
"I'll give you a chance to show off your golden thighs. There aren't many rich people like me who are good-looking and have a passion for art." Pei Yan sat on the sofa, leaning lazily, "Remember to select the circle of friends to be visible to everyone."
"Do you really want to take a photo?" Hua Jin took out his phone and approached Pei Yan and said, "This is what you asked for."
Pei Yan narrowed his eyes and looked at Hua Jin. What did she want to do?
Hua Jin put her head close to Pei Yan, took out her mobile phone, turned on the beauty mode, adjusted several angles, and only posted the picture on her Moments after making sure that she looked beautiful and elegant.
Fanhua: I met a rich and handsome beauty. I want to ask how to become a pendant on her thigh. Waiting online. It's urgent. [Picture]
Without hesitation, she clicked send and turned to look at Pei Yan: "Don't forget to call me at the exhibition next month."
Looking at Hua Jin's bright eyes, Pei Yan felt a little depressed, but he didn't know where this feeling came from.
He took out his phone, opened his circle of friends and looked at it. His face darkened: "Am I the beauty you just met?"
"Ah? No." Hua Jin looked innocent. "Isn't this the first time we meet? Is there any ambiguity in this sentence? Mr. Pei, don't be so mean to me. You know, I haven't even been to college..."
"You are number one in your high school."
"That was seven or eight years ago. I've given back everything I learned to my teacher." Hua Jin smiled even more innocently, shaking her phone and saying, "My friends are all praising you for being handsome."
Pei Yan glanced at Hua Jin's phone and vaguely saw a sentence: "The best in the world, Sister Hua, try your best to knock him down! Strip him! Eat him!"
He pushed Hua Jin aside and said, "Stay away from me."
Who are Hua Jin’s friends?
He is a grown man with a clean record. He should have some sympathy and help out a few people. Why should he worry about his own innocence?
Thinking of the closeness between Hua Jin and her friends, Pei Yan felt like a box of spice had been overturned in his heart, feeling annoyed and irritated.
After all, this woman is engaged in the traditional handicraft industry. Can she be more serious?
And what was wrong with his brain that he insisted on asking her to take a picture of himself and post it on WeChat Moments?
Could it be because... the air in the exhibition hall is not well circulated, which has affected his IQ?
The author has something to say: Pei Yan: You can tell at first glance that she is not a decent woman!
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