Shui Yiyao said, "If you have the guts, compete with me openly. I don't like whining. Jade Friends Association, you must follow the rules. I'll accompany you to the end, okay?"
"Not just you, as long as it's a Jade Friends Association that follows the rules, I'll join any invitation I receive."
The barrage also began to respond.
-Yes, let’s follow the rules. We Yuyu are not afraid.
- Jade Friends Club! Pay the tuition! Don't expect to get it for free!
-Ordinary jade carver: Sorry, I don’t have the habit of giving my treasures away. Hahahaha.
-Yeah, if you say our Yuyu is not as good as you, then why don't you compete? There are obviously channels for comparison, so why not?
Shui Yiyao: "I've said everything I need to say. Please send the invitation directly to the Jade Association, and they will send it to me."
"Anything else you want to say?"
-Jiu Zhangji: You are so young, can't you be a little more humble? You have to be so confrontational!
modesty?
Shui Yiyao laughed at this and said, "Can you do something useful? I'm not really interested in exchanging nonsense with you."
-Jiu Zhangji: I am older than you and have been in the industry longer than you. Logically, you should call me senior.
Shui Yiyao: "The Tiangong Competition is about to begin. Since you're ranked higher than me, I'll call you Senior. Nothing else will be discussed."
Those who work in the craft industry rely on their skills.
The barrage is also saying this.
-Think more about whether you are worthy of everything.
-Huh? Senior? Seriously?
-What era is this? Why are you still doing that?
-If you can't just carve well, how can you be promoted based on seniority?
Jiu Zhangji didn't speak for a long time.
Shui Yiyao said, "Housing manager, seal the person."
Just make it clear, no one has the time to keep chatting.
Jiu Zhangji didn't say anything, so the housing management sealed him off.
Shui Yiyao felt that she had explained herself clearly enough and did not continue.
She had seen similar comments on forums, saying she was young and arrogant, had little real skill, and relied on finger carving to achieve her current success. Without finger carving, she wouldn't have won the award.
But there are still many normal people. Whenever such remarks emerge, they are fought back. Jade carvers in the forums will curse when they see such remarks: "Did you win an award? You are jealous because you didn't win an award? Shut up, you jealous person."
So this kind of talk never took off, and she didn't take it too seriously. Unexpectedly, someone actually came into her livestream and said this to her face.
If you think she is incompetent, then you have to wait for the Jade Friends to see the truth.
She likes the Jade Friends Club, after all, those treasures are given away for free.
After she mentioned the meeting with jade friends, no one really responded to her question, and no one gave her an invitation.
-Yu Yu, forget it, you won’t be able to get an invitation to the Jade Friends Club.
-After all, there is no gaming experience at all with you!
It's boring. The Jade Friends Association doesn't even look for her anymore. One by one, when they need her, they call the boss, but even the Jade Friends Association is done secretly without calling her.
After the live broadcast in the morning, I have to tutor Jiang Luo as usual in the afternoon.
After three hours of tutoring, Shui Yiyao did not go home after class. She went to the New Town Museum.
She received a call from Mr. Yuan, asking her to come over because he had something to tell her.
Shui Yiyao asked about it, but it wasn't about the order for the white jade screen, but about the two-nation league. The league roster had been tentatively finalized, and she would tell them when she got there.
When she arrived at the New Town Museum, it was already 6 o'clock, closing time for the afternoon.
The elder was in his office. Shui Yiyao knocked on his door, but it was open. Besides the elder, there were two other people inside: Lu Jiayu and Zhao Mingjue. Both were jade carvers.
Both of them are jade carvers who have won gold medals.
The three people inside the door were talking, holding documents in their hands, discussing something. When they heard the knock on the door, they all turned their heads and looked over.
The elder was sitting down. When he saw Shui Yiyao at the door, he immediately stood up and waved at her. With a smile on his face, he said politely, "Teacher Shui is here."
"Teacher Shui! Over here." Lu Jiayu next to him also joined in the fun, with a smile on his face.
Zhao Mingjue also looked at her, nodded and greeted her: "Teacher Shui."
Shui Yiyao walked in and greeted the three people.
They called each other teacher, and then started exchanging pleasantries, a large-scale business scene of flattery.
"We're discussing the league between the two countries." After a few pleasantries, the elder man got straight to the point. His smile faded a little, his brows furrowed slightly, and he said seriously, "The person who will lead the Xiaoshan Kingdom team has been confirmed. It's Uehara Fumi, Koi Hikaru's senior."
Shui Yiyao frowned. Xiao Jingguang's senior brother? She didn't have a good impression of Xiao Jingguang.
The elder picked up a document from the table and handed it to Shui Yiyao, saying, "Uehara Fumi's works are known for their round sculpture skills. He is a low-key and reserved person. He is a formidable opponent. Take a look at his information."
Shui Yiyao took the information. She did know a little about Uehara Fumi, having glimpsed it a few times when she was looking up Koi Hikaru's information. However, his information didn't look as impressive as Koi Hikaru's.
There are a lot of fancy job titles and honors in Xiao Jingguang's information, which looks very intimidating.
But there is nothing like that in the document before me.
Starting from the first line of text, it tells what awards Uehara Fumi won and what his works are.
There are only a few scattered records of related positions, such as being elected as the president of the Oyama National Jade Association.
Lu Jiayu: "That Xiao Jingguang is far inferior to Uehara Fumi. Uehara Fumi is a serious craftsman. His round sculpture is simply shameful."
The elder said: "It is because he leads the team that people pay more attention to him. He and the people he chooses are all known for their skills."
"You all should know that the age limit for this league is 20 to 50 years old, just like usual."
The elder looked at them and said, "At this age, you three are the strongest. The organization is considering having you represent the jade carving team and compete in the competition."
There are other groups in the competition, such as woodworking, tea art, embroidery... a total of fifteen groups.
Jade carving is one of the groups.
"The organization has considered you three for a long time. But there has always been controversy because Mr. Shui has never participated in the Tiangong Competition."
Participation in the Tiangong Competition is the entry threshold. Shui Yiyao's qualifications are too low, and she had only won a gold medal in the Craftsman Award before.
"But now that you've won the Qinghuo Gold Award, you've directly entered the Tiangong threshold. No one will say anything anymore."
"Now we need to consider what we can use to participate in the competition."
The elder looked at the three of them and said, "Do you have any ideas? This requires the cooperation of the three of you."
"The competition lasts three days."
Shui Yiyao: "Have you decided on the stone?"
"The stones are provided by Xiaoshan Country. They will provide ten stones, and we can choose when the time comes."
"The stones they use are also provided by us. We have various sizes and materials. Generally speaking, there is no need to worry."
Shui Yiyao: "If someone like Xiao Jingguang comes to prepare the stones, then I really have to worry."
He is a shameless person and might cause some trouble.
"It was Uehara Kazami who led the team. He prepared all this, so there's no need to worry too much."
Shui Yiyao: "So what's our theme? I'll try my best to cooperate. Finger knife carving is always available."
Lu Jiayu smiled and said, "That's right. I called you here just for your finger knife carving."
Being able to recreate a lost skill is a big plus and is absolutely eye-catching.
Zhao Mingjue said beside him: "I have an idea."
"What?"
"Master Sun Jiyun of Nanyang has a technique that is in danger of being lost."
Shui Yiyao frowned. Nanyang Sun Jiyun? She had indeed found this person in the information she had collected. Nanyang Sun Jiyun was one of the vice presidents of the Nanyang Jade Carving Association. He specialized in Southern-style craftsmanship.
There is very little information about this jade carver, and he looks like an ordinary jade carver.
"He developed a technique to melt iron meteorites and inlay them into jade."
"Similar to gold and silver inlay?"
Zhao Mingjue nodded: "Yes. But because the melting point of iron meteorite is higher than that of gold and silver, the process is more difficult."
As he spoke, he took out his cell phone from his pocket, found a few pictures, and handed them to the three people.
Shui Yiyao took a look. The jades in the picture were of various colors, but the inlay between them was the same, a cold iron meteorite line with a metallic luster.
It looks similar to gold and silver inlays, but iron is different from silver. Iron has a unique and strong sense of coldness and hardness, which forms a huge contrast with the warm jade, giving people a visual enjoyment. It is indeed a good thing.
But this is not mainstream.
Zhao Mingjue: "I think we might be able to use this new technology."
The elder frowned. "There's only less than two months left. Is there enough time to learn? The risk is too great."
Shui Yiyao: "How do you know if you don't try?"
She looked at the photo again and again, her eyes clearly showing interest.
Zhao Mingjue looked at her and said, "No one wants to learn it. It's too difficult."
Shui Yiyao: "That's normal. Iron meteorite is more valuable than ordinary iron, but if it's embedded in jade, who knows if it's ordinary iron or iron meteorite? Few people would be willing to pay for it."
If the products don't sell, the price has to be lowered, but the costs are high, and any price reduction will inevitably result in losses. A business that can't be run without losing money naturally won't attract anyone to learn it. Furthermore, the craft is incredibly difficult, and the rewards are low, making the effort and reward disproportionate, making it even less likely that anyone would be willing to learn it.
Simply put, doing other kinds of engraving, even machine engraving, is more profitable and easier than this.
Who would give up an easy and profitable job for a difficult and unprofitable one? So it's only natural that it's being lost.
Zhao Mingjue pressed on: "Then why do you still want to try?"
"I think it's a good thing, it's just not popular among the mainstream. If we promote it well, people who like it will naturally buy it."
The old man didn't promote it much, so people in the industry like her didn't know about the existence of this technology. Therefore, potential customers who like it are even less likely to know about it.
The three continued to discuss.
They decided on the general direction of the subject matter and the rhythm of future training and finally decided to visit Sun Jiyun in Nanyang to learn how to make iron jade.
When the meeting ended, Shui Yiyao discovered that they had been chatting for four hours.
It was already past nine in the evening, and it was winter, so it was completely dark outside.
Elder Yuan: "I'll take you out."
Shui Yiyao took a taxi directly from the New City Museum to her home, and got off at the gate of the community.
It was almost ten o'clock when she entered the complex. Her building was just downstairs, just across a small fitness plaza. It was dark and cold, and there was no one in the fitness plaza.
"Sister. Can you...can you make a phone call for me?"
Shui Yiyao was suddenly stopped. She turned her head and saw a little girl standing behind the swing frame next to her. It was so hidden that she hadn't noticed there was someone here before.
He looks like he's in kindergarten, about three or four years old.
Shui Yiyao looked around and found that there was no one else there except her.
"Little boy, why are you here alone?"
The little girl's eyes were red, obviously she had been crying.
She raised her hand and rubbed the corners of her eyes again: "I was playing with my friends, and they all left."
In the evening, there is usually a group of children from the community playing here. There is a sand pool where they can play with sand.
Shui Yiyao walked towards her and asked, "Are you from the neighborhood? Do you remember which building you live in?"
The little girl stood next to the swing set, shaking her head.
"But my mother hasn't come to pick me up yet... I'm scared. Sister, can you help me make a phone call?"
The little girl tilted her head back and looked at Shui Yiyao with her eyes.
Shui Yiyao picked up the phone: "What's your mother's number?"
The little girl remained silent for a long time, and Shui Yiyao, who was about to dial the number, felt a little confused. She was about to lower her head and ask the little girl if she had forgotten, but suddenly she saw a reflection on her phone screen.
The reflection of a strange man was standing behind her, holding a knife in his hand.
"Sister, come a little closer and I'll tell you." The little girl said with a smile.
Shui Yiyao:?
Without having time to think, she dialed 110 and dodged to the side.
The man behind him slashed at him with a knife.
Shui Yiyao dodged quickly enough and got away directly.
What's going on? Is this going to kill her?
Is he from the sea tribe, or someone else... ?
By the way... there should be staff on duty at the gym in front.
Shui Yiyao shouted loudly and ran towards the gym a hundred meters behind her.
The man behind caught up with the little girl.
Shui Yiyao ran into the gym in one breath. It was a public gym owned by the community property and there were usually staff on duty.
But today there was no one there and the venue was pitch black.
"Don't run." The man behind said, "I only want your hand, not your life. Be good, it won't hurt."
Shui Yiyao:?
Want her hand? Not her life.
Could it be that someone hired by Jiu Zhang Ji was here to take revenge? That's not possible, is it?
No, this man's accent is a bit strange...not like a native.
From Xiaoshan Country?
Knowing she was going to participate in the two-nation league, he chopped off her hand to prevent her from participating? But it was just one game, so what? Not really.
She has already called the police, and they will arrive in fifteen minutes.
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