Youqing is very satisfied with her life now. Her daughter is lovely, Kangxi is devoted to her, she has her own career, and Kangxi supports everything she does.
She is now perfectly capable of surviving in ancient times, and has long forgotten most of her modern lifestyle. Sometimes when she recalls her modern memories, she feels a sense of disorientation. Who exactly is she?
"I heard you're going out tomorrow, I'll go with you."
"Do you have time?"
Emperor Kangxi was much busier than her. She was just going to watch a competition to see the level of the finals in the capital and to be mentally prepared. It wasn't a big deal.
"It's been a long time since I've accompanied you out. Let's go together."
"Alright, bring Anle along too!"
"Okay, I'll listen to you. Go to sleep!"
Emperor Kangxi, who was already in his early forties, had no intention of cultivating his character and rejuvenating himself.
He never missed out on the nightlife he was expected to have. As long as he didn't stay up late, he was energetic almost every night, with boundless vitality.
Sure enough, Youqing woke up late again the next day. When she woke up, Kangxi had already gone to work. Fortunately, the final was in the afternoon, so there was no rush. Youqing got up slowly, and the people serving her were already used to the marks on her body.
Those around Youqing had a very accurate understanding of Kangxi's vigor and strength.
"My lord, is this dress suitable for you today?"
Youqing glanced at it and saw a light purple dress, a rather plain color, not the usual qipao, but a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).
She didn't intend to show herself, she just wanted to go and see if the dress was suitable.
"This one will do!"
After getting dressed and having a meal, they played with their daughter. When Kangxi returned at noon, the family of three had lunch together. In the afternoon, the three of them took a low-key carriage to the venue for the competition.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we have arrived."
Kangxi carried Anle, with Youqing following behind the father and daughter. As soon as they got off the carriage, they were welcomed inside. The competition was to be held in the largest restaurant in the capital. The restaurant was called the largest, but that didn't mean it had the highest prices or the best dishes. It was just a name.
The largest restaurant refers to the one with the largest area.
The central lobby, in particular, is nearly 300 to 400 square meters. Once the tables and chairs are cleaned up, it becomes a large open space.
This restaurant is extremely popular because it's spacious. Poetry gatherings in the capital are often held here. For this competition, Yan Yue Pavilion booked the entire place. The price was naturally high, but the location was undeniably excellent.
At this time, preparations were still underway and the competition had not yet started. Everyone was busy. The group went up to the private room they had reserved in advance on the second floor, and no one noticed their identities.
Upon reaching the second floor, Liang Jiugong had tea and snacks served. Kangxi chatted with Youqing, and before long, they heard the sound of a gong below, signaling the start of the competition.
Although the competition was organized by Yan Yuege, not many people actually came to watch. This restaurant doesn't operate on a budget-friendly model, so interested people wouldn't spend money to come in; it would be a waste of time and money on tea, so it's not worth it.
Those who are wealthy are not interested in such skill competitions. In the eyes of the rich, craftsmen are just people who work for the rich, and frankly speaking, they are not much better than servants, so they don't think much of them.
In this way, apart from the hundred contestants and some people from Yan Yuege, there were no outsiders.
The competition began, and everyone displayed their unique skills. Some started carving jade, some started carving walnuts, some started piecing together a pile of wood, and some started splitting bamboo strips into extremely thin pieces. Time was tight, and everyone was busy. No one could anticipate who would win, and everyone showed their unique abilities.
Youqing glanced down and was quite satisfied. They were all experienced workers, and their hand speed was so fast it was dazzling.
This made Youqing suddenly realize something.
Modern short videos are quite common, and there are some handicraft videos in Beijing that are actually quite long. Logically speaking, they should be very boring, but Youqing always gets engrossed in them and often loses track of time while watching.
After her classmates learned about her habit, they said that they were not from the same generation as her. Most girls her age were scrolling through their social media feeds of handsome men and beautiful women, but she was the opposite, staring at people sawing wood all day long, and she seemed to enjoy it.
She remembered a classmate saying, "You can talk to my dad, though. He's obsessed with these things. He can watch a picture of a purple clay teapot being fired several times in a row without making a sound. I don't know how he can keep watching it."
Youqing didn't know how she kept watching, but she felt that a pile of raw materials, after being skillfully processed by artisans, became exquisite and beautiful handicrafts, and this process was extremely joyful.
There were no short videos in ancient times, so Youqing naturally couldn't watch them, but there were real people in ancient times, so she really got absorbed in watching them.
Time flies, and it's gone in the blink of an eye.
As dusk settled, the lights in the lobby came on.
Many people are already finishing up; it's almost over.
Sure enough, less than fifteen minutes later, the gong was struck.
The match is over.
The handcrafted items are laid out on the table, waiting for people to rate and evaluate them.
Youqing was very satisfied with this.
What interested Youqing the most was a water pump made by a small boy.
In Youqing's eyes, this was simply an ancient version of a water pump.
She lives in the city, but her grandparents are from the countryside. She goes back to the countryside several times a year. Her grandparents treat her very well. When she was a child, there was no running water in the countryside. They used well water.
In summer, the well water was very cold. Grandpa loved to buy watermelons. He would put the watermelon into a bucket filled with well water and let it sit for a few hours. Then he would cut it open with a kitchen knife. This process was called "killing the melon." The bright red watermelon looked sweet with its juice. Adults could eat several pieces in a row, and she could eat several pieces as well, until her stomach was full and she couldn't eat anymore.
The water from the hand pump well is warm in winter, so it's not too cold to use for washing vegetables or clothes, but it saves farmers a lot of trouble.
Every household had a hand pump in their yard, which was extremely convenient. Before hand pumps were available, a village usually only had a few wells. If you were unlucky and lived far from the well, it was extremely inconvenient to get water for drinking.
The boy's simple water pump reminded Youqing of the past, and she developed a fondness for his work.
The final results were in, and the boy did not disappoint, winning second place. The first place went to a middle-aged man who made a singing and walking bird. The bird was cute and the sound it made was very pleasant and melodious, quite different from the single tone in music boxes nowadays.
And this little bird can even walk before it's even started walking, which is certainly more innovative for people today.
Although Youqing preferred the water pump, she had no objection to the result.
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