Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 277: Intangible Cultural Heritage Crochet

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Intangible Cultural Heritage Crochet

Gu Xinghua sat down next to them with his lunchbox, smiled at Yi Chichi and the others as a greeting, and then began to sigh heavily.

"Don’t sigh, just say what’s on your mind."

Ning Jiandong was unnerved by his demeanor and urged him, not in the best of tones.

Gu Xinghua glanced at him with an expression of hopelessness and said, "Director Lin wants us to innovate the hooking crafts."

However, innovation is not that simple.

"I had a discussion with the masters, and they said they can do it..."

"That’s good news, with the masters around, what are you worried about?"

Ning Jiandong still couldn’t comprehend his anxiety and hastily chimed in.

Yi Chichi’s mouth twitched, wanting to say that he replied too quickly and the person obviously hadn’t finished speaking.

However, Gu Xinghua, without needing her reminder, retorted impatiently, "Can you let me finish speaking?"

Afraid of getting interrupted again, he quickly explained the reason, "The masters indeed said they can do it, but their premise is that I have to provide the designs."

Saying this, he wiped his face with a look of anguish, "If I had that capability, I would do it myself."

His face looked more bitter than a bitter gourd, clearly showing that he was truly troubled.

Upon understanding the whole story, Ning Jiandong finally realized the reason for his distress, feeling empathetic.

"In this case, it is indeed quite difficult."

The previous collaborating Grand Embroiderer’s eyes were failing due to old age, and the works of the apprentice were lacking, causing him to go work in a garment factory, which almost drove him crazy.

Fortunately, a piece called the Purple Robed Guanyin led him to find a new embroiderer; otherwise, he would be worse off than Old Gu.

"Xiao Yi, I need to thank you, not for..."

"Wait."

Originally not paying much attention, Gu Xinghua’s eyes lit up upon hearing the name Xiao Yi, "Who is she?"

"Oh, forgot to introduce yet." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Before finishing speaking, Ning Jiandong swiftly made the introductions.

Before Yi Chichi and Wen Shi had a chance to greet them, Gu Xinghua looked at them with appreciation, "So you are Mr. Yi, I’ve heard of your reputation, indeed young and promising."

"...You flatter me!"

Yi Chichi was slightly taken aback by the praise, then humbly replied.

Gu Xinghua waved his hand, "I haven’t flattered you, your embroidery skills are like this!"

He gave a thumbs up.

Yi Chichi’s embroidery skills not only earned foreign currency but also caught the eyes of those above.

Thinking of her skills, Gu Xinghua had an idea, and he showed a gentle smile as he started chatting with her.

"Xiao Yi, do you know hooking crafts?"

"Yes."

Hooking crafts also belong to intangible cultural heritage, classified under hand-embroidered products, with a wide variety including crochet products and hooking crafts.

Rushan Hooking in the north has distinct characteristics such as ’transparency, elasticity, density, softness, and flexibility’, forming its own system among extracted thread products.

The Chaoshan Region has handcrafted crochet flowers, Shanghai has crochet knitting...

In short, hooking crafts are a vast technical system in China’s intangible cultural heritage.

But if she remembers correctly, "Currently, exported products are mostly things like crochet dust covers."

She had seen old photos, showing how crochet dust covers were popular in the seventies and eighties, draped over items like TVs and radios.

This stuff is quite popular abroad, mainly because it’s cheap and practical.

No way around it, currently most exported products from China are inexpensive.

Technical upgrades for exporting high-tech products will still take time.

Gu Xinghua was unaware of her thoughts; he only knew he might have found a way to break the stalemate.

Ning Jiandong had an inkling of this too but stayed silent, watching Yi Chichi and Gu Xinghua chat.

"Yes, hooked products sell well, but foreign guests are not satisfied with the patterns, so the leaders gave us the task, but I’m an old layman, I don’t understand these things, Xiao Yi, you understand me, right?!"

His eyes gleamed as he looked at Yi Chichi, and the address shifted from Mr. Yi to Xiao Yi, as friendly as calling a young relative.

Yi Chichi wasn’t dumb, she naturally picked up on the subliminal message in his words.

If possible, she would be willing to help, but unfortunately, despite having heard of hooking as an intangible cultural heritage, she hadn’t delved into it.

Firstly, due to lack of time, and secondly, she had no interest in hooking.

Without interest, she naturally wouldn’t explore it.

So, she smiled apologetically, "Sorry, Uncle, I can’t help you with this."

"You can’t?"

Gu Xinghua asked in surprise, and Yi Chichi was even more surprised, "I am skilled in embroidery, not hooking, why would you think I should know this?"

"It’s all needlework."

This reason is nice and strong, yet it left her amused and baffled.

"Needlework also has categories, general understanding can’t be applied to skills."

It’s like rocket builders don’t necessarily know how to build airplanes, and airplane builders don’t necessarily know how to build aircraft carriers.

They’re not the same thing.

Gu Xinghua suddenly looked disappointed, "So you can’t help me."

"Indeed, I can’t."

Ning Jiandong had a different opinion, he said, "She can help."

Both turned to him, with Gu Xinghua eagerly asking, "How can she help?"

"By producing the design."

Gu Xinghua froze for a moment, then realized, "Right, you don’t need to know how to hook; you can draw."

Yi Chichi, "...But I’m not skilled at drawing hooking patterns."

This indeed presents a problem.

Gu Xinghua thought for a moment, "How about this, would you mind drawing a picture for Uncle? I’ll take it to the masters and see if they can hook it. What do you say?"

Worried she might refuse, Ning Jiandong also chimed in, "Chichi, if you put in some effort, I’ll have Uncle Gu give you a big red envelope as a thank-you present."

This was agreeable; if it helps solve the problem, a big red envelope wouldn’t just be sufficient, he’d gladly add another one.

Gu Xinghua nodded eagerly.

With the conversation reaching this point, Yi Chichi couldn’t refuse anymore, so she agreed.

Luckily, she had paper and pen in her bag and could get started right away.

Gu Xinghua and the others quickly cleared the table for her, and not wanting the paper to get dirty, Ning Jiandong took out a handkerchief to wipe the table.

Then, the three men stood by to watch her draw.

Yi Chichi didn’t rush to draw; instead, she recalled the old photos of those dust covers at home before starting.

Sketching is quick, and within minutes she drew floral designs such as dahlias, chrysanthemums, and lilies.

"First, take it and see if it can be hooked."

She handed over the designs, and Gu Xinghua, after taking a glance, was so happy he lost interest in his meal, "You guys eat first, I’ll go find the master."

Before he even finished speaking, he dashed out like a rabbit.

He left behind his lunchbox and water cup, rushing away with the designs as swiftly as if his legs were equipped with roller skates, disappearing from the cafeteria entrance in no time.

Ning Jiandong’s mouth twitched as he gathered his lunchbox, water cup, and chopsticks, helplessly compensating, "He’s in quite a rush, but don’t worry, whether it works or not, once this issue is over, I’ll have him properly thank you both."