CHAPTER 418: CHAPTER 418: SEARCHING FOR LIGHT

Yes, she is a genius, so Qin Xiangnuan does not participate, nor does she talk much. Frankly speaking, it’s none of her business. She still hasn’t finished the Four Gentlemen embroidery for Mr. Song, who has already called to rush her several times. Just, can it not always be about rushing every day.

It’s only been a few days. Do they really think of her as chopping cabbage? With one knife per cabbage, four knives later, his Four Gentlemen would appear.

"Why have you come back?" Jian Zhiqing was surprised to find Qin Xiangnuan at home, "Didn’t they say the department is arranging a program, a costume show? Isn’t this your strength? Aren’t you participating?"

"Yes, I’m not participating." Qin Xiangnuan poked the table with her pen and then wrote something on the paper, "Society is too dark, I am here to seek the light."

"Little girl," Jian Zhiqing walked over and sat down, "What happened again, making you see through the worldly desires once more?"

Qin Xiangnuan rolled her eyes, "School is just as dark, reality even darker."

"Then you have to become even darker." Jian Zhiqing said with a faint smile, his dark eyes cold yet smiling, like the flowers of March, exuding an inexplicable charm. This man has grown up, matured, and has started to bewitch.

Qin Xiangnuan deliberately ignored him, poking the paper again with her pen—actually, she wasn’t writing anything before, just poking around. She was somewhat disdainful of the things Li Xiaohua did, therefore unwilling to compete with her, yet felt quite indignant for Mo QiQi.

But, she understood, this is the society at school, and later society would only be more so; if she couldn’t adapt now, how could she fit into the future?

However, there was one thing she absolutely believed in.

Gold will always shine.

"What did you think of?" Seeing Qin Xiangnuan’s eyes light up then clear again, Jian Zhiqing knew the young lady had figured something out.

"Not telling you," Qin Xiangnuan stood up, her mood lifted in preparation to do embroidery, to repay Mr. Song’s favor. Besides, she really felt she had been overly fixated. Let them fight their own battles; it’s none of her business, as she did not walk the same path as them, she naturally had her own path to follow, that’s all.

Having figured this out, she realized her mindset seemed much better than before. Indeed, other people’s business, why should she care so much? Here she was, agonizing to death, devoting heart and soul—which seemed like the wrong expression; others might just be smirking secretly, perhaps even saying,

Look, that idiot is almost mad.

She rolled her eyes, she didn’t want to be that idiot in this lifetime.

She logged into the system, which had been very good to her this past year, unlocking many fabrics she needed, allowing her to make a lot of ’small year tigers’ and sell them for a good amount of money. It’s just a pity the system doesn’t accept real money; otherwise, she could share some with the system, which desires successful labor outcomes rather than anything else.

"What do you want to eat?"

Qin Xiangnuan opened the system’s panel and asked it.

She tried interacting with it as a good friend, feeling quite good about it, somewhat understanding yet also completely not understanding this thing, originating somewhere unknown, parasitic to her ’Spiritual Blessing.’ She still did not completely understand, but as long as she knew it wouldn’t harm her, it was enough.

She was friendly to the system, and the system was quite friendly to her, sometimes even uttering a couple of human-like sentences.

Ding

The system displayed a line of text.

"Want the Four Gentlemen Painting, xoxo."

"Yes, xoxo."

Qin Xiangnuan really didn’t know where the system learned such fashionable phrases, even using ’xoxo’; doesn’t it feel a bit cute?

The Four Gentlemen Painting was indeed a lot easier to embroider than the Qingming River Painting; Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum—not only about the embroidery but also the skills in painting. Qin Xiangnuan knew her calligraphy could rival that of masters, given her years of foundational practice—even the worst handwriting could improve significantly with a few hundred years of practice, which is undeniable, there was no shortcut but through practicing. However, her painting skills were somewhat lacking, unable to bring out the true essence of the art.

So, she found some masterpieces to copy.

The school’s fashion show was busy, and so was she. She didn’t put much effort into it—although she helped out, she had no intention of competing with her fellow students for the spotlight. It wasn’t about not being able to compete, but she just didn’t see the necessity and didn’t like it.

Moreover, clothing designed by students reflects the preferences of the era but also has its disadvantages; whether it fits the aesthetic of the university rather than the public.

She preferred clothes that could be worn out, suitable for the public, clothes that people would like and accept, high-end ready-to-wear.

Rather than the bizarre clothes made just to attract attention.

Also, whether it matches her taste, well, how to put it.

She tapped her chin; maybe she’s old, completely unable to appreciate their bizarre clothes. She would rather make clothes that she and her family could wear, something more authentic, or perhaps make more new year’s fabric toys to sell, yes, preparing for next year.

Next year, the year of the rabbit, she’ll have to make new year beasts. For the Spring Festival couplets, she thought whether to print or write them, eventually deciding to print half and write half; after all, she had to write every day anyway. The printed ones had their advantages like not fading easily, saturated colors, etc., but each print would be identical. However, people buy Spring Festival couplets for the festive vibe, not to appreciate your calligraphy skills—as long as they don’t fade easily, many people would be interested.

By skipping this step, she saved time and went on to make new year beasts. There’s no worry about fabric or time, but what should she worry about?

Indeed, what is there to worry about?

It seems like it’s about people.

It’s tough when there aren’t enough people; in fact, all these are in mass production. If there were factories involved, production could scale greatly, but if there were factories, it might become common. More importantly, who knows whether the factories would replicate her work and sell to others.

The benefit of pure handcraft lies in its small volume and the label ’handmade,’ which is undoubtedly akin to being gilded. New year fabric toys in some areas must be done by her personally because it involves embroidery.

Yes, the embroidery, an irreplaceable skill. Not in a few decades, not even now; there are not many who master this embroidery skill, whose hands are skilled in the art; the older generations mostly and the young, many unwilling to learn such crafts. Their country’s culture is also declining this way, so every time she thought of this, Chun Xiangnuan felt heartbroken, and thus, she must give birth to a daughter in the future, passing all her embroidery skills to her; learning is mandatory, she’d discipline her if she refused to learn.