Chapter 75

Zhao Zhongfu and Gao Daping were also busy at the construction site. Seeing Su Xinghui coming, they came up to greet Su Xinghui affectionately and also expressed their congratulations to him.

Zhao Zhongfu said, "Director Su, drink some wine at my house at noon, it's considered congratulating you on your progress."

Su Xinghui said, "Just have a meal at noon, wine is not necessary, there is still work in the afternoon."

Gao Daping smiled and said, "We have more spirit the more we drink!"

Fang Youcai also nodded and said, "Yes, it's appropriate to drink some wine to celebrate when you make progress."

Seeing that it was hard to refuse, Su Xinghui could only nod and said, "Alright, then let's have a little bit at noon."

Leaving Wan Xing'an at the construction site, Su Xinghui went to find Xia Lan. He wanted to understand how many finished bamboo weaving products there were in the bamboo weaving factory now. It was estimated that it wouldn't be too long before Song Qiaoli came for the second time. For her first delivery, she should be allowed to take more goods back, so that the village would get the first income, which would be an encouragement to everyone's morale and confidence.

Fang Youcai said that Xia Lan went to Xia Zhu's house, so Su Xinghui also went to Xia Zhu's house. Xia Zhu's house was very close to that bamboo mountain, and Su Xinghui walked there in a few minutes.

Xia Zhu was concentrating on weaving bamboo outside the door, and Xia Lan was watching on the side. The "Eight Horses Picture" that Xia Zhu was weaving was very important to the bamboo weaving factory. If Xia Zhu could weave it successfully, then the bamboo weaving factory's bamboo weaving could enter the high-end market in the future. If even she couldn't weave it, then they could only engage in some low-value-added products in the future.

When Su Xinghui was still more than ten meters away from Xia Zhu's house, the dogs kept by her family barked. Xia Lan looked up and saw that Su Xinghui was coming, so she scolded the dogs loudly and told them to stop barking.

The dogs whimpered a few times and lay back on the ground. Xia Lan said, "Director Su, congratulations!"

Xia Zhu looked up at Su Xinghui in surprise, her face turned red again, and she said in a low voice, "Brother Xinghui, you are here!"

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "I came to see how many finished products you have now. I guess Manager Song will be here soon."

Xia Lan said, "There are almost a thousand finished products now, but most of them are small and relatively simple, and they can't be exchanged for much money. It depends on whether there is a breakthrough here in Xia Zhu. If she can successfully weave bamboo weaving paintings, and teach everyone in the future, then we can have more high-value-added products."

Su Xinghui said, "Then how is Xia Zhu doing now?"

Xia Zhu showed Su Xinghui the semi-finished product in her hand. Although it was called a semi-finished product, it was actually woven at most one-tenth, because the first horse had only woven a horse head and two horse hooves. However, judging from the part that had already been woven, it still had quite a charm, making people look forward to the work that was completely woven.

Xia Lan said, "I thought it was quite simple to weave this thing at first, but in fact, the craftsmanship inside is very complicated. Xia Zhu explored for more than a week, and now she has some clues."

Su Xinghui looked at Xia Zhu. He didn't know much about the tricks in bamboo weaving.

Xia Zhu said, "This picture says that there is an arts and crafts master. The bamboo weaving painting he wove is nearly two meters wide and more than seventy centimeters high, and the weight is only a little over one hundred grams. Moreover, the texture is very delicate, even with some transparency. This shows that the bamboo strips he used are very thin, very fine, and very tough. In order to collect, it must be insect-proof and mildew-proof. To achieve these conditions, using our traditional craftsmanship is definitely not enough."

Once talking about bamboo weaving, Xia Zhu was not shy at all. She talked freely in front of Su Xinghui.

"These days I have tested many methods and woven many samples, all of which were denied by me. In the past two days, I went up the mountain to cut the best nan bamboo, boiled it with boiling water for a long time, let its skin and flesh separate, and also used lime to soak it, then used a very sharp knife to divide it into bamboo strips as thin as hair, and then used a natural black dye produced on the mountain to dye the bamboo strips. Only then did I have some clues. Brother Xinghui, what do you think of these I wove compared to the one in this picture?"

Su Xinghui carefully looked at the small part of the "Eight Horses Picture" that Xia Zhu wove, and looked at the effect in the picture. He couldn't help but be moved by Xia Zhu's spirit of research.

Su Xinghui looked at Xia Zhu's expectant eyes and nodded, "Hmm, very good, Xia Zhu, you will definitely succeed!"

Xia Zhu's face was full of excitement. For her, being able to get Su Xinghui's approval made her happier than anything else.

Su Xinghui changed the subject and said, "However..."

Xia Zhu asked, "However what? Brother Xinghui, just tell me, point out my shortcomings, so that I can improve."

Su Xinghui said, "The horse head and horse hooves you wove are already quite good in shape, but they are still lacking in spirit, and they are too weak. These eight horses painted by Mr. Xu Beihong are the eight divine horses of King Zhou of Mu, which can ride the clouds and mist and travel ten thousand miles a day. They have strong bodies and are outstanding. And Mr. Xu's brushwork is strong and powerful, and his ink is smooth, fully showing the spirit of these horses."

Su Xinghui looked at the painting Xia Zhu wove again and said, "Look at this one you wove carefully, and you can see that the spirit of the horse head is a bit weak."

Xia Zhu and Xia Lan looked at Xia Zhu's work together. Sure enough, after Su Xinghui said this, they could see that there was indeed a big gap in spirit from the original work.

Xia Zhu picked up the work she had worked so hard to weave and dismantled it into bamboo strips as thin as hair in a few strokes.

Su Xinghui was startled. He hoped his few criticisms didn't discourage Xia Zhu. He was about to persuade her when he heard Xia Zhu say, "Brother Xinghui, then teach me, okay?"

Su Xinghui shook his head, "I can't do bamboo weaving!"

Xia Zhu was a bit disappointed, "You can't do it either, then what should I do?"

Su Xinghui laughed, "I can't do bamboo weaving, but I can teach you how to draw!"

Xia Zhu's eyes lit up and said, "You teach me how to draw? That's great!"