Chapter 78 Babaozhai

Blue Star!

When Zhao Shi left the other world, it was already dark in that world, but it was already dawn in Blue Star.

Today is the day Zhao Shi picks up his car.

Picking up the car went smoothly. The 4S store wanted to hold a ceremony but Zhao Shi refused. He felt a little embarrassed about this.

Zhao Shi returned home, took the embroidery and went to the largest embroidery shop in Shanghai, Babaozhai Embroidery Crafts Shop.

When Zhao Shi rushed to the store, the store manager was already waiting for him because he had contacted the manager in advance.

"Mr. Zhao? Hello!" As soon as Zhao Shi's car stopped, a middle-aged woman in an embroidered cheongsam walked quickly over and greeted Zhao Shi.

"Who are you? Manager Wang?"

Zhao Shidao.

"It's me, Mr. Zhao!"

"Mr. Zhao, you said you have a superb hand-embroidered phoenix cape. Is it Suzhou embroidery?"

The cheongsam woman asked curiously.

"It's not Su embroidery. I don't know what kind of embroidery it is specifically. It's a craft passed down from an old man's ancestors! In addition to this exquisite embroidery, there are also ordinary embroidery works by other people in that mountain village." Zhao Shi shook his head.

He did not paste these embroidery works into Suzhou embroidery.

For ordinary people, it may be difficult to tell what kind of embroidery it is, but for professionals, they can tell the difference at just one glance.

"Mr. Zhao, our shop mainly promotes Suzhou embroidery, and we have resident Suzhou embroidery masters. If it is an ordinary embroidery, I'm sorry, it may not meet our requirements!" said the cheongsam woman with a faint smile on her face.

"Manager Wang, rest assured, if I can't meet your store's requirements, I won't force it!"

Zhao Shi didn't care about it.

Ordinary embroidery has almost no cost for him, so it doesn’t matter whether he can sell it or not. If he can, he can continue to trade it and form an industrial chain. If he cannot sell it, the income from incense alone has far exceeded his expectations.

A stick of incense costs ten taels of silver.

If it was absorbed directly by him, it would be about twenty-five strands of incense.

What about yesterday? Nine taels of silver not only brought nearly a thousand incense sticks, but also so many embroidery works. It can be said that not only has the investment been recovered long ago, but also a huge profit has been made.

"Please come in, Mr. Zhao!" Manager Wang nodded when he heard Zhao Shi say this, and walked towards the store first with a wave of his hand.

Zhao Shi followed the cheongsam woman, pushing two suitcases.

The shop was antique and displayed many knitted embroidery items. Although Zhao Shi didn't know much about embroidery, he only took a quick glance to see that only a few of the embroidery items in the shop reached the level of treasures as he said.

The others are slightly better than ordinary embroidery, but they are not as good as the second-rate fine products.

"Mr. Zhao, how about our embroidery?" The cheongsam woman saw Zhao Shi's eyes turned to the embroidery in the shop and asked with a smile.

After that, she pointed at the treasures that Zhao Shi saw and said, "These are the works of the Suzhou embroidery master, who is the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage in our shop. They are all handmade. These pieces have won first prizes in domestic embroidery competitions."

After listening to Manager Wang's introduction, Zhao Shi had an idea in his mind. He thought that the level of these embroidery works was about the same as that of Grandma Cui and her daughter-in-law.

It can't be compared with Granny Cui's masterpiece.

In other words, Granny Cui's work should be classified in a category of its own and can be called a 'masterpiece!'

"Manager Wang, I wonder how much these embroidery products cost?" Zhao Shi asked.

"These pieces are the pinnacle of modern Suzhou embroidery. Each piece took the masters several years of hard work. Even if the masters were asked to do it again, they would not be able to produce the same embroidery. It can be said that there is only one piece left in the world, and it is a masterpiece. Therefore, the price of these embroidery pieces is very expensive. Usually, the starting price at auction is one million!"

Manager Wang introduced.

These items can be said to be the treasures of their store.

Hand made.

Even the cloth is embroidered by hand without using any modern machinery.

"Mr. Zhao, please follow me!" Manager Wang said as he took Zhao Shi to the second floor.

The second floor is the studios of the masters. Each studio is over one hundred square meters. The master’s name, teacher, resume, and works are written on the door. There are five such studios in Babaozhai, which means that there are five masters in charge of the entire Babaozhai.

This is the heritage of Babaozhai.

Anyone who understands embroidery will gasp when seeing these five people. Perhaps the only one that can bring these masters together is Babaozhai.

Of course, those masters rarely come here. After all, embroidery also requires an absolutely quiet environment. It is better to say that this is a platform for Babaozhai to showcase its strength rather than a studio.

Every time he passed by a studio, Manager Wang would introduce the origins of these masters.

She originally wanted to see Zhao Shi's surprised look, but what about Zhao Shi? He walked along with a faint smile on his face, which seemed to indicate that he was not surprised by praise or criticism.

This forced her to take a look at Zhao Shigao.

Those who can see these masters without any expression are either novices in embroidery or veterans in this industry. Only those who have come into contact with masters in the field of embroidery can be so calm.

She didn't think Zhao Shi was a rookie.

Not to mention that Zhao Shi brought embroidery with her, but as soon as she entered the shop, she saw those treasures at a glance. This is a vision that not everyone can have.

How could she have imagined that Zhao Shi was essentially a novice and had only a vague understanding of embroidery. The reason why he could recognize those as treasures was entirely due to his perception. He could feel that those works were far superior to other embroidery works. As for what was good about them, he couldn't say a single word.

How many masters?

He didn't even know her, so how could he be surprised?
Are you laughing?

Just being polite.

"Mr. Zhao, please come in!" Soon, Manager Wang brought Zhao Shi to an antique office.

There was also an old lady in the office.

"Mr. Zhao, this is Master Li, the appraiser of our Babaozhai. Master Li is well versed in the four major embroidery styles of the Xia Kingdom. Embroidery pieces appraised by Master Li are highly recognized by auction houses and top collectors!"

"Grandma Li, this is Mr. Zhao who is here to sell embroidery today. Mr. Zhao said he has a rare embroidery, a phoenix cape, so he invited you here."

Manager Wang helped the old lady stand up from her seat and introduced her to Zhao Shi.

"Master Li!"

Zhao Shi said respectfully.

Anyone who can reach the master level in a field is worthy of respect.

"Mr. Zhao, I heard that you have a rare phoenix bridal cape. I wonder which master's masterpiece it is?" Master Li asked hurriedly.

She couldn't help but be anxious.

Phoenix bridal cape!

It has always been a taboo in the field of embroidery.

Of course, it’s not that it can’t be done, but no one dares to do it. Ordinary people can do it, ordinary embroiderers can do it, but few real masters dare to do it.

Just a little!
difficult!
It is difficult to embroider the charm of the phoenix!
Those who dare to make a phoenix peony are all extremely confident in their own abilities. There are such people, but no one dares to sell it, because it takes a master at least ten years to make a phoenix peony, and the possibility of failure is very high.

She had done it, but the moment the finished product came out, it was ruined.

Of course, she can still sell it if she wants to, and ordinary people can’t see some mistakes, but she can’t!
Because once people in the industry saw it, she would lose all face.

Even in ancient times, it was rare for a person to devote his entire life to studying embroidery and produce a phoenix bridal cape. In modern society, people have become impure. From the time they are old enough to understand, they have been facing various temptations. It is difficult for them to devote all their energy to learning embroidery, and naturally it is difficult for them to reach the level of the ancients.

Another reason is the reliance on machinery, which makes it difficult for these traditional manual industries to produce the kind of people who dominated an era in ancient times.

For example, when it comes to writing poetry and lyrics, there has never been a figure who has become famous through the ages. Does that mean modern people are not good?
Obviously not!
It is because human beings in this era are no longer pure.

Moreover, today's education tends to be more diversified, and facing the temptation of fame and fortune, talented people have forgotten their original intentions.

(End of this chapter)