Four days before the opening of the Creation Festival, Zhan Xi had already learned how to make three basic flower shapes: lily of the valley, geranium and bud rose. Together with the leonion orchid that she had learned before, Luo Jingyu thought it was enough.
Before officially starting the class, Zhan Xi wanted to test the results, so he needed to find two people who had never done flower curling to simulate the class. He called Luo Xinran and Pipixia.
What the hell! The bearded man was completely confused when he came to Luo Jingyu's house. He knew he had to do handicrafts. He was resisting from head to toe and from inside to outside. He kept saying, "I won't do it! Let Luo Xinran do it. I'm a rough guy and I'm not cut out for handicrafts!"
Zhan Xi said to him honestly: "Actually, 99% of the people who come to experience it will be girls, but Xiaoyu and I feel that if even you can learn it, then no one else will be unable to learn it. You can help us be a guinea pig, and we can eat here after we are done. Xiaoyu has prepared a lot of dishes and even bought a king crab!"
Pipixia looked at Luo Jingyu, who was organizing things for class on the workbench. When she met his gaze, she smiled slightly and made a short sign to him.
Zhan Xi translated: "Xiao Yu said it's very simple, don't worry, I hope you can calm down and experience it, it will be very fulfilling to make a flower by yourself. Hot stamping flowers is a form of artistic expression just like singing, regardless of gender, you should not limit yourself to a fixed mindset."
Pipixia's mouth twitched: "Zhan Xier, don't bluff me. Xiaoyu just made a few gestures. How could he say so much?"
Zhan Xi laughed out loud: "He said the first sentence, and I added the rest! Please, please."
Luo Xinran nudged Pipixia with his elbow: "Why are you talking so much nonsense? We already agreed before we came here. This is Xiaoyu's first exhibition. Can you give me some support? When you sang on stage for the first time, you even asked a bunch of relatives and friends to help you!"
"..." Pipixia compromised, "Okay, I'll do it. Don't laugh at me if I don't do it well! I'll get angry!"
The simulated hot stamping experience class has begun.
Half of the workbench had been cleared by Luo Jingyu. He sat on that side of the table. Luo Xinran and Pipixia sat opposite him, and Zhan Xi stood next to Luo Xinran.
Luo Xinran looked up at her: "Aren't you going to sit down?"
"I'm the receptionist, so I can't sit down." Zhan Xi said with a smile, "When the time comes, I will not only have to take care of the guests taking the experience class, but also have to pay attention to other visitors. I'll be very busy!"
"Thank you for your hard work." Luo Xinran asked Luo Jingyu, "Teacher Xiaoyu, our Xier is so dedicated, will you pay her salary?"
Luo Jingyu was stunned after reading her lip reading. He had never thought about this problem. Huanhuan had not had a day off in the past half month. It was more tiring than going to work. So far, he had only provided her with meals and had not given her any other benefits. She was just working for nothing.
Zhong Peng and Mo Yang were paid daily wages for working for him!
Luo Jingyu looked at Zhan Xi guiltily. Zhan Xi didn't realize what was wrong and still had a smile on his face: "Don't waste time! Let's start quickly. I'm going to start the timer. A class is a maximum of two hours. Let's not exceed the time limit. The guests also want to play more projects."
The other three finally stopped talking nonsense. Luo Jingyu handed the materials and tools to the two of them, and picked up a bunch of white lily of the valley with leaves. The flowers looked like small light bulbs.
Zhan Xi said, "Good afternoon, everyone. I am Xiao Zhan, the teaching assistant of Teacher Luo. I will work with Teacher Luo to explain the key points of hot stamping to you. Today we are going to learn how to make lily of the valley. What you see is the final product, which is very cute."
Mantis shrimp muttered: "Cute ass."
Luo Xinran stepped on him and he screamed "Ah" with an exaggerated expression. Luo Jingyu tilted her head and looked at him strangely.
He looked at Zhan Xi again. After she finished speaking, she gave him a look, and Luo Jingyu picked up the cut flower patterns and leaf fabrics to show them to Luo Xinran and the others.
Zhan Xi spoke at the same time: "The fabric used for the lily of the valley is woven silk poplin, and the fabric for the leaves and flower stems is 520 satin. You two can take a look. They are already in your hands. The shapes of the flowers and leaves are still easy to distinguish."
Looking at the pile of white pieces of cloth in his hand, Mantis shrimp had a black question mark face.
Luo Jingyu picked up the hot trowel again, and Zhan Xi said, "The tool that Teacher Luo is showing you now is the hot trowel. The hot trowel is the most important tool for making hot flowers. There are various specifications. The lily of the valley trowel is used for lily of the valley, and the knife trowel is used for leaves, which can heat out the veins of the leaves."
Luo Jingyu pointed at the shared paint in front of her, and Zhan Xi said, "The materials and tools are actually very simple. Now let's start today's class. Teacher Luo has already prepared the flower and leaf patterns for you two. Let's start with the first step, which is to mix colors and dye. Teacher Luo will first use the grass color..."
Luo Xinran kept watching Luo Jingyu's movements, and Zhan Xi's clear voice rang in his ears. Luo Jingyu was very calm, taking things and putting them away in an orderly manner. When mixing colors, Zhan Xi would clearly tell him how much to pour for each color and how much water to add, so that he would not feel flustered at all.
Pipixia originally thought that he would not be able to cope with it, but he found that Luo Jingyu performed each step very carefully and would also stare at their operations. If there was anything wrong, she would use gestures to call for a pause and then use sign language to Zhan Xi, who would tell them the precautions so that the problems could be corrected in time.
The mantis shrimp secretly watched Luo Xinran's actions, just like observing how his classmates were learning. Luo Xinran had already picked up the brush, and the mantis shrimp was not willing to be left behind, so he also picked up the brush and began to dye the petals in a serious manner.
If the petals are damaged, Luo Jingyu has prepared spare materials so that they can be re-dyed.
In the hot summer, dyed fabrics only need more than 20 minutes to dry. Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu have discussed that they cannot let the customers go out to shop at this time, but they can tell them about the development, schools and application of hot stamping in life, even if it is just a chat and Q&A.
Zhan Xi recited these introductions for many days, trying to make them lively and interesting. Luo Jingyu would not be idle at this time, and would take out some semi-finished products for ironing demonstration.
If this is a documentary, Luo Jingyu is the picture and Zhan Xi is the voice-over.
When it was Tang Tan's turn, Zhan Xi was a little nervous and repeatedly confirmed safety issues with the two of them.
Lily of the valley is a very basic flower pattern, and Luo Jingyu still did it slowly and carefully, trying to let the two experiencers see all his movements clearly. Zhan Xi explained the ironing techniques verbally, and Pipixia watched very attentively, shouting out various words from time to time, such as "Fuck! Fuck!", "Ah, you can iron out the meridians?", "This is too difficult! I definitely can't do it!"
Zhan Xi comforted him: "It's not difficult, you will know once you try it, just be patient."
Mantis shrimp picked up the trowel helplessly and started ironing clumsily while cursing.
He lowered his head, and Luo Jingyu couldn't see his mouth shape, her attention was only on what he and Luo Xinran were doing. Zhan Xi had been encouraging Pipi Xia gently, but Luo Xinran couldn't stand it anymore and shouted: "Pipi Xia, can you shut up? Can you be a little more manly? Why are you so annoying!"
Pipixia shut up. He couldn't understand why he didn't look like a man because he couldn't do handicrafts. Men like Luo Jingyu were the outliers!
If you say he is sissy, that's not the case at all. He uses tweezers to hold the tiny petals and uses a hot iron in his right hand to iron the petals. He looks really handsome!
Mantis shrimp relaxed, kept a calm mind, followed Luo Jingyu's rhythm, and managed to steam out all the flowers and leaves with some difficulty.
The last step is assembly, which is a difficult point for Mantis because glue is needed to stick them together.
It's really hard for clumsy people! Zhan Xi stood next to Pipi Xia and patiently told him how to glue it. If there were any parts that he couldn't do, she would help him.
Mantis shrimp looked at Luo Jingyu's nimble fingers and felt that his own hands were fake.
With the tacit cooperation of Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu, in less than two hours, Luo Xinran and Pipixia, two complete rookies, both finished a string of lily of the valley, and the degree of completion was surprisingly good.
"Ahahahaha! I must post this on WeChat Moments!" Pipixia swept away his previous decadence and was now extremely proud. He took many photos of his lily of the valley from various angles and posted them on WeChat Moments, also adding a photo of Luo Jingyu working with her head down.
With his bangs hanging down, his eyebrows and eyes are not visible. Only the lower half of his face can be seen, with a high nose bridge, beautiful lips, and thin and white cheeks. Pipixia's caption is:
This is my first hot flower work in my life! It’s all handmade! Hahahaha, let’s talk about how cool it is!
There were comments and likes below very quickly, some people praised, some criticized, some made fun of, some asked where it was done, and the most popular question was who is the guy in the photo? He looks so handsome!
Pipixia unified reply:
From July 17th to 19th, the Qiantang Maker Festival at the Convention and Exhibition Center, booth 67 in the handmade market section, please pay attention to: Xiyu Hot Flower Art! Welcome to learn handmade hot flower from Teacher Luo on the spot!
ps: Mr. Luo could have made a living with his looks, but he chose to rely on his talent! I can only tell you with sadness that this guy is already taken, don't think about him!
In the evening, Luo Jingyu cooked a table full of dishes to thank Luo Xinran and Mantis shrimp. Among them, the king crab with garlic vermicelli was so delicious. It was the first time for Luo Xinran to see someone cook king crab so deliciously at home.
If her previous impression of Luo Jingyu was "good temper", now after a trial class and a big meal prepared by him, Luo Xinran was completely impressed by Luo Jingyu.
She looked at Luo Jingyu who was patiently helping Zhan Xi peel crab legs across the table, then turned to look at her boyfriend who was concentrating on eating, and sighed deeply.
They are all men, why is there such a big difference
—
Two days before the opening of the Maker Festival, Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi entered the venue to set up the exhibition as required.
They did not ask anyone else for help. It was just a 3-square-meter booth. Zhan Xi believed that with Xiaoyu's hands-on ability, the two of them could handle it.
Because they registered too late, booth No. 67 was in an average location, near a corner at the end of an aisle. Zhan Xi comforted himself that it didn't matter if there were fewer people, and the experience class would be more effective.
She and Luo Jingyu worked together to install various materials, and they even carried a screen into the venue. Luo Jingyu was afraid that Zhanxi was too tired, and always wanted her to rest, but Zhanxi refused, saying that she was not so delicate and was not afraid of hard work.
The surrounding booths were also being set up, and some people were somewhat surprised to notice that Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu were communicating through sign language.
A short-haired girl stood in front of their booth and looked at it for a long time. She asked Zhan Xi curiously, "What do you do?"
"Hot-stamping." Zhan Xi, who had tied her hair into a ponytail, wiped the sweat off her forehead and answered her with a smile, "It's a pure handmade flower-making technique. Look, that lotus flower is made with hot-stamping."
She pointed at a lotus ornament that Luo Jingyu was adjusting, which also included lotus roots and lotus leaves. The short-haired girl exclaimed, "Wow! It's very beautiful! It looks like the real thing."
She asked Zhanxi again, "Did you do all this?"
Zhan Xi giggled: "It's not me, it's my boyfriend who made it." She pointed at Luo Jingyu, her eyes full of pride, "All these flowers you see are made by him, purely handmade, ironed one by one!"
The short-haired girl was even more surprised: "Oh my God! Your boyfriend is so talented! I do embroidery, and most of the people in our industry are girls."
The two agreed to visit each other's booths after the exhibition. Before leaving, the short-haired girl asked Zhan Xi hesitantly, "Is your boyfriend... deaf?"
"Yeah, he's hard of hearing." Zhan Xi looked at Luo Jingyu. He had been busy, and the front of his gray T-shirt was already wet. Zhan Xi laughed, "But he's really amazing. You'll know after the show starts."
Luo Jingyu would occasionally glance at Zhan Xi. She had already entered the working state in advance because from time to time someone would come over and ask what their booth was doing.
They were all handcrafters from all walks of life. Even Luo Jingyu didn’t know much about some of the industries, but Zhan Xi chatted with them enthusiastically and even invited them to follow his Weibo and official account.
The QR code was designed by Luo Jingyu in the form of a flower, printed in large size and hung beside the booth, blending in with the style of the entire booth.
Luo Jingyu realized belatedly that if Huanhuan hadn't helped him, would he have to work here alone? Although Sister Shao and the others were here to help him stand up, they couldn't help him set up the exhibition. Besides, they were here to visit the Creation Festival, and they would definitely spend more time wandering around and playing. He was the only one who stayed at the booth for a long time.
A person who can't hear or speak, sitting alone in a crowded exhibition hall, guarding his own small stall, Luo Jingyu knew just by thinking about it that it must be full of difficulties.
I don't know how he had the confidence to handle all this on his own. What Fang Xu said makes sense. Without the assistance of language, his presentation would indeed become meaningless.
Fortunately, I have Huanhuan now.
For the first time, Luo Jingyu experienced the feeling of having someone fighting alongside him.
They did not dominate each other, did not control each other, and did not tell each other what to do. He and Zhan Xi could really trust each other with their backs and only needed to take care of the part they were responsible for.
The first day of exhibition setup was about to end. In the evening, Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu finished the day's work. Seeing that there was still time, they did not rush to eat. Instead, like other handcrafters, they walked around the exhibition hall hand in hand to see what other booths were doing.
The booths in the handmade market section were large and small, and there were many or few people setting up the booths. As he was walking around, Luo Jingyu felt lucky again that he had listened to Huanhuan's advice and designed the booth theme very formally. According to his previous idea, with a table and a chair, people would sit there, and it would definitely become the shabbyest booth in the venue, just like Zhanxi said, it was comparable to the old craftsman who made candy figurines.
In other booths, some people do woodworking, some do acca aromatherapy, some do vegetable tanned leather, and there are also pottery, dripping glue jewelry, flower arrangement, baking, fondant cakes, diamond painting, oil painting, patchwork, sewing, French embroidery, knitting, ancient papermaking, mortise and tenon joints, wood carving...
There were so many dazzling and diverse things that Zhan Xi felt his eyes were not enough to see them all.
There are so many handmade projects, and everyone likes them, is good at them, and some people have been working on them for years to make a living. In today's fast-paced, high-tech and ever-changing world, there are still a group of people who can endure loneliness, focus on their own crafts, and do it professionally and meticulously. They are unwilling to give up even if it is cold. When they talk to Zhan Xi about the things they love, their eyes are shining.
In the main aisle, Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi saw a booth. They both stopped at the same time and widened their eyes in shock.
This booth is not small, it is three times the size of Luo Jingyu's booth. Even though it is only half decorated, the style can already be clearly seen.
Zhan Xi stood in front of the booth and felt like Alice who had fallen into the rabbit hole, because all he saw were exaggerated, gorgeous, and ostentatious flowers!
Most of them are clusters of blooming roses in all colors, with rich colors that are extremely eye-catching.
Almost everyone who passed by this booth would exclaim: "Wow! These flowers are so beautiful!"
Hearing such praise, the owner of the booth would turn around and smile.
Her smile was as enchanting and beautiful as the flowers in her booth. Zhan Xi looked at her from afar. Suddenly, the man's gaze also turned over and met Zhan Xi's eyes without any concealment.
She was a young and beautiful girl with two high ponytails and wearing a black retro dress. Her facial features were unfamiliar and Zhan Xi had never seen her before.
The look in her eyes was strange, not hostile, nor provocative, but more like a... demonstration
Zhan Xi suddenly realized that this girl was not targeting him, she was actually targeting Xiaoyu!
At this time, Luo Jingyu pulled Zhan Xi's hand and they left together.
The girl stood there, watching their backs gradually walking away.
Only after walking to a place where he could no longer see the booth did Zhan Xi turn to look at Luo Jingyu and notice that he did not look very happy.
Zhan Xi asked him in sign language: Xiaoyu, is that a perm flower
Yes. Luo Jingyu also answered her in sign language, it was embossing.
Zhan Xi thought about it and said in sign language: It’s not quite the same as what you did.
Luo Jingyu looked at her confused eyes and asked: "Do you think it looks good? Tell the truth."
Zhan Xi nodded slightly.
It's really beautiful. No one would say it's not beautiful, right? It's so eye-catching when it's half-arranged. If it's all arranged, you can almost imagine it's a fairy tale world of flowers. That atmosphere can be described with all the gorgeous words.
Luo Jingyu smiled and nodded, and said in sign language: I think it looks good too, but I don’t like it.