Chapter 95 Lying
The quaint and quiet village has blue bricks and gray tiles, flying eaves and pointed corners. Purple bougainvillea decorates the ochre walls, and fresh green weeds quietly peek out from the cracks in the stone roads.

Chen Mo and the other two went to a tie-dye workshop according to the recommendation in the brochure.

As soon as you enter the yard of the tie-dye workshop, the first things you see are dye vats, dye sticks, drying racks, stone mills and other tie-dye tools.

The dye vats are filled with dyes of varying shades, and the tie-dyed fabrics are hung on the drying racks.

The dyed cloth uses beautiful blue to present various mountain and river scenery, ethnic customs, flowers, birds, fish, insects or geometric patterns. Its texture is delicate and as smooth as jade, making people feel a kind of changeable, simple and generous natural beauty.

“Wow, these are so pretty.”

Chen Nanxing couldn't take his eyes off the tie-dyed cloth on display.

"Well, so beautiful." Xu Hongdou also liked it very much.

"Dear guests, please come and take a look." A middle-aged woman dressed in local clothes came out and greeted them.

"We have finished dyed products here. If you want to experience it, you can also dye it yourself."

“Can you dye it yourself?”

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing's eyes lit up, and they were obviously interested.

"Of course. We have skirts, shirts, and scarves. You can pick one and then choose the pattern you want to dye. I will teach you how to dye it." The old lady introduced with a smile.

"Then we have to dye it ourselves."

"Okay, please come this way."

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing each picked out a skirt of a different style, and Xu Hongdou also pulled Chen Mo to pick out a short-sleeved shirt.

The fabric for tie-dyeing is usually white cotton or a cotton and linen blended white cloth.

After choosing the clothes, the three of them started tie-dyeing by themselves under the guidance of the old lady.

Tie-dyeing is divided into cold dyeing and hot dyeing. The main steps include drawing patterns, twisting, soaking, dyeing, steaming, drying, removing stitches, and rolling cloth.

The key technology lies in twisting technique and dyeing skills.

Jiao Zha, also known as Zhahua, is a process of tying, sewing and clamping fabrics with ropes and threads before dyeing them. Its purpose is to isolate the tied parts from the dye to prevent the dye from entering.

When dyeing, the tightly tied and wrinkled overlapping parts are left blank to form a pattern, while the parts that are not tied and resist dyeing are dyed, thus forming color halos and unique texture effects, combining into a varied pattern.

The old lady demonstrated and taught the three people how to tie the knot according to the patterns chosen by Chen Mo and the other two.

"If we tie it like this, will it be the same as those outside?" Chen Nanxing asked while tying the needle.

She felt that her tattooing was not as good as that of the old lady.

The lady smiled and said, "No two tie-dye are exactly alike. Your tie-dye will definitely be different from mine."

"Isn't it the same pattern?" Chen Nanxing wondered.

"The patterns are roughly the same, but the tightness of the twist, the penetration of the dye and the degree of bonding cannot be exactly the same, so there are always certain differences in the patterns produced," the lady explained.

"So each piece is unique." Chen Nanxing couldn't help but smile.

"You can say that." The lady nodded.

After the clothes are tied up and wetted with clean water, they can be put into the dye vat.

The three of them put on gloves and put the tied clothes into the dye vat themselves.

While teaching the students how to dye, the old lady introduced:

"The dyes are mainly made of isatis root, indigo, mugwort, walnut skin and the like. They are all plant dyes that grow naturally in the mountains. You can wear them without worry. There is no harm."

When Xu Hongdou looked at the blue dye vat, she remembered using Impatiens to dye her nails when she was a child.

After dyeing, wash it, dehydrate it and dry it.

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing were both very satisfied with the skirts they dyed, and Chen Mo helped them take photos as souvenirs.

Tie-dyeing has the beauty of hazy imagery, so there is no need to stick to stereotyped patterns.

The sun in Dali is very strong, and the fabrics of clothes are thin and easy to dry, so they can be dried quickly.

During this period, the three of them did not just wait, but went to the next place and came back to get it.

Xu Hongdou flipped through the booklet to see where they were going next. "A woodcarving workshop, a tie-dye workshop, and an embroidery workshop."

"This village has so many intangible cultural heritage skills." Chen Mo was a little surprised.

Chen Nanxing looked around at the crowds of people and said, "There are too few tourists now, and the village's basic service facilities are not enough, but the cultural characteristics and natural scenery here are good, and there is potential to be developed."

She was originally engaged in market research. After wandering around for the past two days and chatting with people in the village, she came to a rough conclusion.

"Then we came at the right time. If it is completed, it may not be as quiet as it is now." Chen Mo said with a smile.

"That's true." Chen Nanxing nodded.

From the perspective of tourists, such semi-developed places are actually more suitable for their leisure and travel.

Otherwise, after commercial development, it can only be used as a tourist attraction for two days.

Of course, from a business perspective, we certainly hope that a large number of tourists will flow in to boost consumption.

When the three of them walked to the door of the embroidery workshop, they unexpectedly met an acquaintance again.

"Thank you, boss. Nice to meet you again." Chen Mo greeted him.

"Mr. Chen, what a coincidence." Xie Zhiyao also saw the three people.

"I just heard from Xiaochun that you are the new tenants who came to the courtyard yesterday."

Chen Nanxing recalled the scene at Youfeng Restaurant just now and couldn't help asking, "Boss Xie, is your blind date over? Did it go well?"

Xie Zhiyao scratched his head awkwardly when he heard this, "Not bad."

"What are you doing?" Xie Zhiyao quickly changed the subject.

"We looked at the brochure of the restaurant and learned that there was an embroidery workshop here, so we came to take a look."

Chen Mo could understand Xie Zhiyao's embarrassment of being urged to get married and go on blind dates. After all, he himself had also suffered from the pressure to get married at home.

"Then you may have to wait a moment. There are people from the TV station program crew filming inside." Xie Zhiyao said.

"Photography? To promote embroidery?" Chen Mo asked.

"Yes, Teacher Xie Huailan of this embroidery workshop is a state-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, so she was included in the intangible cultural heritage promotion by the TV station." Xie Zhiyao explained.

"Then let's come back another day."

Xie Zhiyao thought for a moment and said, "I can take you to watch, but we have to be quiet so as not to affect the filming."

"Is this convenient?"

"It's okay, let's just stand farther away and watch without being in the camera." Xie Zhiyao said with a smile.

"The purpose of filming is to promote the event, so that more people will know about it. Now that you are here, we don't want you to make a wasted trip."

Hearing Xie Zhiyao say this, Chen Mo nodded, "That's troublesome."

In the embroidery workshop, several embroiderers wearing local ethnic costumes were sitting in the middle of the yard. An older embroiderer was teaching a younger one how to sew and thread, while a camera was capturing the footage next to her.

Before embroidery, either draw the pattern directly or cut paper as the base, and then use colored threads to embroider.

When embroidering hardware items, you can place the embroidery directly on your hands; when embroidering large soft items, use a flower frame as a hoop.

Bai embroidery follows the warp and weft of the cloth and uses oblique cross stitches to form patterns. The stitches are fine, the designs are ingeniously conceived, the organization is symmetrical, the colors are bright, and it has a distinct national style and local characteristics.

Chen Mo, Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing watched quietly for a while, listening to the explanation of the older embroiderer in front of the camera, and gained a general understanding of the Bai embroidery.

The bright moon is high and the evening breeze is blowing.

In the rest area of ​​the courtyard, Chen Nanxing and Xu Hongdou were waiting in front of the TV screen, waiting for Jiang Congwen to appear in "I Am the King of Singers".

Chen Nanxing did not forget what he had said, that he would watch the show that Jiang Congwen participated in on time, so he pulled Xu Hongdou along.

Chen Mo knew what song Jiang Congwen was singing, so he stayed in the room playing the guitar and did not come down.

After all, the song was written by Chen Mo for Jiang Congwen. When Chen Mo was helping Jiang Congwen record the song in the company's recording studio, he had no idea how many times he had listened to it.

"When will it be Congwen's turn?" Xu Hongdou asked.

"Lao Jiang is a challenger and should be the last one to appear on stage for the first time," said Chen Nanxing.

She had seen the previous episodes before, so she knew the rules.

Firstly, the program team wants to keep the suspense of the "challenging contestants".

Secondly, this also gives the challenger a little advantage in the first game.

Because the audience will start voting only after all seven singers have finished singing, the later you appear, the more advantages you will have.

The later a singer appears and the closer it is to the audience's voting time, the deeper the audience's impression of the singer's performance will be.

Otherwise, if you are the first to appear, some audience members may forget what you sang when they vote. While Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing were watching the show, Nana and Damai also came to the kitchen.

"Hongdou, Nanxing, you are here too?" Nana greeted Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing when she saw them.

The kitchen, dining room and lounge area are connected and can see each other.

"Nana, Damai, you haven't rested yet? Did I disturb you?" Xu Hongdou turned her head.

"No, no, I was hungry, so I called Da Mai to have a midnight snack together." Nana waved her hand.

"Hello, Da Mai, I'm Chen Nanxing, nice to meet you."

Chen Nanxing finally made up for the greetings he didn't have time to say yesterday.

Barley was stunned for a moment before nodding, "Ah, hello."

Da Mai was obviously not used to Chen Nanxing's familiarity.

Barley hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, I want to cook rice noodles. Do you want some?"

"No, we're not very hungry yet." Xu Hongdou declined.

"Let's eat together. We'll be hungry soon and there's nothing to eat here at night," Nana invited.

Barley nodded, "Well, I'll add more rice noodles."

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing looked at each other, then nodded and smiled: "Then thank you for your help."

"No." After getting the answer from the two, Barley turned and went to the kitchen.

"Do you need our help?" Xu Hongdou asked.

"No need." Barley shook his head.

"Da Mai is not used to being around a lot of people. She would feel more comfortable doing it alone." Nana said with a smile.

"Da Mai's cooking is delicious, but she doesn't like to wash dishes. When we eat together, Da Mai cooks and I wash the dishes."

"You two are dining together." Xu Hongdou said with a smile.

"Yes, a midnight snack partner." Nana also smiled.

"Are you watching 'I Am the King of Singers'?" Nana noticed the program on the TV screen.

"Yes, Nana, do you watch this show too?" Chen Nanxing said.

"Yes, the songs in this show are pretty good." Nana nodded.

"But I always watch the replay online so I can fast forward to the parts I don't want to watch."

"Indeed, I also saw it online before." Chen Nanxing agreed.

After a while, Barley cooked the rice noodles.

"Wow, it looks very appetizing." Chen Nanxing praised.

The rice noodles contain spinach, tomatoes, and luncheon meat, which are dark red and light green, and look very tempting.

"I just put whatever I have in there and cook it." said Barley.

Xu Hongdou took a bite and nodded, "It's delicious. It doesn't look like you cooked it casually. You can set up a stall and open a store."

"No." Da Mai felt a little embarrassed by the praise.

"Da Mai, what do you usually do? Why don't I see you so often?" Xu Hongdou asked curiously.

"Da Mai is an online writer. He usually stays in his room typing and rarely goes out," said Nana.

Da Mai quickly shook his head, "He's not a writer, just a small online author."

"I don't have any representative works, and I don't have much presence. I'm just a nobody, and it doesn't matter if there's one more or one less."

Xu Hongdou blinked. "Are you as humble about writing as you are about cooking?"

Barley shook his head, "That's really not the case."

"Which platform did you write it on? I'll go and read it."

Da Mai suddenly felt a little embarrassed. "I don't think there's any need to read it. I'm not a good writer and I don't want to be exposed."

"I'll show you guys my good works when I finish them."

"Exposed?" Xu Hongdou wondered.

"It's like revealing one's identity." Nana helped explain.

"Oh, then I won't ask anymore." Xu Hongdou said quickly.

When the group had almost finished eating the rice noodles, it was Jiang Congwen's turn to appear on the "I Am the King of Singers" show.

"Here it comes." Chen Nanxing reminded Xu Hongdou.

"Has he appeared on stage?" Xu Hongdou looked at the TV screen.

Nana and Da Mai also looked over curiously.

On the screen, Jiang Congwen walked out in the dim light of the stage, wearing a silver-gray suit and standing tall.

At this moment, Jiang Congwen can be described as being in high spirits.

"Was he so handsome before?" Chen Nanxing couldn't help but look at Xu Hongdou.

Xu Hongdou thought about it and said, "It's probably because I lost weight."

"So you are waiting for Jiang Congwen. Do you like his songs?" Nana asked.

Jiang Congwen's popularity has obviously increased greatly, especially among young people who are interested in short video live streaming.

"He is our friend." Xu Hongdou explained.

"Friend?!" Nana was a little surprised when she heard that.

Chen Nanxing smiled and said, "I guess I'll have to queue up next time to get his autograph."

During the show, Jiang Congwen nodded to the band, and the piano melody of the prelude sounded.
I have had a few good partners.
It's not lonely

Maybe my promiscuity makes people uneasy
Only then will they all die in battle.]

"Has Lao Jiang dated so many people?" Chen Nanxing asked Xu Hongdou in a low voice.

"No, I heard from Chen Mo that there was only one." Xu Hongdou shook her head.

Moreover, Xu Hongdou also knew that Jiang Congwen wanted to get married at that time and was not as "dissolute" as the lyrics said.

I'm not fragile, and what kind of injury is that?
Isn’t love like this anyway?]

Jiang Congwen's voice is very "casual", and it sounds like love is also "casual" like this.

There is no hoarseness in the voice, and it doesn't sound like singing. Instead, it sounds like using the most calm tone to tell a love story that once happened.

I didn't lie
Please don't think how unforgettable you are

I am really laughing, not just trying to be brave.

Xu Hongdou recalled that it seemed to be a rainy day. She met Chen Mo downstairs in the community, and then witnessed the farewell of Jiang Congwen and Li Jinting.

At that time, Chen Mo even sang the background music for her.

Listening to this song again now, it seems like a portrayal of Jiang Congwen's inner experiences.

Xu Hongdou felt that the inspiration that Chen Mo got from the people around him was sometimes really indescribable.

Life is already so difficult
Some things should not be exposed]

"This song sets the theme right at the beginning." Da Mai said suddenly.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Chen Nanxing asked.

"The song is called 'Lying' and every word in the lyrics is a lie."

Damai doesn't understand music, but as a writer, she is sensitive to words.

【I didn't lie, it was love that lied

It brought you here to lie to me

Desire may have hope

I did not lie

I wish you a happy bride

Please forget my worries.

(End of this chapter)