The improved Chengyue brocade has been woven, the color is still unique, flashing colorful and gorgeous, and it has added the advantages of smooth feel and strong color fastness. And this accidental discovery can not only be used on brocade, but also silk varieties such as plain yarn and soft silk, and this method has also been applied to fix the color.

Zhao Shinan didn't expect that the brocade that was about to participate in the competition exhibition suddenly benefited like divine help. I feel more and more that this exhibition is in the right place and people, and it is all accounted for.

Looking at the brocades hanging in the sample room, like clouds, like xia, like flowing gold, like overflowing colors, Zhao Shinan's heart is full, Heng'er, I will stand on the highest platform in the world, win for you, win for your ancestors, win for everyone.

Day and night processing, half a month later, the Zhao family has prepared all the exhibited silk, in addition to Cheng Yuejin, there are silk, silk, yarn, spinning, Luo a total of six silk varieties, each nine colors, three patterns, made into a six-foot square size, as the final exhibits sealed up. Only wait for the final selection of the exhibits prepared for the Nanjing Government International Exposition, and then you can go abroad to participate in the exhibition.

Zhao Shinan's hard work, and attracted the attention of Yangzhou City, everyone is curious about why the Zhao family suddenly wants to participate in the exhibition, but they are also relieved, this mood is like watching the Saibao Conference, knowing that there is a precious baby can not see is also a pity, now the baby is available, everyone is also elated, this fight for face, not only the Zhao family, but also Yangzhou.

And Mr. Tian Tian, who was looking for Zhao Shinan's Doujin, was also very well-informed, and when he heard the news, he came to Zhao's house again with silk, and after ordering the family to report, he saw Zhao Shinan again. The person in front of him was simply two people from a few days ago, and his expression was so bright that he was surprised in his heart, and he couldn't help but say, "Mr. Zhao is looking very good now." ”

Zhao Shinan laughed loudly: "This time and that time. He turned to look at Tian Cheng Zhengse and said, "I know the purpose of your visit." Since you want to fight the brocade, I am willing to accompany you, I don't know what kind of fighting method you want?"

Tian Cheng didn't expect today's Zhao Shinan to agree so happily, and he was really a lover, he thought for a while and said: "If you talk about silk brocade, the first thing to compare must be color, smooth, and smooth, these standards that can be recognized by the naked eye." ”

Zhao Shinan smiled faintly: "This is simple, find a day to put your and mine brocade, where to put it, the price is the same, it doesn't say which brocade is who's, see which one orders more." ”

Tian Cheng nodded in agreement. Zhao Shinan asked, "In addition to brocade, what else do you have to compare?"

Tian Cheng said: "There are also yarn, Luo and silk. ”

"Okay, then let's try it together, the yarn is expensive and thin, Luo is expensive and light, and the silk is expensive and soft. Let's try it together. Zhao Shinan looked at Tian Cheng with a flat expression.

Tian Cheng said: "Since this is the case, then tomorrow, officially start Bibi." ”

Zhao Shinan nodded and said in a high spirit: "Okay." ”

The Zhao family wants to fight with an outsider, which is quickly a household name in Yangzhou City, and everyone wants to see who it is, dare to run here and fight with the Zhao family.

It was a sunny day the next morning, and the Qionghua of Yangzhou City had just spit out new stamen. It is very enchanting.

Zhao Shinan and Tian Cheng each ordered someone to take a piece of brocade, without a factory mark, hanging it in the east of the city, and specially found someone to register to see which brocade was ready to be more people. But when it hung out, Tian Chengcheng was stunned, earlier he had also seen the Cheng Yue brocade for sale in Nanjing, the five-color pan color, it was very beautiful, but the color of his own brocade was bright, and it should be almost the same. But that day, Zhao Shinan hung out a rose brocade, a rose brocade that had never been sold, like a gorgeous and noble peony blooming, and the brocade of Tian Cheng was a little eclipsed. Tian Cheng didn't speak, but his heart was a little cold.

And Zhao Shinan and Tian Cheng went to the commissioner's official residence, where there were various objects competing for a beautiful booth, which was more convenient for competition. There were a lot of people waiting to see the excitement in the morning, waiting to see this unprecedented brocade.

The first item is the test yarn, the yarn is characterized by thinness, and the best yarn is worn on the body, as if it was not worn. In ancient China, there was a record that in the Tang Dynasty, a foreign envoy saw an official of the Tang Dynasty, saw the mole on the official's chest, and sighed: "The clothes you are wearing are so thin, you can still see your mole through a layer." And the official laughed: "It's not one floor, it's twelve." "The garment is the texture of the yarn.

This story sounds a bit exaggerated, but it is not too much to describe the yarn of Zhao Shinan and Tian Cheng that day, when the two items were taken out together, everyone took a breath of cold air, and the light and thin of the yarn was almost transparent and visible. The plain yarn of the two is white, Zhao Shinan ordered someone to take out a piece of cardboard with words written on it, and spread his yarn layer by layer, after the five layers were paved, the handwriting was still as clear as white, and the ten layers were paved, slightly hazy, layer by layer, each layer was added, and the onlookers couldn't help but shout "good", until it was added to the twenty-eighth layer, and the handwriting on the cardboard could not be seen at all.

Tian Cheng also secretly applauded in his heart, took out his own plain yarn, and added it layer by layer, but when it was added to the nineteenth layer, he couldn't see the handwriting on the cardboard clearly, and when he added it to the twenty-second layer, he couldn't even see the blurred shadow of the words on the cardboard, just the white of the plain yarn.

Tian Cheng said to Zhao Shinan: "This game is admitting defeat." The plain yarn of the Zhao family is indeed as thin as a cicada's wings, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. ”

In the second game, Luo was tried, and Luo was characterized by lightness, and there was a description of Luo in "Zuo Ji" as "weaker than Luo Xi and Fei Fei". Zhao Shinan specially borrowed a British-made balance, placed it on the booth, and said to Tian Cheng: "The sensitivity and accuracy of this balance are very high. As he spoke, he placed a goose feather on the tray on the left, and tilted the scales slightly to the left.

There was a "whoosh" in the crowd, this foreigner's thing is light, and such a light feather can even be sensed. If this is a weighing rod, let alone a feather, it is a handful, and it is not so light and small.

This time it was Tian Cheng's Luo who was put first, he was a little inaccurate, cut his own Luo into small pieces of three inches square, and hesitantly put it on the right side of the scale, but as soon as he put it in, the balance did not hesitate to "clang" to the right. Tian Cheng's three-inch square Luo is also heavier than a feather.

Tian Cheng's face was a little unbearable, and he said forcefully: "It's too big, I'll cut it again." ”

"It's not too big. Zhao Shinan leisurely took out his own soft cigarette, did not use scissors, directly put the finished product on the right plate, the pointer of the balance slightly deviated to the right, but it was still high on the right and low on the left, and did not press the tray lower than the left. Tian Cheng couldn't help but grab the soft cigarette Luo and looked at it, and muttered curiously in his mouth: "You're only afraid that this Luo is very small." "When I got it in my hand and showed it, I couldn't help but stay there, Naluo, at least two feet square.

The onlookers sighed again, "It's so big, it's not as light as a feather." "It's too godly" "The Zhao family deserves to be the Zhao family." ”

Beads of sweat had gradually appeared on Tian Cheng's forehead, and the reason why he dared to come to Zhao Shinan this time was because he still had great hopes. He has also fought brocade with other silk shops, and after the fight, he is very confident in his own brocade, but he didn't expect that he had won a lot of silk shop things, and today in front of the Zhao family, not only brocade, but also yarn and Luo can't fight for anger. This Zhao Shinan, the water is too deep, and making silk has reached an unsurpassable peak. Now that he has lost two games, don't say that he is unwilling, how can he live his face in the eyes of others?

Tian Cheng wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead and asked Zhao Shinan: "How are you going to compete in the third game?"

Zhao Shinan saw the anxiety in Tian Cheng's heart, hooked his lips and smiled softly: "The third game is better than silk, and silk must be smooth." As he spoke, he opened a one-foot-long handkerchief, folded it back and forth a few times, and stuffed it into a snuffbox. At that time, snuff bottles were an item that many people carried with them, and they took them out and put them under their noses to sniff twice and sneeze a few times to clear their brains. The characteristic of the snuff bottle is that the mouth is very small, Zhao Shinan's silk is one foot square, and it can pass through the mouth of the snuff bottle after a few folds, which can be imagined how light and soft and smooth, and it really does "move like flowing water".

The sweat on Tian Cheng's forehead really came out this time, and he took out a piece of silk from the box with trembling hands, hesitated, and put it back. hugged Zhao Shinan and said: "I lost today." After speaking, he no longer waited for the results of the brocade statistics, and as soon as he hung it out in the morning, he already knew which was better and which was worse.

Zhao Shinan was also magnificent, and replied to Tian Cheng: "Accept." ”

Tian Cheng hurriedly waved his hand and said, "After all, the skills are still not perfect. Let Mr. Zhao laugh. I will definitely add more skills when I go back, and in a few years, I will come back to Mr. Zhao. After saying that, he didn't look too embarrassed, and packed his box. Although Zhao Shinan asked him to stay for lunch before leaving, Tian Cheng refused and left with the suitcase.

For a while, the people of Yangzhou City were also surprised, although this game was very eye-catching, and it was applauded to watch, but after the game, the winner was not arrogant, the loser was not discouraged, and the winner or loser had their own style. Sure enough, they are not ordinary people. The rose brocade that Zhao Shinan used to compete, although the number of orders was counted, he was still reluctant to sell it in the end, but took out the same style of brocade of different colors, and sold it to the person who booked it at a price of 30%. But no one cares.

A few days later, Cheng Yuejin officially arrived in Nanjing, and became one of the exhibits of the Republic of China to participate in the World Exposition without any suspense. Zhao Shinan sat on the boat, his heart was full of thoughts, the position he wanted to stand on, the people he wanted to see, seemed to be close in front of him.

And the day after the departure of the official ship, Du Heng held the ticket that Editor-in-Chief Zhong had helped her get, took a merchant ship transporting porcelain, and went to Europe with colleagues from two other newspapers, a man and a woman.