Interstellar Travel: Becoming a Dress-Up Game Designer

Chapter 248

Lin Shuying confidently stated, "From the very beginning, Qingfengyi was merely a tool, a tool for Chinese culture to temporarily reside in. My goal is to allow Chinese civilization to grow on its own! Senior, every civilization progresses; our only role is to recover the lost past, and the rest must be left to develop on its own."

Although the initial goal was simply to earn some money to make a living and develop a hobby, Qingfengyi has now evolved into a super interstellar warship, and as its captain, I've unknowingly arranged a lot of things.

"It feels like everything was so unexpected."

It probably involves life and death, and I feel a slight unease in my heart, unable to distinguish whether I am happy or unhappy.

Can I go back?

The tech leaders remained silent. The researchers said that humans cannot change the past, for it has already happened; nor can they change the present, for it is already unfolding; they can only change the future, but the future is the past of the future…

While he was pondering and hesitating, Lin Shuying laughed again and said, "Never mind, let's not tell you."

The tech mogul choked up as he said, "Silly child."

Looking at the distant sky, Lin Shuying said, "In this life and the last, many people said I was stupid, hopelessly stupid. But I wasn't stupid in this matter. I'm even smart enough to admire myself. Life is only a few decades long. How many opportunities does an ordinary person have to do something great? And I actually did one of them. Aren't I smart enough?"

The tech tycoon remained silent, and the meeting ended in silence. Lin Shuying didn't know what to say; she felt nothing, nor could she offer any words. Finally, the tech tycoon went to check out the office building behind Qingfengyi, and the gathering ended.

Qingfeng Yixin's new office building is located near the city center. It's a full 100 stories high, consisting of two buildings, one of which is entirely dedicated to showrooms. The lower 30 floors are already open, filled with clothing and various hairpins made by Qingfeng Yi Studio recently for display. More items will be added later. Another section showcases outstanding works from other studios. Since the implementation of the Dragon Journey Project, a dedicated department has been established to execute it, with a staff of 300. This only includes some of the main staff, not including external mentors, collaborators, logistics personnel, and so on.

This department is constantly refining the Dragon's Journey Plan, which includes preferential policies for partners. For example, simply participating in the Dragon's Journey Plan grants access to store promotion support and entry into the Huaxia Cultural Heritage Ranking. Top-ranking stores receive direct cash and technical rewards. This is irresistible to all studios because the requirements for joining are very low: simply add an icon before the store name: a black dragon and phoenix-shaped "Huaxia" character on a ethereal landscape background, surrounded by a red circle, with the standard font "Huaxia" below.

More than 60% of the items sold in the shop are in the Chinese style; the rest are optional.

The requirement is really simple, and many shop owners don't understand why Qingfengyi's designers created this strategy. If the goal is to increase the prestige of 'Huaxia' and promote the theme, why not simply require all collaborators to use 'Huaxia' in their titles? Why add a small icon?

Another benefit is that after creating a work that conforms to the Chinese style, it can be submitted to various studios for judging. As long as the average score from all the judges reaches 90 points, the work can be brought to the headquarters for exhibition. Qingfengyi will cover the round-trip travel expenses and even give a bonus.

The exhibition duration and prize money are based on scores: 90 points is passing, with no prize, but the work can be exhibited at headquarters for three months; 95 points is average, with a prize of 6 Star Coins, and the work can be exhibited at headquarters for six months. During this period, the work can be freely sold if a buyer makes an offer, and if it doesn't sell, Qingfengyi may even auction it on Qingfengyi's showcase; 100 points represents an excellent work. These works need to be scored by designers at Qingfengyi headquarters. If a designer at headquarters scores it at 95 points, it is considered a top-tier work, which can be exhibited at Qingfengyi for a year, and Qingfengyi may even collect it, with the price being arbitrary. Later, Qingfengyi can even use its own name to increase the value of such works at auction.

With such a great discount, any studio would be tempted.

Unfortunately, the requirements for studios in the Dragon Flight Program are too high, making it difficult to join. Individual designers, on the other hand, are more likely to be accepted. However, individual designers cannot receive studio discounts; they can only receive individual designer rewards.

It's not bad either.

Returning to the game content, after a period of apprenticeship, many stunning works of art appear. These porcelain pieces, irresistible to players, are placed in the world of Chinese martial arts, becoming rewards for serendipitous encounters. There are many such encounters; players need to find them.

The master craftsman at the 'Gray Cave' had created an Eighteen Arhats vase, and the craftsman was utterly captivated by its appearance. The original grayish-white unglazed piece, stained with various glazes, had transformed after a day or two of firing into an exquisite vase of the Eighteen Arhats. The Arhats, with solemn expressions, stood or sat, each holding their own sacred weapon, gazing serenely outwards. The surrounding background was adorned with lotus flowers, lotus patterns, and auspicious clouds.

This porcelain piece is a typical large-scale piece, very tall, with a full and rounded body, meant for use in certain solemn settings to establish a presence. The moment it was taken out, it gave one the illusion of being bathed in divine light, shimmering brightly under the lamplight.

Because it takes a very long time to cool down, it only retains a little warmth when you touch it, but that's just enough to feel its smooth and delicate texture, like skin.

'Gray Hole' couldn't help but ask, "Master, who ordered this?"

The old craftsman chuckled, “It was custom-made for a wealthy family in the city.”

Soon, it became clear who had commissioned the gray hole.

He hasn't uploaded the video yet; he's considering what background music would be suitable. He was so focused on learning porcelain making that he forgot to show it off immediately, and now he wonders if someone else has stolen his thunder.

When he uploaded the video, he was shocked by the number one trending video. It was the very porcelain vase of the Eighteen Arhats that he had made with his master!

Click on the video to watch, and it really is.

The story goes like this:

A sect from the martial arts world of Huaxia (a fictional martial arts world) has come to a wealthy man in a certain county town seeking help, as the treasure he offered to the emperor has been stolen. Inside are 30,000 taels of gold, five jade Buddhas, ten exquisite beauties, and countless silver and jewels. Most notably, a master-crafted Eighteen Arhats Vase is priceless. During the event, a Huaxia dynasty will randomly appear in the Huaxia martial arts world instance. The vase appears during the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when most rulers were not benevolent. The offered items were the hard-earned wealth of the people. Players who help retrieve these items can keep them for themselves, but doing so will result in them being wanted by the official authorities of that dynasty.

But the players have already found a loophole. All they have to do is wait through this period and wait for the next dynasty, hehe.

In this video, the player goes even further, directly taking over the bandit's den and making everything there their own!

It's a bit of a shame that once the ten beauties are claimed by the players, they will turn into ten porcelain dolls. Although they are still beautiful, how could they be so much less attractive!

This practice inspired many players to follow suit. During this time, some players experienced the Han, Tang, and Yuan dynasties at their peak, only to be beaten so badly by government troops that they didn't even recognize their own parents, and had to die and start over.

Players were horrified by the ancient battlefield and discussed it extensively in the world chat, with one theme: war is always abhorrent.

The appearance of various dynasties allows players to immerse themselves in the lives of those eras and purchase a variety of clothing from those periods. Lin Shuying didn't deliberately design the clothing in the style of photo studios, Western influences, or anime adaptations of her own time; instead, she took a realistic approach. Commoners wore coarse linen clothing, with only wealthier families able to afford cotton fabric for more substantial garments during festivals. It wasn't an exaggeration for wealthy families to wear gold and silver, but it had to be a certain level of extravagance, unlike the depictions in some novels and TV dramas where anyone in town could wear silk.

Players found these clothes quite unique, each with its own distinctive style. Although the fabrics were similar, the clothes varied depending on who made them. Some women were skilled at needlework, making exquisite garments for their families, while others, less skilled, produced rougher pieces. Some would add inner purses, ties, padding in certain areas for durability, or reducing fabric in others, according to their family's habits.

What surprised players the most was that in ancient China, 80-90% of families made their own clothes!

Only extremely wealthy families, such as those of prime ministers, high-ranking officials, and royalty, would hire specialized embroiderers. Even so, the women of these families would still make clothes, purses, underwear, and the like—quite remarkable. This is incredibly inconceivable, at least in a world like ours where everyone goes to a workshop to air-dry their clothes; air-drying clothes yourself is a waste of time, and the costs are unimaginable.

First, you need to go to a spray shop and buy a bunch of spray paint and spray gun equipment. Second, you need to learn some design and spraying techniques. Although spray paint is liquid like paint, it has a certain thickness when it gets on the skin. If your technique isn't good enough, it will be uneven, making you feel embarrassed when you go out. Design is especially important; don't create a mess that looks bad to others, or worse, make yourself look bad.

However, in ancient China, most women knew needlework, starting from elementary school.

That's incredible.

Initially, this state of affairs showcased a social structure where men farmed and women wove, resulting in a rational distribution of productive forces. Later, however, it became somewhat unfair and oppressive. But Lin Shuying was merely a carrier of history, not a person who made historical mistakes. This objectively presents everything. Historical mistakes are not meant to be avoided, but rather to warn future generations against repeating them.

Unfortunately, history never teaches people not to fall into the same trap twice; it only records one unbelievable mistake after another, so similar that it's easy to dismiss them.

Perhaps in the distant future, when humanity finally realizes that civilization cannot only progress in technology and intelligence, but also in the ability to admit mistakes, everything will change.