Daming Yinghua

Chapter 19
When Zheng Haizhu heard Yan Siqi's mention of the past, she immediately paid more attention, for fear that she would not be able to catch up on the details and get confused.

Fortunately, when she was in Fujian, she was curious about historical celebrities and really went to see the small tailor shop that Yan Siqi once ran.

With a little embarrassment, she said to Yan Siqi: "I can't recall the scenes you mentioned now. But I went to see your shop before I took Shoukuan away from my hometown. The owner rented it out to a family Silk dyeing workshop."

Yan Siqi sighed in bewilderment, walked to the window, and stretched out his hand to pull the inconspicuous hemp rope by the window lattice.

Hearing a "wow", the bamboo curtain not far from Zheng Haizhu was rolled up, revealing a bigger room.

There are windows on three walls of the house, and the open view of the mountains and the sea can be seen outside the windows, and the inside of the house is also very bright.

On the clean and smooth bluestone floor, high and low Π-shaped or T-shaped wooden ginger clothes hangers are placed in a random order. On each shelf, there are patterns of women's clothing, ranging from half-arms, skirts, blouses, and skirts. pants, cloaks, horse-faced skirts, and long-sleeved shirts.

Although the fabrics of these clothes vary in color, pattern, and weave, they are mostly of fine textures such as brocade, satin, silk, and yarn.

Embroidery and ribbon cutting wins but time is countless.

The clouds are steaming and the rosy clouds are shining, which is very pleasing to the eye.

Zheng Haizhu seemed to have entered the museum exhibition hall of later generations, and was dumbfounded in this visual feast.

Yan Siqi waited quietly for a moment, as if giving his beloved woman plenty of time to adapt, before explaining to her with a smile: "Three years ago, my brothers and I occupied this Daishan Island as a bridge between Hirado Port to Haojing and Nanyang Sea Trade. The place where the fleet shelters from the wind and supplies. I built this house for myself, and specially reserved this room, which is similar to the tailor shop in Longxi’s hometown back then, only bigger.”

As he spoke, he walked over, took off a goose-yellow skirt, and continued, "The first piece of clothing I made in this room was made of soil from Fujian. I remember, you were still in age When I was old, I often wore such light-colored tunics."

"This half arm is silk. The silk contains hemp, so it has a bit of muscle and bone like a sword. I think, when you are sixteen or seventeen years old, you should be able to support half an arm."

"Miss Azhu, look at this one again. Does it feel like a cat's fur? Warm and fluffy? Back then, before Chengzu ascended the throne, he wore a plain red velvet robe, which was passed down from Persia. My craftsmen in Ming Dynasty used cashmere from Lintao Prefecture, added silk, and improved it into velvet material, which is warm and soft. I use it to make cloaks. Japan is much colder than Fujian, so you must not just wear brocade smocks. "

"Ah, by the way, there's this one, but Miss A Zhu doesn't know the style." Yan Siqi pointed to a piece of clothing on the shelf in the corner.

Zheng Haizhu looked over and thought, how come I don't recognize it, isn't this the Japanese kimono.

Of course, while whispering to herself, she conceived an expression of "willing to ask for more details", and said curiously: "I have never seen it before. The sleeves of this dress are like a funnel, and the belt is very wide. The skirt is very different."

Yan Siqi nodded: "This is the clothes worn by the female family members of Japanese officials and eunuchs. They are called visiting clothes. The part of the upper part that spans the shoulder sleeves and the front is a complete and continuous pattern. The Japanese people call it painted feathers."

"Oh, it's very beautiful." Zheng Haizhu admired sincerely, while stepping forward to appreciate the mountains and rivers on the kimono and the "eba" pattern of blue luan.

Japan sent a large number of envoys to the Tang Dynasty to study the civilization of various utensils in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and was particularly fascinated by the high-grade silk fabric they called "Tang Brocade".In the hundreds of years after the demise of the Tang Dynasty in China, from the emperor to the nobles in Japan, Chinese fabrics were still regarded as the most luxurious treasures.

Until the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the sea ban was implemented, and the slabs were not allowed to enter the sea, and the sea trade was interrupted. China's beautiful silk gradually faded out of the Japanese market.After Toyotomi Hideyoshi ended Japan's Warring States Period, Daxing folk silk weaving workshops, Japan finally has an independent silk weaving economy that no longer depends on China, and will soon be able to export large quantities to Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

Zheng Haizhu mossed the kimono in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.The beauty of art has both the commonality regardless of national boundaries and the individuality that highlights the characteristics of the ethnic group. For example, the "painted feather" part on this "visiting costume" is also embroidery with meticulous lines, which is similar to the aesthetics of Chinese painting. The purpose is obviously different, much like Japanese Ukiyo-e.

Yan Siqi stood diagonally behind Zheng Haizhu, staring at her profile.

She was much taller than the little girl back then, and she was exquisite and tall, looking like a slim woman.

However, Yan Siqi still has a vague and beautiful feeling of reliving old dreams with his concentrated expression when exploring the fabric and the sparkle in his pair of almond eyes.

"Miss Azhu, no matter how beautiful this dress is, it is of the Japanese style after all, and it is not suitable for you. Among the clothes I have made in the past three years, the one I am most satisfied with is the set of green bamboo sash and golden horse mask on you." Skirt, it really looks good when you wear it today."

Zheng Haizhu turned her head and looked at Yan Siqi: "Brother Yan, you made all the clothes in this house?"

Faced with her dark eyes, Yan Siqi hurriedly took a few steps back with an imperceptible rhythm.

He was afraid that he couldn't help himself because he was too close to her.

He is a dignified man, promises a thousand gold, since he promises to treat each other with courtesy, how can he go back on his promise, be abrupt and beautiful.

Yan Siqi then put his hands behind his back, and said as calmly as possible: "Yes, every time I go back to Daishan to rest or discuss business, I will spend time in this room, cutting materials, making clothes, even sewing quietly. Weaving gold borders makes me feel very happy. When I made these clothes, I estimated that Miss Azhu would be your stature when you grow up. I always thought that one day, I would order someone to bring them to Longxi and hand them over to you. "

Zheng Haizhu opened his mouth slightly when he heard the words, and wanted to say something, but felt that in this situation, it is better to have no sound than to have sound.

I don't know if Miss Azhu's original identity was a girlish affection for Yan Siqi back then, but even if I look at it as an actual outsider, this man in front of me is really a lover who silently longs for love.

Yan Siqi seemed to quickly read Zheng Haizhu's irrelevant emotion and fearful bewilderment, so he turned back to the big willow table, fiddled with the wooden ruler and auxiliary thread for a while, softly Said: "Miss Ah Zhu, don't worry too much about what I said just now. I didn't mean 'you must have pity on me'. I just wanted to tell you about the origin of this beautiful dress."

He shook off the piece of red and blue velvet, looked at the graceful and charming loops of velvet in the light of the window, and his tone became more pleasant and relaxed: "I wandered around in Hirado, and it was only after a narrow escape that I managed to make a name for myself. The days of licking blood are still long. I can retreat into this room occasionally and be the little tailor I used to be, and I feel more comfortable."

Zheng Haizhu walked over and stood beside him, watching the westward sunlight dye the original coral-colored velvet circles more vividly, and suddenly said with interest: "Brother Yan, Yue Lan said that there is a Xu Fu Pavilion in Daishan, I want to go to it." have a look."

Yan Siqi stretched his sword eyebrows, and said with a smile: "I'll take you there right away, but it only takes a stick of incense to get there."

(End of this chapter)