Transmigrated Into the Stand-In of the Tragic Novel’s Heroine - Chapter 42

While Yu City could still feel the tail end of spring, Shen City had already entered the scorching summer.

Xie Qingtang arrived in Shen City alone, but she didn’t have to wait long at the airport before the pick-up vehicle from the museum arrived.

Although the old man (referring to Qi Laoyezi) had already introduced the situation, the people were still strangers to Xie Qingtang.

“Hello, I know you are Miss Xie Qingtang. My name is Jiang Zhen, and Jiang Lu is my father.” The driver was a young woman, wearing a short-sleeved shirt embroidered with a colorful oil painting. She looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven, with shoulder-length curly hair.

“Thank you, Miss Jiang.” Xie Qingtang calmly retracted her gaze from assessing Jiang Zhen and sat in the passenger seat.

“Seatbelt,” Jiang Zhen reminded her gently, turning to Xie Qingtang.

Xie Qingtang suddenly realized, lowered her eyes, and fluently buckled her seatbelt. When traveling with Chang Yishao, she never had to think about this herself. She really had been nurtured into a “couch potato.”

Since they weren’t very familiar with each other, neither spoke. Jiang Zhen drove all the way towards the suburbs until she stopped beneath an antique-style large signboard in the urban-rural fringe. Several people were standing on the right side of the road; the leader was about the same age as Old Man Qi, wearing a white traditional Chinese jacket. He waved at Jiang Zhen, who then stopped the car and rolled down the window.

“This is it?” Xie Qingtang whispered, as if talking to herself. She got out of the car with her luggage. Looking up, she saw a few large, vigorously written characters on the plaque: Folk Handicraft Museum, with various honorary titles and accolades hung on both sides. The museum occupied an area almost as large as a small village, with courtyards of white walls and black tiles scattered throughout, stretching as far as the eye could see.

“Is it Xiao Xie? Old Qi has been talking about you for a long time; you’ve finally made it.” The old man in the jacket laughed heartily and added, “I’ll take you to your accommodation to put your things down, and then we’ll go to the exhibition hall.”

Meeting the old man’s eyes, which were brimming with enthusiasm, Xie Qingtang smiled brightly in response: “Okay, thank you, Uncle Jiang.” The owner of this Folk Handicraft Museum was Jiang Lu. He was much like how Old Man Qi had described him: healthy, sharp-eyed, and exuding a cheerful and straightforward aura from within.

In the quadrangle courtyard, looking up, the sky was a deep blue. The exterior had an antique charm, but the interior was equipped with all necessary facilities.

“This is our dormitory area; some people go home, and some live here,” Jiang Lu introduced, pushing open the room door, and (said with a smile), “Come and see how it is; the auntie has already tidied up a room. If it’s not suitable, we can change to another one.”

Outside the window, the green plants were bright and pleasing to the eye, while the room inside was simple but not shabby, with traces of handicrafts visible everywhere, yet not appearing deliberate or overly decorated. Xie Qingtang’s requirements for food and accommodation were never high, especially since the layout of this place instantly captured her heart. This environment… seemed more suitable for a retirement lifestyle. “Thank you, Uncle Jiang, this one is perfect, this place is great.” Xie Qingtang quickly agreed, pushing her suitcase to one side, and then turned to Jiang Lu, saying, “Shall we go visit the exhibition hall now?”

“It’s up to you. Do you want to rest for a while?” Jiang Lu laughed heartily.

“I’m not tired, we can go now.” A bright light flashed in Xie Qingtang’s eyes. She had heard Old Man Qi say that the museum was very large, with several sections, all featuring various handicrafts. Jiang Lu alone naturally wasn’t proficient in everything, but he had gathered all the old artisans here. They organize materials, teach apprentices, and pass down the ancient crafts.

The exhibition hall had three floors, divided into sections such as weaving, carving, modeling, textile, dyeing, embroidery, and lacquerware, displaying works by the craft inheritors or their apprentices. There weren’t many people in the exhibition hall; upon seeing Jiang Lu, they simply nodded and went back to their own business.

“The works here are priceless treasures to us,” Jiang Lu smiled and took out a folded piece of blue cloth from a cabinet.

“Butterfly tie-dye fabric?” Xie Qingtang wanted to reach out, but fearing she might scare away the butterflies fluttering on the azure fabric, she curled her fingertips back.

Jiang Lu cast an approving look at Xie Qingtang, replying, “Yes, this piece of butterfly tie-dye fabric is already a hundred years old.” His finger traced the gracefully flying white butterflies, and he added, “It was brought here by an old lady from our area, who said it was part of her grandmother’s dowry. ‘Butterfly loves flower’… this craft has been lost for a long time, and now everyone is working hard to restore it.”

Xie Qingtang nodded. This was the tie-dyeing craft of an ethnic minority; she had heard of it but hadn’t had much contact with it. The “Butterfly Loves Flower” looked extremely beautiful under the light. When hung out to dry in the courtyard on a bright sunny day, the blue, almost the same color as the sky, and the fluttering butterflies would probably look even more vivid and dynamic.

“Uncle Jiang, can I film the items here?” Xie Qingtang’s heart stirred.

“Yes, yes, feel free to film,” Jiang Lu said with a booming laugh.

Xie Qingtang ultimately remembered her main job was being a streamer. With Jiang Lu’s permission, she opened the Moya platform and simply used her mobile phone to conduct the live stream. Xie Qingtang’s own face was not in the frame; she just pointed her phone at the exhibits. She followed Jiang Lu as they walked, her voice neither too high nor too low.

??— An unprofessional streamer suddenly started a live broadcast? But… what are these things?

??— When is Sister going to release a new song?

??— I think I heard embroidery? Is this a cat? Oh, sister, don’t move so fast!

??— Good heavens, just glancing through?

??— Holy crap? A tycoon is smashing gifts again!

Xie Qingtang’s attention was entirely on the exhibits, so naturally, she didn’t notice the comments, nor could she see the gifts that were flooding the screen for several minutes.

On the Moya platform, the gift rankings are entirely bought with money. As the ranking climbed, more and more viewers poured into the live broadcast room. At the same time, discordant voices began to ring out.

— What kind of trash exhibition? How dare they display things this ugly? What kind of stuff is this? In this day and age, someone is treating rubbish as treasure? Broken cloth, broken sculptures, do they really think they’re artists?

— Tangtang must be in Shen City?! I’ve been there! It’s the Folk Handicraft Museum, actually also a folk handicraft training base! It has official certification.

— Hey, the one who said “trash,” everything you own isn’t enough to buy one piece of work from a master here.

Xie Qingtang toured the exhibition hall with Jiang Lu for nearly two hours, but the live broadcast couldn’t go on for that long. She couldn’t see the arguments and disputes inside, and when she felt it was enough, she turned off the broadcast. It wasn’t until she was resting in the evening that she had the leisure to reopen her account—the suddenly high amount of money that jumped into view startled her. Checking the gift rankings, she saw the three words “Xiao Jiucheng” again.

It was Chang Yishao.

Xie Qingtang’s expression was complicated. After putting away the items in her suitcase one by one, she lazily settled into a rattan chair, fiddling with her phone, and sent a message to Chang Yishao: “Unprofessional? Playing with your phone during class?”

Chang Yishao replied quickly: “No class. How are you?”

Before Xie Qingtang could answer, a call request came through. It wasn’t until Chang Yishao’s slightly serious face appeared on the screen that Xie Qingtang realized belatedly that she had accepted a video call request. She awkwardly looked away, but after a long moment, she settled down, turned back to Chang Yishao, and sighed: “You don’t need to give me tips.” Was this considered a bonus?

“I like the content of your live stream. Those things that have fallen into the dust and are now shining again,” Chang Yishao said calmly.

Xie Qingtang was speechless. Although she said that, she still felt something was not quite right. If it were a stranger giving the tip, she wouldn’t overthink it. But Chang Yishao—

“How is it over there? Are you adapting?” Chang Yishao asked again.

Xie Qingtang pondered for a moment and replied: “The weather is nice, the museum is huge, and the environment is very good. The people are enthusiastic. There are no film crews shooting here; it’s quiet and pleasant.”

Chang Yishao was silent, then after a long pause, she said: “That’s good.” She paused again, and added, “Are you planning to stream from here?”

“Yes,” Xie Qingtang replied. She could feel her own attachment to these exquisite handicrafts and wanted more people to see the graceful charm hidden in the ancient objects. She had a similar idea when she streamed weaving, and her brief apprenticeship in Pingyao helped the idea slowly take shape.

This was the retirement life she desired.

However—Xie Qingtang added another sentence: “You don’t need to tip me anymore; the platform takes a cut.”

??“Moya belongs to the Chang family,” Chang Yishao said softly.

Xie Qingtang: “…” It flows from one Chang family member’s pocket to another Chang family member’s pocket. It was logical and impossible to refute. “But when you do this, it makes me feel, feel like I’m being… well… being kept.” Xie Qingtang simply voiced the thought hidden in her heart. Her contract with Chang Yishao included a salary, but this clearly didn’t fall within the scope of a salary. Once would be fine, but if the frequency increased and the amount grew, her scarce conscience would start trembling.

Chang Yishao lowered her eyes, and a strand of hair fell, obscuring the light in her eyes. “Understood,” she replied softly. The topic suddenly shifted, and she added, “You didn’t bring many things when you left; don’t forget to buy some.”

Xie Qingtang felt that Chang Yishao was somehow different from before. Could it be that the barrier of the phone screen dissolved her innate indifference and aloofness? Xie Qingtang blinked. Her materialistic desires were not high; she didn’t really need many things, but since Chang Yishao brought it up, she hesitated for a moment before nodding: “Okay.”

“Have you eaten dinner?” Xie Qingtang thought for a moment and asked concernedly. As soon as the words left her mouth, her brows furrowed. This bland tone was probably better left unspoken.

Chang Yishao, however, smiled, raising her eyebrows: “I have. I made Sautéed Chicken Claws, Sweet and Sour Fish… but the portion was too large for one person.” Her tone carried a hint of melancholy as she finished speaking.

Xie Qingtang had eaten at the staff cafeteria with Jiang Lu and the others; it wasn’t inedible, and it was a taste Xie Qingtang was usually fine with.

But tonight, her tongue suddenly rebelled, and everything tasted bland. When Chang Yishao listed the dishes, Xie Qingtang’s mouth watered, and she even started to feel hungry.

Was this Chang Yishao’s revenge? Listing dish names late at night is the worst thing to hear.

“Then make a little less next time.”

I… probably won’t have the pleasure of enjoying it. Xie Qingtang swallowed the rest of the sentence.

It wasn’t that she wouldn’t have the chance, but she was afraid her tongue and stomach would completely succumb.

It is always too hard to go from luxury back to simplicity.

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