Interstellar Travel: Becoming a Dress-Up Game Designer

Chapter 229

However, none of the NPCs knew what they were talking about, but they warmly invited the players inside for tea.

The tea tasted pretty much the same as the one from the previous tea event; it was homemade tea. During casual conversation, players discovered that different villages had different events, and the villagers' clothing also varied.

These clothes are vastly different from the styles designed by Qingfengyi before, and even different from some of the strange clothes in the Chinese martial arts world, but the styles are somewhat similar.

Players tentatively inquire about purchasing these clothes, and the NPCs actively recommend where to obtain them. Of course, the acquisition process requires players to participate in the clothing crafting, experiencing how people in that ancient era, without petrochemicals, created clothes in vibrant colors.

We followed the villagers up the mountain to find dyes, which were made from inconspicuous plants found there, such as gardenia, isatis root, purple moonflower, and roselle. Dyes have different uses depending on their toxicity, medicinal properties, taste, aroma, and dyeing power. Some cannot be used to dye clothes because the color will oxidize and disappear or fade too quickly and severely. Some cannot be used in food because they taste bad or are poisonous. Some can be used for both purposes; people use special methods to remove the toxicity and unpleasant taste, leaving only the beautiful color.

Players couldn't see it soaking in the pitch-black water, and it was still black when they pulled it out. But after drying, it turned out to be a beautiful red or blue—it was amazing!

Different soaking times or the addition of different embellishments can create a series of variations in the same color family, from light to dark, thus enriching the fabric.

"My mech marshal, I always thought that in the ancient times of our home planet, the colors of cloth were either white, gray, or the color of the material itself. How could they be so diverse!"

"I'm one of those who doubt the authenticity of Qingfengyi's designs. In ancient times, without machines and technology, mineral resources couldn't be developed, and without mineral resources, how could dyeing be possible? Without dyeing, where would people get their colorful clothes? Qingfengyi's clothes are already so vibrant they seem unreal, but now I'm starting to doubt my own ideas."

"Don't doubt it, you've underestimated the wisdom of the ancients."

"I just want to say, are people today as smart as the ancients? They actually came up with so many amazing things."

"It's hard to say. Aren't human technologies and knowledge simply the accumulation of generations?"

.......

Everyone chattered excitedly on the world chat channel while making clothes with the villagers. Various videos and commentaries were uploaded to the StarNet one after another, making it quite a novel experience.

Lin Shuying designed this event to be very long and tedious, but since it's a travel activity, everyone is looking for something new and exciting. Creating a chaotic, fast-paced event wouldn't be interesting and would only make things more tiring.

Some old scholars enjoy this kind of immersive learning. Unfortunately, they lack the materials to study, so they don't understand the intricacies and can only speculate about the changes based on chemical properties and phenomena. However, there aren't that many plants in interstellar space, and scientists' knowledge of plant composition and properties is based on speculation; there are simply no historical records or materials available for research.

Some scientists wanted to ask Lin Shuying for details, but unfortunately, Lin Shuying, being a liberal arts student, knew nothing. The scientific luminary did know some things, but his knowledge was limited to things derived from interstellar energy research; he hadn't encountered the so-called plant dyes, and the underlying principles could only be traced back to mineral alterations.

In the end, research fanatics can only resort to comparing their findings with historical records that have been passed down through generations.

They did manage to find some items related to this Qingfengyi event: clothing and images of the 56 ethnic groups of China. There weren't many, stored on a very inconspicuous memory card. It also included the names of each ethnic group, their clothing, and their population numbers at the time. This truly shocked many people. Historians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences released this information, reigniting the popularity of Qingfengyi.

The company has experienced many ups and downs, coupled with the exaggerated and arrogant promotion by players, who uploaded various creative videos and pictures. Purely through player promotion, it has become widely known, and its current popularity is in no way inferior to Barbie Fashion. However, the number of players is not even a tenth of Barbie Fashion's; ultimately, it's difficult to compare a fragmented approach with an independent, unified one.

Qingfengyi won!

The fabric dyeing area was bustling, but the flower rice area was even more lively, since that was the real fun.

After seeing the old woman, Lin Shuying came here and even took the time to send a message to two fellow villagers who were food enthusiasts. One was the owner of Sweetheart Planet, and the other was a food assembly line chef at Baiwei Group.

I hope they can replicate the flower rice recipe.

Wu Cheng was out of luck; he was a dessert maker and didn't know how to make these. The person from Baiwei Group, however, said it was easy, since they had already replicated glutinous rice; all they needed to do was find the flavor of the flower rice.

He had never eaten flower rice before, and he came to Qingfengyi to find its flavor. His nose and sense of taste were extraordinary, probably a gift from the original owner of the body. He was extremely sensitive to taste and could use various interstellar technological materials to simulate the flavor of ingredients. As for the materials, interstellar technology made it easy to imitate, although it felt a bit like using tofu to imitate braised pork.

But the taste is still there.

Lin Shuying was a little happy. When people leave their hometown, they easily miss things from the past. Even if the food wasn't delicious, it still tasted special.

That fellow villager was named Sun Miaochu, and he really was a chef.

He'll come over soon to experience the food portion of this event. He's never tried ethnic minority cuisine before, only heard about it online. Now that he has the opportunity, he'll definitely want to explore it properly, especially with such great conditions and opportunities available.

He replied to Lin Shuying with some curiosity: "How do you know so much?"

Lin Shuying replied: "I was fortunate enough to visit it before."

In retrospect, I'm fortunate to have had this experience in my life, allowing me to properly spend two or three years reflecting on my life. Of course, reflecting on one's life comes at a high cost; two or three years can easily cost tens of thousands of yuan. At that time, she still had some design income, but learning is expensive. Over the years, she spent 200,000 yuan, a quarter of which came from her parents.

Children born into a well-off family or a very wealthy family have a lot of confidence to be willful.

The village where flower rice is made is inhabited by three ethnic groups: Miao, Yao, and Zhuang. Every family is preparing flower rice. On the third day of the third lunar month, people sing folk songs and eat flower rice.

This custom is prevalent among ethnic minorities in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of China, and is a tradition of the Buyi people. However, many ethnic groups live together in that area, and their customs have blended and influenced each other, forming a wide range of traditions that have been passed down through generations. Of course, there will be some differences between them.

Everyone was dressed in nice clothes, washing rice and cooking.

The steamer is very large and made of wood. It's made from materials like diamond wood, pine, and sandalwood, giving it a subtle fragrance. The best ones are made from pear wood and chestnut wood, which also have a delicate aroma. A few palm leaves are placed inside; these aren't fresh, but rather sun-dried for several days and then soaked in water to soften them. This makes it fragrant while steaming.

After the plant-based dye is prepared, soak the glutinous rice in it for four to five hours. At this point, the flavor is very faint, almost undetectable. However, it smells incredibly fragrant when steamed!

Lin Shuying helped watch the fire while waiting expectantly. It was only then that she realized following the steps was a bit inhumane. Wouldn't it be better if it were like in a game, where you could just click to combine and get the item?

Shaking her head at this thought, she knew Qingfengyi had to have a realistic style, not a game-like one. It wasn't something Lin Shuying could create haphazardly; it carried the deep affection she felt for her hometown. Perhaps it started casually, just wanting something that would make a little money, but the moment she actually saw it making money, she was shocked. She then proactively lowered the price, unexpectedly laying a solid foundation for Qingfengyi. And so, an incredibly massive cruise ship set sail!

Soon, the rice was ready. Lin Shuying wasn't the only player there; many other players were also waiting nearby, eagerly watching, the aroma wafting out incredibly tempting.

Some players would occasionally open the steamer, revealing glistening rice in various colors: yellow, purple, red, blue, and white—a beautiful five-colored floral rice.

At this moment, someone brought out a lot of sesame powder, bean powder, and pork belly, bowl after bowl, making people's mouths water.

These weren't originally included, but Lin Shuying liked them, so she added them on her own initiative. She only briefly explained them at the information desk so that future generations would be aware.

It tasted exactly like I remembered; it was delicious, and it made my nose feel a little sore.

When I was little, I was naughty and would sometimes suddenly crave this, pestering my parents and grandparents. My grandma always spoiled me and learned to make it herself, and that's how it turned out to taste.

As she ate, tears streamed down her face, and she choked back sobs as she murmured, "Alas, people always think that what they can't have and what they've lost is the best."

In her past life, she was content with her life, having no particular ambitions; all she wanted was a simple, peaceful existence. Who knew she would end up here...?

"On the third day of the third lunar month, near Qingming Festival, the gentle breeze is most likely to evoke sorrow and grief..."

Over there, a folk song began to play, full of charm. Everyone sang along, and since Lin Shuying didn't speak any of the minority languages, they all used standard Mandarin. However, when players arrive at a village and see NPCs dressed differently, a system prompt will pop up, introducing the ethnic group, their situation in ancient China, their customs, and so on. This information will be collected into a card in the encyclopedia, which mentions that their languages ​​are different, but it's difficult to verify them now.

After finishing her flower-patterned rice with teary eyes, Lin Shuying logged out of the game and continued making flower hairpins. It seemed the longer she stayed in this world, the more she missed her past life, her family, and that other world. As a result, her memories became increasingly clear, as if they had happened just yesterday. These memories were gilded with a golden light, shimmering and beautiful, like something out of a fairyland.

For some reason, Lin Shuying had a fever that day.

This shocked the planet's super hospital, because in the interstellar era, almost no one had a fever. Even if a warrior lost an arm to the Zerg, it could be quickly repaired. Fever was an ancient, uncommon occurrence.