Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Stunning! Perform to the Level
Amidst the whispered private conversations of the crowd, a tall figure erged from the shadows under the lights, his suit sharp and his posture robust, with one hand casually tucked into his pocket and an expressionless face. He strode onto the stage.
As Li Lingyang arrived, so of the judges around him nodded and bowed, even though they were old enough to be his father, they still felt an invisible pressure that left them gasping for breath.
“President Li, hello, please take a seat.”
The host approached, suppressing his excitent, “President Li, do you have anything you would like to say to the contestants?”
“Compete with your level, compete with yourself.”
Li Lingyang rely uttered these eight words indifferently, his gaze briefly flitting towards Ning Yichu.
...
Ning Yichu felt a sudden sinking in her heart, her hands involuntarily tightening at her sides.
Li Lingyang noticed her; could the competition be rigged?
From Ning Yichu’s tense deanor, it was clear she was suspicious.
A surge of anger flared up!
What did this woman think of him?
“The Jade Sculpture Craftsmanship Competition has been held for six editions, and each ti it has been a complete success. This year will be no exception. As the largest and sole sponsor, I can assure everyone that this competition will be absolutely fair and just, without any manipulation. I urge everyone to bring their highest level of skill to fulfill the responsibility of passing on jade sculpture…”
Ning Yichu hadn’t expected Li Lingyang to actually declare there was no manipulation earnestly.
Her hesitant heart relaxed in that mont.
Subsequently, the staff led them into the respective rooms.
“The first question now begins…”
“Requirent, using the ‘Han Eight Knife’ technique, sculpt the jade stone in the room into a jade cicada, with a ti limit of one hour.”
“The competition officially begins—”
As the announcent rang through the broadcast, everyone delved into tense preparations.
The ‘Han Eight Knife’ is a jade sculpting technique from the Qin and Han dynasties. Its most distinctive feature involves enabling jade sculptors to shape a piece with as few strokes as possible using the simplest techniques, thus facilitating mass production.
It was also the technique Ning Yichu most frequently engaged in when she first started learning jade sculpture.
For Ning Yichu, this question was incredibly simple.
She examined the jade material for a while, then fired up the hanging grinder, quickly roughing out the basic shape of a jade cicada.
Then she moved on to the jade sculpting; the technical demands of this craft ant that it wasn’t for intricate objects.
In less than ten minutes, with a few strokes, a jade cicada had taken shape in her palm.
The cara captured her actions and accurately relayed them to the broadcasting room where Li Lingyang and the judges were located.
The super-large screen in the broadcasting room was evenly divided into several segnts, each displaying the live condition of different areas.
Li Lingyang had originally only intended to glance over, but Ning Yichu’s movents were too fluid, as precise as when she used to handle surgical scalpel years ago, shaping the form in just a few strokes with a unique charm.
Seeing Li Lingyang staring at the screen, the person in charge of the event felt very puzzled.
Although the Li Group had sponsored previous editions, they had never attended the event in person; why was he suddenly so interested in this unknown female jade sculptor today?
Despite his suspicion, he spoke dutifully, “President Li, these contestants are all jade sculptors recomnded by major universities or well-known jade sculpture studios. Modern people like jewelry, but often overlook the manufacturing process. We hold this competition hoping more and more people will co to understand jade carving…”
Upon hearing the words, Li Lingyang only raised his eyebrows noncommittally, his dark and profound eyes still firmly fixed on Ning Yichu.
The manager rolled his eyes, sizing up Ning Yichu in the cara. With light makeup and a white shirt tucked into her trousers, she looked capable and striking—a complete beauty. Could President Li have a thing for such won? He suddenly squinted with a smile.
“President Li, let introduce you. Contestant number 18 was recomnded by Beiji Group. She is a jade sculptor with outstanding skills…”
“You may not know much about jade sculpting, but we can tell at a glance that she is definitely a master!”
“While others usually refine the shape for a few rounds first, she works fast and accurately, completing lines in one go. It feels entirely natural. Most importantly, her speed is incredibly fast. With her current pace, she could finish the Han Ba Knife assessnt in no more than ten minutes…”
Beep—The manager had just finished speaking when a green light turned on in the studio, indicating that room number 18 had submitted and finished the assessnt.
The manager’s words froze at the corner of his mouth. It hadn’t even taken ten minutes—only about six or seven…
This was simply a miracle!
“Did a contestant really finish the assessnt so quickly?”
“Less than ten minutes, and such high completeness? This competition is indeed filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, formidable newcors!”
“It turns out she’s a female jade sculptor, haha. She does look pretty, but won usually lack patience, which is why they excel at this rough style of sculpting. I wonder how she would manage when the finals require more detailed and delicate sculpting techniques?”
Not far from Li Lingyang, a male judge with glasses sat, comnting and acting as if he were strategizing like a general.
Upon hearing this, Li Lingyang’s handso face tilted up as he glanced at the man teasingly, “So, Judge Liu, you look down on female jade sculptors?”
“Don’t you think so, President Li? Throughout history, it’s mostly n who have succeeded, especially in high-end fields. Not to ntion the ancient emperors who were generally n. Won should just stay at ho, take care of children, and do housework. Why bother looking for discomfort in the workplace?” The man, being nad by Li Lingyang, beca even more uninhibited.
However, Li Lingyang sharply changed his tone, rcilessly saying, “Really? But I see that you are not even as good as contestant number 18.”
The man’s expression stiffened, “President Li, have I offended you in so way?”
“If you can’t even ensure gender equality, you shouldn’t be a judge at all.” Li Lingyang coldly spat out the words and directly kicked Judge Liu out of the judging panel, causing an unconscious bias among the remaining judges in favor of the female jade sculptors.
As a result, when the preliminary results were announced, one-third of the finalists were female jade sculptors!
It’s worth noting that female jade sculptors rarely made up even a fifth before…
The preliminaries finally ended.
Ning Yichu secured her place in the finals and breathed a sigh of relief, now certain that Li Lingyang was not targeting her!
She posted a selfie from the competition scene in a small group chat with her and her two babies.
“Competition over, successfully advanced.”
“Congratulations, Mommy~”
“Mommy is the best!”
The two babies sent their congratulations one after another.
Ning Yichu sent each baby a voice kiss and then asked what they were doing at the mont.
Chen Bao replied very directly and refreshingly that he had been reading for a while and was now browsing a hacker forum.
Ningning, however, took a while before casually ntioning she was shopping with her godmother.
The competition venue was noisy, and Ning Yichu didn’t settle her mind to think much about it, reminding the babies to eat on ti and rest well, then hung up the phone.
“Ah, Lady Ning, I finally found you!” At that mont, a man in a suit approached, calling out warmly to Ning Yichu.
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