A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

The graduation ceremony for the college's first "Project Practice Class" was as lively as a festival.

The booth no longer features isolated canvases or models, but rather complete brand boxes: beautifully designed products, detailed market analysis reports, and even contract templates to avoid copyright risks.

The students stood in front of their works and explained them with shining eyes, speaking eloquently and persuasively, even the visiting business owners nodded in approval.

The most eye-catching poster features data showing that over 70% of students received job offers before graduation, and three teams are preparing to start their own businesses with their business plans.

Guzalinur's cotton field Silk Road is printed at the very top of the "Excellent Cooperation Practice Base" column.

Teacher Li also came.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking around slowly with no expression on his face, but he stood for a long time in front of a project called "Mulberry Paper Rebirth".

That team not only designed beautiful mulberry paper lamps, but also invited the only old man who knew the traditional craft to the school to record a video, and wrote in detail how to help the old man pass on his craft.

After viewing the exhibition, Teacher Li sat downstairs in the teaching building for half a day.

Chang Peng passed by after finishing his meeting and saw him.

"Teacher Li? What do you think?"

"It's not flashy anymore, it looks proper. It's more comprehensive than we were back then..."

Chang Peng sat down next to him. "Times have changed. It's not enough to just study old patterns, and it's not enough to just draw pictures."

Now we need to understand what the market wants, what the law regulates, how to transport goods out, and also ensure that veteran craftsmen can live with dignity.

As teachers, we have to teach all of this.

Suddenly, Teacher Li asked, "Who teaches your 'Study of Ethnic Elements' course?"

Chang Peng spoke frankly: "For now, a few of us are doing this part-time, and we talk about it in conjunction with the project, but this is the foundation. We really need a teacher who understands the subject, can delve into it, and can make the old stuff come alive."

"I don't have anything specific going on over there right now."

It's a collection of materials accumulated over decades, some of which are old tricks. The original master craftsman is gone, and only I remember where they are.

He turned to Chang Peng, his eyes filled with complex emotions, "If your business is short of someone to watch the warehouse and tell old stories... I'm an old man, but I can still get going."

"Teacher Li, it's something we couldn't ask you to come."

But we need to make it clear that this course isn't just about teaching outdated stuff; it needs to be connected to the students' projects, it needs to be "applicable," and we need to encourage them to "modify" based on their understanding.

Teacher Li sighed: "I'm getting old, and I've come to understand things better."

Clinging to the old ways will only land you in a museum sooner or later. Perhaps...

Your method of causing trouble is the only way to survive.

He stood up. "I'll try. But you'll have to help me with how to 'tie' me."

"certainly!"

Chang Peng also stood up, extended his hand, and said, "Welcome!"

At almost the same time, an online meeting was also being held between the college and the "Cross-Regional Cultural and Creative Lab" of Dalian Vocational College.

But on the other end of the screen wasn't the familiar teacher Lin Wei, but a male teacher surnamed Zhao.

"Hello everyone, I am Zhao Feng, taking over the responsibility for this project from Teacher Lin Wei."

"Ms. Lin has been transferred to another job, but she specifically instructed us to ensure the cooperation is implemented well." Ms. Zhao spoke steadily.

Chang Peng and Guzalinur exchanged a glance.

"Welcome, Teacher Zhao. We've been working very well with Teacher Lin."

Chang Peng tentatively asked, "What about the future cooperation model...?"

"The direction remains unchanged, but we need to deepen it further."

Zhao Feng came prepared: "We plan to exchange teachers for short-term teaching each semester, conduct 1-2 joint projects each year, with students from both sides forming mixed teams, and the resource sharing platform will continue to be open."

He was very sincere: "Although Teacher Lin will no longer be in charge directly, he will still serve as an advisor."

Our team will definitely do our utmost to promote this initiative so that more students in Xinjiang can benefit.

After the meeting, Guzalinur said with some emotion, "Teacher Lin Wei has helped us so much."

Chang Peng remained calm, saying, "Personnel changes are normal. As long as the cooperation mechanism is valuable, anyone would do it."

This teacher, Mr. Zhao, seems to be a pragmatist.

Moreover, although Teacher Lin is gone, the bond remains.

Looking at the cooperation plan and thinking about what he had just discussed with Teacher Li, he said to Guzalinur, "Look, the path you've paved is becoming a bridge."

Old traditions are being integrated, and new resources are continuously being introduced. Future students will have a higher starting point than you.

"Guzalinur, come and take a look at this box of embroidered pieces."

Reyina was holding a stack of newly received goods, and Guzalinur picked up a piece.

The pattern is "Tree of Life," but the stitching is sloppy, the stitches are sparse, and the loose threads are scattered on the back. Several pieces look almost the same.

"A new acquaintance from Kumuxi Village?" Guzalinur's heart sank.

"Yes. The lady over there said that the orders are coming in quickly, and the villagers want to finish them as soon as possible to earn more money."

The pursuit of speed at the expense of quality—this problem has finally surfaced.

The studio became a hit and was recognized as a "model of youth entrepreneurship." Guzalinur herself was also awarded the title of "Rural Revitalization Leader."

The number of cooperative households has increased from a dozen to over a hundred, and the monthly processing fees have become an important source of income for many families.

However, with a large number of orders and tight delivery deadlines, some people start to "take shortcuts".

Previously, there were only a few isolated issues, but now the entire batch of goods is like this.

"I talked to them, and the older sister said that other workshops pay an extra 50 cents per piece and aren't this picky. If we're too strict, they won't do this job anymore," Reyina sighed.

The internal problems were not yet resolved, and now external threats have arrived.

Aihmaiti came over with his phone, his face grim. "Guzailnuer, look at this."

A new online store called "Silk Road New Fashion" sells Adras phone cases and totem keychains that are almost identical to the core products of "Cotton Field Silk Road," but at nearly 30% lower prices. The sales figures are quite impressive.

"I checked, and the company is from out of town; it's registered under the name of someone from Xinjiang."

Their methods are the same as Teacher Li's group back then: dumping goods at low prices, trying to overwhelm us with money.

Aihmaiti gritted his teeth, "I bought a sample. It was very rough, but it was cheap!"

Just then, Guzalinur's phone rang.

The other party claimed to be the "new brand incubation" manager of a major e-commerce platform and said enthusiastically: "Ms. Gu, congratulations!"

Our platform has high hopes for you and would like to invite you to join the New National Brand Acceleration Program, which offers substantial traffic support.

Of course, the platform has some data-driven and scalable requirements, which may require you to adjust your product structure and supply chain...

After the call ended, Guzalinur remained silent.

The platform's offer is very tempting, implying explosive growth.

"What... should we do?"

Azgul looked at the stack of problematic embroidered pieces and cheap imitations on the table, her voice filled with confusion.

"Keep sticking to handmade and slow production. The market will be taken away by low-priced goods, and even our fellow villagers might leave."

Reyina is very realistic.

"But if we sacrifice quality to compete on price in pursuit of scale, will Cotton Field Silk Road still be Cotton Field Silk Road?"

Azgul retorted, "Isn't our core value precisely the soul of handicrafts?"

"But if we don't grow big, how will we survive? How will we compete with capital?" Aihemaiti slammed his fist on the table.

The team was in an uproar. The allure of large-scale growth clashed sharply with the bottom line of their original niche vision.

Guzalinur looked at the "Rural Revitalization Leader" certificate on the wall, glancing over the exquisite and crude imitations of Grandma Aysham's early embroidery.

She stood at the crossroads once again.