The area south of Gonghe County is a famous area in Xia Song, especially due to the large number of craftsmen.
Rumor has it that in ancient times, Xia Song had not yet received the name Xia Song. There was a foolish emperor here who ignored government affairs all day long and was not interested in beauty. He was only interested in the craftsmanship and often made a lot of money. He sat in the palace of the imperial city and indulged in carpentry every day. Not only did he spend a lot of money to hire many skilled craftsmen to come to the palace to seek skills unremittingly, but he also seriously left his emperor's figure and wore a yellow robe to study this craft. Waiting for craftsmanship is the most absurd.
It is precisely because of this that countless people envied those skilled carpenters. Not only could they move around the imperial city with their commoner bodies, but their exquisite craftsmanship could also attract the joy of the Emperor Longyan, who had eccentric temperament and hobbies. He was about to be rewarded with an official rank that was definitely not the lowest. Even though hundreds of officials came to see him one after another, and even some ministers who even planned to die to remonstrate him and bumped into the steps of the main hall with blood splattered five steps to stop him, the Holy Emperor still did whatever he wanted. If it was If the craftsmanship can be appreciated, the bento can really be said to be on the rise. Yesterday's green bird, today's red phoenix, is the most popular.
It was also from that time on that many families in the southern part of Gonghe County gave up reading the books of sages or joining the army to gain wealth through their martial arts. Instead, every family sent their sons to the homes of skilled craftsmen. Apprentices, and even now there are records in ancient books, saying that there was a craftsman who went to Beijing and then returned to his hometown. Just one day after returning home, a hundred children from other families were sent to the door of the courtyard. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and after hard persuasion from the people around him, he reluctantly accepted a dozen children who seemed to have bright ears and eyes as his disciples.
But this craftsman didn't even get a cent of the reward, let alone any official rank. He just left in response to the imperial edict and returned empty-handed.
In the eyes of many people in Gonghe County, they are obviously ordinary people with little ability. Being able to go to the capital to meet the saint is already the first step to climb the branches and rise to the top. Maybe they have already grabbed a corner of the blue cloud with one hand. If they can really do it. To obtain a reward from the Holy One with such ability, even if he is not granted an official rank, if he mentions that he has used his craftsmanship to meet the Holy One when he is out, he must be highly regarded by others and rely on it to make a living. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
It may sound ridiculous to future generations, but in ancient times, such calculations were not wrong. At that time, the world was at peace, and although the emperor had not been in court for many years, he was born with extremely high mental abilities and was especially good at power. Therefore, even though he has not been in court for many years, he has not caused too much trouble. In this case, in addition to those loyal and admonishing ministers, there must be keen people in the court who are good at following the favor of the Holy One. They collect wood carvings and dental stones made by famous people from all over the world, pretending that they are also particularly fond of carpentry skills, and then But it is logical to send the items at hand to the palace. If the Holy One does not like it, it will only end up with a bad taste. The object of praise is a good deed that has all the benefits and no harm.
The more people think about this, the price of exquisite wood carvings outside will rise. Even if it is a wooden ornament that is acceptable to ordinary people, it has not been made of good wood. It has been passed through two or three hands, and then the quality has been inspected by an expert. It would probably be worth a lot of money. Over time, the walls of the palace became airtight. Knowing that today's world is good, and among those good-looking and wealthy officials, wood carvings are also very popular, so this industry The wealth of the treasures became more abundant, and soon word spread to Gong, which was not far from the capital.
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Hejunzhong.
Therefore, until now, there are not a few people in Gonghe County whose wood carving craftsmanship has been passed down for ten generations.
But the world is no longer what it used to be, and naturally it is becoming increasingly declining.
A few days ago, at the largest carving workshop in the capital of Gonghe County, two apprentice artists who looked extremely depressed came to the place. The leader's long gown was extremely worn and looked like it was clearly worn in autumn and winter. It is midsummer. The heat made me dizzy, but I didn't forget to uphold the shabby etiquette. I unfolded a tattered folding fan that I picked up from nowhere. When I stepped into the workshop, I wanted to talk to the steward. His appearance was even more shabby. He had a deer head, a rat's eyes, a sharp mouth, and a monkey's cheeks, but he wanted to Pretend to be like a scholar.
However, the young man behind the old scholar had an upright appearance, and at least his behavior was very well behaved. When he entered the market, he frequently glanced at the old scholar, but the latter was completely unaware and still maintained his posture, no matter what He also had to have a few words with the person in charge. There were all craftsmen in the shop, and they couldn't stand the scholar's behavior. He tried to push him out of the shop, but he was dodged left and right by the scholar, and it was difficult to push him out of the shop.
After a long commotion, the owner of the shop was finally alerted. He frowned and walked downstairs, but he did not get angry. Instead, he invited the scholar in tattered clothes and the half-grown boy to go upstairs and refilled the tea for them.
"You two came here this time, I don't know what happened."
The owner of the shop is also an authentic craftsman. He has a stocky figure and heavy shoulders, but his speech is very peaceful and does not mean to be aggressive.
"May I ask if the master still accepts disciples?" The ugly scholar in the long gown coughed softly twice, but still put away the folding fan, with a slightly flattering expression, but he seemed to feel that it was against the arrogance of being humble or arrogant. He showed an arrogant look that did not want to flatter, "I have heard for a long time that there are many skilled craftsmen in Gonghe County, and I am afraid that the money earned is also rich. Although the two of us know nothing about it, we are still willing to come and give it a try. We may succeed in the future. What do you think, brother, of going out to spread the word on behalf of the boss?"
The young man on the side opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at the shop owner and smiled apologetically, making two gestures to the middle of his forehead, smiling bitterly.
But the shop owner was speechless. It took him a long time to ask questions, and he looked slightly unkind, "If what you said is true, sir, he is sincerely entertaining us. He has made a lot of money from his wood carving skills. I don't know how many years ago he was an old man." Nowadays, no one cares about Xia pine, except for a few people who are particularly good at it. Even if it is expensive and good wood, carving it for half a year may not be able to exchange for much money. How can there be hundreds of years ago when the spring and Autumn period was at its peak? There are clues. Since Mr. Wang is dressed as a scholar, it would be best to find another job, why bother coming here and suffering."
The literati were surprised, but they really didn't think it was adulterated.
The young man was ashamed and angry. He took a sip of the tea soup and said, "Master, don't be offended. My husband was possessed by a very evil thing a while ago. He spent all his time drinking and drinking, as if he had a grudge against money. He spent a whole life on money." I am clean, and now I owe a lot of money to restaurants in the city on credit. I have no choice but to come here. I am suffering from no ability. I plan to make some money with my crafts, so I break into the shop and talk nonsense. If the owner is not willing to take me in, I Just leave with Master."
When the shop owner saw the young man holding tea with two fingers, his expression changed completely.
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"It's not that you two have no foundation, but that this kind of craftsmanship is really unfavorable in today's world. Ever since the saint passed away, this industry has become worse and worse. In the end, those with little ability may not be able to make a fortune. Having enough food and food is a worry, but now it is easy to trap most of the craftsmen in the county here. Although it is better than having food and clothing in other camps, it is still poor."
"It took countless efforts to pass down the craftsmanship from several generations in the family. Even now, I still insist on not changing my career. It's not because this career is so prosperous and valuable in the world today, but because I can't bear to lose the unique craftsmanship in my family. If the two If you are willing to give it a try, it is not difficult to stay in the village."
Li Dengfeng smiled and nodded towards the stocky man in front of him. The bookishness in his eyebrows suddenly disappeared, and he became quite indifferent. He stood up and bowed his hands to the master, "Well, thank you for taking me in. We are all members of the same family. We are all scholars." In the end, there is not much difference between relying on carving skills to make a living. It is not shameful to rely on the sky to make a living."
When the two of them walked out of the wooden workshop, the little coachman felt that his master was hiding something from him, so he knitted his brows and looked at his master's tattered clothes. After a long time, he sighed and did not ask further questions.
Unexpectedly, it was Li Dengfeng who spoke first.
"The reason why I brought you here is that I have been wandering around Xia Song for nearly two years. I think I should teach you some means of self-protection. After all, you rely on your master when you go out to fight, but there are not many who can always be by your side. Master, it’s better to teach people how to deal with people sooner rather than later, and then talk about other things.”
The little coachman suddenly felt ridiculous and grinned frequently, but he couldn't say it directly, so he had to clear his throat and pretended not to hear these words, touched his dry belly and sighed. Earlier, when he owed money for drinks on credit, Li Deng took the risk and asked the angry shopkeeper to beat him up, and his clothes were torn. He was obviously a head taller than the shopkeeper, but he couldn't even parry. The pudgy shopkeeper was beaten until his face was black and blue, and it took him several days to recover.
The two of them had no possessions, let alone the money for the carriage and horses. They were bothered by food and had already taken all the carriage tents to the restaurant. The young man had nothing to do, so he went into the shop first, leaving Li Dengfeng alone. Standing quietly outside the street, I heard the sound of saws and axes behind me.
A well-looking shopkeeper ran over from the same place. He saw Li Dengfeng standing alone on the side of the street. He hurriedly ran over. Without caring about his manners, he bowed to the ugly scholar and apologized repeatedly.
It took a long time for the ugly scholar to come back to his senses. When he saw the shopkeeper in front of him, his smile suddenly became full.
"It doesn't need to be like this. It was just you and me who made an appointment in advance. In this age, it is becoming increasingly rare for people to keep their promises. In this case, how can the word "sin" come from?"
However, Li Dengfeng still frowned immediately, dragged the timid shopkeeper to a secluded area, and said again, "If I want to have a show with the shopkeeper next time, I must remember to do more, because the beating I received a while ago is probably not serious." , My disciple still has doubts in his mind, and I am afraid that this boy will not be able to calm down, and he will be more ruthless next time this happens again."
The shopkeeper was stunned again and again, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
Weird master, weird apprentice.
(End of chapter)
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