Sun Zhang just came over casually to take a look. He had no intention of buying a coffin. After all, he owns the largest coffin shop in Ningchuan Prefecture. He doesn't need to go to a small shop outside to buy it. It's just the clerk of this shop. He really spared no effort in selling it. Hearing him keep praising his boss's craftsmanship and encouraging him to order one, he didn't know what to do, so he nodded.
Thinking that it was just a coffin, it would cost a lot of money. It happened that I was also interested in Chu Ji's coffin: "Okay, let's order one."
Gao Tongshan was very happy when he heard this and quickly continued to ask questions to finalize other details: "Then what kind of wood do you want, Master? Do you have any ideas in mind?"
"It's okay if you don't think about it for the time being, Master. You can tell me who the coffin is for, whether it's a boy or a girl, and how old it is. Then you can ask my boss to choose a suitable one for you."
Sun Zhang lowered his head and thought for a moment and said: "No, please ask your boss to help me make a four-cornered longevity coffin of green sandalwood. The background color is random, but the patterns on it, I want something different, so I will draw something I have never seen before." What has been painted is done.”
When Gao Tongshan heard that the young master wanted green sandalwood, he hesitated, so he nodded and said, "Sir, can you wait here for me for a moment? This green sandalwood is not an ordinary wood. I have to report my needs to my boss and get the approval." become."
Sun Zhang didn't expect that this eloquent guy actually knew some common sense. When he heard that he wanted a four-cornered longevity coffin made of green sandalwood, he knew that he would go back and ask his employer. He couldn't just agree randomly, so he said: "No problem, let me tell your employer." , as long as the items are satisfactory, the price is negotiable.”
Gao Tongshan saluted Sun Zhang and asked him to wait in the shop. Then he ran to the west courtyard and said, "Boss, I can't make up my mind about something. You have to make the decision."
Hearing this, Chu Yi put down the tools in his hands and said, "What's the matter, Master Gao, just tell me."
"A customer came to our shop. He seemed to be a young man from a wealthy family. I saw that he looked around but was not satisfied, so I told him that we could pick out some good wood for him to customize. But he said he wanted a green cup. The four-corner longevity coffin made of sandalwood was also said to be painted with patterns that our family had never painted before. I originally thought that the other party was a dandy, but unexpectedly he seemed to be a knowledgeable person. Could he be here to cause trouble? The boss is like this Should we accept the job or not?"
Xue Changlin on the side was a little confused and asked in confusion: "Is there something wrong with this coffin?"
Xue Changshan patted his younger brother, and then said with a bit of resentment: "Didn't Master tell us that a coffin made of several whole pieces of wood is called a few corners, and the four corners are made of four whole pieces of wood. I can't even remember this. live."
Of course he knew what the master had said. The four corners were made of four whole pieces of wood, and the six sides of the coffin were required to be complete wooden boards. But just because he knew that, he didn’t understand why he hesitated even more. Xue Changlin was a little dissatisfied. : "Brother, do you know why Uncle Gao asked if he would take this job?"
"This...Master, what's wrong with that green sandalwood?"
Chu Yi chuckled lightly and explained to his two apprentices: "Green sandalwood and the red sandalwood mentioned before are both sandalwood, but this green sandalwood is more cold-resistant. It is also found in our north, but it is not as good as pines and cypresses. That’s all.”
"Master, is it because this tree is difficult to find?"
"It's not that difficult if it's just green sandalwood. There will always be some mature wood on a mountain. But this customer wants four corners, so the age requirements for the wood are much higher. It will indeed be difficult to find, not to mention Green sandalwood is harder than other woods, so making the entire four-corner coffin is a big test for both skills and tools."
After hearing Chu Yi's explanation, Xue Changshan felt the same as Gao Tongshan. I'm afraid this person is not here to cause trouble, but to pose problems to them: "Master, should we still take this job?"
Chu Yi smiled and said to Gao Tongshan and his two apprentices: "Come on, although it is a bit difficult, it is not completely impossible. Your master's wife still has many beautiful drawings that have not been copied onto the coffin. This time Find her a more expensive wood to line her up. Master Gao, tell the guest that if he is not in a hurry, ask him to give him an address. Once the coffin is finished, we will deliver it to his house. The price is That’s all, just pay the deposit first and we’ll talk about the rest later.”
"I know boss."
Gao Tongshan came out of the west courtyard and saw Sun Zhang who was still waiting for him. He first apologized and then said: "Sir, our employer has taken over this job, but it may take a longer time. Please give me a As for the address, our boss has said that it will be delivered directly to your home. As for the price, you only need to pay me a deposit of two taels of silver, and we will discuss the rest later. Do you think it is feasible?"
Sun Zhang nodded, took out two taels of silver from the purse in his arms and handed it to the clerk in front of him: "I'll give you the deposit, but I won't bother to deliver it to my house. I will send someone to check it from time to time. When will it be done?" Okay, I’ll just send someone to get it myself.”
After saying that, without waiting for Gao Tongshan's response, he turned around and left the shop, heading towards the carriage across the street.
Although Chu Yi has spent most of his time in the West Courtyard since he reopened the coffin shop, he has not been busy making coffins. He spent most of his time teaching his two apprentices, so the first person who took over the job The next day, Chu Yi took his apprentices to the two mountains surrounding the county to look for qualified green sandalwood.
Just like Chu Yi said, if you want to find a green sandalwood tree, you can always find it on the sunny slopes of the mountains or in mountain streams. But if you want the tree to be old enough and thick enough to cut out a whole board. However, it did take a lot of effort. Fortunately, Huang Tian paid off. After searching for five or six days on the mountain, Chu Yi finally found four green sandalwoods that met his needs.
The next step was to make a mark and contact the workers at the foot of the mountain to go up the mountain to cut down the trees. Because the wood was precious, Chu Yi took two apprentices with him to participate in the entire logging process. Four round and thick trunks were cut off branches. After that, he was sent directly to the Chu Family West Courtyard.
For these four pieces of wood, Chu Yi also made some modifications to the awning of Shen Luzhu, and then placed the four pieces of wood underneath to dry naturally in the shade. After that, he would check the progress of the shade drying from time to time and make some simple modifications along the way. deal with.
The process of waiting and making was long. Seeing that the Winter Clothes Festival was over, Shen Luzhu gave three days of leave to his two family members in turn, and his family also took a few days of rest. In late October, the green sandalwood four-corner The longevity coffin has finally taken shape, just waiting to be painted and colored, and finally Shen Luzhu will paint on it.
Regarding the background color of the coffin, the young couple studied for a long time, and finally decided to keep the original greenish yellow-brown color of the green sandalwood. After polishing and polishing, they applied a layer of wood oil on it, and the entire coffin was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood. , very different.
As early as when he first learned that Chu Yi had taken this job, Shen Luzhu would think about what to paint on the coffin in his spare time to make it look special so that the customer would be satisfied when he saw the finished product.
But after thinking about it, I always feel that the original drawings in my hands are mostly similar in type and composition, and they don't seem to be special enough. Especially after seeing the initially formed green sandalwood four-corner coffin, I feel that nothing can match it. Yes.
Before going to bed that night, Shen Luzhu was telling Zhengzheng a bedtime story. It was about a picture book she specially sold to Zhengzheng. It was full of fables or idiom stories. This time, the story she was going to tell was about lying on the ice asking for a carp.
While reading, Shen Luzhu suddenly thought of something. Once he had an idea, the ideas kept emerging. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it became. As soon as he confirmed that Zheng Zheng was asleep, he immediately got up and climbed out of the quilt.
Noticing the movements of his wife beside him, Chu Yi also stood up and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Chu Yi, I just had a good idea. I know what to draw on that coffin!"
Chu Yi heard this and asked with a smile: "Azhu, do you want to start writing now?"
Shen Luzhu was stunned for a moment when he heard this. He was so excited that he forgot that it was already night, so he laughed naively and lay back again: "I forgot that it was already so late."
Chu Yi smiled and helped his wife cover the quilt again, and said, "Azhu, are you sleepy? If not, do you want to talk to me?"
Shen Luzhu was naturally not sleepy. He turned over and hugged Chu Yi's waist, found a comfortable position in his arms, thought for a while and asked, "Chu Yi, do you know the story of the Twenty-Four Filial Piety?"
Seeing Chu Yi shake his head, Shen Luzhu asked again: "Do you know how to lie on the ice to beg for a carp, or to strangle a tiger to save your father?"
Chu Yixiao
Said: "Didn't you just tell Zhengzheng?"
Shen Luzhu felt that she was a little stupid today, which may be why she was happy, but Chu Yi's answer confirmed her suspicion.
Daqian is not any dynasty that Shen Luzhu knew in her previous life, but many customs, traditions, and even the knowledge system are similar to the ancient times of her country in her previous life. Although there are widely circulated stories of filial sons here, there are no pictures of the twenty-four filial piety.
Regarding this picture of twenty-four filial piety, Shen Luzhu mentioned it in a news article she saw on the Internet in her previous life. It was about a village that had graffiti on the wall facing the street in the village. The story of the twenty-four filial piety was painted to promote filial piety to the villagers. At that time, she I even went to a certain Du Niang to search for a story about the twenty-four filial piety.
The customer who ordered the coffin said he wanted something special, something that had not been painted. Since it is a coffin, and funerals with scenery are also a way for people to show their filial piety nowadays, why can't the twenty-four filial piety pictures be put on the coffin?
She could use comic strips to draw the stories of filial sons and virtuous grandchildren that are well known to Daqian people on the coffin. This should be considered absolutely special.
Shen Luzhu explained his thoughts to Chu Yi carefully: "Just like the illustrations in picture books, let's choose a few well-known ones and draw them on the coffin. Chu Yi, what do you think?"
Who is Chu Yi? The wife-loving maniac will naturally not deny his wife's idea. Moreover, he also thinks it is a good idea, so he reaches out and hugs his wife tighter and praises: "My A-Zhu is really great!"
Shen Luzhu chuckled and said, "My husband's coffin is too well made. I don't have a good idea, how can it be worthy of it!"
