The two watched as the humble pieces of beheaded willow wood were cut out, squared, glued, carved, and combined with mortise and tenon to become the current practical furniture with girdle, horseshoe legs, and hollow carved dental panels. , although it is not painted, the beautiful lines and carvings of the Eight Immortals table, as well as the tightly fitting mortise and tenon joints, all reflect the exquisiteness of the furniture and the skills of woodworking. The two of them were both pleased and excited. They circled around the table, looked at it carefully, and touched it carefully, as if they were feeling a handicraft.
Yang Liufang thought of something and asked Brother Shitou to help him quickly carry the Eight Immortals table into the room.
"Brother, why did you carry it in and put it outside? Wouldn't it work faster?"
"Brother Shitou, the material of this table seems to be dry now, but there is still moisture inside. If it is left outside, it will easily expand due to thermal expansion and contraction, so we need to put it indoors to dry in the shade. Then before winter comes, all the furniture You need to apply primer and seal the wood with paint, so that the thermal expansion and contraction will be reduced in the future.”
The two of them were about to carry it in when they heard someone knocking on the door. Shi Shi put down the table and opened the door. It turned out that the old village chief walked in carrying a dry tobacco bag.
"Hey, uncle (Uncle), you are welcome to inspect the work."
"Sou (Uncle), you are here just in time. Look, our first piece of furniture is completed."
Village Chief Zhao's eyes widened when he came in. He ignored the two of them and went straight to the Eight Immortals Table, looking at them silently and nodding. After a long while, he said to Yang Liufang: "What a good thing! If this is mahogany, wouldn't it be valuable?"
"Yes, Uncle Sou. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this kind of furniture was made of hardwood, such as rosewood, rosewood, etc. Now they have become cultural relics and antiques, and are very valuable. But ours is high-quality, cheap, and practical. We will wait for you later. After the water has dried completely, we can mix cinnabar with varnish to create a color similar to mahogany, and it looks bright."
"Hey, good! Good! Good! Good! Shitou, the person you recommended is a good person, a good person, and a good craftsmanship!" Village Chief Zhao kept praising him.
"Sou (uncle), we (we) need to carry the table in to dry it in the shade to prevent it from cracking due to thermal expansion and contraction outside."
"Okay, uh (I) won't delay your work. The things are well done!" The old village chief sighed and left.
Rural areas are a closed society, and communication is inconvenient, making it difficult for people to obtain information from the outside world. Therefore, the shortcomings of parents have become a topic of conversation after dinner. The whole village, old and young, can know about something going on in a certain family in just one meal, and if the rumors are not refuted in time, dozens or even hundreds of versions can be spread.
By the afternoon, the news that "Zhao Macuan has a southern carpenter who can make antique furniture" spread throughout the village. The first person to come was an old man who had been to Inner Mongolia and Qinghai to sell horses. A few years ago, he was criticized for "buying and reselling" and was almost arrested by the commune and sent to a labor camp. However, village chief Zhao came forward to guarantee that he was sent to the village to be sent to a labor camp because of "intra-ethnic conflicts." "Just put it back.
But the son who was about to get married at that time was delayed, and the woman who had already agreed was unwilling to do so. In those days, who would be willing to push their daughter into a pit of fire and marry a "capitalist"? In the past two years of reform and opening up, as policies have improved, more and more people are doing business, especially more and more people from outside the country are coming to do business on this vast Loess Plateau, so he has gotten rid of his previous inhibitions. , come alive. Everyone in the village knew that he had a lot of savings from selling horses, so matchmakers for his son continued to come to his door. I just fell in love with someone recently, and the two young men also like each other. Since they are too old, they want to welcome her into the door as soon as possible. The old man also wanted to take advantage of his son's marriage to get rid of his past grievances and depression, repaint the original lavish cave dwelling, and get a set of decent furniture for his son.
When he was a horse dealer, he traveled far and wide and saw a lot of things. In addition, due to the thinking of the older generation of that era, he liked magnificent ancient furniture. I heard that Village Chief Zhao had found a southern carpenter for his daughter and wanted to come and have a look. So he took the good dry tobacco and went to the village to find Village Chief Zhao and asked him to bring him over. When they knocked on the door, Yang Liufang and Chief Shitou were eating. Chief Shitou put down his bowl and opened the door.
When Village Chief Zhao and the old man were brought in, they saw each of them having a bowl of white rice and vegetables sitting on the stove. It looked like the way southerners eat. In addition to pasta, people here only eat potatoes. When Yang Liufang saw the village chief coming in with an older man, he put down his bowl and quickly stood up to greet him.
"You can keep eating, and I'll take you to see the new furniture."
"Oh, uncle, sir, please come in." Wang Shan led the two of them into the house. Yang Liufang was worried that he would continue to eat and not be polite to his elders, so he followed into the house.
The old man walked around the table, moved it again, and then grabbed the corners of the table with both hands and shook it. After the mortise and tenon structure was glued, the table still did not shake or make any noise even though it had just been there for a while.
"Brother Jinchuan, it's a good thing! You can sell it to me at a high price, can you do that?"
"Well, (my) brother, this is the person who hired the wood from my son-in-law's family. If it's mine, I'll definitely make the best use of it for our baby first."
"Then you ask Fofo, who is in charge, to make a set for us!"
"Xiao Yang, come on, you see your uncle is already talking, can you do something for him?"
"Uncle, I'm afraid I won't have enough time, because it's going to be winter soon, and I have to light a fire to paint this set."
"What are you afraid of? Let me start a fire and find a way for you. Our room was built temporarily when we entertained the 'Yin Soldiers' scientific expedition cadres, right?"
"Yes, brother."
"It was summer and we didn't have a kang, so let's do this, baby! Let the village chief Zhao find someone to make a kang for you. I've already covered my forehead with charcoal for the whole winter. You can also get a set for your forehead. What do you have? You tell me."
"Yang Liufang took out a set of drawings. In addition to the Eight Immortals table, it also includes two Taishi chairs, a desk, four benches, a large bed, a dressing cabinet, a boudoir round stool, and a basin stand. "
The old man is a man who has seen the world. He nodded and praised as he looked at it: "Yes, yes, it is the same as the one I saw at Ma Yigun's house when I was a long-term worker in my teens."
"Who is Ma Yigang?"
"Ma Bufang." Yang Liufang knew that Ma Bufang was the great northwest warlord mentioned in history books!
"Oh, he, that is, his family took advantage of this."
"Well (I) thought at that time, if I have the money, I would buy a set like this. In this way, Gawa, you can tell me how much wood I need, and I can figure out a way. You can also tell me how much it costs, and I can give it back to you. Get ready, do you think it can be done?"
"Then, Dad, when will you use it?"
"The Yinhua baby will get married on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the Ewa baby will get married on the sixth day of the first lunar month. You can arrange the production schedule accordingly."
Yang Liufang took the drawing and looked at it again. Although he had calculated it many times in his mind, he calculated it again just to be on the safe side.
"That's it, sir, let's settle this matter. I'll do what you said about keeping warm in winter. I'll charge you 1,200 for this set of furniture. You only need to provide 8 hardwood pieces of 40-50 cm and 2 meters long. .The forehead is covered with cinnabar and varnish.”
"Can it be less?"
"Big brother, I can't. In front of Uncle Er, I won't ask for anything blindly. What I tell you is the lowest price. Brother Shitou is here to help, and Er is paid for it, so Er Meng (we) have to be busy day and night. Three months. E Sou (Uncle) knows that E and his son-in-law can earn more than that just by doing a business trip."
"Okay, the deal is done! Jinchuan, please arrange for people to make kangs for the children. In the past few days, arrange for someone to bring a cart of charcoal over. If there is not enough, I will go to the Cong village to buy it."
"OK!"
"Jinchuan, let's go. Don't delay the children's work. I'll treat you to a drink tonight." The two said and left. Yang Liufang and the village chief Shitou didn't come back until they were outside the door.
"Brother Shitou, this is going to be hard on you. If you do this as a matter of fact, you are really too busy. I will give the job of hauling water to people in the village who have donkey carts."
"Oh, I can help you. It's better to provide the water yourself. After all, every household in the village has so many things to do, and I have to go back to deal with them from time to time."
"Okay, let's just say this. Eat quickly and don't take a break at noon. Let's start working. We'll make a case in the afternoon."
After the two finished eating, they had just put the kettle on the stove when the two middle-aged men on the bed came to the door. Not long after, a tractor pulling a red brick also arrived at the door. After all, the village chief's words mean nothing in relatively underdeveloped rural areas.
Yang Liufang and the village chief Shitou went in to pack and wrap up their bedding, and then found plastic sheets to cover the new table, and then they started busy making the kang. Yang Liufang and the village chief Shitou continued to carry the boards and saw, until dark and lighted the lights.
