After Yang Liufang waited for his master to wash, the head of Shitou Village had already arrived at the factory. He heard that he was here to wash away the dust for Liu Fang's master. He also specially brought up the two bottles of wine left over from Wang Shan's wedding. Although they were not famous wines, they were still in the factory. Hanwangchuan is already among the best.
At this moment, the worker had finished get off work. When Liu Gen changed his clothes and came out, Shitou Village Chief hurriedly greeted him, shook his hand enthusiastically and said, "Sou (uncle), Ten Onions (our Shige Village) welcomes you. Uh. (I) represent Congmin (villagers) and come to greet your old man."
Liu Gen had just arrived and couldn't understand the dialect, so Yang Liufang hurriedly came over to act as an interpreter. "Master, this village is called Shige Village. This is Shitou Village Chief of Shige Village. He said he welcomes your arrival and is here to greet you on behalf of the village."
"Oh, you're so polite, village chief. My Al Fang has caused you trouble here. Thank you for your care and help."
"It's not troublesome! You are the one who led the Congmin (villagers) to get rich! It's not too late for Emeng (us) to welcome you. You are a good teacher!"
"Master, he said that our factory was built here to make the villagers rich, and he said that you taught well."
"The kid worked hard on his own, I just led him through the door."
"Boss Yang, the food is ready, where do you want to eat it?"
"Master, let's stay on the kang in my bedroom. It's warmer there. Brother Shitou, let's help the master serve the dishes."
The master chef worked at Xizhou Dafanzhuangzi before coming to the factory. He returned to the village because he needed to take care of his mother. It happened that Yang Liufang wanted to hire a master master when building the factory, and the head of Shitou Village immediately invited him. The master master can continue to do his job and take care of his mother at the same time. In addition, Yang Liufang treats everyone like family and is not restrained at all. The master master is very dedicated here. This time, in order to welcome Yang Liufang’s master, he cooked four Xizhou specialties: sweet and sour salad, Xizhou hair vegetables, fried pork with lilies, and a large plate of hand-meal, which was fully placed on the Kang table. Fang was so greedy that his mouth watered.
"Master, please eat here together."
"Oh, boss, you are entertaining Master, I am not suitable."
"Hey, Master, it's not so unconventional. We carpenters and chefs are all craftsmen. If we have something to talk about, come and have a drink together." Liu Gen also sincerely invited.
"Let's come together. We can bring some back to Auntie after dinner later." It was difficult to refuse under such hospitality, so everyone invited Liu Gen to take a seat. Village Chief Shitou and the master chef matched each other, and Yang Liufang lowered his head and sat down. Cup welcomes Yang Liufang’s carpenter enlightenment mentor Yang Liugen.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Yang Liugen asked: "Village chief, master chef, you are all locals. You know Shi Yong and Shi Fang best. What were you doing before coming to the factory? How is your family situation?"
"These two young men are good, smart, diligent and studious. Before Liu Fang came to open the factory, there was no livelihood in the village. Everyone's education level was low. No one wanted to go to Xizhou to work. They just went to Zhaomacuan to dig sand. Later Liu Fang's carpentry workshop needed help, so (I) took them to Zhao Machuan's small workshop to do odd jobs, such as moving and carrying things. After a year, the two of them became more attentive and were able to help Liu Fang with some details. Carpentry.”
"Master, they can cut out materials according to the lines I drew, plan the surface, and assemble mortise and tenon furniture. They can't draw lines, design structures, or carve. I don't dare to teach them without your permission."
"These two young men are very filial. Shi Yong'e knows it best. He is his cousin who has not been out of school for five years. Auntie's leg was injured and she has difficulty moving. He has taken care of her for more than ten years. When she was a teenager, she went to dig sand. , I quickly made some money to look at Auntie’s legs, but in the end I didn’t save any money. After working hard in the factory for the past two years, I renovated the two rotten kilns at home. I also made the doors and windows myself, which made the It’s in good shape.”
"Sou (Uncle), Shi Fang is not bad either. His parents passed away early, and he grew up with a lot of food, so he can endure hardships. He was the matchmaker of Eda (my dad) when he got married. After the marriage, he took over his parents-in-law. , being filial like biological parents, and having a harmonious family, which is pretty good."
Liu Gen nodded while listening, and raised his glass at the right time: "Thank you both for providing this information. Come and have a drink." Everyone clinked their glasses and drank it all.
"We are carpenters, we serve the owner's family, we often deal with people, and sometimes we have to work at the owner's house, so we must be kind. The foundation of kindness is filial piety to our parents. If a person is not filial to his parents, you You still expect him to be kind to others? That's impossible. Since these two young people have good hearts, the foundation is there. Today, I ask you these things because A Fang wants to accept them as his disciples and let me check them and test them. It needs to be burned for three days, how to control this time and a half, I can only understand it through the two of you."
The four of them drank until late and dispersed, spending the whole night in silence. Early the next morning, Yang Liufang and his master woke up almost at the same time. Yang Liufang opened the door of the factory, and workers came one after another. After Yang Liufang and Master finished washing, the alarm clock rang at 5:30 in the morning.
Just when Yang Liufangyang was about to take Shi Fang and Shi Yong to cut materials, his master Liu Gen spoke: "Shi Yong, Shi Fang, you two, don't be busy now. I will help your boss to work today. You two have been in the factory for two years. What kind of finished furniture do you usually make?”
"Master, I have never done anything alone in the factory, but I have made doors and dining tables and stools at home. But they are all ugly."
"Oh, what about you? Shi Fang."
"I also made my own tables, chairs and benches at home. Boss Yang, I didn't use materials from the factory."
"Boss Yang, I also bought my own materials."
"Hahaha, I know. Don't be afraid, you two. My master is going to give you a test?"
"Okay, do you know this thing?"
"You know, this is a plane?"
"Yes, this is what your boss used when he was learning from me."
"Master, why didn't I notice it? Why did you bring him here?"
"Put it in the bag. I thought that since you are starting a career, according to the old rules, I should give you a complete set of tools, but now they are all electric, and the old handmade items are used less. I only brought this one, and this is still yours My master passed it on to me. A genuine eight-hundred-year-old Haihuang (a kind of rosewood from Hainan)."
"You two, just follow this and do one each. In two days, I will work for you and your boss will still pay you wages. If you don't understand, you can ask, and I will see how understanding you two are."
"Okay, my master has given a question. You two should do it seriously. According to my master's instructions, your wages will be paid during these two days. You can use the tools and materials in the factory as you like."
"Thank you, Boss Yang." The two began to select ingredients.
Willow roots are used with willow recipes to cut the ingredients.
"Master, during the few days you are here, I want to make a set of Ming-style Eight Immortals tables and Taishi chairs with you. In the past, I followed Wang Shixiang's "Records of Ming-style Furniture" and made them myself."
"Well, yes, I'll just give you a demonstration of all the joinery skills that I haven't taught you. I'll do half of it, and you'll do the other half. It's like we are master and apprentice, and I'll teach you without reservation."
"Thank you, Master. Let's get started."
"Let's go, choose materials."
"Well, usually hardwoods such as rosewood and red sandalwood are used to make this. However, this is very expensive and difficult to sell. And you don't have these woods here. Let's use this willow to make it." The two masters and apprentices, Yang Liufang followed his master in selecting materials, dotting, and drawing lines. He opened mortises and tenons and carved carvings step by step. Because he had a solid foundation in basic skills, he was able to do it in a stylish way.
After breakfast, the master went to the side to look at the results of Shi Yong and Shi Fang, and gave some pointers before returning to the work area and continuing to work with Yang Liufang. When people have something to do or are focused on a certain thing, time always passes quickly, and the day passes before you know it. When it was almost time to get off work, the master checked the results of Shi Yong and Shi Fang and found that Shi Yong did it faster, while Shi Fang did it slowly but very carefully. For example, he even polished the core.
The master and apprentice still got up at a fixed time the next day. Master waited for Shi Yong and Shi Fang to arrive and checked his watch. He didn't find that they were late, so he nodded with satisfaction. Shi Yong came to hand in his work when he just started working in the afternoon. Master took it, looked at it, and handed it to Yang Liufang.
"Afang, what's the problem?"
"The style is close to the sample provided by the master, except that the polishing and polishing are rough, especially the inside of the handle. The polishing is polished, but not detailed enough. This will easily cause blisters on the index finger when used."
"Well, that's right. Did you hear that? Did you write down what your boss said? This is your first independent work. Keep it as a souvenir. Always remember what your boss said."
When he was about to get off work in the afternoon, Shi Fang also came to hand in his work. Master took it, looked at it, touched it with his hand, tried it, nodded and handed it to Yang Liufang.
"Afang, please comment."
After Yang Liufang took it, he touched it carefully, disassembled it and assembled it again.
"It feels good, and the details are handled very well. But the efficiency is a bit low."
"Both of you, come here. In terms of your self-study ability, you have done a good job in this situation. Your boss also made comments, which are to the point. I asked your village chief yesterday. You are also good at heart. You can join us. Master’s door.”
"Wow, thank you, Master, Master!" He knelt down and kowtowed.
"Don't be busy yet. You must remember the words of your boss, who will also be your master in the future, and be consistent in efficiency and details. In addition, after you complete your studies, whether you are in the factory or on your own in the future, you must maintain kindness in your heart."
"Thank you, Master."
"Thank you, Master." The two of them said as they were about to kneel down, but were stopped by Liu Gen.
"Let's save it for tomorrow at noon. We can't bear it before we kowtow to Master Lu Ban. Ah Fang, prepare an incense burner and a few sticks of incense. Let's hold a ceremony for them tomorrow, and you can officially lead them to learn skills. Hao. Teach without reservation.”
"I understand, Master. Shi Yong, after get off work later, go to the head of Shitou Village and ask him to buy an incense burner and some sticks of incense when he comes back tomorrow, and ask him to join you for your apprenticeship banquet at noon."
"Okay." He said and walked out.
