Siheyuan: Starting from the Pig Killer

In fact, handicrafts have both industrial and artistic attributes, so their value fluctuates greatly.

Take carving as an example. The same piece of jade and the same carved Bodhisattva may be worth only ten yuan if carved by an ordinary craftsman. But if it is carved by a skilled craftsman, it may be worth twenty, thirty or even more in the end. One hundred yuan, this is normal.

Xiang Yunduan was not interested in caring about whether others were doing private work or not. Instead, he looked at the person in front of him and asked, "I want to use gold bars to put a longevity lock on my child. Can your master do it?"

When the man heard this, a smile immediately appeared on his face: "You are so capable. The longevity lock is not a complicated jewelry. It is very simple and can be done in a short time."

"Then lead the way!" Xiang Yunduan said directly without delay.

The man was very happy when he saw that the business was almost done, and immediately took Xiang Yunduan to the place where his master lived.

"Clang clang clang!"

Soon, the two arrived at an alley near Hufang Bridge. The man took Xiang Yunduan to a courtyard and knocked on the door.

With a "creak", the door was opened from the inside.

"Xiaowuzi, you don't go to work at this time, why did you come to my place?"

At the gate, there was an old man who looked to be in his sixties, with gray hair and a pair of agate glasses. He said in a strange tone.

"Master, here comes the work. I took a short leave and brought someone here for you!" said Xiao Wuzi, who brought Xiang Yunduan over.

"Come in!" The old man looked at Xiang Yunduan and finally got out of the way.

"Sir, please talk to my master about the rest. I have to go back to work!" Xiaowuzi did not enter the yard, but said that and left directly.

Xiang Yunduan is also a brave man who is skilled in art and is not afraid of what kind of trap this is. If someone really wants to take advantage of others, he doesn't mind getting more luck.

"What do you call me?" After entering the yard, Xiang Yunduan looked at the surrounding environment and asked.

This yard is not very big, but it is a single-family house, not a large courtyard. It seems that only the old man and his family live there.

"My surname is Zhou, you can just call me Lao Zhou!" The old man said casually: "Tell me, what do you want to get?"

"Master Zhou, I want to use these things to make a longevity lock and add a pair of bracelets and anklets. Can you see if it works?"

As Xiang Yunduan spoke, he put his hand into his pocket and took out a small yellow croaker from the space, plus some silver coins.

There is a whole box of silver coins in the space, estimated to be several thousand, but the specifications are not uniform.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, there were all kinds of silver coins minted, including Chuanyang, Longyang, Yingyang, Sun Xiaotou, Yuan Datou, etc. Different silver coins had different silver contents. Prices naturally vary.

The silver coins Xiang Yunduan picked out were the largest ones in the box.

This can avoid accidentally wasting some silver coins that may be rarer and have greater collection value in future generations.

Anyway, his idea was that the smaller the quantity, the more he would treasure it.

"No problem, it's not a difficult thing, but before starting the work, the cost must be agreed upon first. My bid is ten yuan. If it works, we can start the work now!" Old Man Zhou said.

"Ten dollars, ten dollars, get it quickly!"

Xiang Yunduan didn't counter-offer, so who asked him to use it in a hurry? It's not easy to find a master who can do this job in a short while. Besides, even if you can find one, the price may not be cheaper than that of Mr. Zhou.

Seeing Xiang Yunduan happy, Old Man Zhou was also very quick and took Xiang Yunduan directly into a room at the back of the yard.

This seems to be the workshop where Old Man Zhou usually does his private work, and the tools prepared are quite complete.

"Let's see, what kind of style do you want?"

Old man Zhou first found a brochure, opened it and handed it to Xiang Yunduan. There were some painted jewelry on it, with different styles.

Xiang Yunduan found the longevity lock, and there happened to be a longevity lock with a specification of one or two, so he immediately confirmed it.

As for the bracelets and anklets, the style was quickly determined, and then the required weight of silver was determined based on the style, and finally the number of silver coins needed was determined.

After everything was ready, Old Man Zhou took action immediately.

In fact, it looks very simple. Old man Zhou first lit the special small stove, then took a clay crucible and placed it on the stove to heat it. After reaching a certain temperature, he put Xiang Yunduan's gold bar into the crucible. among.

I don’t know how long it took, but the gold bars began to melt into gold water in the red crucible.

Finally, Old Man Zhou poured the gold water into the mold of the longevity lock.

Soon, the style of longevity lock came out.

Next, Old Man Zhou followed the same pattern and made silver bracelets and anklets.

At this point, of course it’s not over.

The mold is just a rough pattern. Next, you have to carve patterns on the longevity lock and bracelet and anklet, and polish them brightly. This step is the most important.

……

"This old man is quite good at business!"

Coming out of Old Man Zhou's house, Xiang Yunduan muttered.

Of course he already had what he wanted, but when he was leaving, Old Man Zhou saw that he didn't have a special box for the longevity lock and bracelets and anklets, so he "reluctantly gave up" and sold them to him for one yuan. A small box made of pear wood, and also equipped with red silk cloth for wrapping.

Not to mention, it does look a lot more exquisite after doing it this way, and it is quite suitable for giving as a gift.

"Who?"

When Xiang Yunduan returned to the courtyard, it was completely dark. At this time, most people were already sleeping. As soon as he arrived at the gate, a dark figure suddenly jumped out of the doorway and almost hit him.

"Xiao Xiang, why did you come back?" Black Shadow looked at Xiang Yunduan and asked.

"Third uncle, are you waiting for me? What's going on? Can't we talk about something tomorrow?" Xiang Yunduan was speechless after seeing the black figure clearly.

There is no one left to guard the gate of Yanbu until this point.

"I can't wait until tomorrow. I should have said it yesterday, but you came back late last night and it's so late today. Doesn't your factory get off work at six o'clock?" Yan Bugui said.

"Let me guess, it's not about a reflection meeting, right? I said, Third Master, you are so enlightened. Do you want to learn so much?" Xiang Yunduan knew roughly what Yan Bugui was going to say without even thinking about it.

"I have to learn. I just want to learn. Xiaoxiang, is it scheduled for tomorrow? If it continues, everyone will have opinions! Everyone wants to make progress!" Yan Bugui looked upright. He pushed up the glasses on his nose and said.

"Okay, tomorrow is tomorrow. I have discussed it with Master He Yuzhu. Just let him do it then. You ask the third aunt to inform the female comrades in the yard tomorrow, and then they will all go and give Master He a hand!" Xiang Yun Duan said indifferently.

I just don’t know, will Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu attend the reflection meeting tomorrow?