Colorful Spirit Eyes

I followed the old man around and finally entered a small courtyard. Although the yard is small, it is very clean. He opened the bamboo curtain and smiled, letting the two Eucommia people in: "Please come to the house quickly."

Both of them were very careful, but they didn't find any other accomplices along the way. Old man Yu nodded politely and stepped into the house.

The house was not big, just a small living room of more than ten square meters, and the set of mahogany furniture that the old man mentioned appeared directly in front of him, which was beyond Eucommia's expectation. I thought that if it was a trap set up by a man, it would definitely not be so easy for people to see the real thing. It would take some mediation to solve the mystery, which would make people feel enlightened. But the old man didn't do this at all. He saw it right after entering the yard and entering the house.

After entering the house, the old man pointed to the neatly arranged tables and chairs in the hall and said: This is the set. Let's take a look, young man. As soon as the old man finished speaking, an old lady with lace hair and a bad expression walked out of the room on the left.

The old lady took a step forward to catch her breath, and panted hard and asked: Old Meng, are there guests?

When the old man saw the old lady coming out, he quickly stepped forward to help her, and said angrily: "Why are you coming out? Come in and rest, I don't need you."

The old lady shook her head and said: It's okay. Pour some water for the guests and don't bow.

He helped the old lady into the room, and the old man's voice came back from the room: Got it, I'll talk to them about something, and I'll pour the water myself later. You just lie down.

Seeing this scene, Eucommia ulmoides and Jiang Sen looked at each other. They all saw that the old lady was not pretending. After the old lady came out, Eucommia ulmoides asked: Is your aunt sick?

The old man sighed when he heard this, nodded and said: My wife has asthma. When he was young, he worked in a chemical plant and injured his lungs. He needs to take medicine all year round. He waved his hands and said with a smile: "I'll make you laugh. Let's not talk about that. Let's take a look at the objects." If it's suitable, you can take it away.

Eucommia ulmoides nodded, sighed secretly and said: Every family has sutras that are difficult to recite. He looked carefully at the furniture in the room, and a green light suddenly appeared on it. It was obvious that everything was fine, and they were all good items that were opening the door. After pretending to look around, Eucommia ulmoides nodded and said to the old man: Uncle, why do you want to sell this very good thing? Wouldn't it be better to leave it to our children and grandchildren?

As the saying goes, exploring the origin of an object is also one of the ways to test whether the other party is a scammer. Anyone can make up a story. How to dispel the customer's doubts requires a complete set of rhetoric. The things are clearly stated, so ask The reason for taking action may be the few concerns left in the heart of Xi Jinping.

The old man asked Eucommia and Du Zhong to sit down and said: "Your aunt and I have no children. She has a lot of money to spend due to her illness." It's a waste to keep it, but you can have more money by selling it.

When Du Zhong heard this, he felt dark in his heart. He couldn't bear to hear the suffering of others. He nodded slightly and asked casually: Uncle, what do you do?

The old man was very talkative and said: My surname is Meng, and my ancestors were all craftsmen. When I was young, I worked in a paper mill. After I retired, I relied on my ancestral craftsmanship to carve seals on the roadside in exchange for some pocket money. In the past few years, the business was good, and I could make ten or eight yuan a day. Nowadays, they use machines to engrave seals, so they make less money.

Yo, are you still a craftsman? Du Zhong was interested as soon as he heard it. He had always admired craftsmen. His father was also a craftsman. Although he was just a car repairman, he supported his three sisters with his hands.

Mr. Meng nodded, pointed to another room with a smile and said: "That's where I carved. If you are interested, you can go and have a look."

Not to mention, Eucommia ulmoides was really interested, and he stood up and entered the old man's studio without any courtesy. Firstly, he wanted to further confirm the authenticity, and secondly, he was very interested in the craft of carving.

The room is not big, but it is filled with a lot of objects. There are stones needed for seals, finished and semi-finished seals, and some small landscape and figure ornaments arranged in the room. There are quite a lot of types in the small room.

At first glance, Eucommia was completely relieved, picked up an unfinished semi-finished seal on the old man's workbench, turned around and asked: Mr. Meng, how much does it cost to engrave a seal?

Meng Laoyi raised his hand and said: Five yuan, if the materials used are better, two hundred.

Du Zhong nodded, put down the semi-finished product in his hand and said to the old man: I want the furniture. Please give me a price. In addition, I would like to ask you to engrave a seal.

When Mr. Meng heard that Du Zhong wanted to engrave a seal for himself, he put the furniture aside and stood up and said: "This is not difficult, it can be done in a while." Are you engraving a name seal or a talisman seal?

Seeing the old man's impressive posture, he immediately started carving a name. Du Zhong smiled and said, "My name is Du Zhong. Let's carve a name badge."

The old man sat in front of the workbench, reached for his reading glasses, put them on, and asked which two words were already used. Du Zhong chose a piece of blue-white Shoushan stone and handed it to the old man. The old man took the material without saying a word and picked up the carving knife. In front of Du Zhong, he twisted and turned to show off his excellent carving skills.

Seeing the old man's skillful movements, he couldn't help but be stunned. There is nothing superfluous and fancy, and there is no appearance of laboriousness. Every detail is depicted in the flowing clouds and flowing water. As the old man said, it doesn't take long to carve a seal. From the time the old man picked up the knife to carve, a coin-sized seal was carved in less than five minutes. The old man put down the carving knife and picked up sandpaper. Polish it carefully, and a lot of fine powder will fall out with a rustling sound.

The powder fell all over the old man's hands, but the old man paid no attention to it, as if he was already accustomed to everything in it. These are craftsmen. They don't have gorgeous performances, nor are they too exaggerated to show off. What they have is just the simple and solid skills of one knife after another. He gently blew the stone chips on the seal, then held the seal with his thumb, index finger, and middle finger and dipped it in Indonesian. He took a piece of A4 paper and stamped it firmly. When he was done, he pushed it towards Eucommia ulmoides and asked with a smile. Tao: How about we see?

Eucommia took a step forward, lowered his head and looked at the white paper. A vermilion mark the size of a thumb was clearly attached with the four Chinese characters of Eucommia Appreciation written in block letters. After watching it, Eucommia ulmoides gave a thumbs up and praised: Mr. Meng’s skills are really amazing.

Hearing this, Mr. Meng laughed and said: I am old, but there are not many young people like you. Then he found a small box, put the seal in it, closed the lid and handed it to Du Zhong, saying: "Take it, consider it a meeting gift between us."

Eucommia ulmoides quickly took it and said: Oh, old man, this can't be done.

Mr. Meng waved his hand and said: Not many young people like this old memory, take it. After speaking, he pointed to the tables and chairs outside and joked: But I can't give you the furniture.

Du Zhong also smiled, nodded and said: You make your offer, I will never counter-offer.

Mr. Meng stretched out his thumb and little finger and said: Six hundred thousand.

Eucommia ulmoides nodded directly and said: Deal...

After transferring the account with Meng Lao Bank, Eucommia called a moving company and took away the set of mahogany furniture. The old man looked at the moved objects without saying a word for a long time. Eucommia ulmoides knew how the old man felt. When I think of the old man who has no children and now has to rely on the pawnbroker to survive, even if he is the one who pays, he can't help but feel sad. Eucommia ulmoides remained silent until long after she left.

Looking at the seal in his hand and recalling the old man's focused and serious look, Eucommia murmured with emotion: I don't know how many good folk skills have been lost among the people.

Jiang Sen nodded when he heard this and agreed: Yes, many old people have unique skills, and those ancient inheritances can't be paid back no matter how much money they have. I once knew an old man who specialized in playing candy figures. The candy figures he played were truly unique. Unfortunately, his descendants found it embarrassing and were unwilling to learn. After that, I never saw the old man again.

Eucommia ulmoides sighed after hearing this, turned to Jiang Sen and said: Do you think he would be willing to integrate these folk craftsmen and pass on their craftsmanship?

Jiang Sen shook his head and said: I don’t know. If it were me, I would, but others... I don’t know.

Eucommia thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said: There are so many US dollars piled up at home, and if you keep them, they will only grow moldy. Why not use them to do something meaningful, and go... As he said this, he strode forward. .

Jiang Sen was puzzled and followed quickly and asked: Where are you going? Go home?

Du Zhong shook his head and said: Go see my aunt, I have an interesting idea...