Life in a quiet village in Xianshan

After going back to the village for a walk, there was nothing to see. Sicui was still focused on her small vegetable garden, and she took care of it quite well. She was very happy to see Gu Siwei, and she pestered her brother for a long time.

After staying at home for a long time, Gu Siwei went to the factory. His silly apprentice was still the same. Hu Yanqiu and her little sisters were also eagerly looking forward to Gu Siwei coming over so that they could eat delicious food.

Naturally, I also wanted to go to my cheap cousin Wu Daorong. Carrying a few pheasants and half-grown wild boar cubs, I exchanged some money and cloth tickets, bought some pieces of cloth, and asked sister-in-law Wu Meiling to make two summer clothes for myself and Sicui. clothes.

When asking others to make clothes, Gu Siwei would naturally have to give them wages, but Sister-in-law Wu would definitely not ask for it, so Gu Siwei pulled out some more cloth, and the remaining cloth was considered as wages.

After a day or two of tossing back to the village, Gu Siwei made arrangements. As soon as he entered the yard from Sister-in-law Wu's new home, he saw a bamboo chair and a very carefully woven small summer bed in the yard.

"Brother, who do you think is coming?"

Hearing the movement in the courtyard, Sicui came out of the house happily. When she saw Gu Siwei in the courtyard, the girl grinned happily to the back of her head.

"Mr. Zheng is here?"

How could Gu Siwei not guess that with this method of weaving bamboo, not only the whole country, but at least one slap in the face from at least ten miles and eight villages, the only one who has anything to do with Gu Siwei is Mr. Zheng, whose nickname is Zheng Youcai. At this time, he is considered to be old. You must know that the average life expectancy in the country is now estimated to be forty or fifty. Mr. Zheng is definitely considered an old man.

While the brother and sister were talking, Mr. Zheng walked out of the house, rolling a cigarette as he walked.

I saw the old man flipping his hands like this, putting the cigarette to his mouth and licking it a little, and a cigarette became a cigarette. Rubbing it with two fingers, a cigarette became a cigarette.

"Comrade Gu, I've prepared two of the things you asked for." Mr. Zheng smiled at Gu Siwei. After saying that, he lit a cigarette and started smoking.

"I saw it, it was beautifully done. It was done so quickly, which I didn't expect..."

Gu Siwei looked at the small bamboo bed in the courtyard and was extremely satisfied. Gu Siwei had slept on the ordinary bamboo bed when he was a child, but this bed was much more exquisite than the one he had when he was a child.

I won’t talk about anything else, I’ll just talk about how to deal with the bamboo strips. When I was a kid, I had to wipe the bed with a towel after buying it, and I had to use sandpaper in some places, otherwise the thorns of the bamboo strips would get stuck. people.

But the small summer bed in front of me is different. The bamboo pole is extremely thin, almost as thick as a mobile phone charging cable in the future. The cut surface is not rectangular, but with arc corners. Guan Jian is the craftsmanship of the old man. Almost every arc angle you see is similar.

The foot of the bed is not a whole piece of bamboo, but five or six bamboo slices five to six centimeters wide, which are bent and baked into a shape and then wrapped with the toughest bamboo skin. After wrapping, they are oiled.

Even though this is a small cool bed, two or three adults can sleep on it. No matter how you turn over, this small bed will not shake or squeak at all.

Just looking at this craftsmanship, Gu Siwei said that no matter how much it costs, the white noodles are worth it.

Just when Gu Siwei was looking at the bed, Mr. Zheng looked a little uneasy.

The old man is not doubting his craftsmanship. He came here today to deliver things for one reason. The most important thing is to find out the background of Gu Siwei. Although he has heard various legends about Gu Siwei, it is better to take a look than to hear ten thousand words. Mr. Zheng I want to know whether this person named Gu has the strength he said.

That is to exchange food for his craftsmanship!

"Very good, very good. Old man, I will follow this standard from now on. I am not afraid of waiting. I am not afraid of being late for a good meal. Oh, I forgot, I found an apprentice for you. I will bring him over later for you to see. look……".

At this time, Gu Siwei thought of this silly boy Liu Dezhu.

Mr. Zheng doesn't take the value of his crafts seriously at all. In fact, not many people care about this kind of old craftsmen now. If it is left to a few decades later, various cultural heritages will be replaced by craftsmen like Mr. Zheng. If you live a little more, your life will be enjoyable.

"Can you show me some people? Not everyone can learn this craft well."

Mr. Zheng doesn't care whether he teaches outsiders or not, but if he wants to accept a disciple, he has to meet him. If it is too bad - well, he has to accept it. How much food does Comrade Gu give him in a month?

The so-called "meeting the apprentice" is actually just a symbolic mention by Mr. Zheng. The concept of food at this time is related to the belly of the whole family. Although he has no children, his nephews and nephews are all his. family.

"That's no problem, Sicui. Go and see if your brother Dezhu is at home. If he's not at home, go to the shipyard and have a look. If it's not there, ask Uncle Fulin to call him and tell him that I'll look for Dezhu. Got a master.”

After hearing his brother's call, Sicui led Xiaopao out like a little whirlwind.

After a while, the sound of Sicui in Liu Fulin's courtyard spread to Gu Siwei's ears along the wind.

Gu Siwei smiled at Mr. Zheng and asked him to wait a moment. He got into the house by himself. When he came out, he had a cloth bag in his hand. The cloth bag was very torn and had to be repaired several times, but inside The bulging stuff is a good thing.

"This is what we said last time. You go back and weigh it. If it's missing, tell me next time and I'll make it up for you." Gu Siwei said and put the bag at Old Man Zheng's feet.

Mr. Zheng stretched out his hand and gently picked it up, and then estimated the weight of the grain in the bag. He has been a farmer for most of his life. If he didn't have this ability, Mr. Zheng might as well wipe his neck. As soon as he picked it up, he knew that this bag of grain could only be heavy. It's impossible to be short of something.

"I try to look like I have gained two or three pounds," Mr. Zheng said honestly.

Gu Siwei said with a smile: "The more, the better. Anyway, we guys will still have to deal with each other for a long time, and we don't care about this pound or two of food."

"Then I won't be polite." Mr. Zheng also refused to be pretentious with Gu Siwei.

There was food at his feet. Mr. Zheng felt relieved at this moment. He was finally willing to believe that the young man in front of him, who looked like a half-year-old child, really liked his craft. Not only did he like it, but he also had the ability to get food. , for Mr. Zheng, he is a serious nobleman.

Then the old man and the young man started chatting. What could the two of them talk about? Of course it was about weaving bamboo. In addition to normal things like stools and chairs, Gu Siwei also wanted the old man to make various dishes, baskets, and so on.

Mr. Zheng is naturally very happy. The originally worthless craftsmanship can now be exchanged for food, not to mention that the price given by Gu Siwei is enough to feed two or three people. If you save a little, it is not impossible for four or five people.

At the beginning, Mr. Zheng was still thinking about how much this young man could understand, but as he listened, Mr. Zheng's face became serious, because he had never heard of some things.

"This is a lampshade".

Mr. Zheng looked at Gu Siwei, his eyes clearly saying: You are talking! Old man, I have lived so old, what does a lampshade look like? I have never seen it before?

Gu Siwei understood the old man's eyes, but he really didn't want to explain, so he had to say: "Just tell me if you can make it up."

"Is there anything that can't be made up? If you want to make it up, I will make it up for you." Mr. Zheng then thought about it. He just provides food and contributes by himself. How come there are so many problems? I have to make this person angry, old man. Go dig in the fields for food.

"When will the box be ready?" Gu Siwei asked.

"I'll make it up when I get back. The things you want will take about a month and a half," Mr. Zheng said.

Gu Siwei thought about it and felt that it was similar. After a month and a half, his property in Yinsongya Hulugu Valley would be almost ready. When the new house is ready, once these things are put in, it will be a serious home. .

"Okay! Let's do it like this. When I get back, I'll get you a bag of food, which will be considered as a deposit," Gu Siwei said generously.

Mr. Zheng laughed when he heard this and said, "That's great!"

"By the way, Comrade Gu, could you please change the grain to whole grains, cornmeal or sorghum noodles?" Mr. Zheng remembered his plan when he came.

"In exchange for coarse grains?"

Gu Siwei couldn't turn this corner.

"Replace with whole grains and you can eat longer."

Mr. Zheng didn't come here decades later. He never thought that white rice and noodles would be eaten open. None of the landlords he had seen before would eat like this. How could he have the guts to think like this when he was making bamboo strips? After eating a meal of dumplings, they smelled a little meaty. I didn't dare to drink water for most of half a month, for fear that the dumpling flavor would be washed away.

Gu Siwei is not a little embarrassed, but quite embarrassed. It's not that he doesn't have seeds. This kind of food is the staple food of the village. Now the fields in the village are planted with corn and sorghum, but this guy Gu Siwei can't eat it. One or two meals is enough to keep him fresh. If you let him eat these all day long, if nothing else, his throat won't be able to bear it. When he stuffs the coarse food into his mouth, it will pass through his throat like a razor blade. It's not like he's self-abuse. Not interested in eating.

"I really don't have one here. You'd better find someone else to change it," Gu Siwei said.

"Really not?"

Mr. Zheng was a little skeptical: Without cornmeal and sorghum noodles, how can your boy make white flour steamed buns every day at home? You are too good at boasting, maybe you are afraid that I will have to change too much and you will suffer a loss, right?

Gu Siwei didn't know the old man's idea. Now every meal in Sicui's house is white pancakes with sauce made from diced meat. The embarrassment he felt when he first arrived in the village has long since been thrown into Java.

The two of them were staring at each other, thinking about coarse grains, when footsteps came from outside the yard.

When I looked up, I saw Sicui jumping up and down with Liu Dezhu coming over.

"Brother Siwei, are you looking for me?"

As soon as he entered the yard, Liu Dezhu saw Gu Siwei grinning widely. He first said hello to Gu Siwei, and then grinned at Mr. Zheng with a silly smile.

"So the apprentice you mentioned is Dezhu."

"It's good to know each other. Do you think it's okay?" Gu Siwei asked with a smile.

Mr. Zheng nodded: "Just teach me."

"I don't want to learn how to weave bamboo strips."

After two discussions, who knew that this guy Liu Dezhu quit.

At this time, as long as someone has a good career, who wants to be a bamboo craftsman, so as soon as Liu Dezhu heard about learning this thing, he immediately quit.

"What do you want to learn?" Gu Siwei glanced at him.

"I want to learn how to use the machine from you," Liu Dezhu said.

Gu Siwei has no interest in arguing with this boy, nor is he interested in explaining to him that in a few decades this skill will be enough for your boy to support two or three wives.

"If you want to learn, go back and tell your father that you don't have to eat anymore," Gu Siwei said.

Liu Dezhu was immediately dumbfounded when he heard that he didn't need to eat.

"Can't I learn enough?" Liu Dezhu quickly gave in. When he thought about how he would never be able to eat again, Dezhu immediately became honest.

This kid was careless, but he was not stupid. He knew that Gu Siwei would learn from him as long as he told his grandfather, so he simply accepted it.

"Young man, you're still pushing back on learning a good craft. If Sicui hadn't been a girl, would it have been your turn to do this?..."

Looking at Liu Dezhu's appearance, Gu Siwei went up and kicked him gently, and scolded him a few more times without understanding his hatred.