The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

But it was said that Jia Amnesty led his family to Lingnan, first met Wang Ziteng, and then Huo Sheng also rushed over.The next day, General Beringen came to the Governor's Mansion of Guangdong and Guangxi to meet with everyone, and he couldn't help talking about Hong Kong affairs with joy. It was obvious that he earned much more money than he thought.

After talking for a while, Jia Congnai said: "The Western gentlemen from Lixiangyuan have all arrived in Lingnan first, and we have met each other two days ago. We made something very interesting together when we were in Beijing. Come with me."

Then he led the people to the guest house where he lived with his brothers in Lixiangyuan.I saw a small piece of soil on the neat green bricks in the courtyard, I don't know where they got it, and it was compacted.There was a smaller sack beside it, which was bulging and filled with unknown contents; two wooden barrels, one big and one small, the big one was empty, and the small one was half full of clear water; and two wooden molds like drums.When a young man saw them coming, he poured the contents from the sack into a big wooden barrel, and it turned out to be some gray seeds.

Jia Cong said: "Everything in Beijing is inconvenient. We only hired someone to make a calciner in the Zhuangzi on the outskirts of Beijing, and invited an old kiln worker from Jingdezhen to help make it out. The old kiln worker also followed suit. Mr. Xiyang is here with Lingnan."

Another boy picked up a bucket and slowly added half a bucket of clean water into the big wooden bucket, while the one in front was holding a small shovel and couldn't stop stirring it.In half a day, the ashes and water were mixed evenly, like gray thick mud.

A boy first placed two round pieces made of bamboo strips on the ground, and then took the two round wooden molds and fastened them on top.Jia Cong laughed and said, "The time was too short, so I just found a carpenter on the street and made this mold. I told him for a long time that he didn't understand, and finally I told him to use the cheapest fir wood to make two without drumheads." Drums, he understood. Later, he went to find a bamboo craftsman to make two drum heads."

The one holding the shovel scooped out the plaster paste from the big wooden bucket, filled the wooden mold with one shovel, and smoothed it carefully; Covered up, there is a hole between the two.Later, the round mold was erected sideways, and it was quite interesting to face each other.The plaster is very thick, and the round hole is not big, so it never poured out when standing on its side.The last one fetched an iron rod with a small iron peg on each end of the rod.Inserting the two ends into the holes of the wooden mold respectively, and carefully adjusting them for a long time, and finally they were in order, he clapped his hands and stepped back to the side.

Jia Cong pointed to that and said: "This is called a cement dumbbell. It is good for strong people to practice arm lifting. It can't be used right now. You have to wait for the cement to dry."

Wang Ziteng looked at it for a long time but couldn't understand it, and asked, "So what?"

Jia Cong smiled and took out a blueprint from his bosom, and pointed it to him: "It will look like this after it's done. These two ends are concrete blocks, and there is an iron rod in the middle. You can hold the iron rod to practice your arm strength." Pointing to the ground again The one who put it said, "At present, this mold is too rough to show well. In the future, when I have time, I will ask someone to make some exquisite molds, coat the inside with wax, and then use cement to make many exquisite stone carvings." It’s much more convenient than asking a mason to do it, and it can be used repeatedly. For example, this.” As he spoke, he took a small cement lion ball made in Beijing from a brother next to him and handed it to Wang Ziteng.

Wang Ziteng took the thing and looked at it carefully for a long time, Jia Amnesty and others also leaned over to look at it.Wang Ziteng asked, "Isn't this a stone?"

Jia Cong shook his head: "It's not a stone. This is what the cement looks like after it dries."

Wang Ziteng and Bai Lingen looked at each other in astonishment.Pointing to the lion rolling the ball, Beringen said, "This thing is to take..." He poured out the unused cement paste in the wooden barrel again, "That made it?"

Jia Cong said with a smile: "General Bai, if you don't believe me, just wait until this is done. There are still some leftovers, why don't you use them to make whatever you want, and wait until they are dry. We have all kinds of The circles made of bamboo strips, the sticks, and the sticks are first used to support the shape. It’s just that there is too much water right now, and it can be finely carved after two days of drying.”

This word aroused everyone's interest, and everyone rolled up their sleeves.The brothers next to them handed over some gloves, and they put them on. They used shovels to dig out the remaining cement one by one.But at this moment, Zi Xichun came running from behind to ask Jia Cong about something, and went into the yard to have a look—her uncle, Wang Ziteng, Bering En, and Huo Sheng were all squatting on the ground like urchins; her brothers Jia Cong stood aside with their hands behind their backs Lively, surrounded by seven or eight brothers; can't help but blurt out: "Uncle and several lords, are you playing with mud?"

Everyone laughed loudly.

Jia Amnesty stood up first, took off his gloves and said, "Forget it, just wait until it's dry! Then I'll make this big bowl that can be used to hold wine!"

Jia Cong couldn't help but said: "Father, there is no such a concave and convex sea bowl! The circle of the bamboo strips is so round, you just need to spread it on it and you can twist it. It is really a talent. And it is so shallow. The saucer is about the same. Big chunky saucer."

Wang Ziteng immediately pointed at him and laughed loudly: "Your son said that! I didn't say it!"

Without waiting for Jia She to curse, Jia Cong hurriedly said, "Uncle Wang, are you a caterpillar?"

Jia She, Bai Ling'en and others laughed together, and Jia She laughed and shouted: "He said that was a horse!"

Wang Ziteng said angrily: "It doesn't look like a horse anymore? It's just a lying horse! This thing is made of mud, and it can't be made into a horse at all! I just made a rough shape, and I will dry it in two days before carving it." The shape looks like a horse. Besides, these bamboo strips are not in control at all! It’s a mess.”

Jia She smiled and pointed, "What's the matter with Guan Lima? The horse's head doesn't even look like a horse at all? It's clearly a puddle of mud! Go, let Lian'er bring Meng'er over, and ask him if the one his grandfather made is a horse." ! My Menger knows horses best in Lingnan, who rode a horse all the way here!"

Jia Cong hurriedly said: "Don't, this thing is still wet right now, don't let Meng'er move around, it's not good to stick to your hands."

Jia She said: "No problem, no problem! Anyway, sooner or later you can do it, and then show it to Menger!"

Wang Ziteng glared at him and said, "It's more like your big bowl anyway!" The two of them started arguing.

Both Bai Lingen and Huo Sheng stepped aside, just smiled and didn't speak.

Yao'er came over from the side and said, "Prince Huo and General Bai can't stay in Guangzhou for too long. I have prepared a few small boxes to pack the cement things you made, and you two will take them back home. You can see for yourself when they are done." It’s also pretty fun to read.”

The prince hurriedly said, "Put mine up for me too!"

Jia She said, "I'll take it back to my yard too!"

Yao'er complied, and carefully packed all the cement things made by the four of them into small boxes and handed them over to their servants, and told them: "It needs to be ventilated so that it can be done quickly. If you are not on the road, don't put the lid on the box." .” The four of them responded hastily.

For a while, everyone cleaned their hands, dusted off their bodies, and returned to Wang Ziteng's study.

Bai Lingen asked: "Master Cong, can cement really be turned into stone?"

Jia Cong nodded and said, "This was made by a craftsman named Joseph Asputin from the English country of the West." Although he has not yet been born. "I got the prescription and calcination method from a gentleman who is familiar with Western things. In the past few years, I have been pondering and researching with my brothers and Mr. Western. I have tried many times. At present, this method is definitely not the best. Because Beijing and China are inconvenient, we can only do this step. Now that we are out of the cage, the sea and the sky are bright, and we can make improvements.”

Beringen asked again: "Are the raw materials for this thing hard to come by?"

Jia Cong smiled and said: "It's not rare, most of them are ordinary limestone, clay and other things. There are also some nearby ores. Later, General Bai will send someone who can use it, and my nephew will give it all!"

Beringen was overjoyed: "Really?"

Jia Cong said: "A lot of business depends on Hong Kong. With cement, it is much easier to expand Hong Kong, saving a lot of effort in grinding stones, and it is very neat and strong. It seems that it is for nothing to give your family something important. It is everyone who benefits. I said earlier that only when everyone gets rich is the real way to get rich." Looking at Huo Sheng again, "Would you like it?"

Huo Sheng stood up and cupped his hands: "Thank you!"

Bai Lingen was startled for a moment when he heard the words, then he also stood up and bowed deeply to him: "Master Cong is so generous!"

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "How dare you do it! It's just a matter of seeing it more realistically."

Bai Lingen sighed: "Even a 60-year-old person may not be able to see it so realistically. At the age of Mr. Cong... he really has a history."

A trace of disapproval flashed in Wang Ziteng's eyes, but Jia Cong said everything, so he couldn't stop him.

For a while, there were people coming and going outside, and the lunch was ready, and everyone went to eat together, and after the meal, they went back to their rooms to rest.Jia Cong was going back to his own yard, when Beringen caught up with him on the way: "Master Cong! Wait a minute!"

Jia Cong hurriedly turned his head: "General Bai!"

Bai Lingen dragged him to the side, with a bit of embarrassment on his face, he forced a smile and said, "Master Cong, I'm going to take the liberty of the general, I want to discuss something with the third master."

Jia Cong thought it was a matter of cement, so he smiled and said, "General, don't be so polite, you are an elder, just say it straight."

Bai Lingen was a little embarrassed, and said: "Eh... because your house's ships have often come to Hong Kong in the past two years... this..."

Jia Cong couldn't understand, so he blinked: "Well... can the general be more direct?"

Bai Lingen thought for a moment, then said simply: "Our princess has taken a fancy to little general Wu You."

"Huh?" Jia Cong jumped up, "Wow, no way! Are they dating? It's so much fun hahaha..."

Bai Lingen hurriedly waved his hands: "No, no...Little General Wu doesn't know yet. The last general just wants to bother the third master, can you make an appointment with this marriage?"

Jia Cong was stunned, and pointed to his nose: "Me? Make their marriage?!"

Beringen nodded.

"I'm not Wu You's father!"

Bai Lingen smiled and said: "You are his lord. The third master can naturally decide on his marriage."

Jia Cong waved his hands again and again: "No! He decides his own marriage. I am his brother and boss. Why should I be his master? There is no such thing as a boss taking care of his subordinates' marriages. The princess has a crush on him and chases after him. Have you embroidered purses to make shoe soles for him, looked at him and smiled, if you can catch him, you will count on your skills, and if you can’t catch him, you will have no regrets."

Bai Lingen frowned: "Nonsense! What is the status of a princess, how can he be like a village girl!"

Jia Cong rolled his eyes: "What's the matter with the princess? The sky is high here and the emperor is far away, so there is no restraint. It would be boring for young Ai not to be a handsome guy. Rules and regulations are the most annoying thing." He disapproved, and sighed, "Forget it, we have a generation gap. Wu You's marriage is his own decision anyway. I won't make it for him, even if his father decides for him a woman he doesn't like, I will definitely have it." The method is messed up. You can’t decide for yourself about this kind of life, how aggrieved you are to live.”

Hearing the words, Beringen looked him over carefully, then sighed, "The third master is really different from ordinary people." Then he cupped his hands and left.

Huo Bai left the next day.As soon as his two front feet left, Jia She and Wang Ziteng felt a little uncomfortable on their back feet, they only stayed in the house and rarely came out, and no one was allowed to enter the house.Jia Lian, Wang Xifeng were a little worried, and said that they would ask the doctor to come and have a look, but he would not allow both.After a few words of persuasion from the couple, the two old men became furious at the same time, insisting that they were fine and just needed to rest for a while, and drove them out respectively.Jia Lian was quite worried and came to discuss with Jia Cong.

Jia Cong laughed loudly when he heard the words: "Second brother, don't worry! They are both fine, they are in good health."

Jia Lian said: "My father-in-law is fine. He has been in Lingnan for three years. I'm afraid the master has some acclimatization. The New Year's Eve must be safe and sound."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "I told you to rest assured! How can our old man be so easily disobedient, and Sister Lin is not disobedient. Second brother, I will teach you a trick." Then he lay on Jia Lian's ear He bit his ear for half a day.

Jia Lian wondered, "What is this for?"

Jia Cong winked: "Anyway, brother just do what he wants, Guan Bao can make him and the two happy, and he will never hide in the house again. If you want to know the reason, please ask Fourth Sister. "

Jia Lian left full of doubts.

After a few days, the cement was dry. Jia Cong led his brother, sister-in-law, sister, Wang Ziteng and others to watch the cement dumbbells. Everyone was amazed.

After lunch at one o'clock, a boy from Jia She's room came over with a red lacquer plate.Jia Cong glanced at it, but couldn't help covering his face and being speechless.Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng looked at each other for a moment, a little funny.

Jia Amnesty hugged Jia Menglai and pointed to the dish and asked, "Meng'er, tell grandfather, what is this?"

Jia Meng said loudly: "A big bowl of wine!"

Jia Amnesty beamed with joy: "Okay! My grandson really has eyesight!" Said while looking at Wang Ziteng triumphantly.

Wang Ziteng snorted and said, "It's clearly not what it was back then, and it's nothing more than what you've been up to these days." He glanced at Jia Cong as he said that, just as he saw Jia Cong quietly giving Jia Meng a thumbs up, he snorted heavily again.

One of Wang Ziteng's servants also brought over something, covered it with red silk, and put it on the case.Wang Ziteng went over and snatched Jia Meng into his arms, lifted the red silk with one hand, and asked softly: "Meng'er is good, tell grandfather, what is this?"

Jia Meng turned to look at his parents, and Wang Xifeng blinked vigorously.Jia Meng said loudly: "Mama! Menger is sleeping on the horse that came to Lingnan!"

Wang Ziteng laughed loudly and lifted him above his head: "It's still my grandson Jieer who has eyesight!"

Xichun couldn't bear it anymore, so she covered her mouth and laughed.When she smiled, the others couldn't help it anymore, and the juniors in the room laughed in unison.