Chapter 621 The Meaning of Travel (16)
“Me?”
Su Chengyi thought for a while, shook his head and said:
“I haven’t thought about it, what do you have? Any suggestions?”
“Who would ask someone else for such a thing?”
Gyatso glared at him, raised his finger and pointed in front, and said:
"Well, that's Grandpa Kampot's home."
Su Chengyi looked in the direction of his finger and saw A bare adobe house was surrounded by a circle of desert thorn-like plants. It was not very beautiful, and looked more like a fortification on a battlefield.
“Be careful, don’t step on the tree he planted.”
Gyatso directly raised his foot to cross the defense line, and did not forget to look back and give a few words to the first time visitor. Su Chengyi.
The children who had just run in front had now fallen into the house and were shouting the name of the homeowner in unison.
"Grandpa Kampot! We are coming for you!"
The scene is a bit like the gourd dolls in the cartoon calling for grandpa in unison.
Su Chengyi crossed his arms and thought like this, and raised his feet to step over a row of "trees" in Gyatso's mouth.
The door creaked open, and an old man wearing a turban came out with a very elegant goatee.
He was obviously happy when he saw these children, and his cloudy eyes were full of smiles, but he still glared in a pretentious manner and cursed:
"What nonsense are a bunch of kids arguing about! They can't even get a good nap!"
These children could obviously see that he was just a paper tiger, and started to explain in a flurry of words.
"Grandpa Gonpot, the kite you made for Gyatso is broken. Please see if you can repair it."
"Yes, yes, Gyatso likes that. Just a kite!”
"My kite string was also broken, and now there is only a short length left."
"By the way, Grandpa Kampot, we also brought a man to see you, and he said he also wanted a kite. "
After hearing the child's words, Grandpa Gonbu raised his head and looked at the door of the courtyard, looking at Su Chengyi who was standing at a distance.
"Hello."
The two looked at each other, and Su Chengyi nodded and said hello.
"Jili Gulu, Jili Gulu."
Grandpa Gonbu did not respond to his greeting, but lowered his head and said something to Gyatso, which was probably their national language. Su Chengyi could not understand it at all.
“Jiligulu!”
Gyatso raised his head, made gestures and said a lot of words.
Su Chengyi guessed that Gyatso was probably helping to explain how he met him.
Obviously this Kampot grandfather is a marginalized figure in this village, which can be seen from his house.
The geographical location is in the corner away from the gathering place. If you move further to the edge, you will enter the desert. The house is also very crudely repaired, so it is most likely that you live alone.
So, it is natural that he is very defensive towards outsiders.
Su Chengyi did not feel offended, but waited patiently for the two of them to finish their exchange.
Fortunately, in the end, Gyatso seemed to have successfully convinced the other party. He turned around and waved with a smile.
"Okay!"
Su Chengyi nodded and walked inside.
The old man didn't talk to him, he just turned back to the house and dragged out a big box, which was full of materials for making kites.
"Grandpa Kampot asked me who you were, so I explained to him. Don't take it to heart. He asked because he didn't think you looked like a local. Maybe he was afraid that we would meet bad people from outside. "
Gyatso poked Su Chengyi and said in a low voice.
"Well, it's okay."
Su Chengyi really didn't take such trivial matters to heart. His attention was mainly on the pile of tools the old man took out.
It should be said that for a "handicraft enthusiast", these materials and tools are too rich.
"Gyatso, let me see."
The old man Gonbu coughed and motioned to Gyatso to bring him the eagle kite that he had been holding in his arms all the way.
After careful inspection, he shook his head and said:
"The most critical bone in the middle is also broken and cannot be repaired."
"Ah——"
The children suddenly let out a sigh of disappointment.
On the other hand, Gyatso, who seemed very concerned all the way, was much calmer. He just pursed his lips and nodded, and carefully put away the remains of the kite.
Su Chengyi glanced at it. Although the eagle had broken wings, its eyes were still lifelike, and it looked quite sharp.
"Grandpa, ignore me for now. Please help him make a kite. He will definitely leave in two days."
At this point, Gyatso raised his head as if Confirm with Su Chengyi.
Su Chengyi nodded and continued:
"Yes, I will leave tomorrow. If it is convenient for you, can you make me a kite?"
After hearing what he said, the old man from Kampot did not respond at first. He just stood up and dipped the bamboo strips cut with a knife into the basin.
"What kind of kite do you want?"
His words meant he was relieved, so the children waiting with bated breath next to him immediately cheered, and everyone was very happy.
"I'm going to give it to my girlfriend. Do you have any suggestions?"
Su Chengyi thought for a while and replied.
The reason why he put the question back was because Su Chengyi felt that before he made a request, the craftsman should take the initiative to explain clearly what he was good at to avoid embarrassment and offence.
“Grandpa Kampot can do anything!”
Before the old man could speak, the children next to him were all shouting.
"So. Swallow?"
Su Chengyi pondered for a while and gave the answer.
Part of the reason is because the swallow-shaped kite is really classic and is loved by people all over the world.
The other part of the reason is that he remembers the past incident that Chen Jinzhi told him. Shu Wang picked up the kite that others didn't want and was later accused of stealing it.
That kite is in the shape of a swallow.
“Tch, after hesitating for so long, I thought you were going to say something powerful.”
Gyatso curled his lips, obviously not satisfied with his quite satisfactory answer.
Zhuoma glared at him and tugged on Su Chengyi's clothes happily.
"Brother, the swallow kite is the most beautiful! When it floats into the sky, it is the most conspicuous."
After saying this, she squatted down next to the water basin again , poked the bamboo strips softened by water with his hand.
"Grandpa Gonpot, can you make me a little swallow kite in the future?"
"You got tired of the flower and butterfly kite you made last time so quickly?"
Gyatso quickly interrupted, but Dolma pinched his knee hard, and he let out a painful "ouch", finally temporarily becoming honest.
After officially starting to make kites, the old man from Kampot became serious, obviously silent a lot, and did not answer the childish questions of the children next to him.
He first picked up the bamboo strips that had just been softened, cut them into long and slender bamboo tendons with a knife, and then cut them to the appropriate length.
Then he took out a candle from the tool box, holding it in one hand, and took out a box of matches from his pocket with the other hand.
“I’ll do it.”
Su Chengyi looked at it very seriously and there was life in his eyes, so he took the candle from his hand.
The old man glanced at him and didn't refute. He just lit a match.
With a "pop" sound, the flame burst out. Su Chengyi handed the candle forward and lit the wick.
When the candle was lit, the old man slowly took out an old-fashioned pipe from his pocket, borrowed a fire, put it in his mouth, and waved his hand to chase people away.
"If you don't want to help, go ahead and play!" "Ah——"
This group of children who like to watch the excitement naturally protested reluctantly.
Gyatso stood there, observed the direction in which the smoke was drifting, and waved his hands to bring his friends to the leeward, so that they would not be affected by the smoke.
Su Chengyi raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. This kid is really smart to be the leader of the children.
Although I have never seen the process of making a kite, I can probably guess part of it.
Bamboo strips are soft and have strong resilience. If you want to fix them into the required curvature, you need to use flames to bake them.
Sure enough, the old man picked up the bamboo strip just now, held both ends with both hands and bent it hard, fixing the middle corner into the shape he needed.
Then we followed the same method and made many bamboo strips like this.
Su Chengyi held the candle and silently memorized the approximate length and curvature of the bamboo strips.
This is obviously making the kite bones, which is the most critical step for whether the kite can fly normally.
According to common sense, in order to avoid size errors when waiting for tying, you should use a ruler to mark the intended tying location to facilitate splicing.
But the old man was holding the pipe in his mouth and his movements were very graceful. It was obvious that practice makes perfect, and there was no need for this measurement step. He could count the approximate length by comparing it with his hands.
After splicing them together, tighten them with cotton thread, and the most basic skeleton of the swallow kite comes out.
The old man raised the kite and looked at it with squinted eyes. He probably thought it was about the same size.
Su Chengyi also looked up and felt that handmade products really have their own unique charm.
When the skeleton is tied up, it looks like the outline of a swallow was drawn on the draft paper with a pencil.
"Is the size feasible?"
The old man asked vaguely, holding his pipe in his mouth.
"Just right."
Su Chengyi nodded hurriedly when he heard this. Inadvertently, the candle's tears filled up and fell on his fingers, making them numb from the heat.
"Okay."
The old man turned around, placed the zither bone on the wooden box, and took out a large piece of white paper and spread it out flat.
This is the children’s favorite part. Regardless of the smoke, they can’t wait to gather around.
The old man covered the zither bone with white paper, roughly noted the dimensions, then took it back, and then roughly drew the outline of a swallow with a pencil.
“Shall we color it now?”
Su Chengyi blew out the candles and asked subconsciously.
"Morning."
The old man took out the paste from the box, brushed it with a brush, and began to apply the paste according to the reserved position just now.
This step seems simple, but in fact it requires a lot of proficiency.
Su Chengyi was just watching from the side and could roughly guess that if he had done it, there would be a little leakage here and a little overflow there, making it look very ugly.
After pasting the paper batter, tie the strings at the most reasonable stress points, and the kite will have a very shape.
“Wow~”
Although they have seen it many times, the children still let out a burst of admiration.
“I’m just coloring it now.”
The old man turned around and took out the paint box and spread it out. The color was very beautiful, probably the color he mixed himself.
Seeing this, Su Chengyi finally couldn't help but ask:
"Old man, did you specialize in making kites before?"
"Why, do you want to learn?"
The old man coughed and seemed to be laughing.
“Yes, you are great.”
Su Chengyi nodded and answered frankly.
“No.”
Thinking that this young man was quite humble, the old man bit his pipe and started to paint the kite with a brush.
Compared with the eagle that Gyatso clamored for before, the swallow is much simpler, but the simpler the shape, the more difficult it is to make it look more lifelike.
“When I was young, I was a salesman. Unlike other salesmen who buy goods from others when they go to the market, the things I sell are all made by myself, a craft passed down from my family.”
"So that's it, then you are a local in the village?"
The black ink marks painted the swallow's feathers. Su Chengyi held his breath and looked away.
“Yes, when I was young, I liked to go out and have adventures. When I got old and couldn’t do it anymore, I came back.”
The old man dipped in red paint and applied it on the swallow’s chin.
“No wonder.”
Having said this, Su Chengyi finally solved the doubts in his heart.
Yes, as he said, only family-inherited craftsmanship can perform such a wonderful production process and create exquisite and valuable traditional handicrafts.
"Look."
The final coloring process was completed. The old man handed the kite to Su Chengyi's hand and smacked the pipe with satisfaction.
Su Chengyi raised the kite and used the sky as the background. Every feather of the swallow was lifelike, as if it was about to spread its wings and fly among the clouds at any time.
"That's great, thank you so much."
Su Chengyi couldn't help but express a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart.
It is difficult to see such purely handmade kites in modern cities. Although industrial products are convenient and use higher-end materials, it is difficult for people to express such amazing emotions.
"Don't thank me yet. The wind is blowing right now. Let's go out and let it out for a while. If there is any problem, I can fix it again."
The old man coughed and hung up his pipe. At the waist.
His words seemed to be giving some instructions, and the children suddenly cheered "Wuhu" and walked out of the yard without hesitation, surrounding Su Chengyi.
“We are flying kites again!!”
Su Chengyi wrapped the cowhide string and picked up the kite, and instantly understood why Gyatso cherished his eagle kite so much along the way. .
Anyone who has seen the production process just now can’t help but treasure this thing. It is so rare and artistic.
The old man is obviously experienced not only in making kites, but also in flying them.
It was clear that the sky was clear before, but after the group of people walked out of the yard, the wind suddenly picked up, which was a good opportunity to fly a kite.
Su Chengyi recalled the technique of flying a kite when he was a child. He left part of the string in his hand and ran a few steps in the direction of the wind. The swallow kite quickly floated with the wind.
"Let go! Let go!"
Gyatso behind him gathered his hands and shouted at him with a smile.
Su Chengyi followed the instructions and slowed down, letting out the wrapped cowhide thread in circles.
Following his movements, the height of the swallow kite slowly rose, and soon it floated above everyone's heads.
“Wow!!!”
The children were jumping up and down with joy.
Su Chengyi looked up and watched the black and white swallows spread their wings and soar in the endless blue sky.
He thought, although the kite is small, it makes the sky vast.
At this time, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind.
"You are here."
Hearing this, Su Chengyi turned around and met Chen Jinzhi's gentle eyes.
Wearing a light gray coat, she stood in the desert wind, raising her head slightly and following the kite flying freely in the distance.
(End of this chapter)