When the bus started, Li Long sat by the window. He watched the changes in the scenery outside the window.
After a row of low bungalows, there is a poplar forest, and behind the poplar forest is a large area of farmland.
Anyone who has watched "Praise to the Poplar" should know that the poplar trees, or the local people call them Zhuantian Yang, grow straight and can protect themselves from the wind and sand. Therefore, there are usually several rows of poplars planted along the roadsides and fields. There are bitter beans growing under the poplar trees, and they are lush green.
Occasionally, you can see one or two low bungalows appearing on the roadside, with the words "add water", "change tires" or "hotel" written in white gray on them.
Logically speaking, these are all illegal constructions, because private construction of houses on the roadside was not allowed in the first place. It's just that these people make a living here, which makes it convenient for long-distance drivers, and there is no specialized management organization at this time, so these people can survive.
Over time, these roadside buildings became more and more numerous, and even became large-scale. They gathered at some important points and became a fixed place for drivers to rest. Later, there were restaurants, bathhouses, car repair shops, etc. wait.
The construction time is long enough, and the illegal construction becomes a legal construction. Li Long remembered that someone in Liang Wenyu's village opened a small restaurant on this road. Later, when Road 312 was expanded, a lot of demolition money was given.
The bus from the county seat to Wucheng usually does not stop on the way, because it is only more than 100 kilometers long, but what puzzled Li Long was that this time when he was approaching Hu County, the bus turned to the side of the road and stopped. Come down.
"Get off the car to relieve yourself and rest for a while. There are sellers on the roadside. You can buy some."
The driver shouted from the front of the car and then got out of the car.
Li Long looked outside the car and saw that there were actually a few people selling things.
Tea eggs, boiling water, and some selling watermelons and melons.
He vaguely remembered that a few decades later, there would still be peaches sold here.
Li Long did not get out of the car. He had breakfast and carried a military kettle in his bag, which contained mung bean water to relieve the heat. He took a sip from time to time and drank it all when he arrived in Wucheng, so there was no need for it to stink in the kettle.
Most of the passengers got off the bus - the road runs east-west and it is hot now, so the seats facing south are too hot. Li Long sat in the north and had no influence.
About ten minutes later, the passengers who got off the bus got on the bus. It took another two minutes for the driver to arrive late, start the car, look at the people, and then drive.
It took more than two hours to get to Wucheng by car. The road conditions were not very good at this time. Li Long got off the car and hurriedly took the bus to the jade factory.
The jade factory had not yet finished get off work at this time. Li Long handed a cigarette to the guard and asked:
"Hello, comrade, I would like to ask if you can buy jade here. ?”
“We can’t buy big items, the factory has given them away to the store. There is a small door at the side door, and you can buy some small items there...but they are not cheap.”
< br>
"Okay, comrade, thank you." Li Long only wanted to buy small items, and he couldn't afford big ones.
Arriving at the side door with his satchel on his back, Li Long first smelled the aroma of rice. He saw that the side door was open, and a window was opened next to it. There was a glass cabinet in the window, and there were random things in the glass cabinet. Wearing pieces of jade.
There are jade bracelets, jade Buddhas, handles, rings, rings and the like.
Looking at the quality of the jade, there are mutton-fat white jade, jasper, black jade and even jade.
"Young man? Want to buy jade?" A hoarse voice asked inside.
Li Long poked his head in and saw a man in his fifties or sixties holding a spatula and sticking his head out from the inside to ask.
His hair is gray and messy, and his beard must not have been shaved for a long time. He wears black-rimmed glasses and has several patches on his shirt.
Li Long noticed that his right index finger holding the spatula was missing a section. He didn't know what the injury was.
"Well, I heard that jade is sold here, so I came over to take a look."
"Look, these are actually made by apprentices. Of course they are not waste products. They can be used, but the carvings The job is just like that. Of course, the advantage is that it’s cheap.”
This man spoke very honestly, and Li Long immediately had a good impression of him.
"Is there any jade in here?" Li Long couldn't help but ask. Neither northern Xinjiang nor southern Xinjiang produces this kind of jade.
"Well, there are a few pieces, not many. We are a jade factory, and jade is also jade, but it is hard and difficult to carve. Of course, it is not a good material-"
Be good.
Although Li Long is considered an outsider, he also knows that the pieces of jadeite in the glass counter are at least ice. The safety buckle that catches his eye is at least ice, and it is very green. There is also a pair of earrings. To the ice species, but full of green.
There is a bracelet, the ring is a bit small, but it looks very beautiful.
"What are the prices of these things?" Li Long looked at the jade articles again. To be honest, he really couldn't see anything bad about the carving.
“Which one do you want?” The man took out the food from the pot and put it on the small table against the wall. Then he walked to the glass counter and asked, “I’ll give it to you if you like it. Say."
"Give me these jadeite pieces." Li Long. Said, "I want it all."
"What?" The man didn't believe it, "You want it? Even if you are an apprentice, the price is there. With so much money, you might as well Just go to a big store and buy a good one.”
Li Long thought to himself, I don't understand, I just own it. Those things look pretty much the same to me.
He asked:
"What's the difference between an apprentice and a master?"
"What's the difference? The difference is huge! Do you see this Buddha?" The man took it out from the glass cabinet and showed it to Li Long. He didn't follow the rule of "not getting rid of jade", so he put it in Li Long's hand and pointed it at Li Long:
"See? This Buddha's appearance It’s all right?”
"Yeah." Li Longxin said indeed, he had nose, eyes and mouth.
"But did you see that it is dry and not very angry, does it mean that it does not have that kind of spirituality?"
"This..." Li Long could feel it a little, but not much.
"Look at this again." The man took out a small jade Buddha from his pocket and said, "Compare."
When the two Buddhas were put together and compared, Li Long See it.
This is really different. The things carved by apprentices are really dull. They have everything they should have, but they lack a little bit of aura.
The Jade Buddha that the man took out from behind is Maitreya, and you are smiling when you look at it, it is really auspicious. As for the emerald Jade Buddha, it makes people feel disrespectful when looking at it.
He suddenly thought of going to Jinzhong in his previous life to see those ancient wooden statues of Bodhisattvas and Heavenly Kings. Each of them looked like the kind of "image" mentioned in the novel.
Many of the machine sculptures made by modern young men and girls on the short video platform look lifelike at first glance, but at a closer look they lack the aura and feel like they are just ornaments.
“I understand, this is really good!” Li Long pointed at the jade carving at the back, “It can be called a master craftsman!”
"Young man, you have good taste!" The man smiled, "Then you still buy so much?"
"Buy it." Li Long's words stunned the man, "Why don't you listen to my advice?"
"Master craftsman, I also buy it" "How many?" Li Long smiled, "I want to buy them for my parents, my eldest brother and my sister-in-law, my nieces and nephews, my partner, and me. How can I afford a master craftsman?"
"Huh? So many?" The man was extremely surprised.
“Well, we are all a family, so if we want to buy something, we will buy it for everyone. By the way, we have to buy it for my father-in-law.”
"Okay, okay." The man reached out to take back the little jade Buddha he had just taken out, and Li Long asked:
"How much does this cost?"
"This... You want it?" the old man asked.
"Yes, pretty good."
"Two...fifteen, okay?" the man asked tentatively.
"Okay, I bought it." Li Long said. "Are you really buying it?" The man was surprised, "This... the jade material is not big, and the carver..."
"The carver is very good." Li Long said, " I want it."
The man's breath suddenly became thicker. He suddenly turned around and walked quickly inside, took out another pile of things, put them on the glass counter, and said in a hoarse voice:
< br>“Look, what else do you want? I’ll sell it to you cheaply!”
Li Long was stunned for a moment, and then looked at these things.
They are all small pieces, and the largest one is no bigger than a fist-sized handle.
Most of the materials are seed materials like those sold by Yu Sufu to Li Long, and some of them look like scraps.
Li Long vaguely understood that these things should have been carved by this old man, right?
The old man took out a total of twelve things, mainly handles, jade Buddhas, safety buttons, thumb rings, safe and sound cards, etc.
Li Long wanted them all.
The old man was a little shocked - including the jade Buddha from before, Li Long received a total of one hundred and forty yuan.
Li Long felt that he had taken advantage, but the old man said that he had just said that he would get the advantage.
Li Long bought all the jadeite materials from the glass counter, as well as four jade bracelets, two belt buckles, a handle and some gadgets. He mainly looked at the ingredients. When he said this, the man picked out the better ingredients on the counter for him.
These things are even cheaper, the man said nonchalantly:
"These things are all handmade. The quality of the materials is not bad, but they are too small. There is basically no cost in the factory. You can pay an average of five yuan per piece."
Okay, another pile, nine Fifteen dollars.
Seeing Li Long take out two hundred and thirty-five yuan very neatly, the man couldn't help but sigh:
"Are all young people today so rich?"< br>
“That’s not true.” Li Long said with a smile while wrapping these jade articles:
"I happened to pick up some things in the mountains and sold them for money."
The old man took out newspapers to wrap the jade, and there was nothing better, let alone a gift box.
But newspapers are not bad either. Li Long carefully wrapped them one by one and put them into his satchel, which was bulging.
The old man also invited Li Long to have dinner with him, but Li Long refused and he had to rush back to the county.
Sent Li Long away, the old man walked around in circles several times excitedly.
It took a while to calm down, and I sat down at the table and started eating.
The staple food is corn noodle cake.
Although no guests came in the afternoon, he was still a little used to it.
Before getting off work, the man went to the factory's financial department and slapped seventy-six yuan on the table:
"This is the money for the jade sold today, a total of seventy-six yuan. Here is I’ll issue a ticket!”
"Hey, Mr. Liu, is it open today?"
"That's right." The man said in a loud voice, "A man who knows the goods came and bought a lot?"
The financial staff collected money, issued an invoice, and gave a receipt to Liu Gong.
When Liu Gong left the financial room, the two people whispered:
"Who knows the goods? Are his apprentices who know the goods? Isn't it because they have encountered a second pole?"< br>
"Who says it's not the case? If you really want to meet someone who knows the goods, you won't go to a big store to buy it?"
"That's right!"
Liu Gong left the financial office and went to the processing workshop , before entering the door, I met a short, middle-aged man who also wore glasses. When he arrived at Liu Gong, he immediately said respectfully:
"Master, are you here?"
"Xiao Xu, let me see if there are any leftovers, small hairy seeds, etc. My hands are itchy recently. , I just stayed there, just thinking about slowly carving some gadgets.”
"Master, isn't your hand...injured?" Xiao Xu pointed at Liu Gong's finger and asked.
"Take your time, you will be idle anyway. Besides, you will clear out these scraps in the end..."
"That's no problem. I'll get you one when I go to work tomorrow. Go over there."
"Okay, I'll wait for you tomorrow." Liu Gong said, turning around and walking out.
Xiao Xu was a little surprised. After his master injured his finger, the factory knew that he could no longer carve large pieces, so they put him at the side door to look after the shop as a way of providing for him. It was not a bad treatment for him, but he had always been dull. .
Did you transition today?
After entering the family courtyard and returning home, Liu Gong shouted loudly into the room:
"Old lady, take out my wine, I want to drink two glasses today!"
"Yo? Why do you suddenly want to drink?" The woman came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and asked curiously.
“It opens today!” Liu Gong slapped a stack of bills on the table. “People have bought all the gadgets I carved! I’m so happy!”< br>
"Then we really need to have two drinks to celebrate!" The woman was also very happy. She could see that her husband had really come out of that depression.
Li Long took the bus to South Station with a bag of jade, and was a little excited.
A little hungry, he found a noodle restaurant under the Bayi Guesthouse of South Station to eat, then bought a ticket and went back.
According to Liu Gong’s opinion, he made a lot of money today.
According to Li Long's opinion, he also made a lot of money today.
What a master craftsman - the materials are good and the workmanship is good. Leave it, must leave it!
I don’t care whether the value of these things will increase in the future. At least these things will gradually disappear in the future. I have them in my own hands and in the hands of my family.
That's it.
I bought the ticket a little late. This time I was in a seat near the south window. Although Li Long was basking in the sun, he was in a pretty good mood.
I spent a lot of money in two days, and now I have to make a lot of money.
Back in the compound, Li Long saw that Gu Xiaoxia hadn't come back yet, so he rode his bicycle home first.
Since I have bought things for everyone, I will share them with my family members to be happy.
When passing by the bridge hole, Li Long took a special look and didn't find the little girl. Maybe she was busy.
Back in the village, when he was approaching the door of his house, Li Long saw his father Li Qingxia and Tao Daqiang coming out carrying tires and nets.
"Are you going to catch fish?" Li Long asked with a smile.
"Yeah, you've been busy in the mountains recently. We thought we'd have nothing to do, so why don't we just catch fish." Li Qingxia said, "Are you going?"
"Go. You guys wait for me, I'll Put the car down and come here!" Li Long thought that he hadn't been to Xiaohaizi for a few days, so he would go and have a look today. (End of this chapter)