Lu Cheng was assigned the job of chopping firewood, Xu Wen directly looked for the past.
As soon as he arrived in the front yard, he was stunned.
Lu Cheng straightened up and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Behind him was a mountain of firewood. All of them were one foot long and two inches wide, exactly the same as Master Yao had requested yesterday.
There would inevitably be some leftovers from chopping wood in this way, which he had also handled well. He cut them into suitable sizes and piled them on the other side.
Xu Wen estimated that there were at least two cubic meters of firewood piled up here. If Lu Cheng had completed all of them just now, he would not only have to expend his physical strength, but also have to use his transportation and strength skills.
This kid…wasn't simple.
"Xu Wen." Lu Cheng smiled happily when he saw him and asked," What's the matter?"
"Oh, my work is done. Senior Brother Zhou asked me to help you. It looks like it's not needed anymore."
"Oh, no need. You've worked hard too." Lu Cheng said with a smile.
Xu Wen looked around and confirmed that he had finished all the work. He nodded and turned around to walk back.
"Where are you going?" Lu Cheng asked.
Senior Brother Zhou asked me to go to the Yellow Workshop after I finish my work." Xu Wen did not hide anything.
" Hmm…He called me too. Shall we go together?" Lu Cheng said.
Xu Wen didn't say anything and he didn't say anything. He was obviously a little scheming. Xu Wen didn't mind and followed him in the direction of the yellow workshop.
Yao Clan's Wood Workshop was much bigger than he had imagined, just like a small village.
The place where the apprentices lived was relatively backward. The white houses in front of them were neatly arranged. From time to time, people dressed in craftsman's short clothes came and went in an orderly manner.
Yao Clan's Wood Workshop was divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Yellow. The higher the level, the more high-end the work. Master Yao usually led the Heaven Workshop personally. He once did a job directly to Heaven's Hall and paid tribute to the capital as a birthday gift for the imperial concubine.
These were all introduced to Xu Wen by Lu Cheng along the way.
Xu Wen was originally an ordinary peasant youth, so he really didn't know about these things. He was very interested in hearing them. Lu Cheng was encouraged and couldn't help but say more.
"I heard that Master Yao made a set of 12 boxes back then. He worked with Master Lu. Master Yao made the inside, Master Lu made the noodles. Master Yao is best at tenon and mortise joints. This set of twelve cabinets uses a total of thirty-six different methods. It is said that even the emperor has repeatedly praised it when he saw it!"
Lu Cheng was a teenager after all. He was beaming when he mentioned these stories, as if he had seen them with his own eyes.
"Mortise and tenon? Immersed in water?" Hearing these two words, Xu Wen suddenly turned his head and looked at him seriously.
"Yes. Well, don't you know what mortise is?" Lu Cheng pretended to be surprised.
"I know a little, but I don't know very well." Xu Wen said.
Lu Cheng's eyes flashed and he smiled and said,"I don't know much, or I won't mislead you first." In short, Master Yao's tenon and mortise skills are superb. Not to mention the ten-mile area, even the craftsmen in the capital have heard of his name!"
Lu Cheng didn't say so much. He only pointed at the surrounding scenery and chatted with Xu Wen.
Xu Wen returned to the room, absent-mindedly thinking of somewhere else.
A few months ago, he had no idea what mortise was.
But now, the word was no stranger to him.
Mortise and tenon, composed of tenon and mortise, is a common way of connecting ancient furniture and architecture. A tenon is a convex part, also called a tenon; a mortise is a concave part, also called a mortise or a mortise.
Mortise and tenon this way without nails, purely by the wood structure itself for connection. A skilled craftsman can make the two parts of the connection seem to be one, not only can not see the gap, but also can not touch with the hand.
Lu Lihai, the foreman, had told him all this, and he had shown him a box that his grandmaster was said to have made.
It's a bookcase, and it holds about five or six books.
This box looked simple and unadorned, but Xu Wen felt that something was wrong with it at a glance. After a while, he realized what was wrong.
The box was square, and there were no traces of connections between the parts. It was as if it had been dug out of a whole piece of wood.
Xu Wen therefore knew what was called tenon and mortise, and also knew that there were different ways to connect tenon and mortise. Lu Lihai's sect once had twenty-eight kinds, but only twenty kinds remained in his generation.
Now Lu Cheng said Master Yao knew 36 kinds in total?
That was more than Lu Lihai knew. If he really couldn't get into the water, then it was very likely that Lu Lihai had lost the "waterless tenon" that they needed the most!
Xu Wen was originally sent here by Jing Cheng to learn some basic carpentry skills. When he heard Lu Cheng's words, his heart suddenly moved.
Lu Cheng was quite familiar with the Yao Clan Wood Workshop. He brought Xu Wen along and quickly found the place.
This was a mansion with black tiles and white walls. Thick moss was floating on the white walls, and it was obvious that it was quite old.
The red door was wide open, and the sound of sawing wood could be heard inside, but no one spoke.
Lu Chengdang entered the door first, Xu Wen followed behind, quietly looking left and right.
Soon, his eyes were attracted by a statue. It is enshrined in the center of the hall. It is not a Buddha statue of Guanyin that is common in ordinary people, but an old man wearing craftsman clothes and holding a ruler saw.
The statue was carved in such detail that the old man's wrinkles and rough cracks on his hands could be clearly seen.
But Xu Wen could only see his eyes.
The old man was staring intently at a piece of wood in his hand, as if there was something extremely magical hidden inside, making him lose himself.
Lu Cheng's attention was completely focused on the back. He walked in as if he didn't notice anything.
When Xu Wen stopped walking, he turned around and asked in surprise,"Xu Wen?"
Xu Wen stood in front of the statue and suddenly took out three incense sticks from the table beside him. He lit them on the candle and bowed respectfully three times.
He was about to insert the incense into the censer when a voice suddenly came-
"Stop!"
Senior Brother Zhou walked over hurriedly and frowned." You haven't started yet. You can't worship Patriarch Lu Ban!"
As he spoke, he took the incense from Xu Wen's hand and bowed three times before personally inserting it.
Senior Brother Zhou's tone was obviously scolding. Xu Wen touched his head and turned his head indifferently, coincidentally meeting Lu Cheng's gloating gaze.
He leaned over and whispered," I'll teach you to be good. Do more mistakes, do less mistakes. Let's see what others do first!"
"Yes." Xu Wen replied.
Lu Cheng seemed to think that he was being perfunctory and glanced at him with dissatisfaction.
Senior Brother Zhou finished offering incense and turned around to size them up.
"Early. Let's go in."
The area inside the wooden workshop was larger than it looked outside. It was divided into several areas, and each area was stacked with small mountains of logs.
Senior Brother Zhou brought them in and met up with the three teenagers who were already waiting here.
Xu Wen knew all three of them. They were all prospective apprentices who had come in with them yesterday.
"The carpenter's first job is to distinguish wood. Good work, good materials. Come here and learn how to choose good wood from Master." Senior Brother Zhou looked around them and instructed.
"Liu Ada, beech; Chen Tie, Fraxinus mandshurica; He Ping, cypress; Lu Cheng, rosewood."
Xu Wen immediately understood that Huang Zi Fang's work was indeed basic, but it was not as low-end as Lu Cheng had said.
This was Yao Clan's Wood Workshop's raw material yard. All the materials were stored according to the type of wood.
The value of wood varied from high to low. Redwood was second only to red sandalwood and nanmu. It was a rather high value. Xu Wen glanced at Lu Cheng and saw that he couldn't help but reveal some joy.
After arranging the four people, Senior Brother Zhou's gaze fell on Xu Wen and his voice was faint.
"Xu Wen, Old Wood."
The other four youths looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
Old wood is wood that has been used and is now recycled for reworking.
When it comes to old wood, the immediate impression is that it is dirty and smelly. Xu Wen's assignment was not a good job.
Then, Senior Brother Zhou called five official apprentices over and asked them to bring Xu Wen and the others to their assigned places.
The person who came to bring Xu Wen was a young man in his twenties. He was a head shorter than Xu Wen. He was very stocky and had a very honest smile.
Senior Brother, what's your name?" Xu Wen bowed to him.
"Xu…Xu." Senior Brother Xu stuttered.
" So it's my family. Hello, Senior Brother Xu." Xu Wen said.
Senior Brother Xu grinned and led him in. He didn't seem to like talking because of his flaws, and Xu Wen didn't reply. He glanced back and was a little confused.
He remembered that when he chatted with Lu Lihai in the past, he had mentioned his experience as an apprentice. Lu Lihai said that the first year of entry was basically a handyman at the master's house. He couldn't learn anything. His daily job was to cook, wash clothes and do some chores.
He had just arrived at the Wood Workshop yesterday and was sent here today to learn something. Wasn't his progress a little too fast?
Or was it…something wrong with the Yao Family Wood Workshop that made them anxious to find more apprentices?
Old Wood District is located in the west of Huangzi Square. It is an independent small courtyard with three rooms and a wood yard.
As soon as he entered the moon cave, a rotten and old smell hit his face. It was very unpleasant. Looking up, all kinds of colorful things piled up like a garbage dump.
"Yes, it stinks. Bear with it, bear with it." Senior Brother Xu stammered and pointed forward." Master, Master is there."
His voice wasn't loud, but the other side's voice was clearer.
"Peachwood."
"Pine."
"Chicken wing wood."
The man kept reading out the names of various kinds of wood, and the two little disciples next to him immediately sorted them into their respective positions.
Xu Wen looked from afar and saw that the man kept picking up a piece of wood and putting it down again and again. The interval between them was less than a second. He was extremely skilled.
The master of this old lumber yard seemed to be very familiar with all kinds of wood…
Xu Wen whispered to his senior brother,"Master, what's your name?"
"Lian…Lian." Senior Brother Xu replied.