Cheng Chang'an and Ye Laosan quietly retreated from the inner room and let Master Liu have a good rest.
After coming out, Cheng Changan said to Ye Lao San very apologetically: "Master Liu has been under too much pressure recently, so don't take it personally.
"If you want to try other wood, why don't I take you to the warehouse?"
Ye Laosan had originally wanted to say goodbye, but after hearing these words, he was instantly moved.
He had seen the warehouse of the Chief of Works before, and there were many materials in it that he had never seen before.
He didn't have the chance to ask because he was rushing to finish the work. It would be best if he could go in and take a look this time.
"Then I'd like to trouble Master Cheng to introduce him to me." Ye Lao San bowed and thought that even if he didn't ask for any wood, it would be good to go in and broaden his horizons.
Cheng Changan took Ye Laosan into the warehouse and went straight to the room where the lighter and softer wood was stored.
Most of the wood here is something Ye Laosan has never seen or even heard of.
So he looked around eagerly, while listening carefully to Cheng Changan's introduction.
"Third Brother Ye should know these types of wood, right?" Cheng Chang'an pointed to some wood piled at the door and said, "These are basswood, pine, fir, nanmu and other types of wood. They are for the new apprentices to practice with."
Then he took Ye Lao San inside.
"This is camphor wood. It's soft and has a natural fragrance. It's easier to carve, but the texture is rough. It's basically just for us to practice with."
Upon hearing this, Ye Laosan bent down and picked up a piece of wood. He weighed it and habitually pinched it with his fingernails to feel its softness and hardness. Finally, he picked it up and put it to his nose to smell it.
The two continued to walk inside. Cheng Changan picked up a piece of wood and handed it to Ye Laosan, saying, "This is ginkgo wood. Although it is soft, it has a fine texture and is not easily deformed. It is suitable for carving some fine wood carvings."
Ye Laosan took it and repeated his previous actions, mentally adding this wood to the list of things he planned to try.
Then Cheng Chang'an picked up two pieces of wood that Ye Laosan had never seen before.
"Neither of these two types of wood is produced in Daqi.
"The light-colored one was brought by the Western envoys before. It's called white walnut, but it's soft and not very tough. It's also not very resistant to compression or bending. So after someone gave it to Master Liu, it was left here and has never been used.
"Look at this reddish piece. It's meranti wood from a small country in Southeast Asia. This kind of wood is actually quite good.
"This lauan wood has a moderate hardness and softness, a good gloss on the surface, and good stability.
Normally, it’s used to make door and window frames and furniture, but I thought I could give it a try…”
As Cheng Changan spoke, he picked up a wooden box from the ground, dumped the scraps of wood inside directly on the ground, put a few pieces of wood he thought were good in it, and stuffed it into Ye Laosan's arms, saying, "Brother Ye San, take these back and try them out. You might find something new!"
Ye Laosan was also very envious of these woods that he had never seen before. When he heard Cheng Changan say this on his own initiative, he did not bother to be polite with him.
"Thank you very much. I will study it as soon as I get back." Ye Lao San said while holding the box. "Even if I can't succeed, at least I can draw some lessons from it."
Cheng Changan quickly said, "Stop saying such unlucky things. Maybe if you go back and try it this time, you'll succeed!"
Of course, these words are more of Cheng Changan’s self-consolation than his expectations for Ye Laosan.
Cheng Chang'an now desperately hopes that someone can pull Master Liu out of this sea of suffering and rescue himself at the same time.
Ye Laosan carried the wooden box back to the woodworking workshop and once again devoted himself to the study of wood carving.
Wang Ge silently took on all the renovation and purchasing work. Occasionally, he would drag Ye Lao San, who was so engrossed in the work that he forgot the time, out of the house and arrange for him to eat and sleep. He had become the general manager of the woodworking workshop.
Fortunately, Ye Lao San trusts Wang Ge, and others are also convinced of him, so everything is progressing in an orderly manner.
Only Ye Laosan's wood carving still had no progress.
After trying several kinds of wood, Ye Laosan felt that this direction should be correct.
I have never been able to find the reason why I fail every time.
Is it a problem with my craftsmanship or a problem with the wood?
This troubled Ye Laosan so much that he even stayed in the carpentry workshop for several days and didn't even go back to the dumpling restaurant.
Fortunately, Mrs. Ye knew what he was busy with, so she didn't take it seriously.
But on this day, Mrs. Ye, who went to the dumpling restaurant to look for her son but couldn't find him, went straight to the woodworking workshop accompanied by Mrs. Ye and Qingtian.
"Uncle San!" Qingtian ran in from the door first, looking around curiously.
Several people who were working in the yard stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sunny day.
Someone asked, "Little girl, are you here to see Third Brother Ye?"
"Yes, uncle, I'm here to find my third uncle." Qingtian greeted everyone very politely.
Before they came, several people in the yard had heard that Ye Laosan had a niece who was actually the daughter of Prince Rui, and was later named a princess by the emperor.
When everyone heard the news, they didn't think much of it. They just treated it as a curious anecdote for fun.
But now, seeing with their own eyes that Qingtian still called him "Third Uncle" and even called these rough guys "Uncles", they were all flattered and so nervous that their bodies were stiff.
Wang Ge, who was calculating how much wood to buy in the house, came out when he heard the voice. The moment he saw Qingtian, he was stunned. He wondered whether he should call her Qingtian or kneel down and kowtow to the princess?
Fortunately, at this time, Mrs. Ye finally came in from outside with the help of Old Mrs. Ye.
Qingtian also called out sweetly, "Uncle Wang!"
Wang Ge's waist bent down instantly, and he said quickly: "Oh, I dare not use that name. Just call me Wang Ge."
This made Qingtian confused.
What's the meaning?
Can’t I call him uncle, so I have to call him brother?
Fortunately, Mrs. Ye came to the rescue in time and said, "It's okay, Qingtian, just call me the same as before."
After she finished speaking, she asked Wang Ge, "Is my third son here? My mother-in-law heard that you were going to buy wood, so she came to discuss with him what kind of wood would be needed to make furniture for my fourth son and how much we need to buy."
Wang Ge quickly pointed to the back and said, "Third brother is busy in the main hall of the second entrance. You can just go in directly."
Upon hearing this, Qingtian rushed in first.
Who would have thought that Ye Laosan had been almost going crazy these days working on wood carvings, leaving a mess all over the floor.
As Qingtian ran into the door, he was tripped by a wooden box thrown on the ground and fell into the box. He was stunned for a long time before he burst into tears.
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