When Da Tou saw that Yun Ling was very generous, giving the attendant a hundred strings of cash as if it were nothing, it seemed that what she said about her elder sister marrying an official was true.
He was somewhat relieved that he hadn't tricked him into going earlier, otherwise there would have been trouble he couldn't get out of. So he quickly changed his attitude to be more respectful and said:
"Young master, our workshop is right here."
Yunling put the small pendant back into the handkerchief, then handed it to Tangling to keep safe. She called out to Datou and quickly followed after him.
Gangzi followed closely behind Yunling. Tang Ling folded the handkerchief and put it in her bosom, then ran a few steps to grab Gangzi and reminded him:
"Our brother's identity this time is that of the future brother-in-law of an official."
The ways of officialdom were completely outside Gangzi's sphere of knowledge. No matter how much he thought about it, he could only imagine how powerful, wealthy, and influential officials were. He didn't even know what ranks officials were, so naturally he couldn't be a good straight man. Therefore, he pinned his hopes on Tang Ling.
"I don't understand these things, I'm counting on you."
"Um!"
Yunling followed Datou into the workshop first. The scale of this workshop was simply incomparable to the cotton workshop in Qingcheng. Perhaps it was because Bianjing was a place where every inch of land was precious. Although the scale was small, it had all the necessary parts.
There were many long tables in the workshop, and on the tables were many small tools. If they fell on the ground, you might not even be able to see them with the naked eye.
Where did everyone go?
As he spoke, Da Tou walked forward and circled around to the other side of the workshop.
Yunling followed him, and soon they saw two middle-aged men dressed in thin clothes. One of them was standing and using a long-handled stone hammer to pour something into a stone mortar, while the other was sitting and using a short stick to filter something on a screen.
"Brother, what are they doing?"
“Jade-cutting sand, oh, distinguished guests have arrived. Please cut this stone open so the young master can see the jade inside.”
Yunling stood beside the stone mortar, peered inside, and was even more surprised to see it gleaming.
What are those things in here?
Seeing that the hot potato in his hand had been taken away, Da Tou was more inclined to explain it to Yun Ling.
"This is gravel, very hard. We need to crush it, then filter it through a sieve according to different coarseness to separate it into different sizes. Depending on the raw stone, we need to select the appropriate gravel, mix them together, and then use tools to cut the jade."
Yunling was truly amazed and naturally couldn't wait to see how the jade was deciphered.
The group carried the stone back to the workshop. The three men surrounded the stone, pointing and gesturing at it. Yunling couldn't understand them. After a while, she saw Da Tou make a mark on the stone at one-fifth of its length.
Then one person sat on a water stool, applied jade-cutting sand to the marked spot on the stone, and then stepped on a foot pedal to turn the grinding tool. The thing that looked like a round iron disc began to work on the stone surface, and Yunling couldn't help but feel admiration.
This thing is a bit like one of those large sewing machines from later times. When you step on it, the thread in the spool swirls and slides onto the clothes...
Yunling suddenly had a flash of inspiration: if this thing could be modified to press wool felt or cotton pads, it would probably greatly improve work efficiency.
Yunling has noted it down!
"Young master, this grinding stone is quite time-consuming. It will probably take you an hour to an hour and a half to grind it all the way down. Why don't we go up and have some hot tea?"
"Hey, no rush, no rush."
Yunling walked past a group of long tables and benches and came to a long shelf. On the shelf were many raw stones, and these raw stones were the real treasures.
"Brother, are you selling these rough stones?"
"Not for sale, not for sale."
Big Head, as if afraid Yunling would snatch a piece away, hurriedly ran over, catching his breath, and said:
"These are all things left by our ancestors. We have hands and feet, food and drink, so we won't sell them."
"These are all good stuff. Not all of them were left by your ancestors, right? Where did you find them? Teach me how, so I can borrow a few to play with."
Da Tou then fell silent, put his hands behind his back, and calmly went out of the gate to the tea stall in front to have some tea. Yun Ling naturally followed him.
But even after drinking two cups of hot tea, the man still didn't utter a single word, so Yunling continued to probe him for information:
“My future brother-in-law told me that if you want good rough stones, you have to go to the mine. Once the rough stones are mined, countless experienced people pick them out. The ones that are not picked out go through round after round of screening before finally ending up on the market.”
"Brother, do you have any connections in this area? Could you introduce us? If we can buy it, then we'll truly be able to avoid losing out and being cheated."
Big Head twirled the teacup in his hand a couple of times, saying only, "Of course, of course." Then, after thinking for a moment, he added, "I wonder where the young master usually plays? Is it in East Chicken Alley, West Chicken Alley, or perhaps Slaughtering Pig Alley?"
Yunling felt something was off about the names, but since she was in an unfamiliar place, it wasn't unreasonable to think these names might have ulterior motives. She was in a difficult position and wanted to gloss over it, but just as she was about to speak, Tang Ling spoke first:
“Our young master prefers quiet and refined places, so he goes to the teahouses near the old Cao Gate. If he’s really feeling bored, he can take a sedan chair to the North-South Diagonal Street near Zhujia Bridge and invite the famous Huadu Zhi to come and enjoy tea and compose poetry together.”
Big Head raised an eyebrow and said again:
"Where does the young master live?"
Tang Ling continued:
"I live in a small three-courtyard house nearby."
"Judging from the young man's accent..."
"No one should bring up that great chaos from back then anymore..."
The back-and-forth between Tang Ling and Da Tou really made Yun Ling break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, she brought Tang Ling with her. If she had only relied on Gang Zi, he would probably have had to impersonate some sect and act tough in order to barely get through it.
Big Head put down his teacup and opened his mouth to say:
"When I'm in a bad mood, I'll have a couple of drinks at a brothel, then sleep in a warm, cozy place. The next day I'll feel refreshed and my mind will be sharp. I'll suddenly know things I didn't know before."
After saying this, he tossed a small string of copper coins onto the table and walked back to the workshop with his hands behind his back.
Tang Ling said softly:
"Brother, he's trying to take advantage of us."
"Yeah, yeah, I understand. It's normal. When asking someone for a favor, we should be more proactive. Hey, those places you mentioned earlier, like East Chicken Alley and West Chicken Alley, are they the kind of places I'm thinking of?"
Tang Ling nodded quickly.
“Those places are a mixed bag. The people there speak rudely and their language is offensive. They also use real guns. The sounds are unbearable.”
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