Gong Shu
Qin Ziyou arrived first as usual, standing in front of the night market to wait. He waved happily when he saw her.
Although Bo Jun is young, he has learned some maturity from being raised by the Duchess of the State. His youthful innocence and liveliness have long since disappeared. In the past year, when talking to him, one always has to act like an older brother. After a few conversations, Jing Wan has become more and more afraid of him. She misses her little friend in the Northwest more and more. Whether it is a boy or a girl, they play together, chatting and laughing, which is very cute.
Seeing Qin Ziyou tonight felt like seeing a young friend from the Northwest; I felt a sense of warmth and kinship, unaware that the person in front of me had let out a slight sigh of relief.
She waved a small purse in front of her and said, "I've carved a couple more little trinkets. I'll take them to the master craftsman for his opinion."
Qin Ziyou's lips never curved into a smile: "Come on, I'll take you there!"
Jingwan wrapped the pink cloth around her head again and left the night market with him.
The two chatted all the way, without a moment of silence or awkwardness. After turning left and right, they finally arrived at a residential house called—Weaver Girl's House.
Seeing Jingwan stop under the signboard and look at the three characters, Qin Ziyou guessed that it was her first time here and wondered why she was here. He explained to her, "The Weaver Girl is known for her skillful hands, so the people living here are all good at handicrafts. This workshop has the most handicraft workshops."
As he spoke, he took the lead and walked forward so that he could introduce her to the others.
"The Weaving Workshop is located in the east of the city. There are 30,000 skilled craftsmen living here. Dyeing workshops and brocade weaving workshops are everywhere. Further in, there are also bow and arrow workshops. There are craftsmen there who specialize in making arrows for the army. If ordinary people want to go hunting in the mountains, they can also go there to buy bows and arrows..."
Following the direction he pointed, Jingwan looked curiously. Although it was already night, the workshop was still bustling with activity. The sound of blacksmithing, "clack-clack-clack," reached her ears. Even without seeing the blacksmith covered in sweat, she could already find him by the sound...
After walking a few more steps, the two arrived at a small house.
The house had a small door, indicating it was an ordinary family home. Jingwan stood at the door, and when she looked up, she was immediately drawn to a string of jade wind chimes.
The place where red lanterns should have been hung has been replaced by two strings of small wind chimes on the left and right.
Wind chimes are often used for decoration of Buddhist pagodas and are usually made of copper or iron. However, the pair of small wind chimes in front of us are carved from jade. The bell tongue is a thin piece of jade, and red silk is used as a rope to hang them in front of the door.
She stood on tiptoe and strained her neck to look up, and sure enough, she saw some unfamiliar characters on the bell. Just as she was wondering about it, Qin Ziyou explained, "These are Sanskrit characters, used for praying for blessings."
She suddenly realized what was going on and became even more curious about the owner of the house.
Qin Ziyou had just knocked on the door with the door knocker when a voice came from inside: "Coming."
Then came the sound of footsteps, and when the door opened, an old man stood in front of them.
The old man was rather short, only about the same height as Jingwan. He had a kind face and dressed simply, with an apron over his clothes, which was covered in powder dust.
He first glanced at Qin Ziyou, then at Jing Wan beside him, and after looking them over from head to toe, he warmly welcomed the two of them in.
Qin Ziyou whispered in Jingwan's ear, "You should call him Uncle Gong, just like me."
Gong Shu addressed Qin Ziyou as "Young Master" with great enthusiasm and respect, and the two spoke as if they were master and servant.
Qin Ziyou looked at Jingwan and said with a smile, "Uncle Gong, please don't chat with me anymore, Jingwan is getting impatient!"
Gong Shu looked at Jing Wan, slapped his forehead, and laughed loudly: "I'm getting senile! Come with me!"
He led his men into the house, and as soon as they reached the door, Jingwan was struck by the furnishings inside.
The room was spacious and contained three grinding machines. In the middle was a long table with all sorts of grinding tools of various sizes, which was dazzling to the eye.
There was another jade ornament on the table, an unfinished jade carving of a spider, but its general shape was already visible. The carving was delicate, and the spider's eight legs not only varied in thickness and length, but also in solidity and emptiness. The segments of the legs were thin and distinct. If it weren't for the skillful carving, one of the spider's legs might have been accidentally worn off.
Jingwan was so shocked that she couldn't speak.
Following Uncle Gong's directions, there were also some jade ornaments placed against the wall of the room. According to Uncle Gong, these jade ornaments were not well made and had too many flaws. If they were to be taken out for people to appreciate, it would probably ruin his reputation, so he put them here for the time being.
Jingwan picked up a white jade bracelet with a twisted pattern and examined it closely, but she really couldn't figure out where the flaw Gongshu had mentioned was.
The bracelet is carved with diagonal incised lines that do not intersect, the rope pattern is fine and the lines are neat, but there is a flaw somewhere.
Seeing her examining it closely, Gong Shu took out the jade bracelet and pointed it out to her: "Look, isn't the width between these two lines different from the other lines?"
Jingwan looked closely and noticed something: the distance between the two lines was indeed a little wider than the other lines.
But if it weren't for his guidance, how could an ordinary person have discovered it?
Seeing her expression, Uncle Gong guessed Jingwan's thoughts and laughed, "We craftspeople can't be 'good enough' in the slightest. You know we make a living by our excellent skills, we can't ruin our own reputation!"
Jingwan's ears immediately turned red.
Gong Shu was perceptive and, noticing her shyness, said nothing more. He simply took out the spider-shaped jade pendant that Qin Ziyou had brought that day and said with a smile, "Here, I've modified yours from that day. Take a look and see if it's alright?"
Jingwan carefully took it, almost failing to recognize that it was a low-quality jade ornament that she herself had once made.
The jade plaque was thinned by Gong Shu, making the spider even more exquisite. A hole was drilled in it, and it was adorned with a white tassel. On the tassel was a small jade ball, which was just right to be hung at the waist, making it a true masterpiece.
There are many renowned jade carving masters in the Northwest, and Jingwan believes that if Gong Shu were in the Northwest, he would definitely be the first-rate among these masters.
Thinking about my own skills, I wonder when I'll ever reach even half of the skill level of these master craftsmen.
"I have seen your jade carving. You have such skill and strength at such a young age. If you are willing to work hard, you will surely become a great talent in time."
After saying that, he laughed heartily and said self-deprecatingly, "We people can only do some manual labor. This title of 'great talent' is only used within the industry. If outsiders heard it, they would probably laugh their heads off."
In the Great Wei Dynasty, artisans had a lower social status than farmers. However, they were born in the capital, where there were many nobles who were skilled at eating, drinking, and having fun. They also had the energy and money to indulge in such pursuits, which provided artisans with a continuous source of income.
Qin Ziyou disagreed with Gong Shu's words: "There are hundreds of crafts in the market, and as long as you do it the best, you will be a great person!"
Gong Shu waved his hand, said no more, and did not forget why Qin Ziyou had come today. He asked Jingwan if she had a teacher to guide her every day.
Jingwan shook her head: "Three years ago I followed a master craftsman, but after that I started working on my own in isolation."
The idiom "building a cart behind closed doors" was taught to her by Qin Ziyou. In order to get her to meet Uncle Gong, he said a lot of things, but what touched Jingwan the most was this phrase "building a cart behind closed doors." She knew that she was not very talented, but she was willing to put in some hard work. Without the guidance of an experienced master, she would only stagnate.
Upon hearing her answer, Gong Shu's gaze towards Jing Wan took on a deeper meaning.
"To carve fine jade pieces, one cannot do without the skill of painting. It is not enough for you to just focus on carving jade; you must also practice painting every day. I have observed that your jade ornaments are quite rough in the details, and the figures and scenes lack skill in terms of realism and shading."
"Furthermore, one cannot be rigid when carving jade. If something is found to be wrong while rinsing the jade, one must immediately change one's mind..."
As he spoke, he sat down in front of the grinding wheel to demonstrate it to Jingwan.
Jingwan stood bent over, watching carefully, afraid of missing any detail.
Upon arriving here, Jingwan quickly removed her pink headscarf. Now, with her head bowed, her fair and slender neck was revealed, and her fluffy black hair at the back of her head was quite adorable.
Qin Ziyou glanced at it once and immediately looked away, but his ears turned red.
Fearing that Jingwan might notice and misunderstand that he didn't mean well, he immediately went forward to watch Gongshu carve jade.
It wasn't until a quarter of an hour later that Uncle Gong finished his work and then assigned Jingwan homework, instructing her to paint and carve jade every day without any slack.
Jingwan respectfully agreed.
Qin Ziyou had stayed up very late that night and was dozing off early on when he heard footsteps. He woke up groggily and stretched out a big yawn.
"Is it over? Are we leaving?" He yawned as he spoke.
Uncle Gong asked him if he wanted to stay overnight, but Qin Ziyou shook his head: "I still have to take Awan back! It's so late, I'm worried about her going back alone."
Uncle Gong did not keep them any longer and saw the two of them off.
A gentle evening breeze dispelled much of the drowsiness, and Qin Ziyou's mind cleared considerably. He then recounted to Jingwan how he met Gong Shu.
"He's over fifty years old! He only moved to Pingdu from another place twenty years ago, and he immediately became a master jade carver here. My grandmother loved his craftsmanship and asked him to do jade work many times. When I was a child, I loved playing with him, and we became familiar with each other. Later, he opened his own jade workshop, and I often went out with him. We talked a lot, and our relationship became closer..."
His voice grew softer and softer as he reminisced about past joys. In the fleeting span of his life, he had found himself closest to this old master craftsman...
The two chatted more and more happily. Qin Ziyou spoke wittily yet tactfully, recounting various amusing incidents from his childhood. Jingwan was amused and burst into laughter. They stood on the street, listening to each other's laughter in a daze, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Jingwan only asked him to drop her off at the entrance of Yuquefang, where there were few people and it was quite safe.
Qin Ziyou smiled and said, "You've just become my disciple today, so you must work hard and not disappoint me!"
Jingwan nodded immediately, her face serious, as if she wanted to make a fist to show her.
"I know it's inconvenient for you to come out. How about we do what we did today and meet once a month?"
Jingwan listened with nothing but gratitude.
Qin Ziyou yawned, covered his mouth, and waved at her, "You should go back now! Ugh... I'm sleepy too."
Jingwan glanced at him before jogging away.
When no one was in sight, Qin Ziyou's eyes were clear, and he was not sleepy at all. The people living in Yuquefang were all from prominent families in Pingdu, so how could this be...?
He slowly entered the workshop, but not in the same direction as Jingwan.
Walk straight along the main road, and you'll reach your doorstep in 313 steps.
The compound is surrounded by high walls, and one has to look up to see the plaque at the main gate. The stone lions on the two large red pillars have majestic faces and are believed to ward off disasters and evil spirits.
The servant knew he liked to come home late, so he kept the door open. After welcoming him in, the steward said that his father was already waiting for him in the study.
Qin Ziyou slumped his shoulders and walked away lazily. As expected, he was met with another barrage of insults. The words "cynical" and "spoiled brat" were nothing new to him. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and pretended not to hear them.
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