Chapter 101 Big Red Cowhide War Drum

Chapter 101 Big Red Cowhide War Drum

At lunch time, Li Xiang specially prepared a very sumptuous lunch for the little fox.

After all, it was her first time coming to her home, and she was “married” here in a hurry, without any ceremony or gift prepared.

A big pot of spiritual medicine snake porridge, not only has an extra big "spicy strip" but also an extra first-level spiritual medicine, and quite a variety of seasonings (chicken essence, salt, thirteen spices, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, vinegar, star anise, fennel), including some "hard work" developed by human technology for taste buds. After all, dogs and foxes are larger in size and have a stronger tolerance to seasonings than cats.

The ones for the mother cat and the five little ones are relatively "lighter", with only a little salt and thirteen spices. Serve the mother cat and the five little ones first, then increase the amount of seasoning and add the others.

This was the first time for the fox to eat the elixir snake porridge. Not to mention the elixir, the little fire fox was so smart that it knew it was a good thing as soon as it tasted it. What made it even more excited was that the food tasted extremely rich. It had never eaten anything so fragrant and delicious, and it was still steaming hot. It couldn't help but chirp while eating, and looked at Li Xiang several times with gratitude in its fox eyes.

"Eat slowly, you'll have it every day from now on." Li Xiang was recording with his mobile phone and laughing in his heart. Well, after tasting this pot of delicious elixir porridge, this little vixen who originally wanted to leave would probably not be willing to leave anymore.

Er Huang saw the little fox eating so happily, and he also wagged his tail. Ever since this dog got his "wife", he has had a "cheap" expression on his face, looking like a "dog licker".

The little fox ate so much that his belly was round and he couldn't help burping, with a look of satisfaction on his face.

It was also the first time for Li Xiang to see an animal burp, and he couldn't help but marvel at it.

After this video was posted online, fans left comments one after another: "Oh my god, Brother Xiang, why do you keep a fox?"

Li Xiang replied: "It came home early in the morning by itself."

"The fox took the initiative to surrender, it's awesome."

"This fox is in for a treat. Look at the look in its eyes and expression. They are so lifelike. Could it be a vixen?"

"Individuals can't keep foxes, right? Is this a protected animal?" a fan questioned.

One fan replied: "You can keep ordinary foxes, but... I see that Xiangge's fox is flaming red all over, so it should be a relatively rare red fox species, which is almost too cruel!"

Shit! Li Xiang was shocked. After thinking about it, he quickly deleted the video.

The upload took only about twenty minutes.

Although it has not been uploaded for a long time, there is no guarantee that someone has already clicked "Report". After all, there are all kinds of people on the Internet, especially those who can't stand others doing any good, and they like to do things like "Report" the most.

In the WeChat fan group, some fans also asked: "Why was the fox video just now deleted so quickly?"

"It's all approved, what are you afraid of?"

In fact, Li Xiang only has more than 1.6 million fans. He is still a "little Karami" in the whole network. He is a pastoral blogger, not a military or political blogger, so the review of his blog is not very strict. Basically, there is no big problem and it is quickly approved. Sometimes you don't even know if there is any review.

Li Xiang explained a few words to avoid unnecessary trouble.

He now has several WeChat fan groups. At the beginning, there were not many people, so there was only one. The aunt who ranked first on the list and the coffee merchants in Yunnan Province were all in the first group. Later, the number of people increased and reached the upper limit of 500 people, so he opened a few more groups.

Later, it was still not enough, so he applied for a corporate WeChat account, which can accommodate 2,000 people in a group. Well, he also registered a studio, which is considered a small and micro enterprise and can enjoy some tax incentives.

Someone suggested that he use QQ group, which can have 3,000 people, but Li Xiang’s fans are basically adults, and few of them use QQ.

When Luo Feifei saw the news, she curled her lips but held back her words, because she really had QQ, which she used quite a lot before she became famous, but she didn’t use it much after she became famous. Even if she did, she would use a secondary account.

When some people from the village came to visit, they saw that there was a little fox in Li Xiang's house. When they heard Li Xiang's grandmother talk about the reason, they were all amazed.

"Aren't you afraid that it will steal your chickens?" the villager asked worriedly.

Grandma laughed and said, "This little fox is very smart and clever. It saved all the chickens in the house."

The villagers laughed and said, "You should know the difference between having one meal full and having every meal full."

After stealing chickens, the village could no longer accommodate it. If it didn't steal chickens, it could eat here every day without worrying about meals. In this winter, the climate is very cold and food is hard to find outside. Isn't it nice to eat a hot meal in a human's home? When the news spread, many people came to see it. Li Xiang said to everyone: "It ran to the house by itself, maybe it will leave by itself in a few days."

Anyway, I didn't raise it on my own initiative. Although I built a high wall and a large courtyard, I also left a dog hole and didn't tie it up with an iron chain. It had its own freedom.

Fortunately, most of the people in the village are relatively simple and honest, and have all benefited from Li Xiang, so no one reported him.

Well, we still have to rely on Li Xiang to sell agricultural products in the future. If anyone blocks Li Xiang's account, or if anyone has a problem with Li Xiang or wants to target him, everyone will poke him in the back.

Destroying someone's financial resources is like killing his parents.

Li Xiang was tinkering with his cowhide drum in the backyard.

The cowhide was soaked in clean water for three days, and then he threw it into lime water to soak for a few days. At this time, it had become soft and tough. Li Xiang took out the cowhide, spread it flat on a wooden board to remove the hair and scrape the fat.

This process actually tests one's ability to control strength. If too much strength is used, the leather will be damaged, and if too little strength is used, it will not be scraped cleanly. However, for a second-level transcendent, this is not a problem.

He didn't even use a knife. He just used a 30-kilogram axe and it made it look like a piece of cake. The effect of removing hair and fat was better than that of many professional tools in small workshops.

After scraping, the three pieces of yellow cowhide are washed again with clean water, and then become evenly thick and thin, and then hung in the yard to dry.

"Is it better to use fir, birch, oak, or redwood to make drums?"

Because the sounds of drums made from different woods are different, for example, some are deep and heavy, some are bright and prominent, some are soft, and even have a nostalgic sound quality. Li Xiang pondered for a moment and decided to try using red elm wood.

Because he had a lot of red elm wood on hand, Lao Cu had chopped down every tree and brought it back. As for other wood, he had to go up the mountain to find it, and the wood quality was far inferior to that of red elm wood.

Other woods need to be dried in the shade, but red elm wood can be used directly because it has a relatively high density, is heavy and solid, has little water content, and is very tough.

"Try it first, and then change it if the result is not good."

This was the first time for Li Xiang to make a drum. Although he had learned a lot from the experience of his predecessors, there had never been a successful case before, so this time he had to cross the river by feeling the stones.

However, he likes to try new things.

Put up the phone stand, turn on the recording mode, and start shooting with the wooden chamber.

This is a relatively complicated process, involving more than ten working steps including cutting, sawing, sorting, polishing, patina, and coloring. For example, when cutting the materials, the wooden boards need to be planed into planes and arcs with the same angles so that they can be "seamlessly" combined into a "drum barrel." However, Li Xiang is dexterous and these are not difficult for him.

After two days of hard work, a drum barrel with a height of 80 cm, a drum surface diameter of 120 cm and a total diameter of 140 cm was formed.

The process of hooping the drum is also a technical job. Li Xiang used cowhide glue to brush on the cut surface to ensure the sealing of the drum cavity. When hooping, it is tight and very strong.

Then use a plane to make the drum body and the upper and lower surfaces more perfect. At this time, the cowhide is also half dry, spread it on a large table, draw a pattern with a pencil, and punch a circle of small holes around it. The next step is to "cover the surface with leather".

As the saying goes, "The one who makes drums is the apprentice, and the one who makes leather is the master." Making cowhide is a very critical step in making drums. The yellow cowhide bought by Li Xiang is better than buffalo leather. It is of very high quality, has sufficient toughness, and is scraped smooth. Moreover, the cowhide had been soaked before and is now in a semi-dry state, which is conducive to pulling.

He fixed the cowhide with lines drawn and holes punched on the drum barrel and started the cowhide covering process.

A thick hemp rope was passed through the small holes in the previous circle, and a small "capstan" was used. Six of them were set up around the drum barrel. It was pulled three times and wedged many times.

There was a three-hour gap between the first and second times, and a night between the second and third times. Because it was too late, it was left outside overnight.

The skinning process lasts for a relatively long time until the cowhide is completely dry.

Finally, the pulled-out cowhide was very tight. When I hit it lightly a few times with my fist, the sound was quite loud, "dong dong dong~", which was deafening.

The dog and the fox came over to watch, and the grandmother also came to see Li Xiang's achievements. Although the grandmother told Li Xiang to spend more time on dressing up and picking up girls, she was still very happy to see Li Xiang tinkering with such a big drum.

"My eldest grandson is really clever and can do anything."

There are 360 ​​professions and every profession has its top talent. The grandmother thinks that her grandson is really outstanding. No matter what profession he is in, he will be a top talent. With such skills, he will definitely never starve to death in the future.

Li Xiang also jumped onto the drum and "bounced" a bit. Even a man as heavy as him had no problem jumping on it. The cowhide of this drum was indeed well covered.

The next step is fixing. After marking, two circles of copper nails are hammered in. Every 60°, the number of copper nails increases a little, forming a "copper nail cloud pattern" at that place, which surrounds the drum cavity, with six cloud patterns, which is very beautiful.

These "cloud patterns", like the "pillars" when building a house, play a role in enhancing tension and fixation.

After nailing, use the tip of a high-density knife to gently cut along the bottom of the copper nail to cut off the excess cowhide, and the scraps will be thrown away directly.

Li Xiang controlled the strength very well, just enough to cut the leather without damaging the drum body.

The drum ring is a tiger head ring, also made of copper.

These metal accessories were all made by Jiang Jianguo using materials provided by Li Xiang. Since pure copper is too soft, Jiang Jianguo mixed some other metals into it to make it into bronze.

Li Xiang did not let Uncle Jiang work in vain. Uncle Jiang refused to take the money, so Li Xiang bought him two packs of good cigarettes.

The craftsmanship of the old blacksmith Jiang Jianguo is still very good. The tiger-head copper rings he made are quite ancient.

After the double-sided skinning is completed, the drum is almost done, leaving only the final coloring process and the production of the drumstick.

The drum body is painted with bright red lacquer.

There are other colors available online, such as yellow paint and mahogany paint. If you like, you can also add some color painting, but Li Xiang thinks that the classic bright red is more festive.

As for the drumstick, it is also "carved" from red elm wood. The one made by Li Xiang is a "heavy hammer", which is relatively thick, about 60 cm long, with a handle diameter of about three cm. The "hammer head" on the top is a round bullet shape, and the thickest part has a diameter of six cm. It is formed in one piece, and the hammer head is wrapped with a bright red silk cloth.

I tried the sound quality, it was loud and crisp. Using a special percussion technique it can create a reverberation "stereo sound" effect, which is simply amazing.

Li Xiang tried to play a song called "General's Order" and then a song called "Qin Wang Breaking the Formation Music". The big drum "boom boom", the exciting and passionate drum beats resounded throughout the Lijia Village, attracting many villagers to come and watch.

"This drum is really nice. It looks festive."

"Xiang, when the New Year's Day comes, take this drum to the ancestral hall and play it." The village chief Li Jinyu also came and praised it highly.

Everyone liked this nice drum, but no one dared to touch the drum body because the paint had not dried yet. However, the drum head and the tiger-head copper ring were touched by everyone several times.

Lijia Village has the custom of worshipping ancestors every year, and also has the tradition of "drinking Ding wine". The location is always in the large open space in front of the clan ancestral hall.

It's just that Lijia Village is poor, and the ancestral hall has been in disrepair for many years and is in a very dilapidated state. However, it does not affect its status in the hearts of the villagers.

"Drinking wine" is quite different in Lijia Village. It does not refer to a family treating guests after the birth of a new baby. Instead, it is a day chosen during the New Year when all the villagers get together for a banquet.

The word "ding" here refers to adult males, those who are over 16 years old. However, with the evolution of the times, all men in the village, including the elderly, women and children, are eligible to participate.

It is not limited to the Li family. Other surnames, well, mainly the Jiang family now, can also participate.

In short, all the villagers get together, have a meal and exchange feelings.

This is particularly rare in modern society.

Because most young people go out to work and are away from home for most of the year, only coming back during the Chinese New Year.

Because the staff is relatively complete, the day of the village election is often the day of the "Dingjiu" gathering. Li Jinyu's five-year term is up, and he is too old to work, so he wants to find a successor.

If Li Xiang hadn't come back, he would still be worried and might have to continue to worry for a few years, but he doesn't worry about that now.

Lijia Village is relatively poor, geographically remote, and receives little government subsidies, so there is not much money to be made, and young people cannot stay in the village.

The people of Lijia Village are not native Bashu people of ancient times, but immigrants from other places when Huguang moved people to Sichuan.

That was a large-scale migration during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, involving more than a dozen provinces. The main reason was the continuous wars, which led to a sharp decline in the population of Sichuan Province. According to the General History of Sichuan Province, "Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, Sichuan has had a large population, with people living in the area visible from each other. After the wars in the late Ming Dynasty, the population was as sparse as the morning star."

That’s why there was this large-scale immigration. Among them, Huguang Province had the largest population, and Hakka immigrants were the second largest immigrant group after Huguang people.

Taking Chengdu as an example, the late Qing Dynasty's "Overview of Chengdu" described: "Today's Chengdu people are all from other provinces."

Because there are many immigrants from other places and many ethnic minorities, the various customs that have been preserved are also diverse.

The villagers took turns to come up and play the drums. Some children also wanted to try, but the pair of drumsticks made by Li Xiang were too heavy. Some preschool children could not lift them, so they could only use their little hands to gently tap them to satisfy their pleasure.

Some children, with the help of adults, climbed directly onto the big drum, stood on it and stepped on it with their feet.

Li Xiang naturally didn't mind. The drum was very sturdy and the children couldn't break it. Not to mention the children, even several adults could withstand it.

Everyone praised the good quality.

Li Xiang thought about it and then went to make a few pairs of drumsticks, some big, some small, and in various shapes, such as bent-head drumsticks, big-bellied fish drumsticks, cartoon round-head drumsticks, straight stick drumsticks, etc. These are of different sizes and suitable for all kinds of people to use.

The reason why Li Xiang wanted to make a drum was not just for shooting videos or for fun, but if this drum was replaced with the skin of monsters, the drumsticks were made of monster bones, and unique inscriptions were engraved on them, the sound of the drum would be so masculine that it could drive away evil spirits when some evil monsters invaded.

In addition, drums have played the role of "cheering on the battlefield" since ancient times. When conducting base defense battles, the deafening drum beats can boost morale and make the soldiers more motivated.

In the apocalyptic era, demons invade, extraordinary particles emerge, firearms are often useless, and close combat is often required.

Thanks to “08a” and “A Leaf in a Solitary Boat with a Straw Hat and Raincoat” for their tips. Thanks to "Book Friend 20210301106463813532"; "dxnxc"; "Book Friend 20201027024941955", "Forget Leisure", "Book Friend 796691", "Don't take it seriously", "An Old Man in a Straw Hat and Raincoat on a Solitary Boat"; "Old Uncle Wandering Bug", "Mu Fengyun", "Book Friend 120310123622039", "How much is this dumpling", "Book Friend 20221004191044249", "Book Friend 20171128193649822", "Snow may not be indifferent", "Book Friend 20230217171211567", "Book Friend 20200102144655894", and "Book Friend 20220826113010562" for their monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)

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