When Lu Chuan brought the grapes to Xu Han, Xu Han's eyes immediately lit up. The Taoist priest next to him gritted his teeth, feeling a pang of sympathy just thinking about it. He decided it was better not to look anymore.
After Xu Han finished eating the grapes, she said to Lu Chuan, "Lu Chuan, can you make me a mahjong set? We're just idling around at home anyway, might as well play mahjong!"
"Mahjong? What is mahjong?" Lu Chuan asked, puzzled.
Xu Han couldn't explain it either, so she took a drawing and started drawing.
"Isn't this just mahjong?" the Taoist priest shouted after seeing it.
"You've seen Taoist priest before? Do you know how to play?" Xu Han asked.
"I've seen it before! But it seems a bit different from this one. But you know what, I really don't know how to play it." He then laughed heartily.
"You don't know that in the capital, Master Yi has no friends at all; nobody wants to hang out with him," Grandpa Zhao joked.
"It's like you have someone to hang out with. All these years, I'm the only one who pities you and drags you along with everything."
"I'm busy, okay? So many people are waiting for me to see them all day long! Unlike you, who are always so free."
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Lu Chuan quickly spoke up, "What should this mahjong set be made of, wood or bamboo?"
"Either is fine. If you have sturdy wood, that's good too. If you don't have wood, bamboo is also a good option," Xu Han said.
“Then let’s use wood! Wood is easier to work with. We still have some hardwood from when we made furniture before! I’ll go get the tools and we’ll make it in the main room.” Lu Chuan said, then left the main room and walked towards the backyard.
All the woodworking tools are in the backyard! The backyard is spacious and no one lives there yet, so it's convenient for storing things and making furniture.
Because of the recent hot weather, all work except for routine patrols has been suspended, and Xu Han has even reduced the amount of cooking. It's just too hot; there's simply no way to stay in the kitchen.
There are still some pieces of furniture that haven't been finished in the backyard, but the basic necessities are there, so it's barely enough to move in.
I'll continue making furniture when I have more time or free time. Anyway, I'm not in a hurry to move in right now.
When Lu Chuan brought the tools and wood from the backyard, Xu Han had already finished drawing the basic patterns. Although the drawings weren't very good, you could still tell what they were.
There are many ways to play mahjong, and the number of mahjong tiles required for different ways of playing is also different. Xu Han is going to play with 136 mahjong tiles. This way of playing is not difficult and is also quite fun.
"We need to make 136 mahjong tiles of the same size but different dimensions. The thickness should be about this much, and the size should be about this much," Xu Han said, gesturing to show the size.
Following Xu Han's gestures, Lu Chuan began to divide the wooden blocks into slightly larger pieces, which would become smaller during the later finishing touches.
After Lu Chuan divided the mahjong tiles, everyone began to work together, adjusting the size and thickness of the tiles according to the lines drawn in advance.
After all the repairs are done, start drawing the mahjong tiles according to the pre-drawn pattern, and finally carve out the pattern and polish it smooth.
To prevent damaging the mahjong tiles during carving, Lu Chuan prepared extra mahjong tiles.
Carving mahjong tiles requires a lot of patience. Lu Chuan was a little slow at this step. His big hands seemed unusable, as he couldn't control the carving knife at all.
Of course, the finished product was a mess, and Lu Chuan eventually gave up.
On the contrary, the Taoist priest, despite his usual irritability, is actually quite effective when it comes to putting things into practice; at the very least, he is very composed. He truly lives up to his title as a Taoist priest; that's what makes him different.
After several attempts, Lu Chuan did not give up despite his poor results. He started carving simpler patterns and eventually did quite well.
So, whenever they had free time, the four of them would work together to make mahjong sets. Finally, on the fifth day, they completed a set of mahjong sets made entirely by hand.
Each one was made by hand, using only the best wood from the mountains, and the finished product is really great.
"Wow! These are so beautiful!" Xu Han looked closely at the mahjong tiles in front of her; each one was exquisitely crafted.
Although they looked a bit unfamiliar upon closer inspection, each mahjong tile was made with care, and all four of them liked them quite a bit.
Xu Han stacked all the mahjong tiles together neatly, then said to Lu Chuan, "I think we need a special box to hold the mahjong tiles. Let's make a mahjong box using the same wood later!"
“Okay, that’s easy. The Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao will polish the remaining mahjong tiles, and I’ll go make the boxes to hold them. It should be finished by tomorrow,” Lu Chuan said to Xu Han with affection.
"Hurry up! You'll have to go out on patrol again soon. Otherwise, you won't be able to finish." Xu Han urged.
I'll be there to help you polish the rest of the mahjong tiles.
“This mahjong set will definitely look beautiful after being played with for a long time. Look at the color of this wood, wow. It’s truly good wood,” Xu Han said as she polished it.
"It's only because you live deep in the mountains that you have access to such fine wood; otherwise, ordinary people really couldn't afford it," the Taoist priest joked.
"Hehe, didn't we just happen to find a tree that was about to die? The others are all just ordinary wood; we didn't go to any extravagance!"
"Alright, alright, you're getting a good deal and you're still acting innocent," the Taoist priest said disdainfully.
The wood used to make mahjong tiles was something Lu Chuan and Xu Han discovered by chance. At first, they just thought the wood looked hard and was suitable for making furniture, so they brought it back.
Later, when they were making furniture, Grandpa Zhao saw the wood and told them that it was a very precious type of wood with a very high price. Only then did the two realize that they had struck gold.
Lu Chuan originally planned to use ordinary wood, but then he thought that he would play with it often after it was made, so he took the remaining piece of wood instead.
After Lu Chuan brought the wood, Xu Han put down the mahjong tiles she was holding and began to design the shape of the mahjong box with Lu Chuan.
It would be a waste of such a good piece of wood to simply make a box.
So Xu Han decided to carve something on it, but she didn't know what to carve.
So I drew six cute little puppies, neatly arranged on the front of the box.
There were also some paintings of lawns and flowers on the side, which looked quite nice on their own, but when placed on our high-quality box, they looked out of place.
It doesn't matter, as long as Xu Han likes it.
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