Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1924 Two Jin of Meat

Sure enough, just as Zhou Zhi said, as long as the first one is found, the second and third ones will soon appear.

On the other side, Er couldn't stop catching the fish on the ground. The kids here cheered from time to time, and there were more and more beautiful red stones in the glass jar.

In addition to producing flame red stones, Lianhe Township also produces a kind of pure cherry-colored stone. Some of these stones have a gummy optical effect like high-grade jadeite, and are top-quality materials for carving small sculptures.

Another is persimmon red, because its texture is more moist like Hetian jade, and it is shiny but not transparent, so it can show the carving very well. In addition, its color is pleasing, and it is loved by several masters in Suzhou Jade Carving Factory.

By the way, this year's Hundred Flowers Award, the highest award for jade carving, has already begun to be exhibited. The rosewood inlaid cherry red Hundred Dragon Sea Water Screen, which was meticulously carved by several masters for a year, was sent to the capital by the Suzhou Jade Carving Factory. With the three gimmicks of "new subject matter, new stone material, and new talent", it has attracted a lot of attention and has now become a hot contender for the gold award.

The subject matter of "A Hundred Dragons" is actually not very novel, and the red sandalwood inlay technique is also not very novel. However, according to Zhou Zhi's suggestions, the structure of the entire subject matter still reflects a lot of new ideas.

Generally, a screen has to have both artistic and functional qualities, so it is usually flat with shallow reliefs, which makes it rather dull.

What Zhouzhi provided to the Suzhou Jade Carving Factory was the root of an old red sandalwood piece. Not only did it have tree root branches at the bottom, but the wood was also quite large but it was hollow and rotten. Therefore, the whole piece was a semi-arc-shaped "waste material" with cavities and holes.

If it were handled in the usual way, this piece of material could only be cut into pieces for making beads. However, Zhou Zhi asked everyone to design it to look like the ocean with surging waves and steaming clouds, and then cleverly inlay dragons and dragon children of various shapes carved in cherry red on it. There was no need to consider the functionality at all, and the only thing to do was to maximize the artistry.

This method of "turning decay into magic" is the easiest to get high scores in the Chinese sculpture rating. The remaining Nanhong carvings are all cleverly designed and carved based on the shape of the original stone, and are also full of ingenuity.

Being a few steps ahead is a madman, being a small step ahead is a genius. Such innovation is actually just a small step forward in several traditional crafts and themes, but it has been well received by all parties. It is believed that it is development while inheriting, innovation based on tradition, and it has improved the artistic level without deviating from the aesthetic philosophy of traditional Chinese art.

There is no need to mention the new stone. Previously, Sichuan South Red had produced a work imitating the Qianlong Furong Stone Pan Chi Er Furnace. Although it was amazing, it was obviously not innovative enough. Therefore, several masters simply did not send it for selection. They only treated the Nanhong Pan Chi Er Furnace as an experimental product of carving and exhibited it as an exhibit.

This year is different. In addition to exhibiting new fine products, the jade carving factory also displayed last year's ear furnace as the "treasure of the cabinet". At the same time, it rented two counters in the Capital Arts and Crafts Exhibition to promote the Hundred Flowers Awards. One counter sells small carvings of Hetian white jade, and the other counter sells small carvings of Nanhong.

As a handicraft made of a new material, the pricing of this batch of small red jade carvings is much lower than that of white jade. There is just one zero missing from the price, and the price is just the cost of labor.

But Zhou Zhi knows the importance of hype. In today's concept, materials that are worth the effort must be good materials, and the craftsmanship must reach very high standards in order to increase the value of Nanhong and open up room for appreciation.

However, these are all handled by the Suzhou Jade Carving Factory. Zhou Zhi is now just like purchasing Hetian jade. He has enough inventory and does not need to worry about anything else.

There was a lot of red nanhong water in the Meigu River. After a while, the kids filled half a bottle with stones of all sizes.

I found a rain pond and replaced the water in the bottle with pure clean water. The stones in the bottle suddenly turned into dazzling and glittering jewels.

Mai Xiaomiao held the glass jar as if he had found a treasure: "Elbow, from now on, can we come to the river to pick up stones every day?"

"Okay." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "This is something I've loved doing since I was a child. But the laboratory is the most important thing. When I go back later, I should start working on building a working group."

"This is such a great place." Mai Xiaomiao said with emotion, "If only all the resources could be utilized and transported out." "Take it slow, step by step." Zhou Zhi said, "Let's solve today's dinner first."

Zhou Zhi exchanged half a bottle of Nanhong water for a large bag of milk candy. He asked a few kids to distribute it in front of him. After making sure it was relatively fair, he sent them away.

Erjia caught a lot of fish, filling up half of the large wire fish basket. Together with the big catfish, they had to be carried back on a wooden stick.

There are many varieties of fish that Mai Xiaomiao has never seen before. Now he squats next to Zhou Zhi, watching him skillfully cut the fish and receiving scientific education.

The Meigu River is a high mountain cold water river. The species of fish here are quite different from those in Jiachuan where Zhouzhi is located. Apart from the "basic types" such as carp and crucian carp that everyone has, the remaining characteristic fine-shelled turtles are mostly schizothorax and mandarin fish.

In addition to small loaches, triangular peaks, yellow croaker, oxtail, and stone flathead, the largest turtle is the catfish.

In fact, there is another kind of fish that is very abundant in the river, that is, peach blossom fish. However, this kind of fish will only be hungry at the turn of spring and summer. Although this fish tastes good, it is too small, so it is not cost-effective to catch them now.

There are several kinds of schizothorax, and the most common one is the Ya fish. When Gillie Abi saw that Zhou Zhi and his friends had brought back a lot of fish, he said with a smile, "Elbow is really good at cooking fish. Xiao Miao will have another treat today."

"I still like the turtle-free fish made by Brother Elbow." Erjia also helped and commented: "It's easy to make without turtle, but it's troublesome to make with turtle!"

"I didn't hear you complain while eating!" Zhou Zhi scolded, "In fact, only crucian carp and carp need to be de-armored. Larger fish with fine scales also need to be de-armored. Smaller ones should be fried with their scales preserved, and then made into a dry-fried flavor. That's the most delicious taste!"

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"How about we do this tonight?" Mai Xiaomiao suggested immediately.

"Yeah, I accidentally made too much." Zhou Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Catfish, carp and crucian carp are hardy, so we'll save them for tomorrow. Today we'll add a dish of braised soft-shelled turtle, and make a fish soup with oxtail and yellow croaker!"

"Brother Elbow, I want to go back." Erjia stood up.

Zhou Zhi thought for a moment, then went to the kitchen and brought out a two-three-pound piece of pork: "Erjia caught a lot of fish today. Since you're not having dinner at the grain station, take this back."

Then she patted his shoulder and said, "Come to school early tomorrow morning and I'll cook fish noodle soup for you."

"Okay, Brother Elbow, Sister Xiaomiao, I'm leaving now." Erjia didn't refuse and went happily carrying the pork.

"I think Erjia still wants to stay for dinner." Mai Xiaomiao saw something and said, "Elbow, you should try to persuade him to stay a little longer."

"Erjia is smart," said Gillie Abi. "He eats here alone, so the whole family will have two meals less meat. Only sensible children know how to make this choice."

“Ah? So that’s it…” Mai Xiaomiao realized for the first time that Lianhe Township was actually still a poor and remote place, and many people had to think a lot just to get two pounds of meat.