dognovel Chapter 778: The kicking calves
Chapter 778: The kicking calves
Chapter 778: The kicking calves
When Lu Lu entered the Changzi courtyard dam, what caught his eye the most was the astonishing pile of pine flower stones.
And it was Zhang Shunan who led several young people to mess around among the rocks.
After returning from the mountains, at Lei Meng's place, Lu Lu already knew that Zhang Shunan and others had finished mining pine flower stones in Laokeng, not long after they came back.
Knowing that more and more people were mining Songhua Stone, the director of the forest farm there did not dare to accept any more money offered to him. He did not dare to let Zhang Shunan and others continue mining.
The field director was also a ruthless person. He just got some explosives and blew up the mine, driving Zhang Shunan and others away completely. He said that someone from above might come to investigate, so he simply sabotaged it to cover it up.
However, in the past few months, Songhuashi has gained a lot.
Three cars pull up every few days, and a lot has been accumulated.Moreover, these materials are all good materials that Zhang Shunan and his team simply brushed some mud shells to make sure they are useful.
That's enough material for dozens of cars. These things alone are enough to last a long time.
At this time, Zhang Shunan was standing in front of this large pile of materials, directing several people to scrub and clean up the mud shells.
Seeing Lu Lu come in, he raised his head and greeted Lu Lu with a smile: "Xiao Lu, why are you coming here when you have time?"
"Like you, I have been busy in the mountains for a long time and I have to take a break. I am here to go to the market today and stopped by to see everyone."
Lu Lu then turned to Chen Xiuyu and said, "Daughter-in-law, go to the factory and say hello to everyone so that everyone can come out to have a rest and eat some pastries and fruits!"
"Yeah!" Chen Xiuyu responded and ran towards the factory.
It is said to be a factory, but it is actually a few warehouses where carving ornaments are placed and a few carving rooms for the masters. It does not affect their performance. They are independent and have their own dedicated studios, with apprentices to help them.
Lu Lu brought the apple pastry to Zhang Shun'an. Zhang Shun'an was not particular about it. He patted the dust on his hands, reached out and took an apple from the bag, and started to nibble on it: "I don't want to rest, it's a pity. The old pit was blown up and sold, otherwise, I really want to keep digging. The more you dig in, the more good stuff you get."
"I have accumulated so much, that's all. It should be enough for a lot of time, right?"
"Now that we have a small manpower, there will be no problem if we use it for three to five years. But when it develops in the future, it won't be enough."
"Let's wait until it's not enough... By the way, after these things are made, if there are particularly good stones and inkstones, leave a few for me."
"Speaking of this, just wait... When I had nothing to do there during this period, I played with two small inkstones. One is made of purple stone, and the other is made of green gold belt. I just polished it in the past few days after I came back. It's Two good things, take them back!"
Zhang Shunan walked to his workroom while eating.
Jianglao stone in Songhua stone is divided into three grades, namely black, white and purple.
The black one is called Jiangshi Mozi, the white one is called Shuiji Stone, and the purple one is called Zichen Stone. Purple stone is the best quality.
Kong Siren, Chen Xiuqing and other people also walked out from various places under Chen Xiuyu's greeting. More than ten people gathered together to greet Lu Lu, chatting and laughing.
Lu Lu gave the fruit cakes he brought to a group of people to eat, and also learned about the situation of the handicraft factory.
With the support of the district government, several masters are skilled in craftsmanship. Although the number of things carved is not large, the products are all good. After a batch of goods is shipped through the company, there are small turtles. I followed the smell and came to the door. After visiting, I placed an order.
The next situation is very good. In addition to the various expenses of maintaining the handicraft processing factory, the income is also quite good. The hand-carved handicrafts are high-end things and have made a lot of money. They are not as good as Lu Lu's two wild goose farms. Earn less.
Kong Siren also praised Chen Xiuqing, saying that he was calm, thoughtful, and a fast learner. After these days of study and practice, he could start to carve some small things independently. Many of the things he produced were impressive to his eyes. Bright.
Hearing such praise, Lu Lu was also very pleased, and the guilt in his heart about Chen Xiuqing's crippled leg dissipated a lot.
That’s not a bad thing!
After waiting for a long time, Zhang Shunan came out holding an inkstone carefully wrapped in cloth and handed it to Lu Lu.
Lu Lu untied the piece of cloth and looked at the simple inkstone with reliefs of green pines and cranes carved out of the purple stone according to its texture and color. It immediately attracted a crowd of people to watch.
Seeing this scene, Lu Lu knew it was a good thing without saying anything.
The other inkstone that Zhang Shunan brought had pure natural lines and irregular shapes, and was engraved with some of the words of Lanting's preface, seals and other things. It looked completely natural, which made Lu Lu extremely happy.
"Okay, Lao Zhang, you made these two good things quietly, and you didn't even want to show them to us... You were waiting for Xiao Lu to come before you took them out as a treasure, right?" Kong Siren looked at the two parties. Inkstone, he said jokingly.
"What's the matter? I didn't just do it!"
Kong Siren smiled, then looked at Lu Lu: "How are you doing?"
"Good stuff, good craftsmanship!" Lu Lu didn't know how to judge. He could only follow his inner feelings. If it looks comfortable and he likes it in his heart, then it's a good thing.
"These two inkstones are both collector's items!" Kong Siren said.
Lu Lu nodded: "I really like it too... I will take these two inkstones back with me!"
"Originally, I specially selected good materials to make it for you!" Zhang Shunan said with a smile.
"Lao Zhang still knows how to be a good man!"
Several masters nearby laughed and actually ran back. Not long after, one of them brought one or two carvings and ornaments to Lu Lu.
Each item is either exquisite, simple, or smart and charming. It is truly wonderful.
Even Kong Siren specially brought out a piece of landscape ornament called Huangshan Waterfall carved from Taoshan jade.
"How can a bunch of old guys still have the nerve to accuse me..."
Looking at the things delivered one by one, Zhang Shunan glared at the group of people and said one sentence, which made everyone present laugh.
"They are all good things. Thank you for your consideration... In this way, after everyone has an early shift today, I will invite everyone to a restaurant! Have a good drink!" Lu Lu's suggestion received a roaring response from everyone.
The ones they gave to Lu Lu were naturally good. In Lu Lu's view, every piece was a real work of art.
After carefully loading the things in the car and waiting for a group of people to pack them up, Lu Lu led the people directly to Tian Youcheng's restaurant and made a reservation for two tables.
It took almost two hours to finish the meal. Seeing that all the stalls in the market were closed, Lu Lucai led Chen Xiuyu and the children to drive home.
Before parting, Kong Siren stopped Lu Lu and said, "Last time when I was here, I took a look at our processing factory and noticed the agate you got last time. I was very interested in the little things I carved. I wanted to He wanted to place an order for a batch, but I told him to wait on the grounds that I didn’t have much material... At some point, you have to find a way to get more agate."
Lu Lu nodded: "It will snow soon this year, and there is no time. When next year, I will take the time to lead my brothers and spend some time looking for it."
Most of this stuff has to be fished out of the river, after next spring.
After returning home, Chen Xiuyu helped move these ornaments and sculptures home one by one. Every time she got something, she looked at it from side to side and couldn't put it down.
In the past, Lu Lu thought it was pointless to make rocks, wood, etc. It was not until the handicraft factory was built that she truly understood that seemingly ordinary things would turn into such exquisite pieces through the skillful hands of these master craftsmen. The key is that they can still be sold at a good price.
Things were delivered to the room one by one, and special boxes were found for safekeeping.
The weather had already entered October. Lu Lu helped Chen Xiuyu store winter vegetables in his cellar. He handed over the corn and soybeans on the farm to the grain management office, and also handed over the public grain. After that, the first snow came.
The north wind was blowing, and the snow was not falling heavily. It had melted by the afternoon of the next day, but it suddenly became much colder, as if announcing to the people in the wilderness that winter was coming.
On the third day, Lu Lu went to the Lannigou forest frog breeding farm and fished out some female leopards.
After raising them for three years, each one is quite big and has a bulging belly, which is full of frog oil.
After autumn comes, the wood frogs begin to gradually descend from the mountain. So much time has passed and everything that should come has already come.
It’s time to start drying and extracting oil.
Lu Lu immediately went to Raymond's house and found Raymond who had returned from the wild goose breeding farm to check on the warmth: "Brother, everyone has nothing to do for the time being. Let's find nails to make a batch of wooden shelves. Let's prepare tomorrow to take advantage of the weather. , let’s dry the forest frogs.”
Originally, Lu Lu wanted to extract the frog oil directly from the living body, but when he thought about it, there was no need to be so elaborate now, so he could just do it more simply and crudely.
"I've been waiting for your words! What is the shelf made of?"
Raymond hasn't seen how to do it yet.
Lu Lu randomly picked up a stone and scratched it on the ground. Nailing the shelf was very simple. You could understand it in just a few words. It didn't require a specialized carpenter to do it very carefully. It could be done easily with just a few pieces of wood and nails.
After seeing the pattern, Raymond turned around and summoned Big Nose, Zhou Fangjing, Lin Yulong, Liu Bao and others to start preparing materials and nailing.
When Lu Lu returned to Xiushan Tun, he went to see Zhang Shaofeng and Zhao Yongke, and then went to Liang Kangbo's house in Huilong Tun.
The next day, a large group of people gathered in Lannigou.
The overwintering pond is equipped with a special drainage outlet, which is intercepted by a filter. Once the water is released, the forest frogs squatting in the water preparing to overwinter are revealed one after another, densely packed at the bottom of the pond.
Lu Lu, Zhang Shaofeng and others wore water-forked trousers and went down to the pond. They packed up the forest frogs in buckets and handed them to the pond for everyone to pick them back to the grassland at the Sika Deer Breeding Farm.
Big Nose and Zhou Fangjing were responsible for washing the frogs there and then passing thin wire through the frogs' mouths, stringing them together, and tying them to a rack to dry.
The forest frogs in dozens of ponds cannot be completed in a day or two.
On the rows of racks on the grass, there are wood frogs drying out.
Many of the forest frogs that had been penetrated from their mouths and hung by their heads were kicking their calves as they did not die in a short period of time.
Such scenes were somewhat bloody and cruel. At first, Lin Yujuan and others couldn't bear to look at them, but later on, they gradually got used to them. Who said they were valuable?
There are bird's nests in the south and snow clams in the north. The value of these things cannot be overstated.
Every year when autumn comes, many people go up the mountain and directly set down nets on the mountains near the river to catch them. Some people also block small dams in the river and go down to the ground to catch them.
But even so, this is always something that is extremely valuable and in short supply.
After drying, the wood frog oil is taken out and sent to medicinal companies or purchasing stations for sale.
As for the rest, the seeds and trunks of dried wood frogs can also be eaten, but because they are very hard, they need to be soaked for at least 24 hours, and then simmered over a slow fire before they are cooked.Or steam it in a bowl.
However, this is not very delicious, and the fishy smell is a bit strong.
Alternatively, use a wooden stick to pound the trunk until soft, sprinkle with some salt water, and fry over slow heat until golden brown. It will be a crispy and fragrant dish to go with wine.
A group of people worked hard for five days, catching most of the female leopards in the pond and drying them. Once they were dried, they could make use of the cat's winter time. Fetching forest frog oil was also a job.
As for the remaining ones, Wu Wangang is waiting to see. If they can be sold live to restaurants, it will definitely be more convenient and more profitable than drying the toads to extract oil.
The reason why he only kept half of it was because Lu Lu was worried that he wouldn't be able to sell so much. After all, this was high-end stuff, and most people wouldn't be willing to go to restaurants to eat it.
Of course, it is more convenient in rural areas, and you can catch them in the river. Children especially like to do this. If they catch a lot, they go home and make soup. If there are only one or two, make a fire and roast them in the fire. Just sprinkle some salt on it and it will be a mouth-watering delicacy.
Looking at the rows of shelves, it is full of harvest.
Lu Lu and a group of people on the farm looked at these forest frogs with smiles on their faces, but they were all about money.
Thanks to book friend Wang Jingxian for the reward.
(End of this chapter)