Chapter 274 Chapter 40: A new grave behind the house

"That cheapskate, what are we going to see him for?" I said dissatisfied.Even though I said so, I stepped up and followed my grandfather out of the gate. Master Yi lives in the east of Laohe, and there is a relatively high mountain just behind the house, and all the tea trees are planted on the mountain.This tea tree is not the small, dwarf tea tree that grows tea, but a tree that grows tea seeds the size of a plum.After the shell of the tea seed is dried, it is the best for smoking bacon; the fruit of the tea seed is the best raw material for extracting tea oil.Master Yi's house is in such a good location with the water in the front and the mountain in the back.

It's a pity that there are not only many tea trees on the mountain behind, but also many tombs like steamed buns.From a distance, the mountain looks like a head with pustules. Although it is covered by short tea tree-like hair, the things underneath can still be vaguely seen, which makes people feel uncomfortable. Walk to the bank of the old river, walk a hundred steps along the embankment, and then climb a slightly steep slope to reach Master Yi's house.Although this is within the scope of Huamei Village, few houses have been built in such a remote place.Master Yi's house stands here, looking a bit lonely and lonely.

But Master Yi is a very straightforward and cheerful person.Maybe it’s because their home is far away from the densely populated areas of Huamei Village, so few people usually come. Master Yi and his wife were very excited to see us coming, and warmly brought us chairs to make tea. Uncle Jin was sitting in the main room, bending over to say hello to his grandpa with a smiling face.It can be seen from Uncle Jin's expression that they haven't gotten to the point yet. "Master Yi, didn't you go out to do carpentry work today?" Grandpa asked politely. "Hehe, I just finished making twelve wooden chairs for an owner yesterday. Let's rest at home today." Master Yi said enthusiastically, while adding tea to Grandpa's teacup.After the tea was filled, I offered another cigarette to Grandpa.Grandpa took the cigarette, struck a match with a click, and lit the cigarette.Master Yi handed Uncle Jin another cigarette.Uncle Jin still had a cigarette in his mouth, but he still took it and put it on his ear naturally.

Master Yi took another cigarette and wanted to give me another one. Grandpa immediately stopped him and said, "He's still a student and doesn't smoke." Before Master Yi could ask us why we came, Grandpa took the initiative to cut to the chase: "Master Yi, have you taken in an apprentice recently?" Master Yi pulled a smile from the corner of his mouth: "No. I said I don't accept apprentices." Grandpa didn't make it clear, but asked again: "You have such a good craftsmanship, why don't you accept an apprentice? Otherwise, there will be no successor for your craftsmanship. What a pity?"

The tea in Master Yi's hand spilled a little. He took a rag and wiped his hands and said, "What's the use of craftsmanship? How can young people nowadays be willing to suffer such hardships? They are all eager for success, wishing to take off after two days of learning." If you are a teacher, you can carve exquisite paintings and surpass the master. Besides, the current machinery is much faster than human hands. I worked hard for ten days, and it is not as good as the machine for one hour. I think I will soon be eliminated. , how can I pass this craft on to others. Doesn’t that mean harming others?”

Uncle Jin stood up from his chair to speak, but was stopped by a gesture from his grandfather. "What you said is indeed true." Grandpa sighed and said, "Look, our fields were dry, and we pumped water from the old river with a water truck. Now it is enough to install a water pump, and it saves people from going to shake it." .” Master Yi seemed to be touched by his grandfather, nodded and sighed: "Yes. In my father's generation, this carpentry job was too much for many people to do it. Now..." Grandpa saw that Master Yi had already followed his words, so he took advantage of the situation and asked: "You made the wooden bed at Uncle Jin's house, right? I think the patterns carved on it are very beautiful. It doesn't take much to be artistic. One day Skills are better than none. What's more, your carpentry is famous far and wide."

When Master Yi saw his grandfather mentioning Uncle Jin's wooden bed, he scratched his scalp and said embarrassedly, "Master Ma is speaking ironically? When it comes to this, I really want to apologize to Uncle Jin." "Apologize to me? What are you apologizing for?" Uncle Jin asked, raising his eyebrows. Taking out another cigarette and offering it to Uncle Jin, Master Yi said: "I was in a bad mood those few days, I was always in a trance like I had a bad cold, my hands and feet were limp, I'm afraid I didn't do carpentry properly. My daughter-in-law persuaded me to rest at home a few days ago. I felt that since I promised you, I would go. I didn’t listen to my wife’s advice. Today, when I saw Uncle Jin come to my house early in the morning, my daughter-in-law whispered to me, could it be the new bed of Uncle Jin’s house? It broke after less than a few months, so I’ll come to trouble you today. Haha.”

Uncle Jin took the cigarette and put it on the other ear, quickly waved his hand and said, "No, the bed is not broken, it's just..." Grandpa immediately interrupted Uncle Jin's words again, and said, "It's just that he slept a little uncomfortable and restless. I want you to help him see if he forgot to nail the wooden wedge somewhere in the bed, and whether it is loose." Master Yi's face was a little red, but he still didn't let a smile say: "Oh, I'm so sorry. I said that I was in a trance those days, and I might have forgotten where to nail the wooden wedge. Okay, I will Let's go and have a look. It's the first time for me to do such a stupid rework." After finishing speaking, Master Yi patted himself on the head and shook his head endlessly.

Master Yi's daughter-in-law said: "Let's go and see after drinking tea. My master Yi is getting old, and his head is starting to get muddy. Don't be offended, Mr. Jin." Although Uncle Jin is stingy, but his mind is still good, seeing his grandfather repeatedly stopping him from mentioning the apprenticeship, he knew there must be a reason for it, so he followed the carpenter's wife and said: "I'm still embarrassed, but I have to trouble Master Yi to look at it again." one trip." I also wondered in my heart: why didn't grandpa directly ask where Master Yi's apprentice is?Obviously Uncle Jin said that the wooden bed was basically made by Master Yi's apprentices. Why did Master Yi still say that it was his own workmanship?

I buried these questions in my stomach, and waited for Grandpa to tell me step by step. After drinking tea, a few of us came out together and returned along the way.Master Yi's daughter-in-law sent us downhill before returning.I looked back, Master Yi's daughter-in-law's waist was as thin as it was carved by Master Yi himself, and she walked back into the room with twists and turns. At the same time, I saw the mountain behind the house again, the mountain that looked like a pus-covered head.There is a prominent loess on the top of the mountain. It is a newly built tomb. However, the lantern on the top of the tomb has been damaged, and the paper pasted on it is gone. There is only a skeleton made of bamboo strips.