Chapter 001: You Can't Make a Tool If You Don't Cut Jade
Under some dazzling desk lamp.
Chen Ran, who was frowning, looked attentive. The hard diamond pen in his hand was drawing complicated and delicate lines on the green jade from time to time. His eyes, through these lines, saw something.
A smiling Maitreya Buddha...
On the half-old work table, there were some jade carving tools scattered or stacked. Chen Ran put down one tool and picked up another tool skillfully and deftly from time to time. During the whole process, he
His eyes never left the jade in front of him.
Suddenly, Chen Ran's entire movement stopped.
Looking at the formed Maitreya Buddha in his hand, Chen Ran couldn't help but let out a breath. Although he almost repeated the same action every day, he always remained extremely cautious every time he carved it.
This is not only a worry about damaging the original stone and suffering a lot of losses, but also an attitude!
And he knew that if he wanted to go further on this road, he must have such an attitude.
The tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and Chen Ran suddenly felt waves of dizziness coming from his brain. He couldn't help lying on the back of the chair, rubbing his sore arms, but after seeing this Maitreya Buddha
After the pendant showed a slightly dull luster, he immediately forcibly lifted his spirits.
As the saying goes, "Jade cannot be used without polishing." Although this jade pendant has been formed, it still lacks the last step: polishing!
Polishing is a very important and irreplaceable step in jade carving.
No matter how finely you carve and polish it, the surface of jade is always rough and cannot show the crystal clear beauty of jade. Only perfect polishing can make jade show a warm and smooth appearance, give jade a noble temperament, and show
The true value of jade.
Polishing mainly refers to grinding the surface of jade to make it smooth, bright and more aesthetic. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful the jade is, it is still a semi-finished product without polishing.
Chen Ran casually picked up a piece of gauze from the shabby desk in front of him and wiped it gently on the jade pendant. His movements were skillful and natural, and there was no trace of any hindrance. His face remained focused.
After about half an hour, the polishing process of the jade was finally completed.
Holding the jade in his hand above his head, Chen Ran just looked at it quietly. The surface of the polished jade pendant exuded a faint light. Looking at the light, it gave people a crystal clear feeling, and smiled.
The standing Maitreya Buddha seems to have been enlightened...
It was only then that Chen Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief. The jade was in good condition and he should be able to get a good salary.
Since leaving school, Chen Ran has been carving this kind of low-grade jade for a living. Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it has been more than a year now.
Opening the drawer, he took out a random jewelry box from a pile and put the jade into it. Chen Ran found his phone and checked the time. He found that it was already very late and quickly tidied up the messy room.
In February, the city has long nights and short days. Just after six o'clock, the sky outside slowly darkens. The street lights on both sides of the road gradually light up, allowing the city to continue to be bright. People after get off work are like huge spider webs. In the streets and alleys of this city, various sounds echo over the city...
Colorful lights turn the streets into intricate underground mazes——
Walking along this village street, you will find a large antique city. Zhongdu is the capital city of Zhongyuan Province, and Zhongyuan undoubtedly plays an irreplaceable role in the history and culture of China. Perhaps because of this, the collection
It has become a joy in the lives of many people in Zhongdu, and happiness and loss come one after another during it.
After passing through the Antique City Flower Market, Chen Ran walked towards a jade shop.
The jade shop is more like a grocery store than a jade shop. Its name is Baoyu Pavilion. Compared with the rows of other antique shops with simple decoration, Baoyu Pavilion looks a bit vulgar. However, to Chen Ran,
But instead, there was a kind feeling, which reminded him involuntarily...
There was silence in Baoyu Pavilion, except for an old man of about sixty years old standing at the counter. The old man looked sixty years old, but Chen Ran knew that the other man was not actually that old, and was not yet fifty years old.
It’s just that I have experienced too many things and I look a little older.
As Chen Ran walked in, the old man raised his head and greeted: "Xiao Ran is here, I'm waiting for you to close the door!"
Chen Ran handed the box containing the jade to the old man and asked, "Uncle Liang, why did it close so early today?"
"...Cough cough cough..." Uncle Liang opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly he coughed violently. Chen Ran quickly stepped forward and patted his back. Uncle Liang coughed for a while before regaining his breath and turned towards Chen Ran.
Ran waved his hand and said with a wry smile: "As people get older, their health is getting worse and worse. There is not much business in the store, so we should close it early!"
Antique shops like Uncle Liang's are generally not open on weekdays. They have been open for three years. Uncle Liang's health has deteriorated and he has to close earlier than others.
When Uncle Liang said that, he opened the box, took out the jade, fumbled for a pair of magnifying glasses, raised his head slightly to look at it, and murmured softly: "Well, not bad, Xiaoran's skills are getting better and better.
Thanks to you, otherwise my store would lose a lot of business."
"Uncle Liang, my craftsmanship is far from perfect."
Chen Ran shook his head and said humbly, in fact, he didn't know that Uncle Liang was just encouraging him. There are countless carvers like him in this antique city, not to mention other places, and his
Although the craftsmanship is constantly improving, it is still just getting started.
Uncle Liang smiled, put down the jade, turned around and took out a fifty note from the cash box. After a pause, he took out two more twenty notes and handed them to Chen Ran.
Chen Ran was startled and looked at Uncle Liang with slight surprise: "Uncle Liang, why are there so many?"
There are two ways for him to take jobs from Uncle Liang. One is to buy the raw stones himself, carve them into jade, add a fee, and resell them to Uncle Liang's shop. The other is to provide the carved jade if the customer doesn't like it.
You can buy rough stones or buy them in the store, put forward some requirements and let the carvers carve them.
However, the second type is very rare, just occasionally. Mainly because Chen Ran carves low-end jade, and few customers are so troublesome. Only some young people who are pursuing romance or when there is some special meaning will do so.
.
Chen Ran's carvings are all small ones, and he can earn about forty to fifty for each piece, and more than sixty for a little more. This is almost his net worth, and Uncle Liang also takes care of his share of it.
, otherwise his worth would only be twenty or thirty.
Chen Ran basically sticks to one item a day, which is already his limit. The most he earns in a day is only more than seventy yuan.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Liang actually gave him ninety yuan this time!
He knows very well that his worth is not worth so much.
Uncle Liang looked at Chen Ran with a smile. When he saw the moved look on Chen Ran's face, he understood what he was thinking. He couldn't help but said happily: "Take it, this is what you deserve. Don't you see that you
My craftsmanship has improved a lot. This Maitreya Buddha is very well carved and has good water types. It should be able to sell for a good price and I won’t lose money."
Although he heard what Uncle Liang said, Chen Ran also understood that this was Uncle Liang taking care of him. He hesitated for a moment and then took it, but silently thinking in his heart that if there was a chance in the future, he must repay Uncle Liang well.
After staying in the Baoyu Pavilion for a while, Uncle Liang gave him two pieces of raw stone to carve into a couple's pendants. There was no specific requirement for what they should be carved into, but it was obvious that Uncle Liang trusted Chen Ran in this regard.
Although Chen Ran is just getting started with his craftsmanship, in Uncle Liang's eyes, Chen Ran is a very thoughtful carver, and this is an indispensable innate condition for becoming a master carver.
After helping Uncle Liang close the store door, Chen Ran was about to leave, when Uncle Liang suddenly stopped him: "Aran, I almost forgot one thing. I met a friend who has forgotten the year at noon today. She
But everyone in the collecting world is very famous and has a wide range of connections. When I was having dinner with her at noon, I suddenly thought of you. It is a wild road for a person like you to explore alone. Basically, there is no chance of getting ahead unless you can.
There is a master carver to take you. Thinking of this, I mentioned it to her by the way and asked her to introduce you to a master carver. Unexpectedly, she agreed immediately..."
Before Uncle Liang could say anything, Chen Ran's eyes lit up, and then there was a burst of emotion in his heart. Uncle Liang, I was just thinking about how to repay you, but I didn't expect that you gave me another huge favor.
I……
If Chen Ran still had the confidence to repay the favor he owed Uncle Liang before, then he had no confidence at all in this favor now. This favor is not a big one!
In the circle of carvers, almost every novice carver has a dream, that is, suddenly a master carver takes a fancy to him and accepts him as his apprentice. This is like everyone dreaming of winning the five hundred
The grand prize is the same.
The difference between being guided by a famous teacher and exploring alone is really huge.
What a world of difference!
Even if you don't learn any skills from a famous master, just by being a famous master's apprentice, your worth will change drastically, just like Cinderella suddenly turned into a little swan...
The gap between rich and poor carvers is huge. A beginner carver like Chen Ran is only worth thirty or forty. This is because Uncle Liang takes care of him. In fact, his current net worth is only one or two.
If that's the case, this person may not let you carve it.
It is normal for a master carver to charge hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions for a piece of work. There are even some masters who, if you are not a human being, will not carve it for you no matter how much money they have to pay.
This is the difference!
I have to say that for Chen Ran, this is a big opportunity!!!
"You don't have to work tomorrow. Come here at noon." Uncle Liang saw the look of surprise on Chen Ran's face and couldn't help but smile. "My child, you will have to walk on your own in the future. I hope you will
Don't let me down...
"Thank you, Uncle Liang!" Chen Ran gathered his thoughts, thanked Uncle Liang, and then turned around and blended into the night.
But I don’t know...
After bidding farewell to Uncle Liang, Chen Ran walked back along the antique street. Although he appeared in the antique city every day, he actually knew nothing about jade except for a certain understanding of it.
Like many collectible markets in China, there are not too many tourists here on weekdays. Most of them are tourists from out of town. But when it comes to weekends or holidays, it must be another bustling scene. On the one hand, there are many people on weekends and holidays.
If you have time, try your luck and see if you can find a satisfactory collection. On the other hand, many small vendors from surrounding areas also come here to admire the name. A newspaper or a piece of flannel also becomes a counter, displaying all kinds of goods from all around.
Put the old stuff up and get a small stool behind to sit on it, and the business will be open!
Although it has gotten dark, there are still a lot of street stalls on both sides of the road, and the lights are even turned on. Today is not a Sunday or a holiday, but there are not many people during the day, and there are a lot more people scattered at night, maybe
I'm busy working during the day, so I go out for a walk at night.
The largest number of people coming and going are young men and women, but they are just looking around and seldom stay in front of a stall for more than a few minutes. Most of the products they buy are handicrafts, and the prices are only 10 to 8 yuan, which is relatively cheap.
Far from being a valuable collection.
Chen Ran passed by this place every day and was already used to it. He didn't look around. He only stopped when he passed by a stall selling jade. This was also to observe and learn. However, most of the jade was machine-carved and lacked creativity.
, and he lost interest.
Just when he was about to leave, suddenly, in the corner of his eye, a golden light flashed across like golden lightning...
