The old days should be kept with songs, and the New Year should be welcomed with candles.
The last day of Tianbao's four years is the day of New Year's Eve.
The streets of Luoyang, the eastern capital, are full of colorful ribbons and lanterns. People are wearing new clothes and swimming in the market. Looking around, it is a lively and prosperous scene.
Huayue followed Zhou Jun, holding the horse with one hand and grabbing the latter's sleeve with the other. She looked at people on the street wearing red and black costumes and devil masks, dancing to the sound of drums and lowering their voices.
She asked: "I saw a performance like this last year, what on earth are they doing?"
Zhou Jun took a look and replied: "This is a Nuo dance. The young man puts on a ghost face and dances with the music. It is intended to get rid of disasters and prevent evil ghosts from invading."
After the Nuo dance troupe gradually moved away, Hua Yue breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhou Jun: "There are many people on the street today and it is noisy."
Zhou Jun: "You'd better go back to the inn. I'll go to Shangyang Palace to order the mao and then go back to find you."
Hua Yue shook her head and said: "The more lively the festival, the more careful you have to be. Who knows if those Zoroastrian monsters will mix in the crowd and cause trouble?"
Zhou Jun had no choice but to continue walking forward with Hua Yue.
When they arrived outside the imperial city, Hua Yue led the horse to a nearby workshop, while Zhou Jun tested the fish charm at the Wuwei Office and entered the inner street.
Except for New Year's Day, officials in the Tang Dynasty had seven days of holiday, including the three days before New Year's Day, the day of New Year's Day and the three days after New Year's Day.
During these seven days, most officials have taken leave and can return to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year with their families.
As for the lantern tower construction site in Shangyang Palace, whether it is the craftsman camp or the Ding Shou, officials need to stay on duty.
There are more than 800 miles from Chang'an to Luoyang. If you ride a fast horse, it will take at least two or three days, and the New Year holiday is only seven days. Zhou Jun did the calculations and found that most of the holiday was spent on the road.
So he simply stayed in Luoyang and accepted the errand on duty.
After entering Shangyang Palace and finishing lighting the candles at the office, Zhou Jun raised his head and looked at the fifteen-story Taishang Xuanyuan True Immortal. He saw that all the lights and candles had been installed, waiting for the official debut during the Shangyuan Festival.
After walking a few steps forward, Zhou Jun saw Jin Youji and a group of craftsmen walking out of the lantern tower, and asked, "Today is the New Year's Eve, do you still have work to do?"
Jin Youji cupped his hands and said: "Master Mao Shun said that there are still some lamp sheaths and wooden shutters that need to be adjusted. It just so happened that we craftsmen didn't go home, so we went to the lamp tower and worked hard until now."
Zhou Jun asked again: "Where is Master Mao Shun?"
Jin Youji looked above the lantern tower.
Zhou Jun followed his line of sight and took a deep breath.
Saying goodbye to the craftsmen, Zhou Jun walked up the spiral wooden staircase inside the lamp building.
Listening to the creaking sound under his feet, Zhou Jun tried his best to persuade himself not to look down, and slowly walked to the arch in the middle of the lamp tower.
After walking up the stairs and entering the hall, Zhou Jun saw Mao Shun standing by the lamp hole.
The latter was looking in the direction of the hole, towards the imperial city.
When Mao Shun heard the footsteps behind him, he did not turn around and said to Zhou Jun: "When Tianshu was not built, I was still a child. I once went to the Mingtang with my mother to have a look. The Mingtang is 294 feet high, with a
The garden cover was held by nine dragons, with an iron phoenix underneath, as a symbol of Yong, and was named the Wanxiang Shrine. But now, the shrine that tens of thousands of craftsmen painstakingly built has long since disappeared."
Zhou Jun didn't speak, just listened quietly.
Mao Shun: "Throughout the ages, the poems and songs of the literati have been sung through the ages and have endured forever; the immortal achievements of the veterans on the battlefield have been recorded in the annals of history forever through the construction of temples and monuments."
"As for the craftsmen, it doesn't matter if they have ingenious ideas or outstanding skills. In the end, the work they designed and built with all their efforts is just an imperial edict and will be destroyed immediately."
Mao Shun sighed and added: "Speaking of which, my mother was also lucky. Although the Tianshu Tower was only mentioned briefly in the history books, at least her name was mentioned in the history books. And more skilled craftsmen were mentioned in the history books.
He didn’t even leave his name.”
Zhou Jun: "There is no need to worry about great craftsmen. Craftsmanship is related to people's livelihood, economy and military. Although it is despised at the moment, one day it will be regarded as the foundation of the country."
Hearing this, Mao Shun turned around, stared at Zhou Jun and asked, "Do you really think so, Zhou Jun?"
Zhou Jun nodded and said, "Every sentence is spoken from the bottom of my heart."
Mao Shun smiled and said: "I have only been with Zhou Erlang for a few months, but I have never seen a person like you... It would be great if there were more people like you in this world. That craftsmanship
Together, at least it won't be regarded as a lowly industry, and the craftsmen can find hope at least!"
After saying this, Master Mao Shun walked to the center of the arch, pulled out a thick book from the cabinet, and handed it into Zhou Jun's hands.
Zhou Jun took the book and saw the three characters "Jiang Hong Jing" written on the cover, so he asked: "This is...?"
Mao Shun: "This book is a craftsman's book written by many members of the Mao family, generation after generation. It records thousands of craftsmanship techniques."
Zhou Jun took the heavy book and asked with some confusion: "I am not a craftsman. Why didn't Master Mao Shun find a smart and skilled craftsman, accept him as his apprentice, and then pass on this book?"
Mao Shun: "Passing this book to an apprentice can only benefit one person; but passing this book to Erlang can benefit everyone in the world."
After hearing this, Zhou Jun was stunned.
After thinking carefully for a while, Zhou Jun asked: "What does Master Mao Shun mean by this?"
Mao Shun: "I have also read the 'The Romance of the West Chamber'. Since Zhou Lang can make it popular all over the world, he can naturally make the 'Craftsman's Classic' be passed down."
Zhou Jun took a breath and asked again: "The 'Hong Jing of Craftsman' is a craftsman's book handed down by the Mao family. Isn't Master Mao Shun worried about the leakage of his skills?"
Mao Shun, who had gray hair on his temples, shook his head gently and whispered: "Then everything is not important anymore."
After saying that, Mao Shun turned around again and looked at the imperial city in the distance, like an old monk in meditation, silent.
Seeing this, Zhou Jun put away the "Jianghong Jing" and went down to the lantern tower.
After leaving Shangyang Palace, Zhou Jun looked back at the direction of the lantern tower. The doubts and uneasiness in his heart were slowly expanding bit by bit, but he didn't know where the source of this feeling came from.
After leaving the gate of the imperial city, Zhou Jun found Hua Yue, and the two of them rode along the street towards the inn.
Zhou Jun rode on his horse and entered a street, but saw an acquaintance in his field of vision - Jin Youji.
The latter is holding something and writing and drawing on the wall.
Out of curiosity, Zhou Jun drove his horse over and asked, "What are you doing?"
Jin Youji was startled, turned around, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the person coming was Zhou Jun.
Zhou Jun looked down and saw some strange patterns written with charcoal on the wall.
Jin Youji took the initiative and said: "Erlang, these are the idioms of Silla, which are a kind of pictorial characters used by the people."
Zhou Jun asked: "What are you doing writing this here?"
Jin Youji: "Erlang, do you still remember that on the bridge before, I said I saw my daughter?"
Zhou Jun nodded.
Jin Youji: "After I went back, the more I thought about it, the more strange I felt. I always felt that the woman I saw that day was my daughter. Since then, I have quietly written such marks everywhere in Luoyang City."
"Only my daughter and I can understand this mark. If she is really in Luoyang City and sees this mark, she will naturally know where to find me."
Zhou Jun secretly shook his head after hearing this.
This Jin Youji, I am afraid that he is a little crazy thinking about his daughter.