The hatchet fell and the ebony bark came off, but the knife only penetrated the wood less than an inch deep.
Ebony, due to the sedimentation of water and soil, can be preserved without rot because it is already heavily carbonized. Generally, it is really difficult to cut it with a knife, not to mention that this piece of ebony has a diameter of one foot.
But it was enough for Fang Ming, because he didn't intend to cut off the ebony wood.
After using a hatchet to clean away the sawdust at the edge of the knife and making an opening of about ten centimeters, Fang Ming squatted down and began to inspect the knife edge.
"Fang Ming?"
Hua Borong on the side saw Fang Ming staring at the knife edge for more than a minute without looking away, and couldn't help but shout.
"Uncle Hua, can you go get me a plate of water?" Fang Ming raised his head and said to Hua Borong.
"Can."
Hua Borong nodded, and then glared at Hua Mingming, who was still standing beside him. Hua Mingming rolled his eyes, but he knew his old man's temper, so he had to find a basin and walk towards the bathroom.
"Give."
Fang Ming took the basin from Hua Mingming's reluctant expression, but he didn't care about Hua Mingming's attitude. He didn't have time to care about it now, because his attention was completely focused on the ebony part that was about to be revealed.
Attracted by the mystery.
Slowly pouring the clean water into the knife edge, a scene that shocked Hua Borong and Hua Mingming appeared. Not a drop of the clean water was wasted and fell to the ground. It was absorbed almost instantly when it came into contact with the ebony.
Everyone knows that wood has the ability to absorb water, but wood does not absorb water very quickly, or even relatively slowly, so this scene clearly goes against common sense.
"It's exactly what I guessed."
However, after seeing this scene, Fang Ming's eyes flashed with something strange. This scene proved that his original judgment was correct. This was indeed ten thousand-year-old ebony, and it was also an extremely rare type of ten-thousand-year-old ebony.
"Fang Ming, what are you guessing? Could this ebony really be ten thousand year old ebony? But even if it is ten thousand year old ebony, it shouldn't be so absorbent?"
It is not that ten thousand year ebony has never been unearthed, so Hua Borong still has some knowledge. Ten thousand year ebony means that it is older, but he has never seen from reports about the water absorption of ten thousand year ebony.
"Uncle Hua, ordinary ten-thousand-year-old ebony can't do it, not even the golden nanmu, which is the best among ebony, but there is a kind of magical tree in nature. This kind of tree is called the mother-child tree." Fang
Ming looked at Hua Borong and explained.
The Mother-child Tree was not something his master told him, but came from the wizard's inheritance he received. In the wizard's inheritance, there was an article called the Grass and Tree List, which recorded one hundred kinds of magical grasses. The Mother-child Tree happened to be
Ranked among them.
"Mother-child tree?"
Hua Borong shook his head with a question mark on his face. He had never heard of the existence of such a tree in his life.
Fang Ming did not continue to explain, but started to use the hatchet to cut down along the edge, bit by bit. It took almost an hour, and finally the outer ten centimeters of the ebony skin was cut.
Remove them all.
The outer layer of the dark trees was removed, and when the true appearance inside was revealed, Hua Borong and Hua Mingming were almost stunned, because the trees inside were completely different from the outside. They were dark outside, but they were actually milky white wood inside.
.
Because of the protection of the bark, many trees usually appear white when the bark is peeled off. However, that white is completely different from the white in front of you. It is a pure milky white.
If you just take a partial photo of this tree and show it to others, I am afraid that no one will believe that it is a piece of wood, and more people will even think that it is a photo of some kind of white jade.
Fang Ming put his finger on it and lightly traced it, with a look of surprise in his eyes. This mother-child tree was a little better than he expected.
"There is a tree in the north of the sea. Its roots are in the water. One mother is outside and one son is inside. When the mother withers and the son comes out, its roots are entwined from generation to generation."
Fang Ming muttered the description of the mother-child tree in his mouth. Fortunately, Hua Borong had some skills and understood the general outline. As for Hua Mingming, he didn't understand a word as if he was listening to a book.
"Fang Ming, you mean that there is a kind of tree growing on the sea. Because it is surrounded by sea water, the way this tree spreads its seeds is different from ordinary trees. The seeds of this tree grow inside the tree. I
That’s the right understanding, right?”
Hua Borong looked at Fang Ming, and Fang Ming nodded, because Hua Borong understood correctly.
"Uncle Hua, you understand it right. This is the description of the mother-child tree. According to legend, the mother-child tree lives in the ocean, so the seeds have nowhere to scatter and can only grow inside. The nutrients that the new tree can absorb also come from
The mother tree, when one day the new tree absorbs all the nutrients from the old tree, the old tree will wither. At that time, the old bark will fall off and be completely replaced by the new tree."
Fang Ming spoke very slowly, but Hua Mingming laughed after hearing this, "Fang Ming, where did you hear this rumor? A sapling of a tree grows inside the body of an old tree, so how can the tree follow what you said?
It’s not a hollow tree anymore, and the sea is so deep. How can a tree grow without photosynthesis? Don’t tell me that this tree is hundreds of kilometers high.”
"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Even if you haven't seen it now, it doesn't mean it didn't exist before. After all, this tree has a history of tens of thousands of years."
Fang Ming shook his head and laughed. Young people like Hua Mingming did not believe this rumor, because it was different from what they had been exposed to and learned about the world.
"I've never heard of a mother-child tree, but there are indeed some special animals and plants in nature, such as hermaphroditic flowers and plants. If so, the mother-child tree may also exist." Hua Borong interjected from the side.
"Yes, the world is full of wonders. Many special animals and plants have become extinct, but there are still some that have survived. The mother-of-pearl tree is just one of them."
When Hua Mingming saw his old man and Fang Ming singing and singing, he could only curl his lips and not continue to argue about this topic, because he knew that as long as the old man expressed his stance, he would not have any more arguments, and might end up taking advantage of the old man.
"Fang Ming, you are indeed lucky. The pair of evil spirits at the door made you a profit. Now that a thousand-year-old ebony has been found here, the cost of this shop has been paid back. I guess Old Song will vomit blood if he knows the truth."
Hua Mingming was indeed envious of Fang Ming's luck. It was as magical as the stories about picking up leaks that circulated in the antique city. The difference was that Hua Mingming knew the tricks contained in those stories about picking up leaks. Many of them were false stories spread by merchants.
Some are even directly done by those merchants.
The reason is very simple. Only in this way can we attract people who want to take advantage of the goods to come here to buy things, thinking that they are the next lucky ones to pick up big bargains.
However, what you buy is not as good as what you sell, and these people don’t want to think that if they miss out on such easy pickings, these stores will suffer heavy losses.
It was precisely because of this that even Fang Ming felt jealous when he saw that Fang Ming had just bought a store but had made millions in income in vain.
"No matter what the origin of this mother-and-child tree is, it is definitely a ten thousand-year-old ebony that cannot escape. Plus, with its appearance, if it were sold, I estimate that there would be no problem in selling it for more than one million."
Hua Borong also gave an estimate. Thousand-year-old ebony is indeed quite valuable, but it is also calculated based on volume. The ebony in front of you is not large in size. It is worth millions because of its special color and appearance.
added value.
"One million?"
Fang Ming smiled slightly. If it was only one million, it wouldn't surprise him so much. Uncle Hua offered such a price because he didn't know what the mother-child tree meant.
"Uncle Hua, I plan to sell this mother-and-son tree, but not in the form of wood. Isn't this a cultural and toy shop? I will carve it and then sell it."
Fang Ming smiled and answered that he did not tell Hua Borong what the selling price would be at that time because he was afraid of scaring the other party.