The first thing that fell out of the bag was a folded piece of thick paper, on which was drawn a small picture with a few lines of words written next to it.

The picture shows a square wooden bench, which is very simple.

Most of the apprentice craftsmen were illiterate, so a picture would give them an idea of what the exam was about – making such a wooden bench.

It's a bit tight to make a stool a day, but it's not difficult for skilled carpenters.

It's a fairly friendly question.

However, there is also small print next to the pattern, which is a supplementary explanation of the exam questions.

"There is no limit to the size of the wooden bench, and those with mortise and tenon joints are added, each tenon and a half grade, and the maximum is added to two grades. ”

In other words, if you get a full score of 100 points, you can add an additional five points for each additional mortise and tenon structure.

A wooden bench can be nailed up with nails or connected with mortise and tenon joints, and it is a matter of course that you can have a higher score with a higher skill.

But one of the key problems is that this line of words is not drawn, nor is it expressed with the symbols unique to craftsmen, but in words!

This means that literate craftsmen are able to gain more advantages.

Xu Wen scratched his head. He was a little embarrassed to take advantage of this.

Xu San and they were taught by him for a year, and they also strengthened the special words of carpentry, if they couldn't even recognize this line of words, they would really be beaten.

Xu Wen put the thick piece of paper aside and went over to check the materials prepared next to him.

He was a little surprised by this.

Paulownia wood, all paulownia wood.

After a year of study, Xu Wen has a very clear understanding of the various types of wood at present.

Ancient furniture was beautiful for its heaviness, so hardwoods such as rosewood and mahogany were more popular, and softwoods such as paulownia were rarely used.

But that doesn't mean that paulownia wood can't be used to make furniture.

Although paulownia wood is light and soft, it is very stable in nature, has high density, is not easy to crack, and is not easy to be eaten by moisture insects.

The only problem is that the trees are hollow and it is difficult to form large panels, but making small pieces of furniture is not a problem at all.

In addition, paulownia grows quickly and is relatively cheap, so it is suitable for a situation where a large amount of material is required as a base for apprenticeship testing.

Of course, paulownia wood is a cork wood that can be handled very easily, which must be a key reason why Yue Mu Xuan chose it.

After all, the time for this exam is only one day, and if you want to complete it in time, you still have to choose wood that is easier to handle.

Still, it's a bit too coincidental......

Xu Wen knocked on this piece of paulownia wood, put it down, picked up the pen and paper next to it, and began to draw the structure of the wooden bench.

"All the candidates have already started?" Zhu Gantang asked, standing outside the examination room, looking up at the black eaves above the white high wall.

"I started, I went through it, and the curtains were all down. A military officer behind him said respectfully.

"Yes, we'll see it in an hour. Zhu Gantang turned around and said to the two people next to him.

These are two elderly craftsmen, their beards are all white, and their faces are full of ravines. They are today's deputy examiners, one surnamed Song and the other surnamed Qin.

"Yes. The two agreed together, and their attitude towards Zhu Gantang was also very respectful.

"Xiao Kun also came to refer to it today?" Zhu Gantang asked Master Song.

"I heard Yue Muxuan say yes. Master Song nodded.

"This is the norm, and I don't say hello. Zhu Gantang stroked his beard and complained.

"Boss Qi is such a person, he is straightforward, if it weren't for this, Master Zhu wouldn't have made friends with him, right?" Master Qin said with a smile.

Zhu Gantang smiled and said nothing, Master Song said: "Qi Kun is very talented, and he is a personal disciple brought out by Qi Yijiao with one hand and one foot, he missed the apprenticeship test last year for some reason, and there is absolutely no problem this year." ”

"Not only is there no problem, I think the head of this county is none other than him. It is not impossible to turn back to the head of the house, the head of the courtyard, and even the middle three yuan!hahaha!" Master Qin said with a laugh.

"There are people outside the sky, and it's hard to say anything until the exam results come out. Master Song shook his head with a straight face.

"Old Song, you have a point, but for us craftsmen, talent is very important, and the most important thing is inheritance and resources. In terms of inheritance and resources, looking at the entire Yushui area, who else can compare to Qi Kun?" Master Qin said.

He had a point.

Contemporary craftsmen are passed down from generation to generation, and inheritance is very important.

And then there's the resources.

Even ordinary nanmu and sandalwood are very rare in ordinary carpenters' homes, not to mention good golden silk nanmu and red sandalwood?

If you haven't seen it with your own eyes, you just listened to the master's explanation, how can you accurately distinguish different woods?

And without enough wood to practice, it is difficult to improve the craft.

Yue Mu Xuan itself is a second-class wood mill, the scale is quite large, and it is also a well-known big wood merchant in the country. What Qi Kun can get is indeed second to none.

"Well, all the candidates are all scribbling their names behind closed doors, and they don't know who did the work. When the time comes, as soon as something is presented, it will be clear whether it is a mule or a horse. Master Song nodded.

While the examiners were waiting for small talk, Xu Wen had already drawn a picture of the wooden stool to be made on paper.

The picture shows a simple square stool, with a bench top, four legs, and a horizontal bar between the two/legs, which is square and unremarkable.

Xu Wen calculated the size of each part of the square stool and habitually marked them with Arabic numerals.

Anyway, this picture is drawn for himself to see, and no one else will see it.

Then, he put down the drawings, picked up the paulownia wood that was set aside, and frowned as soon as he got his hands on it. He pondered for a moment, then stroked it from beginning to end with his hand.

Paulownia wood is not easy to crack and insects, but in the process of growing a tree, it is always possible to encounter such and such things, which will affect the wood and form some defects inside.

Therefore, when taking wood into wood, it is necessary to inspect the wood first and avoid those defects.

Xu Wen was lucky, the surface of this paulownia wood was intact and without any flaws.

But Xu Wen's brows did not expand because of this, he checked the paulownia wood again, picked up the saw, and sawed it in half from the middle.

Sure enough, this sawing saw the problem.

When Xu Wen first got started, he found that this piece of paulownia wood was lighter than he imagined. There is no problem on the surface, but the problem is inside.

The paulownia wood is hollow, but the hollow inside is small and large, very irregular, the small one may only be the thickness of a chopstick, and the big one is difficult to say.

The diameter of this paulownia wood is about 20 centimeters, and the cross-section is not obvious, but the diameter of the hollow in the center has reached 6 to 7 centimeters!

That is, about a third of the part in the center of it is hollow, and only the material at the edges is accessible.

In this way, the legs of the wooden bench are okay, and the bench surface basically cannot be made of whole wood, and can only be spliced.

Xu Wen was prepared, he put down the paulownia wood, picked up the pen, and added a few more strokes to the drawings next to him.

Ink is formed into threads, sawn wood into boards, and frames are made.

Draw the figure on the edge of the frame with an ink line, leaving aside the part where the mortise and tenon is made.

Ever since Lian Tianqing assigned him the next stage of learning tasks, Xu Wen has been familiar with the nature of paulownia wood.

Its weight, its touch, its density, its texture...... In this process, everything went deep into his heart little by little, forming the natural memories of his body.

So much so that now, as soon as he touches it, he can't help but feel some kind of connection with it.

Sawdust wafts, the unique fragrant smell of paulownia wood fills his nose, and the wood gradually takes shape in his hands, and the texture becomes clearer and clearer.

Xu Wen gradually immersed himself in it, completely forgetting where he was now.

The apprenticeship test, the examination room, the Yao's wooden workshop, and even the other world he really came from all faded and disappeared in his heart at this time.

In his eyes, all he had was this paulownia wood and the tools to build it.

The sun was receding, the sun was in the middle, and the hut was scorched by the sun and became hot.

Transparent beads of sweat appeared on Xu Wen's forehead, but his focused gaze remained unchanged from beginning to end.

"It's almost time, let's go and see this batch of candidates. ”

Zhu Gantang looked at the sundial on the table, stood up and said.

Song Qin and the two masters were chatting, and at this time they shut up together and stood up.