Moreover, if you find a good carpenter, after opening the box, it can be completely restored.

Although he is in Yanjing, Yu Yao also has acquaintances in this area! To be exact, he is not familiar with him, but with Lin Fengcao.

Mao Ye.

Yu Yao immediately contacted Lin Fengcao, and Yu Yao didn't hide it from Lin Fengcao, so he said that he wanted to see if there was anything hidden inside.

However, Lin Fengcao has been very busy in the past two days, so he directly gave him the contact information of Mao Ye, "Anyway, you have seen him, and Mao Ye likes you a lot." ”

"Okay, I'll get in touch with myself. ”

Lin Fengcao instructed again, "This thing must not be left with him, it can be regarded as a temporary emergency job, in terms of wages, you will give as much as he says when the time comes." ”

"I understand, don't worry. ”

After ending the call with Lin Fengcao, Yu Yao called Mao Ye, and when Mao Ye heard it, he was also very interested, and made an appointment to let Yu Yao go over tomorrow morning.

At nine o'clock in the morning the next day, Yu Yao came to Mao Ye's small courtyard and found that there was also a carpentry master. Mao Ye explained a few words to the master, and let Yu Yao into a small room in the inner room.

"The boxes of the Qing Dynasty were treated very well before processing, so they never cracked. Mao Ye first took a look at the box.

"Isn't elm wood not easy to crack in the first place?" Yu Yao couldn't help asking.

"Usually when we say that elm wood is not easy to crack, we mean that it is thoroughly dried before processing, so that it is not easy to crack and is resistant to decay. But elm is not easy to dry. If it is processed without drying, it is easy to crack. ”

Yu Yao nodded, "This box is very finely made, it looks like mahogany work. ”

"So, a piece of firewood, but the drying process is so in place, and the work is so careful, you say that you are hiding something, it is really possible. ”

The concept of firewood is a common name for cork.

Softwood and hardwood are opposite. In the early days, mahogany only referred to red sour branches, and the concept of hardwood is roughly equivalent to the current category of large mahogany, including red sandalwood, yellow pear, red sour branch, wenge, ebony, etc., and there are also varieties not included in the current mahogany category, such as iron wood.

Cork or firewood is other commonly used wood, such as elm, nanmu, beech, fir, cypress, and so on.

The hardness of hardwoods is really high. Take red sandalwood as an example, if you have seen the processing scene, you will know that as soon as the chainsaw is on, sparks can come out. But this does not mean that the hardness of cork is very low, and some of them are just as laborious to saw. Soft and hard are only relative, and the difference may not be very large.

If you look closely, you will also find an interesting phenomenon. Hardwood things, the names are unconventional, such as red sandalwood, the tree species is not called red sandalwood, the so-called "scientific name" sandalwood red sandalwood, is also a beautifying translation. Huanghuali is not a pear wood.

But for cork, elm is elm, and nanmu is nanshu (zhennan).

The reason is very simple, in the past, the hardwood and softwood divided into furniture in the Ming and Qing dynasties were all imported products, not produced locally, and imported. Cork is a native species.

Now Mao Ye said "firewood", still with a contemptuous tone.

"Mao Ye, although the wood is average, this box is really good, so it's best to restore it to its original state. Yu Yao hurriedly said.

Mao Ye smiled, "Although I don't like firewood, I don't underestimate the box maker, so don't worry." I'm going to do it in front of you. ”

Yu Yao thought that Mao Ye would prepare some complicated tools, but unexpectedly, he only took a wooden stick similar to a rolling pin and a steel ruler. However, this steel ruler is a bit special, with a thin and sharp end like a sharp edge.

Mao Ye first picked up the elm box with one hand, and tapped it around the bottom with a wooden stick in the other, listening as he knocked.

After listening, Mao Ye bowed his head slightly, and put the sharp and thin head of the steel ruler against the gap on the outside, as if he was slightly exerting force, "Well, I didn't use glue." ”

Then, Mao Ye used a steel ruler to rotate along the gap. After putting down the steel ruler, Mao Ye used a wooden stick to hold the inner bottom of the box with one hand and grabbed the outer bottom with the other, as if they were exerting force together.

The previous movements were very slow, but then, Yu Yao was dazzled, Mao Ye's hands spun and flew, only to hear a soft sound of "pop", the bottom of the wooden box was placed on the table, and then Mao Ye picked up the steel ruler, and rotated and dialed in it, and there was an almost circular wooden block with eight edges, which fell into his hand.

Yu Yao looked at the bottom of the wooden box on the table, and saw that there were three tenons on it, it turned out that these three tenons were accurately stuck in the tenon at the bottom of the wooden box, and the other parts were polished as smooth as a mirror, which was extremely close.

The eight-sided wooden block in Mao Ye's hand, about ten centimeters in diameter and about three or four centimeters thick, fits the inner wall of the box, and there is no tenon on it, but there is a circle of irregular threads. The bottom of the inner wall of the box is also engraved with threads accordingly, which are fixed by this.

This octagonal block is very complete, and there are no gaps or traces to be seen.

At this time, Mao Ye checked the eight-sided wooden block in his hand, "I can't see anything from the outside, and the weight is fine, there seems to be nothing hidden in here." ”

Yu Yao groaned, "If you don't hide things, why do you need to use a double bottom inside and outside?"

Mao Ye thought for a while, "If it is a box containing the printing stone, the printing stone is relatively heavy, and it is possible to make it into a double bottom." However, to make this double bottom, the inner wooden block is threaded, and the outer bottom is mortise and tenon, and the process of mortise and tenon and thread is very special, a bit of a show-off feeling. ”

"It's hard to say what the ancient craftsmen had in mind. ”

······

No matter how you discuss it, if you can't find something, you can't find it.

Yu Yao smiled bitterly, "It seems that I am thinking too much." ”

"How much did you spend on this wooden box?" Mao Ye couldn't help asking.

"Five thousand. ”

"Huh?" replied, "An elm box from the Qing Dynasty, you spent so much?"

"Don't mention it, I kicked and smashed a blue and white wine jug on someone's stall and lost 5,000, which is the box that people use to hold the jug. ”

"I see. Mao Ye nodded, "However, if you had known the truth and used this kind of mortise and tenon and thread, five thousand would be worth it - because it is very valuable for research." ”

"If Master Mao likes it, then I'll give it to you. Yu Yao raised his hand and waved, "This value can only be exerted in your hands, and I keep it to pack things." ”

"How does this make me? If I leave it, I'll give you five thousand. ”

"Then I'll give you another five thousand wages for opening the box. ”

"You're not a bargain guy. Mao Ye smiled, "Me is not either." In this way, the box is still yours, and I will stay for two days to study, and it will be paid as a salary, and you will take it when you go back. I studied the mortise and tenon and thread, and I could have made another one, and it was useless to keep it. ”

"Okay, then I'll listen to you. Yu Yao didn't say more.

Mao Ye turned over the box with his hand, looked at the three mortises at the bottom of the box, and suddenly said, "Huh?"