"I've heard a lot of people say that a new gourd needs to be dried for a year before it can be used? Is it true? Lao Li was puzzled.

"Many friends who have just played with gourds asked me that the gourds must have been dried for a long time before they were put on the market, so why do they have to dry them for another year? Isn't that redundant? ”

Cao Ming said patiently: "In fact, the reason is this, the surface of the gourd is densely covered with tiny pores, which are used for the exchange of gas and moisture between the inside of the gourd and the outside world. After the gourd is picked, the gourd vine no longer supplies water and offerings to the gourd, and the water in the gourd begins to volatilize through the small holes on the gourd skin. It takes a process. ”

"Generally, the gourd from picking to market, the longest is three months, after such a short period of drying, there will still be a certain amount of moisture remaining in the gourd, at this time, the small holes on the gourd skin, is not completely closed. This water also needs to be naturally dried for a long period of time before it can be completely evaporated. ”

"If you are anxious to play with the gourd that has just dried and yellowed, it will affect the evaporation of the gourd's water, and some unclean substances and grease on your hands will easily enter the gourd skin, and these substances will block these small holes, causing the remaining water of the gourd to not volatilize, and there will be uneven color patches on the surface, resulting in "disc play skin patches".

After a year of drying, the inside of the gourd has been completely dried, and the small pores on the surface are completely closed. At the same time, a protective film is formed on the outer skin of the gourd, and foreign dirt is not easy to invade the epidermis. The color of the gourd is also oxidized due to the passage of time, and it begins to redden. ”

"Those gourds that are particularly ripe and tall will become red and bright as long as they are played with a little bit of play. The gourd that has not been dried for a year is often hung very quickly, and the porcelain is hung before coloring, and the coloring will become very slow. This is also the reason why many novices are eager to play the new gourd, no matter how hard they try, they are always not popular. ”

Everyone suddenly realized that there was still this statement. In fact, all woody types have a release problem, which is most easily ignored by players. Because when it comes to liberalization, it will take at least more than a year, or even a few years or more than ten years to see the problem. The better the material, after long-term placement, the water will fully evaporate, and the oiliness will come out, and you will get twice the result with half the effort as soon as you get started.

"Come on, isn't this grass gold?" Suddenly, Xiao Zhang, who was squatting on the side, screamed, as if he had found some treasure.

"I'll see, really!" Yu Hongfei was the closest, and quickly took it over to take a look, and he was also happy.

I saw a particularly small hand-twisted gourd in the palm of the hand, estimated to be no more than three centimeters long, very cute. This is the player's saying called grass gold, the smaller the hand twist, the rarer, about 2 centimeters is the most precious, if the shape is right, it can also be matched with the right, that there is no one in a hundred miles.

"It's a pity that it's not right, it's crooked, but it's rare, go talk to the boss and take it!"

Xiao Zhang was excited, hurriedly went to the boss, and won all the last twenty yuan. This kind of fun that can be picked up by yourself lies in this, there is a feeling of picking up leaks.

"Personally, I don't build a heavy oil pan, the gourd cortex will become very greasy and unpleasant, and the color is dull and heavy; The sesame oil dish is not built, the sesame oil has a greasy taste, it loves to attract insects and is thick and greasy, and it is not refreshing; It is not built to be a regular plate, and the plate is slowed down for a few days, and the sun is more and the wind is less; Not to mention the creation of a variety of oil alternate plates, this kind of plate play technique is very strict on the damage to the gourd! Do not build a chemical reagent tray, sometimes the hands have been exposed to chemical reagents, such as hair wax, cosmetics, and gasoline, etc., which will make the gourd plate flower. ”

Wu Shixiang finally summed up his experience, the best is to use the handpan, pay attention to a step-by-step process, experience the process of change in the middle, too eager for quick success and quick profit is easy to backfire.

In a blink of an eye, it was noon, and the program was recorded, Wu Shixiang was the east, and everyone was invited to eat together. I found a big private room nearby, and everyone had food and drink. Yu Hongfei also raised his wine glass to salute Wu Shixiang several times during the banquet, after all, he is also an old man, and he didn't have a relationship last time, and Wu Shixiang is not a stingy person, and he smiled and hated.

"Brother Cao, we'll finish in a while, are you free? Take me around? ”

Cao Ming nodded, "It's okay, I'll compensate you in the future, I'm familiar here, there are a few gourd merchants who are good, you can go and see for yourself." ”

Wu Shixiang didn't have a chance to choose the gourd that he could look at, so he naturally wanted the best for the one-eyed dragon and the big black bull. There are also Flash and Spider-Man in Doujinlou, buy a few more when you meet a good one. Take a trip down today, it's also very popular to see the gourd, and there are also some branches, see if Cao Ming has a good way?

After eating, everyone said goodbye and left, and Cao Ming and Wu Shixiang returned to the market again to choose a good gourd.

"If you want a good one, don't just buy the finished product. It's okay to play with this chief.,If it's best to customize the insect tool yourself.,Follow me.。 ”

Cao Ming took Wu Shixiang around and walked to a small shop, the signboard was Hu Hulu, and the owner was a man in his forties, who should be surnamed Hu.

"Lao Hu, who do you think is coming?" Cao Ming greeted as soon as he entered the door.

"Hey, isn't this the boss of Mu Yuanju? Really? ”

Lao Hu was very surprised when he saw it, he watched a lot of shows on TV, and he was very familiar with this legend in the entertainment circle, and he was able to see a real person today.

The three of them are all experts, and they became familiar with it in a few words, and they heard that Wu Shixiang was going to come to buy gourds. Lao Hu is very happy to be able to choose a gourd for the dignified Wu Shixiang, and it is definitely face-saving to say it! Hurry up and take out all the things at the bottom of the pressure box and let the family choose enough.

In fact, the songworm gourd can be divided into the long gourd, Lezha gourd, fan gourd, fire painting gourd, three-dimensional pressed flower gourd, needle carved gourd, knife carved gourd, etc. This long gourd refers to a gourd container that grows naturally, does not exert artificial influence in the growth process, and only undergoes simple treatment after maturity.

The Lezha gourd, fan gourd, fire painting gourd, three-dimensional pressed flower gourd, needle carved gourd, knife carved gourd, etc. are made of special technology or technical treatment after the growth process or maturity of the gourd.

This long gourd container is the most common, a naturally grown gourd, divided into two, covered with a thin wooden board on the profile, and then open a small door in the lower part, so a gourd two insect tools are made.

This practice is most suitable for the songworm with a belt around the waist, and people bring this kind of gourd, which is natural and not bulging. Or hollow out the mature gourd and install the door. The disadvantage of these two kinds of songworm gourds is that the sound transmission effect is not good, and they are only suitable for the chirping of grasshoppers.

"These are all suitable gourds for crickets, and they are all good things for more than a year, and I am not willing to use them myself. Come today, you have a good choice for you, you're welcome! ”

Lao Hu is also a real person, and he took out seven or eight gourds, both in shape and skin color, Wu Shixiang was very satisfied, and chose six of them, ready to make them into insect tools.

"Mengzixin, what do you want? Sea Yellow? Rosewood? By the way, playing with wood you are the ancestor, hehe. ”

"Hai Huang's, gourd, you are an expert, you have the final say! When the branch opens in the future, you have good things in your hands, and cooperation is indispensable. ”

Wu Shixiang looks at Lao Hu people well, and he is also professional in playing gourds, so he can cooperate in the future. When Lao Hu heard this, he became excited, not to mention making money, but that his toys could be sold in the famous Muyuanju, which was an honor in itself.

Lao Hu began to make zuò insect tools, and Wu Shixiang and Cao Ming watched while drinking tea.

The production of the insect gourd generally goes through five processes: peeling, cutting, smashing the mud bottom, loading copper gall, and covering the mouth. These five processes also vary depending on the type of songworm.

Peeling, there is a thin layer of skin on the surface of the gourd, if it is not removed, it will rot and black spots will appear, which will affect the visual effect of the gourd, and it will not be able to decorate on the surface of the gourd.

There are three ways to peel: scraping the skin, when the gourd is wet, slowly scrape and grind with bamboo chips, not too hard, can not use a sharp blade, otherwise it will affect the surface appearance of the gourd;

Boiled or soaked, dry gourds are not easy to peel, can be boiled in water or boiling water, and then scraped;

The fermentation method is to cover the mature gourd with weeds or gourd seedlings, wait until the gourd grows white hairs, and gently rub it to peel it. The peeled gourd is placed in a cool place to air dry and then dried to avoid cracking the gourd due to exposure.

Then it is necessary to cut off the excess part of the gourd. According to the concept of making zuò gourd, the surface of the gourd is sketched with a pencil, and the excess part is cut off with a concave knife or thin saw blade, and the seeds and pulp inside the gourd are cleaned.

Smashing the mud bottom, this is a necessary step for the burrowing insects represented by crickets, and the zuò is not required to make the cripples represented by the grasshoppers.

Crickets belong to the yin insects, and their nature is inseparable from the soil, and the mud bottom in the container is a natural ecological environment that simulates crickets. The mud is yellow cement, fine sand, lime, mixed with rainwater, the bottom of the mud can not be flat, but should be consistent with the internal slope of the gourd, or with the horizontal line of the bottom of the gourd at an angle of 45 to 50 degrees.

Equipped with copper gall, copper gall is unique to the singing insects such as gnats and mouths, which is to place a spring in the middle of the gourd. The spring is a mosquito coiled ring-shaped ring made of copper wire, which has three functions: one is for the grasshopper to climb in the air; The second is to block the grasshopper so that its long whiskers do not extend out of the gourd cover and be broken, which plays the role of protecting the grasshopper.

Third, some people believe that it has the effect of resonance. When the grasshopper chirps, it resonates with the copper spring to make the sound more beautiful and beautiful, which may also make some sense on the mouth cover, and the mouth refers to the glue to the mouth of the gourd.

The gourd of the songworm must have a mouth and a lid, and the modern gourd cover of the songworm is not only hollowed out of wood, but also mass-produced with plastic. Pay attention to the use of mahogany, such as sea yellow, red sandalwood, each Mengzi heart is not cheap, the best hundreds of thousands, much more expensive than the gourd.

"Where did we get in the gourd here?" Wu Shixiang asked Lao Hu.

"They are all planted by gourd farmers near Hebei, and now there are many people playing gourds, and an industry has also formed in Laishui, and many people plant them." Lao Hu chatted while moving his hands: "I also have nothing to do to choose some that can be seen, and then come back to do it, mainly because of the length and ginning."