For a whole afternoon, Li Le did not leave the studio, perhaps only when he was carving could he forget the troubles in his heart.

At about seven o'clock in the evening, the door of the workshop was opened, and Li Le raised his head and saw Zhen Yan walking in.

"Don't you get off work yet? It's past seven o'clock. ”

"Huh! It's seven? I didn't even notice. Looking at his watch, Li Le noticed the time.

"Alright, I'd love to see you work longer hours every day, but you don't have to work so hard."

"Hmmm! Then I'll go back first. ”

"Let's go, I'll send you." couldn't help Li Le refuse, Zhen Yan took the lead and walked out.

At night, the streets are lit up with neon lights.

Li Le sat quietly in the car, looking out the window, and suddenly felt a little confused about his future life. In my previous life, I was always single, completely obsessed with carving, is this still the case in this life? What is the meaning of being born again? Is this the kind of life I seek? For the first time, Li Le fell into deep thought.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about what kind of life is what I'm after, what I want."

"Something?" Zhen Yan asked with a smile.

"Hmm!"

"Sister Zhen, please have a meal, do you enjoy the light?" Zhen Yan said in a teasing tone.

"Huh?"

"There's a farmhouse on BJ West Road, which is very good, let's go there." couldn't help but say, Zhen Yan turned around and set off directly towards BJ West Road.

In a small private room, Li Le and Zhen Yan waited for the food to come up.

"Do you have any troubles, can you talk to Sister Zhen?" Zhen Yan poured a glass of water for Li Le and waited for Li Le's next words.

Li Le casually took out a cigarette and wanted to light it, and then realized that he was in front of Zhen Yan, and put down the lighter stupidly. "Smoke, it's fine!" Zhen Yan seemed to see Li Le's embarrassment and said with a smile. Li Le was slightly stunned, then clicked it directly, and then took a sip and said slowly: "I'm just thinking about what kind of life I will live in the future, and whether it is the life I like." ”

"How old are you to start worrying about this? When I was your age, I thought that I would be able to see all the mountains and seas and all the beautiful scenery in the future. But later, when my father got old, he took over his jewelry store, and he worried about the business of the store day and night, and now he is married and has children. Those ideals are long gone, and now I just want to raise my children well and take care of the business in the store. When it comes to her life, Zhen Yan seems a little helpless.

"Then why didn't you go out and have a look?" Li Le was a little puzzled.

"Reality, life will not be idealized, people will encounter a lot of troubles in their lives, and they will have to make many compromises. Life is not only spiritual, but also material. Every day you need to eat, you need to be dressed, you have children to take care of, and you have a family to take care of. ”

"Isn't there a place where you can do both?" Li Le asked expectantly.

"I don't know about this, but I think that a spiritual life must go through the process of materialization, and only after walking enough material foundation can you have the time and leisure to satisfy your spirit, what do you say?"

"What does that spiritualized life look like?"

"Everyone's spiritual pursuit values are different, and you need to find this yourself."

At this moment, the waiter had already brought the meal.

"Okay, don't think about it so much, let's eat first."

During the meal, Li Le kept recalling Zhen Yan's words. He thought about it for a long time and didn't think about what he was pursuing, talking about carving, carving in his previous life was for life, and carving could calm his mind. But it is impossible to say that true love is incomparable. Until he returned home after eating, Li Le didn't have a clue.

Li Le felt that he had a feeling of getting into a misunderstanding, chewing Zhen Yan's words carefully, materializing and spiritualizing. Suddenly, a bright light flashed through my mind, yes, I haven't even found what I'm pursuing now, so why should I set myself so high, isn't it just to lay a good material foundation first?

Although strictly speaking, Li Le can be regarded as a rich second generation, Tang Chongming, as the eldest son of the family, and he, as Tang Chongming's son, will not lack money. But in his heart, he rejects living on Tang Chongming, although he still needs Tang Chongming to pay for his living expenses.

I want to make my own money and have my own business. But what can I rely on? Lottery tickets, I never bought them in my previous life, and where do I remember what winning numbers. Stock? I don't know anything. Trade? It doesn't seem to work either. One industry after another has been slowly passed by Li Le. In the end, I found that I was most familiar with carving.

Engraving, carving!

Li Le slapped his head suddenly, why was he so stupid. Jadeite, Hetian jade, which one of these is not a crazy industry in the future. 04 to 14 In the past ten years, the rise of these jewels has nearly increased by a thousand times, and they have some advanced advantages, so why not make money.

But the current jade and Tianyu are not something that they can pound up, where did their first pot of gold come from?

Slowly, Li Le felt that his thoughts were slowly becoming clearer. Speaking of the carving industry, Li Le has come into contact with materials such as nuclear carving, wood carving, stone carving, jade carving, and then in order to pursue a breakthrough in skills, involving paper carving, coin carving and so on.

Li Le wants to set his starting point on a small piece like nuclear carving, and his starting capital is not much, only more than 2,000 yuan is left, and he has to buy a carving knife, and the rest is even less. Another reason is that the place where Li Le's apprenticeship in the previous life was in Suzhou, and Suzhou is the birthplace of nuclear carving. It turns out that Li Le has practiced nuclear carving a lot, and it will be handy to do this. Although the price of the current nuclear carving is not as high as in the later generations, isn't it the time when there is a shortage of money, and it is a little bit to earn, and I still have so many debts to repay, and the time at night is also free.

Li Le remembered that Hu Shu was in Guangzhou at the moment, and wasn't that the place with the most olive core raw materials. Thinking of this moment, Li Le hurriedly called Hu Shu.

"Hey! Who is it! It was still that familiar voice, Li Le knew that Hu Shu had a habit of answering the phone and never looking at the number and name, so he would ask who it was first every time.

"I, Li Le!"

"You kid, what's wrong? I really don't have any more money. ”

"It's not to borrow money, are you still in Guangzhou?" Li Le couldn't help but smile when he heard Hu Shu's words.

"It's still there, it will take two days to come back. You kid misses me. ”

"Hmmm! I miss you, I miss you for a favor for me. I won't talk to you, to be serious, can you take the time to go to Zengcheng to help me bring something back? ”

"Zengcheng? It's not very far from me, what are you going to bring? ”

"Olive pit."

"What's that?" Hu Shu didn't hear clearly.

"Olive pits, for carving, you can go and inquire about it."

"What do you want this for? You don't know how to carve. Hu Shu was very surprised by what Li Le wanted.

"Just bring it back for me. I'll give you two thousand dollars tomorrow, and you can buy as much as you can then." In addition, you pick up a few more varieties, and if there is an old core, you can buy the old core, which is stored for more than 5 years. Because Hu Shu didn't know much about this, Soli Le didn't ask him to buy any varieties, so he could only ask him to pick a few more varieties back.

"Two thousand yuan to buy that thing, what are you going to do? It's not that I'm going to learn carving, and it's not so bad to have money. Hearing Li Le say that he would buy that thing for 2,000 yuan, Hu Shu immediately jumped up.

"Just buy it back! I'll tell you when I get back. After talking to Hu Shu for a long time, Li Le hung up the phone. In fact, what Li Le wanted most was to go by himself, but he didn't allow it for a while, and he didn't have that kung fu.

In fact, when it comes to olive core carving, it should be a relatively mature type in cultural play. The olive pits used for carving are mainly distributed in gD, FJ, gX, zJ, Yn and other places, and then some foreign countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The carving is generally better with gD's Ukrainian core, and among the Ukrainian cores, Zengcheng is the most. Because of its large grains, thick meat, tight texture, dark color, high oil content, after processing the finished product in the hand to play very smooth, but also easy to coat, the color will be from yellow to brown to dark red, and finally form a smooth and bright ancient red, which is very beautiful.

There are many classifications of olive pits, and there are varieties as the division, such as oil cores, iron head cores, yellow fat cores and foreign cores. The market is dominated by oil and iron cores. The color of the oil core is full and ruddy, and the density of the iron core is large, which is not easy to crack, as for which one is better, it depends on personal preference. Among them, it is subdivided into old nuclei and new nuclei, because the oily diffusion of the old nucleus is better, and the new nucleus with more moisture is more textured and not easy to crack.

Divided by shape, it is mostly divided into single nucleus, elongated nucleus, small nucleus, strange nucleus and round nucleus. The single core is generally more than 5cm in length, which is larger, and is mainly used for engraving a single work. As the name suggests, the slender core is slender, and it is generally used for the carving of nuclear boat themes. For example, Wang Shuyuan's first "Nuclear Boat Story", and Zhan Gusheng's "Olive Nuclear Boat", and the Ming "Su Dongpo Night Tour of the Red Cliff Boat" are still preserved in Zengzhou Cultural City. These are the finest of the finest miniature sculptures, and they are priceless. Compared with single cores, small cores are small in size, and because they are rare on the market, they are also more valuable. The strange accounting is a special variety, because of its strange shape, some are themselves a work of art, such as Buddha's hand, without carving has a very high value. The final nucleus is an oval with a small difference in length and width, and it is mostly used for carving themes such as Buddha's head.

There is also a classification according to the core reinforcement, which is generally divided into two flowers, three flowers, four flowers and multiple flowers. Erhua is the first choice for creativity because of its flat shape. And Sanhua has more on the market. The four flowers are mostly used for carvings such as arhats and two immortals. Duohua is a strange core, and it is also quite popular with famous artists.

The last classification is based on skin color and flesh color, and there are black vajra, red vajra, iron round nucleus and purple nucleus concentration. In addition to the black King Kong, the black flesh is red, easy to pulp, and the color is fast, so it is the first choice for Arhat carving. And the red diamond also has a red skin and a red flesh. The iron round core is black in the epidermis, and the white tendons are dense, making it easy to carve. Purple nucleus is an ordinary material, and it is the first choice for the creativity of some senior masters.

After explaining the purchase to Hu Shu, Li Le still has one more thing to do, that is, the production of the carving knife. This Li Le is not going to buy it, Zhen Yan has the raw material white steel, Li Le can make it himself according to his own needs, and the tools made in this way will be handy.

After thinking about it in his heart, Li Le slept very soundly this night.

Early in the morning, Li Le got up for morning exercises, and a running fat body on the street was also a beautiful scenery. After running and cleaning up, Li Le was ready to find the materials for the knife.

The material used for the production of knives is high-speed tool steel, commonly known as "white steel", but it is difficult to find in general hardware stores. The place where Li Le wants to go is to buy machine tool accessories, tool stores. After running two or three stores, Li Le bought white steel bars.

Later, in a furniture factory that made mahogany furniture, Li Le got some leftovers to use as handles. Finally, I bought a carving knife handle, also called a double-head lock, which is the kind on the watch repair tool. These materials cost Li Le nearly fifty yuan in total. As for the cutting and polishing machinery, the jewelry store is complete.

For the whole morning, Li Le basically spent making knives. Zhen Yan wasn't in the store today, Yao Hong didn't understand what Li Le was doing when he came over twice, and he didn't bother him anymore when he saw that he was all focused on the work in his hands. At almost 11 o'clock, Li Le put down his work and saw more than 30 carving knives of different shapes neatly placed on the table.

There are many types of carving knives, each with its own different functions. According to the shape of the knife head, it is divided into flat knife, semi-circular knife, corner knife, trimming knife, meat digging knife and extra small knife. The flat knife is shaped like a single-edged seal carving knife, which is divided into a variety of specifications according to the width of the blade, and can be made into a large shape or carved in detail. Some masters use a large flat knife to open their eyes. The semi-circular knife is to sharpen the bevel blade on the semi-circular steel bar, which also has a variety of specifications and is mostly used for turning and cutting. The angle knife is shaped like an inverted triangle and is mostly used for detailed carving, such as eyes, teeth, etc. The grooming knife is similar to the oblique knife, but it does not have the same sharp tip as the oblique knife, but it is used to scrape the surface and make it smooth. The meat digging knife is shaped like iron wire, which is used to dig out the kernel inside the core, so as to facilitate the preservation of the nuclear carving. The last extra small knife is similar to the above, except that the diameter of the knife head is more miniaturized, even up to a few tenths of a millimeter, which is suitable for scenes the size of rice grains. This kind of knife Li Le can't be made at the moment, and he will only talk about it when he has time or conditions in the future.

Although there are only 6 types of carving knives, a good artist has 20 or 30 knives, which can be used at hand. This is because knives such as flat knives, corner knives, and semi-circular knives have a variety of specifications for the same type.

Li Le is not working at this moment, because he is going to his aunt Li Hong at noon today. Because of his brother-in-law and cousin, he didn't want to go too early, so he was stuck at 11 o'clock.

It took more than half an hour to arrive at my aunt's house, and Li Le bought some fruit on the way here. Although his sister-in-law and cousin hate him, the issue of etiquette cannot be put down.

It was Aunt Li Hong who opened the door, and she was very happy to see that it was Li Le, so she quickly brought him in. Then he saw the fruit in Li Le's hand, and blamed him for spending money arbitrarily, which made Li Le feel very embarrassed, he didn't seem to have spent much money for his aunt, and he didn't know how much his aunt had made up.

After Li Hong beckoned Li Le in, she asked Li Le to go to the sofa to watch TV, and then ran to the kitchen to get busy. At this moment, the sister-in-law and cousin were sitting on the sofa watching TV, and Li Le said hello with a smile.

"Brother-in-law, Tiantian."

"Hmmm! Come on. The brother-in-law Li Hongjun replied lightly and didn't say anything, and didn't say anything to let him sit down or drink a glass of water, but his cousin Li Tiantian ignored it directly and didn't even look back.

Li Le felt quite embarrassed, neither sitting nor standing, and then ran directly to the kitchen to prepare to give Li Hong a hand.

Li Hong saw Li Le running to the kitchen, and immediately asked, "Didn't you let you watch TV?" Why did you come to me? ”

"I'll give you a hand."

"You kid, what do you want you to do when you get to your aunt's house, go to the living room to rest, eat a fruit or something."

As he spoke, he pushed Li Le to the living room, and then saw the appearance of Li Hongjun and his daughter, and instantly understood why Li Le ran to the kitchen. Then his face changed, and he said coldly to Li Hongjun: "What's the matter with you?" How did you promise me yesterday, the child is not sensible, and you are not sensible? ”

Li Hongjun heard Li Hong say yesterday that Li Le had changed his temperament, and he also specially told him to be more enthusiastic when Li Le came to the house tomorrow. But as soon as I saw Li Le today, I remembered what he had done before, and I couldn't get warm up again.

When Li Hong said this, Li Hongjun suddenly felt that he couldn't hold his face, and his face suddenly became a little gloomy.

Seeing that his aunt was angry, and her sister-in-law's face was not very good-looking, Li Le hurriedly grabbed her aunt and said, "Auntie, don't blame my sister-in-law, what I did before was indeed a jerk, and it will take time for my sister-in-law to change his opinion, right?"

As soon as these words came out, Li Hongjun's expression instantly became surprised, and Li Tiantian also turned his head to look at Li Le incredulously. Eliel would never have said such a thing in his previous nature. But Li Hong had a relieved expression, "I told you that Xiaole has changed, you can see for yourself how sensible Xiaole is now." ”

"Mom! Don't let him fool you with his rhetoric. Li Tiantian obviously didn't believe that Li Le's personality would change in just a few days.

"Say what?" Li Hong's face was flat, she also had a headache for her daughter, and she always sang against her in Li Le's affairs every time, and she didn't know where she got such a big temper with Li Le. Only Li Le knows in his heart that because he was in the same school with Li Tiantian in high school, what he did in school reached the ears of others, and even one of the girls who harmed was still Li Tiantian's good friend.

"Auntie, don't be like this. Some things take your time, you can't be in a hurry, I'll cook today's meal, you rest, it's my apology for my previous behavior. Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Li Le also felt quite a headache. Then, regardless of Li Hong's objections, he slipped directly to the kitchen.

"Little music! How can you cook, you hurry out and rest. When Li Hong saw Li Le running into the kitchen, she also hurriedly followed, saying that she was going to come over to pull Li Le.

"Auntie, listen to me, I will do this on the sofa The atmosphere is also embarrassing, and it will take time for my sister-in-law and cousin to change their opinions about me. I'll cook today's meal, that's it, if you want to fight again, I won't come in the future. Li Le's tone was very resolute.

"Good! Good! Good! Auntie doesn't argue, you do it, you do it. When Li Hong saw Li Le say this, he had no choice but to follow himself.

Although the meal was not very satisfactory, Li Hongjun's expression was much better, and he occasionally interjected a few words, obviously no longer so resistant to Li Le, after all, he was his nephew. As for Li Tiantian, she is still so ruthless, and she is even more ruthless to the dishes made by Li Le. It seems that eating people is soft, and the word "shortest" is not suitable for her at all, which also shows that the dishes made by Li Le are indeed delicious.

Li Le didn't bother with her, after all, with his real age, Li Tiantian could only be regarded as a child in his eyes.

After staying at his aunt's house for more than an hour, Li Le left, and it was very satisfying for Li Le to ease the relationship a little today, after all, it was impossible to make Li Hongjun and Li Tiantian warm up to him all of a sudden, if that was the case, then Li Le felt that his sister-in-law and cousin were hypocritical.

In the afternoon, Li Le polished the knife blank that had been made, which was a fine job, and he forgot the time when he was playing with Li Le, until Yao Hong came to call him.

"Xiaole, it's six o'clock, aren't you going to eat?"

"I'll be busy for a while, try to finish it before I get off work, and then eat it when I'm done." I'm going to school tomorrow, and I won't have much time for the next few days, so Li Le is ready to work hard to get it out before he gets off work at eight o'clock.

"Don't do it, I'll bring you some to eat, anyway, there are a lot of dishes to order." Saying that, Yao Hong walked out, but after a while, he came in with a bowl of lunch and a bottle of water.

Seeing this, Li Le had no choice but to quickly take two bites.

"What are you doing here?" Yao Hong looked at the steel bars with round or flat blades, and asked puzzled.

"Carving knife, get ready to play with it."

"What is this carving? I don't use these when I see people carving jade? ”

"This is a nuclear carving, and I can't say it clearly for a while, but when the time comes, I'll get it and send one, and you'll understand." Li Le said with rice in his mouth in his mouth.

After two or three minutes of eating, and after drinking half a bottle of water, Li Le began to continue. Yao Hong saw that Li Le was very busy, so she didn't bother him anymore, helped him pack his lunch box and left.

After about an hour and a half, all the knife blanks were polished, and the remaining knife handles and knife handles could be loaded by Li Le when he went home. Shaking off his somewhat sour hands, Li Le packed the rest of the things into a bag. After a slight rest, Li Le walked out, said hello to Yao Hong, and then went home.

At night, Li Le was still busy, and it wasn't until the sky began to turn slightly white that Li Le finished the work in hand. More than 30 carving knives of different shapes are neatly placed together, and Li Le feels that there is a sense of intimacy, which is made by himself, and it is more convenient to use.