After a few days, Zhang Fan gradually became free, and Zhang Yufang and Zhang Yan took him to the Zhang family's workshop in the western suburbs of Yangzhou.

"Brother Fan, this is our Zhang family's jade workshop." Zhang Yan introduced Zhang Fan, "There are more than 200 people here. There are fifty craftsmen in the carving alone. ”

Zhang Fan listened to his introduction and looked at the scene in front of him. It's really not small, it's an acre of land. Because now that the Zhang family's business has reopened, it has returned to its former busy scene, and it is even busier. Zhang Fan could see that from time to time, there were carts transporting jade and other raw materials, and a lot of raw jade and precious stones had been piled up here. Many craftsmen are doing the work of selection, not only to see the value of the material, but also to see whether the natural shape of the material is suitable for carving.

"The time of making jade in Yangzhou can be traced back to 3,000 years ago." Zhang Yufang said, "But the jade here still has to be transported in from outside. ”

Since the Tang Dynasty, the water transportation here has been navigable, which has accelerated the development of Yangzhou's jade handicraft industry. Since then, Hetian Meiyu as far as Xinjiang, Tianhuangshi in Fujian, and Dushan jade and plum blossom jade from Henan have been pouring into Yangzhou in a steady stream.

The three of them continued on their way.

"This is a place dedicated to polishing jade." Zhang Yan introduced, "The east side is dedicated to polishing the original jade, while the west side is the place where the finished product is polished. ”

A lot of people work here. The jade that has just been transported has to be polished on the surface or dross. It's a job that sounds simple, but it's not something anyone can do. The craftsmen who polish must also have a certain eye for carving, otherwise if there is a loss, it will not be able to be finished.

The three of them were preparing to carve the jade place, when a person suddenly ran in front of the three of them in a hurry.

"Master, young master." The man saluted Zhang Yufang and Zhang Yan.

"Elder Yu." Zhang Yufang shouted and introduced to Zhang Fan, "This is the old man Yu who is responsible for selecting the original jade here, and he has been in this industry for fifty years, and at a glance, he can tell whether the stone in his hand is a priceless jade." Yu Lao, this is my nephew Zhang Fan. He didn't go around publicizing who Zhang Fan was, which was also Zhang Fan's request.

"Young Master Fan." Yu Lao saluted Zhang Fan, and then said to Zhang Yufang, "Owner, I found a piece of jade, but it has been carved by someone. It's just that it's been too long, and the old man can't see what it is. ”

"Oh? And the jade that Yu Lao can't see? Zhang Yufang was surprised, and the three of them rushed to the place where the materials were selected.

In a shed, several elderly material selectors are arguing over this boxy piece of cyan jade.

"It's Dushan jade." One person said, "Look at the color, yes." ”

"Big goose, where is this Dushan jade!" Another person expressed a different opinion, "How can there be a single jade that is all green, and there is no variegation at all." ”

"This thing was shipped from Henan." Originally, the man retorted, "Besides, it's not that I haven't seen a single jade with a single color. ”

"But where is it so big!"

“……”

There was a cacophony of discussions.

"The owner is here." Someone saw Zhang Yufang coming over and hurriedly said.

And the people stopped talking.

Zhang Yufang stepped forward and picked up the piece of jade. Zhang Fan and Zhang Yan also came up to watch. I saw that the jade was boxy, but it was not high, just a piece of poop. One of the four corners somehow had a notch, but it was obviously old, and the notch looked very smooth.

"This ......" Zhang Yufang was very embarrassed, although he did not have Yu Lao who had done the work of selecting materials for so many years, but he also recognized most of the valuable jade and stones in the world, but he had never seen this piece in front of him. Different from ordinary jade, the piece in Zhang Yufang's hand is a little more translucent than the most transparent jade. There was a slight amount of dust and scratches on it, but it didn't affect its beauty. Looking carefully, the carving of this piece of jade has also put a lot of effort into it, simple and solemn, and even with a hint of majesty.

Zhang Fan didn't care about this, but he looked at this piece of jade but felt more and more wrong, and couldn't help but say to Zhang Yufang: "Uncle, can you let the little nephew take a look?" ”

Hearing this, Zhang Yufang handed over the things to him. Zhang Fan held it in his hand, only feeling smooth and soft with a hint of comfort. After looking at it, he turned over this piece of square jade, and saw that the ground was a little pothole, but there were no marks, and he couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

Suddenly, Yu Lao spoke: "Boss, Lao Er has never seen this before, but now Young Master Fan turned it over, and only then did he find that it seemed to be covered with mud and rocks underneath." I don't know how long, but it looks like it's always been like this. ”

When Zhang Fan heard him say this, he hurriedly asked, "Old Yu, can you remove this layer of things?" ”

Yu Lao was a little puzzled, but still replied: "This is natural, and it doesn't take much effort." ”

"Then it's going to be troublesome for Yu Lao." Zhang Fan said, handed Fang Yu to him, and asked Wang Meng to send a few people to watch.

Zhang Yufang's father and son couldn't help but be very strange, and they didn't know what Zhang Fan meant. Zhang Fan continued to ask: "Who sent this thing?" ”

"It's a material seller in Henan, called Sun Zhou, and he's also a frequent visitor here." Someone said.

"Where is that man now?" Zhang Fan asked.

"Right here, waiting for the payment of wages."

"Call him quickly." Zhang Fan said.

Zhang Yufang was a little suspicious and asked, "Fan'er, this ......?"

"Uncle, don't panic, I have to take my little nephew to check this matter." Zhang Fan said.

When he was young, someone led Sun Zhou over.

"I've seen Master Zhang, and there are two young masters." Sun Zhou didn't know Zhang Fan, but seeing that his face was somewhat similar to Zhang Yufang, he called him young master.

"No need to be polite." Zhang Fan said, "I'll ask you, you have to answer truthfully." ”

"The villain naturally knows everything." Sun Zhou said.

"You brought the stone here today, do you remember that there is a boxy piece of jade?" Zhang Fan asked.

Sun Zhou thought about it, suddenly realized, and said: "Remember, remember, naturally remember." It was picked up by the villain himself, but he couldn't tell what jade it was, but he saw that it was very beautiful, so he shipped it! ”

When Zhang Fan heard that he had picked it up, he hurriedly asked, "Tell me quickly, where did you pick it up?" There was eagerness in his voice.

Sun Zhou and the Zhang family's father and son were frightened by Zhang Fan's words. Sun Zhou came back to his senses after a while, and said with some trepidation: "The villain still remembers that it is near Henan Mansion. Be...... It's ......"

"But near the ancient capital of Luoyang?" Zhang Fan said.

"Exactly, exactly, exactly near Luoyang." Sun Zhou said.

"It won't be wrong, it won't be wrong......" Zhang Fan listened to his words and began to mumble to himself.

"Fan'er, what the hell ......is this" Zhang Yufang just wanted to ask, but Yu Lao came back.

"Young Master Fan, things have been cleaned up." Yu Lao said, "There are words below, but although Xiao Lao'er has read a book for a few days, he doesn't recognize any of the words on it." ”

Zhang Fan smiled and said, "That's Xiao Seal, quickly bring it to me and show it." ”

After taking it, Zhang Fan looked at the words on it, and his face became even more joyful: "Yes, it's exactly the same as recorded!" ”

"Young Master Fan, the traces on this are afraid that it will take thousands of years after they are carved!" Yu Lao said.

After listening to Yu Lao's words, Zhang Fan checked again. After a while, Zhang Fan came back to his senses and said to the inexplicable Zhang Yufang: "Uncle, my little nephew doesn't have much property now, so I bother my uncle to pick me up 10,000 taels of silver." ”

"Yan'er, go to the account room and pay 10,000 taels of silver tickets." Zhang Yufang said. He didn't ask Zhang Fan why, he knew that Zhang Fan would definitely tell him.

Zhang Yan came back and handed over a total of ten silver tickets of one thousand taels each to Zhang Fan. Zhang Fan handed these silver tickets to Sun Zhou without looking at them.

"This ...... This ...... "Sun Zhou has never seen so much money. Although the income from selling stones is also good, 10,000 taels is enough for him to transport stones for ten years without eating or drinking.

"Take it, just as if I bought this piece of jade...... Stone money. Zhang Fan said.

"But master, even the most expensive Tian Huang costs less than 10,000 taels!" Sun Zhou said. It's not that he's not greedy for money, it's that the money comes from strangely.

"It's definitely worth the price." Zhang Fan said, his voice revealing the extreme happiness in his heart.

Sun Zhou took the money and left in three steps, a little at a loss. Zhang Yufang saw him leave, so he asked, "Fan'er, what the hell ......is this?"

Zhang Fan, who was still carefully looking at the jade in his hand, listened to his uncle's words and asked, "Uncle, this matter is very important, there can be a strict room here." ”

"Yes, come with me." Zhang Yufang said, looking at his son, "Yan'er, he ......"

"My cousin is my own family, as long as I don't talk about it, it's okay to take a look." Zhang Fan said.

Zhang Yufang led Zhang Fan to the door of a room, Zhang Fan ordered Wang Meng to have people check the four surroundings, and sent all the brocade guards who came with him to guard the surroundings, and then entered with Zhang Yufang's father and son and Wang Meng.

Entering the room, Zhang Fan opened his mouth and said, "Is there white paper and ink here?" ”

Zhang Yan hurriedly took out the things that Zhang Fan wanted. Zhang Fan took the ink and used jade to stain it with red ink. Only then did the Zhang family father and son know that this thing was originally a seal, but the two had never seen such a large seal.

Before the seal, Zhang Fan still recited the words in his mouth: "As the emperor and the emperor, forgive Zhang Fan for the crime of disrespect." Then the seal was stamped on a blank piece of paper.

Holding the seal carefully in his arms, Zhang Fan said to his uncle and his cousin: "Uncle, cousin, do you recognize what is engraved on it." ”

Zhang Yan blushed a little, he had also read books, and it was okay to read ordinary articles, but he didn't recognize Xiao Zhen. It's just that he also knows that Zhang Fan didn't mean to humiliate him, and he didn't blame the group. Zhang Yufang recognized it, took the piece of paper, looked at it, and read in his mouth: "Ordered by the sky, both longevity and eternal prosperity!" ”

Zhang Fan laughed happily when he heard these eight words.