Chen Fan didn't look at the leather first, but took the bamboo tube handed by Lao Peng, pulled out the wooden stopper wrapped in homespun cloth at the mouth of the tube, smelled it, and a fragrance of tea suddenly came to his nose.

He took a deep breath, "Wow, it smells so good." ”

Then he covered the wooden cork, stretched out his finger and pointed inside, "Master Peng is sitting inside." ”

Lao Peng hurriedly waved his hand, "No, no, no, I'll send you something, there is something at home." ”

As he spoke, he was going to untie the rope.

Chen Fan didn't say a word, immediately grabbed his arm, and was about to go inside, "Anyway, you have to sit down when the guests come, how can there be such a reason to come all the way and not even drink saliva, not to mention that you also taught me archery, you can be regarded as half a teacher, if you want to go back like this, I won't be scolded to death." ”

Seeing that Chen Fan was so enthusiastic, Lao Peng's face bloomed, "Okay, good, listen to you." ”

Then he said, "Slow down, slow down, I'll take the skin off." ”

Then he tied the mule to the wooden stake next to the firewood stack, untied the rope that bound the fur, and was about to get it, Chen Fan had already picked up the fur and carried it on his shoulder, so he grinned and followed Chen Fan into the comprehensive room.

Chen Fan first put the bamboo tube on the table, then put the fur on the bamboo bed that was moved to the corner, turned around and poured a cup of tea for Lao Peng, using the tea leaves in the bamboo tube.

He put the teacup in front of Lao Peng and said with a smile, "I only have a pot here, or Comrade Xiao Jiang bought it, even if you borrow flowers to offer Buddha today, and use the tea leaves you brought to make tea, don't laugh." ”

Lao Peng grinned and said, "Where is this, you don't care about these things, you really want to buy them, and the good tea is not just a matter of picking." ”

Chen Fan took out a little melon seeds and peanuts from the cabinet again, put them on a pottery plate and put them on the table, this is not used up for the New Year, there are too many people to eat, so they don't take it out, Lao Peng came alone, but he can put it on the table.

Lao Peng took a sip of the teacup, raised his head and said, "Actually, I also like to drink a can, which is comfortable to drink." ”

Then he pointed to the bamboo tube, "This kind of tea is also okay, this is the wild tea tree that grows on the hillside in our team, few people take care of it, at most it is pruning at the beginning of spring, and then picking a stubble before Qingming, and picking another stubble before the valley rain."

The tea before the Ming Dynasty is too tender, and there is no taste in drinking, but I heard that the people outside explained that the tea was good, so I sent it to Captain Zhong, and the team department also sent some, specially used to entertain guests, and the taste of tea before the rain was relatively strong, and most of them were kept for themselves to drink. ”

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Then I'm blessed." ”

The same tea tree, the tea before the Ming Dynasty is the most tender, the price is also the most expensive, the tea before the rain is the most fragrant, the taste is stronger, the worst is the tea after the rain in the valley, before the beginning of the summer, the tea at that time has a bitter and astringent taste that is difficult to get rid of, it is considered an inferior tea.

There is even worse is the tea after the beginning of summer, the kind that lasts a few dollars a pound on the knife in later generations is no different from the leaves, it is purely waste utilization, because it is cheap, and the sales are quite high.

However, aside from the scarcity of tea before the Ming Dynasty, it is indeed the best tea before the rain. Xu Cishu of the Ming Dynasty recorded in "Tea Shu" that "Qingming is too early, the beginning of summer is too late, before and after the valley rain, the time is moderate", which is the most suitable season for tea picking in the south of the Yangtze River.

Chen Fan suddenly thought that in the forest behind his homestead and in the east, I don't know if there are any tea trees, I can go and see it later, if there is, it is now after the rain in the valley, I can also pick a little and try to roast tea.

If not, go to another place to transplant two tea trees, Lujiawan is so big, there will be only 9 teams with tea trees.

It's better to plant tea trees than those miscellaneous trees that don't have much use.

Lao Peng drank a few sips of tea, ate a few peanuts, stood up and walked towards the fur, and said at the same time, "Look at this skin, whether it is properly tanned." ”

Chen Fan also got up and followed.

Pick up a piece of fox skin, the whole piece of leather has been tanned very soft, pick it up and shake it open, the middle piece is reddish-brown, the color of the corners gradually fades, a little yellowish, as a piece of skin, the middle is naturally the back, and the corners are the abdomen and limbs.

This is also the color of common fox fur, the kind of pure red or pure white fox is extremely rare, every piece of fur is sky-high, Chen Fan is obviously not so lucky, he can hit that kind of superb fox.

However, this kind of fox fur is not bad, but if you want to make a uniform leather coat, you have to cut off the corners and use only the fur on the middle back.

It's no wonder that a dozen or even twenty fox skins are needed for a large skin, which is all for the sake of good looks and waste. Otherwise, try to make the most of one skin, and six or seven skins are more than enough.

Lao Peng looked at Chen Fan and asked with a smile, "How is it?" ”

Chen Fan immediately gave a thumbs up, "Master Peng is a good craft." ”

He put the leather down, looked at him and smiled, "To be honest, I also know a little bit of nitrate fur skills, but today when I look at your nitrate skin, I really can't do it." ”

Lao Peng suddenly laughed, "I just rely on my old age and experience, and I am familiar with it, but at your age, I am still helping my old father." ”

Speaking of this, he was a little congested, even if it was anything else, archery and flying stones were all things that took time, but this Teacher Chen could only sigh at the gap between people, which really can't be compared.

Shaking his head, he didn't want this directly, pointed to the fur and said, "A total of 19 fox skins, none of them have been peeled, and in addition, the fox tail is also there, but this kind of small fur is not very useful, cut it, you can only make a collar or scarf, or make a hat." ”

Chen Fan looked at the pile of fox tails and was also a little worried, as if this thing was later used to make jewelry, a small part of it would be used to make a hat brim or collar, and the hair on the tail was not the same as the fur, the tail hair was more fluffy, what to do with this thing, he didn't have a clue for the time being.

If only this fox fur could be tougher, it could be picked up to make a belt, but unfortunately it can't.

Chen Fan didn't think of a good idea for the time being, so he didn't care about it for now, spread the leather on the bamboo bed, and invited Lao Peng to sit and smoke and drink tea.

After smoking a cigarette, Lao Peng was about to say goodbye, "Teacher Chen, I really want to go back, there is still something at home, and my grandson still asks the neighbors to help watch it." ”

He is an outsider, and his household registration is not here, so he naturally does not go to work with the people of the production team, and usually only helps to take care of children at home, or does some other handicrafts. Jiangnan has a lot of rice harvest, and his family is not short of his rations, so he lives comfortably.

Chen Fan saw that he really had something, so he didn't stay long, and immediately smiled, "Okay, I won't delay you if you have something, but this manual fee has not been confiscated, you have to tell me how much it is." ”

Lao Peng hurriedly waved his hand, "No, no, the cost of this nitrate has been recorded in the team's account, you have to count the money, go to him, don't look for me." ”

When Chen Fan heard this, there was still such a thing?

Now that Captain Zhong is not here, he can't help it, and even if he takes the initiative to send the money over, most of the other party will not accept it, so he can only wait for the opportunity to compensate later.

But Lao Peng can't let them go back so empty-handed.

Chen Fan pondered for two seconds, turned around and walked to the other end of the room, took out two bundles of pottery from the cabinet, walked over and said with a smile, "Master Peng, this is a little pottery that I burned myself, if you don't dislike it, bring it back for your own use, and please bring the other bundle to Captain Zhong." ”

Lao Peng wanted to refuse again, but Chen Fan stuffed it into his arms and said with a deliberate face, "If you don't accept it, you will look down on my craftsmanship." ”

Hearing Chen Fan say this, Lao Peng could only accept it, and said embarrassedly, "Look at it, look at it, I'll come over to deliver something, you are still so polite." ”

Without waiting for Chen Fan to speak, he rolled his eyes and asked, "Is the bow and arrow I gave you last time still useful?" If you run out of arrows, I'll send you some more. ”

Before he taught Chen Fan archery, he sent a set of bows and arrows by the way, anyway, they were all made by themselves, not worth a few dollars, the most valuable thing was the arrow, but when that thing went to the repair shop in the town, you could buy 20 for one dollar, and it was not worth anything, so Chen Fan didn't shirk it and accepted it on the spot.

Chen Fan said with a smile, "It's very useful, after hunting last time, there is no other prey for me to shoot now, and not a single arrow has been used, and they are still hanging on the wall." ”

When Lao Peng heard this, he suddenly lost his mind. He also wanted to give back a little something, a little favor, after all, the pottery burned by Mr. Chen is now a little famous in Nanhu, and the whole set was sold for 10 yuan last time, even if this bundle is not worth 10 yuan, 5 yuan is worth it.

It's a pity that people don't use it, so you can't stuff things out that others can't use.

At this time, Chen Fan had an idea and asked, "Master Peng, I want to ask, did you save a relatively large skin when you hunted before?" ”

Lao Peng was stunned and looked at him puzzled, "Relatively large skin? Haired or hairless? How big is it to be? ”

Chen Fan picked up his clothes, pointed to the cloth belt around his waist, and said with a smile, "I've always wanted to find a piece of leather to make a belt, but unfortunately I didn't meet the right one after two sets, so I wanted to ask you if there was one." ”

Lao Peng suddenly said with a smile, "Cowhide or pigskin is generally used to make belts, and other livestock are either too small, or the skin is not tough enough, but cowhide and pigskin are control materials, not only the state is purchasing, but also some counties, societies, and teams are also purchasing their own tanneries, and they are in urgent need of these two kinds of leather."

Therefore, it is almost impossible to see cowhide and pigskin in the bazaar, and if you really dare to sell it, there is only one result, that is, it will be confiscated on the spot, and there is no second possibility. Naturally, I don't have one here. ”

When Chen Fan heard this, he couldn't help but be a little confused.

Is that the case? I just want to get a good belt, do I have to go to the county to buy it?

Lao Peng seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then said, "However, although I don't have cowhide and pigskin here, I do have a skin, and I can also make a belt for you." ”

Chen Fan noticed the change in his face just now, his eyes rolled slightly, and he immediately asked, "What skin?" ”

Lao Peng looked at him and smiled, "Have you ever heard of Zhu Polong?" ”

Chen Fan's eyes widened instantly, "Yangtze crocodile?!" ”

Old Peng said with a smile, "It is worthy of Teacher Chen, even the Yangtze crocodile knows it." In the early years, we were hunting by the river, and we met a few pig dragons, and we hit a few at that time, and the skin of this pig dragon was actually quite good, but because there were too few pig dragons, they were not on the acquisition list of the import and export company, and a few of our team members divided the skins by themselves, and I still had one in my hand, if you want to, I will send it to you later. ”

Chen Fan hurriedly nodded, "If you want it, you definitely want it." ”

Just kidding, this is crocodile skin, more cowhide than cowhide, can it?!

As soon as the words fell, Chen Fan hurriedly said, "However, Master Peng, I want the whole skin, otherwise you won't be able to handle the rest, so you have to collect the money, if you don't collect the money, I don't want it." ”

Lao Peng seemed to be a little embarrassed, "Mr. Chen, although the skin of this pig Polong is very good, it is really worthless, people by the river often hit the pig Polong, and a skin is only sold for 3 or 5 yuan, you said that you gave me this bundle of pottery, not only 3 or 5 yuan, right?!" ”

Chen Fan was a little speechless, using a bundle of not very exquisite clay pottery for a crocodile skin, he even felt that it was too much, I am afraid that only in this era will there be such a rare thing.

In fact, at this point in time, crocodile leather has long become the world's top leather goods, and it is only because it is used as a luxury product that it is not valued in China. It was not until the 90s that crocodiles moved from the protective breeding of professional institutions to the private market farming, but it was still mainly for food, and the breeding for the purpose of leather was a little later.

Mainly the world's top crocodile skin production area in Thailand, their breeding crocodile skin is almost the world's top leather manufacturers round, ordinary wild crocodile quality, simply can not enter their sight, so that even the import and export companies also ignore this high-quality leather, because the "low quality" crocodile skin price in the international market is also very low, and even no one cares.

In this way, it is logical that domestic crocodile skins cannot be sold at a high price. Even if there are a few crocodile leather products, the price is comparable to cowhide, and together with other small types of leather products, it can be regarded as a supplement to cowhide.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan said, "I gave you the pottery, you taught me archery last time, and I haven't given a thank you gift, this thank you gift is not too much, right?" So you can't afford not to take money, otherwise I wouldn't dare to ask for it. ”

Lao Peng smiled, thought for a while and said, "Then it's the same as the skins sold by the people by the riverside, just give 3 yuan." ”

Chen Fan said with a smile, "Don't say 3 yuan, I don't believe that 3 yuan can buy a nitrated crocodile skin." ”

After a pause, he smiled and said, "The current cowhide purchase price is 4 yuan 4 a catty, let's come according to the price of cowhide, look back and weigh it, how much is how much, no one will suffer, no one will take advantage." ”

Hearing this, Lao Peng finally stopped refusing, and said with a smile, "Okay, just do as you say." ”

Then he gestured, "I'll bring you the skin later." ”

Chen Fan said with a smile, "Don't stay for a while, it just so happens that I'm fine now, I'll go with you to have a look, and thank Captain Zhong by the way." ”

Hey, I haven't found a cowhide after looking for a long time, but I didn't expect to find a crocodile skin from here, and it can be regarded as a nodator's effort, and this wave has been earned.

(End of chapter)