Looking at the four fields, it is just empty.

What mountain villages, what streams, all the people have turned into nothingness.

Wait, what a mountain village......

It's just a different thing in my memory.

His name is Xu Hongzu, born and raised in the mountains outside Yingtianfu, although he is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, he is only a poor family, and he does not enjoy a peaceful and prosperous world, so he can only wander in the mountains.

His father, Xu Si'an, won the examination sixteen years ago, but he was not allowed to hold an official position. Qingyun has ambitions, and finally Emperor Hao ascended the throne, entered Shuntian, and became a minister of military and government.

And their own mother......

The memory of his mother has become a blank slate......

I'm a single parent...... The mother had already passed away in childbirth......

How can it be......

The boy was dumbfounded, but he just said to himself: "I ......"

In my mind, I always remember a trace of misty back, which is incompatible with my own memory.

It's just that the back is like a flash in the pan, and then it disappears suddenly.

Is that really the case?

raised his head and just shouted: "Mother!"

The sound was like mud into the ocean, spreading through the wilderness, and there was no trace. The young man's eyes were full of tears, but he didn't give up, and continued to shout: "Mother!"

"Mother!"

"Mother!"

......

His throat became hoarse, and the boy shed blood and tears, just shouting over and over again.

Hoarse, hope extinguished. It's like just a teenager who has lost his mother's love and is looking for the last care.

After a long time, the young man hung his head and looked sad.

If you don't have a mother...... My father is in Shuntian again, where will I go?

All around, the grass is full of green and vibrant.

The warm spring sun vaguely falls on the grass, just harmonious.

The boy's eyesight was amazing, but when he was gloomy, he found something gadget on the grass.

If you look closely, it's just a copper coin......

Picking up the copper coin, it was just the coldness of the copper, and there was no other mystery.

Thoughtless......

It's just that why, I feel a little stunned.

......

Yingtianfu is located in the southwest of Jiangnan Province.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, it was born from the north. In the fourteenth year of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Chengzu waved his army to the south, swept away the barbarians, and dredged the waterways. Ying Tianfu is located at the staggered juncture of land and water, and is rich in antiques and the like that Ming Chengzu loved, so he went down to Shengzhao and moved the capital here.

For more than 300 years since the founding of the dynasty, Ying Tianfu has indeed been the economic hub of the south as expected by Ming Chengzu. Three years ago, Emperor Ming Hao moved the capital to Shuntianfu, but Yingtianfu is still the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty. Even without the imperial power, it is still prosperous.

Although the struggle for power is far away, the contradiction between wealth and poverty has always existed.

It should be in the north of Tianfu, the terrain is open, and the water and land are accessible. Most of them are rich and noble families, merchants and families gathered here, opened wine and tea houses, and squeezed every cent of the value of this land. And the imperial city of Changlin is also located in the northernmost Shangyuan of Yingtianfu.

In the south of Tianfu, it is adjacent to the mountains and wilderness of Jiangyin, and the terrain is mostly steep, with many poor peasants and displaced people, and there are very few large households. To be precise, Ying Tianfu did not include this place under the jurisdiction of the government from the very beginning, so there was little government control. Even if there are some businessmen, they can't do it big.

Even though it is the Ming Dynasty that has been stable for hundreds of years, the people's livelihood is sad, so it is so.

And within the Liuhe of Yingtianfu, it is just like an ordinary town, although the boundary is large, but it is just the atmosphere of the market.

On Liuhe Street, a shop hung a gold wire card, but it was engraved with three big characters of "Karakuri Fang", which had a different scene.

Holding a walnut-sized piece of wood in his hand, he carefully carved the head of a person, but there was only one eye on this head, and the other was not visible.

The head of the knife is only an inch long, but it is extremely sharp. As long as the deviation is a millimeter, it is a carving. Azu's eyes were like silk, but his hands were steady and not shaking, but the head of the knife carved a small opening and drew his eyebrows. The human face suddenly came to life and came to life.

An old man next to him stared, with a piece of glass in one eye, looking weird, but nodded: "Well, the son can be taught." ”

This old man has always been called Boss Tong, who was originally a wealthy family in Yingtianfu, and it is said that the ancestor was an antique scholar of the Ming Dynasty's generation. It's just that in the past few years, the antiques have withered, and they are not as popular as before. The old man is also in the middle of the road, but he came to Liuhe recently and opened this antique shop.

It is said to be an antique, but in fact there is no antique. Most of Boss Tong is in the carving business, and he is also a carver. Boss Tong is old, and he can't even see things very clearly, if he wants to carve, he can only use this thing called glasses from the Western Regions. Although his family persuaded him not to be attached to this business, he refused wholeheartedly, saying that it was the family business created by the ancestor with this craft, and he just wanted to pass it on and become his own business. More or less a dozen carving apprentices were accepted here, ranging from eight or nine years old like Azu to young adults in their twenties.

Boss Tong does not look at the craftsmanship, but only the qualifications. In fact, the way of carving requires all kinds of prerequisites. First, the eyesight should be good, if you can't see clearly, it will definitely not be done, and you can only carve a piece of good wood. The second is to have a steady hand, calm and powerful, if the carving knife is not stable, everything is empty talk.

The third is the state of mind. In essence, it should be exercised. Boss Tong just recruited apprentices, took care of food every day, and had no pay. He was responsible for providing the carving wood every day, the cheapest of course, for each apprentice for five years. It sounds like a long time, but it's actually average. Carving a way, this is to calm the mind and nourish the qi, it should be the work of those old people, young people have a high heart, five years, can grind off is already good.

Azu came here three years ago.

When I woke up, I was just in the middle of a mountain forest. Although Azu is young, he already has some self-reliance. Decadence doesn't get anything. Azu walked for two days and two nights, and his physical strength was still there, but he didn't know the way, and he came to this Liuhe City when he was dizzy.

Fortunately, I still had three copper coins in my arms, but I just bought two steamed buns to satisfy my stomach. By chance, I saw that this shop called "Karakuri Fang" recruited apprentices, and I came to try my luck.

I never thought that Boss Tong didn't test his skills, but only measured people's eyesight and strength. These two were Azu's strengths, and at that time, the boss of Zhongtong was in the hands of him, so he stayed as an apprentice.

Azu actually had no such plans. It's just that there is a lack of a place to go in front of me, and in my memory, there will be a settling house money sent by Shuntian every month, but I haven't seen any more relevant news.

So settle down and make plans again. Azu just saved his mind, had capital, and then entered Shuntian. I just don't know how to meet my father.

After three years of training, Azu is already qualified, and he is a young and independent teenager, and his mood is not bad. It seems that he has become one of the best candidates in the mind of Boss Tong, and he is often guided by him alone.

The person on the wood chip in his hand jumped slowly, but it was expressive.

But it was Boss Tong who said: "In the next two days, I will carve you with mahogany?"

Azu was stunned, and carved bitter wood for three years, but he had never carved mahogany, and he heard that it was a very valuable wood.

"Your ability is enough, I'm afraid that the bitter wood will limit you. Boss Tong smiled.

Azu nodded, Boss Tong is a serious personality and generally does not smile. If he really smiled, he was really happy.

In fact, Boss Tong seems to be stereotypical, but he is a peaceful person. Although he was an apprentice, he also raised dozens of white mouths for five years, and he should have done good.

"Rest, it's time for dinner. Boss Tong just waved his hand.

Azu just answered, put down the carving knife and wood chips, lifted the curtain and went out.

Boss Tong looked at the thin back, just took the portrait he carved, and the calloused hand stroked the lines on it, but the dimness of the glasses was a little bright.

......

The Karakuri Place is huge. Probably because the Liuhe land boundary is desolate, and the land is not worth much. Boss Tong divided this machine shop into three places, one is the outer door, which is a serious antique store. The second place is the large room, which is equipped with more than a dozen small tables and carving tools, which is specially used as a place for apprentices to practice. The third place is the apprentice's sleeping quarters, but it is a place of life.

In this poor place, it is not easy to have food and shelter. It was just that there were simple huts and washrooms, plus a few simple beds, but the apprentices were also satisfied.

Fortunately, the apprentices are all men, but there is no distinction between men and women, and life is inconvenient.

Azu came to the residence. It's just that there is a large table at the door, and two wooden barrels are carried on it, which are probably filled with some simple food.

A young woman in a brocade dress, with beautiful makeup, just distributing food to the apprentices.

Azu recognized her, she was the granddaughter of Boss Natong, and I heard that she was a very famous talented girl in Liuhe County. Boss Tong was bent on passing on the carving, but he just did the apprenticeship's work. His granddaughter couldn't help it, but she didn't want her grandfather to be tired and come to help take care of the store apprentices.

Azu didn't really know much about it, but he heard that most of the senior brothers were called "Sister Shishi", so he just followed the call.

When it was time for dinner, Sister Shishi came to distribute it. In fact, more than a dozen apprentices are probably more disciplined, consciously have some order, and are not tired.

Azu was left alone by Boss Tong, but he was left last, and he was not annoyed, and lined up at the back of the line with peace of mind.

Sister Shi Shi was just very kind, and everyone lined up to her to say thank you. Sister Shishi scooped a bowl of rice from one bucket, and then made a bowl of clear soup from another bucket, and finally handed out a steamed bun and handed it over.

The team was orderly and slowly moving forward. It's just that when it was Azu's turn, Sister Shi Shi also smiled and fetched food for him.

Azu smelled a good aroma on Sister Shishi's body, but there was some hunger in his mouth, but he took a breath: "Thank you, Sister Shishi." ”

Sister Shishi nodded, but she heard it again: "Sister Shishi, you are so fragrant." ”

I was a little happy in my heart, and my smile was like a flower. I used expensive perfumes, which naturally smelled good.

But the next sentence made her cry and laugh, but she couldn't speak.

"It's more fragrant than rice and steamed buns. ”

Looking at that little innocence, in fact, he couldn't get angry, but he was an eight or nine-year-old child, and his words were unscrupulous, and he couldn't take it seriously. It's just funny to see Azu's somewhat hungry appearance.

Azu was angry who didn't know what he said, so he just took the meal and went to the bedroom.