Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 16 Mingwa Gallery

Most of the craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty lived together, such as iron workshops and silver workshops. Although they may not all be craftsmen, these craftsmen and workshops like to live together, so many professional workshops like iron workshops were formed. .

Mingwa Gallery is one of them, where a kind of lantern called Mingwa Deng is made.

Mingwa Gallery is not far from Nanshi Tower, and it is only three to 500 meters north to enter Mingwa Gallery.

This alley is about ten feet wide, but only one person can pass through the narrow part. The floor is made of polished bluestone. Obviously, many people walked there, and Yang Chao could already see that there were many people walking there in the early morning. People come and go, and when they reach a narrow place, they often have to give way to each other before they can pass.

It is not difficult to find people who make Mingwa lamps, because almost all the people in this alley make Mingwa lamps, and the business is very good.

In fact, Mingwa lanterns are not uncommon. Yang Chao has seen them before, because there are many restaurants on both sides of the Qinhuai River. There are such Mingwa lanterns on the restaurants, also called Mingjiao lanterns. They hang on both sides at night, and the entire Chaoku Street There are thousands of lanterns on it, shining like daylight, and passers-by don't need to bring lanterns.

Even outside the Nanshi Building, there are also such big lanterns hanging, but it's a pity that Yang Chao didn't look carefully at the high hanging.

Of course, the lamp hanging outside like this is not as expensive as the lamp that Yang Chao saw Bisha. Bisha's lamp is obviously for reading, and it is a high-end product for scholars. A maid was brightly colored, as if she was alive, so Yang Chao was immediately attracted, and only after looking through it did he discover the magic of this Mingwa lamp.

Yang Chao asked a passerby and said that the lamps of the Liu family were the best, but they were also the most expensive.

After Yang Chao inquired, he walked towards Liu's workshop.

I saw a lot of people queuing in front of the door. The three-foot-wide wooden door was crowded with several people, and the threshold was about to be broken.

I didn't expect that I came so early, and there were so many people queuing up.

Yang Chao lined up honestly at the back. These people were all traders who bought goods, and some even came from other places.

Yang Chao was bored waiting, and couldn't help but think of the beauty of last night.

That Qingmei is indeed a good girl who is one in a thousand, and it really made Yang Chao feel itchy. First, she waited for Yang Chao to take a bath in the wooden barrel, and then played a few tunes for Yang Chao. Qingmei knew how to play the piano. He can play the pipa and sing.

It was the last to serve Yang Chao to sleep, but in the end Yang Chao held back, not because he didn't want to touch Qingmei, but on the contrary, he wanted to put her to death on the spot several times. She was indeed a top-quality woman, and any man would not be able to bear it.

But Yang Chao has a bit of cleanliness in his heart, after all, Qingmei is a used woman.

But this is the first time for Yang Chao's body. In his previous life, Yang Chao was not a first brother, and the woman he met in the first time was not good, which made Yang Chao worry about it for a long time.

A man only has one first time in his life. Yang Chao was lucky to get the second first time, so he wanted to cherish it.

That's why she didn't touch Qingmei in the end, and Qingmei cried because of this, thinking that Yang Chao disliked her, Yang Chao explained, and she smiled through tears, saying that Yang Chao was a lover.

Finally, a rough-clothed man in front of Yang Chao walked in. Yang Chao withdrew his thoughts and followed him in.

It was extremely busy inside, and Yang Chao saw that in the yard, there were many workers holding half-finished lampshades and painting on them, but there were about 30 workers, and this was a very large workshop.

There are also guys who are entertaining people, but their attitudes are not very good. There is a kind of momentum that the shop is bullying the customers, or the emperor's daughter is not worried about marrying.They are not begging these people to buy lamps, but these people are begging them to sell lamps.

Yang Chao walked up to the clerk, and took out a piece of broken silver from his pocket, which weighed almost two renminbi.

As soon as the guy saw the silver, he immediately lost his temper, and he said goodbye.

Yang Chao didn't have time to chat with him and said directly: "Is your master here?"

The buddy wondered: "My master is very busy and usually doesn't see customers. If you want to order an order, you can tell me the same thing. Set the style and date, and you can just come and pick up the goods when the time comes. If you are not free, the villain can also Do it for me. Just give me some errand money."

Yang Chao said with a smile: "I really want to see your master and tell him that there is a big deal!"

The man said: "What kind of big business can there be? My master does big business every day."

Yang Chao said with a smile: "Is it a big business if it is made for the second-rank officials of the imperial court?"

As soon as he heard that it was the second grade of the imperial court, the clerk's expression changed immediately, the hand holding the silver trembled, and he slowly lifted it up, looking at Yang Chao with a begging expression.

He didn't doubt Yang Chao's words. He gave so much money as a reward as soon as he made a move. He was definitely not an ordinary person. He said that the second rank was the second rank.

Yang Chao smiled and said, "It's for you, just take it. Now take me to meet your master."

The guy said: "Of course, please come with me, my lord."

After speaking, he picked up the silver and led the way.

The owner of Liu's workshop is very busy at this time, he is instructing his apprentices to boil a pot of glue.

This glue is the raw material for making Mingwa.

Mingwa is a material that replaces glass and is generally used in houses and windows.According to the records of Guangdong local chronicles: "The light of oysters comes out of the Yangjiang sea. They are other kinds of oysters and have no meat. The shells are treated and the windows are separated. They are thin and bright, which is called Mingwa."

In the coastal area, it is transparent and bright after being polished with a kind of clam shell, so it is called Mingwa.

However, Nanjing is not along the coast, so it is very inconvenient to use clam shells.

Nanjing is also the most prosperous place, and the demand is strong. Smart craftsmen have come up with a way to artificially make Mingwa.

Just like Liu's workshop, using sol to cast Mingwa, you can use whatever shape you want, one-time molding, simple and convenient.

The raw material for making glue is also very common, which is goat horns, so this kind of Mingwa lamp is called Mingjiao lamp in Nanjing.

The goat horns are boiled into jelly, and then poured with molds. After they come out, they are not only consistent, but also beautiful. Even the pictures are cast directly. The rest of the process is just simple painting and coloring.

Yang Chao had never seen or heard of this kind of thing in later generations, so he didn't know there was such a thing at all.That's why I was so shocked when I saw it somewhere in Bisha.

Now that I have seen the real thing, I feel it even more. I lament that the ingenuity of the Chinese people is simply endless.It's a pity that it was lost to later generations. If it is passed on, it will definitely be a first-class intangible cultural heritage.

"Boss, this young master is looking for you."

The man had already gone to greet the workshop owner in advance.

But the owner was very impatient: "You just say hello, don't you see that I am boiling glue?"

This kind of glue-boiling process is still a test of experience. If it is too much, it will not work, if it is too little, the lamp will not be bright enough, if it is burned too little, the glue will not be soft enough, and it will not be poured. It must be boiled. Only when it is just right can it be poured, and the things made will be transparent and bright, and then they will look good.

It is precisely because of the unique skill of boiling glue that the Liu family's Mingjiao lamps are the most brilliant.

"Boss, this young master belongs to the family of a second-rank official."

The master was moved, turned around and bowed his head to salute: "Xiao Ke Liu Mao has only met the young master, and I don't know the young master's name."

Yang Chao said with a smile in no hurry: "Old man, let's boil the glue first. Don't spoil it. You finish your work first, and then we will talk about it."

Liu Maocai nodded, gave a grateful obeisance, and then immediately went back to take care of the glue in the copper pot behind him.

Only Liu Maocai was alone in the place where the gelatin was boiled, but there were many people busy going back and forth not far away.

"Glue ready. Glue!"

Finally, Liu Maocai yelled, and soon a few strong men came over, lifted the copper pot and walked over there. There was a mold buried in the ground, but the mouth of the mold was exposed, and they poured it from their mouths. It will be taken out the next day.

The mold buried in the soil is more conducive to heat dissipation, allowing the gel to solidify faster and better.

Liu Maocai has already started talking with Yang Chao.

Yang Chao raised the banner to pull the tiger's skin, never mentioning that he was actually giving Shi Kefa a gift, and insisted that he wanted to make a window for the second-rank official.

After a night of pondering, Yang Chao updated the design again, and there was more than a small window to be done.

After giving the size and request, Liu Maocai was told to make it as soon as possible.

At the same time, he promised that once he did well, he would bid three times the market price and never let Liu Maocai suffer.

But Liu Maocai had to be as soon as possible, preferably three days, but Liu Maocai said that it was impossible, and finally determined that ten days was the shortest time. Without ten days, it would be impossible to make the large "window" that Yang Chao wanted.

Feeling that what Liu Maocai said was not a lie, Yang Chao accepted the ten-day deadline, but warned Liu Maocai that one more day would not work.

Only then did Yang Chao leave Mingwalang and go home.

Back home, my mother was really anxious, even though she knew she was invited away by Wang Xiao, because Wang Xiao came to invite her at that time.

She also knew that Wang Xiao was the son of a rich family, she knew that she had gone to a brothel, and she knew that if she didn't go home, she might have slept in a brothel, but her mother couldn't help but worry.

Seeing Yang Chao come back, he was finally relieved.

Shouting 'Yang Yue', the younger sister came over and immediately shouted: "Hurry up and tell your father, your brother is back."

The younger sister was about to leave, but she said: "Forget it, your father also knows that your brother will be fine, so you should cook breakfast for your brother first."

My sister is going to cook.

The mother stopped again: "You'd better go tell your father and reassure him. I'll cook."

In the end, my sister went to the blacksmith shop, and my mother was busy cooking.

The rice is very simple, it is porridge, but there are two dishes.

Because Yang Chao has earned money, more than half of the 100 taels he gave last time is still left.

The wages for the two carpenters are 20 taels, which is already a high price. The cost of buying materials, even including the dismantled carriage, is only about 50 taels, and there are more than [-] taels left. With this money, Yang The life of the family can be considered rich.

Although my mother is reluctant to eat meat every day, she can still make two vegetables a day, especially Yang Chao's food is better than others, and every meal is fresh vegetables.

But when his mother, Mrs. Zhao, was cooking, Yang Chao had already fallen asleep.

It was her son who made her so happy recently.

Although there is no progress in studying, she has made two rich friends. In her opinion, it costs 100 taels to make a carriage. How rich is this young man's family? But even if he is rich, he can't help it. flowers.

Seeing her son falling asleep, Mrs. Zhao was about to call, when she suddenly remembered that her son had stayed in the brothel last night, Mrs. Zhao immediately gave up, and her face suddenly flushed.

Cursed secretly: "Stinky boy, I don't know how to take care of myself. Hey, it should be about relatives."

Thinking about it, Mrs. Zhao felt that with 50 taels of silver in hand, she might be able to marry a good wife.

Thinking about it, I immediately made a plan in my heart, wishing I could go to the blacksmith shop to discuss it with my husband immediately.

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(End of this chapter)