All of my old friends are good at craftsmanship, but this kind of ancient architecture is no longer popular now.
Their craftsmanship is no longer popular, and they are hungry and full, but they have nowhere to go." Old Yang said a little sadly.
"I was born at the wrong time! It's a pity that they have good craftsmanship." Zhang Junping also sighed slightly.
Among the craftsmen in front of me, the youngest is already in his forties, almost fifty years old.
Due to the pressure of life, all of them look like people in their sixties.
As Zhang Junping said, this group of craftsmen were born at the wrong time.
Many people may have caught up with the war just after they left the army.
During the war, who would spend money to repair their houses?
In the thirty years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country has basically not undertaken many large-scale infrastructure projects.
Just relying on some tinkering to survive.
"Yes! We were born at the wrong time!" Lao Yang said with a sigh.
"It will be great if you join the company in the future! Help the company cultivate more craftsmen and pass on the skills. In the future, the company will support them in their retirement years." Zhang Junping promised with a smile.
"Really?" Lao Yang said excitedly.
"Of course it's true! It's a pity that their craftsmanship has been lost.
Especially your Lao Yang's craftsmanship cannot be lost. Help me train a few more apprentices.
You can choose your own apprentices, whether it is your son, grandson, or someone else. In short, you can train a few more apprentices." Zhang Junping nodded with certainty.
"If I train my son, does my grandson count?" Lao Yang was stunned.
After all, Lao Yang came from the old society and had serious traditional craftsman concepts in his heart.
That is, art is not passed on lightly.
Just like style thunder, for hundreds of years, craftsmanship has been passed down from male to female.
It was also by chance that he achieved what he has achieved today by relying on his gift of photographic memory.
Ninety percent of his skills were learned secretly, and the remaining 10% was learned from Lei Xiancai.
Therefore, Lao Yang was somewhat resistant to Zhang Junping's suggestion to pass on his skills.
It was only because Zhang Junping was now his bread and butter that he did not directly refute.
However, he did not expect that Zhang Junping would actually say that if he passed on his skills to his son and grandson, he would also be considered as passing on his skills.
"Lao Yang, I know that you old craftsmen all have a concept, that is, skills are not passed down lightly, even from men to women.
Therefore, I respect your ideas. All I want is for you to pass on your skills. It doesn’t matter who you pass them on to.
Instead of taking hundreds of years of accumulated craftsmanship to the grave like Shi Lei," Zhang Junping said with a smile.
Of course it doesn’t matter who you pass it on to, what’s important is that your heirs should also serve me.
After chatting with Lao Yang for a few more words, Zhang Junping said goodbye and left Baylor Mansion.
There's nothing to see here. The carpenters took advantage of the fact that they couldn't build walls and bricks in the winter, so they were busy processing beams, overhangs, columns, doors and windows.
Back to Dashilar, just in time for lunch.
Today is white flour steamed buns, and the dish is stewed mutton with radish vermicelli.
Even those in extra-large state-owned factories can't keep up with such food.
In the past, they often came out to do private work for others.
In this era, small carpenters are more popular than big carpenters.
Carpenters are divided into big carpenters and little carpenters. Big carpenters build houses, while little carpenters make furniture.
The group of carpenters led by Lao Yang in Baylor Mansion are the big carpenters.
Lao Ma and his group are young carpenters.
Lao Ma and the others have never encountered such a generous host.
I thought that being able to feed them Sanhe noodles and Erhe noodles steamed buns would be considered generous.
Some hosts even feed them steamed buns directly.
It’s not that we don’t want to give them good food, it’s actually that in this day and age, everyone is short of food.
Zhang Junping also served himself a bowl of mutton stewed with radish vermicelli, took two large white flour steamed buns, came to Lao Ma's side, and asked with a smile: "Old Ma, is the food okay? If you are not satisfied with anything, please mention it. come out.
I promised you, Director Yang, that I must keep you well fed."
"Master Zhang, if any of us says anything bad about your food, we will be struck by lightning." Old Ma grinned, showing his big yellow teeth, and said to Zhang Junping with a smile.
"As long as you are satisfied! I am also very satisfied with your craftsmanship. It is very delicate. Every piece is like a work of art!" Zhang Junping praised with a smile.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Zhang! It's mainly because the furniture you designed is beautiful.
It was an eye-opener for us, we never thought that furniture could do this.
To be honest, we didn't understand why we did this at first.
After making it, I realized that your design is really clever.
Mr. Zhang, you are a man of great talent." Lao Ma gave Zhang Junping a thumbs up sincerely.
"Haha! Lao Ma, if you continue to flatter me, I won't be able to give you a salary increase.
How about I talk to your Factory Manager Yang and promote you to the position of workshop director?" Zhang Junping said with a smile.
"Master Zhang, you are joking, I have no destiny to be an official.
When it comes to technology, in the entire carpentry factory, I have never trusted anyone except Director Yang.
But my character is too straightforward, so I am not suitable for being an official.
Thank you Mr. Zhang for your kindness." Lao Ma smiled and shook his head.
"Then there's nothing we can do!" Zhang Junping laughed.
He really couldn't help with the salary increase, because Lao Ma was getting an eighth-level salary.
This is already the highest salary among workers, one hundred and four yuan a month.
There is no way to increase the salary, unless you are promoted to a leadership position and receive administrative salary.
After eating, Zhang Junping also started to do his own work.
Li Wenjuan and Xia Guoxiang didn't come, so he was left alone to finely make the rough furniture parts that had been made before.
Zhang Junping had just been working for a while when Scarface came back with a cart.
Because there were too many things, Scarface not only called all ten of his own carts, but also called ten carts from outside.
Twenty carts were fully loaded.
"Master Zhang, it's great that you are here! Where do you put these things?
Just move them all to the backyard and put them in the house." Zhang Junping simply put down what he was doing and directed everyone to unload the trucks.
Scarface called more than a hundred people to come over and work.
Hundreds of people worked together and quickly moved the contents of twenty carts into the backyard.
"Master Zhang, Master Hu asked me to ask you what your standards are for collecting old objects."
"Tell him that before the founding of the People's Republic of China, as long as there are objects with collection value and artistic value, I want them." Zhang Junping said simply.
"Okay! With your words, it will be easier to handle!"
Before, Mr. Hu didn't know your specific requirements, so he picked up old items from before the mid-Qing Dynasty."
"Tell him, I want antique calligraphy and painting, wood and bamboo root carvings, jade carvings, porcelain, bronzes and all kinds of old objects.
Not only domestic ones, I also want foreign ones." Zhang Junping thought for a while and then explained.
"Now that I know Master Zhang, please do me a favor! I promise to empty out the warehouse of the trust store for him." Scarface said with a smile.
"I'm waiting for your good news!" Zhang Junping patted Scarface hard on the shoulder.
After sending Scarface and his gang away, Zhang Junping entered the backyard room.
Looking at the room full of things, Zhang Junping resisted the urge to put everything into the museum space, and slowly looked at the old objects that Scarface had just brought back.
The largest number are those rare ancient books and twenty carts of old objects, half of which are rare ancient books.
In addition, there are some calligraphy and paintings by famous people, but they are all from the early to mid-Qing Dynasty, and there are no particularly famous works by everyone.
Zhang Junping took a look at the porcelain, and found that it was mainly from the Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng years. He only saw two pieces of porcelain from the Qianlong period.
From this point of view, the last time he went to the trust store to buy so many high-quality products from the third generation of Qing Dynasty, he was completely lucky.
I just collected my things when I caught up, but I haven't had time to send them away or they haven't been discovered by anyone.
Zhang Junping waved his hand and took two Qianlong blue and white porcelain plum vases into the museum space.
In terms of price alone, these two plum vases exceed the price of all other porcelains combined.
In addition to the two major categories of antique calligraphy and painting and porcelain, antiques are classified into jade, bronze, wood, and miscellaneous items.
Jade, especially ancient jade, is a very important category in the collection circle.
Most collectors hope to own an ancient jade with Qin.
Zhang Junping took a look and found that there were more than 20 jade articles and jade carvings brought back from the trust store; more than 30 jade pendants; and more than 100 jade accessories scattered here and there.
The value of jade, in addition to the material of the jade itself, the most important thing is the carving and whether it is the work of a famous artist.
Zhang Junping flipped through it, and found that only a few pieces of these jade pieces were worthy of his attention.
The other jade is of good quality, whether it is jadeite, Hetian jade, Lantian jade, or Nanyang jade, they are all above average quality.
Also, the carving is poor. If the quality of the jade is poor, Lao Hu will not be able to use it to fool himself.
However, there were two Tianhuang stone seals, which surprised Zhang Junping.
In the early years, it was said that there were one or two fields of yellow and one or two gold. In fact, as the resources of Tianhuang stone gradually depleted, especially the best Tianhuang stone, it had already reached the point where one or two fields of yellow and one tael of gold were worth.
These two Tianhuang stone seals, although the owner of the seals is not a celebrity, are both top-quality Tianhuang stone with chicken sauce.
This also allows Zhang Junping to go back to the drawing board with confidence and boldness.
It just so happens that he lacks this kind of top-quality seal now. He can change it and use it for himself.
Wave your hand to collect the seal into the museum space.
Along with the seals, there are two Hetian mutton-fat jade pendants, a Lantian jade Crouching Tiger paperweight, two high-ice jade bracelets, and three jade thumb rings.
The ones he has put into the museum space are the kind that would make you feel bad if you lose any of them.
After looking at the jades, Zhang Junping turned to the place where the bronzes were placed.
He didn't have any bronze ware in his space, and he had never deliberately collected bronze ware before.
When it comes to bronze ware, many people will think that the trade of bronze ware is not allowed, the trade of bronze ware is prohibited, it is illegal, etc.
First of all, it must be made clear that the earliest cultural relics protection law was implemented in 1982.
Therefore, the country has not yet banned the trade of bronze ware, and buying and selling bronze ware is still legal.
In addition, the bronze wares prohibited from trade by the state mainly refer to ancient bronze wares such as Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
Naturally, it is impossible for a trust store to have that kind of heavy utensils. All they brought over were imitation bronzes from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The only thing that Zhang Junping found interesting was one of the Ming Dynasty imitation Tang Dynasty Zhaoming mirrors.
The inner pure substance is bright and radiant like the sun and moon.
Zhaoming bronze mirrors originated in the Han Dynasty and reached their peak in the Tang Dynasty.
Strictly speaking, Zhaoming Mirror cannot be regarded as a bronze ware, but should be regarded as a bronze ware.
Since the Tang Dynasty, bronze wares have basically disappeared and were replaced by bronze wares.
The bronze wares of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties are more beautiful than bronze wares, and the materials used are more exquisite.
Techniques such as gilding and gold inlaying of bronzes appeared.
For example, the gilt Buddha statues and the gilt bronze horses are all very beautiful.
This is unmatched by the bronzes of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States and even Qin and Han dynasties.
After Zhang Junping played with the Ming Zhao Ming Mirror for a while, he turned his attention to the woodenware.
The wooden items brought over now are all small pieces, such as wooden boxes, wooden boxes, wood carvings and other small things.
The rosewood statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva that Zhang Junping saw in the trust store was also inside.
Zhang Junping waved his hand and took the Guanyin image into the museum space.
Also included in the museum space are several Qing Dynasty rosewood and gold-inlaid treasure boxes.
After that era, it is really a miracle that the gold wire inlaid on the rosewood treasure box can still be preserved so well.
In the past few decades, there have been many cases where gold, silver threads, jade, jade and other jewelry inlaid on Qing Dynasty furniture were removed and exchanged for money.
A lot of Qing Dynasty furniture was damaged in this way.
Therefore, a lot of furniture from the Qing Dynasty has been handed down, not tens of millions, but millions.
When I was poor a few years ago, the gold, silver, jade, agate and jade inlaid on the furniture were taken off and sold for money.
This can be regarded as a different kind of crime of cherishing a treasure!
After looking at the wooden items, Zhang Junping went to the miscellaneous items.
Among the things Scarface sent back, there were the most miscellaneous things.
There are more than thirty fans alone, all of which are well preserved, with complete fan surfaces, fan bones and fan pendants.
Zhang Junping picked up a fan casually, opened it and took a look, and suddenly felt happy.
This is a sandalwood folding fan inlaid with silver cloud and dragon patterns. The fan surface is a picture of Qi Baishi's shrimp play, and the pendant is a Hetian mutton-fat jade buckle with red tassels.
Zhang Junping could still recognize his master's original work.
This kind of fan is specially used for collection and play.
Qi Baishi's fan, no one would be willing to use such a fan to fan the wind.
Even if it is a fan, just like what Lao Guo said in cross talk, he would open the fan and shake his head.
Put this fan away, and then open the other fans one by one.
Only then did Zhang Junping realize that his surprise just now was a bit premature.
These more than 30 fans are all made by famous artists. The fan ribs are exquisitely made and sophisticated. The fan surfaces are all painted by modern masters. The fan pendants are also very particular. All of them are exquisite.
Zhang Junping guessed that these more than 30 fans were probably collected by one person, and then sold them to a trust store because they were forced to make a living or needed money for other reasons.
Of course, it is also possible that the person who collected these fans passed away, and the children took out the fans and sold them to get money to divide the spoils.
This kind of thing is very common in the antique world.
Just like the sons and daughters-in-law of the nine admirals under the Zhengyang Clan, they hope that the old man will die soon so that after his death, they can sell the good things that the old man has saved all his life and enjoy life.
From another aspect, these prodigal sons are really the great contributors to the antique world. Without them, the activity of the antique world would be reduced by at least one-third. It is their existence that allows antiques to circulate.
Zhang Junping played with a folding fan and thought to himself: I wonder if after I die, my prodigal children will also use these good things that I have collected so hard to contribute to the prosperity of the antique market?
Maybe!
However, Zhang Junping then smiled sarcastically, saying that his wife hadn't married yet, so it was a bit early to think about this.
At this time, Scarface came back with the cart.
Another twenty cars full of antiques.
Lao Hu also followed the convoy to the Dashilar Courtyard.
"Master Zhang, this time it's mainly furniture. Where do you think it's suitable?" Scarface approached Zhang Junping and asked in a low voice.
“You can just find any room in the backyard to put it in, it’s just for temporary storage anyway.
I'll have these things taken away later." Zhang Junping said with a smile.
"Okay!" Scarface agreed and ran to direct people to unload the truck.
"Master Zhang!" Lao Hu came over and said to Zhang Junping, cupping his hands.
"Lao Hu is here! I'm sorry to trouble you this time. There are a lot of things, and there are a lot of interesting things in them, especially these fans. I like them very much." Zhang Junping held the fan in his hand and returned the greeting with a fist to Lao Hu.
"As long as Mr. Zhang likes them, these fans are collected by an old friend of mine. I believe that my old friend Quan Xia will be happy to find a good owner for them." Seeing the fans, Lao Hu said in a low mood.
.
"Lao Hu, you've reached the age where you know your destiny, why can't you look away?
I was still thinking just now, if a hundred years from now, the prodigal sons of my family will also take the good things I have collected so hard and circulate them in the market.
This can be regarded as a kind of cycle of heaven!" Zhang Junping comforted with a smile.
"Ah?! Haha! Master Zhang is in a good mood! I have learned a lesson from Old Hu!"
Mr. Zhang, although I know that your family has a great business, I still want to advise you..." Lao Hu solemnly said with clasped fists.
"Lao Hu, do you want to say that if you miss the ancient times, you will be poor?" Zhang Junping interrupted Lao Hu and asked with a smile.
"Yes! As the old saying goes, you will never be poor if you know the past, but you will be poor if you miss the past.
It’s true that you like these old things, but there’s no need to collect them all.”
After listening to Scarface's message, Old Hu wanted art from before the founding of the People's Republic of China, even old imitations. This was not the normal behavior of a collector. If Zhang Junping was an antique dealer, Old Hu wouldn't have said anything, but Zhang Junping
Junping was obviously not an antique dealer, so he came over to try to persuade Zhang Junping.
"Lao Hu, thank you for your kind words!" Zhang Junping said with a smile: "Don't worry, I understand the truth that you will be poor if you miss the ancient times.
I bought a Baylor Mansion on the Shichahai side. It was burned to ruins by a fire. Now I am rebuilding it. After the reconstruction is completed, I plan to open it to the outside world.
Now that I am collecting these things, I plan to buy some good items from them and put them inside.
As for the remaining items, maybe I will put them back on the market in ten or twenty years.
The reason why I put away all these old things, regardless of whether they are good or bad, is that I am worried that some prodigal will take these old things and send them abroad.
In that case, it will not be easy to take things back." Zhang Junping explained with a smile.
"Master Zhang, you are so noble and upright!" Lao Hu said again, cupping his fists.
"I can't talk about being noble and upright! I'm just doing what I can!"