In my days as a farmer

When Xia Dongli drove Xun Ao to the village committee of Xiaojin village, the first thing he saw was the melon-eating crowd surrounded by the door of the office.

With such a population density, it was obviously not easy for them to get out of the driveway in a short time. Xia Dongli could only choose to park on the side of the road and squeeze in on foot.

He couldn't help listening to the news when he was huddling around in the crowd, but when he saw someone coming, even though he was mentally prepared, he couldn't help being a little stunned.

As a small village adjacent to popular tourist attractions, it is not that the people of Xiaojin Village have never seen foreigners, but they rarely see such handsome and beautiful foreigners.

—Is it a star?The one who looks so beautiful must be a foreign movie star.

It was because of such thoughts that the villagers gathered outside to watch the fun.

And this young man who is directly defined by people does have an extremely outstanding appearance. He looks no more than 30 years old, but the appearance of Westerners is usually mature, and he may actually be younger.

Brown half-length hair is soft and curly, a well-tailored suit jacket outlines a slender waist, and the facial features are three-dimensional and deep.

The eyes that looked over after hearing the sound of entering the door seemed to be azure blue luster soaked by the sea of ​​love, as if they were going to drown people under the sparkling light.

——This is a boy who fits the traditional Chinese definition of a Western-style classical handsome man. If you see this man walking halfway in the street and taking out a cello to play in front of people, it may not make people feel any offense. harmony.

It's just that people like this appear in the village committee of Xiaojin Village now. In front of the wooden tables and chairs of traditional Chinese desks, they always feel that the painting style is a bit out of place.

"Xiao Xia, come quickly!" Assistant Xiao Li waved when he saw him coming in, his eyes flickered to see the light of the savior: "This Mr. Pa walked around the village and was brought here by the villagers , but my English is not good! We can't communicate at all. You have a high degree of education, so hurry up and ask him what he is here for, do you want to help him contact the embassy?"

Xia Dongli was stunned for a moment, feeling a little numb. Although he was very grateful to Assistant Xiao Li for looking up to him, his English deteriorated rapidly after graduation. His writing was not bad, but his listening ability was really limited to asking for directions when traveling abroad. To an extent.

He took a breath, looked at the brown-haired green eyes and asked tentatively: "Hello"

"Hi, stranger," the young man replied with difficulty in English with a distinct local accent: "MynameisPegasus, icomefromHellenic..."

Well, the voice is nice, but this one's accent is so strong that Xia Dongli can hardly understand it.

However, the conditioned reflex ability left by years of exam-oriented education helped him grasp the key words—this one is from Greece.

==

"Sorry, plswaitamoment." Xia Dongli took a breath and used the ultimate trick - he quickly took out his mobile phone and opened the translation software. The two people whose native language was not English stood on the same starting line with the power of wisdom.

This man's name is Pegasus... Uh, let's call him Mr. Pa. Mr. Pa came to work in China. Because of the smooth cooperation, he ended his work early, so he planned to buy some Chinese specialties before his work visa expired. Take it back as a gift to relatives and friends.

The reason why he came to Xiaojin Village was because he wanted to buy Xiaojin Village's specialty—Xiaojinbu.

After learning about the other party's intentions, Assistant Xiao Li immediately decided to accompany him on a trip in person, and introduce (push) introduce (sell) various products of Xiaojin Village by the way. Xia Dongli, who had already instructed Assistant Li on how to use the translation software, planned Farewell, I don't know if it was the friendship between the two of them, but Mr. Pa strongly invited Xia Dongli to go with him.

Xia Dongli thought for a while, and was also a little curious about the national treasures in Xiaojin Village, so he followed.

But unfortunately, when they arrived at Master Zhao's house, Master Zhao happened to be away from the Imperial Capital for some meeting, and it was his son Zhao Min who entertained them in the studio. Hearing that international friends were coming to buy goods, he was not at home. Say more, and lead them directly to the product display room.

While walking, he introduced Xiaojinbu to the guests with his mobile phone. He spoke carefully, but it is not clear how much the translation software can translate.

"Small brocade cloth is a type of Song brocade, and it is also a relatively representative type."

As a dynasty dominated by literati and elegant scholars, the Song Dynasty was dominated by literati and aesthetic tastes in the whole country. They generally wore simple and elegant colors. A cultural person who knows how to play came up with a ghost idea, that is to use brocade to frame his works.

It can be imagined that at a gathering of literati hundreds of years ago, a literati suddenly expressed his intention to display his calligraphy and paintings in front of everyone. Under the eyes of all kinds of unclear meanings, he unfolded them against the embarrassing brocade. What a shocking scene was that?

——Probably the same as a few years ago when a person suddenly took out a mobile phone case covered with Swarovski diamonds, it would attract envious and imitative eyes.

As a result, Song brocade was developed for a special purpose - the mounting of calligraphy and painting and the lining decoration of boxes.

Since the purpose is to mount one's own works, the first thing is not to overwhelm the guests, but at the same time it must be strong enough and light enough, so the aesthetic tendency and needs have created the special weaving technology of Song brocade.

Song brocade is obviously born out of the beautiful Shu brocade technique, but it is mainly made of single-weft fabrics. Except for the more expensive heavy brocade, most of the patterns of Song brocade are repeated satin and dobby, which look delicate. And elegant, and quite thin and light.

And Xiaojin is the best among them, so the main products are thin and light items such as handkerchiefs and silk scarves, which are also the best sellers.

"Of course you can also customize clothes." Comrade Xiao Zhao patiently said to the mobile phone software: "But the construction period has been scheduled for one year later."

Unexpectedly, Mr. Pa showed a very fond attitude towards this pile of small handkerchiefs, which is specifically manifested in that he asked people to wrap them all up!

That's right, he actually packed all the products he saw in front of him!I didn't even ask the price, just swipe my card to pay.

"There are many relatives in my family, and they like Chinese silk fabrics very much. It is not easy for us to buy authentic products, especially handmade ones." Mr. Pa explained to everyone's surprised eyes: "And Mr. Zhao's works are very beautiful. I think the family will love it."

Xia Dongli gasped when he saw the six-figure price, and then looked at the young man with downcast eyes calmly packing for others, and asked softly, "Is this okay?"

The goods sold by the Zhao family are all Mr. Zhao's works. The output of this kind of personal handicraft is not large, and now it has been wrapped up at one time. If a customer comes to the door in the future and finds that there is nothing to buy, it will be very troublesome, right?

"It's okay." Zhao Min said calmly: "Last year, I ordered their newly researched dyes in Yunnan, and I planned to wait for this year's raw silk to go on the market to make a new batch."

Xia Dongli: ...

Taking advantage of the customer's incomprehension of Chinese, Comrade Xiao Zhao added: "He bought old suits, and now young people don't like them. It just so happens that this year we can also try the market acceptance of new suits."

Xia Dongli has nothing to say, but can only wish the master's new work a big hit.

"Excuse me!!" Pegasus, who was wandering in the small exhibition hall after paying the bill, suddenly pointed to the scroll hanging on the wall with some excitement and asked: "Whose portrait is this horse? Can I recognize it?"

portrait?This translation is so weird...

Xia Dongli took advantage of the situation to look over, and suddenly the corner of his mouth twitched, and he complained a few words about this unreliable translation software in his heart, just because there was a "Picture of Galloping Horse" hanging on the wall.

Translating paintings into portraits, this mistake is too outrageous!

"Running Horse Picture" was painted by the modern artist Mr. Xu Beihong. In the painting, there is only one horse painted in ink, but it is vigorous and vigorous, with extraordinary charm. When you face this horse directly, you will have a feeling that it will come from within a second. The feeling of jumping out of the painting.

A good horse is equipped with a good saddle. When mounting this painting, Mr. Zhao used plain seawater and river cliff patterns, which made this galloping horse seem to be riding the waves and rushing towards the sky, with a torrential momentum.

Although he is indeed very handsome, Mr. Xu has passed away for more than [-] years. Even if the prototype of this horse exists, it probably no longer exists in the world. What's more, the Baidu introduction said that Mr. Xu was worried and angry when he heard the unfavorable news during the Anti-Japanese War. Added together, this horse should represent Mr. Xu's state of mind at that time, and there is no prototype.

So of course it is impossible to know.

After listening to the story behind the painting that Xia Dongli read aloud to him, Pegasus lowered his head sadly. After muttering a few words in Greek in a low voice, he expressed that he wanted to buy the work. After being declined, he retreated and begged Second, ask if you can use such a framed pattern to frame your own work.

Comrade Xiao Zhao said that there is no problem, they still have brocades with the same pattern, but unfortunately, they did not expect that Pegasus, who had this "romantic encounter" (← Pegasus), did not share his works He took it with him, so his idea was to directly purchase the raw materials and bring them back to China to mount them by himself, but this proposal was rejected by Mr. Zhao.

"The material of Song brocade is soft, and it needs to be sized for mounting. Besides, sir, what you want to frame is an oil painting, right?"

"The material of oil painting is different from that of rice paper, and the mounting techniques of the East and the West are also different. It is very difficult to achieve the best effect, so I suggest that you bring your work over and let us handle it."

This statement is reasonable and convincing. After listening to the translation, the Greek visitor immediately hesitated. He looked at the wall hangings, and his eyes were full of longing and admiration.

Xia Dongli saw the man take out the leather calendar he was carrying and looked at it, and immediately frowned his thick eyebrows, as if he was very troubled.

What a beautiful person does is endearing, but even though Mr. Pa's unique face is full of sorrows that can break the hearts of countless girls and fall in love, the few Chinese men in the room are not moved.

Very heart-warming.

Mr. Zhao's attitude is very clear. He has to ensure the quality of the products, otherwise the things will be bought back and ruined. As a craftsman, he feels distressed.

Buying and selling is based on your love and my wish. The seller is unwilling and the buyer has nothing to do. Just when Pegasus was downcast, the door of the studio was knocked, and Xia Dongli also knew the person who came in. At the market in Xiaojin Village The vegetable seedlings on him were bought from this aunt.

This is a big vegetable grower in Xiaojin Village, surnamed Liu, and their family has six greenhouses. Most of the green leafy vegetables in Xiaojin Village come from her, and of course, so does Xia Dongli.

"Yeah, Xiao Zhao, do you have guests?" The kind-faced woman smiled, and she waved her hand apologetically and wanted to leave: "Then I'll come back later."

"It's okay, this customer has already selected the products." The young man said with a smile while arranging the products, "What's the matter with Aunt Liu?"

"It's like this. It's almost time to sacrifice the silkworm god. In previous years, didn't you have to save some silkworm eggs to raise for yourself? I want to ask you if you want to do it this year."

As the woman spoke, she tore off the cotton cloth covering the basket in her hand, revealing a basket full of shredded leaves inside.

But if you look closely, you can see small black insects crawling on the leaves.

"This is...?" Xia Dongli approached the ground and saw these ant-like creatures at a glance.

"It's an ant silkworm." Assistant Xiao Li, who took a look with his head, knew this very well: "Ah, by the way, Xiao Xia, haven't you seen this before? This is the appearance of a silkworm just hatched, and it is black when it is just hatched. , eat mulberry leaves for a few days and they will turn white."

"So it is!" Xia Dongli stretched out his thumb and forefinger in surprise and gestured on the side of the basket: "The ones I bought before are all this big."

"Oh, it's a fifth-instar silkworm that is about to spin silk. At that time, its vitality is relatively strong, and it is not easy to raise to death. It is suitable for raising and playing with children." Aunt Liu smiled: "Silkworms are such creatures. But she is delicate, she is very easy to get sick, and she will die when she gets sick, tender and delicate."

"In order to raise these things, we can't light mosquito coils, and we can't use pesticides, otherwise they will be poisoned to death if they smell a little bit."

Xia Dongli was startled when he heard the words, and hurriedly pulled Xun Ao back a few steps, facing everyone's puzzled eyes, he waved his hands: "I used to light mosquito coils at home before."

"It's okay, just don't touch them, we have been in contact for a long time, it's different." Aunt Liu smiled, and she had a good impression of this young man. After talking to Zhao Min, she put the basket on the basket. On the table, he looked at Assistant Xiao Li again: "Xiao Li, this year we also have to sacrifice to the Silkworm God."

"Hey, the village chief has already made an agreement." Assistant Xiao Li curled his mouth and smiled brightly: "Be careful of fire prevention when burning incense!"

Seeing Xia Dongli's curious expression, he added: "May 5th is Xiaoman. Silkworm farmers have the custom of offering sacrifices to the silkworm god. If Xiaoxia is interested, you can also go and see it. It's in the activity center. The silkworm farmers in our village will bring silkworms. Seek the silkworm god to bless you, and if you participate, you can also get silkworm eggs on the spot."

"It's also fun to raise from scratch."

Ah, it looks interesting...

Xia Dongli was a little cautious, then he quickly shook his head, no, no, his family's situation is special, there are already enough small animals in the house, it's better not to burden yourself.

Just as he was thinking this way, Xia Dongli suddenly felt his sleeves being pulled, and when he turned his head, he met a pair of brown pupils full of hope.

The eyes of the young man who has been silently accompanying him are shining brightly, expressing silent longing.

"...Do you want to see it?" Xia Dongli was shocked. This was the first time Xun Ao expressed his desire to do something. It was rare for the young man to show his desire. It would be a bit cruel if he refused.

So after getting an affirmative answer, he hesitated for a while, and finally nodded under the burning gaze of the young man, "Then, then go and have a look."

The brown eyes immediately lit up, and the young man pursed his lips slightly, revealing a satisfied smile.Xia Dongli seemed to see a big fluffy tail behind him and flicked it.

Hey, as a standard dog dad, he really has no resistance to this kind of dog eyes!