Mountain driving career since 1982

Although Northern Red Agate is closer to the gem level, it has attracted attention for a shorter time than Southern Red Agate and Warring States Red Agate, and its price is much cheaper than the other two agates.

But if it can reach the collection level, it can reach a price of hundreds of yuan per gram. If it is of the highest quality, it is also a good thing that is hard to find.

Lu Lu's plan was very simple. He found good materials and gave them to Kong Siren. After carving them, his brothers would collect them and use them to earn foreign exchange. Some common materials would be enough.

In any case, it is also a kind of accumulation, even if it is not carving, it is just a simple collection of materials.

Things that are easy to pick up these days will not be easy in a few years.

Just like Songhua Stone, the fine products produced must be retained, and the ordinary ones can be used to earn foreign exchange.

The craftsmanship of Kong Siren, Zhang Shunan and others is inherently valuable. Even ordinary materials will become extraordinary once processed by their hands.

"Birch bark boats, since the advent of semi-automatic rifles and those convenient hunting tools, hunting has become more convenient, and some methods are not very useful. I haven't done it in many years. You are right, this thing, people who know how to do it It’s becoming less and less common, but it’s still a skill. If you want to learn it, come here tomorrow and bring a knife and saw, and I can teach you.”

Obviously, Zhao Tuanqing already has this understanding.

The Oroqen people's birch bark boat-making skills will be regarded as intangible cultural heritage in later generations.

Lu Lu knew exactly this, and especially liked the fact that the birch bark boat was light and could be carried by one person. In the wilderness, Lao Maozi could make it with local materials, and it was easy to use at critical moments.

In the early years, the Oroqen people waded through the mountains and rivers. They relied on reindeer and Oroqen horses to cross the mountains, and they relied on this small birch bark boat to wade through the water.

Lu Lu planned to learn it hard, and he might use it soon. Even as a handicraft, it was a good thing. He was even thinking about the utensils made by the Oroqen people from birch bark, plus the unique Description is also a very rare thing.

Zhao Tuanqing agreed to teach, and Lu Lu and others were very happy.

This matter cannot be easily accomplished by one person, it requires the cooperation of several people.

The next morning, Lu Lu specially made some food, carried it in a backpack, and rode Zhui Feng to the pasture. Zhang Shaofeng and others had already arrived first, and they all drove their horses into the pasture to graze.

Their Oroqen horses are all geldings, and they look very gentle after entering.

Zhui Feng was different. It was like he had discovered a new world. The few horses inside immediately became the focus of his attention. He stopped eating grass and was busy greeting the horses, completely ignoring the other two Oroqen stallions. The presence.

However, Oroqen horses have strong genes and are difficult to change, so Lu Lu is not worried at all about whether they will be bred together or not.On the contrary, he wanted to see what the horse would be like if it was bred cross-breeding, so he just let the horse chase the wind.

Not only Lu Lu brought food, but Zhang Shaofeng and others also brought food. Now, let alone lunch, there was even dinner.

It was still simple to lay out snakeskin bags, and a group of people sat on the floor. During today's meal, no one drank, but Zhao Tuanqing drank a little, but not much.

"Today's work is mainly about preparing materials. There are a lot of things to do!"

During the meal, Zhao Tuanqing started to make arrangements: "peeling birch bark, chopping down pine trees, and collecting pine tree oil."

"Dad Zhao, what are your requirements?"

"There are no special requirements. The main thing is that the birch trees need to be hundreds of years old. The bark is tough and large enough. Pinus sylvestris is used to make ship hulls and ribs. Choose straight ones so that they can be easily divided into thin slices. Make boat gangs and ribs... let’s talk about it later!”

Lu Lu and others all nodded.

When preparing birch bark boats, peeling birch bark and selecting Scotch pine are done at the same time.

The reason why birch bark was chosen is because birch bark is full of oils, which can be seen from its flammability. It is precisely because it is full of oils that it has excellent anti-corrosion and waterproof properties.

After eating, a few people carried knives and axes and entered the forest. The forest was rich in trees, with Pinus sylvestris and birch trees growing alternately.

"We Oroqen people don't have the habit of you using rulers to measure things. What we do is relatively simple. The length and height are usually measured by two arms stretched out to the left and right. For round things, the standard is measured by two arms hugging each other. Birch bark boats are not Large, the birch bark required does not need to be very long. Just double the length of the birch tree with the arms stretched out flat. The selected tree is as thick as an arm. Generally speaking, when the birch tree grows to be as thick as an arm, it will be enough. It’s been a hundred years!”

Zhao Tuanqing briefly talked about the birch tree selection requirements.

Lu Lu estimated that it would be enough to go into the forest and choose a birch tree as thick as an arm and girdle a piece of bark about three and a half meters long.

There are many such trees in the birch forests these days. After a few people entered the forest, it didn't take long to find their target.

Without taking action immediately, Zhao Tuanqing first led a few people to a pine tree. They saw that a human face pattern was drawn on the trunk of the tree with charcoal, and a piece of red cloth was tied to it.

Facing the human face pattern, Zhao Tuanqing put some of each dish in a small bowl before eating. The small bowl was placed at the foot of the tree, and the wine he brought was also placed. He knelt down first. down.

When Lu Lu and others saw this, they also knelt down quickly.

Zhao Tuanqing whispered something in Oroqen dialect. Lu Lu just heard the word "Bainaqia" from his words and knew that he was worshiping the mountain god.

They have always respected nature.

After praying for a while, Zhao Tuanqing scattered the bowl of food and wine he brought under the tree. After several people followed him and prayed three times in succession, they returned to the selected birch tree.

Looking at the thick and straight birch tree in front of him, Lu Lu took out the hunting knife from his hunting bag that he usually used to chop wood and cut things on the mountain. He looked at the birch tree, which was more than 40 centimeters above the ground. , circumferentially cut with a knife. "If the bark is peeled off like this, the tree will definitely not survive. It's better to chop it down directly. You can peel it on the ground, and you don't have to climb the tree. When the trunk is dry, you can make a pewter or take it back to make some beams or pillars. Things can work too!" Raymond suggested.

"Who told you that a birch tree will die if its bark is peeled off? It won't die that easily, just let it grow well!"

Zhao Tuanqing gave Raymond a stern look: "Don't cut it down, it's not easy for this tree to grow so big!"

"You mean you can still live?" Raymond couldn't believe it.

After living in the wilderness for many years, he really didn't pay attention to this problem.

It is said that the bark of a tree has been peeled off, and the bark was peeled off, and it was peeled off in a length of three to four meters. He felt that it was unlikely that the birch tree would survive.Those are the things that transmit nutrients and water, and they are all cut off...

"Birch is a very magical tree, and it is probably the only tree that can be circumcised and peeled without dying. After the birch bark is peeled off, if you look carefully, you will find that there is still a very thin film on the trunk. After the bark is peeled off, white birch sap will be quickly secreted to wrap the trunk, and then it will turn black. New bark will grow back and become thicker year by year. This is a tree with strong vitality. The thin film is not cut off..."

Lu Lu also briefly explained the general situation. He knew that the film was the channel through which the birch tree transported water and nutrients.

Hearing what Lu Lu said, Raymond nodded slightly: "It's indeed amazing!"

He walked straight to the base of the birch tree and said, "This tree is quite thick and difficult to get up. Step on my shoulder and I will take you up!"

Lu Lu didn't do any ink, he pulled out the hunting knife and bit it in his mouth, then stepped on Raymond's shoulder and stood up. Raymond used his strength to stand up against Lu Lu.

With his help, Lu Lu only had to climb a little further to reach his position.

He held the tree trunk with both hands and clamped the trunk with his legs. When his hands exerted force, his legs moved upwards. After tightening the trunk, he moved his hands upwards. Repeatedly, he reached the place in just a few strokes.

His legs were wrapped around the tree trunk, his left hand was holding the tree trunk, and his free right hand was holding a hunting knife, and he started to cut the birch tree.

After moving three positions in a row, Lu Lu finally completed the ring cutting. Then he used a hunting knife to cut straight down on the bark of the tree, separated the bark from the trunk with the knife, and then continued to cut. Go down and scratch the bark all the way to the bottom.

While Lu Lu was gasping for breath, Zhao Yongke had already chopped down a long wooden stick with forks, and with Raymond's help, began to peel off the bark of the tree.

At this time, the birch bark has sufficient moisture content, so it is very easy to peel off the bark. Just use a knife to open the places where people below can reach them, and use wooden sticks to open the places that are out of reach.

In just over 20 minutes, a whole piece of birch bark was peeled off. In order to prevent it from being broken, several people carefully put down the bark.

Since we are planning to ask our brothers to go to Wuyiling and Xunke to look for agate along the river, this small birch bark boat has a limited load-bearing capacity, and we have to transport some things. Since we are going to do it, we will make five of them at once.

Using the same method, the five people selected four other thick birch trees to peel the bark. It took almost two hours to complete.

As for Scotch pine, there is no special age requirement. The main thing is that it has few bones and is straight.

Zhang Shaofeng and Liang Kangbo quickly selected a thigh-thick Pinus sylvestris, swung their axes, and in three to five minutes, they placed it on one tree and chopped off the branches.

Six trees were cut down in succession and carried one by one to the hut where Zhao Tuanqing was on duty.

When they were cutting down Pinus sylvestris, they selected a few old pine trees, used knives to cut V-shaped openings in the bark of the pine trees, set them up with bowls, and then extracted the pine oil flowing down from the bark.

The birch bark and Scotch pine were placed on the grass. After a short rest, Zhao Tuanqing began to teach several people how to handle the birch bark.

The birch bark peeled from the birch tree is rolled into a roll. It must be unrolled first, the outer hard bark is removed, and the raised and knotted places are smoothed to make the entire birch bark surface clean and smooth. .

This is a delicate job. Several people use axes, hunting knives, or knives to make detailed repairs on the birch bark.

This exploration lasted another hour or two. After taking care of it, spread the birch bark on the flat ground and press it with wood to keep the bark flat and straight. The birch bark can be made tomorrow. Boat.

A group of people had lunch, and there were more troublesome things waiting for them.

The inner and outer hulls and ribs must also be prepared.Only by preparing these two things can we assemble the ship tomorrow.

There are two inner hulls, which are about the same length as the hull of the birch bark boat. The outer hull has a bow and a stern and is wrapped on the outside, so it is shorter.

After drilling holes in the inner and outer hull, clamp the birch bark, fix it with wooden nails, and then clamp the birch bark.

This thing is made by breaking open camphor pine and cutting it with an axe.

There are also ribs, which require a large number and are the most difficult to handle. First, aim a length of camphor pine at the wood with a hunting knife, smash the hunting knife with an ax, split a hole, and separate it with a wedge. .

In short, it is to make some thin sheets that are easy to bend, then embed them into the hull of the boat, and use the curvature to support the bottom of the boat made of birch bark.

This is also the reason why it is necessary to choose Pinus sylvestris with good silk strips, in order to have a straight texture and facilitate separation. After separation, the surface must be smoothed with a knife and saw, which is also a delicate job that requires patience.

This fiddling took only one afternoon, and I could barely complete the preparation of materials.

When several people were preparing to go home, Zhao Tuanqing specially asked: "When you come here tomorrow, remember to bring charcoal powder and some ropes to set up a boat tomorrow!" (End of this chapter)