I trade in both worlds

The willow trees not far from the city gate were crowded with people, and soon a melodious flute sound was heard.

Xu Ziqing stood on tiptoe to look, but saw nothing.

"Let's go and take a look." Xu Ziqing said and walked towards the crowd.

Xu Ziqing walked through the crowd and found that it was a blind man playing the flute.

Xu Ziqing stopped and listened quietly until the end of the song, when there was thunderous applause.

"He plays the flute really well." Xu Ziqing took a few copper coins from his sleeve and gently placed them in the bamboo basket in front of the blind man.

Then he pulled Xu Xu away.

Xu Xu carried Xu Tiantian on his back and asked as they walked, "Sister Qing, do you want to buy anything?"

"I don't know, let's take a look first." Xu Ziqing pulled Xu Xu, looked around and asked, "Were we here last time?"

Xu Xu replied: "Yes, the market is mainly concentrated on this street."

"Then let's go to another street and see if we can come across anything we didn't see last time." Xu Ziqing said.

"Okay." Xu Xu looked around and pointed to the alley behind Xu Ziqing and said, "Let's go through here and go to the street behind."

As he said that, he pulled Xu Ziqing and walked into the alley: "Some people who come to the market late will set up their stalls over there."

Entering the alley, Xu Ziqing's eyes sparkled with surprise at this ancient alley, and her gaze moved around both sides of the alley.

Those mottled walls and withered vines seem to be telling of its vicissitudes.

This is a long and narrow alley. The road surface is paved with bluestone slabs. After years of wear and tear, it looks smooth and simple.

Xu Ziqing was photographing the alley leisurely. Suddenly, a melodious and rhythmic shouting sound came from the depths of the alley, breaking the tranquility of the early morning.

"Mending the basins, the pots, and the big jars. Mending the basins, the pots, and the big jars~"

The voice was somewhat vicissitudes of life, yet full of vitality.

As the shouting continued, the residents in the alley came out one after another and walked towards the shouting.

Xu Ziqing asked curiously, "Who is shouting?"

"The imprisonment craftsman." Xu Xu replied.

"A smith?" Xu Ziqing looked at her in confusion: "What is that?"

"They are craftsmen who mend bowls, basins, pots and large jars." Xu Xu explained.

Xu Ziqing was still confused: "What is the purpose of mending bowls and basins?"

Xu Xu remembered that modern bowls and chopsticks are thrown away after use, so he continued to explain: "It's to mend broken bowls. If a bowl or a jar is broken, you have to find a carpenter to repair it."

"Can a broken bowl be repaired?" Xu Ziqing shouted in surprise.

Xu Xu nodded: "Of course."

"Come on, let's record the process of mending the bowl." Xu Ziqing pulled Xu Xu and followed the residents of the alley.

From afar, I saw an old man carrying a load on his shoulder. On one end of the load was a small stove and various tools, and on the other end was a bellows. He walked to an empty corner of the alley and stopped.

The residents following behind him also slowly gathered around. Xu Ziqing saw that everyone was holding something in their hands, either a bowl that had been broken into pieces, or a cracked pottery jar.

"Uncle, help me fill the bowl."

"Brother, show me if this jar can be repaired."

"Old man Li, show me if this tank can be repaired."

"Brother, let me see this..."

……

The residents watching rushed to hand the things that needed repairing to the old man.

"Don't worry, don't worry." The old man put down his burden and said with a smile: "Wait for me to get ready first, don't worry."

After saying this, he removed the bellows from his shoulder pole, took out a small stool, sat down and started to build a small stove and make a fire. Then he took out his tools and placed them in an orderly manner where they could be easily reached.

Xu Ziqing quickly adjusted the equipment and started filming with Xu Xu in two separate locations.

Seeing that the old man was ready, an aunt rushed over and handed him a cracked clay pot.

"Old man Li, can you help me see if this pottery jar can be repaired? Although it has been used for several years, if I throw it away I will have to buy a new one. If it can be repaired, I won't have to buy a new one."

The aunt looked at the old man expectantly, her eyes revealing a hint of anxiety, as if she was afraid that the pottery jar could not be repaired.

Old man Li took the pottery jar, looked at the crack carefully, and then smiled and said to the aunt: "It can be repaired. Don't worry, I will definitely help you fix this pottery jar and guarantee that you can use it for a few more years without any problems."

His words were full of confidence, which gradually relaxed the old lady's frown: "It's good if it can be fixed, it's good if it can be fixed."

He produced some string and a diamond drill and began to examine the pot carefully.

After he knew the direction of the crack and the extent of the damage, the old man first wrapped a thin rope around both sides of the crack several times as a positioning method.

Then he picked up a diamond drill and carefully drilled holes at both ends of the crack.

Every hole was drilled accurately. After drilling the holes, the old man selected two suitable rivets from his burden.

He first tapped one end of the rivet lightly with a hammer to embed it into a hole.

Then he used special pliers to clamp the rivets so that they fit tightly against the surface of the pottery jar.

Then he repeated the same action, inserting another rivet into the other hole.

The embedded rivets effectively fixed the cracks and restored the pottery jar to its original solidity.

Finally, the old man applied a special adhesive around the rivets to enhance the fixing effect.

After a while, the cracked pottery jar was reborn in the old man's hands.

The cracks are cleverly hidden, and the rivet decoration adds a touch of ancient beauty to the pottery jar.

Xu Ziqing's eyes widened. She had never seen such craftsmanship before.

In her understanding, once porcelain is cracked, it can only be discarded or replaced. She never thought that it could be repaired in this way, and even the repaired porcelain could radiate a different kind of beauty.

The old man took the pottery jar and checked it several times. After confirming that there was no problem, he handed it to the aunt and said with a smile: "Your jar is fine and can be used for a few more years."

The aunt took the repaired pottery jar, looked at it carefully, and then smiled with satisfaction: "Old man, your craftsmanship is getting better and better."

The little girl who had been waiting for a long time cleverly handed over a bowl that was broken into two pieces to the old man while he was collecting money.

The little girl looked at the old man nervously: "Uncle, can my bowl be repaired?"

The old man looked at the broken bowl in her hand, reached out to take the bowl, looked at the crack carefully, then smiled and said to her: "It can be repaired."

As he spoke, the old man began to repair it, his movements gentle and skillful.

He first took out some special adhesive from his shoulder pole and applied it to the cracks.

Then he selected a suitable rivet and tapped it gently with a hammer to embed it into one end of the crack.

Next, he used special pliers to clamp the rivets so that they fit tightly against the surface of the bowl.