Coming to the StarCraft to Be a Kindergarten Teacher: Perfect Transformation

Walking into the living room, my eyes were immediately drawn to the familiar dining table. It had magically transformed from a four-person rectangular shape into a lovely, round shape! Wei'er, standing nearby, stared with wide eyes, her face a look of shock. Clearly, she was deeply moved by this miraculous transformation.

Looking back, this living room dining table was a treasure I painstakingly found at a secondhand StarCraft market. But ever since I discovered the Orange app on my phone still worked, my world suddenly became richer and richer. So, I began to indulge in shopping for all sorts of wooden utensils online.

The items I bought online were truly dazzling! From spacious and comfortable tables and chairs to exquisite bamboo lounge chairs, there were also small and exquisite vegetable sinks, colorful fruit bowls, and many creative small ornaments. Each item exuded a unique charm, filling the entire living room with warmth and vitality.

After successfully unpacking the table, I carefully placed the steaming hot pot and the abundant ingredients I'd already prepared on the living room table. Then, I deftly opened the condiment trays one by one and thoughtfully posted detailed instructions for preparing the oil sauce, sesame paste, and chili dipping sauce above them. This way, everyone could freely create their own delicious dipping sauces to suit their tastes. While they were engrossed in preparing the dipping sauce, I skillfully and gently placed the fresh mushrooms into the clear broth. Soon, the pot began to simmer, steam rising and filling the air with fragrance. Lotta, who had already prepared the dipping sauce, looked up at the bubbling broth and the gradually cooking mushrooms. However, she was surprised to find no chopsticks on the table! She instinctively stood up and tried to get some.

"Wait, don't be in a hurry!" I quickly stopped her. Seeing her puzzled expression, I smiled and patiently explained to her: "When eating mushroom hotpot, you can't use chopsticks right away. Because these mushrooms need to be cooked for a long enough time to ensure that they are fully cooked. If you use chopsticks to turn them over too early, it is likely that some parts will not be cooked yet, and there is a risk of poisoning if you eat them. So, we have to let them cook in the pot for a while longer. It's not too late to use chopsticks after making sure they are all cooked." After hearing what I said, Lotta nodded in sudden enlightenment, sat back in her seat, and waited quietly for the delicious mushroom hotpot to be thoroughly cooked.

While quietly waiting for the mushrooms to ripen, Lillian's big eyes, full of curiosity, flickered as she looked at Sui Sui. Finally, she could no longer suppress the doubts in her heart and asked, "Sui Sui, your table is really amazing! I looked at it carefully again and again, and found that it doesn't look like it is made up of multiple parts. It seems to be an integrated whole. However, it can be opened so cleverly and then transformed into a brand new table! How did you do that?" As she spoke, she turned her head to look at the other people beside her, only to see that they were also full of confusion and curiosity.

Seeing everyone's reactions like this, I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Just as I was about to open my mouth to tell everyone everything I knew, I suddenly heard Master's calm and gentle voice: "This is actually called a mortise and tenon joint. I've only seen relevant records in some ancient texts before, but I've never actually seen one in person. As for the more profound mysteries involved, I'm not too sure. Let Sui Sui explain it to us!"

"Okay, in that case, let me explain the mortise and tenon technique in detail!" I said with a confident smile. Then, I launched into a long and eloquent exposition: "The mortise and tenon technique is a treasure trove of traditional Chinese architecture and furniture! Its core principle is to cleverly utilize the inherent properties of wood, achieving a perfect and secure connection between components through the seamless interlocking of the tenon and mortise."

The tenon is the protruding part, each with its own unique shape and intricate details. The mortise, on the other hand, is like a groove specifically designed to fit the tenon. When the two are precisely aligned, they seem like a perfect match, fitting together with a breathtaking precision.

Don't underestimate this seemingly simple construction method! In reality, it holds endless secrets and wisdom. It's precisely because of mortise and tenon joints that the houses and furniture we build endure, remaining as strong as ever. Whether it's the tremors of wind and rain or earthquakes, they can't even shake them. Furthermore, this purely handmade craftsmanship, passed down for thousands of years, fully demonstrates the impressive skill, innovation, and ingenuity of ancient Chinese artisans.

The mortise and tenon joint system, an ancient and sophisticated woodworking technique, relies on the ingenious use of the perfect fit between the tenon and the mortise to achieve a secure and tight connection between the wood. The tenon, the protruding part, resembles a meticulously crafted work of art, often crafted into a variety of shapes by artisans, each with its own unique characteristics and purpose.

For example, the dovetail tenon, with its graceful and flowing shape resembling a swallow's tail, offers a unique and stable connection. The right-angle tenon, with its simple and elegant design, is ideal for right-angle joints. And the round tenon, with its sleek, charming shape, can offer unexpected benefits in specific situations. These tenons of varying shapes are like magical keys, waiting for the matching mortise to unlock their mysterious power.

The mortise, like a gentle embrace, is chiseled precisely to the tenon's shape. This process requires extreme precision and patience; only when the two dimensions are perfectly matched can a perfect, seamless fit be achieved. Thus, the tenon and mortise fit together with perfect precision, as if they were meant for each other, tightly embraced.

Thanks to this ingenious design and exquisite craftsmanship, the mortise and tenon structure not only possesses an astonishing load-bearing capacity, easily handling significant weight, but also creates a framework with a degree of elasticity. This characteristic allows the entire structure to withstand external shocks not simply with a rigid resistance, but rather to flexibly expand and contract like a spring, effectively supporting each other and demonstrating strong stability. The seismic protection provided by the mortise and tenon structure is particularly effective during natural disasters such as earthquakes. Like an experienced guard, it calmly absorbs the immense energy of an earthquake, minimizing damage and safeguarding lives and property.

The mortise and tenon joint structure, an ancient and sophisticated craftsmanship, exhibits exceptional physical properties. It cleverly avoids wood's inherent weaknesses and maximizes its strengths. Wood is known to possess high strength and good toughness in the longitudinal direction, but is relatively fragile and prone to breakage in the transverse direction. The mortise and tenon joint structure precisely grasps this characteristic, precisely concentrating the force applied in the longitudinal direction of the wood, effectively avoiding the transverse fragility. This design concept not only reflects the ancients' profound understanding of material properties but also represents the crystallization of their wisdom and experience.

From a structural perspective, the mortise and tenon joint structure exemplifies the perfect balance of rigidity and flexibility. As the temperature and humidity of the surrounding environment fluctuate, the wood material expands or contracts accordingly. However, because the mortise and tenon joints utilize a homogeneous and isomorphic connection, the two ends of the joint can expand or contract synchronously. This creates a seamless, organic whole, with each supporting the other, significantly enhancing its stability. Even in the face of external interference and challenges, it remains as stable as a rock, unbreakable.

Furthermore, the exquisite craftsmanship displayed in the construction of mortise and tenon joints is truly breathtaking. With their extraordinary imagination and creativity, artisans have continuously explored and innovated, successfully creating countless ingenious mortise and tenon joint structures. These unique structural forms are not only beautiful and elegant, but also versatile, perfectly adapting to the needs of various applications. According to incomplete statistics, there are hundreds of different styles of mortise and tenon joints, each imbued with profound cultural heritage and artistic value. Some are as graceful and elegant as the dance of dragons and phoenixes, while others are as solid and reliable as the steady and imposing mountains; some are simple and clear at a glance, while others are complex and intricate, dazzling. Whether used in architecture or furniture making, mortise and tenon joints have won widespread acclaim and admiration for their superior quality and unique charm.

The mortise and tenon technology is like a shining pearl, which not only shines with amazing brilliance in the magnificent field of architecture, fully demonstrating its extraordinary bearing capacity and unique artistic charm; but also has extremely wide applications in the warm and comfortable home world.

This miraculous craftsmanship is like a brilliant dialogue between wooden components, woven with the boundless wisdom of the Chinese nation. The tight connection between each tenon and mortise embodies the skilled artisans' meticulous attention to detail and profound understanding of craftsmanship, which together create this exquisite and ingenious artistic treasure.

The history of mortise and tenon joints dates back to ancient times. Back then, people likely experimented with joining wood simply to meet basic survival needs. Over time and with accumulated experience, this craft gradually matured and became sophisticated. Over thousands of years, mortise and tenon joints have continuously evolved and developed, evolving from their initial simplicity and crudeness to today's complex, diverse, and sophisticated structures.

It is thanks to the unremitting efforts and innovative spirit of countless craftsmen that mortise and tenon joint technology has survived to this day, ultimately becoming a well-deserved core technology in ancient Chinese timber architecture. It embodies the wisdom and diligence of our ancestors, bears witness to the long and splendid history of the Chinese nation, and is an important part of our precious cultural heritage.