Meet the Gentleman

Chapter 655: Heartbroken Leader

Northwest of Rucheng.

In an open valley dozens of miles away, there is a yard.

The yard faces north and south and has more than ten houses. There are many flowers, plants and trees planted in the courtyard, which looks very elegant.

In a craftsman's room on the left side of the yard, the leader was patiently polishing the inkstone.

This inkstone is not a precious one and looks a bit rough, but he is concentrating on polishing it without any impatience.

More than an hour later.

The inkstone was finally polished. The leader picked it up and examined it while saying, "This piece of black stone is siliceous slate. There are a lot of wrinkles and nodules on its surface. It is rare to find a large piece of black stone that is smooth and flawless. It is very difficult to polish. In addition, it is not heat-resistant and will become brittle when exposed to sunlight..."

"If that's the case, why do we need to make it into an inkstone?"

Feng Qingyan was a little surprised.

At this moment, he was admiring the inkstone that had already been polished on the shelf.

The inkstones on the shelf are mainly simple and elegant in style, either blue-green, dark green, or pure ink.

It fits his aesthetic perfectly.

The leader smiled when he heard this, and poured some clean water into the inkstone, saying, "If you can polish it carefully, it can produce a black and shiny luster, with a quiet and moist luster that other inkstones do not have. Of course, if it is not polished meticulously by a craftsman, it will not become a good inkstone. No matter what kind of inkstone it is, only by spending as much time as possible and polishing it carefully and slowly can it present the best appearance."

Feng Qingyan nodded and picked up a sky-blue inkstone from the shelf to look at it.

"If you are not careful, this kind of black stone will be over-polished or the stone will break." The leader removed the water from the inkstone and started polishing again. "If you find cracks and defects, you must first remove the cracks and defects of the stone, and then gradually cut and peel off the wrinkled and raised layers."

"In this way, it will slowly become a round ball."

The leader examined the stone while polishing it, and from time to time he said, "The best part of an inkstone is the smooth core of the stone that is left."

"What I do is to make full use of this pure and simple stone core to dig inkstone stone."

"The original shape of the inkstone determines the shape of the inkstone."

At this moment, the leader took out the ink stick from his side, and began to grind it with even force and moderate speed, saying: "When you go to the mountain to select inkstones, you need to touch them carefully and knock them carefully to identify which one is a good inkstone. And when you grind, the inkstone will also make sounds, gradually revealing its inner shape. Only works that obey the heart of the inkstone can resonate in people's hearts..."

After a while, he washed the ink from the inkstone and touched it carefully with his fingertips, saying, "It takes about two to three days to polish an ordinary inkstone, depending on the size of the material."

"Two or three days?"

Feng Qingyan was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and asked in surprise: "Does it take so long?"

"Two or three days is a long time?" The leader suddenly smiled, shook his head and said, "When polishing an inkstone, the most taboo thing is to be impatient."

"What about polishing a Longyin inkstone?"

Feng Qingyan asked.

At this time, the leader washed the polished black inkstone, wiped off the moisture, and put it on the shelf beside him. He said, "The Longyin inkstone is famous for its solid, smooth, delicate and tender stone. The ink is not stagnant when grinding with the Longyin inkstone, and the ink is released quickly. The ink is smooth and can be written fluently without damaging the brush. The color of the handwriting does not change over time."

"Whether it is scorching summer or severe winter, if you press the center of the inkstone with your hand, it will turn deep blue and dark green, and the moisture will not dry for a long time, so there is a saying that you can grind ink by breathing on it."

At this moment, the leader took out a plain box from the shelf on the other side, opened it and saw a Dragon Yin Inkstone that was about six or seven inches in size.

There was a faint sound of dragon roaring.

He took out the Longyin inkstone and blew air onto the center of the inkstone, which immediately became moist.

"The Longyin Inkstone is indeed the best inkstone in the world." The leader sighed and couldn't let it go. "It takes at least ten days to polish such a Longyin Inkstone. Maybe other inkstones can be polished faster, but the Longyin Inkstone can't be polished faster..."

"More than ten days?"

Feng Qingyan was a little surprised. Wouldn't it take even longer to polish the three-meter-square Longyin Inkstone?

He doesn't have time to wait for three or five months.

"Longyin Stone is dense, solid, tender, delicate, and as warm as jade. It has the characteristics of being soft yet hard. It feels like a child's skin when pressed, and it makes no sound when rubbed. It can also store water without condensation..."

The leader was still sighing, and seemed very satisfied with the Longyin Inkstone he had polished.

"Master, how long does it take to polish a three-meter-long Longyin Inkstone?"

Feng Qingyan asked after a moment of hesitation.

"Is Feng Sheng really going to polish the three-meter-long Longyin Inkstone?"

The leader looked at Feng Qingyan, and he really couldn't understand why he had to polish a three-meter-long Longyin Inkstone. Isn't this a waste? After seeing Feng Qingyan nod, he didn't ask why he had to polish a three-meter-long Longyin Inkstone. He thought for a moment and said, "It will take at least a year."

"One year?"

Feng Qingyan was shocked.

He guessed it would only take three to five months, but it actually took a year.

"Urgent need for canonization?"

The leader was a little surprised, so he put away the Longyin Inkstone and put it back on the shelf.

"Of course the sooner the better."

Feng Qingyan Road.

"If you want to polish the Dragon Roar Inkstone to perfection, you really can't rush it. It requires the skill of water grinding." The leader shook his head, not thinking about why the canonization was urgent, and said: "It would be a pity if such a good Dragon Roar Stone was damaged."

"Master, what if you only polish the center of the inkstone?"

Feng Qingyan asked.

"Just polishing the center of the inkstone?"

The leader was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding.

“Just polish out a concave place that can hold ink, and there’s no need to polish the rest.” Feng Qingyan thought for a while and looked at the leader with some anticipation. After all, waiting for a year was a bit long.

"That's it-"

The leader frowned and thought, then said, "It's not impossible, but it will also take a month."

"Then just polish the center of the inkstone."

Feng Qingyan Road.

"Will you consider canonization?"

The leader's face was filled with regret when he heard this. After all, it was a three-meter square piece of top-quality Dragon Roar Stone, but it was only polished into one concave spot. Is this something that anyone can tolerate for casting an inkstone?
How can this showcase his exquisite craftsmanship?

Feng Qingyan could roughly guess what the leader was thinking. After all, he was a master of inkstone making. Who wouldn’t want to make a peerless inkstone?

"Please forgive me, Master."

Feng Qingyan bowed apologetically.

The leader smiled bitterly, said nothing more, and said: "Then let's start now."

Feng Qingyan looked around, and although he didn't say anything, his meaning was very clear. This inkstone room was too small to accommodate his three-meter-long Dragon Roar Stone.

The leader smiled, walked out of the inkstone room, came to an open courtyard, and said, "Let's do it here."

Feng Qingyan nodded and released the three-meter-long Dragon Roar Stone.

When the leader saw the three-meter-high Dragon Roaring Stone again, he was still amazed and suddenly felt a little regretful.

Such a fine Dragon Roar Stone, but only one concave spot was polished out?
He really couldn't stand it.

He is heartbroken!
At this moment, he looked at Feng Qingyan eagerly and said, "Feng Sheng, this is a rare and top-grade Dragon Roar Stone that is only available for a thousand years. Can you really bear to only polish a concave part? This way..."

Feng Qingyan couldn't stand the leader's gaze, so he changed his words and said, "Then, half a year."

"Half a year?"

The leader's eyes lit up, and his mood improved immediately. He said, "Canonization, it's settled then."

"Uh……"

Feng Qingyan immediately realized that he seemed to have been fooled, and said, "Half a year."

"Half a year..."

The leader stared at the Dragon Roar Stone, and many plans emerged in his mind, but he felt that there was still not enough time.

At this moment, he walked around the Dragon Roar Stone, observing and analyzing it carefully.

What should it look like?
At this time, his mind was all on the Dragon Roar Stone, and he didn't know when Feng Qingyan would leave. Although he designed a few good designs after several hours, he was still not satisfied. After all, it was a three-meter-high top-grade Dragon Roar Stone, and it should be perfect.

There must not be any flaws.

Half a year is still not enough, unless a few people join forces...

In front of the Dragon Roar Stone, the leader thought about it and finally decided to work together to polish the Dragon Roar Stone. After all, a perfect Dragon Roar Inkstone is always better than an unfinished one.

At this moment, he called over the Grand Marshal, the Young Master of Etiquette and the Master of Shuyi Mountain with great heartache.

These three people are all masters of inkstone casting in Confucianism.

The three were a little surprised when they received the letter and hurried to the leader's courtyard.

The three men met in front of the yard and were even more surprised, wondering why the leader had summoned them.

The Grand Marshal is an old man who looks very kind. He is Helian Shan’s grandfather.

Shao Lizhu was middle-aged, with a stern face and looked very majestic.

The owner of Shuyi Mountain also has the image of an old man.

"Come in, I'm in Yanyuan."

The leader said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately walked towards Yanyuan.

Before they reached the Inkstone Courtyard, they heard bursts of dragon roars and were all surprised.

"Dragon Roar Stone?"

The master of Shuyi Mountain was delighted and quickened his pace.

The Grand Marshal and the Young Master of Ceremonies also walked over quickly. When the three of them entered the Inkstone Courtyard and saw a three-meter-tall Dragon Roar Stone, they were immediately stunned.

The dragon roars and the dragons soar into the sky.

It took them several breaths to come back to their senses.

"There are actually such top-grade Dragon Roar Stones in this world?" Da Sikong was shocked. He walked forward quickly and looked up at the circling dragons. "There are at least three hundred fog dragons. It's unimaginable."

"Three feet square, rarely seen in a thousand years!"

The main road of Shuyi Mountain.

Although Master Shaoli remained silent, he was also shocked by the Dragon Roar Stone.

Although many people already knew that Feng Qingyan had come to the holy land, only the Great Benevolent Lord, the Great Righteous Lord, the Great Etiquette Lord, Wu Mo and the leader knew about the Dragon Roar Stone.

At this moment, when they saw the three-meter-high Dragon Roar Stone, they were naturally shocked.

"Master, where can we find such a top-quality Dragon Roar Stone?"

The owner of Shuyi Mountain asked curiously.

The Grand Marshal and the Young Master of Ceremonies both looked over curiously.

"This Dragon Roar Stone was found by Feng Sheng." The leader retracted his gaze and said, "However, Feng Sheng wants to polish this Dragon Roar Stone into a Dragon Roar Inkstone, but he only has half a year. So, he summoned you all to come here to polish the Dragon Roar Stone together and make a perfect Dragon Roar Inkstone."

"Only one Dragon Roar Inkstone?" Shao Lizhu frowned and said, "Master, this Dragon Roar Stone is three meters square. How many Dragon Roar Inkstones can be made?"

"That's right. Why would Canonization need such a large inkstone?"

Da Sikong was puzzled.

"Canonization is pure nonsense."

The Master of Shuyi Mountain scolded.

"This is the Dragon Roar Stone for canonization. Canonization can do whatever it wants."

The leader said.

The three of them just frowned and said nothing more.

However, they still couldn't figure out why a three-meter square Dragon Roar Stone could be used only as an inkstone?
Why would such a top-quality Dragon Roar Stone be wasted like this?
"Master, are you really only going to make one inkstone?" Da Sikong was silent for a while and said, "Don't you want to persuade me? If you only make dozens of them, I can understand, but one..."

“This is such a waste of resources!”

The Master of Shuyi Mountain said with a sad heart.

"Where is the canonization? I will go and find the canonization counselor."

Shaoli Master Dao.

The leader frowned and said, "Only one inkstone was made for the canonization. There must be a reason for the canonization."

"Ok."

Da Sikong said helplessly.

"Ugh--"

The master of Shuyi Mountain sighed and said that this was such a waste of treasures.

"I know you are heartbroken, but Feng Sheng can only make one inkstone. If Feng Sheng could change his mind, he would have changed it long ago. Moreover, Feng Sheng must have his reasons. We only need to polish a perfect inkstone."

The leader said.

"What else can we do?" said the Master of Shuyi Mountain.

But then, the four of them began to argue about what style the three-meter-long Dragon Roar Stone should be made into.

All four of them are masters of inkstone making, and each has his own style.

Since everyone is personally involved in making the inkstone, they naturally want to polish it according to their own style and favorite design...

E.g.

Shao Li mainly made the three-meter-long Dragon Roar Stone into a tripod-shaped inkstone.

The Dasikong is designed in the style of a small bridge and flowing water, and the dragon-singing stone is hollowed out, which has a sense of the artistic conception of a water-moon cave. The Shuyishanzhu is polished into the shape of a book mountain, and several small inkstones are opened on the main inkstone...

Naturally, the simpler and plainer the leader's appearance is, the better.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

None of the four could convince the other four, and each insisted on his own style and design.

At this moment, the leader suddenly felt a little regretful.

"no!"

In the inkstone courtyard, Da Sikong shouted loudly, "Have you ever seen a tripod-shaped inkstone? A tripod-shaped inkstone is not suitable for grinding ink for writing. It's simply nonsense!"

"Humph! Your little bridge over flowing water, and the moonlit cave are just nonsense!"

Shao Lizhu scolded with a sullen face.

"Haha, I don't know what's going on in your heads? You still have the nerve to call yourself an inkstone maker?" The owner of the calligraphy mountain sneered, "You don't have any aesthetic sense at all, and you have designed some messed-up designs? Take a look at my 'Shushan Youlu'..."

"Oh, you are so shameless. What do you mean by a path in the Book Mountain? If you carve the Dragon Roar Stone into pits and holes, then you have a path in the Book Mountain?"

Da Sikong glared angrily.

The leader looked up at the sky in silence and really wanted to drive them out.

We have been arguing for two days, and we haven't yet come up with a solution that everyone agrees on. If we continue to argue like this, we won't be able to complete it in a year, let alone half a year.

Soon, the leader had to use his power to force them to obey.

But the three of them were dissatisfied and sneered at the leader.

strike!

……

Thanks to “cn590” for the reward!

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(End of this chapter)