Liuyong is an official in Beijing, but he is not from old Beijing. His hometown is Shandong, and there is a master Fu in the kitchen, also called Liu. This year, a relative came to my hometown, surnamed Wang, who is in his forties. Everyone calls him. He settled in Beijing after his father became an official, so he was the housekeeper of the family. Most of the policemen were brought from their hometown in Shandong. Lao Wang Shan, a native of Heze County, Shandong Province, thought of Master Liu in Beijing because of the bad years in his hometown, so he came to defect. Master Liu lives alone in the Liu family's next room, and Lao Wang defected to him to live in the next room and help with some chores.
Once, Lao Wang helped knead steamed bread and became interested in it. He kneaded the steamed bread into various shapes according to the habit of Shandong people for the New Year. To say that Lao Wang's hand is really clever enough, a lump of dough is pinched in his hand, some become peaches and some become flowers. He pressed and picked on the kneaded dough with a small wooden comb, then made a small fish and a butterfly. When the pot was steamed, the shape remained unchanged, and it was served on the dining table, which attracted the Liu family to take a closer look in their hands. I watched the scene again and again, but I couldn't bear to eat it. Liu Yong also felt interesting, so he asked who did it, and of course he couldn't help but praise it.
Master Liu went back and told Lao Wang in detail. When Lao Wang heard Liu Adults praise him, he was even more energetic and wanted to shine again. He found some glutinous rice flour and refined rice flour, steamed them and kneaded them into girls, boys, chickens and dogs. And found rouge and dyes to add some color to these gadgets. In this way, he saw more, and Lao Wang asked Master Liu to distribute it to Liu's wife, which attracted everyone's praise. It happened that Liu Yong saw them again, and when his interest came, he let them go. Old James Wang was so wonderful that he followed Master Liu to the building. Liu Yong asked him how he learned this skill. Lao Wang replied: "Our hometown is poor. Every family should walk around each other during the Chinese New Year. We must bring some gifts! But where can I buy a heart? I just knead the noodles into various things and steam them as gifts. That's for children. I learned it from others. " Liu Yong asked him, "Why is it made of glutinous rice flour?" Lao Wang replied, "Old man, you always know that this glutinous rice flour doesn't like bad. Just make things for children and let them play for a while! " Liu Yong nodded and said, "Well, it's very thoughtful of you. Will you pinch anything else? " Lao Wang replied, "I will use some tricks." I wonder what the boss likes? " Liu Yong pointed to the Eight Immortals Shou Xingtu hanging on the wall and said, "Can you pinch the words on it?" Lao Wang carefully looked at the characters in the painting, nodded and said, "You can try."
Lao Wang said goodbye to liuyong and went back to the next room. He squeezed carefully for two or three days and really squeezed out eight words. Liu Tang looked at it, hey! Very energetic, he said happily, "Lao Wang, don't you want to find a business?" I think you should take this matter seriously. If you do it, you can make money by selling it at the temple fair on the street! "Lao Wang asked in surprise," can this also be sold? " Liu Yonghao nodded and said, "You can try, but I will give you some ideas to make the dough more delicate." He told Lao Wang that honey could be added to noodles in order to preserve them for a long time. He also asked Lao Wang to mix noodles with water of various pigments, and then steam them separately, so that the noodles themselves have color, which may be much better than kneading noodles.
This sentence opened Lao Wang's mind and made him bow and scrape to liuyong with joy. When Lao Wang returned to the next room, he did it according to Liu Yong's method. He practiced hard for a while, wondering how to make the characters more like. He also tried to make several tools, such as a round dial made of bamboo, a flat dial, various iron scissors and so on. With convenient tools, work is much more convenient. In less than a month, Lao Wang's skills have been greatly improved. He pinched a set of five colors and eight immortals and gave them to Liu Yong on a plate. This time, it is very different from the Eight Immortals who were caught last time. The eight-character face is clear, with different expressions and various colors, which is even more vivid. The steamed glutinous rice flour itself glows, and with honey, it is almost translucent. The Eight Immortals are better than the tooth carving and jade carving.
Liu Yong picked up the noodle machine and studied it for a long time. He repeatedly boasted: "Good, good, wonderful!" Suddenly he remembered something, and soon the emperor's birthday came again. In previous years, when the emperor celebrated his birthday, ministers presented birthday gifts one after another. A flower was tens of thousands of pieces of silver. Liu Yong is very upset about this. He thought, why don't I use face-to-face as a birthday present this time? It looks good and saves money. So he said to Lao Wang, "I want to use your craft." Can you make these eight immortals bigger? " "Boss, how old do you say?" Lao Wang asked. Liu Tang gestured with his hand: "It is enough to have a ruler to support the height." "Well, I'll try." Lao Wang went back to knead. It was really squeezed out after three days. It was a birthday girl. Well, nine dough figurines filled a big table, and it looked really beautiful. Liu Yong was very happy and told Lao Wang the good news and made him famous in the future.
On Emperor Qianlong's birthday, Liu Yong ordered people to prepare a big box with red paint and gold, put nine dough figurines in it one by one, cover it with a piece of red silk, and two families carried it straight to the palace.
At this time, the palace was already full of drums and music, and it was very lively. Gan Long ascended the throne and was bowed down by the royal family, nobles and ministers of civil and military affairs. The birthday hall was filled with gifts.
Liu Yong was seen coming to the temple from a distance. Behind him, two family members are carrying a big box. Everyone present is thinking; In previous years, Liu Yong's birthday presents were very dreamy. I don't know how he spent this year, but I have to have a good look.
Liu Yong came to Ganlong to offer birthday felicitations. Gan Long asked, "What gift did you bring me? . Liu Yong smiled and replied: "This year's birthday present is very different from the past. Long live. " He turned and ordered his family to put the trunk next to it, and then took it out one by one and put it on the table. Everyone present was stunned. The Nine Immortals were dazzled and drowned all the gifts. People can't help wondering: where did Liu Yong get the money to buy such valuable things?
I couldn't help asking, "Liu, how much did you spend on these things?" Liu Yong smiled and held out a slap. Gan Long said, "Oh, 5,200!" Lu Yong shook his head. "Is it fifty-two thousand?" Liu Yong shook his head again. "How much did it cost?" Liu Yong said word for word: "White-silver-five-two."
"Ah?" Everyone froze again, shaking their heads in disbelief. Gan Long didn't believe it either, and asked, "But really? You can't fool Lian. " "Of course there will be no false. How dare I play with long live the grandfather? " Qianlong said, "Is this birthday present made of jade or carved with teeth?" Liu Yong shook his head and said, "No, this is made of flour." People don't believe it even more. Liu Yong stretched out his hand and said, "If you don't believe it, please go to the front and have a closer look."
Gan Long looked at it curiously. It really didn't look like jade carving or tooth carving. I can't help reaching for one. Well, it's quite light and soft. It's really pinched. He turned to Liu Yong and said, "Who did this? The craftsmanship is really high! " Liu Yong answered; "It's a villager named Wang." Gan Long said with a smile: "Your Shandong government is really capable!" Liu Yong saluted: "Thank you for your compliment." Gan Long added, "You really have a way. You can buy so many gifts for five taels of silver. I can't let you spend money, I'll pay you back! " Said ha ha laugh. The gift has been paid and Qianlong has returned to the harem.
As soon as Qianlong left, the king's relatives, nobles and ministers swarmed face to face and praised him in succession. There is a Xu who wants to give my mother a birthday present. You have to pay a lot of money for a set of eight immortals.
Liu Yong returned to the mansion, called Lao Wang and said, "You can say that the trumpet blows through the wall-it's famous. Now someone has offered to buy your Eight Immortals. I'll give you the twelve taels of silver I just got from Long Live the Grandpa. You can rent a house outside and do business boldly. "
Lao Wang was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed to thank Liu Yong. After he got here, he really began to work. It took the government and the government a long time to find him and let him knead the dough.
People say that Lao Wang drank sharpening water-inner show. Besides pinching the Eight Immortals, he also came up with many figures, such as the Monkey King, Pig Bajie, Guan Gong and Zhang Fei. The more tricks he pinched, the more skilled he became. If someone wants some, he will pinch it at home. In his spare time, he will prepare a small wooden box and a small square stool to knead in the street. "He is not greedy for money, he will sell it if he gives some money, and he will be satisfied if he earns it. After a long time, I saved some money and came to Beijing to live with my wife and children from my hometown. In the long run, Lao Wang will be old when he is old. In order to keep his craft from drying up and leave a rice bowl for his children, he passed on his craft to his son, and also brought some children of poor villagers from his hometown as apprentices. The skill of kneading dough has been handed down from generation to generation in Beijing.