Chapter 242 Don’t Wait, Don’t Rely, Rely on Your Own Efforts

Qin Hao asked around in the market. Timber and other things were easy to make, but the key was sponges and springs, especially springs. In the late 1960s, the industrial system in the mainland was not developed, and the steel output was only 500 million tons. The shortage of steel has even set off a wave of iron-making among the people.

Even though a small spring may seem inconspicuous, it actually requires a fairly mature industrial base to produce it. Coupled with the national steel shortage, the output is even less and it is difficult to find it on the market.

Just when Qin Hao was at his wits' end and ready to go home, he suddenly saw an old man collecting rags, shouting and walking past, and his eyes lit up.

"Uncle, I want to ask you something, where is this scrap collection station?"

The uncle looked at Qin Hao suspiciously for a while: "What's wrong, man? Are you planning to do this?"

"Hey, do you think I'm trying to steal business from you?" Qin Hao said with a smile.

The old man thought about it and said, "How can you young people think so much of this shabby business? Okay, I'll point it out to you. You can keep walking along this way."

Qin Hao followed the directions given by his uncle and finally found the scrap collection station in a corner.

As soon as I entered, I saw a dazzling array of old goods, such as old books, newspapers, shabby furniture, and some old-looking porcelain and bronzes, just piled casually in the corner.

Qin Hao didn't know much about the others, but there was a Song Dynasty Jun kiln rose and purple begonia flowerpot. If it were kept in future generations, it would definitely be a priceless treasure.

"Hey, little comrade, why are you doing this for so long?" A tall and thin man shouted to Qin Hao.

Qin Hao then looked away, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one to the other party: "Comrade, I want to ask, do you sell all these scraps?"

"Hey, Xiangshan, this is a good thing." As soon as the other party saw the cigarette box, his eyes lit up, he took it with a smile, and his tone softened a lot.

"Young comrade, you have taken a fancy to these antiques. Don't make up your mind. They are all there. Don't look at it. We are just a scrap collection station. It is also owned by the public. If one is missing, the superiors will be held accountable. If there is one who is speculative, he will be held accountable." With the hat off, who can bear it?"

Qin Hao didn't feel any regrets at all. Although antiques brought in money quickly, water from a distance could not quench the thirst for nearness. After the real change, he would have many ways to make money.

"I misunderstood, brother, I am actually a carpenter's apprentice. I wanted to get some scrap furniture to practice my skills, but I can't afford new materials, so I can only try my luck here."

The other party looked at Qin Hao suspiciously. Qin Hao knew that the other party felt that he didn't look like a carpenter because he was dressed like a big boy.

"Didn't my dad go in? Now I'm the only one left in the family. I have to learn some skills to support myself." Qin Hao said this, which is not a lie.

"So that's the case. It's hard for you." The other party didn't doubt it. He had seen a lot of this kind of thing these days.

"However, everything we collect here is counted and cannot be given to private individuals."

The scrap collection station is connected to various state-owned enterprises. For example, scrap copper and scrap iron will be handed over to the smelting plant for re-smelting. These are public properties, and they will be held responsible for their loss.

Qin Hao directly slapped a pack of Xiangshan brand cigarettes into the opponent's hand, and the opponent quietly put it into his pocket, and then whispered to Qin Hao.

"Well, it's not that there is no room for manipulation. Don't you have skills? I can talk to our director and let you repair these worn-out furniture. As for the materials, it is normal for there to be some wear and tear. "

Qin Hao's eyes lit up: "Then I'll leave it to my eldest brother. I'll be rewarded when the job is done."

"Hey, no matter how polite you are, we are all our own people."

Not to mention that money can make all the difference, even people in the 1960s cannot withstand the corruption of these sugar-coated bombs.

After talking to Qin Hao, he found out that this person's name was Liu Yu, and he was a temporary worker at the scrap collection station. It was hard to find a job these days. Although the job was not respectable and there was no establishment, it was Liu Yu's parents who spent a lot of effort to get him in. of.

In fact, at this stage, social problems are already obvious. A large number of young people cannot find jobs in the city and are wandering around idle, which has put great pressure on social security.

Liu Yu quickly took Qin Hao to meet the director here. When the director heard that Qin Hao knew how to break furniture, he asked.

"Can you hit the sofa?"

Qin Hao nodded: "As long as we have the materials, no problem. Do you want American or European style?"

"Hey, your tone is not small, you can do it?" Director Li looked at Qin Hao with a smile.

Qin Hao said calmly: "I dare not say anything else. This skill is definitely impressive."

Facing Director Li's gaze, Liu Yu could only smile. Qin Hao had just said that he was a carpenter's apprentice. Who would have thought that he would boast such a great thing? Now he wanted to slap himself twice. How could he be so greedy? What about a pack of cigarettes?

"Okay, then you can use these materials to make an American sofa and see!"

In fact, Director Li doesn't have much hope for Qin Hao. For a young man like Qin Hao, even if he learned from his master when he was very young, he is still an apprentice at most. The sofa is not as good as Chinese furniture, as long as it is not four It can be used as long as the legs are the same length.

The craftsmanship of the sofa is much more complicated. Making the frame, ordering the elastic bands, cutting the sponge, installing the springs, and sewing the outer leather cover are all manual tasks that even a master craftsman may not be able to do well.

Qin Hao didn't waste any more nonsense. He directly asked Liu Yu for tools and started looking for suitable materials in the pile of scrap furniture.

Seeing Qin Hao's neat dismantling movements, Director Li had some expectations for him.

Qin Hao first used a saw to cut the wood into the required length, and then fixed it one by one with nails. Then he removed elastic bands, sponges and springs from the old sofa.

After working for more than two hours, a classic three-person American sofa was completed. The only flaw was that the leather of the coat was old. If it were replaced with a new set of leather, no one would be able to guess that it was from a new set. It was pieced together from a pile of junk.

"Okay, that's great. Xiao Qin, your skills are definitely like this." Director Li sat on it and tried it. After experiencing it, he gave Qin Hao a thumbs up.

Qin Hao lightly patted the dust on his body: "It's okay."

Director Li whispered to Qin Hao: "Xiao Qin, can you help me get a set of thirty-six legs? My son is getting married next month."

Thirty-six legs are actually a set of furniture, including a bed, a three-door cupboard, a chest of drawers, a dressing table, a sofa, the Eight Immortals table and four stools, which add up to a total of thirty-six legs.

Those who could gather thirty-six legs in the 1960s were definitely from a wealthy family, and they were even more powerful than the later Three Turns and One Ring.

Qin Hao looked at the pile of scrap furniture with difficulty: "But this material is not enough."

Director Li waved his hands repeatedly: "Hey, my son can't use old ones when he gets married. All the materials are new. I've prepared them all, but I can't find a master with good skills."

These days, everyone with skills has joined the factory. A big project like thirty-six legs is urgent and it is really difficult to find a master to do it.

“What kind of old furniture is this?”

Director Li was also very wise and waved his hand: "You are so awesome, it's just some junk, but let's agree first that you can't sell it anywhere. If you are caught, I will..."

Qin Hao patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, I will never sell it. I just want to exchange it for some industrial tickets or something."

"That's good, that's good, Master Xiao Qin, when do you think we should start?" Director Li was also very anxious. There are not many days left until next month. If he delays his son's wedding, he will definitely be blamed when he goes back.

"As long as the materials are in place, it can be done at any time." Qin Hao said to Director Li in a low voice.

"Director Li, these springs and sponges are not easy to get. Where did you get them?"

Director Li sent Liu Yu away a long time ago. He looked around and saw that no one was around, and then said to Qin Hao: "I also dragged on the relationship and found a big boy named Li Yuanchao. This guy is wild."

Li Yuanchao is currently the leader among the disciples of the Great Courtyard. Because he is loyal, good at dancing, and a bit like Song Gongming in time, he is admired by the disciples of the Great Courtyard.

"It turned out to be him."

Director Li asked curiously: "Xiao Qin, do you know Li Yuanchao?"

"I've heard that their compound is not far from our compound." Qin Hao said pointedly.

Director Li became even more polite to Qin Hao when he heard that Qin Hao was also a disciple of the big courtyard.

In the afternoon, Director Li sent the materials to Qin Hao's compound. Qin Hao just used this pile of things to promote his skills and immediately started making furniture.

"Hey, Xiao Qin, what are you doing with all your sawing and chiseling?" Uncle Jin next door is a warm-hearted man who also likes to watch the excitement.

Qin Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled: "Uncle Jin, what do you think I am doing?"

Uncle Jin turned around with his hands behind his back: "It looks decent. Are you planning to learn to be a carpenter?"

"almost."

"Okay, it's good to learn a craft. If you have many skills, it won't overwhelm you. There will always be times when it comes in handy."

After saying that, Uncle Jin went for a walk, chatting with the neighbors nearby, saying that Qin Hao was learning carpentry and was much better than those idle bad boys.

Qin Hao didn't know that he had become someone else's child inexplicably. He had been busy all afternoon. Seeing the sun going down, the courtyard became lively.

When Zhou Xiaobai came back pushing his bicycle, he saw Qin Hao sweeping up sawdust and stepped forward curiously.

"Brother Qin, did you do all this?"

Qin Hao put the sawdust into a bucket. In the 1960s, urban residents mainly burned briquettes and briquettes, and rural areas still burned firewood. These are good materials for igniting fires.

"What do you think?"

Zhou Xiaobai tightened his red scarf and asked curiously: "Brother Qin, when did you learn this craft? This set of Eight Immortals tables and chairs looks so exquisite."

It’s no wonder that Zhou Xiaobai thinks it’s exquisite. Not a single nail was used in the set of Eight Immortals tables and chairs made by Qin Hao. It uses a traditional mortise and tenon structure, which is not only more beautiful, but also more durable than nails and screws.

Many high-end furniture in later generations use this as a selling point, but these furniture brands are all foreign brands without exception. On the contrary, domestic furniture rarely uses mortise and tenon structures.

"It's not bad. I just learned it recently. Let's try this." Qin Hao said.

Zhou Xiaobai was speechless and said: "Is it a good practice to do this well?"

The onlookers watched Qin Hao's craftsmanship and couldn't help but come forward.

"Xiao Qin, are you beating thirty-six legs?"

Qin Hao didn't hide it. He was counting on the neighbors to help promote it: "Well, an elder's son is getting married, and he asked me to help with it."

After saying this, someone got interested.

"Then Xiao Qin, can you also help our family make a plan? We will pay whatever amount he gives."

Qin Hao shook his head when he heard this: "Aunt Zeng, aren't you a slap in the face? As we are neighbors in the street, how can I accept your money? Besides, this is not speculation."

Aunt Zeng smiled like Maitreya Buddha when she heard this. She was about to speak, but heard Qin Hao say it again.

"But you also know that my dad is not at home now. I can only receive some food allowance every month. If you have extra food or industrial stamps at home, please help me."

Everyone thought it was reasonable when they heard it. After all, you can't let people do it for nothing.

"Okay, it's settled then. My son is about to get married. When will you be free?" Aunt Zeng said boldly, patting her chest.

Everyone congratulated themselves, and some people were interested in asking Qin Hao to help build furniture, the most common of which was sofas. After all, there were too few carpenters who could make sofas these days, and this was a scarce resource.

Seeing that everyone was about to start a fight, Qin Hao quickly tried to persuade him: "Everyone, don't worry, it's still a long time. Let's come one by one. We all have to prepare materials first, right?"

Even the people who live in the compound are not all in high positions. If you want to get materials, you have to rely on connections to find people, and the time can always be staggered.

Everyone thought it made sense when they heard it. After watching the excitement for a while, they went home to cook.

After Zhou Xiaobai returned home, he told Qin Hao the news about learning to be a carpenter, and Zhou's father nodded appreciatively.

"Xiao Qin is good. He doesn't rely on others, doesn't grieve or complain, and seeks his own way out. With this kind of spirit, no matter what kind of difficulties he may face in the future, he won't be able to trouble him."

Mother Zhou looked at her daughter with a smile: "Xiao Bai, tell mom honestly, do you like Xiao Qin?"

Zhou Xiaobai lowered his head shyly, pretended to take off his red scarf, and coquettishly grabbed his mother's arm: "Mom~~~"

Mother Zhou patted her hand: "Xiaobai, mom doesn't object to your falling in love, but there's one thing you can't hide from us. You have to report to us no matter how far it goes!"

"Oh Mom, I haven't even written these horoscopes yet. What are you talking about? I'm ignoring you." Zhou Xiaobai ran away under the gaze of his parents.

Soon, the name of "Carpenter Qin" spread around the area, and people came to him almost every day to make customized furniture. The main reason was that the output of furniture factories was low these days, and the price of finished furniture was not only high, but also required receipts. Most people They all like to buy their own materials and hire people to make furniture.

Moreover, Qin Hao's charges are low and his craftsmanship is unparalleled. People naturally have no resistance to high-quality and cheap things.

Now Qin Hao can make three or four pieces of furniture every day. Some are given to food, some to industrial rolls, and some directly give Qin Hao an old hen and stew a pot of old chicken soup, filling the courtyard with fragrance.