Ang Lee looked at these children playing happily and suddenly recalled his childhood memories in another era. In that ordinary village, Ang Lee had too many memories.
The memory of cutting trees was more profound. In every winter, there would always be people in the small village who would cut down trees. It was the same every year. There was no year where there was an accident.
The purpose of cutting trees was nothing more than building houses, making furniture, making farm tool handles, selling them directly, or other purposes. Ang Lee couldn't remember anyway.
In that era where the economy wasn't developed enough, the villagers couldn't live without trees. Every family would plant some trees in the front and back of the house. After a few years, they would cut down the trees and make them into their own furniture.
In Ang Lee's memory, his family had several experiences of cutting trees. White poplar, big willow, and locust tree. He couldn't remember anything else.
After cutting the trees, his family's uncles would use a flatbed cart to transport the trunks to the market. They would spend some money on craftsmanship and let the sawmill help to saw the cylindrical trunks into thin rectangular planks.
After these long planks were transported back, they could be used as the roof panels of the house or used to make furniture. Of course, they had to hire a carpenter. Someone in his family who knew carpentry was also fine.
In the house where Ang Lee lived when he was a child, the thin planks that could be seen directly above his head were the materials made by cutting trees at home.
Similarly, the desk, all the beds, washbasin racks, big tables, small tables, benches, and other furniture at home were all made from the trees at home.
Although these pieces of furniture were very ordinary and even a little ugly, and there were many broken parts, they were more practical and functional. The only flaw was that they were too ugly.
With the development of the times, after Ang Lee left his hometown, all the furniture he used became combination furniture. The quality was much better than in his hometown, and it looked very high-end. But Ang Lee didn't know why, but he suddenly began to miss the broken furniture of his childhood. Although these furniture were not good, they were all made from the trees at home. All the furniture was full of feelings, and he could absolutely rest assured.
There was no way to know what kind of composite materials were used to assemble the furniture, or where the wood came from. There was once a villager who said that the wood used to assemble the furniture was made from coffin wood that was washed out of the soil. It was not clean.
Ever since there was this saying, the people in the village all used their own wood in order to be at ease. It was also feasible to invite skilled carpenters to make combination furniture. This had spurred some craftsmen who specialized in making combination furniture for people.
The most reassuring thing was to personally watch the carpenters turn the trees into furniture. However, this was what the adults thought and had nothing to do with the children.
The children cared more about playing. Every year, as long as a family wanted to cut down trees, all the children in the village would gather and watch with interest as the adults cut down trees. They would even run close to the trees despite the danger.
Under such circumstances, the adults would always unceremoniously reprimand, or even scold them loudly, to make the onlooking children scram further away to prevent the trees from suddenly falling down and injuring the children.
The children were always very thick-skinned. No matter how harsh the words of the adults were, they would always laugh and play around nearby, not caring about the danger that might appear at any time.
Ang Lee's skin was the thinnest. He never got too close to the trees that were about to be cut down. He always stayed in the distance to observe, patiently waiting for the moment when the trees fell down.
As long as the trees fell down, the children would rush up and run over to play, picking the parts that they were interested in. As long as they did not destroy the thickest trunk, the owners would not care about the branches that were thinner than their arms. They would just give them to the children to play with.
If they were in a hurry, the owners would drive the children away and ask them to scram. As long as they were not in a hurry, they would let the people cutting down the trees take a good rest first. When the children's interest was over, they would cut down the side branches of the trunk, take the trunk out, and transport it home for storage. The side branches were not very useful. Generally, they would temporarily leave them where they were and come back to pick them up when they were free.
There were many kinds of trees that were cut down. Among them, there were more poplar trees, willow trees, and locust trees. The children were most interested in willow trees because the side branches of willow trees were always curved. In addition to the main trunk, which had the aptitude to make furniture, the side branches were almost all the goods at the bottom of the pot. After the owners sawed down the main trunk with a hacksaw, the remaining parts were often left where they were, and the remaining parts were also very large. Many children who did not know how to climb trees would climb on the side branches. Their hands grabbed the high branches and their feet kept moving around, feeling the pleasure of shaking and hoping to get other children down.
When Ang Lee was too young, when he played on the willow tree, he would always be shaken off by the older children. He even scratched his face. When he grew older, he would shake off other children, causing the adults to come to the door to settle accounts. Then, he would inevitably be scolded.
These beautiful memories were really too interesting. When he had nothing to do, it was still a very happy thing to think about it.
After the villagers cut down the first tree, they were not in a hurry to clean up the side branches. Instead, they went to cut down the next tree. This was the most efficient way, and it was not easy to cause idleness.
For example, a group of five people would first cut down five trees. Then, each of the five people would be responsible for cleaning up the side branches of a tree. This way, the efficiency of labor could be maximized.
Even if it was a large logging company, it was impossible to cut down one tree and clean it up. They would cut down many trees consecutively, and then clean up the side branches at the end.
"These brats climbed up the tree. They are really troublesome."
When the subordinate saw these children climb up the fallen tree trunk, he helplessly shook his head.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "This official dares to bet that you will soon hear the sound of children crying. Do you believe it?"
As soon as his voice fell, a child who was only four or five years old fell from a high place, crying non-stop. This so-called high place was less than two meters. How high could the side branches be? However, falling from a height of two meters was not light. The pain was naturally not fake.
"Hahahaha! There really is a child crying. Assistant Minister Li is really amazing. "
The subordinate excitedly praised.
Ang Lee looked up and saw an adult villager walk over. He quickly pulled up the crying child. Seeing that the child was not seriously injured, he angrily scolded a few words. Then, he kicked the child's butt. Naturally, the child cried even louder.
The remaining children were not affected at all. They were still standing on the side branches, constantly shaking the branches, causing the whole tree to make rustling sounds.
Li An was a little envious. He wanted to play with it himself and recall the fun of his childhood. However, he could only imagine it in his mind. If he really played with it, he would be laughed at. How could an adult be so bored as to shake a tree branch? Unless it was a pervert like Old Urchin.
Ang Lee could not accurately tell the quality of the big tree lying down. There were too many kinds of trees in the world. Ang Lee could not know all of them. It was normal to encounter trees that he did not know. However, at first glance, he knew that it was a high-quality tree. It was completely enough to make an arrow tower. It was even a bit of a waste.
However, the Tang dynasty was not short of money now, so it was completely feasible to use high-quality wood. Moreover, the arrow towers were temporary. As long as the remaining pirates were completely eliminated, these arrow towers would be demolished. At that time, these wood could be used for other purposes. Therefore, there was actually no problem of waste.
"Assistant Minister Li, be careful."
After approaching, a child pulled the branch hard, trying to get the part he wanted. The broken branch rushed to Ang Lee's face. However, at a certain distance, in fact, it would not touch Ang Lee. The subordinate just said that out of concern.
"This child wants to get a three-pronged branch. I guess he wants to make a slingshot."
Ang Lee guessed.
The subordinate nodded and looked at these children who were looking for treasures.
Sure enough, after taking down the three-pronged branch, the child began to make a slingshot. He made a slingshot, but he did not know how effective it was and whether it could hit birds.
Since the emergence of the slingshot, its role had been to shoot birds. Because of the limitation of its power, it could not be used in the military field. Only powerful and high-precision weapons such as bows and crossbows could be developed into weapons. Slingshots also had the advantage of being able to pick up small stones on the ground at will. They did not need to spend too much money to make arrows. It was most suitable for playing or shooting birds on the treetops. Therefore, it had become a toy for many children when they were young.
Children liked to learn one by one. When a child made a slingshot with a branch, the other children naturally did not want to be outdone. They followed suit and wanted to make the same slingshot. Otherwise, they would be unhappy.
Some children already had a slingshot, some had just made one, and the rest of the children who did not have a slingshot were also looking for materials to make a slingshot that they were satisfied with.
There are many places where branches have forks. Logically speaking, a fallen tree is more than enough to make dozens of slingshots. However, not all branches are suitable for making slingshots or can be easily made.
Some branches are too thick and children can't break them at all. Even if they are sawed off with a tool, after making it, it will be too big to hold in the hand. It is very inconvenient to carry. Some branches have too big or too small angles, making the slingshot not easy to use.
There are also branches with different thicknesses. When pulling, it is very easy to bear uneven force, causing the slingshot to be unusable. Very thin branches do not have enough strength and the slingshot's striking distance is too short. It is also very easy to break.
In short, there seem to be a lot of materials to make a slingshot, but there are very few perfect slingshot materials. It is already very lucky to find a few satisfactory branch materials from a fallen tree trunk.
Because good branches are a scarce resource, it will inevitably cause children to fight for them. Everyone wants the branch they get to be the best one.
Soon, the fight began. A child took a fancy to a branch. Just as he wanted to pull it hard, the child next to him pushed him away. Then, he shouted and tried to pull it hard. The child who was bullied certainly would not be convinced. He immediately rushed up to fight for it. Then, the situation immediately got out of control. The two people wrestled together and rolled on the ground.
The adults next to them did not interfere. Perhaps because these two children were not theirs, they did not know who to help and did not want to meddle in other people's business. In other words, they were already accustomed to the fights between children. They had a feeling that it was not strange. They didn't even want to look at it.
Ang Lee is an outsider, so he has no reason to interfere with the children's fight. If he is said to be biased, it will be troublesome.
"Do you think this tall person can win, or this short person can win?"
Ang Lee did not stop the fight and stepped back to appreciate it.
"This subordinate thinks that the tall person has an advantage. He will definitely win."
One of the subordinates said.
Another subordinate objected: "The short one is stronger than the tall one. This subordinate thinks that the short one should win."
Ang Lee could not judge. He watched the two children continue to roll on the ground and fight.
"Haha! When the sandpiper and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits! "
Just when everyone's eyes were on the two children fighting, Ang Lee looked up slightly and found that the branch that the two were fighting for had been pulled down by a third child.
"Hahaha!"
The subordinates all laughed when they saw it.
The two children were obviously too engrossed in the fight. They did not realize that the ideal branch that they tried their best to get had been snatched away.
"Assistant Minister Li, should we remind them?"
The subordinate laughed.
Ang Lee shook his head and said: "No, the second tree is about to fall. These children will definitely run over, and they will follow."
"Crack, crack, crack …"
The second tree slowly fell down, making a crisp sound. A large group of children all ran to the second tree, hoping to find a better branch.
The two children who were fighting stopped fighting when they saw that all the children around them had run away. They got up and looked at each other angrily. Suddenly, they found that the branch had been stolen. They were furious and ran to the next tree with a roar.
"They are all gone. We are the only ones left. Let's go up and play."
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"Assistant Minister Li, how can we play …"
The subordinate was older than Ang Lee, so he was not in the mood to play. Of course, he was more afraid of being laughed at by the soldiers behind him.
Ang Lee trusted these guards very much and knew that they would not tell others. He jumped gently on the branch and shook it gently, making the whole tree rustle.
"Assistant Minister Li, be careful …"
Several subordinates were stunned. If this kind of thing was spread back to the Tang dynasty, it would definitely be the headline of the Tang dynasty newspaper. This kind of behavior was not in line with Ang Lee's identity.
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