这手工活用的都是巧劲

口述：陈师傅，71岁，白铁匠，浦东新区新场镇

我17岁开始学敲铅皮(白铁)，在厂里跟着老师傅学，平时下班的时候自己也练习练习。后来下岗了，就开始自己接活干了，到现在50多年了喔！

现在每天都要做8小时。做这个其实不是很用力的，敲敲打打都是用巧劲，所以也不算什么体力活，但刚学那会儿手一直敲出血，满手的橡皮膏。

一般经常做的尺寸都已经在我脑子里了，其他有些比较复杂的，人家有要求的，我就画下来问他们是不是要这个东西。像浇花桶有6个尺寸，可以根据不同需要来定做。如头上的这个洞眼小一点少一点，水浇得就远一点，大一点密一点呢，就可以浇得近，每个定的人要求都不一样的。

我带过三个徒弟，不过现在都不做了，嫌这个赚钱慢。

店里做萝卜丝饼、油墩子用的那个勺卖得好，5块钱一个，24小时快的话可以做50个，看心情的。

逢年过节，像桃花节的时候人多的不得了，外国人也多，我已经做出名气来了，生意好的不得了，新场就我一家呀，每天有人跟我定东西，赚点功夫钱，吃喝没问题。

Clever skills are needed in this kind of manual work.

Narrator: Mr. Chen, 71, tinker (Xinchang Town, Pudong)

I began to work on tin at the age of 17 when I apprenticed myself to a veteran craftsman in the factory and practiced regularly off work. Later, after I was laid off from the factory, I began to take jobs on my own. It is already over 50 years from today!

Now I work 8 hours every day. The work doesn`t require much strength; instead, the tinkering needs a lot of clever skills. Therefore, it is not much of heavy manual labor. I kept injuring my fingers in the beginning though, and my hands were wrapped with duct tape all over to stop bleeding.

Some common objects are so frequently produced that their sizes are already in my mind. As for more complicated objects to be custom-made for customers, I draw a design and ask them if this is what they want. For example, a sprinkler kettle can be made in 6 sizes based on different needs, and it can produce a long spray of water if the holes at the top are made smaller and sparser, or produce a short spray of water if the holes are made larger and denser. I can custom-make all these items for the needs of the customers.

I was the master of three apprentices, but they are all out of this business now, thinking it too slow in making money.

The best-selling item of my shop is the spoon for cooking carrot cakes and fried buns, at a price of RMB 5. I can make as many as 50 a day, but it depends on the mood.

During festivals, such as the Peach Blossom Festival, I have a great number of customers, even foreigners. I have established an excellent reputation, which brings me good business. My shop is one of a kind in Xinchang, anyway! People place orders at my shop every day, and I can easily earn my meals with my skills.

……