Li Banfeng and Qin Xiaopang decided on the deal and prepared to go to Kuwu Mountain to pick snake chrysanthemums.

That night, Qin Xiaopang went back to pack his bags and invited Li Banfeng to stay at his house for one night, but Li Banfeng declined.

A home-based practitioner must stay in the house for at least two hours every day. This is the most basic rule of practice. Qiao Yuesheng's example is there, and Li Banfeng dare not break the rule.

The two agreed to meet at the noodle shop at eight o'clock the next day, but Li Banfeng didn't have a watch or any timekeeping tool. When he arrived at the noodle shop, it was almost noon.

You can’t blame Li Banfeng for being lazy. In Suishenju, he has a very good sleep quality regardless of day or night.

Qin Xiaopang was very anxious: "Brother Li, why did you come just now? We have to hurry up and go to Ligou first."

"What are you going to do in Ligou?"

"Buy something handy."

Li Banfeng was puzzled: "Aren't we going up the mountain to collect herbs? Aren't shovels and sacks enough? Why do we have to go to Ligou to buy these things?"

Qin Xiaopang shook his head and said, "It's too late. I'll tell you when we get there."

After inviting Li Banfeng to eat two bowls of plain noodles, Qin Xiaopang ate eight bowls by himself. Then, gathering all their strength, they ran to Ligou together.

Li Banfeng used only 30% of his strength, and Qin Xiaopang barely followed behind. As long as the food cultivators were full, their speed and endurance were far superior to ordinary people, and they could barely keep up with the travel cultivators.

It took Li Banfeng most of the day to walk all the way from Li Gou, but now he ran back and reached Li Gou in less than two hours.

Qin Xiaopang ran so fast that he couldn't speak, and took Li Banfeng directly to Paifang Street.

As soon as he arrived at the street, Li Banfeng felt a little nervous because the He family's old house was nearby and Lu Xiaolan was still in the house.

Qin Xiaopang didn’t know anything about the He family’s old house, he was going to Feng’s grocery store.

The grocery store owner was cleaning the shelves with a feather duster. When he saw the two people come in, he quickly greeted them with a smile: "Boss Qin, I haven't seen you often recently. Thank you for taking care of this guest again."

He recognized Qin Xiaopang and Li Banfeng, who was wearing the top hat he bought from him.

Fat Qin was in no mood for small talk and asked directly, "Manager Feng, do you have any good stuff? I'm going out to do some business."

Qin Xiaopang's business seemed inappropriate to be discussed at the counter, so Manager Feng called a waiter to watch the door and said to Li Banfeng and Qin Xiaopang, "Please go to the back room for a cup of tea."

Li Banfeng and Qin Xiaopang followed Manager Feng to the inner room. The so-called inner room had more shelves than the outer room, and the goods were stacked layer by layer. It was very crowded. If there was not a coffee table in the middle of the room, it would be just a warehouse.

The three of them sat at the tea table. Shopkeeper Feng made some tea and asked in a low voice, "Don't blame me for being nosy. Let me ask you, what kind of business do you two want to do?"

"Kuwu Mountain, picking flowers." Qin Xiaopang answered directly.

Shopkeeper Feng thought for a moment and took a small sickle from the shelf.

The blade of this sickle is no more than ten centimeters long, and the handle is even shorter, just enough to be held in one hand.

Fat Qin looked at the Xiuzhen sickle, was stunned for a while and said: "Manager Feng, what do you want to give me this sickle for? It's not even good for harvesting wheat."

Shopkeeper Feng was also surprised: "Boss Qin, didn't you go to Kuwu Mountain to pick flowers? This sickle is just right for picking flowers."

Qin Xiaopang frowned and said, "I don't treat you as an outsider, but you treat me as an outsider. Do I need to come to you to buy a sickle?"

Shopkeeper Feng said helplessly, "Boss Qin, you were the one who asked me to pick flowers, so I got you a tool to pick flowers. What did I do wrong?"

Qin Xiaopang was anxious: "Do you really not understand, or are you pretending not to understand? Can the flowers on Kuwu Mountain be picked casually?"

Shopkeeper Feng shook his head repeatedly and said, "I really don't understand this time. If you want this sickle, take it. If you don't want it, forget it."

As the two were arguing, Li Banfeng saw something.

Qin Xiaopang knew some of the inside stories of Kuwu Mountain, but not much.

He also knows a little about the rules of the underworld, but his understanding is limited.

Li Banfeng grew up in an orphanage and went to college by doing odd jobs. He has met many people and encountered many things. He can tell at a glance that the real veteran is this shopkeeper Feng.

Li Banfeng quickly tried to smooth things over and said to Qin Xiaopang, "Brother, I don't understand either. What do you want to buy?"

Qin Xiaopang frowned and said, "Buy weapons!"

"What do you want to buy weapons for?"

Qin Xiaopang only explained: "The flowers are easy to pick, but the mountain is hard to climb."

Just this one sentence made the hidden truth clear.

Snakehead chrysanthemum is very precious. Many people want to go up the mountain to pick flowers, and probably many people also want to steal the flowers. Qin Xiaopang wants to buy a weapon for self-defense.

Shopkeeper Feng naturally understood what Qin Xiaopang meant, and he also replied: "It's easier to go down the mountain with a sickle, but it will be harder to go down the mountain with the Qinglong sword."

Li Banfeng asked, "What do you mean?"

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "The one with the sickle is a farmer, and the one with the blue dragon sword is Guandi.

Farmers walked in silence, and at most they would encounter a petty thief, who would kill them with a knife and that would be the end of it.

"Guan Di walked with his Qinglong sword, and he had to pass through five passes and kill six generals. Without Guan Di's ability, how could you get down this mountain?"

As he spoke, the shopkeeper touched the blade of the sickle. Li Banfeng really knew what was good and could tell that it was a good knife.

Li Banfeng asked, "How much is this knife? I'll buy it."

Fat Qin stared at him and said, "What's the point of buying this? Let's go to other places. I have plenty of connections."

Shopkeeper Feng did not try to persuade him to stay: "Boss Qin, then you can go look somewhere else. I don't have the weapon you want."

Shopkeeper Feng is a good man and he doesn't want to harm Qin Xiaopang.

Li Banfeng insisted on buying the sickle. The shopkeeper offered a price of five hundred yuan, and Li Banfeng did not bargain. He was ready to borrow five hundred yuan from Qin Xiaopang.

Qin Xiaopang was distressed: "It's just this thing, and you want 500 yuan?"

Li Banfeng was in financial difficulty, and Manager Feng noticed it.

The day before yesterday, I helped him find the way. This young man bought a top hat and a feather duster. Manager Feng remembered it clearly. He is a sensible person.

"What's your name, guest?"

Li Banfeng replied: "My last name is Li, Li Qi."

"Boss Li, I'll sell this knife to you on credit. You can pay me when you come back from picking flowers."

Give me credit?

Li Banfeng was stunned.

Shopkeeper Feng smiled and said, "You are a man who can accomplish things. I trust you."

Li Banfeng thanked him and accepted the sickle.

Shopkeeper Feng took out a small shovel from under the counter, which was about ten centimeters long, and handed it to Li Banfeng: "Some flowers are deeply rooted and difficult to pick. Do you think this shovel is suitable?"

Li Banfeng took the shovel, looked at its shape, touched the edge of the blade, and asked, "How much is this shovel?"

Shopkeeper Feng said with a smile, "In terms of materials and workmanship, this shovel is better than that sickle. Logically speaking, eight hundred yuan is not expensive. You are a connoisseur of goods. If you think it is suitable, you can take it for seven hundred yuan."

"Seven hundred..." Li Banfeng hesitated. The things were good, but it would be inappropriate to buy them on credit.

Shopkeeper Feng knew Li Banfeng's difficulty: "Take it and use it first. If it suits you, you can give me the money. If it doesn't suit you, you can give it back."

Li Banfeng put away the shovel and wanted to buy a few cloth bags from the shopkeeper.

Shopkeeper Feng gave two bags: "Two bags are enough. They are easy to pick flowers but not easy to carry down the mountain."

Li Banfeng listened to the advice, and Shopkeeper Feng smiled and said, "Do you think you would like to buy anything else?"

There are no windows in Suishenju, so he can’t see the sun or the moon, and can’t tell black from white. Li Banfeng wants to buy a watch.

Shopkeeper Feng took out a pocket watch. The body of the watch was twice larger than a one-yuan coin, and the shiny silver case could reflect a person's shadow.

Bang!

Press open the watch case, and you will see twelve exquisite scales embossed on the white dial.

The crown, which is the handle for winding the pocket watch, is located at the twelve o'clock position. Shopkeeper Feng pinched the handle, twisted it a few times, and pulled the handle out two notches.

Li Banfeng has seen this kind of mechanical watch. If the crown is not pulled out, it is used for winding the spring. If it is pulled out one notch, it is used to adjust the watch. If it is pulled out two notches, it is used to adjust the calendar.

There is no calendar on this dial, so why did he pull out two grids?

Tick-tock, tick-tock!

The pocket watch made the sound of a music box.

What a familiar song, I seem to have heard it somewhere before.

Shopping mall? Restaurant?

A VIP guest upstairs?

Li Banfeng has worked in these places. He was deeply impressed by the song, but he could not remember its name.

I haven't listened to music for a long time.

This voice made Li Banfeng feel very familiar.

"How much is this watch?"

Shopkeeper Feng held up the watch chain and said, "This is a pocket watch from Che Man Country. If it's genuine, I'll return it. It's two thousand and two. I can't sell it on credit to you."

Li Banfeng was somewhat tempted, but the price was staggering.

Qin Xiaopang said impatiently: "What's the point of buying this thing! It's better to buy a clock!"

Shopkeeper Feng smiled but said nothing.

Qin Xiaopang urged them to hurry up. Li Banfeng glanced at the shelves to see if there was anything else that was suitable. His eyes suddenly stopped on a strange object.

It was a wooden cabinet, an antique mahogany cabinet, about the same size as two bedside tables stacked together, with three metal trumpet flowers on top of the cabinet.

To be precise, it is not a morning glory, but three trumpets. One is very big, with the mouth of the trumpet bigger than the mouth of a plate, and the other two are much smaller, with the mouth of the trumpet about the size of a fist.

"Is this a record player?" Li Banfeng's eyes lit up. He had seen this thing on TV. It was a machine that played music with records.

"Record player?" Shopkeeper Feng shook his head. "This is not called a record player."

It doesn't matter what it's called.

The existence of a record player proves the existence of electricity.

You can charge your phone whenever there is electricity.

Once your phone is charged, the world will be perfect!

Even if there is no mobile phone signal, at least you don’t have to buy a watch.

But the answer from Feng disappointed Li Banfeng: "We don't have anything with electricity here. This is a phonograph, it doesn't have electricity."

Li Banfeng couldn't understand how this thing could make a sound without any electricity?

It was not until today that he realized that the most primitive record player had nothing to do with electricity or magnetism, but only with two things: the needle and the record.

Shopkeeper Feng placed a bakelite record on the tray of the record player, took out a crank from the drawer under the record player, inserted it into the record player, and turned it vigorously for more than ten times.

This is to wind up the record player.

The spring is fully wound, and with the push of a pin, the record starts to spin rapidly on the tray.

Shopkeeper Feng placed the needle on the record, and the singing voice with a hint of noise floated out from the speaker.

"The floating clouds disperse,

The bright moon shines on people,

Happy reunion,

Drunk today~"

The moon is full and the flowers are beautiful.

The principle of the ancient phonograph is very simple.

There are lines of varying depths on the record. These lines were carved on the record by the needle as it vibrated during the playing of the song.

Now, the needle is moved along the grooves on the record, and the sound produced by friction recreates the song of that time.

This is the acoustic principle of the phonograph.

I wouldn't say the sound quality is good, it's even a bit rough.

But Li Banfeng liked this song very much and found it very pleasant to listen to.

Unfortunately, it was too short. In less than three minutes, the needle slid to the end, the spring also reached the end, and the record stopped.

Qin Xiaopang said with disdain: "What's so good about this? To listen to a song, I have to crank the handle for a long time. It's not strenuous enough."

"Even if you don't want to wind it up, you can still listen to music." Shopkeeper Feng took out a new record and placed it on the tray.

He took an iron cup and added two cups of water into the small speaker next to the big speaker.

Shopkeeper Feng struck a match and opened a small door on the lower right side of the record player.

There was a secret compartment in the door, in which was fixed an iron box, which was half filled with grease, with a candle wick placed in the middle of the grease.

The candle wick was lit, and a cluster of flames filled the entire secret compartment.

Li Banfeng didn't know what kind of oil it was, but he could feel its scorching temperature from a distance.

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

The small speaker to the right of the big speaker was spraying water mist rhythmically.

The small speaker on the left is responsible for adding water, and the small speaker on the right is responsible for exhausting steam.

What is this operation?

Could it be that...

The record started to play on the player.

A steam-powered phonograph?

How sophisticated is this machine?

Li Banfeng widened his eyes. The education he had received over the past decade was once again challenged.

After waiting for about a minute, the speed of the record gradually stabilized, and Manager Feng placed the needle on the record.

"The butterfly flies away,

The heart is not there either,

Who will come in this long and bleak night?

Wiping tears from cheeks~~"

Wild grass and flowers grow in spring.

What a beautiful piece of music.

ps: Dear readers, an important character has appeared, please pay attention!