Zhao An awkwardly touched his nose, and as he turned his head, he saw Gao Chong outside the shop and waved to him, "Gao Chong, we've been waiting for you."
Gao Chong lowered his head and slowly stepped inside.
He was feeling uneasy because the blacksmith had come to their house last night.
He had seen Zhao An's actions from afar, so as soon as he entered, he casually picked up the last piece of iron on the ground and threw it into the furnace.
Seeing this, the blacksmith's anger intensified.
"Stop!" That kid Gao Chong, he was so late in coming, and now that he's here, he's just causing trouble.
At his thunderous roar, everyone stopped what they were doing.
He looked at Zhao An and Gao Chong with displeasure, pointing at the stove: "Take it out for me, take it out!"
What kind of people are these?
“This…” Zhao An looked at the iron material surrounded by raging fire, his face full of regret. “Fine.”
He began to work, carefully removing the iron pieces he had just inserted one by one.
The blacksmith rubbed his uncomfortable lungs; his back was still not healed, and he didn't want to get into trouble with these people.
He looked at Qiu Xu and Gao Chong, "You two stay here, the rest of you, get out!"
After saying that, he stood up and waved for people to leave.
The rest of the group walked out of the blacksmith shop rather timidly.
As they left, they didn't forget to look back and sympathetically at Qiu Xu and Gao Chong inside the shop.
When only three people remained in the blacksmith shop, the blacksmith pointed at the hammer and said to Gao Chong, "Don't forget, your father promised me that you could come and work with me every day after school."
Let me see your strength.
Gao Chong, his face cold, lowered his eyes and swung the hammer.
His strength was comparable to Zhao An's, which the blacksmith could barely accept.
As he instructed the two men to keep an eye on the iron in the furnace, he began to speak earnestly.
"There are three hard jobs in the world: rowing a boat, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu."
Forging a piece of ironwork typically involves five or six steps: selecting materials, heating, monitoring the temperature, hammering, quenching, grinding, and so on. The process is not only complex but also requires meticulous craftsmanship.
The things I make are of good quality and inexpensive, so people like to come to my shop.
Now, you two must obey my instructions and must not act on your own.
Blacksmithing is hard labor, dirty and tiring, and doesn't pay much. No matter the season, you have to stand by the furnace to work. Especially in summer, standing by the furnace and swinging the hammer is unbearably hot. You also inevitably get splashed by sparks and burned by the iron while blacksmithing.
Therefore, the blacksmith needed to explain things clearly to them.
Gao Chong remained expressionless and did not respond.
He was eager to work at Qiu Yan's pharmacy and had no desire to stay in this dilapidated blacksmith shop as a craftsman.
Qiu Xu nodded, "We understand."
The blacksmith smiled at Qiu Xu and said, "It's good that you know."
Once the iron was heated to a red-hot color, the blacksmith instructed Qiu Xu to place it on the anvil, and then he instructed the two of them to take turns forging it.
"Hold a small hammer in your right hand and iron tongs in your left hand. During the forging process, you need to constantly turn the iron material over, turning square iron into round iron rods and thick iron rods into thin iron rods."
When it comes to blacksmithing, blacksmiths seem to have endless things to say.
Although Gao Chong remained silent, he was not to be outdone and first went to get the big iron hammer.
He could pick it up, but he couldn't swing it.
Qiu Xu didn't argue with him. At that moment, he was already wielding a small iron hammer and began forging.
The blacksmith nodded, looking at Qiu Xu's serious expression.
Turning to look at Gao Chong, he saw him holding a large iron hammer, seemingly unable to swing it, and couldn't help but frown.
"To forge iron, one must first have the skill. First and foremost, one must have a good body. Without strength, one cannot forge iron. The heavy hammer rises and falls repeatedly, requiring strength and endurance."
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