In front of the blacksmith's shop, a man in his forties was diligently forging ironware, occasionally glancing at a lively boy in the distance.
Looking at the children, the blacksmith seemed to have returned to his childhood.
At the same time, he was always on guard against the group, fearing that their football skills might affect him.
Zhou Zifang originally had no interest in Cuju (ancient Chinese football), but after playing for a while, he became engrossed in it.
Qiu Xu is skilled in martial arts and plays Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with ease.
Gao Chong always wanted to beat Qiu Xu, but he could never beat him in a kicking match, which made him very resentful.
Just after Qiu Xu snatched his football again, he quickly chased after him, only to see Qiu Xu turn around and kick the football to Zhou Zifang.
Zhou Zifang turned his head and kicked the ball to Zhao An again.
Zhao An turned around and passed the ball to Zhao Yang.
Zhao Yang turned a corner, and the ball was back at Qiu Xu's feet.
"You guys are bullying me!" Gao Chong was seething with anger and quickly grabbed the ball.
After his snatch, several boys huddled together, their target being Cuju (ancient Chinese football).
As they got closer to the blacksmith's shop, Qiu Xu stepped back and stopped trying to grab the ball.
He casually pointed behind him, "Let's go play over there, but don't disturb others."
But no sooner had he spoken than, bang! Someone kicked the ball out of nowhere, sending it flying straight towards... the blacksmith's shop.
The blacksmith was swinging his hammer up and down, hammering ironware with his head down.
Suddenly he heard a whooshing sound in front of him, and he looked up abruptly.
Bang--
The football hit him squarely in the face.
"Ah...you guys..."
The moment he uttered the word "blacksmith," he suddenly twisted his body and fell to the ground.
His forehead was red and swollen, and it hurt terribly.
Qiu Xu rushed into the blacksmith's shop immediately, "Uncle, are you alright?"
"Do I look alright?" The blacksmith glared angrily at the unruly boys, clearly displeased.
Qiu Xu looked apologetic. "Let me help you up," he said, as he tried to lift the blacksmith from the ground.
"Don't...don't move...my back hurts." The blacksmith waved Qiu Xu away. "I'll get up myself."
Even so, he struggled for a long time but still couldn't get up.
Qiu Xu's hands froze in mid-air; he wanted to help, but dared not.
He looked up and surveyed the blacksmith shop; the storefront was simple yet neat and orderly.
In the center of the shop was a large iron furnace, and next to the furnace was a bellows.
Beside the bellows is a large iron block used for forging ironware, which is where he is standing now.
On the wall, farm tools were hung on two sides, and scattered swords and knives were hung on the other side.
Qiu Xu's eyes lingered on the weapons, and in his mind, he thought of his master's incomparably sharp longsword.
Zhou Zifang and Zhao An looked embarrassed and somewhat uneasy.
Now look what's happened, things have gone awry.
Zhou Zifang stepped forward and stood beside Qiu Xu: "Sorry, we didn't mean to."
The Zhao brothers, Zhao An and Zhao Yang, also apologized at the same time.
Compared to the three men's awkward attitude, Gao Chong was rather casual.
He looked up at the blacksmith's waist. "Is it that serious? You're not trying to extort money from us, are you?"
"You..." The blacksmith was furious. He picked up the small hammer beside him and raised it high.
Seeing this, Gao Chong turned around and hid behind Zhao Yang.
The blacksmith withdrew his arm, and then heard a sharp crack in his waist. He cried out and groaned, "My back is probably ruined."
Qiu Xu glanced at Gao Chong with displeasure; this man was just adding fuel to the fire.
Regardless, they were in the wrong first.
"Uncle, my sister knows medicine, so I brought her here for you to take a look."
"No!" The blacksmith grabbed Qiu Xu's wrist, preventing him from leaving.
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