The Meng family's blacksmith shop was located on the west side.
Even at the street corner, you can hear the clanging sound of hammering. It's not hurried, but rather a steady and powerful tapping.
This place is close to the port and docks, and there are many laborers unloading cargo here, most of whom are men who do heavy physical labor.
Upon seeing the two young women appear, they both glanced at them, openly and secretly.
Lu Amian was not afraid. Holding Adou's hand in one hand and Meng Jing's hand in the other, she looked up at the few words on the shop.
Few people in the countryside are educated, and only one in ten thousand women can read. Lu Amian was illiterate as well.
I just felt really impressive!
Her future shop sign will be even bigger than these words!
Upon entering, you are greeted by a wave of heat, and the most eye-catching feature is a blacksmith's furnace made of bricks.
The fire in the stove was burning brightly. Meng Chijian was shirtless, with a white towel draped around his neck and a hammer in his hand.
Lu Amian was also stunned for a moment.
Meng Chijian's physique was unlike that of the other laborers, who were mostly thin and hunched over. He was upright, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, like a sword drawn from its sheath. Moreover, he was fleshy.
It's not the kind of flesh you see on the bellies of patrons in restaurants, but rather a very even, beautifully symmetrical layer of thin, living flesh attached to the bone.
Before Lu Amian got married, she had watched the boys swim, among them Zhang Yixing.
Although I only caught a glimpse of him at the time, I could tell that he was fair-skinned and thin, definitely not like the person in front of me.
It seemed that there was an endless power hidden beneath his body.
"Why are you here?" Meng Chijian stopped what he was doing and grabbed a short-sleeved shirt from the chair to put on.
Meng Jing said, "My sister-in-law has never been to a blacksmith's shop before. I'm bringing her here so she can get familiar with the place. So she won't be unable to recognize it when she gets home."
At this moment, A-Mian noticed another object on display.
It was a small piece depicting Laozi, exquisitely carved, facing the stove fire.
A-Mian knew the story of Laozi, who was said to be very skilled at alchemy, so mastering the furnace would naturally be a piece of cake for him. She bowed three times to Laozi with great respect.
With her back to the brother and sister, she stood up and realized that someone behind her had said, "Laozi is the ancestor of blacksmiths."
"Is that so?" A-Mian felt a sense of kinship with the old man with the long beard.
"Okay. Go buy some food, don't wander around the streets." Meng Chijian looked down at her.
Lu Amian was enveloped in the smell of rust and burning firewood. Meng Chijian had finished speaking, but he didn't leave. He pulled the wooden stick from behind her and sneered.
"..."
Lu Amian was cornered against the wall, and felt that everything in the blacksmith shop was hot.
"I'll go back after I finish the last two pickaxes, and I'll wait for you at the city gate."
"oh……"
Ah Mian steeled her heart, grabbed his sleeve, and said, "I have no money."
"What do you want? How much?" Meng Chijian noticed that she was always unusually brave at times like this, and couldn't help but smile.
Amian said, "I'm Xiaojing's sister-in-law, I want to treat her to something to eat. I also need to buy her some needles and thread."
She hesitated for a moment and didn't say she wanted to buy chicks because they were quite expensive.
Besides, she wanted to set aside some eggs to earn extra money, as a secret stash of cash. She couldn't let him know about this plan.
Meng Chijian said, "You don't need to buy needles, we have some at home. Just go get them from the box."
Lu Amian took ten copper coins. Ten coins.
She then asked, "Where are my stones?"
"It's over there."
The stones had been smashed into small pieces and piled up on the windowsill in different categories.
"If only we could sell it..."
Meng Chijian patted her back, which was covered in dust from the stick. "It actually sold. A painting dealer happened to be passing by this morning, so I asked about the market price, but it wasn't much, so I didn't sell it."
"Ah? Even a few coins would be good..."
Meng Chi resisted the urge to pinch her flat. "You went through all the trouble of picking these up and carrying them back. I spent half the morning knocking on them. If they were worth only a few coins, you might as well keep them at home to play with."
It's hard to explain to her right away. She's just like a little brat. Because she's never owned much money, even a few coins are a lot of money to her.
Amian nodded dejectedly.
Meng Chijian whispered in her ear, as if telling her to stand on tiptoe, "But I'll go to the bookstore later. I know the shopkeeper. We can split the money 50/50, okay?"
Upon hearing this, A-Mian immediately smiled and grabbed his hand, "That's wonderful!"
He jumped around a few times before pulling Meng Jing away.
Meng Chijian shook his head helplessly, then suddenly seemed to remember something and sniffed his palm.
The floral scent is gone; it now has a faint soapberry smell.
After leaving West Street, Lu Amian asked Meng Jing what she wanted to eat.
"How much did my brother give me?" The youngest sister of the Meng family was very shrewd and decided to decide what she wanted to eat based on how much money she received.
"Ten coins."
"..." Meng Jing covered her face, "How can my brother be so stingy! He should just be so stingy!"
Amian narrowed her eyes. "We can go eat meat buns."
“That’s something you can make at home. What’s so delicious about it?” Meng Jing had a sudden inspiration. “Oh, right, let’s go buy some candied hawthorns!”
Eat candy.
Lu Amian immediately agreed, her mouth practically watering.
At the wedding, all the wedding candies were given to the guests to eat, but Ah Mian, as the bride, didn't get to taste any.
Even crumbs of candy or candy wrappers are treasures for children in the countryside. In the eyes of poor families, candy is practically like medicine.
And when making candied hawthorns at home, you can't bear to buy so much sugar to boil.
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