Chapter 266 Blacksmith
This farmer's house looked no different from the ones I passed by before, except that there were two heavy iron blocks and some blacksmithing tools placed in the yard.
Nan Zheng has been busy with this matter recently, and he recognized at a glance that the person living in this house is a blacksmith.
Blacksmiths in the countryside often do not have shops, and villagers will come to them when they need help.
He was a little surprised and whispered:
"Princess, we have searched all the villages around Ding County, including this family, but there is no information about Xuantie."
Yun Qingqing was about to step inside, but stopped when she heard him say that, and turned around to warn:
"The time has not come yet. Don't mention the word Black Steel again."
After giving the instructions, she walked into the yard and said loudly:
"Is anyone there? I'm here to repair the iron."
After a while, the door opened and an old lady with gray hair walked out.
The old lady was thin with high cheekbones and a pair of shrewd eyes. After looking at the few people for a moment, she smiled attentively:
"You have come here, you must have heard about our Lu Er's cooking skills, right? Please wait a moment, I will go and call him over!"
As she said this, she hurried back into the house, and then a low voice came from inside. It seemed that the old lady was patting and waking someone up, and there were also a few impatient grumblings from men in between.
After a while, a middle-aged man was pushed out by the old lady.
The man was unkempt in cloth clothes, with a scruffy beard and a pair of eyes that were a bit dazed from a hangover. He scratched his hair and said vaguely:
"What do you want to repair? Bring it here and let me see..."
He was halfway through his words when he noticed the clothes and appearance of several people in the yard. He was stunned for a moment, and a trace of imperceptible vigilance flashed in his eyes.
But soon his expression returned to normal, and without asking any more questions, he sat down in front of the anvil and said:
"Repairing small items is ten coins, and large items are thirty coins. Forging is based on your requirements, and weapons are not included."
Yun Qingqing took out a Bagua plate and handed it over:
"I want to carve a few words on the back of this. How do I calculate it?"
Lu Er took it and looked at it:
"What words should be engraved?"
"Tianming Pavilion."
"..." Lu Er's hand paused slightly. He looked up at her and then lowered it again.
He looked at the Bagua plate again and again, and said calmly:
"It's a small item, ten..."
The old lady suddenly stepped forward to interrupt, smiling:
"Oh, sir, this is obviously a precious item. It is not easy to carve words on it. If you are not careful, it will be destroyed!"
"It's because my son has good skills that even the shops in the county have to ask him for help when they have work that they can't do. I think the nobles have come here specially for this reason. We won't ask you for more, just ten taels of silver!"
Lu Er's face froze and he looked at the old lady:
"Mom, if not then..."
The old lady turned a deaf ear to him and said with a smile:
"Come, come, you must be thirsty after coming all the way here. Go sit inside for a while. I'll prepare some tea for you!"
"It will take at least half a day to carve the characters. Why don't you stay here for lunch? A table costs only five taels of silver. I guarantee you will have good food and drink!"
As she spoke, she half-pulled and half-let Yun Qingqing into the house, and turned back to glare at him:
"Hurry up and get to work! Don't keep me waiting for too long!"
Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Lu Er just sighed softly, lowered his head and began to estimate how to carve the words on the back of the Bagua plate.
Inside the house, Xiao Changheng and others saw that Yun Qingqing did not refuse, so they all sat down with her.
Yun Qingqing looked at the old lady with a smile and asked:
"We have some things to do in this village. Would it be convenient for us to stay here for two nights?"
As she spoke, she placed a hundred taels of silver on the table.
The old lady's eyes lit up when she saw it, and she rubbed her hands and said repeatedly:
"Convenient, of course it's convenient! You can rest assured to stay here. I'll prepare brand new beds and beddings for you!"
The old lady served tea attentively and then went about making preparations.
After the old lady left, Yun Qingqing took a sip of her tea, looked at Jingyao who kept looking out, and said with a smile:
"There's nothing to do these two days. If you get bored, you can walk around by yourself. Just don't leave our sight too far."
Jingyao's eyes lit up slightly, she pursed her lips, bowed shyly to her, and then took small steps out of the room.
There was a bit of restrained excitement in the little girl's back, and Yun Qingqing curled her lips slightly.
Xiao Changheng looked out the window thoughtfully, and saw Jingyao walking along the edge of the yard, admiring the tools and utensils. Sometimes she reached out to touch them cautiously, then immediately retracted her hand and turned to look at Lu Er in front of the iron pier, like a curious and timid little rabbit.
He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and look at Yun Qingqing, asking with his eyes.
Yun Qingqing smiled slightly:
"This is a long story, so let's just wait and see what happens. We'll know the answer in the next two days."
After hearing her say this, Xiao Changheng stopped asking questions and waited patiently for the "result".
Not long after, the old lady came back, accompanied by a middle-aged woman.
When passing by Lu Er in the yard, the old lady saw the inconspicuous, thin, yellow girl brought by the guest, squatting in front of an iron stool. She saw Lu Er using tools to measure and estimate the Bagua plate, but she didn't take it seriously. She greeted Yun Qingqing and others and went on with her business.
After getting to know each other for a while, they found out that the old lady's surname was Zhao, and the aunt was named Li Lanhua, the eldest daughter-in-law of the old lady. Because the guest was going to stay for two days, she was specially called over by the old lady Zhao to help.
At lunch, Lu Er ate a few mouthfuls of rice in silence and left the table.
"Your second son is not young anymore, why hasn't he married yet?" Yun Qingqing asked casually.
Old Mrs. Zhao paused, sighed deeply, and then started talking nonstop as if she had opened a box of conversation.
Old Mrs. Zhao said that her second son also had a family, and after the two sons got married, they moved out on their own. There was nothing wrong with their prosperous life.
But the second daughter-in-law despised the poor and loved the rich. She thought this small village was a poor and remote place. Less than a year after her marriage, she ran away with a wealthy businessman who passed by from another place.
Since then, Lu Er has been in a slump, spending his days in a daze and drinking. His original blacksmith business could no longer continue. Old Mrs. Zhao was worried about him, so she moved in with her son so that she could take care of him.
At the end, she said with a sad face:
"My son was a handsome man with good craftsmanship. Not only did the girls in the village line up to marry him, but even the girls from the rich families in the county wanted to marry him."
"But he was seduced by an orphan from outside the country and insisted on marrying her. But what happened? The vixen ran off with the rich businessman!"
"Alas, after so many years, he is still thinking about that vixen and refuses to remarry no matter what. As a mother, I am really worried..."
The door was pushed open with a bang.
"Mom, can you please stop talking! Axuan is not that kind of person!" Lu Er stood at the door, looking at Old Mrs. Zhao with a gloomy expression.
The old lady was startled, and when she saw his expression, she closed her mouth angrily.
Lu Er then calmed down and looked at Yun Qingqing:
"The words have been carved. The customer can come and inspect them when he has time."
After the meal, Yun Qingqing gave a few instructions and went alone to find Lu Er to inspect the Bagua plate.
He took her to a separate workshop and handed her the engraved Bagua plate.
Yun Qingqing took it and saw that the three large characters on the back were finely carved, indicating that it was truly a fine product.
She nodded with satisfaction and took out ten taels of silver and handed it over.
Lu Er didn't answer, but looked directly at her. His eyes were no longer hazy and decadent as before, and there was a hint of expectation in them:
"Is the girl really from Tianming Pavilion?"
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