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 them.
He was a little surprised and whispered:
"Princess, we've searched all the villages around Ding County, including this family, but there's no information on 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 sizing them up for a moment, she smiled attentively.
"You distinguished guests have come here because 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 to the house, and then a low voice came from inside. It seemed that the old lady was slapping and waking someone up, and there were also a few impatient mutters from men in between.
After a while, a middle-aged man was pushed out by the old lady.
The man was unkempt in plain clothes, with a scruffy beard and a hangover-like blur in his eyes. He scratched his hair and said vaguely:
"What do you want to repair? Bring it here for us to 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 he soon returned to his normal demeanor, and without further questioning, he sat down in front of the anvil and said:
"Repairing small items is ten coins, and large items are thirty coins. Crafting is estimated upon request. 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 took a look:
"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's not easy to carve words on it. If you're not careful, it will be destroyed!"
"It's because my son has such good skills that even the shops in the county have to ask him for help when they have work they can't do. I think these nobles have come here specifically for this reason. We won't ask for more from you, 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, come, you must be thirsty after coming all this way. Go sit inside for a while and I'll prepare some tea for you!"
"This engraving will take at least half a day. Why don't you stay here for lunch? A table is only five taels of silver. I guarantee you'll have plenty to eat and drink!"
As she spoke, she half-pulled, half-let, Yun Qingqing into the house, then turned around and glared at him:
"Hurry up and get to work! Don't keep me waiting!"
Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Lu Er just sighed softly, lowered his head and began to figure out 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 and stay here. I've prepared brand new beds and bedding 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 was looking out frequently, and said with a smile:
"There's nothing to do these two days. If you get bored, you can walk around on your own. Just don't stray too far from our sight."
Jingyao's eyes lit up slightly, she pursed her lips and bowed shyly to her, then took small steps out of the house.
The little girl's back showed a restrained excitement, 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 would cautiously reach out to touch them, then immediately retract her hand and turn to look at Lu Er in front of the iron block, 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 outcome.
Not long after, the old lady came back with a middle-aged woman beside her.
When passing by Lu Er in the yard, the old lady saw the inconspicuous yellow and thin girl brought by the guest, squatting in front of the iron block. 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 old lady's eldest daughter-in-law. 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 silently took a few mouthfuls of rice 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, and ran away with a rich businessman who passed by from other places less than a year after her marriage.
Since then, Lu Er has been in a slump, spending his days in a daze and drinking. His original blacksmith business could no longer be carried out. 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 in his day, and he had great skills. Not only were there long queues of girls in the village willing to marry him, but even the girls from the rich and powerful families in the county wanted to marry him."
"But he was bewitched by an orphan from out of town, insisting he would marry her. And what happened? That vixen ran off with a wealthy businessman!"
"Alas, after all these years, he's still obsessed with that vixen and refuses to remarry no matter what. It really makes me, as his mother, worry to death..."
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 shut her mouth angrily.
Lu Er then calmed down and looked towards Yun Qingqing:
"The words have been engraved. The customer can come and inspect them when he has time."
After dinner, 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 meticulously carved, indicating that it was indeed a fine product.
She nodded with satisfaction and handed over ten taels of silver.
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 young lady really from the Tianming Pavilion?"
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