"Master Zhang, are you looking for us?"

Qin Hai stood up from the fried noodle stall and shouted to the acquaintance who came in a hurry, it turned out that this person was the blacksmith Zhang Laosan who had provided them with quenching tools the day before.

"Oh, Master Xiao Qin, what a coincidence, I met you here, and I'm worried that I won't be able to find you. I've heard that you are from Qingfeng Factory, and I want to go to the factory to inquire about you. Zhang Laosan wiped the sweat on his head and said to Qin Hai and the others.

Qin Hai pulled a small Mazha, beckoned Zhang Laosan to sit down, and asked, "Master Zhang, have you eaten, if you haven't eaten, just sit down and eat something." ”

"Well, okay, I just haven't eaten yet." Zhang Laosan said, took out a ten-yuan bill from his pocket, and shouted to the stall owner: "Boss, fry me a bowl of noodles, put more chili peppers, and take a pot of water and wine, a few side dishes, and the money of several of them will be counted in my account." ”

"That's not going to work." Qin Hai hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, and before he could say a word, he asked Zhang Laosan to treat him, which was a little too embarrassing. What's more, the mouth of eating people is short, looking at Zhang Laosan's frame, there should be something to ask them for help.

Zhang Laosan is an old blacksmith, and his arm strength is comparable to Qin Hai. He stopped Qin Hai behind him with one hand, and then stuffed the money into the stall owner's hand with the other. The stall owner didn't care who paid for it, but he smiled happily when he saw the money, and then brought water and wine and a few cheap snacks.

Ning Mo had been smiling and looking at Qin Hai and Zhang Laosan politely, and when the stall owner brought the side dishes, he unceremoniously picked up a salted boiled peanut and threw it into his mouth, and asked leisurely: "Zhang Laosan, do you have something to ask my buddy?" Do you invite me as a buddy, or do you invite a few of us? ”

"Of course it's a piece of please, you and Master Xiao Qin are all together, come and come, it's all full, and tobacco and alcohol are not separated." Zhang Laosan said diligently.

This is where the shrewdness of a small businessman lies, and there is no need to distinguish between distant and close relatives in the matter of a pot of water and wine. From yesterday's short contact, Zhang Laosan had already seen that Qin Hai was a righteous person, if he was only enthusiastic about Qin Hai and cold to Ning Mo and others, Qin Hai would definitely be unhappy, and even refuse to help him.

Yu Haitao and Miao Lei both drank water wine with a low degree of alcohol, and it was drunk as an ordinary drink in the southern countryside, which was equivalent to the beer that people in later generations were used to drinking. Zhang Laosan was not in a hurry to talk about his own affairs, but took the wine and saluted one person after another, and then turned back to Qin Hai's body.

"Come on, Master Xiao Qin, let's drink another one. I can count this as a thank you teacher, you taught me the method of quenching yesterday, and you are my teacher Zhang Laosan, I will do it first as a respect. Zhang Laosan said.

Qin Hai touched the bowl with Zhang Laosan, drank half a bowl of wine, and while Zhang Laosan continued to pour the wine, he asked, "Master Zhang, are you looking for us for something this trip to the eastern suburbs?" ”

Zhang Laosan disguised: "Don't be in a hurry, drink first." ”

Qin Hai said with a smile: "Drink the wine slowly, if Master Zhang has anything, just say it first, and it will save me from worrying about it." ”

"Hehe, that's fine." Zhang Laosan was actually waiting for Qin Hai's words, he put down the wine jug, and said a little shyly: "This matter, in fact, it was not me who brought it out, but the brute...... Brute, do you remember who it is? ”

"Well, it's the master who told us to make shovels yesterday." Qin Hai nodded in understanding.

"Yes, yes, that's him." Zhang Laosan said, "This person is a brute, his mouth is not reliable, he likes to brag, I have talked about him many times, he can't change his old age, he has suffered losses for so many years, and he has suffered losses on that mouth." ”

"Uh...... It's not a bad thing to have a straightforward personality at all, and it doesn't matter if you change it or not. Qin Hai didn't know what Zhang Laosan would say to the barbarian, but seeing that the other party was talking lively, it was inconvenient to splash cold water, so he had to respond perfunctorily.

Zhang Laosan said: "Yes, yes, I really like his straight nature...... Oh, by the way, I said that brute, he took from me yesterday those farming implements that you quenched and went back, and when he got to the village he bragged everywhere and tried with other people, to take his shovel and their shovel to see who was stronger. ”

"Isn't that sick?" Ning Mo sat next to him and listened happily, "No wonder his name is Mangu, and he is really a bull temper." ”

"yes, it ended up getting into trouble." Zhang Laosan said.

"What, you killed someone?" Qin Hai asked nervously, thinking to himself, this brute wouldn't have tried it on someone's head with a shovel, right?

"Not really." Zhang Laosan said, "It was a knife that a distant nephew in his village brought back from outside." Actually, his nephew was also to blame for this, he had to say that his knife was the best steel mouth, and it was definitely better than the brutal shovel steel mouth. Then the two of them tried, and the brute shovel cut a small gap, and his nephew's knife made a big gap. ”

"It's not a big deal, is it? If you want to lose the bet, can his nephew still tell him to lose money? Qin Hai said disappreciatively. The steel used by Ning Mo to make farm tools is good steel itself, and Qin Hai's heat treatment process is different, and the processed shovel steel mouth is naturally excellent, and it is really not an accident to knock out a big hole in other people's knives. Since the other party took the initiative to compete with the brute, he couldn't afford to lose and pay the bill.

Zhang Laosan said: "His nephew didn't ask him to pay for the knife, but he took a fancy to the steel used for his shovel, so he had to find someone to use the same steel to help him make another knife." ”

"Isn't this still going to be paid?" Qin Hai said with a smile.

Zhang Laosan said: "It's not a compensation, his nephew is willing to pay, and he can say how much money he wants." ”

Hearing the word money, Ning Mo's eyes lit up, and without waiting for Qin Hai to say anything, he said: "This is easy, let him take 10 yuan, and I'll go get a piece of steel and help him get a knife." ”

"Wait, Master Zhang, what does the knife that Man's nephew want to make?" Qin Hai stopped Ning Mo and asked Zhang Laosan. The things in the world are not something that can be done with money, and some things still need to be asked.

Zhang Laosan picked up the small cloth bag he was carrying just now, put it on the dining table, and opened it for Qin Hai and the others to see. Qin Hai only glanced at it, then shook his head and said, "No, no, no, how can we make such a knife, Master Zhang, don't make a few of us go in and drink tea." ”

It turned out that what Zhang Laosan was wrapped in was a self-made military dagger with blood grooves open on both sides, and it was a controlled knife.

"Yes, Zhang Laosan, do you want to harm us? made such a knife, so that the public security bureau found out, and even we were arrested. Miao Lei also shouted. Although they are idle all day long and are not considered progressive youths, they have experienced two rounds of severe crackdowns, and they still have some understanding of what they can and cannot do. This copycat version of the military dagger was once very popular in society and was a must-have equipment for street gangsters in Pingyuan. But during the Strike Hard Period, there were too many friends who were invited to the bureau to drink tea because they carried this kind of dagger, so they all knew the benefits and disadvantages of this thing.

Zhang Laosan patted his head, as if he remembered something, and hurriedly said, "Oh, I'm confused." I didn't make it clear to you, this nephew of the barbarian is from the army, and he has no problem holding this kind of knife. ”

"On the troops?"

Qin Hai was relieved at this time, he picked up the military dagger from the table and looked at it carefully. I saw that the edge of this dagger was polished, and it was obvious that its owner used it regularly. On the edge of the blade on one side, there is a dazzling gap, which should be the scar left by Zhang Laosan after competing with the brute shovel.

From the perspective of material texture, the steel grade used in this dagger is quite high, but the smelting process is somewhat not up to standard, resulting in the strength of the steel failing to meet the design requirements. In addition, the heat treatment in the later stage is obviously not in place, so such a sharp weapon in the army will be folded under a rural farm tool.

Judging from the process narrated by Zhang Laosan, the owner of the dagger should be extremely confident in the texture of this dagger, otherwise he would not have taken out the shovel to challenge the brute. The dagger was cut out by the shovel, which was obviously a big surprise to the owner of the dagger, as for whether this person's reaction was disgraced or angry, Qin Hai did not know. When he found that the steel mouth of a shovel was actually better than the dagger he was proud of, the owner of the dagger asked the brute to find someone to help him make a new dagger.

"Master Zhang, this knife, do you plan for us to make it, or do you want to do it yourself?" Qin Hai asked, doing business is like this, this is a job taken by Zhang Laosan, it depends on what Zhang Laosan means.