Chapter 4: Drunken Township (5 I)

The coppersmith's home was easy to find, and in the whole tribe, all the other people's homes were made of felt bags, both for people and for the pregnant animals, but his family's workshop was made of stones. Li Xu and Tao Kuotuosi walked for a while towards the stone hut where there were smoke and fire, and soon came to the door of the coppersmith's house.

The coppersmith's wife, Cillin, had gone with her children to take care of the livestock, so there was no one in the feltbags. Tao Kuo was not afraid of life, and pulled Li Xu directly into the stone workshop. As soon as they entered the door, the tears of the two were immediately smoked by the smell inside. The herdsmen used to use horse urine to quench ironware, and these days are when the coppersmiths are busy, so the smell in the workshop is also very "friendly".

There were already a few guests waiting in the workshop, and when they saw Li Xu and Tao Kuotuosi, all the herdsmen stepped forward to say hello. In the past few days, the story of Li Xu being empowered by the holy wolf, biting an enemy warrior to death with his teeth and scaring away six scouts has already spread among the tribe. In order to boost the morale of the shepherds, Elder Eto also specially instructed Ah Silan to exaggerate the ferocity of Li Xu's bite to death that day. Everyone passed ten, ten passed hundreds, and the more they spread, the more they spread, the more they spread, the more they lost, and now, the credit for getting out safely from the attack of twenty-one enemy scouts is no longer because of Xu Dayan's proper scheduling, and Ah Silan, Dur and others fought bravely, but unconsciously and quietly attributed to Li Xu's head.

In the last battle, the Horde gained a lot of money, and almost every warrior who accompanied the army was given one or more captured scimitars. Iron that can be used as a blade on the grassland is very valuable, and a good scimitar can cost as much as a foal. When the shepherds got the weapons of the enemy, they rushed to the coppersmiths to transform them according to their habits. Or increase or decrease the weight of the weapon, or make a pattern on the handle of the blade, anyway, without the hands of the coppersmith carving, even if the captured weapon is sharp, everyone is not at ease.

"Fight harder, haven't you eaten in the morning?" The coppersmith, who was focused on his craft, did not even see the arrival of the holy wolf guard and the daughter of the patriarch, and whispered at the shepherd who was wielding a sledgehammer. The small hammer in his hand did not pause, and smashed the scimitar on the cutting board with a clang.

The reddish blade is slowly deformed under the alternating action of the sledgehammer and the small hammer, the arc begins to increase, and the raised edges and corners on the side of the knife are more distinct. Several rut-like black lines gradually leaked out of the reddened blade, slowly spreading in all directions with the force of the blow. It was dim, it gathered, it gathered, it was dim, and it slowly turned into a puffy cloud, jumping on the red flames.

"That's it!" The coppersmith let out a low snort, picked up the scimitar with his iron tongs, roasted it on the fire for a moment, and then dipped the reddish blade directly into the horse's urine.

"Whew!" The pungent smell rose with the smoke, and everyone was so smoked that they burst into tears, but no one wanted to go out for a while. A pair of enchanted eyes slowly moved down with the coppersmith's movements, and landed on the scimitar that had just been clamped out of the horse's urine. The quenched scimitar is black and blue, and the color is strange. The clouds that once jumped on the red blade turned a silver-gray color, condensed between the blade and the back of the blade, as if it was still drifting slowly as the scimitar moved.

"Take it and cut it!" There was a smug look in the coppersmith's voice. The owner of the scimitar, who was panting at the end of the sledgehammer, immediately let out a cheer, picked up the scimitar from the iron pliers with both hands, and although he was grinning at the residual heat of the blade, he refused to let go, and rushed into the snow outside, screaming.

"Before, senior!" Li Xu stepped forward and shouted. How to name the strange man in front of him, he himself couldn't figure it out. It is too abrupt to call Master as soon as he comes up. Calling him by name like he treats other people in the tribe does not conform to the etiquette of the Central Plains.

"Help me get a sledgehammer!" The coppersmith commanded without raising his head. This was the rule in his workshop, and whoever asked him to make something, from a sword and an axe to a bronze mirror for a woman, had to pick up a sledgehammer for him for a few hours. In the words of the coppersmith, he explained that he did not know how to cherish the things he did not do, and only by tasting the feelings of the craftsman could he cherish the finished product in his hands, and when he used it, he also had a good sense of people and utensils.

Li Xu didn't know this strange rule of the coppersmith, he was used to doing housework at home, and the requirements of the elders were orders. At this moment, he listened to the coppersmith's command to pick up the hammer, and instinctively carried the handle of the hammer in his hand.

The coppersmith took out a piece of stubborn iron from the flames, and gently smashed it with the small hammer in his hand, "Ding! ”

"Bell!" Li Xu picked up the sledgehammer and accurately landed the hammer head where the small hammer left. Gravity-struck iron sparks splashed in all directions, hissing and stretching forward a line.

"Good hands!" The coppersmith praised in Turkic, the hammer continued to fall, and Li Xu followed the rhythm of his movements, and pulled the sledgehammer into the wind.

Tao Kuo Desi originally wanted to intervene and inform the coppersmith that he and Li Xu had come to learn art on the orders of Aunt Qing. When the words came to his lips, seeing Li Xu's serious appearance, he changed his mind again, found a leather cushion and sat down with interest, and watched Li Xu pick the hammer for the coppersmith with both hands on his cheeks.

The coppersmith walked all over the grassland alone, and it was not until he met Aunt Xilin that he stopped wandering. This is a legend known to the entire Su Si Ministry, although everyone has never seen a coppersmith fighting with a person, but he can be alone with a person who crosses the grassland, his skills must not be too bad. Otherwise, the wolves, horse thieves and blizzards on the road would have sent his bones into the vulture's belly.

Under the light of the fire, Li Xu's slightly copper-colored face looked extremely resolute. The muscular shoulders, the undulating chest like a mountain twin, every position made Tao Kuo feel pleasing to the eye. The young man in the Su Si Department is also very strong, and there are many people who are no less tall and tall than Li Xu. According to tribal rules, a woman could choose a man's tent at the age of thirteen. Since last summer, they have been giving gifts to Tokotosi, singing and whistling around her horses. But in the eyes of the girl, none of them had the intoxicating luster on their faces, resolute, fierce, and sometimes a little confused.

"Ding!" The coppersmith threw aside the hammer and threw the second semi-finished product into the fire with iron tongs. For half an hour, he didn't let the young man in front of him stop once. And the young man actually held on, although the wheezing gradually became heavier, but he did not secretly lower the height of the hammer like the others.

"You've struck iron before?" The coppersmith asked quietly with his eyes fixed on the blade of the blade in the flames.

"Nope!" Li Xu only replied with one word. The exertion of his muscles and bones made his mood feel a little more relaxed, the weight behind him became a little lighter, and the sharpness of his consciousness was greatly reduced. I didn't even notice that the coppersmith spoke in Chinese when he asked, and instinctively answered in the same language.

None of the herdsmen in the workshop could understand the two spoken Chinese, and they did not care that the coppersmiths and the annexes spoke their own language. One of them had lived in the tribe for eighteen years, and the other had just made a great contribution to the tribe, and no matter what strange behavior they had, it was considered normal. Moreover, both of them are from the Central Plains, and every herdsman can understand the intimate feeling of meeting people from his hometown.

Tao Kuo, who was watching Li Xu striking iron on the side, listened to it with joy. The coppersmith and the attached Li spoke the original dialect, which means that the relationship between the two has been brought closer. If this development continues, after a while, the attachment will propose to learn the art, and the coppersmith will not be able to complain that the attachment will rob him of his "mantle".

There are many people in the Central Plains, so the craft is not worth much. Teaching you skills is equivalent to giving you your clothes and jobs. Li Xuyan's indiscriminate explanation of the "heir to the mantle" that day was deeply imprinted in the girl's heart.

"Have you practiced martial arts?" The coppersmith asked again in Chinese when he threw the knife blank into the fire for the second time.

"No, it's been practiced. Follow, I learned a few tricks from the nursing home in Zhuangzi! Li Xu replied breathlessly with the handle of the hammer. Although he was used to rough work, his endurance and arm strength were amazing, and he was a little out of breath at this time.

As the saying goes, "a busy hammer, a tired sledgehammer". The industry of striking iron is the most physically demanding, and being the master's hammer is about experience and eyesight. The sledgehammer of an apprentice is completely based on arm strength and endurance. If the master in the blacksmith's workshop has only one apprentice, the apprentice is either very strong or has a debt to the master and has to pay it back. Otherwise, no one would be stupid enough to serve the Master alone.

"One more round of this knife can be completed, can you still hold on?" The coppersmith asked in a low voice in Turkic, flipping the blade in the fire.

Several people in the workshop couldn't sit still, and they rushed forward to replace Li Xu. The reason why several people came to the coppersmith to make weapons was because they knew that one person alone could not make a scimitar complete that day. Several people take turns to do it, helping each other, but they all have a chance to rest, and the speed of making scimitars will also speed up.

"I, I'll finish this round again! A person works from head to tail, the force is used evenly, and the toughness of the knife is good! Li Xu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a breath. It was an experience he had heard from people in the village. The quality of a knife made by the same hand is not the same as that of a knife made by several sledgehammers in turn. Everyone's strength is different, which will cause the tool to be stressed unevenly during the forming process, which will affect the service life of the finished product.

The shepherds could not resist him, and withdrew with admiration. Li Xu picked up the sledgehammer and followed the rhythm of the coppersmith with a small hammer to continue to hit the knife blank on the cutting board. Watching a scimitar slowly take shape under his own hammer, he gradually forgot about the bloody killing, forgot about his companions struggling and dying in front of him, and concentrated all his energy on the joy of creation.

"Whew!" The smoke of horse urine rose again, and Li Xu could no longer smell the pungent stench. The whole body was so wet that it was like crawling out of the water just now, but it felt hearty from head to toe.

"Alright, take it and open the blade!" The coppersmith said triumphantly as the daylight came in through the window. This is his best work in a month, with a soft curve and even weight, and with the hilt, it is enough to change a four-year-old warhorse.

"Thank you, Master Viga! Thank you for attaching it" The owner of the scimitar held his treasure and jumped and ran into the snow. The coppersmith smiled and picked up another piece of fine iron from the fire.

"You're going to exhaust him," Tao Kuo jumped up and protested loudly.

The coppersmith turned his gaze to the girl, and a sunny smile immediately appeared on his face. "Does he matter to you? I don't see any benefit other than a handful of effort! ”

"Master Viga!" The girl blushed, stomped her feet several times in succession, and said hatefully, "I'll go tell Aunt Xilin!" You are disrespectful to the old! ”

It was rare that she had used the idiom right again, and the coppersmith shook his head with a smile. Turning his gaze to Li Xu, who had already held the handle of the hammer in his hand, he ordered kindly: "Go back, come here tomorrow morning to find me." Once I get tired of you, I'm afraid I won't have a peaceful life to live in the future! ”

"Hmm!" Li Xu agreed and swayed out the door. Tao Kuo didn't care about bothering the coppersmith anymore, took a few steps forward, and supported half of his arm.

Looking in the direction the young man had left, the coppersmith took the wine bag beside him and took a big sip. The small hammer in his hand jingled, as if a string of joyful songs had been played.

It was a long spring tune on the prairie, and the male and female shepherds sang opposite each other. Its rhythm is like an ancient song thousands of years away.

"There are plums, in fact, seven Xi. Ask me to be a gentleman, and I will be lucky. There are plums, in fact, there are three. Ask me to be a gentleman, and I will be ..... (Note 1)

Note 1: You Mei is from the Book of Songs. Zhao Nan. Through the fact that there are fewer and fewer plums on the tree, it is described that the woman's youth is getting shorter and shorter, so please pick it as soon as possible.