A small shop was newly opened in the south of the city, the shopkeeper was a thin young man, the only guy looked dressed as a maid, and there was no plaque at the door, only some words were written on the bamboo board, which looked really down.

The New Year is approaching, the atmosphere of the festival is naturally strong, the lanterns are hung on the long street, there are a lot more people setting up stalls, and more people are coming and going to shop for New Year's goods to prepare for the New Year, and the smile on their faces makes the temperature of winter a little higher.

Xiaohuan, who had been standing at the door for a long time, smiled a little stiffly, and his aunt went out to shop early in the morning, first made some perfume, and then hastily opened, but now it is almost afternoon, and only two guests came in.

"Uncle, is the price too high?"

"It's only five taels, and it's still high?" Gu Huai wrote and drew on the account book, "I still want to set ten taels." ”

Looking at his aunt who looked like he had lost his mind, Xiaohuan sighed sadly and continued to look at the crowd walking by on the street in a daze.

If not a single bottle is sold, will my uncle be very sad?

"Although the opening is a little sloppy, I am still very confident," footsteps sounded, and Gu Huai also walked to the door, "The fame has not yet been hit, naturally no one has come to the door, now it depends on which one is wronged..."

He coughed: "... Which well-wisher tried it first. ”

Xiaohuan's silent eyes seemed to say a lot.

"I know what you're thinking, the price of five taels seems to be outrageous, but in fact, the woman really doesn't think about whether it's worth the price when she spends the money," Gu Huai sleeved his hand, "Don't ask me why I didn't grab it... Where can I sell this to make money quickly? ”

"Uncle..."

"There are still a lot of improvements, the still has to be made, the efficiency of making two large urns is too low, the flowers can also be dried and then extracted from plant essential oils, the more types the better, when the market spreads, it is not impossible to go south."

My uncle is living more and more in his own world... The little girl's face was full of worry, for fear that her uncle would be a little stunned if she had been hit too hard.

Gu Huai, who was a little distracted, naturally didn't know what his little maid was thinking, and looked back at the lonely shop, he sighed, knowing that he was in a hurry, he still came to open today, and he could only say that he still needed to cultivate his mind...

"Xiaohuan, you really don't want to be a shopkeeper?"

The little maid shook her head: "Xiaohuan can only serve people, not do business, for fear of mistaking my uncle's business." ”

"Then it seems that we still have to find two guys," Gu Huai scratched the corners of his eyebrows, "I still have to find a shopkeeper, but the cost of this business is too low, the production is too simple and too profitable, in case you find someone with a bad heart..."

It's here again.

“... Forget it, let it go in advance, anyway, there are probably no guests in the past two days, so I still have to find a way to send a few bottles out, Xiaohuan, you just look at the shop first, I have to go to the blacksmith shop. ”

Gu Huai walked into the long street and hesitated: "Is there any sulfur in the Song family's pharmacy?" ”

"Yes, every year many restaurants come to order some sulfur wine."

"That's good," Gu Huai raised his head and looked at the gloomy sky, "That's it." ”

......

Different from the loneliness of their own perfume shops, the blacksmith shop in the south of the city can be regarded as in full swing.

This is in full swing is literal, just into the shop, a wave of heat is coming, obviously it is the cold winter season, but the blacksmiths in the shop are naked, sweat beads on the bulging muscles roll down, hearty laughter with gold and iron is very noisy.

Seeing that the guests were coming, the men in their forties picked up a cloth of unknown color and wiped their faces, and enthusiastically came up: "Guest, what do you want to fight?" ”

Gu Huai looked at the sword hanging on the wall with interest, and retracted his gaze: "What can you fight?" ”

"Look at what the guest said, as long as it is iron, why can't we fight?" The man laughed heartily, "From the iron pot and the plow, to the iron ring and iron bowl, we can take everything." ”

The rest of the men also laughed, obviously the person who came had never entered the blacksmith shop, otherwise he would not have asked such a question, and the shop was immediately filled with a cheerful air.

This kind of ridicule was very kind, Gu Huai was not angry, and laughed: "Can you have a pen and paper?" I'll draw something, and you'll see if you can type it. ”

Soon a strange-shaped thing jumped on the paper, and the man who drank the saliva picked up the paper and looked at it upside down for a long time, but he didn't understand what it was.

"It's a... Iron balls? ”

"No, it's hollow," Gu Huai pointed to the drawing and explained, "The above is the legend from the front, the middle is the legend from above, and the bottom is the legend after the dissection." ”

He laughed, "Isn't that clear at a glance?" ”

The man, who had been fighting iron for I don't know how many years, looked at it carefully, and his eyes lit up all of a sudden: "It's true!" I figured out the shape and size of this thing at once, why didn't we think we could draw it like this before? ”

"Guest, what is this painting called?"

"Three views," Gu Huai put down his pen, "but it can also be called another way, how to follow the ear." ”

The man nodded, studied the drawings for a while, and suddenly looked embarrassed: "Guest, look at this situation, do you want to fill in something?" ”

"Yes, that's why it's played separately, and after it is beaten, it is fitted, and it is best to seal it completely."

"The guest doesn't know," the man put down the drawing, "we can hit the hollow ball with iron, but if we don't hit it at the beginning, the iron quenching water can't be pasted, there will always be some seams, and it can be fixed by making a buckle, which is this seal..."

Gu Huai frowned: "Can't fight it?" ”

"I can't fight it," the man was very sincere, "and it's not that we can't fight it... No one in the whole of Peking can fight it. ”

This is strange, although the iron-making level of the Ming Dynasty is not as superb as that of later generations, it is certainly not too bad, at least not the bronze level, so the question is, how did later generations solve the problem of sealing?

Gu Huai changed his thinking: "Then don't hit it in half, but leave a small opening?" Then put a cap about the same size, and when the time comes, press the seal with leather or something..."

The man pondered for a moment and nodded: "It should be feasible." ”

Gu Huai breathed a sigh of relief: "Then let's fight like this, how long will it take to fight ten first?" ”

"Two days is enough."

"I'll get it in two days, this is the deposit," Gu Huai put down the silver, "You can make it a little bigger, after all, there may be more things in the fortress." ”

This kind of work that is not difficult, the man is naturally happy to take it, Gu Huai walked out of the door of the blacksmith shop, looked down at the little stain on his boots, and finally had a little smile on his face.

"Everything is ready, only the east wind is owed..."