On this day, Hu Xiaoer and I finally arrived at the foot of Qingquan Mountain. The weather was also extremely hot.

But when I looked up, it was a cloudy day, and the sun was still the same sun, half of which was hidden in the cotton clouds and no outsiders were seen.

We both agreed that the heat didn't seem like it was coming down from heaven. The heat was dry and dry, like roasting people by a fire. There was also a smell of burning flint in the air, and the closer you got to Qingquan Mountain, the more so.

At the foot of the Qingquan Mountain, there are a few houses made of gray stone, and almost every house has a large open door, and there is a large stove and red charcoal burning. Among them, many of them were men, shirtless, very strong, some were doing sword models outside, some were forging swords, and some were sweating profusely against the stove to quench......

In short, the jingle bells are clanging, crackling, and even mixed with the sound of shouting trumpets, which is in full swing, so lively!

It was the first time I saw the craftsman casting a sword, and I pulled Hu Xiaoer to admire it with great interest, and was about to sigh, when I heard him say more excitedly than me: "Woman, look, there is a watermelon seller there!"

If he sees a watermelon seller on weekdays, Hu Xiaoer must wait and see if the melon tastes sweet or not, or whether the price of this kind of melon is appropriate. But at this moment, he didn't say a word of gossip and ran to the melon stall as fast as he could.

Because this is Qingquan Mountain, within a radius of 100 miles, everyone is busy casting swords, and I see that this stall selling melons is dominant.

But fortunately, this watermelon is juicy and sweet. The stall owner is smart, and there are a lot of ice cubes in the big bucket, which is extremely cool in the mouth, and the heat of Qingquan Mountain is driven away at once. There were a lot of men who were squatting in front of the stall and gnawing melons, and after eating, they took the towel around their necks and wiped their sweat and went back to play with swords.

Hu Xiaoer ate most of the watermelon to relieve the anger in his heart, and after eating, the sides of his mouth were rosy. After he burped contentedly, he saw the lady selling melons in front of the melon stall staring at him happily, and walked up to him with a smile on her face: "Sister......"

"Don't don't," the melon seller waved her hand at him, looking extremely kind, "I look twenty or thirty years older than you, this sister doesn't dare to be! ”

Hu Xiaoer nodded in response, and after calling "Aunt Gua" affectionately, he began to chatter with her.

"Aunt Gua, it's almost late autumn, why is the weather in Qingquan Mountain still so hot?"

"Hey, everyone here has a big stove at home, and it's still burning every day, can it not be hot?" Besides, there is ...... in this Qingquan Mountain" Aunt Gua was talking energetically, suddenly stopped talking and frowned slightly, and looked at the faces of me and Hu Xiaoer and said, "You two are coming to Qingquan Mountain for the first time, right?"

Hu Xiaoer and I nodded.

"I said, even if you have a good-looking face, how can you still feel like you are looking at it for a while!" After Aunt Gua figured out the situation, she asked us more and more enthusiastically, "You two told Aunt Gua what you were doing in Qingquan Mountain? Are you here to fight swords, or are you here to find a master?"

Although she asked bluntly, there was no malicious intent, and I said truthfully: "I'm here to help my friend fight a sword." ”

Aunt Gua was stunned for a moment, and stretched out a finger, "Just a handful?"

"Yes, just one, and a good sword. ”

After hearing this, she looked away slightly, and bowed her head slightly as if she wanted to think about it. There will be resting craftsmen who come to buy watermelons to eat, and the melon lady will devote herself to cutting melons.

Hu Xiaoer pointed to the late weather in the distance and asked me, "Where are we staying tonight?"

I said, "Looking for an inn, if you can't do it, you'll ......."

"Are you looking for an inn? Then let's go with Aunt Gua!" Aunt Gua finished her work and interjected. She pointed to the short distance behind the stall and said, "You see, that's my land too." ”

The direction of Gua Auntie's finger is a row of houses, and there is a small courtyard fenced with fence piles in front of it, and there are four very handsome and elegant brush words "Zhuzhu Guest House" written on the façade.

Hu Xiaoer said happily: "Aunt melon, what about you doing this melon-eating business, and also taking care of people's sleep?"

She also laughed and honestly told us and Pan, "Hey, Aunt Gua didn't learn any sword casting skills, so I took over all the work of eating melons, drinking, and staying overnight." If you want to know anything about swords, you can ask me. Aunt Gua is a responsible person, and she is not deceived when she does business. ”

After a stick of incense, Hu Xiaoer and I stood in the small courtyard of the Zhuzhu Guest House. Aunt Gua has already told us about the layout of her guest house. As the only inn in Qingquan Mountain, Zhuzhu Hostel is actually not big, and it is a little simple, and the decoration of the room is the same.

She was quite considerate to find us two rooms with the best location to live in, and when she was leaving, she turned back and asked, "You just said you came to fight swords?"

I looked at her and nodded.

Aunt Gua said again: "Then you must go to the Sword Market under the big willow tree tonight." ”

"Sword City?" Hu Xiaoer and I were both full of doubts.

Aunt Gua explained: "Qingquan Mountain has the rules of Qingquan Mountain, and it is normal for you to come for the first time and not understand. There are two kinds of people who come to Qingquan Mountain, one is to buy swords directly, and the other is to find a familiar master to fight swords. But either way, you have to go to the Sword Market. During the day, every house has its doors wide open, but they are busy forging swords, and they don't care about these transactions. Only in the sword market, every household has a stall, and if there is a ready-made one, it can also be traded directly. If you come to fight swords, you can also shop around, what to see the pattern, style, material texture...... Anyway, the business is only done in the sword market, everyone is polite, and everything is negotiable. ”

"It turns out that there is a lot of knowledge here, Aunt Gua doesn't say it, we don't know yet!" Hu Xiaoer suddenly realized, "Then when will this sword market open tonight?"

Aunt Gua said: "The market is open when the child is in business." The Sword Market is held once every six months for three days. As a coincidence, tonight is the first day of the Sword Market. ”