There is only one blacksmith shop in Denglou Town, located on West Street. The father and son have been running it for decades, and it is very famous in Shiliba Village.

In particular, the knives forged by the old blacksmith were extremely sharp, and even the frontier generals praised them greatly.

Following the clanging sound of hammering, Yunji found the shop.

An old blacksmith in his fifties was forging a knife. He hammered the knife very steadily and sparks scattered all over the floor.

"I'm still busy, so I won't have a wedding banquet. Today is a happy day for your Lao Niu family."

A neighbor passed by the blacksmith shop and saw that the old blacksmith was still busy, so he reminded him.

"Don't be hasty, don't be hasty. A wedding banquet is also a meal. It doesn't matter whether you eat it or not. It's a big deal if you miss the guest's knife."

The old blacksmith raised his head and wiped his sweat. His bronze face looked like it was made of iron.

After watching the neighbors, the old blacksmith was about to lower his head to forge a knife when he saw a young man standing at the door holding a horse.

"Boss, how much does it cost to forge a knife?"

"It depends on what kind of knife you have. The one that kills chickens and ducks is cheap, with a few dozen dollars enough. The one that slaughters pigs and debones them is more expensive, and requires shredded silver. The one that goes into battle to kill the enemy is the most expensive, starting from ten taels of silver."

As the old blacksmith spoke, he dropped the hammer, looking at Yunji. The falling hammer hit the knife impartially, with such skill that no need to look was needed.

"Twelve taels..."

Seeing the other party's hesitation, the old blacksmith suggested: "Your Majesty, your body is thin and a murder knife is not suitable for you. Why not forge a self-defense knife? It does not cost a tael of silver. It is cheap and durable. You can have it by your side when you are on the road. It will give you peace of mind."

"

"I have a self-defense knife, but I think it's not very sharp, so I need to add something to it."

"Recasting is troublesome. The original knife needs to be melted first, and then the additional materials are melted away. The heat is very important. If you don't make the knife properly and the materials are wasted, it will be useless. It's better to buy a new knife."

"I'm nostalgic, and I don't want to exchange the old ones. How about I pay twenty taels of silver to forge two knives and lend them to your shop for a few days?"

"Ten taels of silver can make a knife, but I can't guarantee its success. If it's ruined, I won't accompany you... Can you lend me your shop?"

The old blacksmith was puzzled. He had been forging knives for decades and had never encountered anyone borrowing knives or swords from his shop.

"Of course I will lend you your shop to forge swords. It will take about three days. You can help pull the wind box. If twenty taels are not enough, add another ten taels."

The old blacksmith laughed, shook his head and said: "My lord, you are joking. This is not a matter of money. If you want to borrow a sword, you can use it. Lend me my shop to forge the sword. Isn't this a game? I'm in the lantern tower."

I have been forging swords for more than thirty years, and have forged at least a thousand murder knives. Among the blacksmiths in the entire Wu Kingdom, there are only three people who are better than me in craftsmanship. My reputation as a great old man is not so easy to defeat."

Yunji also smiled and said: "I don't want to forge it myself, but there is no way. You can't forge my sword."

The old blacksmith said stubbornly: "Impossible! Unless you have a magical weapon, there are no ordinary swords that I can't forge."

Yunji had no choice but to take off the scabbard from behind his back, took out a bone knife and handed it to the old blacksmith.

"This..." The old blacksmith reached out to take it, but before he even touched the blade, he felt a stinging pain on his fingertips.

The old blacksmith was secretly frightened and hurriedly stopped.

His hands were covered with calluses, and he could barely grab the coals in the stove, but he felt a stinging pain even though he didn't even touch the knife. This shows that this knife is absolutely extraordinary.

"Hold on objectively and let me finish forging this knife."

The old blacksmith's expression changed, he dropped the hammer hastily, and quickly finished forging the last knife in his hand, then threw it into the cold water and exploded a cloud of mist.

After letting Yunji into the shop, the old blacksmith looked at the customer in front of him again.

He has a delicate appearance, a thin body, and a harmless smile. He looks like an ordinary young man no matter what.

Thinking of those mysterious practitioners, the old blacksmith's tone became more respectful: "If you build it by yourself, you don't need to pay. You can use the tools in my shop as you like. As for pulling the wind box, it's just a matter of strength. It doesn't count."

What."

"If the wind is not strong enough, it will not rush. If the fire is not strong, how can you forge a knife? Don't worry, no matter whether it is successful or not, thirty taels of silver will be worth every penny."

Hearing Yunji's words, the old blacksmith beamed with joy and said, "Okay! Your guest turns out to be an expert. The most important thing for forging a knife is actually not fire, but wind. If the wind is strong enough, the fire will flourish. If the wind is not enough, the knife cannot be made."

A knowledgeable person can speak freely. The old blacksmith knew that he had met an expert, so he gave in and said: "Quinzi is getting married today. If you don't mind, please join in the fun. After the wedding banquet, we will start work again."

"Okay, congratulations."

The place where the banquet was held was in the courtyard of my house, behind the blacksmith shop. There were more than ten tables in total, and they were all neighbors, relatives and friends.

After worshiping heaven and earth, the wedding banquet begins.

They are all small families, not very particular, and everyone gets together to have a lively atmosphere, changing cups and cups, and chatting.

Yunji sat at the same table as Old Man Niu, and at the same table were some gentry and merchants in the town, most of whom were prominent figures.

"A lot of meat has been purchased on the island recently. Can a family eat so much meat?"

"My Yu Yuanwai has a big appetite and won't be happy with anything. I don't owe your pig money, so I don't care whether he can finish it."

"That's true. Yu Yuanwai is a big customer in our town, and he never buys things on credit."

"I heard that the food of the servants hired on the island is very good, and they eat meat with every meal."

"Isn't it? Otherwise, why would no one on the island be willing to come back these years?"

"It's good to have a big family and a big business. Even the servants will enjoy the happiness."

Listening to the chats of a few people, Yunji learned that the small island in the middle of the lake outside the town was an independent courtyard where a member of the family named Yu lived and also employed many people from the town.

"None of the people who went to the island came back?" Yunji asked.

"It's a bit strange to say that no matter how much money you make, you should go home and have a look. It's not that far away, so why haven't you heard that people from the island have come back?"

"The people who go there are poor people. They can make money and eat well. Who doesn't want to stay there for a few more years?"

"Perhaps there are rules outside the family. The servants are not allowed to go home to visit relatives. Once they come back, they can't even think about going back. There are a lot of rules in wealthy families."

"Hey, Dai Niu is here to propose a toast. May I have a son soon, haha."

The newlyweds greeted each other one by one. When they reached Yunji, Niu Da was stunned. The people at this table were all prominent figures in the town. He had never seen such a strange young man.

"This is..." Niu Da said suspiciously.

"Dignified guest, distinguished guest haha." Old Man Niu introduced briefly. He didn't know what Yunji's name was, so he could only address him as a distinguished guest.

Yunji smiled and said something auspicious, saying that he would do it first as a courtesy.

As the cup fell, he glanced at the bride casually.

The bride is indeed good-looking, she looks soft and frail, but this woman's face is very pale, and she is painted with bright red rouge, which makes her look a bit oozing.

Mr. and Mrs. Niu were busy going to another table to toast, while Yunji was playing with the wine glass and looking at the ground.

Just where Mr. and Mrs. Niu were standing, there were a few tiny fish scales scattered around, which were hard to detect without looking closely.

"When you're full, let's get to work."

Yun Ji stood up and said to Old Man Niu: "I can't stop forging the sword. I'm afraid it's not enough for you to pull the wind box by yourself. Let Niu Da also come and help me."

"This... is good." Old Man Niu hesitated and agreed immediately.
Chapter completed!