Chapter 6: The Blacksmith

It is not surprising that in this year of this small realm, there is not much good steel available to forge agricultural tools

Fang Xiaoyue heard the sound and hurriedly went out to greet it

By then, the trouble will be significant

At the end of the narrow alley hangs a sign: Maintenance Point of the Bencao Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and from inside, the sound of banging and clattering can be heard from time to time

Huang Laoyao greeted Cheng Dashui and then threw several selected hoe blades into the furnace, pulling the bellows, causing a fierce blaze to erupt.

Therefore, Zhang Daniu places great importance on this broken pedal thresher

Yet even so, one can still see the former glory of Bencao Town

Zhang Daniu shouted at Fang Xiaoyue as soon as he saw her, completely disregarding the fact that his attention towards her might provoke discontent among the other villagers

Perhaps Dulong Mountain is not very suitable for the growth of precious medicinal herbs

Upon exiting the thatched cottage, he saw Zhang Daniu accompanied by a group of accountants and scorekeepers, including Zhao Xiangdong, standing outside, with Liu Sanmu beside them leading an ox cart

In summary, these items are generally capable of repairing most agricultural tools sold by the supply and marketing cooperatives

However, they did not enter the supply and marketing cooperative, but instead went around to a small alley behind the cooperative

The iron materials used to manufacture these agricultural tools are actually produced in small blast furnaces, and often they are significantly inferior to rebar.

Of course, Fang Xiaoyue said that merely to dispel Liu Sanmu's inquiries, and whether or not they could borrow grain was of no consequence.

The middle-aged man with half-gray hair was aware of this, and thus smiled somewhat awkwardly as he let Zhang Daniu in, saying: "Isn't our supply and marketing cooperative under warranty for one year? The cooperative in the neighboring Longwan Town, however, does not take responsibility once you step out the door"

During the busy farming season, an adult man earns only 10 work points for a day's labor

Fang Xiaoyue glanced around, and for the sake of caution, she closed the door of the thatched cottage and began to eat alone inside.

Upon seeing Liu Sanmu, Fang Xiaoyue instinctively licked her lips, worried that she had not cleaned them properly and that someone might detect the scent. She even regretted not having taken a few mint leaves to freshen her mouth.

Indeed, three to four pounds of rat meat actually shrinks after being roasted.

At this point, the other party has already taken quite a significant risk

Those farming tools have been bought back for half a year now

Perhaps due to their close relationship, Zhang Daniu immediately wanted to retort back

Fang Xiaoyue said casually, without concealing anything. However, in the next moment, he turned his attention to Liu Sanmu: "Uncle Sanmu, my family is struggling to make ends meet. Could you lend me some grain?"

Well, in fact, things are not as exaggerated as Zhang Daniu described

Before the advent of this threshing machine, the villagers of Lianqiao could only thresh rice by hand, grasping the rice ears and shaking them against the side of a wooden barrel, which was both time-consuming and labor-intensive

The meat of the mountain rat, Fang Xiaoyue did not prepare to take to Zhang Daniu's house, as this item is too conspicuous; once cooked, the aroma that wafts out is simply unstoppable

The wooden door opened quickly, and a middle-aged man with graying hair peeked out. Upon seeing Zhang Daniu, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Oh, it's Brother Daniu! What brings you here today?"

A broken pedal thresher is left there in Lianqiao Village

These herbs, when discussed, are not considered to be of high value. Furthermore, due to the drought and flood disasters in previous years, there has been no inclination in Lianqiao Village to invest any effort in this regard.

Since the purchase of five pedal threshers, the threshing of rice in Lianqiao Village has become much easier and simpler

However, the villagers of Lianqiao Village have lost the transmission of their medicinal herb gathering skills due to the war. Even when it comes to gathering herbs, they can only choose some that they are familiar with, such as Lianqiao, Banzhilian, and Rendongteng, among others

Several people went to the village committee together, loading various farming tools piled up onto the ox cart. Afterwards, Liu Sanmu drove the ox cart, leading the way, while Zhang Daniu and others took turns sitting on the cart as they headed towards the town

Fang Xiaoyue hurriedly agreed to the matter

Fang Xiaoyue could only shake his head. If there were precious herbs like ginseng in the Dulong Mountain, he might try to work in that direction. However, after searching through Zhang Fugui's memories, he found no records of such things.

If it were not for the breakdown of this pedal thresher, there would be no need to make a special trip to town

Old Cheng, the work has begun

A single person can operate it, continuously pressing the pedal with one foot while using both hands to grasp the rice ears and feed them into the inlet, thereby threshing the rice grains

However, problems have indeed arisen

Fang Xiaoyue and others saw Zhang Daniu enter the repair shop and hurriedly moved the farming tools from the ox cart inside one by one

Uncle! I am here!

Liu Sanmu's lewd eyes could not help but keep glancing at the basket on Fang Xiaoyue's back

Fortunately, Captain Zhang Daniu holds a certain level of prestige; otherwise, even though Zhang Fugui is an orphan, the brigade's care for him would likely face direct opposition from many narrow-minded villagers

After all, those broken hoes, sickles, and other farming tools can still be used with some effort in sharpening them. However, the books are unusable, so I brought them along this time to repair.

When the layer of mud has completely dried and slightly cracked, revealing a hint of meaty aroma, Fang Xiaoyue knows that the meat is cooked

Zhao Xiangdong is somewhat thin, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, with a rare steel pen from Lianqiao Village tucked into the pocket of his jacket, thereby highlighting his identity as an intellectual

Although he is not considered to have a particularly malicious heart, he has nonetheless had some impact on Zhang Daniu

Remove the mud ball, smash it, peel back the lotus leaf, and the aroma of the meat wafts in the air

For example, upon entering Bencao Town, Fang Xiaoyue immediately saw several herbal medicine shops lined up in a row

Ah, Fu Gui, today the team is going to the town to collectively repair the farming tools, you will earn 5 work points!

Lianqiao Village, also known as the Eighth Brigade, is under the jurisdiction of Bencao Town

Bencao Town has long been a well-known gathering place for herbal medicine, attracting various merchants in the field.

Although it is said to cut off the small tail, in reality, the supply and marketing cooperative in the town will purchase these furs, as long as the villagers do not find out.

The repair shop can be described as a hodgepodge

The Longwan Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative does not provide any service upon departure, but the warranty at your Ben Cao Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative also requires payment

Prosperity! Prosperity! Are you there?

Most households do not have enough food to eat, let alone Liu Sanmu, who has always been one to take in but never give out, making it even more impossible for him to agree to lend grain to him

Returning to the thatched cottage, I glanced at the water tank; the tank that was filled to the brim yesterday has not been used much.

but it also allowed him to eat to his heart's content, giving rise to a profound sense of happiness within him

Therefore, after the arrival of those educated youth, he felt quite uncomfortable and often spoke in front of Zhang Daniu about how those educated youth could not endure hardship

Although this meat lacks salt and contains only some wild seasonings, for Fang Xiaoyue, who possesses memories and books of Zhang Fugui, it is already an exceptionally rare delicacy

Cheng Dashui took a few vigorous puffs, exhaling two columns of smoke from his nostrils. After tapping the dry tobacco pipe against the sole of his foot, he stood up and directly went to the courtyard

There are large furnaces used by blacksmiths, hammers, and so on, as well as saws, chisels, and other tools used by carpenters

The work during this flood is relatively scarce, and the people are quite quiet, sitting on a small stool, silently smoking dry tobacco.

Indeed, in reality, Zhao Xiangdong, this accountant, has only graduated from elementary school

I just pulled up some thatch and gathered some firewood, as there is not enough firewood at home

This foot-operated threshing machine is made of wood and is the most advanced rice threshing machine in Lianqiao Village

He immediately devised a plan in his mind, but the implementation would still require adaptability to changing circumstances

The middle-aged man with half-white hair is named Huang Laoyao. He is a blacksmith and also the person in charge of this repair shop

What wind? The passing wind

Zhang Daniu replied irritably: "I said that the quality of the agricultural tools from your supply and marketing cooperative is getting worse and worse. These hoes, sickles, and axes were just bought not long ago, and they already have chips in them."

It should be noted that 5 work points is not a small amount

Walking along the main street that runs through Bencao Town, after turning a corner, one arrives at the Bencao Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative

Just as Fang Xiaoyue was burying the bones and lotus leaves, lying in bed reminiscing about the delicious rat meat, she heard the voice of Zhang Daniu coming from outside the thatched cottage

Fang Xiaoyue felt a surge of joy in her heart, as she was contemplating how to reasonably showcase her skills, unexpectedly, Zhang Daniu handed her a pillow

However, there are not many people in the repair shop

These herbal shops display notices for the long-term purchase of herbs

Another one is the carpenter Cheng Dashui, who appears to be an old man in his fifties

Uncle, I'm going!

Fang Xiaoyue removed the skin from the mountain rat, rinsed it slightly, and placed it in a cool area to prepare for air drying

Following along to the town like this, helping to move some farming tools, it won't take more than half a day, just 5 work points. Moreover, one can also take the ox cart to the town for free to have a little fun, and there are many villagers who want to go.

After finishing the meat, Hu Hu licked the bits of meat and oil off his fingers, only then did he remember that he had eaten too quickly and completely forgot to leave some for Zhang Daniu's family

Upon thinking of this, Fang Xiaoyue quickly cleaned the mountain rat and then went to the pond to find a lotus leaf. She stuffed various seasonings into the rat's belly, wrapped it in the lotus leaf, coated the outside with a layer of mud, and placed it into the stove to roast slowly over a low fire.

Of course, he would not mention anything about the other party promoting a style of not charging, after all, the two have a good relationship. Although the price for repairing the agricultural tools cannot be lowered, the quantity can be adjusted.

However, the impact of the subsequent wars led to the decline of Bencao Town

Fang Xiaoyue flipped through Zhang Fugui's memories and discovered that villagers needed to organize as a team to collect medicinal herbs for sale here

Upon hearing these words, Liu Sanmu retracted his forward-leaning body, as if he had suddenly gone deaf. He led the water buffalo away, mumbling to himself, "Where shall I take the cattle to graze today"

In Fang Xiaoyue's eyes, that foot-operated threshing machine was clearly outdated, and its appeal was nowhere near that of the furnace burning with a roaring flame

When he took off his clothes and, bare-shouldered, removed some glowing hot iron from the furnace to hammer it, his robust muscles made Fang Xiaoyue feel a twinge of envy

Well, although she found Liu Sanmu's appearance somewhat speechless, Fang Xiaoyue also knew that in this day and age, there are very few people willing to lend grain

Zhang Daniu took the lead and walked ahead, knocking on the slightly ajar wooden door