1986: Old Stories in Northeast China

"Uncle Shulin, you're at home, come in. Have you just come back from the gathering?" Chen Tiezhu replied, and went out to meet him.

"Well, I sold all the hoes. Seeing that the crucian carp is pretty good today, I bought them all, and we each have half." Qiao Shulin said.

"Why did you buy this for me? I just helped you out." Chen Tiezhu said hurriedly.

"But you helped me a lot, and I have to say that it's good for the people in our village. It's not a precious thing, just take it." Qiao Shulin said, and handed over the net bag containing the crucian carp.

"Okay, then thank you, Uncle Shulin. I have time in the afternoon, and I have to go to your house to get some arrowheads." Chen Tiezhu said.

"You can go anytime, and we'll start firing when we get there. I shot all the arrowheads for Second Uncle." Qiao Shulin said with a smile.

"Sure, I'm still thinking about making some kitchen knives, and we'll study it later." Chen Tiezhu nodded.

"Well, I'll go home first." Qiao Shulin said happily.

In his heart, he was really grateful to Chen Tiezhu, and he didn't know how to repay him.

Now he could finally help Chen Tiezhu, so he had to do it well.

"Yingzi, we can still have a good meal tonight. The big crucian carp is stewed with sauce, and the small crucian carp is fried after the shell is removed." Chen Tiezhu said happily while holding the crucian carp.

"This will cost a lot of money, right?" Han Xiuying asked.

"Don't worry about how much it is, it's Uncle Shulin's intention. After dinner, let's go to his house and get some arrowheads and some kitchen utensils." Chen Tiezhu said.

"Don't you have everything now? You're still spending money recklessly, and there's not much left." Han Xiuying frowned and said.

"Enough." Chen Tiezhu said hurriedly.

"Do you know why I don't cook much? In fact, cooking in this big pot is really not as good as cooking in a small pot. And the kitchen knife I use now is a little light and I can't use it with force."

"By the way, I'll get a hunting knife or a dagger. That butcher knife is not enough. It's too thin. Last time, the wild boar twisted its body and almost stabbed it in."

"I don't care about you." Han Xiuying said, and then continued to eat.

Anyway, she felt that Chen Tiezhu was a little arrogant.

It's all because of those big yellow croakers.

He said it was a family heirloom, but it will be lost sooner or later.

Chen Tiezhu didn't dare to say much, and finished his meal with his head down. He told Fang Zhiyong to practice martial arts and pick soybeans, and he took Han Xiuying and Doudou to Qiao Shulin's house.

"Uncle Shulin, shoot twenty arrowheads for me, and I'll make arrows slowly later. These arrowheads are a little crooked, and they need to be fixed." Chen Tiezhu said.

"This is easy to prepare. Didn't you say you also want a kitchen knife? What kind do you want?" Qiao Shulin asked.

"Boss, let's go inside first. It's so cold outside." Qiao Shulin's wife Wang Yulan greeted him.

"Auntie, it's okay. I'm not very good at cooking now." Chen Tiezhu said with a smile.

"Uncle Shulin, you need to make a sharper and longer dagger or something like that, so that I can use it for self-defense when I go hunting in the mountains. Then you can make a kitchen knife, a bone chopping knife, and a boning knife, can you make them?"

"When you have time, you can help me make a wok, but we are not in a hurry. The knife should be a little heavier so that I can use it more conveniently."

"Also, you have to keep the money. Don't think that I helped you, we are all one thing and one thing, otherwise I will go to the town to find someone else to make it."

"Don't say that, it's too polite to say that. And I dare to pat my chest, you really can't make a good knife outside, I'm not bragging." Qiao Shulin said hurriedly.

"Okay, anyway, I'll just use the ready-made ones." Chen Tiezhu said with a smile.

"Your hunting knife should be made of spring steel, which will last a long time. For the kitchen knife, I'll use manganese steel, which will be convenient for cutting vegetables. For the boning knife, the blade should be harder. I have a small piece of tungsten steel, which I'll give you as well."

"The boning knife is easy to sharpen, just use carbon steel. Although it is prone to rust, you should pay more attention to its maintenance. Once it is sharpened, it will be very fast."

"Okay, you are a real expert, I will listen to you." Chen Tiezhu gave a thumbs up.

Hearing his praise, the wrinkles on Qiao Shulin's face were all happy.

Chen Tiezhu knew that for some machinery factories, spring steel and tungsten steel were easier to get. But for Qiao Shulin, they were all treasures.

The country's steel production capacity is already very low, how much can flow to the people?

"Tiezhu, you can measure the strength of your hand later so that I can have an idea in my mind, and then you can wait at home. I will send it to your home after I make it." Qiao Shulin said.

"Uncle Shulin, I have nothing to do anyway, so I just want to watch the fun." Chen Tiezhusaid.

"That's fine."

Qiao Shulin responded cheerfully and started to make a fire.

"Girl, Doudou, here are the peanuts fried yesterday, you can have a bite." At this time, Wang Yulan came out with a basket.

"Thank you, auntie." Han Xiuying responded quickly.

"Thank you, grandma." Doudou was also very well-behaved.

"Oh, Doudou is really well-behaved. Girl, you will enjoy happiness in the future." Wang Yulan said with a smile.

Han Xiuying was a little confused, what kind of happiness?

"Auntie, Sister Caifeng hasn't been back for a while, right? How is she doing now?" Chen Tiezhu interrupted.

"Yeah. Someone brought a message to the market today, and she is doing well. My uncle's family is planting fruit trees. Come with my uncle and bring the children here during the New Year." Wang Yulan said.

"Sure, think about going to my house to pick up a pheasant or a rabbit when the time comes." Chen Tiezhu nodded.

"Ah..., you have grown up so fast. When you were little, you were running around in front of and behind the house like a gang." Wang Yulan sighed.

Han Xiuying, who was listening on the side, raised her eyebrows. Why did she feel sorry when she heard this aunt talking?

Could it be that this idiot had something to say to the Caifeng sister just mentioned?

"Old woman, it's all old things, why are you still talking about that? Come on, blow the bellows for me." Qiao Shulin shouted.

"Oh, look at me, I'm old and I've become a chatterbox. Girl, don't argue." Wang Yulan said to Han Xiuying and hurried over to blow the bellows.

Han Xiuying's head was full of confusion. She was just listening to the excitement. What was she arguing about?

"What's going on? Who is this Caifeng sister?" Han Xiuying poked Chen Tiezhu with a curious look on her face.

"Well, we always played together when we were little." Chen Tiezhu's eyes were slightly evasive.

Han Xiuying's gossip flames were burning fiercely, staring at Chen Tiezhu.

"Look at you, what are you talking about? Isn't this embarrassing for Tiezhu?" Qiao Shulin glanced at them and muttered.

"What should I do? I can't ruin Tiezhu's marriage." His wife was also a little nervous.

"Auntie, let me pull the bellows."

At this time, Chen Tiezhu shouted and came over, and he really couldn't stand Han Xiuying's "hot" eyes.

"Auntie, let him pull the bellows, and we can chat." Han Xiuying said excitedly.

The gossip flames in her heart were already burning fiercely.