"Boy, look at these two drawings. How long will it take for me to build the things above?" The young man with a sword saw the blacksmith and carpenter walking in at the same time, stood up and picked up the drawings he had just drawn and asked.
The two craftsmen looked at the drawings carefully, and the carpenter said, "It can be made in one day." The young man with the sword nodded and looked at the blacksmith. The blacksmith pondered for a long time, and then asked the young man with the sword: "Does this object need to be forged or cast? If it is carefully crafted, it will take half a month to complete." The young man with the sword replied: "It can be cast."
The young man with a negative sword nodded and said: "It doesn't have to be elaborate, it just needs to have a rough shape and sufficient strength." The blacksmith nodded and said: "This can be done in three days!" The young man with a negative sword said to the outsiders: "You also need some rough cowhide with hair. !” The old patriarch nodded and sent someone to prepare.
After about half an hour, the butcher came. The young man with the negative sword ordered: "Get ready the sharp knives and the pole stone. You don't need to bring the rest. Just wait there when the time comes. I'll call you when I use you!" The butcher slapped his chest: "It's simple, look at it!" The young swordsman nodded, and now everything was ready.
Three days later, the magical instrument was completed. The three young masters led the carpenters and blacksmiths to arrange the assembly. When everyone took a look, they realized that this was not half an iron ox. Someone suddenly raised a question, and the young man with the sword behind him said, "This half-iron bull has a wooden body with an iron head and an iron ring at the tail." After saying that, the young man with a sword-bearing sword and two other companions picked up the cowhide and cut the half of the bull. The iron cow package looks like a bowed cow from a distance. After the young man carrying the sword finished his work, he moved his shoulders and said to the villagers: "Carry this thing to the water's edge!" After receiving the order, the people carried the Iron Ox to the water's edge and made it look like it was drinking water.
At the same time, a high platform has been set up next to it, and several shelves have been set up on the other side, with dry firewood under the shelves. All the children and mothers in the village watched from a distance, and everyone's sticks were peeled off and sharpened.
Nine cows were hung up one after another, and they were connected to the iron cow. The tall young man with a short stature ordered the cowherders that as long as he raised one hand above his head, everyone would work hard to drive the cows. He also ordered the women and children that once they saw the three people ascending to the high platform, all the children and women should cover their mouths with their hands and keep silent.
After all the instructions were given, the sun was already turning to the west. The tall young man with a short stature climbed up to the high platform in a few steps, with his heart raised to the sky. The women and children in the distance covered their mouths one after another as if they had received orders, and the other two experts stood behind Tieniu on the left and right. The young man with the sword pulled out the long sword from his back, and the other heroic young man was holding a red whip in his hand, ready for battle!
The old patriarch and several servants were standing not far away. They saw the master on the high platform with his heart pointing to the sky. He took out something with his left hand and put it in his mouth. He touched it forward with his right hand and said, "Hiss" There was a burst of flames, and the thing was set alight. The tall young man with short stature took a sip and slowly exhaled the white smoke. After a while, he took another breath and exhaled white smoke.
Suddenly the expert threw away the things in his hands and stared at the water's edge, like a hunter who had discovered his prey.
Looking around, I saw two dark ropes slowly extending out of the water, and tightly wrapped around Tieniu's legs with two "swish" movements. At the same time, the expert on the high platform quickly raised his right hand, and the three cow-driving handlebars cracked their whips, shouting "Drive!" The nine cows struggled forward and pulled the iron cow to the shore.
The things in the water were lifted onto the river bank. In front of this monster was a big mouth like a dustpan. The sword in the young man's hand suddenly flew into the air and fell to the ground, penetrating the thing and nailing it to the ground. Only then did everyone see clearly that it was a large catfish, weighing several hundred kilograms! The catfish was unexpectedly pulled ashore and was still struggling desperately. The heroic young man holding the whip raised his whip and brought it down with a "snap" sound, and the catfish stopped moving at that time. The heroic young man may have felt that it was not safe enough, so he pulled out his dagger and stabbed the catfish on the head.
Five short tall men on the high platform slid down from the high platform with strong hands. They pulled out a short knife from the heroic young man and cut off a piece of meat with three or two strokes. They turned around and called the butcher, pointing to the meat they had cut. : "Just cut it like this and give the meat to the children at the scene. The men should step back and let the women and children line up to receive it one by one! After getting it, it will be like me..."
As the short young man spoke, he penetrated the piece of meat with the sharp wooden stick, dipped the dustpan in salt and pepper, put it in front of the shelf and lit it on fire. Everyone immediately understood and followed suit. After the women and children were given out to the men, the large fish of several hundred kilograms was divided up in the blink of an eye, leaving only the fish skin and fish drum. The three young masters drank from large bowls with everyone and started chatting and laughing.
The young man carrying the sword explained while eating meat and drinking: "This has the custom of Jiaqiuzi. This thing is already familiar with the taste of human flesh. In addition, there are often drowned people in this river and are eaten by it. As time goes by, Shen has developed a habit of eating, and some older ones have begun to attack humans and animals." It suddenly dawned on everyone that all the humans and animals that had been lost before were actually dragged into the water and eaten by this beast! However, this man-eating monster did not escape the fate of being eaten by others. Thinking of this, the villagers ate even harder.
The next morning the three masters left, but the old patriarch still wanted to persuade them to stay. The young man carrying the sword said: "There are still many of these things upstream of the river. Our mission is arduous and we dare not delay." Then the three of them walked away. Soon after, rumors spread in other places that masters often shared big fish with others. Today, this huge man-eating catfish no longer exists. It must have been eaten by three greedy masters. .
There is a hill along the river to the north, and there is a mountain village in the north mountain. There is a young man named Yang in the village. His father has passed away and he only depends on his mother for life. There are several acres of mountainous land at home, and life is difficult. Fortunately, we often get help from village officials, so we can barely make ends meet. One evening, a woman came to stay, claiming that she had lost her way in the mountains. Seeing that the night was falling, and being a woman, I didn't dare to leave.
Mr. Yang reported this to his old mother. Mother Yang was a charitable person, so she said to her son: "It is getting late and she is a single woman. Where do you want her to go? Let her stay overnight and live in the same room with me. Room." Mr. Yang went out and welcomed the woman into the house, and the woman thanked him profusely.
A night of silence. Early the next morning, Mr. Yang went to his mother's room to say hello, but he saw that the woman was already fetching water for cooking. Mr. Yang was surprised and asked his mother. Mother Yang smiled and said: "Last night when we were living together and chatting, we learned that the woman's maiden name was Hu and she was twenty-eight years old. She was originally a concubine brought back from the south by a businessman in the city. At the beginning of the year, her husband The deceased brothers fought over the family property and drove the poor child out. The so-called "going to the mountains to visit relatives" was a blind date arranged by people who were forced to send them out to avoid fighting for the family property. Unexpectedly, after entering the mountains, Mr. Hu saw that the other party was ugly and stupid, so he looked for an opportunity to escape here. . She has no relatives in the north. Seeing that I am old and kind-hearted, she is willing to recognize me as her mother and help with housework. I saw that she is diligent and diligent, so I agreed!"
Mr. Yang was dumbfounded. Although he knew his mother was kind-hearted, it was too abrupt to accept his adopted daughter overnight. Unfortunately, my mother has already made up her mind, and I can't say anything else. The woman walked into the house to meet her brother. Mr. Yang did not have time to look at the woman carefully because the sky was dark last night. At this time, seeing this woman's graceful figure and delicate appearance, my heart moved and I agreed.
This went on for more than a month, and the woman helped Yang's mother mend clothes, wash and fetch water for cooking, and kept the yard clean. They also found someone to repair the damaged house, put new window paper on it, and kept the house in order. Mr. Yang was secretly happy after seeing it, but he was still a little suspicious. After all, the origin of this girl was unknown.
One day, Young Master Yang came to Fan Yuanwai's home and accidentally mentioned this matter. Fan Yuanwai said: "It's simple. Hiring craftsmen to repair the house requires money. Just ask her where the money comes from." Young Master Yang was deeply moved. Take it for granted. A few days later, while chatting at home, Mr. Yang asked about this matter. Mrs. Hu said: "My late husband had given me rewards when I was there, and my sister was married far away, so the family also gave me some dowry, so she was somewhat considerate. Now the family members are The food and clothing can still be maintained, so brother does not have to worry about it, even though he is busy with farming." From then on, Mr. Yang only managed the few acres of farmland at home, and he had no worries about food and clothing, and his life was much more comfortable!
A few months later, Yang's mother fell ill and was bedridden. Mrs. Hu served her with decoctions and medicine every day, and showed her concern and care as if she were her own daughter. The old man's illness quickly improved. At this time, Mr. Yang had been getting along with Mrs. Hu for a long time. He felt that Mrs. Hu was not only beautiful in appearance, but also gentle and virtuous in temperament, so he had a vague idea of marrying her. I was just afraid of its origin and didn't dare to tell my mother. Mother Yang recovered from her illness and was grateful to Mrs. Hu. Even before her son got married, Mother Yang thought, wouldn't it be better for such a good woman to be my daughter-in-law? So he called the two of them to the couch and said, "You two have always been called brother and sister. After all, you are not biological brothers and sisters. It is inevitable that outsiders will gossip. I want to make you two husband and wife. What do you think?"
Mrs. Hu immediately said that it would be up to her mother to make the decision, but Mr. Yang had already planned this and agreed wholeheartedly. The old man was overjoyed and invited Fan to act as a matchmaker to arrange for the two of them to worship and enter the bridal chamber. After marriage, the two fell in love and were very loving. The folks all said that the Yang family's ancestors had accumulated bad virtues and a good wife fell from the sky.
But as the saying goes, "good times don't last long."