"Brother, what?"
"Oh, Beihai, it's so bright outside. What time is it now? Nothing, I'm going to marry your sister." I tried to adapt to the bright light in the room, yawned, and said casually.
"Huang Xin?"
Yes, that one can really be considered my wife, although it is a bit unjustified. "That one doesn't count, there is another one."
"No way, ah, big brother, you wouldn't... wouldn't that be a beast?"
"But what if she's not my biological sister?"
"That must be a plot from a legend or folk story, it doesn't exist in reality." Beihai relaxed, "Sister is a perfect person, it's normal for you to like someone like her, only someone with her talent and temper can tolerate you. But it's impossible to find such a good woman in the world, who is like sister, even though there are many people in the world, in this hundred years, right?" I thought my brother must be a philosopher, why are his words so profound. Or maybe I'm still a little dizzy.
"Forget it, why are you up so early?" I was still not fully awake, but I felt a little cold. The stoves around me were all extinguished, and I couldn't help but tighten my clothes.
"Because it's snowing, I got up to watch the snow with Wan'er, and then I saw you through the window. It's still early, brother, you should sleep somewhere else. It's too cold here." As if to prove his words, he immediately moved his body away from me. The strong white light outside made me squint my eyes and turn my face away, and it took me a long time to recover.
"Oh, it's snowing. It's hard for my sister to come back."
"Yes, but my sister rarely comes back, and she doesn't come back from anywhere. So there's no way to find her even if I want to, and there's nowhere to pick her up even if I want to." His words were concise and clear, and the feeling was completely different from the previous sentence.
I told him to continue to accompany my sister-in-law and not to drag her to come and pay respects again, and to leave me alone for a while. After seeing him off, I slowly stood up. I still remember someone told me that I was too tall and I couldn't stand up quickly after squatting, otherwise the blood would not keep coming up and I would faint. I guess that's why I fainted last night, but fortunately, I felt that there was nothing wrong with my body and my head didn't hurt much. It seemed that I didn't drink much yesterday, or I drank too much. I think my ego has been expanding very quickly recently. And it's very disgusting.
I stuck my head out and squinted my eyes to look around. The snow was not falling heavily, but the wind in the yard was not strong. Apart from the laughter of the couple in the back yard, there was only the sound of the snow falling. If it continued like this, my sister would be in trouble to come back. Suddenly I realized that I was hopeless because I could not change my words.
But anyway, I had to prepare for my sister's return home for the New Year, so I ordered someone to arrange her room. Then I asked them to prepare hot water for me to bathe. I couldn't see anyone with my wrinkled clothes and the smell of alcohol on my body.
After taking a comfortable shower, I realized that I hadn't taken any clean clothes yet. It was not convenient for me to ask others to get them, so I had to wrap myself in old clothes and go to the closet to get them myself.
I just realized that the color of my closet is so monotonous, all black. Even the latest clothes that Sister Sima made for me are black. My sister’s instructions are really thoughtful. I suddenly wondered if my sister’s closet is all white.
I suddenly wanted to find a white dress among my clothes, but it was quite difficult. But I did find it. This dress is different from my other clothes. I couldn't remember where it came from, but the length is really mine. I think I am the only one in the world with a waist that high.
As soon as I put it on, I found the bronze mirror and immediately understood what was going on. This was made by Sister Huang, because I had seen this style on Qing and Master. After thinking about it, I decided to take it off, but put it in a more conspicuous place so that I could take it out and put it on at any time. I found another piece of clothing made by my sister and put it on. I knew it was not as beautiful as Sister Sima's, but it was indeed very comfortable.
It was breakfast time when I came out. When I saw everyone, I couldn't help but greet them. Pan Xiang and the others were going to my third uncle's place to forge weapons. This was what I had agreed with my third uncle last night. I thought I should go and see where my third uncle lived, so I went with them after breakfast.
Something was strange this morning, as I hadn't seen Sister Sima. I asked the maids if Sister Sima was sick, but they said she was fine. Suddenly, she had to do something and stayed in her room.
Sister Sima is a guest after all, but recently she has been taking care of us as a host. I think I should go and say hello, but the reply I got was that she has a lot of things to do and it is inconvenient for her to see me.
In a daze, I quickly cleaned up and finished breakfast, then went to visit my third uncle with Gan Ning, Pan Xiang and others.
The snow was so heavy that the whole Xiangyang turned white overnight. Only the gray gate and the sentry tower at the gate could be barely distinguished from the sky to guide the direction. Even so, after I came out, I still thought about which direction the gate of Xiangyang Palace opened, and then looked at the highest arrow tower on the city wall behind me on the right, and then looked at the twin towers in front of the governor's mansion. Finally, I determined the direction. But I immediately thought of a question, "Do you know where Uncle Gongye lives?"
But what surprised me was that some people looked at me with even more surprise, and then asked in unison: "Don't you know it either?"
"Then how are you going to get there?"
"I was planning to ask you to take us there."
This time it's a bit strange. My third uncle has just arrived, and I'm afraid that few people in Xiangyang know who Gongye Jian is.
However, this was easy. I felt that it was not my fault that I did not know where Uncle San lived. I immediately felt relieved and said casually, "Come with me!"
The possibility of being scolded to death by asking the teacher is greater than that of being scolded to death by asking the master, so for the sake of the New Year's mood, I decided to go to Ping'an Fengyun Marquis Mansion to find the master. Suddenly I felt that this word was familiar, it should be very familiar, but it took me two streets to figure out that it was my title.
Maybe the neighbors around didn't get the peach wood. Anyway, there was no business in the carpenter's workshop at this time to prove this. This year is not easy. We have to be vigilant in the city. If those evil spirits really come to hurt people, it will be terrible. Suddenly I remembered that today is the 29th. According to custom, it is the last time to worship the ancestors this year. Although our family has never done this step before, it seems that I should do something this year. However, my sister Yinling is missing at this time, so I don't know how to start the worship. I can't face my father's spirit tablet and ask, "Is your daughter-in-law preparing to marry someone else?" However, who is my mother? I don't even know her last name. This is a bit frustrating. Zuo Ci didn't mention my mother either. Recalling the conversation yesterday, he didn't even mention my mother. But thinking of the situation he described, Zuo Ci was just a sloppy Taoist priest who was wandering around at that time. He only helped my father to see me out of the sense of justice in his heart. My mother had just given birth to me at that time and should not be able to see anyone. This can be concluded from the fact that my grandmother and I went to see my father together. Even so, it would be a shame if my mother didn't receive the tribute during the sacrifice. Although there was no hope, I still hoped to get something out of Uncle Zuo.
Apart from some random thoughts along the way, I didn't think hard. I mostly thought about the things I had planned to discuss with the teacher. While I still remember them, I have to find the teacher today.
The plaque of the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun Mansion seemed to have just been cleaned, and it was very clean. The guard at the door made way for me when he saw me, and invited me in, and asked Gan Ning and the others to make some jokes about my respectability here. You have to know that this is my mansion, so their words were obviously malicious.
This courtyard was newly built by the teacher following orders. It must not disturb or hurt anyone, so the house is inevitably suppressed by the surrounding old houses and appears narrow and long. But I don’t care. I don’t know if the master is used to living here, and I feel a little guilty.
As soon as the servants saw me, no one went to report to us. They just directed us where to go and continued to do their own things.
Compared with Xiangyang Mansion, this place is very different. I didn't live there for a few days, but after I came out of my room, I knew that if I walked a hundred steps in any direction, I would definitely be in this courtyard, while if I walked a hundred steps in this direction, I would see the backyard, and if I walked to the sides, I would definitely hit the wall. I explained to myself that this is the difference between a prince's mansion and a marquis' mansion.
I am a person who asks myself boring questions, but I usually give even more boring answers. This is the latest result I got today. I think it is the result of my growth after I turned 18. Maybe I was very boring in the first 18 years.
It was strange that I was not the first one to walk, and even stranger that the people in the front were Chen Wu and Song Qian. This made us all stop.
"When did you come and what are you doing here?" Two guys in their early teens appeared in front of us at some point. When they noticed that we had stopped, they turned around and smiled at us breathlessly.
"Please ask Uncle Gongye to make us some weapons! Uncle Gongye promised us yesterday. I didn't expect you to walk so fast. It took a lot of effort to catch up with you."
"How old are you to have to fight with weapons? What about Wu Yue? Aren't you three always together?"
"Wu Yue is behind. Brother Nan also has a black iron fork. Isn't he returning it?" Song Qian seemed to be running very fast, panting very fast, his face was as red as an apple, and his face was steaming. The snowflakes falling from his hairline soon turned into large drops of water. Chen Wu was no different from his brother, except that he was only panting and blinking. His red eyes were like two blood-red cherries in the snow, particularly eye-catching, and his yellow hair was also steaming with heat.
Wu Yue also caught up. The child from the Shi family could not compete with these wild children. Running in the snow obviously made him very tired. He just supported himself on his knees and gasped for breath.
The heat from their bodies melted the snow on their clothes, which made me a little worried. I remembered that scene, but this time the giver and the receiver were different. I untied my thick cloak, gathered the three children together, and wrapped them up.
"You've caught a cold. Go home early and change into dry clothes." Sister Sima didn't know what she was busy with, leaving these kids running around.
"Zirui's words are really thoughtful. If I saw this group of people, I would kick them in the butts a little more and then let them go crazy." I don't know if Gan Ning was praising me or thinking something else. He might not know why I was like this.
"Here is a pond and a lot of rocks. Go down the corridor on the left." My sister's influence is so great that even my tone now imitates hers. I thought I could only learn from my teacher, but it seems that I understand more things as I grow up. At this time, I saw the three children pulling my big cloak to this and that, treating it more as a toy than a cover to protect themselves from the heavy snow, and I felt a different kind of happiness. The most noisy among them were the two
"Is the person coming Zirui?" Two big men stood up in the corridor in the snow at some point. The snow obscured the vision within the twenty steps, so it was impossible to distinguish them for a moment, but their voices were not weakened at all.
"Master, I am here. Where is Third Uncle?" I quickly bowed, causing everyone to bow with me, even the three children followed us. However, Wu Yue bowed first, and the other two were obviously learning. They looked at Wu Yue, then at themselves, and bowed awkwardly with their hands clasped together. They were so close that they could not see the master in front of them, but it was really interesting to watch. Unexpectedly, the wind blew away the cloaks on the three children. Just as the ceremony was over, they took a step to the right and reached out to grab the robes. They felt that their skills were not slow at all, and they had the chance to show off in front of their master.
"Zirui is quite skilled. What do you want from me?" another person in the corridor spoke. It seemed that the snow was really heavy today.
Where would my silver bell be in this damn weather
For the first time, I didn't add the modifier "sister" before my sister's name in my mind. Suddenly, I realized that this was indeed the most difficult problem I faced: deleting the previous identity of Yinling's sister and introducing the identity of wife.
Uncle San talked to them for a while, while Master left me in the corridor. "Zi Rui, do they know about your situation?"
I shook my head. I thought that the fewer people who knew about this news, the better. At least, it should not be leaked before the court meeting. The master seemed to agree with me, and heaved a sigh of relief. He pulled me in and told me that my third uncle would stay here temporarily.
Uncle San was obviously very interested. He immediately took us to his new blacksmith shop. He also said that we should go outside the city and use the rapids on Jingshan Mountain in the south to drain the water for blowing air. Otherwise, the temperature would not be able to rise. But it was enough for the time being.
"Enough for now? Since you weren't hot enough, why is it enough now?" I noticed something strange about this place.
"Yes, it's enough to make one or two iron weapons, but not enough to cast a large number of them. However, it's enough to cast bronze weapons."
"Cast bronze?" It was my idea to reorganize the military, but the teacher said that we cannot compare bronze with iron. This will cause our soldiers to suffer a great loss. I even remembered the long spear that was broken in my hand. I cannot agree with the teacher to do this.
"What's wrong? Do you look down on bronze? Zirui, do you know that my brother's Jingzhou Army is a local army? You should know the limitations of their weapons, right?"
"Yes, I know that. The quality of the weapons we forge must be lower, and the refining temperature cannot be too high. In short, it must be worse than Sili's. But how can a bronze sword compete with an iron weapon?"
"There are six kinds of bronze, did you know that?"
I turned around to look at the others, and they were looking at each other, seemingly none of them knew anything. I vaguely remembered the teacher talking about this, but I also remembered that I had just woken up from a dream and was about to fall asleep again.
"Six Qi refers to the ratio of tin to copper in bronze. More tin makes it soft and tough, while more copper makes it hard and brittle. If you use the finer parts of gold to make a weapon, the tougher parts make the handle, the harder parts make the blade, and the middle parts make the body, the weapon may not be worse than iron. Although it may not be better than the best iron, it is better than other weapons. I think there is no problem. The court only focuses on the iron forged in various states and does not take bronze weapons seriously at all, because no one can fully master the technique of casting six Qi. I have also seen the weapons in the warehouse. Although they are hard enough, they are not tough and break easily. Obviously, they are all made of hard iron. As for the fragile ones, I tried and found that a strong man could break them. Taking such weapons into battle would be disregarding the lives of the soldiers, and it must not be done. Therefore, I will use the art of gold separation and refining to forge a batch of bronze weapons that can compete with the best iron weapons. "Uncle San confused us. Anyway, bronze has not been used to cast weapons for a long time. Maybe bronze weapons will become a noun in history when all the weapons in the library are used up, and they may become a noun in legend in the future, but now it seems that they will become the main equipment of our Jingzhou in the future.
Seeing Uncle San's confident smile, I temporarily felt relieved, but the other three were really restless. Only Wu Yue was still okay, still holding up my cloak, while the other two had already started a snowball fight in the snow, chasing each other on the snowy Xiangyang Avenue, not caring about the snow falling on their bodies. Wu Yue acted like a big brother, still teaching them a lesson, I was getting angry.
"Wu Yue, throw snow at them! Song Qian and Chen Wu, you are so mean!" I haven't seen this special skill of his since I returned to Xiangyang, and seeing Song Qian and Chen Wu being so naughty, I obviously think it would be a good thing to find an older brother who can discipline them.
Wu Yue handed the cape back to me politely and bowed to us, and I asked everyone to stop and look. They laughed and thought I was still childish, and the two villains were still jumping and laughing provocatively, letting Wu Yue hit them at will, and then ready to dodge at any time.
"Chen Wu's hair bun, Song Qian's hair bun, Chen Wu's nose, Song Qian's nose," Wu Yue kept calling out the targets he wanted to attack, and at the same time, those places that were called out were hit one by one amid the growing surprise behind me. His hands were extremely fast, he picked up a ball of snow, squeezed it slightly, and threw it close to the ground, and it hit the target immediately. Before it hit, there was another ball of snow in the air. The two of them were already trying very hard and kept jumping, but I still saw the white marks appearing accurately on their bodies one by one.
"Chen Wu's butt, Song Qian's butt." The two villains had no choice but to decide to give up dodging head-on, and instead turned around and covered their heads, so it was obvious that the two round targets were very eye-catching, making me want to go up and kick them.
"Why did you stop?" I asked slowly.
"Forget it, Brother Zirui, their clothes will get even wetter."
"Two, come here and thank Brother Wu Yue for showing mercy." I had no expression on my face. I felt that my goal had been achieved. At least two people were full of admiration for Wu Yue. The two of them even looked at Wu Yue in admiration and asked how he practiced this unique skill. And I briefly told the adults about the child's experience in Zigui.
"I should give him a few iron gallbladders, so that they will be of some use in battle." Uncle San was obviously optimistic about the application of this skill on the battlefield.
This is the old blacksmith shop in the east of the city. Only here is a red glow in the snow. The heat is coming from the nearby area. The worn cowhide bellows seems to have just been repaired, and it looks a bit like a toad that has been inflated. However, in my memory, I only remember that when Old Man Jiang had a toothache, he asked the master here to extract his tooth. The reason I remember this is that after the tooth was extracted, Old Man Jiang couldn't eat or sleep well, and finally had a bad temper, which made Zishe worried for several days. I didn't dare to go to his house to find him, and I had a very unhappy few days. After thinking about this, I couldn't help but rub my teeth with my tongue. I felt that my teeth were not bad, so it seemed that I didn't have to worry about being pliers here.
The blacksmith shop was like a charcoal kiln, dark, and the busy people inside were like a few gray shadows floating around. From time to time, a gust of snow drifted in through the ventilation windows on the three sides, but the room was very hot. The people who had just finished playing snowball fights with their hands were warming themselves by the fire. When Uncle San came in, he asked us to take a short break, and he became serious and focused on the fire in the forge.
"The temperature of the fire is not high enough?" Uncle San put on the blacksmith's leather armor with the help of a nervous fellow. He looked at the red flames and said, "Jianfeng, what's going on?"
"Master, the charcoal here is not good, and there is no black stone. They don't know what black stone is, and after much discussion, they still gave us the charcoal." A young man who was about the same height as me was obviously the leader of these people. Uncle San was asking him, but I could see that he was a little nervous. It seems that Uncle San might have a bad temper. (The Chinese used coal to smelt iron in the "Buddhist Records of the Western Regions" in the 4th century AD. The Chinese must have mastered this technology 400 years ago.)
"Oh." Uncle San frowned, as if thinking of a solution. He stared at the flames and casually ordered, "Jianhu, Jianbiao, blow the wind."
The two younger guys immediately ran behind us to blow the air, and then the fire faded a little, and Uncle San's expression also eased a little, "It seems that we can refine weapons with water again. Jianfei, bring the hammer."
Jianfeng quickly handed over the hammer, Jianfei might be a little further away.
Uncle San pointed at several red blocks lined up in the fire and said, "Jianyi, which one do you want to fight?" After a while, Uncle San found that no one answered him, still staring at the fire, and added, "Jianyi, didn't you hear me asking you?"
I felt awkward in the situation, but I didn't know what was going on.
"Master, the third piece in your left hand." The voice came from behind. We all turned around and saw a young man puffing his wind and answering timidly.
"Jian Yi! Why are you there?" Uncle San raised his head, glanced at the person who spoke, and then looked back at everyone. "Where is Jian Hu? Where is Jian Fei?"
"They... went out to buy charcoal." The young man named Jianyi answered cautiously.
"The charcoal was ready last night. Did you think I didn't come to check last night? It's all at the back." Uncle San was so intimidating without even getting angry, and the children were very scared.
"Ah, it's snowing today..." The senior brother named Jianfeng spoke quickly, but stopped here: "Charcoal should be more expensive, right? It's because we think there is too much charcoal, so we want to sell it."
This was a very interesting lie, because we could all tell that he was looking for words to tell a lie, and he knew he couldn't fool people, so he put on a smile, obviously trying to make his master happy.
"You guys are quite good at making money!" Uncle San smiled strangely, and then began to search inside the shop. He seemed to sniff, but shook his head and turned back to me: "Zi Rui, Uncle San's nose has been damaged by smoke a long time ago, let me smell it, where is the smell of meat?"
I went over as I was told, and indeed I smelled a faint aroma of meat, but the heat from the stove prevented me from getting close, and the smell of meat seemed vague. But in the end I still saw a clay pot, and I think the smell came from there.
I pointed from a distance, not understanding why. Uncle San didn't seem to be afraid of the heat. I saw the red and oily glow on his face from the fire. He picked up the earthenware pot and looked at it, then casually placed it next to the stove where the fire was.
"The sword-forging furnace is used to stew meat. Aren't you afraid that the sword will be humiliated if you steal a bite? Since it's already been stewed, wouldn't it be a waste of meat if you turn off the fire?" This was also very interesting words that made everyone suddenly realize. Then the sudden voice of a person behind them made everyone understand even more clearly.
"Big Brother, I've bought the garlic. If you don't put the meat in and cook it, the flavor won't enter. Why are there so many people? Ladies and Gentlemen, what do you want to fight? Don't dare to use big weapons, swords, spears, halberds, etc..." So many people made way for him to find a straight line in the middle and walk to his master. Therefore, he naturally felt the master's unknown gaze.
"Jianfei, put the garlic first." The teacher shook his head. I paid special attention to the expressionless expression on Jianfeng's face when Jianfei passed by. I also noticed that the apprentices of Uncle San were all very strong, but they all seemed to have the feeling of scholars. They were very different in temperament from the blacksmith apprentices I passed by in the north.
"Where is the other Jianhu going?" Uncle San asked seriously and slowly.
While they were hesitating, I helped them to blow the air with my hands which had slowed down, and looked at them with sympathy and mischief.
Someone patted my shoulder. When I turned around, I saw another sturdy guy. Before I could figure out his identity, he had already introduced himself.
"New here? Haozi, you are tall and strong. Biao, you are too bad. You bully your fellow apprentice again and do not put in any effort. Hey, what's your name? My name is Jianhu, you can just call me Brother Hu... Master isn't here, is he?" I nodded, giving him space to look at Third Uncle, but as soon as he made eye contact with Third Uncle, he wanted to pull me to block for him.
"Jianhu, you went to buy some wine, didn't you?" Uncle San didn't look angry at all, he just said calmly: "Drinking wine while forging iron, stewing meat in the forge, it's against my rules; not stewing meat properly, hiding when you see me coming, it's impolite. Tonight, everyone must copy the chapters of "Knowing Etiquette" and "Eating Minced Meat" from the Analects twenty times, and my blacksmithing tips twenty times, otherwise no one can sleep, now get to work."
There was a look of pain on everyone's face, but no one dared to raise any objections.
Uncle San even opened the lid of the can and said, "You can eat it in a moment." This made them regain some spirits. We, the bystanders, obviously wanted to laugh at this incident, but we tried our best to hold it back. The children didn't quite understand what was going on. Wu Yue might have understood, but there was no expression on his face. He just took care of the two brothers and continued to warm his hands.
"Okay, Shouko, come here."
"Hey, Third Uncle, I'm here." He called me the same as I did, which made me feel closer to him.
Xiang jumped over happily, and Su Fei scolded him, saying, "Be serious!" Gan Ning, however, was happy to watch the fun.
Xiang untied the rope from his waist and took out a long straight leather bag from the front. He pulled out a thin weapon from the middle, which was about two and a half feet long, like an iron needle, but much longer and thicker.
"This weapon is called Bibō Dividing Water Thorn. It was bent by Gan Ning's meteor hammer when I was practicing martial arts with him. Although I asked someone to straighten it later, there are still some bends and scars. I asked Uncle San to help me recast it. I used it for a long time and I couldn't bear to change it, so I wanted to use this one." It seems that he must have been very careful when he started to be a pirate, which made me look at Chen Wu naturally. Chen Wu was obviously also looking at that very special weapon.
"Is this a weapon for underwater use? How can it be used on land? It was hit by Xingba's hammer. Re-forge it. It will be much stronger than this one. As long as it is not hit by the hammer, it will probably be fine when it hits other people's swords." Uncle San looked at it carefully, and I looked at it too. This was the first time I had seen such a weapon. However, since it was an underwater weapon, it would be different. But I particularly liked this kind of weapon. The main reason why I didn't wear a sword was that I didn't have any sword skills, and I didn't feel comfortable with this short-handled double-edged weapon. In contrast, I liked the long handle of Tianlang more.
"Uncle San, can you make one like this for me? I want to use it as a sword." I made the request quickly because I felt that I liked it more and more.
"Brother Zhi, this weapon might look a bit strange as a sword, so I always hang it under the hem of my dress."
"You can," said the third uncle, "but do you know acupuncture?"
"I haven't heard of it, but I think I like this kind of weapon. My sword is just for decoration anyway."
"Then come to my place in a little while, and you guys come too. I'll show you something."
Afterwards, Gan Ning ordered a broadsword, Su Fei ordered a spear, and Uncle San agreed to Song Qian's request for a 36-jin painted halberd and Chen Wu's request for a 28-jin iron spear. He even asked Wu Yue what he wanted. Wu Yue didn't have any requirements, just the same as mine. Uncle San pointed to the thorn in his hand, nodded, and asked if my long weapon was the strange thing with thorns all over my body at home, he also wanted it. Uncle San said that he could only make him an iron one, and there was no way to forge such a strong thorn with silver now, but this made him very happy.
My third uncle also suggested that I change to a long weapon, but I think the Tianlang is better. He knows some of my ideas and he will make me a satisfactory one. I don’t know why my third uncle is a little disgusted with my use of the Tianlang.
It was noon, and the servants of Ping An Feng Yun Hou Mansion came to invite us to go back for dinner, so we left. Before leaving, I politely said goodbye to my uncle's disciples and reminded them not to forget to eat. To my surprise, they immediately returned the greetings to me, and their greetings were very formal, thoughtful and solid, and not awkward and unfamiliar like Song Qian and Chen Wu's on-the-spot learning.
I had lunch that day as a guest at my house, and I hadn't even finished my meal yet. One of my master's wives was practicing medicine outside, and the other didn't come out. The teachers and the master who were "doing whatever they wanted" at the banquet asked questions to my uncle who was accompanied by my aunt, and kept calling him "cat, cat". My uncle, who was so majestic just now, had no idea what to do. We were so happy that we were only concerned about how to stop ourselves from spitting out our food. My aunt seemed to be very interested, too. She supported Gongye Chang, who was eating like a glutton, and listened to our conversation while looking at my uncle with a smile.
Then it turned into an interrogation of me. Third Uncle showed his inappropriate and unethical side as an elder. He tried and successfully turned the topic to me by telling him again about the origin of the Sirius. Everyone groaned and complained, and only Master was a little calm. Maybe he had also heard about the origin of this thing, but I had to bear the pain of being interrogated by everyone.
The teacher's eldest son also participated in the discussion about Sirius, but I felt something was wrong.
Some people in the crowd also felt something was wrong, but it was the master who first noticed something was wrong: "Why did Wei He's voice become so thick?"
Yes, I talked with my brother Wei He yesterday. Wei He’s voice was still that of a child yesterday, but today it sounds a bit hoarse.
"Why? The boy's voice changed." The teacher replied as a matter of course, "It changed overnight."
Then, the teacher taught us the basic knowledge of boys becoming adults, comparing the necks of his two sons. This made me feel my bulging Adam's apple, and I also decided to feel my wife Yinling's. I blushed immediately when I thought of this. The master and the third uncle must have been taught by my sister, which even made me embarrassed and nervous. Later, I found that the teacher tried to quibble and deny it, but was forced to admit that it was the master's wife who taught me, which made me feel relieved.
The teachers didn’t tell me about what happened last night, and I decided to keep it a secret for the time being. However, it would be difficult for me to explain many things to others after my sister comes back. But I can only wait until the morning meeting is over before making any plans.
After dinner, Uncle San and Aunt San whispered for a while, and Aunt San went in and took out a long box. Although I knew Uncle San wanted to show me something related to avoiding water thorns, I always thought that the box was for a zither. When I opened it, it turned out to be a flute. (The flute is not a Han instrument. It was created and introduced by various ethnic minorities in the Western Regions. It may have been used for herding in the early days. A three-hole yù stone blowing tubular instrument was discovered in Gansu, which may be the prototype of the flute.)
This flute seems to be made entirely of thin bamboo poles from Changsha. It is more than four feet long. Although it has been cut into pieces, it still retains a vivid green color. There are eight holes in a row, and there is another row of two holes on the back of the row of holes. When I hold it in my hand, it feels good, but it is much heavier than I expected.
"Can you blow it?"
"I can hum sounds, but I've never produced a tune. My sister taught me before, but later the neighbors couldn't stand it anymore and advised my sister and me not to let me learn the flute anymore, so I gave up." Everyone laughed, only the three elders above looked at me, and finally the third uncle grabbed the third aunt's hand, smiled and said, "Try to blow it." Immediately, the master blocked his ears, and was then ruthlessly pulled away by the teacher.
This made me a little nervous, I was afraid that I couldn't make any sound, which would make people laugh; I was also afraid that I would make a weird sound that would drive people crazy. I knew that it was not difficult for me to complete the above two actions, so I was very nervous. I held the flute and aligned my fingers for a long time. It was not easy to align my fingers, but I couldn't make any sound. If the teacher hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't even have noticed that I hadn't blown air. After feeling embarrassed, I regrouped and finally made a sound. But after I made a sound, even I was surprised, so I quickly moved it to see what was going on, because the flute made a strange sound, and the sound was just like a crying woman trapped in the flute. Especially for the married men on the scene, this sound was even more touching. Obviously, I belong to the type of married mature men who are more touched.
So I carefully looked for the problem, but found that there seemed to be a crack on the bamboo section at the end of the flute. I looked around and found that it was completely split. Suddenly, I had an idea and pulled it open. A dark thorn nearly four feet long appeared in front of us.
"This was made by my master, who is also my father-in-law." Uncle San clenched Aunt San's hand and continued: "Back then, I learned this craft in Handan, which was more than ten years ago." Uncle San looked at me again, "Master wanted to find out the formula for making silver soldiers. Because silver is soft, he wanted to follow the method of Maodun Chanyu of the Xiongnu and forge it with blood. But we can only wait for a bloody disaster, otherwise we will be falsely accused of being beasts who eat meat and drink blood. That summer, the world once again punished the party members. The lotus pond east of Handan City turned red overnight. Master started the furnace overnight, using the black stone from Jieliang, Shanxi as the fuel base, and melted all the silver in the house. He only made this long thorn, and all the others were consumed by fire. Master did this just to test its hardness and relieve his confusion." But I was worried about these party members because my father was one of them.
"That night the lotus blossomed, and the bloodstains by the pond were still there. We beat it nine times, melted it nine times, and quenched it nine times. At dawn the next day, only my master and I were still standing in front of the furnace. After the last quench, we were exhausted. We polished it and stabbed it casually. We didn't have much hope, but it went more than an inch into the iron. My master and I were very excited. We remembered the flash of white light and the blood dripping from the lotus flower, so we named it the Lotus Flower Blood Drop Thorn."
"But our success was ultimately built on the blood of everyone. Master was always uneasy afterwards. Looking at the thorn, he felt that the souls of all the party members were bound by it. We hid the thorn in Hsinchu to avoid violence, but Master's spirit became worse and worse, and his health became worse and worse. He passed away after he entrusted Yan Ji to me that winter." The third uncle looked at the third aunt and gently patted her hand in his other hand, as if he wanted to comfort her. The third aunt just lowered her brows and head, and did not cry because of her sadness. It was a pity that she could no longer understand her parents' feelings and could only look at them curiously with her big eyes.
"I asked someone to make a flute like this, and I often play it in front of my father-in-law's grave to comfort him." The third uncle paused, "Now I am no longer in Handan, and my father-in-law's grave was razed to the ground after the Yellow Turban Rebellion and can no longer be found. Since this is God's will, I think I will give this to you. I'm afraid you are the only one who can use it."
I'm afraid only a few of us understand the so-called will of heaven. When I took the thorn, I also secretly made up my mind, "As a son, I should obey the orders of my parents and the matchmaker, and avenge the murder of my father and mother. Although my father's blood is not attached to this thorn, as a descendant of the party, I should wash away the unjust injustice and silent hatred for the party. Use the blood of those who framed them to let my lotus flower blood drop thorn emit its silver light and wash away the injustice of my father!"
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month of the second year of Zhongping, the last day of ancestor worship this year, I, together with the others, secretly paid homage to my father's colleagues and prayed that in the future I could use the blood of the criminals to sacrifice to the loyal and capable people who were unjustly killed.
That year, I was eighteen years old and Yinling was twenty-two years old.