Chapter 26 country blacksmith

Taiwei Lin Majia is an immigrant village. The village was established in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. It is outside the east wall of a factory that is about to be "closed" - Daye Nonferrous Metals Company Machine Repair Factory. There is a road leading to Majiayuan by the village. The Jiayuan Reservoir has been completely dry and cracked, and the seedlings of lotus leaves, calamus and wild rice stems have all dried up one after another.It faces Dongfang Mountain in the north, Huangjing Mountain in the east, and Luoqiao Lake and Sike Lake in the south. The Dongfang Mountain Temple is said to be built by Bodhidharma in the middle Tang Dynasty.I often go for a walk here, listening to the clink of hammers in the blacksmith shop in the village, thinking that the village has its own blacksmith, or built a village-run factory.Therefore, on the way back from a walk in the mountains, I deliberately searched for the sound of hammers and entered the village, and arrived at the blacksmith's shop where I heard the sound but could not see the person.

Sitting in front of the blacksmith shop was a middle-aged man, naked to the waist, with brown chest and black eyes, but habitually closed slightly, sitting to rest his mind.Inside the shop was a young man, who was in charge of the pincers, and was repairing the curved tip of the machete.He was also bare-chested, with dark brown skin, and his muscles were strong and well-proportioned. At this moment, he bent his body into a bow.In the blacksmith's trade, the person who holds the tongs in one hand and the hammer in the other is a master, like a cook's spoon.Those who swing the sledgehammer just swing the hammer violently according to the master's will.There is a "hammer language" among blacksmiths. The master's small hammer's single-click and continuous strikes, light strikes and heavy strikes are all "hammer language". .However, Taiwei Lin Ma's family I met this blacksmith shop, which is mainly engaged in making Mao knives and chopping wood knives.The thatched knife is a half-moon-shaped knife for cutting thatch. It is in the shape of a "7" after the handle is installed. It is a cutting knife that cuts backwards. It has a long blade, its main function is to cut, and it can also be cut with a hook.The master blacksmith has already carried out the finishing work at the back, so the assistant can go outside to cool off.

The blacksmith is from Taihu Lake, Anhui. He is about 30 years old. He started his career as an apprentice at the age of 10. It has been 20 years so far, and he has been officially in charge for ten years. According to this calculation, he has been working in Wuchang, Hubei as an independent door for two years. In Daye City, Hubei It has been 8 years since Jinniu town forged iron, and this master blacksmith surnamed Zhou spoke fluently about his experience in Jinniu.I sat opposite his anvil, and I saw that the raw materials he used for making knives were all hot-rolled carbon steel plates, which Mr. Zhou introduced were between No. 30 and No. 40, and they were precision-cut, so there would not be too many sparks splashing. , and there is an electric fan blowing behind me, which inhibits Mars from going straight.The master blacksmith entered the process of repairing the blade, and he chatted with me while forging the iron.The surname of the master blacksmith is Zhou. The reason why he never forgets the 8-year history of blacksmithing in Taurus is that Taurus is a place where famous knives are produced. Taurus people know how to do business. It was already a famous product in the Republic of China. Another famous product of Jinniu is Qianzhangpi (tofu). Its geographical location is the combination zone of Daye, Ezhou, Xianning and Jiangxia District of Wuhan. There are two important rivers in the territory, one is Qiuchuan. River, one is Gaohe.The world-famous Qiuchuan Academy site in the Qing Dynasty is the current Daye No. 2 Middle School, and there is no trace of the academy.Gaohe originates from Tongshan Mountain, where it is said that Chuang Wang Li Zicheng was buried. Gaohe flows through Jinniu territory and flows into Liangzi Lake in Ezhou City, the ancient capital of Wu. More than ten years ago, I often went to Gaohe to spear fish at night, and it was a calcium carbide lamp for mining.About five miles away from Gaohe River, there is a village of Hu Binggui, which was built on the city of King E.The earthen city wall of Ewang City is vaguely distinguishable, and its current road still follows the gap of the ancient city gate. The village chief said that he has seen the floor plan of Ewang City with his own eyes.According to unproven archaeological sources, Xionghong, king of E, once built a city here, but finally abandoned the city, and did not intend to move the capital of Chu to the east.Mr. Yu Bingxian, a fellow villager of Yu Guozhu in Mingshan, believes that its size does not match the royal city, and it may be a palace.Mr. Zhou, a blacksmith, is very familiar with Jinniu Town, Gaohe and Ewangcheng, which of course makes one believe that he once forged iron in Jinniu, so it means that he learned from a famous family.

Taiwei Lin Ma's family estimated that there were three to four blacksmith shops. Mr. Zhou said that all the machetes and Mao knives he made were sold wholesale. I guess this was the reason why he did not choose to build a blacksmith shop in the area facing the street.A machete is about seven to eight taels. I feel that in the communication, the blacksmith Mr. Zhou habitually uses uncertain data, such as thirty or forty steel, seven or eight taels, etc. I found that there is a kind of calmness in it, It's not that his own calculations are not accurate.The cost of making a machete for Mr. Zhou is 3 yuan, and the wholesale price is 5 yuan each, which means that a machete can earn 2 yuan in processing fees.One working day can make 20 machetes, the gross profit is 40 yuan, rent two rooms, the daily rent is 2 yuan, and the food expenses for the day including the wife and the child (just full moon) total 10 yuan, which he calls a daily expense. Zhang, I have 30 yuan more, and I have to pay the salary of the assistant. The exact amount is unknown. If it is 10 yuan, the net profit is 20 yuan.The labor costs of the blacksmith's wife for cleaning, cooking and other auxiliary work should be calculated.When it was time for lunch, Mr. Zhou invited me to dinner, but I didn’t eat it. I saw that they fried a pot of eggs and boiled noodles in the soup with fried eggs. This is a relatively cheap food.

However.In the dark cauldron hanging from the blacksmith's stove, there was an extremely fragrant smell.In my impression, the blacksmith is a first-class eater, because he has a good iron stove. Usually, the tripod pot hanging on the stove must have good content, and everything stewed is delicious. It is called soy stewed pig's feet.What if the blacksmith wants to cook?That's easy, he just puts the pot on the iron stove, pulls the bellows a few times, and the fire rises suddenly, puts the vegetables in the pot, and pulls the bellows a few more times, the fire is so hot Will jump on the hot pot.

Mr. Zhou lifted the lid of the cauldron, the pork knuckle was stewed and melted, and it looked rotten. The soybeans were very plump, round, and had an attractive luster.However, I have already said that I don’t want to eat it. Sitting by the blacksmith’s stove, listening to him tell stories while eating pork knuckles and drinking wine, this is the most pleasant and comfortable life.I insisted not to eat it, and Mr. Zhou didn’t try to persuade him anymore. He used a spoon to dig out the stewed soybeans and pork knuckles one by one, and put them into a white clay bowl. Perhaps there is nothing better in the world than simmering dishes in a blacksmith's stove, which is the place where top grades are produced.

Mr. Zhou’s machetes are not clamped with steel. Mr. Zhou said that clamped steel machetes cost 8 yuan a piece, which is not a good market. It seems that the psychological price of farmers buying machetes is less than 10 yuan. Adding clamped steel machetes requires more processes. , and cumbersome, the steel of the clamped steel also needs to increase the material cost, because the clamped steel needs to use No. 60 high-carbon steel, so it will increase by 3 yuan per machete than the non-clamped steel machete. After the 5 yuan machete is wholesaled by the retailer, the price is increased to 6-7 yuan a piece, so after the retail price of the 8 yuan clamped steel machete is added, the sales will be relatively poor.In addition, they also face fierce competition from their peers.

Regarding wealth, Mr. Zhou believes that craftsmen cannot make a fortune, they must do business in order to make a fortune, craftsmen will not be short of money to spend, but just spend the money they earn, without accumulation.Mr. Zhou also asked me what kind of occupation I was in. I said that I was a writer, looking at the scenery, eating delicious food, and writing it for newspapers and periodicals in exchange for manuscript fees, and then went to see and eat with the manuscript fee. Well, it belongs to intellectual labor.He said that if you are engaged in this profession, you must see Tianzhu Mountain, which is the real beauty.When I came back to check the map, I found that Tianzhu Mountain was on the edge of Taihu Lake, which is the hometown of Mr. Zhou.Regarding occupation and wealth, we have reached a consensus, that is, farmers have the lowest income and the highest amount of labor, craftsmen have higher income, slightly higher labor, higher intellectual labor income, and lower physical expenditure.However, none of the three occupations can be compared with doing business. Doing business is an important way to accumulate wealth, but doing business is more risky, including intellectual labor. The relatively safe and incomeful ones are craftsmen, that is, craftsmen.