Chapter 20: The First Day of the New Year Three families lived in the two-story courtyard. In addition to the shared kitchen, Li Lin rented two rooms. He cleaned up the room that was usually used to store sundries, and Li Yuan slept here for two days during the New Year. "Qin Xiong!" After closing the door, Li Yuan lay down wrapped in a quilt. Thinking of that burly figure, his heart couldn't help but sink. Qian Bao was just a scoundrel who was good at fighting and was bullying people in the street with the help of a dozen thugs under his command. He didn't care much. But Qin Xiong is different. Qin Xiong has been in the weapon forging shop for more than twenty years, and the White Ape Cloak Hammer has long been perfected, and may even have broken through to a level of internal strength that he does not understand. From the son of a farmhand, he rose to the top five in a weapon forging shop. Such a person is not comparable to Qian Bao. "Inner courtyard, must enter!" Li Yuan felt determined. If he was still worried about Qin Xiong's previous threat, there was no need to worry about it now. He had already set his sights on his brother and sister-in-law, so he naturally would not give in to the inner courtyard assessment.
"We have to find a way to establish a relationship with the second shopkeeper. With Fatty Sun here, it shouldn't be a problem." Li Yuan narrowed his eyes and thought. Where there are interests, there are factions, and where there are factions, there is competition. During these few months, he not only practiced martial arts, but also naturally had a deep understanding of the weapon forging shop. The chief manager Cao Yan was devoted to developing foreign affairs. The Gaoliu County Weapon Forging Shop was actually managed by the second manager Tang Tong and the third manager Wang Ding. Wang Ding was in charge of the mines and cargo transportation below. He was also in charge of guards such as Qin Xiong. Tang Tong was in charge of the forging room and the inner courtyard. Besides, Tang Tong is Fatty Sun's brother-in-law... "Then, you can't hide your incompetence!" Closing his eyes, Li Yuan made a decision in his heart. hum! In the dark space, the Weaponry Scroll was glowing with a faint light. There were several items placed on the small gray stone platform, making it look even more crowded. Li Yuan was afraid that something might fall off. "If I fall down, I'm afraid I'll be gone..." The dim light of the Military Control Scroll shone, and outside the gray stone platform was a pitch-black void that made people feel terrified at first glance. "Pearls are hard to sell. All I have left now is this anonymous banknote... Including the money I borrowed from Fatty Sun, there are a total of 128 taels..." Li Yuan was counting his harvest, thinking about his promotion to the rank of Military Commander. To be promoted to the rank of Military Commander, one needs a thousand pounds of pig iron, a hundred taels of silver, and one tael of gold. This condition gave him a headache for a while. It is impossible to save so much. "A hundred catties of pig iron costs only one ounce and three cents of silver, and a thousand catties costs only thirteen ounces. Fortunately, it's pig iron you requested. If it was wrought iron, the price would be twenty times higher!" Having been in the blacksmith shop for so long, Li Yuan was naturally very clear about the price of iron.
Pig iron that is hammered and forged becomes wrought iron. Normally, this requires five repeated hammerings, each taking a whole day. After five refinings, ten pounds of pig iron will be reduced to only seven pounds of wrought iron. When labor, loss, and charcoal costs are added, the price naturally soars. Thinking about it, Li Yuan felt that he had enough money. The only two problems were gold and how to buy so much pig iron without attracting attention... "Gold is easy to find. Although gold is not widely circulated in the market, one or two ounces of it is still easy to find. However, a thousand pounds of pig iron is too much..." After pondering it, Li Yuan felt relieved. He had enough money, and everything else was just a small problem compared to the promotion to the rank of Military Commander. "If I could control two weapons at the same time..." Li Yuan felt a little restless. He was still wondering if these weapons could be pieced together into one? …… …… "Doctor Yun, what's going on?" In the Four Seasons Pharmacy, several apprentices were milling among the beds. Qin Xiong glanced expressionlessly at the dozen or so thugs lying on the beds. "Um……" Doctor Yun, who had a goatee, shook his head slightly: "The assailant was ruthless enough, hitting them on the back of the head. Even though they didn't die, their mouths and eyes were crooked. Moreover, they fainted outside the house, and each of them had a cold..." Wind-cold enters the body? Several pharmacy apprentices looked at each other. This was much more serious than broken bones and tendons. A cold could be fatal. Listening to the painful groans from the bed, Qin Xiong's face was as gloomy as water: "Where's Qian Bao?" "Qian Bao..." Doctor Yun glanced at the bed that was about to collapse: "I had severe convulsions, a cold, a head injury, abdominal bleeding, and a damaged coccyx. Even if I survive, I will be dependent on crutches for the rest of my life." "Thank you, Doctor Yun." Qin Xiong's eyes twitched and he clasped his fists to say goodbye. After leaving Four Seasons Cottage, his face suddenly turned gloomy. Niu Gui, who had hurried over, couldn't help but shiver and subconsciously took a few steps back. "County officials, nothing was found. Constable Qiu said they are still investigating..." Qin Xiong's breathing suddenly became heavy. The poor are good at literature while the rich are good at martial arts. This has been the case since ancient times. The reason why he could rise from a farmhand to where he is today, in addition to his own talent, was also due to a few ruffians including Qian Bao. The loan he made was his money and also the support for improving his martial arts. "Still investigating? Very good, very good!" Qin Xiong almost laughed out loud.
"Sister, brother-in-law... I asked around, Liang Ah Shui left the Lihe Martial Arts School after recovering from his injuries for a few days, and no one has seen him in the past few days." Niu Gui lowered his head: "But his injuries haven't healed yet, so it can't be him, right?" More than two months ago, Wang Luan came to the Weapon Forging Shop for a banquet and was attacked. Many disciples were killed or injured, including Liang Ashui, who broke his leg... "It's the coldest time of the year, and the lake is about to freeze over. He's an injured man, and he's suddenly missing. Could he have gone fishing?" Qin Xiong's eyes turned cold. Although Qian Bao seems to be careless in his actions, he is also very clear about who can be bullied and who cannot be provoked, otherwise the grass on his grave will be three feet high. In the past few years, the only person Qian Bao misjudged was Liang A Shui. But as early as after this man joined the Lihe Martial Arts School, Qian Bao returned the fishing boat and the house, tore up the IOU, and kicked Liu Laizi out, leaving him to be dealt with by him. "Liang Ashui..." Qin Xiong took a deep breath and looked at Niu Gui: "I have already taught you several items for the inner courtyard assessment two months ago. I hope you won't let me down!" "Sister, brother-in-law, I..." Niu Gui gritted his teeth: "I will not let you down!" …… "Hateful!" Gaoliu City, thirty miles east, on the frozen green water lake, Liang A Shui threw down his harpoon in hatred. It was more than two months late, and the trap he had set had long been buried by the wind and snow. How could he find it in the vast lake area of hundreds of miles? "My spirit fish!" Liang A Shui limped across the lake, feeling very angry. Before winter, he had set up the trap and was just waiting for the harvest. However, he was almost killed by a thief, and then his leg was broken, which completely delayed his time. "Forget it, forget it. The most important thing is to get into the Divine Weapon Valley. I can't make things complicated. The money I have is enough for me to take medicine for half a year..." …… …… call! In a small utility room, Li Yuan stood with his arms hanging down. He closed his eyes slightly, his feet did not move, and his body swayed like a weeping willow. The blood and energy in his body, which had become much stronger, flowed slowly with his movements, creating warmth wherever he passed. It is the process of strengthening blood and qi, and it also nourishes the body slowly. Although it is slow, it is long-lasting. Of course, you have to take supplementary medicine to keep up with the flow, otherwise you will only suffer from deficiency of qi and blood. "call!" It was not until dawn that Li Yuan flexed his arms and legs, allowing the blood and energy in his body to return to normal.
"Twenty-three changes!" Listening to the sound of bones rubbing against each other like firecrackers, Li Yuan's mouth curled up, feeling happy: "I still need to practice fifty-eight changes to master the first killing move of the Bingdao Dousha Hammer! A superior killing move..." After stretching his muscles, Li Yuan put on his cotton coat and had breakfast at his second brother's house. Then he said goodbye to his brother and sister-in-law and headed for the blacksmith shop. The first day after the New Year is the day for the inner courtyard assessment of the Weapon Forging Shop. (End of this chapter)