This New Year spent in Chongqing was Ma Xiaoguang’s first Lunar New Year in the era of the Republic of China.
The New Year in this era still retains a lot of traditional flavor. Everyone puts up Spring Festival couplets, sets off firecrackers, eats New Year's Eve dinner, and stays up late... This makes Ma Xiaoguang, who is isolated by big and small screens in later generations, feel a strong human touch.
Year, for the first time in his heart, it did not feel so cold, but represented warmth.
The communication in Jinling is via telegraph. Long-distance calls are not particularly convenient at this time of year. Jinling and Chongqing are far apart. Due to various reasons, we can only communicate by telegraph. However, there are no important tasks recently. The key is It's Boss Ma's gift that has arrived. The New Year's gifts for each department were prepared and delivered before departure. All this depends on the overall planning and careful arrangement of Lao Liu and Miss Liu (Wu Qiuyi). I lost my mind and probably have to figure out some tricks.
The special operations team has entrusted Lao Li and two captains to send red envelopes to the brothers. Needless to say, everyone was very happy...
Happy time always passes quickly. After the second day of the Lunar New Year, I set off to Dazu with Xie Qinghe. This time I also took the waterway. I took a boat from Chaotianmen and went upstream. I arrived at Tieshan on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. town.
Old Liu stayed in Yudu to take care of business matters. Miss Liu had never been to Bashu before. This time he happened to travel a lot. Looking at the green mountains and green waters everywhere, everyone felt refreshed.
Especially the golden partners who just returned from the Northland not long ago - Master Senpo (Ma Xiaoguang) and Butler Fan (Fat Man). This place is different from the oppression of the Puppet Manchukuo. There is a moist wind in the air, and the wind is full of the smell of freedom.
The group of people entered Tieshan Town, which is a quite large town. Most of the people in the town are engaged in iron industry, including blacksmiths, sword makers, and more people who make small hardware... The iron here is in the southwest. The area is quite famous and has a history of nearly a thousand years.
Even during the Chinese New Year, the town still heard the sound of "ding-dong-dang" from time to time, making it a lively scene.
There has been a tradition of iron smelting here since ancient times. Less than a hundred miles away from Tieshan Town is the famous Dazu Rock Carvings. However, Master Senpo has no leisure time to visit for the time being. More important people and things are already waiting there.
Passing through Tieshan Town is a rolling mountain range, which is Bayue Mountain, a branch of Huaying Mountain.
Walking along the mountain road, Xie Qinghe originally prepared the sliding pole, but he didn't expect that the three young masters, except the fat man who was slightly out of breath due to his body shape, even the beautiful MISS Liu were not out of breath.
This mountain is as high as most of the mountains in Bashu, and the vegetation on the mountain road is lush. Except for the fact that it is winter and there are some dead leaves, it is no different from other seasons.
At the halfway point of the mountain, a large stone castle gradually became clear in everyone's sight.
The stone fort is built on the mountain. The fort wall is about three feet high. This was a huge project in an era when technology was not very developed. And judging from the traces of the construction, it should have been the unremitting efforts of several or even ten generations of people. Just built.
The stone castle makes full use of the shape and terrain of the mountain. It looks quite majestic when looking up. However, if you look closely, you will find that the fortress wall is not neat and neat, but undulating. It is slightly different from ordinary Chinese castles and vaguely resembles a Western bastion. Taste is a critical point.
There is an iron plaque on the fort gate, with three powerful characters "Iron Mountain Fort" engraved on it.
"Brother Yao is back?" A middle-aged man and a few servants stood in front of the fort gate to greet them. Seeing everyone arriving, he quickly saluted.
"Uncle Eleven, hello, I'm going to Yudu on the orders of the chief steward... These are three distinguished guests!" Xie Qinghe quickly returned the gift and introduced the three guests to the middle-aged man.
"This is Master Tu, this is Miss Liu, this is Butler Fan..."
"Three distinguished guests, this is my eleventh uncle."
"The little old man is Xie Jinming, ranked eleventh..."
"Hello, Uncle Eleven." Master Senpo did not put on any airs at all, and greeted him humbly and politely. MISS Liu also smiled and nodded, while Butler Fan remained aloof to strengthen the young master's momentum.
Everyone exchanged brief greetings in front of the fort gate and then entered the fort under the guidance of the eleventh uncle Xie Jinming. The wind on this mountain is strong, and if we stand for a while longer, we are afraid that people will not be able to blow well.
The castle seems to be a concrete and small world, with everything from the outside to the inside, such as a small restaurant, a grocery store, a cloth shop, a paper and fire shop... everything is available.
Now that it's the New Year, the castle is quite lively, with lights and colorful decorations everywhere, and the sound of firecrackers and the laughter of children can be heard from time to time. It's a more paradise scene than the outside.
The entire stone fort is built against the mountain. As you walk up the stairs along the stone street that is the main part of the fort, a rather large house gradually appears in front of everyone.
Uncle Eleven led the crowd, while the boys carried their luggage, and led the guests through the main door. The second door was the living room.
"Dear distinguished guests, I am here to welcome you! I would like to thank Jinyu from Tieshan Castle." I saw a man standing in front of the hall, bowing his hands and announcing his family background.
After inviting the guests to the hall, Uncle Eleven led the servants to quietly retire, allowing the chief steward and Xie Qinghe to talk to the guests.
"I have received a letter from Qinghe a few days ago. Master Senpo has contributed a lot to this treasure map search. The entire Tieshan Fort is grateful for this..." Manager Xie said, probably because he was afraid that the dialect in central Sichuan would be difficult to understand. The words are authentic Mandarin, with clear and round words.
"Haha, you're welcome, Chief Steward. You said that we don't know the treasure map, but we did find a scroll. However, we have been entrusted by others beforehand, so I'm afraid we won't be able to marry one woman to two." Master Senpo said with a smile.
"Why do those three people seriously come to this remote place like ours?" Manager Xie asked nonchalantly.
"We hit it off with Brother Qinghe. We knew that he was responsible for the family affairs, and we were afraid that he would not be able to explain why we came to your castle to express our feelings in person. I hope the manager will understand."
"It doesn't matter, it's business. If you open the skylight and speak frankly, Master Senpo can make a price." Manager Xie got straight to the point and didn't make any detours.
"Ahem, this is not about money..." Master Senpo said with a dry laugh.
…
After chatting in the living room for a long time, everyone felt a little bored. Xie Qinghe saw that the atmosphere was not particularly harmonious, so he quickly used the excuse of being tired from the journey to let the guests rest first. Business matters should be discussed in the long term.
The owner placed Master Senpo and his party in a small courtyard that was used as a guest room, and the environment was quite quiet.
"Master, there is something strange about this Iron Mountain Castle." The fat man said first.
"That's necessary. It's no surprise why are we here? Now that we've come, we'll make peace with it. It's okay. Anyway, there are still about ten days until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month." Master Senpo said with a smile.
"The environment here is good and quite clean." MISS Liu didn't care about business at all, but commented on the guest room environment.
She doesn't have high requirements for the environment, but there is one thing that is a bit harsh - cleanliness.
"Relax, let's just rest. The boss is probably thinking about it now."
While Master Senpo was relaxing his thoughts and enjoying the tranquility, a group of people were talking animatedly in a small hall deep in the house.
"Master Ge, if this young master Senpo doesn't know what he's doing, I'll get some brothers to rush in and knock them down!" Xie Jinrong, who ranked fifteenth, shouted there.
"Hmph, that's easy to say! That young master is not an ordinary person at first glance. They are all good at martial arts, and they are definitely not ordinary people in the world. They are from the official family... You want to attract the official army? Now it is The Republic of China is not the Qing Dynasty!" Xie Jinfeng, who ranked eighth, said coldly from the side.
"I can't do it on the left, and I can't do it on the right, so what can I do?"
"It's better to go ask the old lady for instructions." Xie Jinyu said helplessly after hearing that everyone was arguing and not coming up with a charter.
…
Things have to be discussed, and years have to pass. This is a tradition that has been accumulated for thousands of years and cannot be changed. While the whole family was noisy deep in the house, the festive atmosphere in Iron Mountain Castle became more intense.
Master Senpo, Miss Liu and Fatty happily walked onto the streets of this small mountain town, watching the customs here with great interest.
In fact, the New Year customs here are not very different from other places in China. They are also decorated with lanterns, shopping and eating, and everyone visits to pay New Year greetings. However, because Tieshan Town is rich in ironware, the craftsmen here There are many unique craftsmanships, and a unique annual custom has been formed here - ironwork.
The three of them followed the flow of people and came to an open space in the center of Tieshan Fort. They saw a double-layered flower shed over two feet high set up in an open space. The shed was densely covered with fresh willow branches and tied with various firecrackers and fireworks.
In the middle of the shed, there is a three-foot-high pole piercing into the night sky. Next to it is a furnace burning a blazing fire, with red iron melting inside the furnace.
I saw more than a dozen shirtless men taking turns using flower sticks to hit the iron juice with a temperature of more than a thousand degrees onto the shed, forming an iron flower more than ten meters high. The iron flower lit up fireworks and firecrackers, and for a while, the sky was filled with fireworks and fireworks bloomed.
It is exactly "the east wind blooms thousands of flowers and trees at night, and even blows them down, and the stars are like rain..." It is so beautiful!
At this time, another loud noise was heard, and a group of men danced a colorful golden dragon through the crowd. The crowd flashed out a passage, allowing the dragon dance team to pass through.
As soon as the crowd squeezed in, Ma Xiaoguang's professional instinct made him feel nervous, and he quickly called Miss Liu and Fatty to his side in case anything happened.
At this time, with a "bang" sound, another huge firework exploded in the sky, and the crowd became noisy again.
When the crowd was surging, a golden light flashed from nowhere, and an iron flower flew directly in the direction of MISS Willow. The temperature of this thing is thousands of degrees. If it is hit by one, it will either be seriously injured or disfigured!
Ma Xiaoguang dodged when he saw this, and immediately protected MISS Liu regardless of his situation, insisting on using his flesh and blood to block Tiehua!
The fat man's reaction was not slow, and he hurriedly threw the treasure bag he was carrying with him, only to see the iron flowers passing by, and a burning smell...
With the combined efforts of everyone, the danger was narrowly avoided.
"Master, MISS Liu! How is it?" the fat man asked with concern.
"I'm fine..." Miss Liu said with red cheeks.
"I'm in trouble, young master, I've been tricked!"
