Shi Wangfu didn't want to listen to this. His hand that wielded the hammer had blood blisters. He gave it a hammer and took a look, and his heart trembled.
During the first few days after his arrival, Shi Wangfu had not yet lived in the iron shop. When he returned home at night, he walked to the door. Although his mother could not see her eyes, her ears were very sensitive and she could hear even the smallest sound. Now she knew the child was back by hearing his footsteps, so she temporarily put aside cooking, walked over, and met him: "Wang Fu." Wangfu stood in front of her: I'm here.
He was not at home all day long, and his mother felt sorry for him, so she raised her hand to touch him. Almost every day, she touched the child, from top to bottom, all over his body, and finally held his hand and asked him this and that.
At this moment, his mother touched his right hand, and Wangfu suddenly cried out in pain and pulled his hand out of his mother's palm. Mother asked: What's the matter? child. Wang Fu said: The iron hammer caused blood blisters.
Mother asked: I just felt your palm was uneven and felt something was wrong. But kid, this is a process. Slowly the palms will form calluses, and there will be no blood blisters.
Mom, I don’t want to do it anymore, it’s too painful. Wang Fu whispered.
When the father who was lighting a fire by the fire pit heard this, he flicked the fire scissors, turned around, and shouted with bulging eyes full of darkness: "Wangfu, don't be too incompetent, you can't bear any hardship." Does it matter if you have blood blisters on your hands? How can you succeed in learning a craft without fear of hardship?
The mother said in a gentle tone: Son, your dad is right, don't be afraid of hardship, only those who can endure hardship will be successful. Your father and I both expect you to be a promising person.
Wangfu originally didn't want to do blacksmithing, but how could he dare to disobey his father's advice? Early the next morning, I had to rush to the blacksmith shop to work with a grimace.
Blacksmith Liu Wu was a lonely old man. He had been married in his early years, but had never held a wedding. A woman who looked like a half-sister-in-law came from a neighboring county. The neighboring county was hit by floods. The woman had escaped from famine. After being introduced, she met Liu Wu. They met and the marriage was consummated that night. Liu Wu was happy all night and became a man for once. However, the next day, the woman left without saying goodbye.
Liu Wu began to feel uncomfortable and depressed. After a while, he got better again. He forgot about the woman and understood her. The reason why she left was because you, Liu Wu, were too poor and had no money to keep her.
Wang Fu also knew this. On that cold winter day, Shi Wen came to his house and sat by the fire pit to chat and talk. He was silent at the time, but he heard clearly, but he had never seen Liu Wu.
At this moment, he helped the master light the stove as before. The stove burned wet coal, which was not flammable. It was lit with burning firewood. A smell of pungent white smoke made Wangfu, who was immersed in lighting the fire, cough from time to time. Voice. After a long period of busy work, the fire started burning and the smoke became less, but the whole room was filled with the smell of coal, which still smelled a bit fragrant.
Liu Wu put the iron block into the furnace and burned it. It would take some time to get the iron red, so he said to Wang Fu, who was sitting opposite and pulling the furnace, "Stop what you are doing, and I'll do it." As he spoke, Liu Wu handed him a small hammer: "Your hand is not strong enough, you need to practice the hammer more."
Wang Fu picked up the handle of the hammer. The blood blisters on his palm yesterday were still not healed. Some were bulging, but the skin was not broken, and some were broken, with a puddle of water flowing out. If you don't use this hand, it will be fine. When used, it feels painful. Wang Fu blinked his eyes and said nothing. He swung the small hammer in an awkward manner, held a piece of scrap iron with a pair of fire scissors, and tapped it on the anvil to practice his hand strength.
Liu Wu let a piece of pig iron burn red in the furnace before asking Wang Fu to stop. He held the red-hot iron piece with a pair of fire shears and hammered it alone on the anvil. Seeing that Wang Fu's forehead was covered with sweat, he didn't ask him to help. Wang Fu was about to help and had already picked up the hammer. Liu Wu said to take a rest.
Wangfu just sat on the side pulling on the stove, breathing heavily from his nostrils. Although he didn't have a hammer, his eyes were constantly looking at the piece of iron that the master was forging on the anvil. It had been reheated and forged several times, and the master used a pair of long-handled iron pliers to strike the piece of iron while it was hot. When it turns red, it twists from left to right, slowly forming a hoe.
After that, he took the newly formed hoe and the fever had not subsided, walked to a pool in front, put it in, and a layer of white foam bubbled up. Let it soak in the pool for a few minutes, then the master takes it out and throws it into the finished product.
Seeing Wang Fu staring at him, he picked up the towel around his neck and wiped the sweat and said: This is called quenching. Wangfu didn't understand much and asked him: If it is not quenched, can this hoe be used?
It can be used after a while, but it will break if it hits a hard object, which means it is not durable and will break quickly. The master also used the metaphor of quenching, saying that for a person to become a master, the process of "quenching" is indispensable. Quenching is to use heat against cold. If heat is considered a superior environment, cold is considered a harsh environment. A person must be able to maintain his composure in a superior environment and withstand the test of a harsh environment, otherwise he will not be able to achieve success.
Wang Fu felt uncomfortable after hearing this, as if his master was criticizing him for learning blacksmithing and not being able to withstand the painful training of blood blisters on his hands.
At noon, a ten-year-old child came from outside. As he approached the iron shop, he suddenly called out to Wang Fu, who was leaning sideways and working on the stove. Wang Fu turned his neck and recognized a familiar face. He was Zeng and Wang Fu. My classmate Qin Yue.
Qin Yue asked: Why don't you study anymore? Wangfu dropped out of school because he was tired of studying. Of course, it was difficult to answer. He made a slight "hmm" on his nose and was about to say something. Liu Wu wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Qin Yue: "Kid, what's the matter?"
Something happened. Qin Yue took out banknotes from his clothes: My dad asked me to buy a hoe. How much does it cost?
Liu Wu said it was 5 yuan a piece, and pointed to several hardened hoes put together and asked him to come and pick. Qin Yue came over, squatted down, and picked for a while, making a ping-pong sound, but he couldn't make up his mind. Which hoe is better?
The child thought that Wangfu had learned blacksmithing and was better than him, so he asked him to help him choose. Wangfu looked at the master and saw that he was calm, so he stopped working on the stove and came over. In fact, he didn't know whether it was good or bad. , I want the master to help me choose, but I have concerns: What should I do if I can’t sell the bad ones? He had no choice but to pick up a piece of hoe iron at random, pretend to know something and said: This piece is good.
He didn't tell the reason why it was good, and Qin Yue didn't ask, but he was superstitious, so he took the piece of hoe iron and felt that it was good. He put aside the piece he was touching, stood up and took it out from the hole of his clothes. The 5 yuan was given to Wangfu, who in turn gave it to the master.
The master was secretly amused when he saw them choosing a hoe from the pile of finished hoe. He made it himself and knew that the quality was the same. Otherwise, how could it be sold out? If there are any defective products, they must be returned to the furnace.
The master was hammering hard, and the anvil board was shaken loudly. Qin Yue took the hoe and iron and did not leave. Instead, he approached Wangfu and whispered. Wangfu asked the master for instructions and said: This classmate asked me to come back immediately if I have something to do outside the shop.
Liu Wu said "Yeah", and Wang Fu and Qin Yue walked out of the iron shop. In front of the iron shop was a village road, winding and connecting with villages dotted in the vast wilderness.
