Blacksmith Li Guaizi and his knife

Blacksmith Li Guaizi and his knife (1)

Li Guaizi is a nickname. I don’t know his real name. I only know that he is a lame man. He opened a blacksmith shop outside the west gate of Zaoyang City. His blacksmith shop did not make other iron tools, but specialized in making knives, such as kitchen knives, butcher knives, skinning knives, boning knives, wood chopping knives, etc. Legend has it that Li Guaizi once used a sword that he had used to kill people to hit two kitchen knives. The knives had drank human blood and had spirituality. Before the owner encountered a bloody disaster, they would rustle at night.

Although Li Guaizi is a good blacksmith, he is really honest and honest. In addition, he is disabled and is still a bachelor at almost forty years old.

That year, a woman named Wu Yilian, dressed in rags, and her mute son Abao, wandered and begged in front of the blacksmith shop. Li Guaizi was kind-hearted and compassionate, so he bought her food. After being matched by someone, the two became husband and wife. Marry an official and become a wife, marry a pig butcher and turn your intestines. Wu Yilian turned on the bellows in the blacksmith shop. Although her face was dark and gray, the sadness between her brows gradually dissipated, her dim eyes became brighter, and the family of three was enjoying themselves.

When A Bao grew up, he and his stepfather stood at the furnace to forge iron. Li Guaizi used iron tongs to clamp the red-hot iron material, put it on the anvil, and hit it with a small hammer. He hit it with a sledgehammer. As the saying goes: "There are three hardships in the world: forging iron and rocking the boat to grind tofu." Abao was thin at first, and after a few hammer blows, he was out of breath. Amidst the clanging sound of hammering, he was forged into a tall, muscular man who could swing hundreds of hammers in one breath without getting red in the face or out of breath.

The knife is made of wrought iron with a layer of steel sandwiched in the middle, and the fire blends the steel and iron together. Iron needs to be soft to withstand high temperatures, and steel needs to have a hard edge to make a good knife. Broken iron and broken steel cannot make a good knife. In the old days, the materials used in blacksmith shops were scrap steel purchased from the private sector, which was melted into molds in earthen furnaces and made into blanks.

Li Guaizi often carried a steelyard and let Abao pull the cart, walking around the streets to buy scrap steel, either weighing it to buy it by weight, or buying it with a new knife. That day, someone came out from the county police chief's house and brought an unsheathed saber to replace with a kitchen knife. Li Guaizi took it and took a look. The sword was old and still shone with a frightening cold light. The surface of the sword was engraved with a beautiful picture of a blue dragon emerging from the water. He flicked the blade with his fingers, making a long buzzing sound. Li Guaizi was an honest man, timid and timid, and he didn't dare to take advantage of others. He said with an apologetic smile: "This is a good knife. If you give it to me as scrap steel, you will suffer a big loss." The other party impatiently scolded: " Stop talking nonsense!" He picked up a new kitchen knife, turned around and entered the yard, slamming the door shut.

Li Guaizi looked confused, what's going on?

It turned out that the Yang family, a wealthy family 20 miles east of Zaoyang City, bought this saber from a secondhand stall. It is said that the owner of the sword was a bandit and he killed countless people with this sword. Last winter, the Yang family had a dispute with their neighbor. The other party was also a wealthy and powerful family, and the two parties refused to give in to each other. During a quarrel, the eldest young master of the Yang family took out this saber, intending to scare the other party. When he was surrounded by several men, he suddenly slashed at the other party and actually chopped off one of his arms! People present said afterwards that he The force was not very strong, it could only make a bloody gash without causing any murder.

After the case was concluded, the saber was confiscated as the murder weapon. Director Zhao of the ** Bureau saw it and couldn't put it down, so he stole it for himself. Since the sword came into the house, the Zhao family has never had a peaceful life. First, the eldest daughter and her husband hanged themselves in anger, then there was an inexplicable fire in the house, and then Director Zhao was kicked off his leg by a donkey.

The Zhao family invited the Feng Shui master from Yin Yang House to see him. The old gentleman stood at the four corners of the yard, squinted his eyes and looked around. He was slightly startled and said, "The house smells of blood!" He looked around, and finally saw the sword in the study. He was surprised and said, "This sword smells of evil. You are so angry that you can no longer stay at home!"

The Zhao family suddenly realized that no wonder they heard the rustling of sabers at night before the accident several times. Mrs. Zhao's expression changed greatly and she ordered the knife to be thrown out. She happened to hear Li Guaizi shouting and asked someone to take it and change it for a kitchen knife.

Li Guaizi only saw good steel and good iron. He melted the saber and made two kitchen knives. They put them on the knife holders. The price was naturally much higher than ordinary kitchen knives.

It's a pity that no one recognized the goods. Some people stopped to look, picked it up, weighed it, shook their heads and sighed, saying that the knife is a good knife, but it is too heavy, and the mother-in-law who bought it can't use it.

On this day, a buyer finally came. He was a chef from a big restaurant. He had been struggling to buy good knives. He passed by the blacksmith shop and saw two kitchen knives on the knife holder. He felt like he had found a treasure. I bought it without even paying back the price. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the chef came to return the product and said with a grimace: "This is a knife for cutting human flesh!" It turned out that several times when he cut things, the edge of the knife went straight to his fingers, and they were bloody. When he learned that it was made with a murder weapon, he was frightened when he saw the two knives.

The notoriety of the two knives spread, so Li Guaizi had to lower the price. The price was cheaper than ordinary kitchen knives, and no one took any interest in the low price. Hu Qi, who owned a beef shop, did not believe in evil. He broke a knife by chopping beef bones for half a month. His wife scoffed and said he was stupid. He opened his eyes wide and cursed that the knife was made of broken iron sheets and was not used properly! He heard that Li Guaizi had two good knives. Come here to buy it. A few days later, Hu Qi's wife came with two knives and said with a red face that she was not good with the knives. In fact, someone saw Hu Qi's hand being cut and wrapped in cloth. Hu Qi's wife withdrew the knife and went back, setting off a bunch of small firecrackers at the door.

Rumors seem to have wings. Some people say that there is a faint light of blood on the blades of two kitchen knives under the noon sun; some people say that on cloudy and rainy days, small drops of blood ooze from the blades...

No one dared to ask for two kitchen knives given away for free, they were left alone on the knife rest.

My grandfather said that when Zaoyang fell in the 27th year of the Republic of China, the sun flag was hung on the city wall.