sjar Chapter 353 Miao Family Blacksmith Shop
Chapter 353 Miao Family Blacksmith Shop
The team quickly split up, and Monkey and others went to the docks to scout the area.
Yuan Shuai took Hu Dacai and Xiao Xiami to find the blacksmith shop.
On a sparsely populated street in the western suburbs of the city, there is a Miao blacksmith shop.
Inside the blacksmith shop, an old man sat by the door and smoked his pipe.
That weathered face was full of sorrow.
However, he saw Yuan Shuai and others looking at his shop and walking over.
He quickly stood up and apologized with a smile.
Although he knew very well that a master like Yuan Shuai would never come to his blacksmith shop to buy a sickle and hoe.
But he still hoped to make a deal so that he could buy rice to live.
Yuan Shuai walked over, looked at the sickles and hoes placed on the counter of his shop, then looked at the empty nails on the wall, and smiled faintly.
"The boss is doing good business, selling out so many things!"
"You must be joking! I haven't been open for a few days. If you like anything, I'll give you a discount!"
The corners of the old man's mouth twitched stiffly for a few times.
"No way, I see those nails on your wall, they should be where you hung ironware before, everything on the wall has been cleared away, how can you say there is no account opened!"
The old man stuck his head out of the door and looked around a few times, then explained in a low voice with a look of grievance on his face.
"Oh! Don't mention it. My Miao blacksmith shop used to make a lot of swords. Before the Japanese invaders came, business was brisk and we could make ends meet. But when the Japanese invaders came, all the swords in my house were confiscated by them. Not only did I not make any money, I even lost a lot!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Dacai and Xiao Xiami frowned immediately, but soon, the two continued to stand outside to keep watch.
Yuan Shuai took out a small yellow croaker from his pocket and put it on the table.
"Are you going to buy my shop? No way. This blacksmith shop was passed down from my grandfather. I can't sell it even if I starve to death!"
The old man gritted his teeth, tears flashing in his eyes.
"Uncle, I misunderstood. I just wanted to buy something. If it's not enough, I'll add another one!"
Yuan Shuai said this and took out another big yellow croaker and placed it on the table.
"You... you're not going to sell swords, are you? These are contraband, and I don't have any at home. The previous swords were all confiscated by the devils! I think you should go look somewhere else. I really can't do anything!"
The old man quickly refused and even kept looking both ways outside the door, fearing that he would be seen.
Yuan Shuai took out a big yellow croaker and placed it on the table.
"..."
The old man swallowed hard.
He hasn't opened a business for a long time. Although he has run a few small businesses in the past few months, the income is not enough to support his family.
We live entirely on the family savings.
He is short of money too.
He looked Yuan Shuai up and down and asked tentatively.
"Is this...?"
As he said this, he stretched out his hand and made the shape of eight.
"You misunderstood. I am Chinese! I am also a businessman. The world is not peaceful, so I need some willow leaf darts and Miao knives. If you have them, I want 17 Miao knives and 17 sets of willow leaf darts! If you have them, all the money is yours!"
"so much?"
The old man hesitated for a moment.
"Why, do you think the money is too little?"
At this time, Hu Dacai turned around and glared at him impatiently.
"No, no, no, I've given you enough. Since we're all Chinese, then come in with me. The two of you will keep watch outside!"
The old man was very cautious. After all, these things were contraband and could not be traded on the market.
Only available on the black market.
If someone comes to buy, he will only trade at night.
Trading in broad daylight can easily be discovered.
Yuan Shuai gave Hu Dacai and Xiao Xiami a look and followed the old man inside.
Entering the yard, the old man came to a hanging well and said.
"The goods are downstairs. You can go down and take a look first. If everything is ok, come and pick them up at night. You can't pick them up during the day!"
"You are really cautious!"
Yuan Shuai smiled and climbed down the rope.
Sure enough, there was a small hole underneath, and inside was a secret room.
There are many Miao Dao, darts, and some cold weapons in the secret room.
After listening to the old man's narration.
Yuan Shuai then realized that this was the thing the old man had fought with his father and son before.
Later, the two sons joined the army and never returned.
When the Japanese were about to attack here, he secretly hid some of them to prevent them from being stolen.
Sure enough, not long after the Japanese entered the city, they listed swords, knives and darts as contraband and they could not be traded on the market.
The swords in many blacksmith shops were confiscated.
Many swords and knives in his house were also confiscated.
But luckily, he had plenty of stock.
In order to make a living, sometimes when gangsters came, he would still sell a few things to them.
But he didn't expect to meet such a big buyer today.
"Ahem, Master, can I ask you about two people?"
The old man looked at Yuan Shuai with trembling tears.
"Tell me, even if I don't know now, I will find a way to find out for you!"
"Thank you, sir. My two sons joined the army and went to the Songhu battlefield. Unfortunately, they never came back and we didn't receive any news of their deaths. The eldest son is Tie Dagang and the youngest is Tie Xiaogang! This, this is a photo of our family! Their mother died early, so there was no time to take a photo of any of them, just the three of us! This photo was taken when they joined the army!"
As he spoke, the old man took out a yellowed photo from his pocket with his trembling right hand.
Inside are photos of the old man and his two sons.
But these are photos from when I was very young.
The old man was actually not very old, only in his forties, but because of the matter of his two sons, his hair turned white overnight, so he looked very old.
This photo shows my two sons joining the army. They look very handsome.
When seeing the photos, Yuan Shuai almost shed tears.
Nowadays, there are countless uncles like this who turned into white-haired old men overnight because their sons died on the battlefield.
However, he was soon surprised.
"These two guys are your sons?!"
"I know them?!"
The old man's tears started to flow.
"Yes, of course I know them. I can't remember what unit they are in! I think it's the 88th Division. I really can't remember!"
"It's the 88th Division! Have you seen them? They, they also..."
At this point, the old man burst into tears. He wanted to know if his son was still alive, but he didn't want to hear that his son was dead.
"Alive, alive. I just came from Wuhan. These two guys have become guards of the division commander. They followed their 88th Division to Chongqing! If you want to see them, I can buy you a ticket and send you to Chongqing. I will also find a way to help you contact the people over there and ask them to help you find someone!"
"Are you really still alive?"
The old man held Yuan Shuai's hand tightly.
"Really! When we were evacuated from Wuhan, they were the ones who helped us get out. I owe them a big favor!"
Yuan Shuai himself couldn't continue making up stories...