Start with a blacksmith shop.

Li Zhenhua slept exceptionally soundly this time; it was the best sleep he had had since the incident.

When he woke up again and listened to the radio in the car, he realized he had returned to the braised chicken market and would be able to get into the station in another half hour.

Li Zhenhua pulled his luggage out of the train station and soon found the carpool he had booked in advance.

There were already three passengers in the car, waiting for him. The driver put Li Zhenhua's luggage in the trunk, and after everyone was seated, he started the car.

Li Zhenhua knew that as long as nothing happened on the way, he would be able to return to Jiangbei Water City, the hometown of calligraphy and painting, in just over an hour. A feeling called "near home, yet apprehensive" welled up inside him.

More than an hour later, the taxi arrived in a town below the hometown of calligraphy and painting for Li Zhenhua.

The roads in the town have been in disrepair for years, and are full of potholes. The car carefully avoids the potholes of all sizes.

The driver finally parked the car in front of a storefront on a street in the town, as Li Zhenhua had indicated. Li Zhenhua then took the luggage out of the car.

The driver turned the car around and said to him as he left, "Brother, I've lost money on this trip."

If I had known this place was so difficult to navigate, I would never have made this trip.

"I think you should forget about owning a car here; you'll have to get a motorcycle."

After saying that, the driver drove off, intending to speed away, but the road was not suitable for him to escape quickly.

Li Zhenhua stood at his doorstep, looking up at the sign above: Old Li's Blacksmith Shop.

As if he had thought of something, he shook his head to himself.

He took his house key out of his bag, opened the door, and went inside.

Looking at the various iron farm tools displayed on the shelves in the room, there were iron hoes, sickles, and other tools.

Li Zhenhua came in, put his luggage away, and then opened all the windows to ventilate the room, hoping to dissipate the musty smell from the long-unoccupied space as quickly as possible.

Li Zhenhua pushed open the door leading to the back courtyard from the room, walked into the courtyard, and looked at everything around him that was both familiar and somewhat strange.

In one corner of the courtyard, there was a stove built of firebricks, with a large blower attached to it.

Not far from the furnace is a C41-75 model electric air forging hammer.

This was also what he advocated for the purchase, and it was the first upgrade of this old blacksmith shop.

Next to the air hammer was an anvil, and next to the anvil were many hammers of various weights.

Looking at these, Li Zhenhua couldn't help but recall his grandfather's figure when he was still alive, constantly busy beside these devices.

Back then, whenever he had free time, he would take a sledgehammer and work with his grandfather's small hammer to create a symphony of steel.

But now, the only time he might see his grandfather again is after he passes away. Li Zhenhua touched the equipment and thought of his grandfather.

As he touched each piece of equipment, tears welled up in his eyes and finally streamed down his face. Li Zhenhua took a rag from the yard, wet it, and began wiping the dust off each piece of equipment.

After wiping down the equipment, it got dark outside.

Li Zhenhua washed his hands and went out. He didn't even lock his own front door. Everyone in this town knew each other, and no one would steal from other people's homes.

Li Zhenhua walked only a few steps before arriving at a supermarket. He took a bucket of instant noodles and a pack of instant noodles, along with some instant noodle condiments. He then went to the cashier at the entrance.

"Sixth Aunt, let's calculate how much it costs!"

Li Zhenhua reminded his boss, who was engrossed in watching the drama, to do some accounting.

When the proprietress heard someone, she finally looked up and was somewhat surprised to see Li Zhenhua in front of her.

"Zhenhua's back? It's not a holiday, why are you back?"

The proprietress spoke, but her hands moved quickly, pressing keys rapidly on the calculator.

"The total is 7 pieces."

"I'll come back after I graduate. Grab a bottle of water, that'll make it exactly ten dollars, here you go."

Li Zhenhua scanned ten yuan with his phone and then took a bottle of iced tea from the shelf next to him.

After saying that, I thought to myself, "Even dropping out of school counts as graduation, right?"

After saying that, Li Zhenhua took the things, left the supermarket, and went home.

After finishing our meal, we started cleaning. We needed to clean a room that was habitable, so we grabbed a rag and headed upstairs.

After tidying up a room, Li Zhenhua finally had a place to stay. Although he had already slept on the train, he could still fall asleep now.

The next morning, Li Zhenhua woke up very early.

He got up, dressed, and continued cleaning what he hadn't finished yesterday. He opened the door to the entrance on the first floor and picked up a large broom to start sweeping the area in front of it.

After opening the door, Li Zhenhua noticed that there were an unusually large number of people outside, and the number seemed to be increasing.

He took out his phone and saw that it was the third day of the lunar calendar, which dispelled his doubts. It seemed that there would be a market day today.

Li Zhenhua didn't pay much attention and continued sweeping the floor. Just as he finished sweeping and returned to his room, he saw someone walk in and look around at the items on the shelves on the first floor.

"Boss, get me a sickle."

The person who came in was dressed like an old farmer. After scanning the room, he spotted what he wanted behind Li Zhenhua's counter.

Li Zhenhua never expected that opening the door would bring in business, even though he hadn't planned to sell anything.

"Sir, I'm not open for business."

"Not open for business? Does that mean you're not selling anything?"

Why are you so stubborn, kid? There's a sickle on the shelf behind you, I need a sickle too.

You hand me the knife, I pay the money, and the deal is done—it's just a matter of a few words.

You told me you were closed, but I've already bought all the sickles.

After hearing this, the old farmer completely ignored what Li Zhenhua said and started arguing with him.

Li Zhenhua could only smile wryly as he turned around and took a sickle that his grandfather had made earlier from the shelf behind him.

"Sir, please make this clear first: this sickle was made by my grandfather."

"They've been sitting here for two or three years. If there are any quality issues, feel free to come back and return them for fifteen yuan a bunch."

As Li Zhenhua spoke, he handed the sickle in his hand to the old farmer.

The old farmer didn't hesitate; he took out twenty yuan and threw it on the counter.

He then took the sickle.

"Young man, a sickle costs twenty now, you can't sell it for the old price."

I know your stuff; it's durable and high-quality, so there won't be any problems.

After the old farmer finished speaking, he took his sickle and went out the door. Li Zhenhua also hurriedly came out from behind the counter, took an iron hook, and pulled down the roller shutter door.

He had no intention of selling goods. If the market hadn't closed during the big day, who knows how many others would have ended up like that old farmer.

If there were more of these, he would be forced to open for business.

As soon as he closed the door, Li Zhenhua felt dizzy.

All that could be heard was a mechanically synthesized voice.

"Ding, the lab is starting up..."