Start with a blacksmith shop.

Li Zhenhua answered the phone, and a voice came through. He knew who was calling just by the voice.

"Liu Xiaodong, you're very well-informed. Do you think you've planted a spy next to me?"

"How did you know I was back? I didn't tell anyone." Li Zhenhua's tone was very familiar.

"Do I need to wear eyeliner? I just came from Liangxiang."

I took my car to Liuzhuang early in the morning, before dawn, because there was a section of road there that needed to be paved.

They used my company's ready-mixed concrete. I always accompany them on the first delivery, just in case anything goes wrong.

Okay, I'm not going to talk about me anymore. You wait for me at home.

I'll go back to the factory with the truck to explain things, and then I'll come right back to find you.

Liu Xiaodong hung up the phone hastily before Li Zhenhua could reply.

Li Zhenhua shook his head slightly as he heard the busy signal.

"That fat guy is still the same as before. He wouldn't let me say anything and just hung up the phone. He's so impatient, it doesn't match his size at all."

Li Zhenhua didn't pay any more attention to that and continued with his work.

He sold a sickle yesterday morning, so today he replaced it.

He found a piece of pig iron in the warehouse, lit the furnace, and began to forge the blade of a sickle.

Li Zhenhua, who was already forging iron, did not notice that the many neighbors who had gathered at the blacksmith's shop had disappeared without a trace.

The iron was heated red-hot and forged in Li Zhenhua's hands.

It gradually took on the shape of a sickle. Just as Li Zhenhua was about to quench the sickle, a hearty laugh came from outside the door.

"Haha, you weren't happy when I called you 'little blacksmith' before, but now you've really become a blacksmith."

Before the person arrived, the voice preceded them, and then Li Zhenhua saw a figure appear at the door. As the figure walked, the flesh on its body trembled up and down with each step.

"You fatso, call me whatever you want. I'm just a blacksmith now anyway. By the way, it's only been a little over two months since we last saw each other. I've noticed you've gotten even fatter."

As Li Zhenhua answered Liu Xiaodong's question, he threw the sickle he had already forged into the furnace to be heated.

"Wait for me a moment while I finish quenching this sickle, then we can talk."

As Li Zhenhua spoke, he went back to doing his own thing, leaving Liu Xiaodong aside.

The sickle used very little material and the blade was not wide, so it was quickly heated to the quenching temperature in the furnace.

Li Zhenhua used pliers to fish out the sickle and inserted it into the water trough next to him, from which steam rose.

After staying in the water for another ten seconds or so, Li Zhenhua took the sickle out and placed it on the chopping board with tongs.

Only then did Li Zhenhua have a moment to spare, and he turned around and went to Liu Xiaodong's side.

Liu Xiaodong saw the watermelon knife that Li Zhenhua had used yesterday on the worktable.

Liu Xiaodong immediately grabbed the knife and immediately noticed its difference.

This was nothing like the knives he usually saw; judging from its weight alone, it felt about the same as a woodcutter's knife.

Moreover, Li Zhenhua had polished the watermelon knife to a mirror finish, making it quite eye-catching.

Looking at Liu Xiaodong with a smug expression, Li Zhenhua asked him:

"How's my watermelon knife? Looks pretty good, right? I spent a whole day making it yesterday."

The quenching and tempering processes are very rigorous.

"Zhenhua, what kind of mistreatment did you suffer outside?"

Liu Xiaodong looked at Li Zhenhua very seriously and asked him.

Li Zhenhua looked at Liu Xiaodong with great surprise, still wondering what was going on.

Did that fatso hear some rumors?

Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Nobody should know that I dropped out of school.

Li Zhenhua looked at Liu Xiaodong with a hint of doubt, but the fat man opposite him showed no other expression.

Just when Li Zhenhua thought that the fat man across from him knew everything about him, he saw the fat man's expression change.

"Did someone steal your love at school? Now you're home to forge weapons; you can't die together with your rival!"

That chubby face, with a lewd smile that hinted at amusement.

At this moment, Li Zhenhua finally realized that the fat man didn't know what had happened to him. He was just joking with him, and Li Zhenhua was just being too nervous.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Did I really guess it?"

Liu Xiaodong immediately put on a sympathetic expression and patted Li Zhenhua on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Calm down, I'll find you someone better later. How about I take you out tonight to find a girlfriend for the night, just to help you relax?"

Li Zhenhua went straight to Liu Xiaodong's side and kicked him in the fat buttocks.

"I've noticed you're getting more and more shameless. You even find a girlfriend for one night. You're really slutty."

Now that you're in this state, does Wang Mei know about it?

Don't forget, she's a black belt in Taekwondo.

I'll kick you so hard you'll be slammed against the wall, you won't be able to pry yourself off.

Upon hearing Li Zhenhua's words, Liu Xiaodong felt a chill run down his spine, and even his expression changed.

"Hua Zi, Zhen Hua, Brother Hua, Grandpa Hua, you absolutely mustn't tell Wang Mei what I just said."

If she finds out, I'm really doomed.

"Alright, don't worry, I'll definitely buy you an extra stack of paper money to burn for you when the time comes."

"I'll make sure you have money to spend over there. As for the maids and such, I won't burn them. I'm afraid Wang Mei will send me away to keep you company."

Li Zhenhua chatted and joked with Liu Xiaodong in a teasing tone.

"Dongzi, you stay here for a moment, I'll go put out the stove over there first."

I'll be done cleaning up in a bit, then let's go grab a couple of drinks.

By the way, who's home at this time? Let's call them all out!

Li Zhenhua seemed to remember something, and while talking to Liu Xiaodong, he walked towards the stove.

Li Zhenhua went to the stove and scooped out the still-burning charcoal.

It was placed in a very small, sealed paint bucket, and an iron lid was placed on top. The lid was then tightened with a small hammer to prevent air from getting inside.

While he was dealing with these matters, Liu Xiaodong, who was standing next to him, continued the conversation that Li Zhenhua had been discussing.

"Having a couple of drinks is fine, but it's just the two of us at home right now."

The other three are all studying outside, wait a minute! All three of them are in school.

"Why are you back so soon? Something's fishy. Tell me, what happened? Something's definitely up!"

Having finished dealing with everything, Li Zhenhua heard Liu Xiaodong finally ask the question.

He didn't know how to put it, because it was a matter that was easy to say but difficult to hear.

While Li Zhenhua was pondering how to answer the question, Liu Xiaodong across from him took out his phone and started searching online for recent news about Hujiang University of Science and Technology.

Because he knew that his childhood friend had never been one to cause trouble, and that he was bound to suffer a loss this time.